MyVirtualHome - Getting Started

Table of Contents
Getting Started with MyVirtualHome .......................................3
Installing MyVirtualHome .................................................3
Running MyVirtualHome for the First Time ..........................4
Introduction ................................................................4
1. Launch MyVirtualHome ............................................4
2. Hardware Diagnostics ...............................................5
3. MyVirtualHome Loading Screen .................................7
4. Running MyVirtualHome while Online .........................7
5. CD Key Registration ...............................................10
6. Ready to Go! .........................................................11
.2.
Getting Started with
MyVirtualHome
This section describes how to install the
MyVirtualHome software and explores and explains the
most common controls and interfaces to the software via
a sequence of tutorials.
Installing MyVirtualHome
Follow the steps below to install the MyVirtualHome
software:
1. Insert the MyVirtualHome CD-ROM into the CD
drive in your computer.
2. On most machines, the setup program will
start automatically. If it does not, open “My
Computer”, browse to your CD drive (usually D:
or E:) and double-click Setup.exe to start the setup
program.
3. Follow the on-screen instructions in the setup
program to complete the installation.
4. After the installation is complete, it is safe to
remove the CD-ROM from the drive as it is not
used during program execution. You will need
to eject the CD-ROM when prompted to enter a
CD Key.
.3.
Running MyVirtualHome for the
First Time
Introduction
The first time the MyVirtualHome software is run on your
computer, it performs a couple of extra steps to complete
its installation. This section describes what to expect in a
tutorial format.
1. Launch MyVirtualHome
If you have not done so already, start the MyVirtualHome
software by double-clicking the MyVirtualHome program
icon on the desktop. Alternately, browse to the software
from the Start menu and click to start:
For Windows XP users:
Ø Start à All Programs à MyVirtualHome à
MyVirtualHome
For other versions of Windows:

Ø Start à Programs à MyVirtualHome à
MyVirtualHome
.4.
2. Hardware Diagnostics
If this is the first time the MyVirtualHome software

has run on your computer, the program runs the MVH
Diagnostic Tool, called MVHDiag. This checks your
computer’s available hardware and device drivers and
configures the MyVirtualHome software accordingly to
ensure the best user experience with that hardware.
Ø Click OK
When this diagnostic step is running, you will see a screen

similar to below:
.5.
At the end of the diagnostic tests you will be prompted
to continue with a message box similar to that below:
Ø Click OK
All going well, the diagnostic tests will not produce

any warnings or errors. If a problem is detected your
web browser will be launched and directed to the
MyVirtualHome support centre.
Why are you checking my computer’s hardware?
MyVirtualHome is a technically sophisticated software
package using the latest advances in 3D computer graphics.
This diagnostic tool checks your hardware to make sure the
software will run properly and as efficiently as possible on
your computer. It also helps diagnose any problems you
might have that stop MyVirtualHome from running. If
errors are detected it will present possible solutions such as
how to update your video card drivers, change your screen
resolution, and similar.
.6.
3. MyVirtualHome Loading Screen
After running the diagnostic tests above, the
MyVirtualHome software launches and you are presented
to the loading screen (shown below) after videos and/or
splash screens from sponsors.
4. Running MyVirtualHome while Online

When the MyVirtualHome software runs and is connected
to the Internet, it connects to the MyVirtualHome server
and automatically downloads and applies updates
to the software since the installation CD-ROM was
.7.
manufactured or the last time it was run. This process
occurs in the background, enabling you to work
unhindered while updates are applied.
At the end of this process you are prompted to restart
MyVirtualHome to complete the update.
Ø Click OK
MyVirtualHome will automatically restart with the updates

applied shortly after it has completed shutting down.
5. CD Key Registration
After any updates have been
applied and/or the software
is run without updates, you
are prompted to enter the
CD Key printed on a sticker
on the MyVirtualHome CD
sleeve. The software does
not use the CD-ROM after
installation is complete so
it is safe to eject the CD-
ROM from the CD drive
at this time.
.8.
Once you have located the CD Key, which is on a
sticker on the MyVirtualHome CD-ROM sleeve:
Ø Click your mouse in the grey field on the dialog
Ø Enter your CD key
Ø Click OK.
If you have lost or given away your installation CD-

ROM you can click the Website button on the CD Key
registration dialog. This launches your web browser and
takes you to a page on the MyVirtualHome website that
has information telling you how to obtain a valid CD
Key for free. You can then return to the MyVirtualHome
software (by clicking it in the Windows Taskbar or using
Alt-Tab to cycle through running applications back to
MyVirtualHome) and enter your CD Key.
Important Note: MyVirtualHome requires a valid CD Key to

unlock all of the software’s online features. When online features
are enabled you are able to search the large online server for
additional products and services added to the database after
your installation CD-ROM was manufactured. This means
you’ll always have access to all advertisers’ products and
services regardless of the CD-ROM version you installed.
Additionally, the MyVirtualHome software is being constantly

updated with extra features and functionality. Enabling the
.9.
online side of MyVirtualHome with a valid CD Key is the
only way to ensure you have access to all of this additional
content and functionality.
Why do I need to enter a CD Key for free software?

The CD Key we ask you to enter does not contain
personally identifying information. It is also not used
for copy protection purposes. In fact, we encourage you
copy the CD as many times as you wish to share with your
friends, family and associates!
The use of CD Keys helps us greatly when working with our
advertising partners, by allowing us to gather statistics such
as how many CD-ROMs of a given print run were actually
installed and how many times (on average) a particular CD-
ROM was installed. Again, such statistics cannot possibly
contain any personally identifying information, yet they
ultimately help you as we are able to deliver better product
updates with a broader range of available products and
services.
.10.
6. Ready to Go!
The above steps should take only a few minutes. At this

stage, the MyVirtualHome software should look like the
screen below:
At this point you can proceed to Tutorial 1 –

MyVirtualHome Basics. Please enjoy playing with
MyVirtualHome!
.11.
Tutorial 1 –
MyVirtualHome Basics
Table of Contents
Introduction ....................................................................3
Summary of Tutorials 1 & 2 ...............................................3
Tutorial 1 – MyVirtualHome Basics ....................................5
1. Open the Tutorial Home .............................................5
2. The Camera is all about Space.....................................6
3. Walking Around a Home ............................................8
4. Looking Around with Mouse-Look ............................10
5. Walking & Turning at the Same Time .........................11
6. Lost? ....................................................................11
7. Alternate Keys for Moving Around ............................11
8. Walkabout .............................................................12
9. Walking through Walls.............................................12
10. Walking through Doors ..........................................14
11. Interacting with Objects .........................................15
12. Let there be Light! ................................................16
End of Tutorial 1 ........................................................17
.2.
Tutorials
Introduction
This presents a series of tutorials designed to introduce
the essential controls you will need to begin building
your first home with MyVirtualHome.
You will encounter three different forms of text in this
series of tutorials:
Ø Direct instructions indicating which input controls
to use;
Supporting text explaining what is happening, often

with supporting screenshots and images; and
Sidebars asking and answering common questions.
If you wish to run through the tutorials quickly, skim
through the supporting text and images until you come
across direct instructions. Follow these instructions and
the tutorial will proceed normally.
Summary of Tutorials 1 & 2
The first two tutorials in this series present the

basic controls required to walk through a home and
manipulate the camera. A summary of these controls is
provided below for those who feel confident of picking
things up as they go and who are keen to get in and
start building.
.3.
If this is you, browse the table below and skip ahead
to Tutorial 3. You can refer back to this table at any
time or press the F1 key in the application to view the
Keyboard Quick Reference Guide.
Table 1 - General Keyboard & Mouse Controls
.4.
Tutorial 1 – MyVirtualHome Basics
In this first tutorial, we explore the controls that help you
work with and navigate through MyVirtualHome.
1. Open the Tutorial Home

The first step in this tutorial is to ‘open’ or ‘load’ the home
we will use when describing the controls. This is the
home you see in the screenshots throughout this section.
Ø Hold down the Shift key and press F1 to open the
tutorial home (you can release the Shift key after
pressing F1).
The home will begin loading. While this is happening, a

Progress Bar is displayed as below:
.5.
When the tutorial home has finished loading you will
see the simple home we used in this tutorial on your
screen as below:
2. The Camera is all about Space

The Spacebar is a key you will use frequently in
MyVirtualHome. It’s primary use is to cycle through the
three different camera or view modes used when building a
home. These are Plan View, Free View and First Person
View. Plan View is the default mode, the one you see
when you first start MyVirtualHome or load the tutorial
home.
.6.
On with the show! The first
thing we will do is remove
the user interface (UI) to
gain some more space.
Ø Press and hold the

Ctrl key and tap the
Spacebar to remove
the UI.
You can bring it back at any time by pressing Ctrl +

Spacebar again. When you have done this, your screen
should look like the image below. Plan View mode is
useful for building and placing objects in your home.
Now we will change to

a different camera mode
– Free View.
Ø Press the Spacebar

(and release it again)
to change the camera
mode from Plan View to
Free View.
The Free View mode provides a useful perspective view of

the home from any angle, near or far.
.7.
Ø Press the
Spacebar again to change
the camera once more to
the third MyVirtualHome
camera mode – First
Person View.
This mode is used to walk around a home and is useful when

you want to make precise changes to specific areas of the
home.
Pressing the Spacebar again would cycle the camera mode
back to Plan View but since we’re here in First Person View,
let’s take a look around before we do that. If you have
already switched back to Plan View, you can always cycle
through the modes with repeated taps of the Spacebar to get
back to First Person View.
3. Walking Around a Home

There are a couple of different ways to walk around in
MyVirtualHome. The Arrow keys (left, right, up and down)
are the simplest and do what you might expect. That is,
the Up Arrow key moves you forward, the Down Arrow
key moves you backwards and the Left Arrow and Right
Arrow keys turn you around.
Ø Press and hold the Right Arrow key to turn to
your right a little and you will be looking into the lounge
of the tutorial home.
.8.
Ø Release the Right Arrow key to stop turning.
Ø Hold down the Up Arrow key to move forward and

walk into the lounge.
Ø Use the Left Arrow or Right Arrow keys to turn

around and look back to where you came from.
.9.
4. Looking Around with Mouse-Look
Being able to move forward and back, turn left and right
is all well and good but often you want to look directly
at an object or look up and down for a better view.
MyVirtualHome provides a mechanism known as ‘mouse-
look’ for just this purpose.
Ø Press and hold the Right Mouse Button
(RMB).
You’ll notice the mouse cursor disappears and, while the

button is held down, any movement of the mouse turns
your head in the appropriate direction. That is, moving the
mouse to the right turns
your head to the right.
Moving your mouse up
makes you look up and
so on.
Ø Move the mouse
slowly, still holding
down the Right
Mouse Button, to
look around.
Using the mouse-look feature allows you to tilt your head

down slightly such that you get a better view of the scene.
The view of the kitchenette above contains a lot of ceiling.
With a simple mouse-look you can adjust your view to a
more realistic angle, like that below:
.10.
5. Walking & Turning at the Same Time
You can use the Up Arrow and Down Arrow keys
while holding down the Right Mouse Button to move
and change direction at the same time while moving.
Ø Press and hold the Right Mouse Button.
Ø Press and hold the Up Arrow key to move forward.
Ø Move the mouse to the left or right to change direction

while moving.
6. Lost?
If at any time you get ‘lost’ from turning the camera too
far up or down, a press of the Backspace key will reset the
camera to level.
Ø Press the Backspace key to reset the camera to level.
If you are still lost, press the Spacebar to change to a

different camera mode.
7. Alternate Keys for Moving Around

The Up, Down, Left and Right keys are perfectly
functional for most people. Some people, however, use
both hands when walking around a home – their left
hand on the arrow keys and the right hand on the mouse
for example. This can be uncomfortable since the arrow
.11.
keys are over to the right of the keyboard and many
people prefer so-called ‘movement keys’ over to the left.
MyVirtualHome provides the W, A, S and D keys as
functional equivalents to the Up, Left, Down and Right
arrow keys respectively. One difference between these
keys to their arrow key counterparts is that the A and
D keys ‘strafe’ the camera sideways instead of turning
like the Left and Right keys. The reason for this is that
‘strafing’ is more comfortable when used in conjunction with
mouse-look for a user familiar with this form of movement.
Ø Briefly press each of the W, A, S and D keys and notice
the change in the camera position. Use these keys for
movement if you feel comfortable with them.
8. Walkabout
Walk around the tutorial home until you are comfortable
with these controls – either the arrow keys or the WASD
keys, whichever you prefer.
Ø Walk around the home using the input controls
introduced above.
9. Walking through Walls

