Schematic of the X3D pathway, illustrating the routes leading to the creation of different advanced visualization techniques. The X3D file format forms the core of a product tree (thick orange arrows) that includes (but is not limited to) interactive HTML documents, 3D printing, and high-end animations and movies. The X3D file format can also lead to interactive PDF documents via a conversion to the specific and dedicated U3D file format, which uniquely serves that purpose. This “X3D to PDF” branch is marked with dashed arrows, as it (currently) requires either commercial software (marked with ﹩{}^{\﹩) or open-source software with significant limitations (marked with ^⚠). The X3D pathway is based on file formats, and software links in the diagram only list our (current) personal favored solutions discussed in this article. Dotted arrows illustrate the alternative route to the creation of interactive PDF model implemented by Vogt et al. (2015), as well as a more direct (and usual) route to the creation of movies and animations by-passing the X3D file format.