Thanks for taking on my question, Willy. After spending about 3 and a half more hours trying to create a file, my error hit me. (I almost said, "like a ton of bricks" lol)
I was starting with LDView, not MLCad. The Help file I referred to is the .html Help page for LDView. So I read that Introduction again to figure out why I didn't pick up on the mistake sooner. I discovered a few organizational quirks I'd recommend rethinking if it's worth making any changes at all. (But they're entirely my opinions. There's no absolute right/wrong way to do this...)
I think the problem began with "What is LDraw?" (http://www.ldraw.org/article/104.html)
Please don't take this as undue criticism; it's not easy to clarify a situation as confusing as the one described in the first few paragraphs. My humble suggestions are, in no particular order:
1) Rethink telling the uninitiated (in only the third sentence, no less!) that they're going to find this confusing.
2) Refer to the tools in the suite (the "system") in a consistent manner. For example, the page says "To overcome the limitation of the original DOS program several 3rd party editors have been created. MLCad is the most popular of our 3rd party editors..." And only a few sentences later, "POV-Ray is the ONLY non-LDraw program of the bunch."
These contradicting statements leave a reader wondering, "So what's LDraw and what isn't?" Because, at least in the corporate world, the phrase "our 3rd party editors" makes little sense. If it's "ours," then it's not "3rd party" - "we" have no control over what 3rd parties do. But if POV-Ray is really the ONLY non-LDraw (read, "3rd party") product... and around we go again.
That's asking a bit much of raw beginners to sort out. The reasons for being left to one's own devices in choosing an editor are probably well beyond the average newbie's scope of interest. Is that a fair assumption?
3) Strike the whole discussion of other commercial animation platforms; it's a huge "What are you talking about?" for people who don't know before they start that they want to animate the models they make. Uncertainty begets confusion.
4) "SR 3D Builder is a LDraw-based CAD editor with special features for LEGO Technic models and a extremely fast real-time rendering engine." The implication is, if I were a Technic guy I'd want this editor instead of MLDraw; but MLDraw comes with the download and SR 3D Builder doesn't - nor is it even mentioned again. Information like this (i.e., of only passing interest) is better suited to a more clearly separate discussion.
5) "LDView is primarily a viewer program that does also convert your LDraw model file (.ldr or .mpd) into a POV-Ray file (.pov)." But... I can already view the model in the editor and, according to this paragraph, MLCad exports directly to POV-Ray anyhow. Why do I need LDView at all? Being the only product named "LD" makes me think it's vital...
In short, if you're really writing for beginners, then "simplify" is the manual writer's best watchword.
Now... if LDraw were a company, now's the time I'd ask you for a job (lol). But if you're in need of any volunteers to help with this end of the product, I might be able to offer something... There's more where that came from.
Thanks again, Willy : )
I was starting with LDView, not MLCad. The Help file I referred to is the .html Help page for LDView. So I read that Introduction again to figure out why I didn't pick up on the mistake sooner. I discovered a few organizational quirks I'd recommend rethinking if it's worth making any changes at all. (But they're entirely my opinions. There's no absolute right/wrong way to do this...)
I think the problem began with "What is LDraw?" (http://www.ldraw.org/article/104.html)
Please don't take this as undue criticism; it's not easy to clarify a situation as confusing as the one described in the first few paragraphs. My humble suggestions are, in no particular order:
1) Rethink telling the uninitiated (in only the third sentence, no less!) that they're going to find this confusing.
2) Refer to the tools in the suite (the "system") in a consistent manner. For example, the page says "To overcome the limitation of the original DOS program several 3rd party editors have been created. MLCad is the most popular of our 3rd party editors..." And only a few sentences later, "POV-Ray is the ONLY non-LDraw program of the bunch."
These contradicting statements leave a reader wondering, "So what's LDraw and what isn't?" Because, at least in the corporate world, the phrase "our 3rd party editors" makes little sense. If it's "ours," then it's not "3rd party" - "we" have no control over what 3rd parties do. But if POV-Ray is really the ONLY non-LDraw (read, "3rd party") product... and around we go again.
That's asking a bit much of raw beginners to sort out. The reasons for being left to one's own devices in choosing an editor are probably well beyond the average newbie's scope of interest. Is that a fair assumption?
3) Strike the whole discussion of other commercial animation platforms; it's a huge "What are you talking about?" for people who don't know before they start that they want to animate the models they make. Uncertainty begets confusion.
4) "SR 3D Builder is a LDraw-based CAD editor with special features for LEGO Technic models and a extremely fast real-time rendering engine." The implication is, if I were a Technic guy I'd want this editor instead of MLDraw; but MLDraw comes with the download and SR 3D Builder doesn't - nor is it even mentioned again. Information like this (i.e., of only passing interest) is better suited to a more clearly separate discussion.
5) "LDView is primarily a viewer program that does also convert your LDraw model file (.ldr or .mpd) into a POV-Ray file (.pov)." But... I can already view the model in the editor and, according to this paragraph, MLCad exports directly to POV-Ray anyhow. Why do I need LDView at all? Being the only product named "LD" makes me think it's vital...
In short, if you're really writing for beginners, then "simplify" is the manual writer's best watchword.
Now... if LDraw were a company, now's the time I'd ask you for a job (lol). But if you're in need of any volunteers to help with this end of the product, I might be able to offer something... There's more where that came from.
Thanks again, Willy : )