You will notice you cannot walk through walls but can
walk through furniture, like the kitchen bench and the
large couch. Hold the Shift key down while moving to
walk through walls or closed doors. You will not collide
.12.
or be obstructed by anything in the world when the
Shift key is held down.
Why can I walk through a bench but not a wall?
MyVirtualHome allows people to walk through
furnishings. This is for the simple reason that the average
human’s peripheral vision is significantly larger than can
be represented on a computer screen. This, combined with
a flexible body, allows us to cross a room in the real world
with ease, zigzagging around furnishings without conscious
thought. In a computer program this is difficult and clumsy
to achieve as we only represent the head.
The ability to walk through walls and closed doors without
limit would feel strange, however, so MyVirtualHome
restricts this ability. If you get lost or stuck in a room
without doors, you can walk through walls by holding the
Shift key down while moving.
Ø Walk toward the door that leads outside (without

holding the Shift key down). No matter how much
you try to move forward, the door will not let you out;
your head will just bob up and down.
Note: If the bobbing up and down of the head gives you

feelings of motion sickness, you can disable the “Head wave”
feature in User Settings & Options.
.13.
Ø Hold the Shift key down while moving forward through
the door and you’ll pass right through it to the outside.
10. Walking through Doors

MyVirtualHome provides an alternate means of walking
through doors – by opening them! Let’s turn around and
open the door this time instead of pretending to be a ghost.
Ø Turn around and face the door using the arrow keys or
mouse-look.
There are three ways to open a door but for now we will
use the easiest available to us at the moment.
.14.
Ø Hold down the Ctrl key and click on it with the
Left Mouse Button (LMB). The door swings
open ready for you to walk inside.
When you have walked inside you can turn around and
close the door using the same control.
Ø Walk inside.
Ø Turn to face the door.
Ø Hold down the Ctrl key and click the door with the
Left Mouse Button to close it again.
Important Note: You need

to click on a part of the
door itself, not the empty
space through the opened
door. Otherwise, you will
be attempting to interact
with the floor, wall or pot
plant in the next room.
11. Interacting with Objects

While you are holding the Ctrl key down, the mouse
cursor changes into a hand with its index finger poised
to touch. This is the Interact cursor and doors are not
the only type of object that can be interacted with. You
can also interact with windows, cupboards, drawers,
refrigerators, microwaves, window blinds and similar
.15.
objects. Like doors, these
objects alternately open
and close when Ctrl-
clicked.
Ø Ctrl-click
some other objects like
cupboards and drawers in
the home.
12. Let there be Light!

Another main type of object that can be interacted with
is the light. Ctrl-clicking on a light turns it On or Off
appropriately.
Ø Ctrl-click on the light in the kitchenette to turn it On.
Light Off:
Light On:
.16.
End of Tutorial 1
Congratulations! You have now completed the first
tutorial wherein we described how to switch between
the three main camera modes and walking around in
MyVirtualHome.
Feel free to continue experimenting with the controls
introduced in this tutorial until you are comfortable.
Proceed to the next tutorial at your leisure. You can exit
MyVirtualHome and return at a later time if you wish. To
exit MyVirtualHome, hold the Alt key down and press F4.
Alternately, click the red square with the X at the top-right
of the MyVirtualHome window.
.17.
Tutorial 2 –
Plan View & Free View
Table of Contents
Tutorial 2 – Plan View & Free View ........................................3
1. Open the Tutorial Home .............................................3
2. Zooming In & Out ....................................................4
3. Moving or ‘Panning’ the Camera .................................8
4. Rotating the Camera..................................................9
5. Working with Free View ..........................................11
6. Zooming, Panning & Rotating the Camera...................13
7. Focusing on an Object .............................................18
End of Tutorial 2 ........................................................19
.2.
Tutorial 2 – Plan View & Free View
In this tutorial, we explore the other two camera modes
– Plan View and Free View – and the controls used to
work with them.
1. Open the Tutorial Home

Ø Read the text below for instructions on how to start
this tutorial.
We will use the same home as Tutorial 1 for this tutorial.

If you have just completed Tutorial 1 and still have the
home loaded, simply tap the Spacebar to return to the
Plan View camera mode.
If you are starting this tutorial fresh, press and hold the
Shift key and press the F1 key to load the tutorial home
(release the Shift key after pressing F1). After the home
has loaded, remove the user interface by pressing and
holding the Ctrl key and tapping the Spacebar.
Either way, your screen should look like the image below
at this point:
.3.
2. Zooming In & Out
Sometimes you just need to get close to something and
other times you need to pull back to see the big picture.
The Home and End keys are used to zoom in and out
respectively.
Ø Press and hold the Home key for a short time
to zoom in.
Ø Press and hold the End key to zoom out.
Ø Use the Home and End keys until you are at the
desired zoom level.
If your mouse has a mouse wheel you can also use it to

zoom in and out. Roll it away from you to zoom in and
back toward you to zoom out.
Zooming In: Zooming Out:
Ø Experiment with either the Home and End keys

or the mouse wheel until you are comfortable with
zooming in and out.
.4.
3. Moving or ‘Panning’ the Camera
Moving the camera up or down, left or right is useful as
it allows you to move the area you are interested in to the
centre of the screen.
Ø Click and hold the Right Mouse Button and drag
the mouse to move or pan the camera in Plan View.
This is similar to the First Person View mouse-look

control. Note that when you drag the mouse down, the
entire scene moves down the screen instead of the camera
moving ‘down’. It feels like you are dragging the world
around with your mouse and feels natural for most users.
.5.
4. Rotating the Camera
Sometimes you may wish to rotate the top-down Plan
View to look at the home from a different angle.
Ø Use the Left Arrow and Right Arrow keys to
rotate the view.
Ø Press the Backspace key to reset the camera rotation

to the default.
.6.
5. Working with Free View
Ø Adjust your zoom level with the mouse-wheel or

the Home and End keys and pan the camera with
the Right Mouse Button until the home is fully in
view and approximately centered like the previous
image.
Ø Tap the Spacebar to switch to the Free View camera

mode.
.7.
6. Zooming, Panning & Rotating the Camera
The controls for zooming, panning and rotating the
camera in the Free View camera mode are the same as
the Plan View.
Ø Zoom the camera in and out with the Home
and End keys or with the mouse-wheel.
Ø Pan the camera by holding down the Right Mouse

Button and dragging.
.8.
Ø Rotate the camera with the Left Arrow and
Right Arrow keys.
This ‘orbits’ the camera around a point on the floor at the

centre of the screen.
In addition to rotating the camera left and right, the Free

View camera mode allows you to rotate up and down
around the same point with the Up Arrow and Down
Arrow keys.
Ø Use the Up Arrow and Down Arrow keys to pitch
the camera up and down.
.9.
Use a combination of zooming, panning and rotating in
the Free View camera mode to place the camera where
you like.
7. Focusing on an Object
There is one final camera mode that is not accessed by the
normal Spacebar method called Focus View. To focus
on one particular object in the scene, double-click the Left
Mouse Button and you will enter the Focus View camera
mode.
Ø Double-click the Left Mouse Button on a piece of
furniture.
The controls for zooming and rotating the camera in this

mode are the same as the Free View mode but there is no
panning. In Focus View mode the camera is focused on the
centre of the object clicked and orbits around that point.
Ø Use the arrow keys or mouse-look to orbit around
the object.
To leave Focus View mode and return to your previous

camera mode, press the Esc key.
Ø Press the Esc key to leave Focus View mode.
.10.
End of Tutorial 2
You have now completed the second tutorial wherein we
introduced the controls used to work with the Plan, Free
and Focus View camera modes.
Feel free to continue experimenting with the controls
introduced in this tutorial until you are comfortable. You
can exit MyVirtualHome and return at a later time if you
wish. To exit MyVirtualHome, hold the Alt key down and
press F4. Alternately, click the red square with the X at
the top-right of the MyVirtualHome window.
.11.
Tutorial 3 –
Working with Floor Plans
Table of Contents
Tutorial 3 – Working with Floor Plans ......................................3
1. Start with a Blank Slate..............................................3
2. Where to Begin? .......................................................4
3. Loading a Floor Plan .................................................6
4. Survey Measurement .................................................8
5. Size does Matter .....................................................10
6. Placing a North Marker ............................................13
End of Tutorial 3 ........................................................15
.2.
Tutorial 3 – Working with Floor
Plans
In this tutorial we introduce the main parts of the user
interface and begin construction of your first home.
1. Start with a Blank Slate

To begin this tutorial we will start afresh with a blank
work area.
Ø Press and hold the Ctrl key and then press the N
key to create a new home with a completely blank
work area.
- OR -
Ø Click the New Home button that is immediately to
the right of the MyVirtualHome logo at the top-right
of the screen.
.3.
With a ‘new home’, your screen should look like the
image below:
2. Where to Begin?
MyVirtualHome provides
a Wizard-style process
for home building. In the
main user interface side-
panel on the left of the
screen is a blue bar with the
title MYVIRTUALHOME
WIZARD.
The MyVirtualHome
Wizard gives you access
to the eight major steps
of home construction.
MyVirtualHome provides
a group of controls for
.4.
each of these steps. The tutorials in this series explore the
steps in turn.
Clicking one of the eight main titles expands the control
panel for that phase of construction.
Clicking the MYVIRTUALHOME WIZARD title restores the

main wizard interface.
Clicking one of the numbered buttons under the title bar is an

alternate method for opening one of the eight control areas.
This method also allows you to change from one control area
to another directly, without having to go via the main wizard
menu.
Each of these control areas is also accessible by pressing the

corresponding number key 1 through 8 and the wizard can be
reset by pressing the 0 (zero) key.
Finally, clicking the base bar of the wizard (shown below)
collapses and restores the wizard.
.5.
3. Loading a Floor Plan
Ø Click on wizard step 1. START HOME.
- OR -
Ø Click the first
wizard button under the
MYVIRTUALHOME WIZARD title
bar.
- OR -
Ø Press the 1 key on your
keyboard.
The wizard collapses and

expands to reveal the first set of
controls.
Many users have floor plans of

their own home or the home they
wish to build. MyVirtualHome’s
first wizard step allows you to
open and display floor plans
previously scanned into the
computer as image files.
Ø Click the large floor plan image in the control

area.
.6.
The standard Windows Open dialog box appears
opened at the MyVirtualHome install folder.
Ø Click the TutorialFloorplan.jpg file.
Why do I need a floor plan?

You don’t! MyVirtualHome functions perfectly well
without a floor plan so it is entirely possible to use the
software to build a home without ever loading a floor plan.
That said, many users have floor plans or can obtain them
easily and floor plans make home building a breeze – as you
will see in this tutorial.
So if you do not have any floor plans, do not fret.
MyVirtualHome still makes building a home easy and
fun.
.7.
Ø Press the Open button to load the floor plan.
The tutorial floor plan will load and the screen will look like
the image below.
4. Survey Measurement
The first and most important
thing to do when working
with floor plans is to ensure
they are to correct scale.
MyVirtualHome provides two
.8.
survey pegs as an aide when setting the scale. These
pegs look like 3-dimensional arrows pointing directly
down. Between the two pegs is a yellow measurement
line. On this line is a number representing the current
distance between the two pegs – in millimetres. As
you drag the pegs, this value updates such that it always
displays the current correct distance.
How do I get MY floor plan into MyVirtualHome?

