Example: Creating an Animated 3D Graph

1.

Insert a new problem and select the 3D Graphing view.

2.

From the Actions menu, select Insert Slider, click to position it, and type time as the variable name.

3.

Display the slider’s context menu, click Settings, and enter the following values.

Value: 3.8
Minimum: 3.2
Maximum: 4.4
Step Size: 0.1

4.

In the entry line, define the function shown here:

5.

Drag the slider thumb to see the effect of varying time.

6.

Add visual interest. For example:

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Change the background color of the work area.

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Hide the box, axes, or legend.

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Automatically rotate the graph.

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Change the graph's fill color and hide its lines.

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Change the graph’s transparency and shading.

7.

To animate the graph, display the slider’s context menu, and click Animate. (To stop, click Stop Animate from the context menu.)

You can combine manual or auto rotation with the slider animation. Experiment with the x and y resolution to balance curve definition against animation smoothness.