Table of Contents

Getting Started with Helix Toolkit

Welcome to the Helix Toolkit articles section! Here you'll find guides, tutorials, and best practices for working with Helix Toolkit.

Introduction

Helix Toolkit is a comprehensive 3D graphics library for .NET applications. Whether you're building a CAD application, scientific visualization tool, or interactive 3D experience, Helix Toolkit provides the components you need.

Choosing the Right Package

For WPF Applications

Using Built-in WPF 3D (Media3D)

  • Package: HelixToolkit.Wpf
  • Best for: Simple 3D visualizations, compatibility with existing WPF 3D code
  • Pros: Easy integration, no external dependencies beyond WPF
  • Cons: Limited performance, fewer features

Using DirectX 11 via SharpDX

  • Package: HelixToolkit.Wpf.SharpDX
  • Best for: High-performance 3D rendering, complex scenes
  • Pros: Better performance, more features (shaders, post-processing, etc.)
  • Cons: Requires DirectX 11 capable hardware

For WinUI Applications

  • Package: HelixToolkit.WinUI.SharpDX
  • Modern Windows app development with DirectX 11 rendering

For Avalonia Applications

  • Package: HelixToolkit.Avalonia.SharpDX
  • Cross-platform applications (Windows, macOS, Linux) with DirectX rendering on Windows

Core Packages

  • HelixToolkit: Core functionality shared across all packages
  • HelixToolkit.Maths: Math utilities and types
  • HelixToolkit.Geometry: Geometry builders and utilities

Installation

Via NuGet Package Manager Console

# For WPF with SharpDX
Install-Package HelixToolkit.Wpf.SharpDX

# For WPF with built-in 3D
Install-Package HelixToolkit.Wpf

# For WinUI
Install-Package HelixToolkit.WinUI.SharpDX

# For Avalonia
Install-Package HelixToolkit.Avalonia.SharpDX

Via .NET CLI

# For WPF with SharpDX
dotnet add package HelixToolkit.Wpf.SharpDX

# For WPF with built-in 3D
dotnet add package HelixToolkit.Wpf

Basic Usage Example

WPF with SharpDX

// MainWindow.xaml.cs
using HelixToolkit.Wpf.SharpDX;
using SharpDX;

namespace MyApp
{
    public partial class MainWindow : Window
    {
        public MainWindow()
        {
            InitializeComponent();
            
            // Create a viewport
            var viewport = new Viewport3DX();
            
            // Create a camera
            var camera = new PerspectiveCamera
            {
                Position = new System.Windows.Media.Media3D.Point3D(5, 5, 5),
                LookDirection = new System.Windows.Media.Media3D.Vector3D(-5, -5, -5)
            };
            viewport.Camera = camera;
            
            // Add to your UI
            Content = viewport;
        }
    }
}

Next Steps

  • Explore the API Documentation for detailed class and method references
  • Check out example applications in the source repository
  • Join the community chat for questions and discussions

Additional Resources

Contributing to Documentation

This documentation is generated using DocFX. To contribute:

  1. Fork the repository
  2. Update XML documentation comments in source code
  3. Add or modify articles in Source/Documentation/articles/
  4. Submit a pull request

See the Documentation README for more details on building and contributing to the documentation.

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