You can load any floor plan into MyVirtualHome with
the loading procedure described here. Before loading,
however, you will need to have your desired floor plan in
one of the supported image file formats. These are: JPEG
(*.jpg), Windows Bitmap (*.bmp) or Targa (*.tga).
If you have “hard copy” plans – that is, floor plans printed
on paper – you will need to first scan the plans into the
computer to one of the image file formats above. This can
be done with a scanner, a peripheral device attached to your
computer, or through commercial copy centres, most of
whom will scan images for a small fee.
Alternately, many commercial websites allow you to
download floor plans in the image file formats listed above.
Entering “floor plans” or “house plans” into your favourite
search engine will find many such websites.
Once you have a floor plan in a supported image file
format, click the floor plan image in wizard step 1 and
browse to the folder where the floor plan was originally
saved.
.9.
5. Size does Matter
It is very important when using floor plans to set the
scale correctly. If this is not done, you may find yourself
building a home only a giant could live in!
Setting a floor plan scale
is often easiest to do in the
Free View camera mode.
Ø Tap the Spacebar
to switch to Free View
mode.
Ø Grab one of the survey pegs by clicking on it with the

Left Mouse Button and holding the mouse button down.
Ø Drag the survey

peg by continuing to hold
down the mouse button
and moving the mouse.
Drag it so the point of
the survey peg arrow is
at one end of a known
measurement on the floor
plan.
Ø Pan the camera and/or zoom out until you can

see both the other survey peg and the other end of the
“known measurement.”
.10.
Ø Click and drag the other survey peg to that point.
Ø Tap the Spacebar twice to switch back to Plan View

camera mode.
Ø Zoom out and pan the camera until your screen looks
something like the screenshot here.
At this step, it is vital you are able to see one of the floor
plan’s corner size handles and the measurement value at the
same time.
.11.
This floor plan is far out of scale. Its measurement
reports a dimension of 8400mm (8.4 metres) while the
distance between the MyVirtualHome survey pegs is
20400mm (20.4 metres).
Ø Drag the floor
plan’s size handle by
clicking and holding the
Left Mouse Button on it
and dragging the mouse
in toward the centre of
the screen.
This floor plan needs to be greatly reduced in scale, so you

may need to release the size handle and pan the camera
again for another drag to reduce it further.
Ø Keep dragging
the floor plan’s size
handle until the number
on the measurement
matches the dimension
printed on the floor plan
– in this case 8400mm.
Ø Press the Esc key to clear the current selection (this will
be discussed later).
Note the extra panel at the top-right of the screen

disappears, giving you some more room in the work area.
.12.
This is the Information Panel that, along with object
selection, will be discussed in the next tutorial.
Your floor plan is now

to the correct scale.
From this point forth,
the dimensions in
MyVirtualHome will
match the dimensions on
your floor plan.
6. Placing a North Marker

Some floor plans indicate the direction to true north. This
is usually the case for floor plans of homes already built or
ready to build.
Ø Click the compass north marker image in the control
area.
Notice the mouse cursor changes to the Move Cursor. This

indicates you have successfully created an interactive
north marker in the 3D virtual world and are ready to
place it.
Ø Move your cursor over to the main 3D work area. A
3D north marker follows your mouse cursor.
.13.
Ø Move your mouse
so the centre of the north
marker on the cursor is
directly over the top of the
centre of the north marker
on the floor plan.
Ø Press and hold the Alt key and,

while continuing to hold the Alt key,
move the mouse to rotate the north
marker until it lines up with the
marker on the floor plan.
Ø Release the mouse button when

you are happy with the orientation of
the north marker.
Ø Click the Left Mouse Button to

place.
Ø Click and hold the Left Mouse Button on the marker

and drag it to a different position if you wish. A north
marker’s position is not important, only its direction.
.14.
Why do I need to place a north marker?
You do not have to place a north marker if you do not want
to. North markers in MyVirtualHome are used to calculate
the sun position for lighting purposes. If there is no north
marker in the scene then True North is assumed to be in the
direction straight up the screen.
Also, you do not need to add a north marker now. You can
add one at any time or not at all as desired.
End of Tutorial 3
You have now completed the third tutorial in which you
learned how to load a floor plan into the world and scale it
correctly.
In the next tutorial we move on to wizard step 2 where
you will learn how to insert rooms into your home and
align them with floor plans.
.15.
Tutorial 4 –
Building a Home
Table of Contents
Tutorial 4 – Building a Home .............................................3
1. Add Rooms to Your Home ..........................................3
2. Categories & Objects ................................................5
3. Navigating Categories ...............................................6
4. Inserting a Room into the Scene ..................................7
5. The Information Panel ...............................................9
6. Back to the Bedroom ...............................................12
7. Aligning a Room with a Floor Plan ............................14
8. Moving a Room into Position....................................15
9. Resizing a Room ....................................................16
10. Hiding the Floor ...................................................18
11. Saving Your Home ................................................21
End of Tutorial 4 ........................................................23
.2.
Tutorial 4 – Building a Home
This tutorial introduces the basic menus and
movements used when building a home.
1. Add Rooms to Your Home

Ø Click the second wizard button in the row of
buttons under the MYVIRTUALHOME WIZARD title
bar.
The second set of wizard controls

slides out from the wizard. You
will use this set of controls to add
fully pre-furnished rooms into
your home. Before we explore
the individual controls, follow the
instructions below to find a master
bedroom.
2. Categories & Objects

Ø Move your mouse cursor over
the items in the list.
As your mouse moves over each

item, its background and text colour
changes.
.3.
Ø Spin your mouse wheel, if you have one,
while the cursor is over the list to scroll it up or down.
Alternately, use the scrollbar to scroll the list up and
down.
Each of the items in the list is a

category of rooms – similar in
concept to a folder in Windows.
Ø Scroll down and click on
the Living Rooms category.
The list and menu appearance

change in a number of ways when
you click a category. The changes
are:
a. The room categories are
no longer present;
b. The list now contains two
items, titled ‘Living Room’ and
‘Rumpus Room’;
c. A new ‘tab’ appears above
the SEARCH box titled ‘Living
Rooms’ (the same title as the
category you clicked).
Note also the list items appear somewhat different to the

category items in the previous screen. These items are
not category items – they are objects that can be inserted
into the 3D world. The most obvious visual differences
are that category list items have a different colour and the
.4.
preview image is on the left. Items that can be inserted
into the 3D world have a solid white background and a
preview image on the right.
What happened when I clicked on the ‘Living Rooms’

category?
Where did the categories go?
It may be easiest to think of categories and objects in a way
similar to Windows folders and files. That is, objects are
sorted into or located inside categories in a very similar way
to files being located inside folders.
.5.
3. Navigating Categories
For this tutorial you do not want to insert a Living Room

or Rumpus yet, as you are looking for a Master Bedroom.
You need to return to the room categories you had listed
before you clicked on Living Rooms. Use the tabs above the
SEARCH box to move back up the category tree.
Ø Click on the Rooms tab

to switch back to the main
Rooms list.
Note the Living Rooms

category tab disappears and
the familiar Rooms categories
return to the list.
Ø Scroll up the list and

click on the Bedrooms
category.
.6.
4. Inserting a Room into the Scene
Ø Click on the object titled ‘Master Bedroom’.
A progress bar appears in the centre of the screen with the

title ‘Loading Room’ and your mouse cursor changes to a
cross of four arrows. This is the Move Cursor – the same
cursor that appeared when you were placing the north
marker. After a short time, the progress bar disappears and
a furnished bedroom appears under your mouse cursor and
moves when you move the mouse.
Ø Move the room to the centre of the floor plan by moving

the mouse there.
Ø Click to place the room in the world.
.7.
Why is the bedroom furnished?
All rooms in MyVirtualHome are at least partially furnished.
The reason for this is to provide you, the user, with an
immediate sense of scale. Most people do not know the
width of their bedroom in metres but they do know how
much room they have to the sides of the bed – at least
visually. Pre-furnished rooms provide you with this scale
immediately, to give you an impression of the real size of the
room.
MyVirtualHome also provides controls for quickly finding
and replacing objects with similar objects (e.g. different
sizes or styles of beds). Having fixtures and furniture
already in place therefore puts you a step ahead when you
reach the furnishing stage of building your house.
.8.
5. The Information Panel
When you dropped the room into the world the
Information Panel (or InfoPanel) appeared at the top-
right of the screen. This screen has many functions and
controls but its main purpose is to allow you to examine
or change the properties of the currently selected object.
When you drop a new object into the world or click
on an object already in the world it is selected and its
information is displayed in the Information Panel. To
clear this panel for more viewing space, unselect all objects
by pressing the Esc key.
We will not explore all of the functions of the Information

Panel now but will return to it many times in later tutorials.
Ø Click on different objects in the world and notice the
name of the object clicked appears in the title bar
of the InfoPanel. A preview image and some text
describing the object also appear there.
Ø Click on the floor plan.
.9.
At times, you may need to pan the camera to read the text.
The InfoPanel is semi-transparent to minimise it ‘getting in
the way’.
Sometimes the content of the

InfoPanel is too large to be
contained in the limited screen
area. You can use the scrollbar
to read all of the content if you
wish. Alternately:
Ø Click the base bar and
it slides down to increase the
area.
Ø Click the base bar again

to collapse the InfoPanel
back to its usual size.
Ø Click on the triangle to the left of the object’s

title in the blue title bar of the InfoPanel - here,
FloorPlan.
.10.
This slides the Information Panel out of the way,
minimising it to allow the best view of your workspace.
The title bar remains so you always know which object
is currently selected. The InfoPanel may be expanded
at any time by clicking the now-downwards pointing
triangle again.
For now, do not worry about the additional features of
the InfoPanel. You will return to it later as the tutorials
progress.
Ø Press the Esc key to ‘unselect’ any selected object.
Note also the title bar of the InfoPanel disappears.
.11.
6. Back to the Bedroom
Ø Click on the floor of the master bedroom.
Clicking on the walls or any of the furnishings in a room

selects those objects instead of the room itself so click on
the floor if you wish to select the entire room.
Ø Click on the bedroom floor again but this time hold

the Left Mouse Button down and drag the mouse. The
room moves with the mouse cursor.
Ø Release the mouse button and the room stays still.
The same method for dragging or moving applies to all

objects in the 3D world.
.12.
Where did those windows come from?
MyVirtualHome automatically places appropriate
windows and doors on walls when a room remains
untouched for a short while. You are not restricted
to these specific windows in this room. Later in this
tutorial series you will learn how to add, move and delete
windows and doors as well as how to place curtains or
blinds.
This feature can be turned off if it becomes annoying. The
section entitled User Settings & Options gives instruction on
how to disable or enable the feature.
What is the blue bar at the bottom right?

Calculating the correct placement of light and shadow
in a house takes a long time with current computer
hardware. Because of this, MyVirtualHome performs these
calculations ‘in the background’ while you are doing other
things like building, painting or redecorating your home.
The blue bar is a progress bar indicating how complete
the lighting calculation is currently. The text immediately
above the bar indicates which room is being calculated and
at what quality level (lowest, low, medium and high).
A home created in MyVirtualHome will not look its best
until these lighting calculations are complete. That can
take some time, depending on the speed of your computer.
.13.
7. Aligning a Room with a Floor Plan
Having inserted a master bedroom from the left panel,
you now need to align it with the bedroom on the floor
plan – at the lower right. Floor plans are best thought of
as ‘drawing aids’. That is, use floor plans as a reference
guide when adding and placing rooms in a home.
Comparing the 3D room against the floor plan, there are a
few differences. It is:
a. facing or aligned the wrong way;
b. not in position on the floor plan; and
c. too large.
Each of these differences is addressed in this and subsequent
tutorial steps. If a room is not aligned correctly, it is easiest
to first turn it to face the correct direction.
The easiest way to rotate a room, or indeed any object in the
3D world, is to rotate it in 90 degree steps. Finer rotations
are possible in MyVirtualHome but they will be considered
later.
Ø Click on the floor of the Master Bedroom to make sure
it is selected.
Ø Press the > key (at the bottom right of the keyboard,
next to the ? key). The room rotates by 90 degrees.
Ø Press the > key again and the room rotates another
90 degrees.
.14.
The > and < keys rotate selected objects clockwise and
counter-clockwise respectively. The room is now aligned or
oriented the same way as the bedroom in the floor plan after
two 90 degree rotations.
8. Moving a Room into Position

Ø Click the Left Mouse Button on the floor of the
room, holding the mouse button down.
Ø Drag the room so the top-left corner of the room

just obscures the top-left of the room on the floor
plan.
.15.
If you are having difficulty seeing whether the corners are
lined up properly, try Right-clicking and dragging to pan the
camera to a better position. Zooming in and out may also
give you a better perspective.
9. Resizing a Room
One of the corners is now in position but the room is still
too large.
Ø Pan the camera with the Right Mouse Button so you
can clearly see the bottom-right corner of the room.
.16.
With the room in this
position, the left-side
wizard and menu
interface may be getting
in the way.
Ø Press
Ctrl+Spacebar to
temporarily hide the
interface.
To resize a room, simply

grab and drag the walls
until they are in the
desired position.
Ø Click and hold the
Left Mouse Button
on the south wall of
the room.
Ø Drag it up the screen and note the room getting

smaller, uncovering the floor plan below. Keep
dragging until you go past the wall on the floor plan.
Ø Drag the wall back

until it just obscures
the wall line on the
floor plan below.
.17.
Ø Now drag the east
wall, on the right of the
room. Drag it past the
wall line on the floor plan
below, and back until it
just obscures it.
Note: Be careful to ensure

you click and drag the wall and not any windows or doors or you
may experience some unexpected behaviour.
Congratulations!
You have just added
and positioned
your first room in
MyVirtualHome!
Wouldn’t it have
been easier though if
there were no floor
to obscure your floor
plan?
10. Hiding the Floor

