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Compressing VRML files for Web

Is it possible to compress a VRML 2.0 file for transfer over the web? I want the visitor to my site to be able to click on a link to a VRML page and view the VRML world. Problem is that my VRML worlds are 700+ KB. Can this file be compressed for faster transfer but still have automatic viewing without the user needing to do anything?

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julio011597

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julio011597

Just in case the answer is not clear, compressing-uncompressing regards *your* handling of the file. As for the client, (s)he doesn't see any difference when opening the file.

-julio

jbetts

ASKER

Julio

Confirm that I have this straight....
Make VRML file (*.wrl)
Use gzip to compress the file (*.wrl.gz)
Start MS Internet Explorer 4.0
Open/browse to file (*.wrl.gz) and the browser will start Cosmo player, decompress, and show the VRML graphics?

julio011597

There's an additional step needed for publishing, so here is the full plan:

1) Make Vrml file (*.wrl)
2) Compress it with gzip (*.wrl.gz)
3) Get rid of the ".gz" extensione by renaming the file (*.wrl)
4) Start your web browser
5) Browse the file (of course, *.wrl)... Cosmo Player will read-decompress-show its contents.

In case you need to modify the file:

1) Rename it back to *.wrl.gz
2) uncompress it (gzip -d, or Winzip)
3) Modify it
4) Recompress it
5) Rename it to *.wrl... now it's ready to re-publish.

Let me know if this is not clear.

-julio