LDCad 1.5 Alpha 1 (win+linux)

[Roland Melkert]

source window does not show the right end of lines

Currently the width is hardcoded as calculating the exact width is 'expensive' while not really useful as you will use the property dialog for editing the line anyway. So I'm still thinking about the cons/pros of it, if I decide against it I will set a wider (configurable) value though.

application crashes after ctrl-X ctrl-V

This happens as a result of the ctrl+v nomatter if you use it in the sourcewin or 3d win. Thanks for finding this I'll fix it for the next version (which I was about to release yesterday ).

subwindow placement is not intuitive: it depends on the order of releasing ctrl and LMB
the rule "clicking anywhere to the 'dead' zone of the subwindow unreleases that from the layout" makes annoying surprises
it's easy to click there accidentally and "whoooo!" - a subwindow flies freely over the main window now
=> I vote for a small graphical symbol to release the subwindow and then clicking to 'dead' area does nothing again

I've struggled with this issue myself. The first version did use ctrl like 'normal' windows software (to keep it detached only during drag) but it resulting in awful chicken and egg behavior while dragging without it combined with an already docked panel. Having to press ctrl to dock imho made it way more workable. I also sometimes detached windows accidentally which is why i added the lock windows option in the gui menu. The reason for not having a header or something while the windows are docked is because I didn't want to waste screen space on them but I might reconsider that in the future.

documentation, documentation, documentation in general, both hotkeys and mouse behavior in LDCad are unusual, comparing to other GUI applications on the system so documentation is really needed. At the release date, please.

I'm working on documentation on and off, but in my experience people just won't read it So I'm only working on it when I don't have the time to do large chunks of 'real' work on LDCad. But once 1.5 goes beta I will at least add things like the docking tricks to the FAQ and update the hot key page. General working with the source window will get it's own documentation page somewhere in the future. I'm also still hoping someone with more grasp on the English language might write a tutorial or something from an users perspective.

how can I work with a submodel of submodel, in the main model? 'Nested' mode breaks everything to parts and 'Normal' mode does not allow me to select that submodel of submodel.

You switch to the model's direct parent editing session (using the 'mpd' or models part bin group) or exclude it during nesting in the top level model. This is done by selecting any part/source line of the sub sub model and pressing 'e' during nesting mode. This will make the sub sub model a nesting 'end node'. Exclusion options are present in the editing selection menu.

Thanks for your (detailed) feedback Milan.

What is the proper way to navigate up and down the model tree? What I mean is, how do I switch to a child model, then the child's child, then the parent again, and so on. Note there are a mix of MPD and LDR models in no particular order. When I try to Make This the Main Model I sometimes get a "This submodel is not part of a MPD" error.

In a multi file model you best off using the 'all models' part bin group instead of the 'mpd / file content' part bin group. the make main model option is only usable on mpd's as it moves the current model to the top of the mpd file making it the 'entry' point for renders. It is not a navigation feature. The session list at the top right is depreciated and I probably will completely remove it at some point in favor of something else as I was never happy with it myself.

How do I switch to latitude/longitude camera rotation? I thought you added this feature in a previous version.

In the compass you'll see the text 'TBL' (trackball) if you click it it changes to SPM which is the spin camera mode.

How do I open the window with all the model info in text format? I saw that in your video but don't know how to enable it.

I think you mean the 1.5 source window? I assume (given your below edited text) you found that yourself . You open it from the view menu.

The middle mouse button!! In most 3D viewers this button changes the view in some way, for instance panning the camera. In your program it brings up the selection properties window. Can I bind this window to a different keyboard key like in other programs?

I might change left mouse button behavior in a future version and the middle mouse button might get reassigned at such a time too. 1.6 will introduce hot key remapping, but I'm not sure if that will include the mouse buttons I could make the middle one's function optional though.

If you could indent the Change Current Model window to indicate how sub-models are nested, that would be great.

Like I wrote above the whole menu probably gets replaced in a future version. I'm not sure in what way though.

The program (1.5 a2) will not display Datsville. All I get are some skinny red crosses.

There was an Alpha 2 bug which broke relative model loading as a result of the new zipped library feature, it's fixed in my Alpha 3 code.

Could you add a tabbed interface to show all currently opened documents? Right now I am not sure how manage these documents. How do I tell which are open and which are not?

The part bin session groups are designed for switching between models. Technically all LDraw files used are always open in LDCad the only difference with the ones listed in the top right list is they have additional editing 'session' information. I might add some additional session part bin groups in the future to help completely replace the list in the future. But like I wrote I'm not yet sure how and when

Thanks for the feedback Michael.