Resizing a room and aligning rooms to floor plans is much
easier if you cannot see the floor. MyVirtualHome has
this feature but to enable it we need to bring back the user
interface.
.18.
Ø Press Ctrl+Spacebar to show the user interface.
Ø Pan the camera so you can see the home and floor
plan more clearly.
MYVIRTUALHOME TOOLS is a block of controls above

the wizard. One of these tools is the Visibility & Locking
tool. It is the one that looks like an eye and a small padlock.
Ø Click the Visibility & Locking tool – which will

expand to reveal another panel of controls.
.19.
The left-most sequence of controls show and
hide the:
a. Floor;
b. Floor Plan; and
c. Terrain Grid.
Ø Click the top-most floor visibility control to turn off the

floor.
Ø Pan the camera and notice you can now see through
the floor of the bedroom to the floor plan underneath.
Ø Click on where the

floor of the room would
be if you could see
it. The floor will turn
translucent blue to show
you have it selected.
.20.
Ø Drag the room or its walls
until they line up correctly.
Note that on the floor plan,
this room’s dimensions
should be 3500mm wide
by 3500mm tall.
Hiding the floor makes working

with floor plans much easier.
The Visibility & Locking
panel is a powerful set of tools
that will be further explored later. For now, leave the floor
invisible, but close the Visibility & Locking control panel
to allow more of your categories or rooms list to be seen.
Ø Click the
Visibility & Locking
tool to close the visibility
control panel.
11. Saving Your Home

Before proceeding any further, save the current state of the
home. The main application controls for MyVirtualHome
are in the logo header above the MYVIRTUALHOME
TOOLS block.
Ø Click the Save Home
button in the main
application controls
area.
.21.
- OR -
Ø Press Ctrl + S.
The Save Dialog that appears has five save ‘slots’.

Ø Click on the top slot.
Ø Click the SAVE button on

the right of the slot.
A progress bar appears in

the centre of the screen
indicating the current save
progress. When saving of
the home is complete, both
the progress bar and the Save
Dialog disappear. You can
ensure it was successfully
saved to the slot by checking
the Load Home menu.
Ø Click the Load

Home button in the
main application
controls area.
- OR -
Ø Press Ctrl + O to open the Open Dialog.
.22.
The home was successfully
saved in the first slot.
Ø Press the CANCEL
button at the bottom-
right of the Open
Dialog to close it.
- OR -
Ø Press the Esc key.
End of Tutorial 4
You have now completed the fourth tutorial in which you
learned how to add and manipulate a room and align it to a
floor plan.
In the next tutorial more rooms are added to the home and
you will learn how to change a room’s shape.
.23.
Tutorial 5 –
Building a Complete Home
Table of Contents
Tutorial 5 – Building a Complete Home ...............................3
1. Loading (or Opening) a Home .....................................3
2. Adding the Living Room ............................................4
3. Placing the Living Room............................................6
4. Orienting the Living Room .........................................7
5. Resizing the Living Room ..........................................8
6. Adding the Toilet (Water Closet) ..................................9
7. Adding the Bathroom ..............................................10
8. Deleting Furniture ..................................................11
9. Resizing the Bathroom ............................................11
10. Reshaping the Living Room ....................................13
11. Adding the Kitchen................................................15
12. Clearing a Room’s Contents ....................................16
13. Resizing the Kitchen..............................................18
14. Deleting Walls ......................................................18
15. Show the Floor .....................................................19
16. Save Your Home ...................................................20
17. Walk around the Home ...........................................20
End of Tutorial 5 ........................................................21
.2.
Tutorial 5 – Building a Complete Home
This tutorial extends the previous tutorial by adding
the remaining rooms shown on the floor plan. In doing
so, it describes how to shape rooms beyond simple
rectangles.
1. Loading (or Opening) a Home

This tutorial starts where the previous tutorial ended. If
you have just finished the previous tutorial you may skip
this step. Alternately:
Ø Click the Load

Home button in
the main application
controls area.
- OR -
Ø Press Ctrl + O. Note: ‘O’ refers to ‘Open’
Ø Click the slot

containing the tutorial
home.
Ø Click the LOAD button.
A progress bar appears, displaying the load progress,

and when complete both the progress bar and the Load
.3.
Dialog disappear. The current state of the
home is revealed.
Ø Pan the camera so the screen
looks similar to the screenshot.
Ø Click the second wizard button in the row of buttons

under the MYVIRTUALHOME WIZARD title bar.
2. Adding the Living

Room
Ø Click the left-most Rooms
tab to return to main room
categories.
Ø Scroll down the list

and click the Living Rooms
category.
.4.
Ø Click the Living Room
object to insert the living
room into the world.
A progress bar appears and,

when loading is complete, a
furnished living room appears
under your mouse cursor.
.5.
3. Placing the Living Room
Ø Move the mouse up and over the top of
the Master Bedroom so the Living Room follows,
snapping into the position shown in the screenshot.
Ø Click to place the Living

Room.
Notice the south wall of the

Living Room ‘snaps’ to and
merges with the north wall of
the Master Bedroom. The
wall between the rooms also
becomes thinner while the
‘exterior’ wall winds around
the combined rooms.
Ø If your floors are currently visible, turn them ‘off’ using

the Visibility & Locking control panel.
.6.
4. Orienting the Living Room
The furniture orientation does not match the floor plan,
as is often the case. Sometimes you will need to drag a
room away from other rooms to rotate it but this is not
necessary here.
Ø Press the > key to rotate the Living Room clockwise
by 90 degrees.
.7.
5. Resizing the Living Room
Looking at the
floor plan, the
Living Room
you just placed is
already the right
size at 5000mm by
5000mm. There is,
however, a small hall
leading to the toilet
and bathroom and the
wall to the kitchen
does not quite line up.
Often the
simplest way to
resize or shape
rooms is to use
other rooms as
guides. To utilize
this method,
subsequent steps
will quickly
add the toilet,
bathroom and
kitchen.
.8.
6. Adding the Toilet
(Water Closet)
Ø Click on the
Rooms tab to see all of the
room categories.
Ø Scroll up and click

on the Bathrooms category.
Ø Click the Toilet room

object to insert a water closet.
Ø Move the mouse to

position the Toilet
such that its north
wall is adjacent to
the north wall of the
Living Room.
Ø Click to place the

Toilet room.
This room is too wide and too deep for the floor plan.
Ø Click and drag the west wall of the Toilet toward
the Living Room until it is 1200mm wide.
.9.
Ø Click and drag the
south wall of the Toilet
until the room is 1400mm
deep.
7. Adding the Bathroom

The bathroom in the floor plan is a small one that does not
include a full bath tub. The Ensuite from the Bathrooms
category is the best match for the small shower area in the
floor plan, so select that
rather than the actual
Bathroom object.
Ø In the left side-
panel, click the Ensuite
room object to insert a
small bathroom.
Ø Move the mouse

to position the Ensuite
such that its north wall is
adjacent to the north wall
of the Toilet.

Ensuite room.
.10.
8. Deleting Furniture
Sometimes furniture gets in the way or
you know immediately that you do not
want or need the item. The Ensuite
just placed has a toilet in it that is not
required. You have already added a
separate water closet.
Ø Click on the toilet (object) in the
Ensuite.
Ø Press the Delete key to delete the

toilet.
9. Resizing the Bathroom

In the floor plan, the bathroom is 2200mm wide and
2500mm high. Previously you have dragged each wall
separately when resizing rooms. This time, try dragging
both walls at the same time using a Wall Junction.
Wall Junctions (also referred to as
Nodes) are the semi-transparent blue
cubes at room corners and wherever two
or more walls meet.
.11.
Ø Click the Wall Junction (blue cube) in the
lower-left corner of the Ensuite.
This selects the Wall Junction and displays information

about it in the Information Panel.
Ø Click and drag the Ensuite’s lower-left Wall
Junction in toward the centre of the room.
Note that both walls attached to this junction drag at the

same time.
Ø Resize the Ensuite by dragging the Wall Junction
until it is 2200mm wide and 2500mm high.
.12.
10. Reshaping the Living Room
Now you are in a good position to resize and shape the
Living Room.
Ø Click and hold the mouse on the portion of the left
wall of the Living Room that is below the Toilet
(being careful to not click on the window).
Ø Drag the wall left until it snaps to the Ensuite wall.
Dragging that wall linked the Living Room to the Toilet

and Ensuite but now the lower section of wall is invading
what will be the kitchen.
.13.
Ø Click the lower section of the Living Room left
wall.
Ø Drag it to the right until it sits on top of

the dotted line where the Living Room borders the
Kitchen.
.14.
11. Adding the Kitchen
Ø Click on the Rooms tab
to see all of the room categories.
Ø Scroll down and click on

the Kitchens category.
Ø Click the Kitchen room

object to insert a kitchen.
When the progress bar has

finished, a kitchen room
appears under the mouse
cursor.

position the Kitchen
such that its north
and east walls snap
into the corner.

Kitchen room.
.15.
12. Clearing a Room’s Contents
Some rooms will not size down easily because they have
too many furnishings. Dragging of walls of these rooms
is restricted by how closely the furnishings can be packed
together.
It is possible to delete the offending pieces of furniture
(they will be highlighted red) by clicking on each item and
pressing the Delete key. In some cases, however, it can be
easiest to clear the entire room.
Ø Click the Right Mouse Button on the floor of the
Kitchen.
A floating menu appears called the Context Menu. It

contains a variety of command options divided into four
distinct sections. At the moment we are only interested
in the last option, Clear all furniture, under the section
heading Interact…
Ø Click the Clear all furniture menu item in the

Context Menu.
.16.
13. Resizing the
Kitchen
Ø Drag the lower-
left Wall Junction of the
Kitchen or its lower and
left walls individually to snap
neatly into the corner.
.17.
14. Deleting Walls
The dotted line on the floor plan
between the Living Room and the Kitchen represents a
missing wall or an imaginary division between the two
rooms. Simulating this in MyVirtualHome, while keeping
the two rooms distinct, is accomplished by deleting the
walls between two rooms.
Ø Click on the Wall between the

Kitchen and the Living Room.
Ø Press the Delete key to delete

the wall.
Note that you can still see a semi-

transparent blue wall while your mouse cursor hovers over
it. This allows you to click on deleted walls and un-delete
them.
Ø Click on the deleted wall.
Ø Press the Delete key and the wall reappears.
Ø Press the Delete key again to delete the wall.
.18.
15. Show the Floor
Congratulations! All of the
rooms in the floor plan have
been placed and sized. It is
time to bring the floor back.
Ø Turn your floors ‘on’
using the Visibility &
Locking control panel.
.19.
16. Save Your Home
Another way to save a home already saved or loaded from

a slot is to Quick-save. This feature enables you to save
your home with a single key press.
Ø Press the F9 function key to quick-save your

home.
This quick-saves your home into the last slot saved to or

loaded from. If you have not yet saved your home to a slot,
the Save Dialog appears instead.
17. Walk around the Home

If you have not done so already, tap the spacebar twice
and walk around the home you are building. Doing this
regularly while building makes it easy for you to get a sense
of what it is you are building and an idea of what the end
result will look like.
.20.
End of Tutorial 5
You have now completed the fifth tutorial in which you
learned all of the basic skills required to build a complete
home by adding the rooms and manipulating their walls to
fit.
In the next tutorial you will explore the options for a home’s
doors, looking at how to find and place them as well as
changing the type of door and its material makeup.
.21.
Tutorial 6 –
Working with Doors
Table of Contents
Tutorial 6 – Working with Doors .........................................3
1. Load Your Home ......................................................3
2. Switch to the Free View Camera ..................................5
3. Wizard Step 3 – Structural & Fixtures ...........................6
4. Placing a Front Door .................................................8
5. Moving the Bedroom Door .......................................17
6. Adding a Bathroom Door .........................................20
7. Adding a Toilet Door ...............................................31
8. Walk around the Home ............................................33
9. Hanging a Different Door .........................................34
10. Making the Door Wood ..........................................46
11. Undoing & Redoing Changes ..................................55
End of Tutorial 6 ........................................................60
.2.
Tutorial 6 –
Working with Doors
This tutorial extends the previous tutorial by adding
doors of appropriate types throughout the home you
have built. It also shows how to use the Materials and
Components modes of the Information Panel.
1. Load Your Home

this step. Otherwise, load the home with which you have
been working through the tutorials..
Ø Click the Load Home button in the main

application controls area.
- OR -
Ø Click the slot containing the tutorial home.

