Patent ID: 8031190

Claim:
A computer storage medium not consisting of a modulated data signal and having instructions stored thereon for performing a method of translating user input applied to computer program objects for creating three-dimensional (3D) images and two-dimensional (2D) images in a visual tree object hierarchy having visual 2D objects and model 3D objects, the method comprising: providing an object tree hierarchy, the tree hierarchy having one or more visual 2D objects and one or more model 3D objects; drawing a 2D image with a 2D geometry using the one or more visual 2D objects in the tree hierarchy; drawing a 3D image with a 3D geometry using the one or more model 3D objects in the tree hierarchy; and processing the 2D image to generate 2D hit results by detecting a hit on the 2D geometry, wherein a hit is detected by determining that a cursor point location is within the 2D geometry of the 2D image; converting a 2D input to a 3D scene made up of the one or more 3D models, wherein the converting comprises: detecting a model 3D object; generating 3D hit results by setting a ray penetrating into the 3D scene using one of a plurality of viewport 3D objects each containing camera data, the camera data defining a camera view point location in 3D space from which to view the 3D scene, wherein a hit is detected when the ray intersects the one or more model 3D objects at one or more intersection points; converting the 3D hit results to 2D information by attaching the 3D hit results to a cursor point location; and generating a 2D hit result list, wherein the 2D hit result list includes 2D hit results and the 2D information corresponding to the 3D hit results.