The interest of VRML (Virtual Reality Modeling Language) .wrl files for 3D visualization resides in the availability of cheap (if not free for students, teachers, academic researchers) excellent graphic viewers (Netscape+Live3D or VRweb, or any Internet browser equipped with a VRML plug-in, or any standalone VRML viewer enabling two-sided lighting of faces...). Thus you will be able to share your VRML files on Internet or on an Intranet for teaching or electronic publication or personal use. VRML viewers allow you to explore completely your crystal structure and to obtain quickly the best point of view from which you will possibly save and then print a 2D picture.
On this site are distributed two versions. A 32 bits version works on MS WINDOWS 95 for PC and probably (but not tested) on MS WINDOWS NT. A 64 bits version works on DIGITAL AIX Open VMS. Note that the FORTRAN 77 source is available and should compile on any machine. This is a project of CCP14 to include STRUVIR in its program suite, compiled for a large variety of machines.
Were the changes sufficient for changing the name ? You may decide : STRU for STRUCTURE in STRUPLO and VIR for VIRTUAL in VRML. The VRML part works better than the PS/HPGL drawing part in most cases. The latter part may crash when the former do the job.
The original R.X. Fischer STRUPLO program was able to recognize tetrahedra and octahedra [R.X. Fischer, J. Appl. Cryst. 18 (1985) 258-262]. A 1986 version extended the possibilities to 6000 atoms and 1000 polyhedra. STRUPLO was augmented by A. Le Lirzin, 1989 (options COLO, PERS, BZRR) for the recognition of other polyhedra than tetrahedra and octahedra and by D. Kassner, 1990 (options RES, NRES in PARA, incorporation of Burzlaff routine in SPGR, logic of VIEW and ROTA, addressing in SHAD, reorganization of COMMON-block structure).
As such, STRUPLO (as STRUPL91) was received at MSU 17 Aug. 92, via Tim McCarthy from Giaquinta at MIT. M.S.U. writeup by Donald L. Ward from the original by W. H. Baur, capabilities for a POSTSCRIPT output were added. A file struplo.xyz was prepared which could be changed in struplo.ps by the PSPLOT.EXE program (included in the STRUVIR package).
The STRUPL91 version dated 04 Nov. 1993 was received at the Laboratoire des Fluorures, Le Mans, March 1996, via D.L. Ward by A. Le Bail. HPGL and VRML capabilities were then added on this version (HPGL existed previously in a 1986 version modified at Le Mans to which VRML was added in Feb. 1996).
The present STRUVIR beta 3 version has been enhanced with an output for POVRAY by Mark Koennecke, July, 1996.
IMPORTANT: Your old datafiles working for STRUPL91 work for STRUVIR too ! There were no change on entries apart the file should be a .dat instead of a .inp file.