.3.
Dialog disappear. The current state of the home is
revealed and should look similar to the screenshot.
2. Switch to the Free View Camera

It is usually easiest
to place doors and
windows in the Free
View camera mode.
Ø Press the
Spacebar once to
switch from Plan
View to Free View
camera mode.
.4.
3. Wizard Step 3 – Structural & Fixtures
Ø Click the third wizard button in the row of buttons
The wizard side panel slides in and then out to reveal the
third set of wizard controls. These are almost identical
to the controls in wizard step
2. This time, however, the
categories of rooms are replaced
by categories of structural items.
Also, the main tab above the
SEARCH bar contains the text
Fittings & Structural instead of
Rooms.
4. Placing a Front Door

There is currently no front door
in your home, so place one of
those first.
Ø Click the Doors category in
the wizard side panel.
.5.
Unlike the Rooms
list of categories, the
Doors category has
subcategories. If categories
are similar to Folders, then
subcategories are similar
to Subfolders and can be
multiple levels ‘deep’.
ØClick the Exterior Doors
category.
After clicking the Exterior Doors

category, a further tab is added to
the top bar such that there are now
three separate tabs:
Fittings & Structural à Doors
à Exterior Doors
Clicking on either of the two
category tabs on the left would
take you to that level in the
category ‘tree’.
Ø Click the Hinged
category.
.6.
You have now arrived at the level
where you can select and place
individual objects – equivalent
to the room objects previously
inserted.
Ø Scroll down the list and
click the Single Door
– One Sidelight object.

the right out from under
the side panel. The door
moves with the mouse and
will ‘snap’ to the nearest
exterior wall.

door when it snaps to the
part of the south wall of
the Living Room that
leads outside.
.7.
5. Moving the Bedroom Door
Ø Pan the
camera so you can
clearly see the door
between the Living
Room and the
Master Bedroom.
Note: If there is no door

between the Living Room
and Master Bedroom, skip
ahead to step 6. You can
return later to place a door here.
Ø Click on the door (being careful not to click on the
empty space through the door). The InfoPanel title
should say ‘Swing Door – 820 (Standard)’.
The door between the Living Room and Master Bedroom

was automatically placed some time earlier and is currently
in the middle of the wall. It is an 820mm swing door, which
is a good standard size
to keep. However, to
follow the floor plan it
needs moving closer
to the corner.
Ø Click and drag
the door over to the
left, nearer to the
corner.
.8.
6. Adding a Bathroom Door
Ø Pan and rotate the camera so you can clearly
see the wall between the Living Room and the
Bathroom.
Delete any doors that were automatically placed between

the Living Room and the Bathroom or Toilet to start fresh.
Ø Click on any door that exists between the Living
Room and Toilet or the Living Room and Ensuite
and delete them.
Ø Click the tab labeled Doors in the left side panel

– the fourth from the left.
.9.
Ø Click the Interior Doors
category.
Ø Click the Swing Doors

category.
Ø Click the Swing Door – 720 (Standard) door object.
Ø Move the mouse, with the door following, until it is on

the wall between the Living Room and the Ensuite.
Ø Click to place the door.
.10.
Note that the door
swings out from
the Ensuite into
the Living Room.
For easier access, it
would be better for
the door to swing
into the bathroom.
MyVirtualHome
provides a feature
on the Enter key
for cycling through
variants of an object – mainly doors and windows.
Ø Press the Enter key to cycle the door.
Notice the door switched

to the other side but is still
swinging into the Living
Room.
Ø Press the Enter key
twice more such that
the door now swings the
correct way.
Ø Hold down the Ctrl

key and click on the
door to close it and
make sure it swings the
right way.
.11.
Ø When closed, Ctrl-click the door once more to
open it again.
7. Adding a Toilet Door

Ø Pan and rotate the
camera so you can clearly see
the wall between the Living
Room and the Toilet.
Ø Repeat the procedure

in Step 6 to add a 720mm
swinging door to the toilet.
Ø If you did not have a

door between the Living
Room and Bedroom before,
add one now.
.12.
8. Walk around the Home
Walk around your home to make sure you are happy
with the door placement.
Ø Press the Spacebar to
enter First Person View
and walk around the
home.
Ø When you are done, finish

your walk so you are
looking at the front door
from the inside.
9. Hanging a Different
Door
Ø Ctrl-click on the front
door to close it.
The front door placed earlier is

nice but a bit plain. It can be
easily replaced with a similar,
same size door by using the
Context Menu and InfoPanel.
Ø Right-click (i.e. click the Right Mouse Button) on
the door to open the Context Menu.
.13.
The second block of commands on the
Context Menu includes:
a. Information
b. Properties
c. Materials
d. Components
These represent the four types of
information about an object that can be
displayed in the Information Panel at the
top-right of the screen.
Ø Click the Components

menu item on the Context
Menu.
The Information Panel

expands and displays the
four editable subcomponents
of this type of door. Many
MyVirtualHome objects are
built from subcomponents and
the InfoPanel is the tool used
to change them.
It may be easiest to think of
the left side panel as the way
to add an object into a home
and, when one of these
objects is selected, the right
InfoPanel is the way to change them.
.14.
The four subcomponents, often referred to as ‘slots’, of
this type of door are:
a. Trim (or Architrave)
b. Sidelight
c. Door
d. Door Handle or Lever
Notice that each of these four subcomponents highlights
when the mouse moves over it.
Ø Click anywhere in the
Door slot.
The slot and the currently

assigned door (Flush Door
820) have moved to the top of
the InfoPanel and the lower
portion now looks like the
SEARCH panel from the left
side bar. This new search
panel behaves in exactly the
same way but now it displays
all of the doors you are able
to insert.
Ø Scroll up and down
the list clicking a couple of
the doors. Notice the door
in the 3D home changing
as you click.
.15.
Ø Click the APPLY
button at the base of the
list when you are happy
with your selection. Note
the preview image in the
Door slot changes to
reflect your selection.
Ø Click the
Sidelight slot to find a
matching sidelight.
Ø Find the matching

sidelight or one you are
happy with and click it.
Do NOT click APPLY yet.
Ø Press the Esc key,

attempting to deselect
the door. Note that since
you haven’t yet applied or
canceled your selection,
MyVirtualHome prompts
whether you would like to
apply the changes.
.16.
Ø Press the YES button to
apply the change.
10. Making the Door Wood

Now you have selected the type of door you like, but
perhaps you would prefer it to be natural wood rather than
painted.
Ø Click on the door to select it and make the InfoPanel
come back.
At the bottom-left of the InfoPanel is the word

COMPONENTS next to a triangle pointing down. This
is actually a drop-down list of the four ‘modes’ of the
InfoPanel.
Ø Click on the InfoPanel mode
selection drop-down list.
Ø Select the MATERIALS mode from

the list.
.17.
A panel of slots appears that looks very similar to the
COMPONENTS slot list. In this tutorial you are only
instructed how to change the material on the door. Feel
free to change the others as you desire.
Ø Click the Door slot to open the material
selection panel.
This material slot provides access to two material categories.

These categories are much the same as object categories but
they contain materials instead of objects.
Ø Click the Timber category.
Ø Click the Solid Timber

subcategory.
One of the main differences

between the object list and the
material list is that the material
list displays four materials
per row. The View Details
checkbox at the base of the list,
in the RESULTS block, toggles
.18.
whether to display one
result per row (ON) or
four results per row (OFF).
By default, this checkbox is
ON for objects and off for
materials.
Ø Scroll up and down
the material list, clicking
woods that interest you.
Note they change the material

on the 3D door immediately
but this change is not
permanent until the APPLY
button is clicked.
Ø Click the APPLY
button to make the change
permanent.
.19.
Ø Press the Esc key to remove the
selection and the InfoPanel.
11. Undoing & Redoing Changes

MyVirtualHome provides an Undo feature allowing you
to reverse the most recent action(s) – such as changing
components or materials, moving walls or furniture, and
most other actions.
Suppose you do not like the wooden door and would prefer
to return to the original paint. To accomplish this quickly,
Undo the last change.
Ø Click the Undo

button in the main
- OR -
Ø Press Ctrl + Z.
Should you decide you prefer

the wooden door after all, you
can simply Redo the change
you just undid.
.20.
Ø Click the Redo button in the main application
controls area.
- OR -
Ø Press Ctrl + Y.
Ø Save your current home by pressing

the F9 key.
End of Tutorial 6
You have now completed the sixth tutorial
in which you learned how to add and
manipulate doors and explored how to use
the Materials and Components modes of the Information
Panel.
The next tutorial continues with structural components by
adding windows and light fittings to the home.
.21.
Tutorial 7 –
Working with Windows & Lights
Table of Contents
Tutorial 7 – Working with Windows & Lights........................3
1. Load Your Home ......................................................3
2. Find the Windows .....................................................4
3. Adding & Placing Windows ........................................5
4. Removing Curtains & Adding Blinds............................6
5. Working with Light Fittings ........................................9
6. Lamps, Ceiling Fans & Switches ...............................11
End of Tutorial 7 ........................................................13
.2.
Tutorial 7 – Working with
Windows & Lights
This tutorial extends the previous tutorial and continues
with wizard Step 3 – Structural & Fittings to add
windows and lights to the home.
1. Load Your Home

This tutorial starts where the previous tutorial ended.
If you have just finished the previous tutorial you may
skip this step. Otherwise, load the home you have been
working through the tutorials with.

- OR -

Dialog disappear.
.3.
Ø Press the Spacebar until you are in Plan
View camera mode.
The current state of the home is revealed and should look

similar to the screenshot.
2. Find the Windows

When adding doors you went through a number of steps to
open the wizard to Structural & Fittings, and then worked
your way down the category tree until you found the door
you were looking for. MyVirtualHome provides a much
faster way of getting down to the category you are after
– but requires an object of a similar type to be already
present in the home.
Ø Right-click on a window already in the home
to bring up the Context Menu.
.4.
Ø Click the Search for
similar objects item in the
Context Menu.
Searching for similar objects

automatically sets the SEARCH
panel in the left sidebar to the
place in the category tree where
the item clicked on can be found.
In this case the item searched
from was a 1510x900mm awning
window and the resulting category
list in the SEARCH panel is:
Fittings & Structural
à Windows à Awning
Windows à 1510mm
To find the precise windows you

are after, you may still need to
browse up and down categories but
this feature provides a very quick
way of getting to approximately
where you want to be.
3. Adding & Placing

Windows
Windows behave very similarly
to doors in terms of adding and
placing. That is, when you have
.5.
found the window you want in the SEARCH panel,
click to add to the home and drag around until you are
happy with its placement.
Ø Place windows as desired in the home.
In the screenshot, awning windows of different widths

and heights have been added to the Master Bedroom,
the Living Room, the Toilet and the Bathroom. A
1210x900mm sliding window has been added to the
kitchen’s south wall.
4. Removing Curtains & Adding Blinds

All of the windows are added to the home with curtains by
default. Replace one of these with horizontal blinds.
Ø Press the Spacebar twice to enter First

Person View mode and walk into the Bathroom.
.6.
Ø Add a 610x1000mm
Awning Window or similar
to the Bathroom wall Note:
the procedure below will
work on any recently added
window.
Ø Right-click on the window

and select Components from
the Context Menu.
Ø Click the Curtains slot.
Ø Click the top-most available

curtain type labeled No
Component.
.7.
Ø Press the APPLY button.
Ø Click the Blinds

slot, which currently has No
Component assigned to it.
Ø Click on Timber
Venetian Blinds. Note that
Vertical Blinds are also available
here.
Ø Click the APPLY button.
Ø Press the Esc button to

remove the selection and hide the
InfoPanel.
Ø Ctrl-click the blinds

now on the window to
interact with them (i.e.
to open them).
.8.
Ø Change the window furnishings to taste
throughout the home.
5. Working with Light Fittings

By now you are probably aware that the small white
circles in each room are standard light fittings. You can
use another of MyVirtualHome’s fast search modes to
find out what other light fittings are available.
.9.
Ø Press the Spacebar until you are in First
Person View camera mode.
Ø Walk around until

you find a light you want to
change.
Ø Click on the light

to select it.
Earlier you used the Enter key to cycle through the various
orientations of a swing door. As an alternative, the Tab key
allows you to cycle through objects in the same category
as the current object rather than variants of the same
object. This allows you to browse objects similar to the one
currently selected.
Ø Press the Tab key to cycle the light fitting to another
in the same category.
Ø Keep pressing the

