title: Model-editor in QuArK
subdir: overview
subdir: model
subdir: importexport
subdir: menu
subdir: rmbmenus
subdir: toolpalettes
subdir: userdata
subdir: misctools
subdir: dataforms
subdir: skinview
subdir: editelements
subdir: vertexcolorandweights
subdir: exportmodelformats

The model editor is the secondary part of QuArK. A model can represent a number of things
depending on the game it is being created for. It can be an object like a prop, a table or chair.
It can be a structure such as a door or an entire building. It can even be the terrain in a map.
But typically a model is a character used to play in the game itself. The model editor lets you view,
change and manipulate these kind of game models for the formats that QuArK's Model Editor supports.

Basically, a model is made out of a mathematical mesh consisting of individual triangular <g>faces</g> in 3D space.
Each face of a model has three <g>vertexes</g> which can be moved, in 3D space, to form the shape of the models mesh.
The entire mesh is then "Skinned" using a <g>texture</g> image file such as a .pcx, .jpg, .tga or some other
format that the editor will support. The "Skin-view" page of the editor is used for this skinning process,
where there is another set of <g>vertexes</g> of the "unwrapped" model mesh and their vertex handles that are used
to move this flat mesh of the model over the texture image changing the projected image position of the texture on
the model's 3D mesh and giving the model its final appearance.

The <a href="intro.modeleditor.skinview.html">Skin-view page</a> works a bit differently then the editor's views do,
based on the fact that it has no actual triangles. Only what is known as <g>view.handles</g>, view being the view
displayed on the <a href="intro.modeleditor.skinview.html">Skin-view page</a> itself. Another big difference,
at this time, is that unlike all of the other <g>views</g> of the editor which are in a <g>list</g> of its
<g>editor.layout.view</g>, the <a href="intro.modeleditor.skinview.html">Skin-view page</a> view is never actually added
(appended) to that list, on a permanent bases, making it pretty much isolated from the rest of the views of the editor.
Because of this I needed to create a <g>global</g> in the <g>quarkpy\mdlhandles.py</g> file called <g>SkinView1</g>
that can be used, when needed, to call that view when the <a href="intro.modeleditor.skinview.html">Skin-view page</a> is open.
It does seem to be added periodically when the mouse cursor is actually somewhere within the
<a href="intro.modeleditor.skinview.html">Skin-view page</a> view.
