What.
3DTop is a study into the usefulness of a three dimensional GUI (Graphics User Interface). 
For too long have we denied ourselves the freedom that is only offered by 3D games. A 2D
Desktop is all well and good for simple procedures, but after a while it can make you feel 
cramped and limited by what you can do. As technology advances, so too should the basics of 
our software, after all, everyone who uses a Windows OS, or even a GUI within Unix depends 
on their desktop for the vast majority of functions they will ever use.
In short, 3DTop uses the icons that are present on your normal desktop and represents 
them in 3 dimensions instead. This approach enables you to fly around your desktop, 
change the shape of the icons and arrange or drag them in 3D also
In addition you can create coloured spotlights, paintings (bitmaps), background and floor 
textures, clocks, flags (shortcuts) and whatsoever the future may bring.
We are already developing plug-ins to use within 3DTop to further increase 
 its functionality.

What you can expect is a program with straightforward (and therefore fast) OpenGL-based 
graphics that doesn't mess with your computer's settings, doesn't change the 
registry-settings in any way and is a seriously cool way to view your desktop.

How.
  Copy or extract 3dtop.exe to your desktop and double-click on 3dtop.exe. That's 
  it, when you start the program for the first time "Icon3d.dat" will 
  be created and is used to store 3DTop-latest-settings.
  If everything is to your satisfaction and you like it, put a shortcut of "3DTop.exe" 
  in your "startup"-program group. After a few days or so (or maybe minutes) 
  you'll want nothing else.

- Left mouse-button is for selecting and dragging things around if an object is selected,
  and changing your view if no object is selected.
- Alt-key + left mouse-button is for rotating things or looking up and down.
- Control-key + left mouse-button is for selecting multiple objects .
- Control-key + left mouse-button followed by simultaneously holding down the right 
  mouse-button will let you select a distance when you're selecting multiple objects....
- Shift-key + left mouse-button is for strafe-mode or resizing objects.
- Shift-key + double-click is for unity-sizing an object (size = default).
- Cursor up/down will move you resp. forward and backward.
- Cursor left/right will let you look around.
- Shift + cursor up/down/left/right will move you up/down/left/right.
- Left mouse-button and dragging followed by simultaneously holding down the right 
  mouse-button will change the distance of the object when an object was selected or else
  the height of your view-point.
- Right mouse-button is for selecting colors, pop-up menus and cancel-stuff etc..
- Paintings can only be dragged by selecting the bottom- or top-edge, sizing by dragging
  one of the other edges.
- I believe that's it.
OOPS, most important, quit/exit by key "Esc" on your keyboard or ALT+F4
Some tips.
- Icons such as "My Computer" and "Network" are icons that the program can not find on 
  the normal desktop. Therefore you'll have to make extra shortcuts of these.
- Shortcuts or files can also be dragged onto the 3dtop.
- Icons that are deleted from 3dtop are deleted from the normal desktop also 
  (however...see below)!
!- If you don't want the icons of the normal desktop to be used, you can alternatively 
   copy 3DTop.exe to a directory of your choice where you can then store and use your 
   shortcuts or files (copy them from your normal desktop for instance). If you've done 
   that you'll realize that it is only a small step to surfing your entire computer 
   with 3DTop, but that will take some extra time in programming, while the practical use
   of it is questionable.
- Windows NT users, if you haven't done it already, set "smooth edges of screen fonts" 
  in "Display"->Plus to on (checked). This will make all text look better.

Now.
3DTop is available for 10 Euro's at www.3dtop.com.
This version of September 2000 is a demo-version. It has full functionality but after two weeks of use
this version will not load the desktop out of icon3d.dat anymore.

Contact.
Lots of extra information is available at www.3dtop.com, where you can buy the program online 
and secure also.

Hardware-requirements.
OpenGL-accelerated video-card highly recommended !