Tab key until you find a
fitting you like.
Ø If you go past a
fitting you like and
would like to go back,
press Shift+Tab to
cycle back through
the lights.
.10.
The Context Menu also contains
two items corresponding to Tab
and Shift+Tab:
a. Cycle to next object;
and
b. Cycle to previous
object.
6. Lamps, Ceiling Fans & Switches

Ø Browse to the Fittings &
Structural à Lighting &
Ceiling Fans category in
wizard Step 3.
Here you will find ceiling lights,

wall lights, floor and table lamps,
ceiling fans, light switches and
power-points. These objects are
usually easiest to place in the
First Person View mode though
the top-down Plan View mode
can be useful for positioning
ceiling lights.
Ø Change the light fittings in
your home as desired.
.11.
Note that all lights are added into the home in the ON state.
Since it is currently daytime in the world, rooms can become
very bright. Wizard Step 8 has a control that allows you to
change the time of day.
Ø Try turning some lights OFF by
Ctrl+clicking on them.
Ø Save your current home by

pressing the F9 key.
.12.
End of Tutorial 7
You have now completed the seventh tutorial in which
you learned how to add and manipulate windows and light
fittings. You also learned how to rapidly find things in the
category tree, change window furniture and cycle through
the objects in a category.
The next tutorial is the final tutorial concerning structural
components and wizard Step 3. It deals with modular
kitchen cabinets.
.13.
Tutorial 8 –
Modular Kitchen Cabinets
Table of Contents
Tutorial 8 – Modular Kitchen Cabinets .................................3
1. Load Your Home ......................................................3
2. Find the Cabinets ......................................................5
3. Work out from the Corners .........................................7
4. Working along the Wall............................................12
5. The Opposing Corner ..............................................17
6. Adding a Fridge & Terminating the Cabinets ................22
7. Wall Cabinets in Brief .............................................33
8. Placing the Remaining Cabinets ................................37
End of Tutorial 8 ........................................................42
.2.
Tutorial 8 – Modular Kitchen
Cabinets
This tutorial extends the previous tutorial and continues
with wizard Step 3 – Structural & Fittings to outfit
your kitchen using modular cabinets.
1. Load Your Home

been working through the tutorials.

- OR -
.3.
and when complete both the progress bar and the
Load Dialog disappear. The current state of the home is
2. Find the Cabinets

Ø Click the third wizard button in the row of
buttons under the MYVIRTUALHOME WIZARD title bar.
.4.
Ø Click the Cabinets
category.
Ø Click the Base Cabinets

subcategory.
3. Work out from the Corners

MyVirtualHome kitchens, like
most real kitchens, are built
using modular cabinets. It is
generally best to place a corner
cabinet first and work out from
the corner when building a
kitchen.
Ø Click the Corner Cabinets
subcategory.
Ø Scroll down the list of

corner cabinet objects to
see what is available.
Ø Click the Corner 1000

object (the first item in the
list) to create the 3D cabinet
under the mouse cursor.
.5.
Ø Drag the cabinet
into the centre of the
kitchen.

cabinet.
Ø Zoom and pan

the camera closer to get a
better view.
Ø Press the < key

to rotate the cabinet
90 degrees counter-
clockwise.
Ø Drag the cabinet

until it snaps into the
bottom-left corner of the
kitchen.
.6.
4. Working along the Wall
This tutorial adds cabinets along one wall until reaching
the opposing corner – starting with a cabinet that has a
built-in cooktop.
Ø Click the Base Cabinets tab to browse up to that
category.
Ø Click the Appliance

Housing category.
Ø Click the Cooktop Cabinets

category.
Ø Click the 800 Cooktop

Cabinet object to create the
cabinet under the mouse cursor.
.7.
Ø Move the mouse (and
cabinet) into the kitchen so
that it snaps to the kitchen
wall above the corner
cabinet.
Ø Drag the cooktop cabinet

down the wall until it snaps
to the edge of the corner
cabinet.
5. The Opposing Corner

Place a pantry in the opposing corner instead of a standard
corner cabinet.
Ø Click the Base Cabinets tab to browse up to that
category.
.8.
Ø Click the Cupboards
1980mm High category
and look through the
available items in the list.
Ø Click the Pantry Corner

1010x1010x1980 item
to create the pantry object
under the mouse cursor.
Ø Drag the pantry into

the kitchen.

pantry.
Ø Drag the pantry back

into the corner until
it snaps next to the
cooktop.
.9.
6. Adding a Fridge & Terminating the
Cabinets
Continuing around the corner, a fridge with overhead
cabinets would be appropriate.
Ø Browse to the Base Cabinets à Appliance
Housing category.
Ø Click the Refrigerator Housing category.
Ø Click the 1980 High category.
Ø Click the Above Fridge

600x1980 White refrigerator
item to create the object under
the mouse cursor.
Ø Drag the fridge into the kitchen until it snaps next to

the pantry.
.10.
Ø Press the Spacebar to switch to Free View
camera mode.
Ø Rotate the camera with the arrow keys or the

right mouse button to obtain an overall picture of
the kitchen.
There is not much more room for cabinets on this wall;

however the cabinet above the refrigerator is floating. A
flat panel at the end will terminate the cabinets’ march
along this wall.
Sometimes you will not be sure where in the category
tree an object might ‘live’. In these cases, the Keyword
search feature is very useful.
.11.
Note: The Keyword search feature searches for objects in all
categories, not just in categories below the current category.
Ø Click the Base Cabinets tab to browse up to

that category.
Ø Click the mouse in the text entry field next to the

Keyword label.
Ø Type the word “panel”

(without the surrounding
quotation marks).
Ø Press the Enter key to

perform the search.
- OR -
Ø Click the GO button to
the right of the Keyword entry
field.
Items that match the search

keyword are listed in the normal
list area.
.12.
Ø Click the Cabinet Side Panel 1980 item to
insert this object.
Ø Drag the panel into the kitchen until it snaps to the

side of the fridge.

key twice to return
to Plan View
camera mode.
.13.
7. Wall Cabinets in Brief
Wall cabinets behave in much the same way as their
base cabinet cousins. In this tutorial, the kitchen is small
and wall cabinets are restricted to adding a rangehood
over the cooktop.
Ø Click the Cabinets tab to browse up to that
category.
Ø Click the Wall Cabinets

subcategory.
Ø Click the 600mm

(for 1980mm cupboards)
subcategory.
Ø Click the Appliance

Housing subcategory.
Ø Click the Rangehood

subcategory.
Ø Select and place a

rangehood object. In the
screenshot, a Rangehood
Canopy 600x600 SS has been
placed.
.14.
8. Placing the Remaining Cabinets
The remaining cabinets along the lower wall of the kitchen
are easily placed. The controls used are the same as
earlier steps. Let personal preference be your guide and
experiment with different cabinet combinations.
For this tutorial, the series of screenshots displayed here
shows the following components being placed in succession
from left to right and then up:
Sink Cabinet 900 (a double cabinet)
450 Cabinet – 4 Drawer (a 450mm wide single
base cabinet)
Corner 1000 (a corner cabinet)
300 Cabinet – Open (a 300mm wide single base
cabinet)
.15.
Ø Save your current home by pressing the F9
key.
.16.
End of Tutorial 8
You have now completed the eighth tutorial in which you
learned how to construct a kitchen from modular cabinets.
The next tutorial moves on to wizard Step 4 – Furniture &
Electrical wherein you will learn how to furnish your home.
Tutorial 9 –
Furnishing your Home
Table of Contents
Tutorial 9 – Furnishing Your Home ........................................ 3
1. Load Your Home ......................................................... 3
2. Wizard Step 4 – FURNITURE & ELECTRICAL ............... 4
3. Visibility & Locking Control Panel ................................. 5
4. Overriding the Snap Behaviour .................................... 10
5. Rotating Objects ........................................................ 12
6. Fine Positioning of Objects.......................................... 19
7. Furnish Your Home .................................................... 18
End of Tutorial 9 ........................................................... 19
.2.
Tutorial 9 – Furnishing Your
Home
This tutorial extends the previous tutorial and moves on
to wizard Step 4 – Furniture & Electrical that gives
you the tools you need to furnish your home.
1. Load Your Home


- OR -
.3.
and when complete both the progress bar and the
Load Dialog disappear. The current state of the home is
2. Wizard Step 4 – FURNITURE & ELECTRICAL

Ø Click the fourth wizard button in the row of buttons
The wizard side panel slides in and then out to reveal the
fourth set of wizard controls. These are almost identical
to the controls in wizard steps 2 and 3. This time,
.4.
however, the categories of rooms are replaced by two
main categories – Electrical and Furnishings. Also,
the main tab above the SEARCH bar contains the text
Furnishings & Electrical.
3. Visibility & Locking Control Panel

The functionality of this search panel is exactly the same as
the previous two wizard steps. The only difference is in the
categories and items made accessible in the list.
It may not be immediately apparent why these three groups
of objects – rooms, fixtures and furnishings – have been
separated from each other given their controls are almost
identical. The Visibility & Locking panel makes this
distinction clearer.
Ø Click the Visibility & Locking tool to reveal the
control panel.
By now you are very familiar with the home you have built
and do not need the room names to remind you of what
room is what. You also do not need the floor plan any more.
Ø Click the ROOM label
visibility toggle to hide
room labels.
Ø Click the Floor Plan

visibility toggle (the
middle one) to hide the
floor plan.
.5.
Note: Under the ROOM label visibility toggle
control are two others: Object label and
Measurement visibility toggles. These are
addressed later.
There are three other control groups in the Visibility &

Locking control panel aside from the Floor and Label
visibility groups. The two controls on the left are Wall
visibility and Furniture visibility controls. For each of
these groups, only one of the three settings can be active
at any one time. The group of controls on the right is the
Editing Lock Group and each of the four tools can be
individually set ON or OFF.
.6.
Wall Visibility Group
From left to right, the settings
and effects are:
a. Show walls as solid;
b. Show ‘near’ walls as
semi-transparent;
and
c. Show all walls as
semi-transparent.
to switch to Free View
camera mode.
Ø Pan and/or zoom the

camera until you have a
good view of the home.
Ø Click each of the three

Wall Visibility Group
controls and note the
effect.
Note: The Wall Visibility Group

has no effect in First Person
View mode – walls are always
solid there.
.7.
Furniture
Visibility Group
From left to right, the
settings and effects are:
a. Show furniture as
solid;
b. Show ghosts of
furniture; and
c. Hide all furniture.
Ø Click each of the three
Furniture Visibility
Group controls and note
the effect.
Note that doors, windows,

cabinets and other structural
and fixture items are not
affected by the Furniture
Visibility Group control.
These ‘Ghost’ and
‘Invisible’ furniture modes
are useful for viewing walls
and placing fixtures in a
furnished home as if it
were unfurnished. This
is one reason why the
fixtures and furnishings
are accessed through
separate wizard controls.
.8.
Ø Tap the Spacebar and
walk around the home
experimenting with the
‘Ghost’ and ‘Invisible’
furniture modes.
Editing Lock Group

There are four distinct editing locks in this group:
a. Wall Lock;
b. Structural & Fixture Lock;
c. Furnishing & Electrical Lock; and
d. Painting Lock.
The first three locks correspond to items found in the search
panels of wizard steps 2, 3 and 4. When one of these locks
is active, objects of that type cannot be moved. The final
lock, the Painting Lock, prevents changes to materials and
colours – a topic covered in the next tutorial.
While in First Person View mode, note the Wall Lock
control is automatically activated and cannot be changed.
Walls cannot be dragged in First Person View.
Ø Tap the Spacebar to switch back to Plan View.
Ø Click on the Wall Lock and the Structural &

Fixture Lock to activate them.
.9.
This prevents you from
accidentally moving one
of these items. Accidental
movement can be very
annoying when you have
an almost complete home.
Notice the blue Wall
Junctions disappear when
you enable the Wall Lock,
further reducing visual clutter.
One final note regarding the

Visibility & Locking control panel: all of your editing lock
settings are saved every time you save your home. This
means you may need to unlock a locked group in future
editing sessions if you wish to make additional adjustments.
Visibility selections are not saved with homes.
Ø Click the Visibility &
Locking tool to hide the
control panel.
4. Overriding the Snap

