The ubiquitous portable document format (PDF) now supports embedding 3D imagery within the PDF file, so that the readers can manipulate 3D structures and observe them from any perspective. 3D PDF documents can be displayed by any computer with up-to-date Adobe Reader software installed. Below there are several examples of PDF documents with integrated 3D models.
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| Dioxin Molecule | HOMO of Paddlane | Vibrations in Methane (displacement vectors) | Custom 3D Views and multiple properties |
Adobe Acrobat can provide far more capabilities than a simple document viewer. It is possible to enhance a PDF document so that it can contain elements of the Graphical User Interface (GUI) such as buttons, checkboxes, combo boxes, etc. to initiate user actions. This can be achieved using the Acrobat JavaScript, an object-oriented scripting language developed by Netscape Communications. Acrobat JavaScript implements extensions to the JavaScript language which enable a developer to manage the Acrobat-specific objects.
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Check box and displacement vectors
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Radio buttons and HOMO/LUMO
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Animation of Vibrations in benzene
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The author is thankful to Prof. Feng Wang, Dr. David G. Barnes and Dr. Christopher J. Fluke (Swinburne University of Technology, Melbourne) for bringing 3D PDF capabilities to his attention, and for openly discussing issues related to VRML and 3D PDF. Interested readers may like to view their papers on 3D PDF for astronomy.
Send all questions, suggestions and comments to Vlad (vvv900@gmail.com)
Dr. Vladislav Vasilyev
Supercomputer Facility,
The Australian National University,
Canberra, ACT, 0200, Australia