Behaviour
Ø Pan and Zoom the
camera to get a good
overhead view of the Living
Room.
.10.
Suppose you wanted to
move the armchair at the
top of the Living Room at
little bit to the right.
Ø Click to select the
Armchair at the top
of the Living Room.
Ø Drag the armchair

a small amount to
the right – note that
its back snaps to the
wall.
You will find that no matter how you move the armchair,
unless you pull it away from the wall, it spins around and
snaps its back to the wall in an attempt to help you line up
the furniture. MyVirtualHome provides a feature on the
Ctrl key which, when
used in conjunction with
dragging, allows you to
move objects without
this automatic snapping
assistance.
Ø Press Ctrl+Z to
Undo the move you
just made.
.11.
Ø Hold down the Ctrl key and then drag the
armchair to the right, along the wall.
Note that this time, the chair

does not reorient itself and
nor does it snap to the wall.
This allows you to make
controlled movements. It
is also important to note
that when zoomed in close
to an object, you are able
to make finer, more precise
movements.
5. Rotating Objects
To this point, almost all of the rotations you have performed
have been through 90 degrees with the < and > keys. One
of the control blocks that has not been explored much in
this tutorial series, with the exception of the Visibility &
Locking tool, is the MYVIRTUALHOME TOOLS block.
The tools in this block are, from left to right:
.12.
a. Move Mode – Select and move objects;
b. Rotate Mode – Rotate objects (alternately use
Alt+Move);
c. Interact Mode – Interact with objects
(alternately use Ctrl+Click);
d. Paint Mode – Paint objects (see Tutorial 10);
e. Eyedropper Mode – Copy an object’s material
(alternately use Alt+Paint);
f. Visibility & Locking – Control object visibility &
editing locks; and
g. User Options – Set application-wide options.
You may not use the Rotate and Interact modes very often,
as you will usually want to place, move and rotate an object
in swift succession. For this purpose, the Ctrl, Alt and
Shift keys let you swap between the modes without having
to move your mouse cursor. This control panel is provided
for those who prefer mouse controls to keyboard hotkeys.
They are also useful for those times when you find yourself
performing many rotations or many interactions and don’t
want to accidentally move something.
Ø Click the Rotate tool to switch to that editing mode.
.13.
Ø Drag the couch
– note it does not move but
instead rotates to follow
the mouse, in five degree
increments.
Ø Click the Move

tool to switch back to the
familiar control.
Ø Press and hold

the Alt key, noting the
mouse cursor change, and
drag the couch back into
its original orientation.
.14.
6. Fine Positioning of Objects
Sometimes you will want to place small objects and
make very fine position and rotation changes. Suppose
you wanted to place a photo frame on top of the
entertainment unit in the Living Room.
Ø Tap the Spacebar to switch to Free View camera
mode.
Ø Pan and Zoom the camera so the entertainment unit

is prominent on your screen.
Ø Click the Furnishings category in the left search

panel.
Ø Click the Decorative category.
Ø Click the Photo Frames category.
.15.
Ø Click one of the
Photo Frame items to
create that object under
the mouse cursor. In the
screenshot, Photo Frame
03 (Landscape) has been
created.
Ø Drag the frame onto the

top of the entertainment
unit.
Ø Hold down the Ctrl *AND* the Alt key and

drag the photo frame – note its rotation is very smooth,
no longer in five degree increments.
.16.
Ø Hold down just the Ctrl key and drag the photo
frame for fine movement.
Being close to the object is often enough for high-precision

movement but sometimes the Ctrl key is required to prevent
snapping to nearby walls.
.17.
7. Furnish Your Home
There are a very large number of different objects in the
Furnishings & Electrical categories; from seating, tables
and bedding, to televisions, appliances and homewares.
Ø Spend some time browsing the Furnishings
& Electrical categories getting to know what types of
objects are available.
In earlier tutorials you have learned how to find objects in

the search panel and all of the controls used to place and
work with objects in the 3D home. Furnishing a home is
largely a matter of taste and personal preference so this
section ends with a list of tips or reminders of the major
controls used when furnishing:
a. Use the keyword search feature if you do not know
where to find an object in the category tree (make sure
you first browse up to the left-most category tab). Try
typing “bed” or “side” for example;
b. Use the Search for similar objects feature in the
Context Menu if there is an object of a similar type
already in the home;
c. Use the Tab key when an object is selected to cycle
through objects of the same type – and Shift+Tab to
cycle backwards;
d. Use the Spacebar to try different camera modes;
e. Use Ctrl+Spacebar to hide and show the user interface
and gain a better view of the ‘big picture’;
f. Use different Saved Home slots is you want to perform a
“what if?” experiment;
.18.
g. Place major room furnishings first returning to
smaller items later; and
h. Have fun!
Ø When done Save your current home by pressing

the F9 key.
End of Tutorial 9
You have now completed the ninth tutorial in which you
learned more about the Visibility & Locking tool and some
of the finer points of moving and rotating objects.
The next tutorial engages the Paint tool for when you want
to redecorate the home.
.19.
Tutorial 10 –
Redecorating Your Home
Table of Contents
Tutorial 10 – Redecorating Your Home ........................... 3
1. Load Your Home ................................................. 3
2. Painting in First Person ......................................... 4
3. Changing Materials in the InfoPanel ........................ 5
4. Using the Paint Tool ........................................... 10
5. Searching for Materials ....................................... 12
6. Paint Colours .................................................... 13
7. The Eyedropper Tool .......................................... 18
8. Paint & Decorate Your Home ............................... 20
End of Tutorial 10 ................................................. 21
.2.
Tutorial 10 – Redecorating
Your Home
This tutorial extends the previous tutorial and explores
the Paint and Eyedropper tools.
1. Load Your Home


- OR -
.3.
A progress bar appears,
displaying the load
progress, and when
complete both the progress
bar and the Load Dialog
disappear. The current
state of the home is
revealed and should
look something like the
screenshot.
2. Painting in First Person

Painting materials in a home is often best done in First
Person. You get immediate feedback for any changes you
make and, on large surfaces, colours can look different
dependent on your distance from the surface.
Ø Press the
Spacebar until you are
in First Person camera
mode.
Ø Walk to the
room you would like
to redecorate first
– preferably one that has
two of the same object
(e.g. two armchairs).
.4.
3. Changing Materials in the InfoPanel
In tutorial 6, you learned how to use an object’s
material slots to change the material from which an
object is made. That feature is reviewed here with the
extension of how to change multiple objects at the same
time.
Ø Click one of the pair
of objects to select it
(e.g. click one of the
armchairs).
Ø Hold down the

Shift key and click
the other object in
the pair (e.g. another
armchair) – note that
both objects are now
selected.
.5.
Ø Right-click one of the
objects and select Materials from
the Context Menu.
You are presented with the material slots for both objects.
In this case the two objects are the exact same type of
object. Often, however, there are similar but not necessarily
identical objects in the
home that you would like
to keep coordinated. For
example, in the room
above, there is a couch
that would most likely
share the same upholstery
as the armchairs.
Ø Shift-click a third
similar object in the scene
(e.g. a couch).
.6.
Note the change to the
material slot title – it now
says “Fabric (Armchair, 3
Seat)” or similar, depending
on what objects you have
clicked. You may also have
noticed a checkbox above the
material slots labeled GROUP
SIMILAR SLOTS, which is
checked by default.
Ø Click the checkbox next to the GROUP SIMILAR

SLOTS label – note the change to the material slot list.
Here the Fabric (Armchair)

and Fabric (3 Seat) slots
have been split from each
other. Usually, however,
you will want to change all
similar slots at the same.
Ø Click the checkbox
next to the GROUP
SIMILAR SLOTS label to
enable the grouping again.
.7.
Ø Click the slot you
want to change to open the
material search panel.
The familiar search panel appears displaying the materials

available for the slot you selected. Sometimes you might
want to use a material that is not available in the suggested
default list. In these cases, use
the View all material types
checkbox at the top of the search
panel.
Ø Click the checkbox
labeled View all material
types.
With this checkbox enabled, all

materials in the MyVirtualHome
database are available for
applying to the selected slot.
To reset back to the originally
available materials, click the left-
most Material tab.
.8.
Ø Browse the materials, making a selection to taste.
Ø Press the Esc

key to deselect
all objects
currently
selected. This
will cause the
blue glow to
vanish from
the objects,
as well as
removing the
InfoPanel
from view.
.9.
4. Using the Paint Tool
The Paint tool is an alternate control to the Information
Panel for ‘painting’ object materials and colours. The
name ‘paint’ is somewhat of a misnomer in that all forms
of materials can be applied with the tool – e.g. painting a
wall, carpeting the floor, upholstering a couch, choosing a
rug pattern, et cetera.
Ø Click the Paint tool in the

MYVIRTUALHOME TOOLS
block of controls.
Note the tools panel expands

and displays a list preview
item. This is a preview of the
currently selected material or,
rather, the material that will
be painted onto an object if
you click on the object. The
default material, previewed
here, is white paint.
Ø Click on any furniture
object in the scene (e.g. try
a table and a couch).
One of two things happens:

the object clicked is painted
.10.
white (e.g. a table will be
painted) or a warning message
will be displayed (e.g. a couch
will display a warning).
Clicking the table:
Clicking the couch:
The warning message

displayed when trying
to paint the couch with white paint says, “Material
not supported. Press Ctrl key while painting to
override.”
Recall that when a material slot was clicked in the
InfoPanel, it listed only a limited subset of the full range
of available materials. To access all materials it was
necessary to click the View all material types checkbox.
The need to press Ctrl when painting materials that
are not standard for an object is a parallel to this
functionality.
.11.
Ø Press and hold the Ctrl key and click on the
couch (or similar object) again.
The object, in this case the couch, is now coated in white

paint.
5. Searching for Materials

Under the preview of the current material is the familiar
search panel. This time, however, it contains material
categories instead of object categories in much that
same way as a material slot search panel. It appears and
functions the same way with the singular exception being
that all material categories are always available from the
base Materials tab.
.12.
Ø Browse the
categories to gain some
familiarity with available
materials.
Ø Use the Keyword

search feature to look for
materials (e.g. enter “white”
without quotes and press
Enter).
Clicking any of the materials

in the list puts that material
“on the cursor”. That is, the
preview image changes and
thereafter, that material will
attempt to be applied to any
object clicked.
6. Paint Colours
MyVirtualHome has many
thousands of materials but none are
more numerous than the available
paint colours. These deserve some
attention.
Ø Browse to the Materials à
Walls à Paints category.
.13.
Here you are presented with the
top-level paint categories, each
of which represents a range of
colours. Use the colour previews
as a guide when deciding what
colour you want to put on a wall.
If you want a dark burgundy for
example, you would probably
want to start with the Neutrals
category.
Ø Click the Neutrals

category.
Within each of these top-level

categories, colours are divided
into subcategories of the hues
available in that category.
Ø Scroll down and click

to select the Red-Orange
category.
At this next and final level

of categories, colours are
divided into ranges of
brightness presented as
percentages.
.14.
Note that not all colours of
differing hues exist in all ranges.
Ø Scroll down and click the

30-40% brightness range.
The resulting colours are the

small subset of the colours in the MyVirtualHome database
that match the main group, hue, and brightness range
selected.
Ø Click one of these colours to select it and set its
preview.
Ø Click one wall in your home.
.15.
Note that only that wall was painted, not all of the walls
in the room. If you want to paint the entire room, hold
the Shift key down and click the wall.
Ø Browse to and select a different paint colour
(here a different red).
Ø Hold down the Shift key and click a wall

– note that all walls in the room are painted.
.16.
An Important Note about Colour
Sometimes, you may notice the colour in the search
panel looks different when painted on a wall in the 3D
home – occasionally by a large amount. MyVirtualHome
accurately represents colours in the scene so why is the
colour different?
The colour previews you see in the left search panel
represent the colour you would see on a paint swatch
from a hardware store. When painted on a large surface
under different lighting conditions – such as incandescent,
fluorescent or even daylight – colours appear to change.
This is principally due to the painted surface colour
being affected by the colour of the illuminating light.
MyVirtualHome accurately simulates this phenomenon.
When working with paint colours, be aware of the effect.
Also take note that most lights in MyVirtualHome default to
using 60W incandescent light bulbs – which produce a very
yellow light. The wattage and type of bulb a light fitting
uses can be changed in the Components section of the light
fitting’s InfoPanel. Try this and watch the effect on your
wall colours.
.17.
7. The Eyedropper Tool
The Eyedropper is a tool that does for materials what
the Search for similar objects feature does for objects.
That is, it searches for and displays the category the
material came from when the tool is clicked on an object.
Ø Click the Eyedropper tool in the MYVIRTUALHOME

TOOLS control block.
Ø Click on the carpet of a

room.
An alternate way of using this

control is to press and hold the
Alt key while the Paint tool
is active.
Ø Click the Paint tool in the
MYVIRTUALHOME TOOLS
control block to switch back
to that tool.
.18.
Ø Press and hold the Alt key and click on one of
the walls you recently painted.
Note the colour on the wall has replaced the carpet preview
and the search list has returned to the appropriate paint
category. This is a very powerful feature as there is often
a material in the home similar to the one you would like
to paint. A simple Alt+click finds that material quickly,
providing you with a good starting point for further material
browsing.
Ø Alt+click a number of different objects to get a feel
for the tool.
.19.
8. Paint & Decorate Your Home
Almost everything you see in the home can be painted,
recoloured or have its material changed in some way.
Ø Spend some time browsing the Material
categories and painting various objects remembering to
Shift-click when you want to paint specific objects and
Alt-click when you want to find a material.
You may find after painting that you would like to change
your furnishings or even the type and size of windows and
doors. Decorating homes is an art and the colours you
choose are dictated by your taste and the mood you are
trying to create.
Painting, decorating and shuffling furniture is one of the
most fun parts of MyVirtualHome so take your time and
enjoy the experience.
Ø When done Save your current home by pressing the

F9 key.
.20.
End of Tutorial 10
You have now completed the tenth and final tutorial in
this series. In this tutorial you learned how to paint and
redecorate your home.
If you have worked through all of the tutorials you are
now armed with all the essential controls required to build,
furnish and decorate a complete home. MyVirtualHome
contains many further features that will be explored in this
form at a later date.
.21.
MyVirtualHome –
User Settings & Options
Table of Contents
User Settings & Options ........................................................3
General Options...............................................................4
User’s Height ..............................................................4
Auto. Save Home .........................................................4
Auto. Place Doors and Windows .....................................5
Auto. Calculate Lighting While Building ..........................5
Breathing Camera ........................................................6
Head Wave .................................................................6
Enable Online Features .................................................6
Enable Proxy Server .....................................................7
Video Options .................................................................7
Screen Size .................................................................8
Rendering API.............................................................8
Image Settings.............................................................9
Monitor Calibration Wizard .........................................10
Full Screen at Startup..................................................10
Sync to Vertical Retrace ..............................................11
Enable Real-Time Reflections ......................................11
Custom Video Options ....................................................12
.2.
User Settings & Options
MyVirtualHome provides a
series of options and preferences
that alter the way the software
operates and/or assists in
achieving optimal performance
or quality. Access the Options
Dialog by clicking the right-most
button in the MYVIRTUALHOME
TOOLS control block.
Clicking this button launches the

Options Dialog. MyVirtualHome
options are divided into General
options and Video options,
described below.
.3.
General Options
General options are less to do with performance and more
so to do with how you interact with MyVirtualHome.
User’s Height
This option allows you to enter your height.

MyVirtualHome calculates the height of your eye from the
ground based on this value and affects the camera when
in First Person View. It can be set at any height from 0.5
metres up to 1.95 metres.
Auto. Save Home
This sets the regularity with which your home is

automatically saved. Switching this option on means you
do not need to worry about saving your home periodically
as the application will save it in 5, 10, 30 or 60 minute
increments, as you designate. If you wish to turn off Auto.
Save, simply choose ‘Never’, which is also the default
setting. When exiting MyVirtualHome, you will always
be prompted to save your home if changes have been made
since the last Auto. Save.
.4.
Auto. Place Doors and Windows
This option will have MyVirtualHome automatically

place doors and windows as you build your home. After
placing a room or dragging a wall, the program will use
simple logic to place doors and windows, based on the
room types and how they are currently connected.
You may notice a decrease in performance while doors and
windows are being placed and as such you may wish to
turn this feature off while creating your home. To do this,
uncheck the box in the Options Dialog. It is turned on by
default.
Auto. Calculate Lighting While Building
Automatically calculating the lighting while you build will

mean once you haven’t altered the size of a room or moved
the objects in it for a while, the lighting process will begin
to run. You will notice a progress bar appear in the bottom-
right corner of the screen when this happens.
You may notice a slight decrease in performance when
automatic lighting begins and as such you may wish to
turn this feature off while creating your home. To do this,
uncheck the box in the Options Dialog. It is turned on by
default.
.5.
Breathing Camera
The breathing camera will cause the camera in First

Person View to subtly raise and lower as you look around
the scene. This is intended to mimic the movement of the
body as it breathes and adds realism to the scene.
Head Wave
The head wave gives the first person view a bounce as

you walk around the house. This is intended to mimic the
movement of the body as it walks and adds realism to the
scene.
Some people experience feelings of motion sickness
when this feature is enabled. Disabling this feature can
significantly decrease the effect.
Enable Online Features
Having this box checked means MyVirtualHome will

attempt to connect to the online server each time it starts. It
also means you will be able to search the online database
for more products. Note you must have an active Internet
connection in order for the online features to work.
.6.
Enable Proxy Server
If you connect to the Internet via a proxy server, you

will need to enter your proxy details. This is off by default
as most people connect directly to the Internet. If you are
unsure and are unable to access MyVirtualHome’s online
features, your Internet Service Provider should be able to
assist.
Video Options
The video settings will have the most dramatic effect on the
performance of MyVirtualHome. The higher the quality of
the video settings, the more processing time the application
will take, and subsequently the slower your computer will
run. When it runs for the first time, MyVirtualHome picks
default settings for your machine based on your computer
hardware, although these settings can be changed at any
time via the Video Options.
.7.
Screen Size
The screen size will change the resolution of

MyVirtualHome on your monitor. The default resolution for
MyVirtualHome is 1024x768. If you wish to use a different
screen resolution, select one from the drop down menu.
Note: changing the screen resolution requires a restart of
MyVirtualHome.
Rendering API
The rendering API is essentially instructions that your

computer uses to display images on your screen. The
two rendering APIs supports are OpenGL and DirectX9.
MyVirtualHome generally defaults to OpenGL though you
can choose to run the application using DirectX. Using this
option may cause some of the high-end graphical features
to be unavailable.
.8.
Image Settings
The Image Settings option has four different settings.

High Performance – This give you the best performance
from your computer but also has the lowest graphical
settings. If MyVirtualHome seems to be running slowly,
switching to High Performance may solve the problem.
Medium – Medium strikes a balance between performance
and quality. MyVirtualHome will not use the highest
possible graphical quality, but performance will be better
than on High Quality.
High Quality – This setting gives you the most visual detail
but may run slowly.
Custom – Custom settings allow you to tweak individual
aspects of MyVirtualHome’s visual settings. It is
recommended that only experienced computer users alter
the individual options.
.9.
Monitor Calibration Wizard
Each monitor displays colours differently. Because of this,

we have included a monitor calibration wizard that assists
you to match as closely as possible the colours seen on a
MyVirtualHome object and its counterpart in the real world.
To calibrate your monitor, click the Monitor calibration
button and follow the onscreen instructions.
Full Screen at Startup
MyVirtualHome defaults to windowed mode. If you would

like to run the application in full screen at startup, check the
box in the Options Dialog.
Note: Changing this option requires a restart of MyVirtualHome.
.10.
Sync to Vertical Retrace
Computer monitors refresh themselves at a high frequency,

usually somewhere between 60 and 100 times per second.
The computer video card runs as fast as it is able but does
not necessarily match the refresh rate of the monitor. These
cases may result in an effect called ‘tearing’ where the
content of the top of the screen briefly does not match the
bottom.
The Sync to vertical retrace option prevents this ‘tearing’
effect by forcing the video card to synchronise its output
with the monitor but comes with a performance cost.
Enable this option if you experience bad ‘tearing’.
Note: Changing this option requires a restart of MyVirtualHome.
Enable Real-Time Reflections
Some surfaces in MyVirtualHome are reflective. In the

case of floors and other horizontal surfaces,, if the video
hardware is of sufficient quality, the reflections generated
are correct mirror images of the scene above. These
reflections significantly contribute to the realism of the
scene but come with a hefty performance penalty.
.11.
Custom Video Options
The custom video options allow you to alter particular
aspects of MyVirtualHome’s video settings in greater
detail.
Material Shaders
These affect the quality of the lighting in the scene. The

higher it is set, the better the quality of the lighting;
however some cards may not have the capacity to run
MyVirtualHome at the highest settings. Material shaders can
be set to None, Medium and High.
Reflect. Quality
This toggles the appearance of

realtime reflections. When on the Low setting, reflections
are only shown on floors with reflective materials. The
Medium setting places reflections on additional horizontal
surfaces, while the High setting increases the resolution of
reflections.
.12.
Texture Quality
This sets the resolution (detail) of the textures on

all objects in the scene. Low will give you the best
performance while High will give you the most detail.
Medium strikes a balance in between
Geometry Quality
This sets the geometrical quality of all objects in the scene.

Low will improve performance but display lower quality
models, while High gives you the greatest level of detail.
Medium strikes a balance in between.
Anti-aliasing
This controls how smooth edges are in the scene. The

higher the anti-aliasing, the smoother all straight lines will
be, though this can drastically reduce performance on
lower-end video cards.
.13.
Max Anisotropy
This increases the texture quality and is used on all objects

in the scene, including the rooms themselves. Low will
give you the best performance while High will give you the
most detail. Medium strikes a balance in between
Screen Refresh
This sets the refresh rate for MyVirtualHome. If you find

your eyes are becoming strained, setting MyVirtualHome to
a higher refresh rate may help, though regular breaks should
still be taken.
Note: This option is only applicable when MyVirtualHome is
running fullscreen.
.14.
.15.

MyVirtualHome - Getting Started

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Table of Contents

Getting Started with MyVirtualHome .......................................3

Installing MyVirtualHome .................................................3

Running MyVirtualHome for the First Time ..........................4

1. Launch MyVirtualHome ............................................4

2. Hardware Diagnostics ...............................................5

3. MyVirtualHome Loading Screen .................................7

4. Running MyVirtualHome while Online .........................7

5. CD Key Registration ...............................................10

6. Ready to Go! .........................................................11

For other versions of Windows:

If this is the first time the MyVirtualHome software

When this diagnostic step is running, you will see a screen

All going well, the diagnostic tests will not produce

4. Running MyVirtualHome while Online

MyVirtualHome will automatically restart with the updates

Ø Click your mouse in the grey field on the dialog

Ø Enter your CD key

If you have lost or given away your installation CD-

Important Note: MyVirtualHome requires a valid CD Key to

Additionally, the MyVirtualHome software is being constantly

Why do I need to enter a CD Key for free software?

The above steps should take only a few minutes. At this

At this point you can proceed to Tutorial 1 –

Summary of Tutorials 1 & 2 ...............................................3

Tutorial 1 – MyVirtualHome Basics ....................................5

1. Open the Tutorial Home .............................................5

2. The Camera is all about Space.....................................6

3. Walking Around a Home ............................................8

4. Looking Around with Mouse-Look ............................10

5. Walking & Turning at the Same Time .........................11

7. Alternate Keys for Moving Around ............................11

9. Walking through Walls.............................................12

10. Walking through Doors ..........................................14

11. Interacting with Objects .........................................15

12. Let there be Light! ................................................16

End of Tutorial 1 ........................................................17

Supporting text explaining what is happening, often

Summary of Tutorials 1 & 2

The first two tutorials in this series present the

Table 1 - General Keyboard & Mouse Controls

1. Open the Tutorial Home

The home will begin loading. While this is happening, a

2. The Camera is all about Space

Ø Press and hold the

You can bring it back at any time by pressing Ctrl +

Now we will change to

Ø Press the Spacebar

The Free View mode provides a useful perspective view of

This mode is used to walk around a home and is useful when

3. Walking Around a Home

Ø Hold down the Up Arrow key to move forward and

Ø Use the Left Arrow or Right Arrow keys to turn

You’ll notice the mouse cursor disappears and, while the

Using the mouse-look feature allows you to tilt your head

Ø Press and hold the Up Arrow key to move forward.

Ø Move the mouse to the left or right to change direction

If you are still lost, press the Spacebar to change to a

7. Alternate Keys for Moving Around

9. Walking through Walls

Ø Walk toward the door that leads outside (without

Note: If the bobbing up and down of the head gives you

10. Walking through Doors

Ø Turn to face the door.