LDCad 1.4 (win+linux)

[Philippe Hurbain]

OK, thanks. LDfind does the trick, but I think it would be nice to see that information directly in model editor...

[Jakub Trznadel]

Roland,

I miss one feature, or -maybe- I cannot find it

I would love to have a feature like 'favourites' part, but which shows only bricks from particular set, including proper color.
(This is because I do nxt or wedo models)

Best way I can imagine would be some keyboard shortcut that shows full-screen pallete in some kind of table with all bricks from set (including proper color).

At the moment I usually look at brickset, then do searching in ldcad, apply proper color... and then I can use the brick (and add it to favourites)

I guess that 50% of time I spent on creating a model is lost on searching the part. Probably this is also because ldcad is incredibly productive CAD for LEGO creation so I do not lost time on placing the bricks

And yes - I can define the list of bricks with colors in some kind of text file if needed.

Please, add this to my wish list

Regards,
Jakub

[Philippe Hurbain]

Somewhat related, I just discovered a great feature of LDCad that I missed so far: bins with recently used parts (24h, 1 week, 1 month, all)...

[Roland Melkert]

I would love to have a feature like 'favourites' part, but which shows only bricks from particular set, including proper color.

This is possible in the current version by creating a custom part bin group. downside is it currently has to be done by editing/adding to the pbg files in the partbin folder.

I'm hoping to improve this in the 1.5 (or 1.6) version by making it possible to edit/extend the bin using the gui it self. Preparations for this are already in my dev version of 1.5 as it is now possible to open multiple bin windows. This will enable later versions (or the def 1.5) to drag/drop parts from one bin to another in order to create new custom bin groups.

[Philippe Hurbain]

Still about history feature, is there a way to sort this bin by description instead of use order?

[Roland Melkert]

Yes, by manually adding a file (eg allByDescr.pbg) with the following content:

Code:

[options]
kind=history
caption=All by descr
description=All parts used by descripton
picture=all.png
id=101
sortOn=description
sortDesc=false
timeFrame=0

to the

C:\Users\Roland\AppData\Roaming\LDCad\partBin\default\history

folder (or just the "partBin\default\history" sub folder when the non setup version was used).

Do this when LDCad is closed, after you restart it there will be a second 'all' group in the history tree. Optionally you also give it a different / custom picture.

[Philippe Hurbain]

Excellent, works great. I was hoping for a right click/configure, but a new type bin works for me too.

[Philippe Hurbain]

Hi Roland,
I just found a way to crash LDCad (and unfortunately I discovered it after a long period without saving
Select a part, then right click -> reorganize -> move to current level. BAM!

[Jason Smith]

Hi Roland,
I just found a way to crash LDCad (and unfortunately I discovered it after a long period without saving
Select a part, then right click -> reorganize -> move to current level. BAM!

Just tried this and I can confirm the crash.

[Roland Melkert]

Select a part, then right click -> reorganize -> move to current level. BAM!

I just tried myself and it only seems to crash while not in nested mode, as the move to current level feature should be disabled / blocked while not in nested mode.

I'll fix this in the next version. Thanks for reporting / checking.

[Roland Melkert]

gui oriented part/color bin config control is very high on my 1.5 todo list.

[Jakub Trznadel]

Thanks!

I've created (for myself use) nxt.pbg and it greatly speeds up creating NXT models. Please find it attached, with changed extension to comply with forum rules.

Place it as (change extension!, probably need to add also some .png):
C:\Users\<user>\AppData\Roaming\LDCad\partBin\default\sets\nxt.pbg

Missing parts I cannot find:
57482 - USB cable
61069 - Design Shell W. Ribs Ø4.85
85543 - V-Belt Ø15, White
13972 - Caterpillar Track

Regards,
Jakub

[Philippe Hurbain]

- 57482 - USB cable : Never created indeed.
- 61069 - Design Shell W. Ribs Ø4.85 : Official, Technic Panel Side Flaring Intake 4 x 6.5
- 85543 - V-Belt Ø15, White : Official, Rubber Belt Round 15 / 1.6 (but it needs to be shaped anyway)
- 13972 - Caterpillar Track : Exist as unofficial 53992c01 / c02 / c03 (different shapes)

[Roland Melkert]

Very handy indeed,

You also might want to add some relevant templates to the items list like so:

Code:

path\nxtCable.ldr:[sourceInv=templates]
path\rubberBandRound.ldr:[sourceInv=templates]

I would like to add this pbg to the next version if you don't mind. I'm also thinking in about adding ones for the other nxt/evo sets and maybe some of the older technic expansion sets.

[Jakub Trznadel]

Phil, Roland,

Thanks for hints

I like the idea of adding these (attached as .txt) files to ldcad.
(just... don't forget about my wish about having color definition within pbg )

All,

I created also part listing for 9580 (Wedo) set.

Parts that I cannot find, but with good substitution:
88395 Brick 1X1 " No. 3" , substituted by 3005pe1.dat (not sure if it is not the same brick actually)
85546 V-Belt Ø33, Yellow, substituted by path\rubberBandRound.ldr:[sourceInv=templates]
59877 Mini Head No. 500, substituted by 3626bp01.dat
59630 Mini Head No. 495, substituted by 3626bp01.dat

Part that I cannot find and I cannot find good substitution:
76382 Mini Upper Part "No. 1204". Is there upper torso _with_ hands? like 979.dat?
14224 String 40 M W. 2 Knobs,


I updated 8547 (NXT 2.0) with:
- removed USB cable. Seems not to be essential.
- removed 13972 (caterpillar track), but added 53992c0(1,2,3).dat before parts list as a comment (ldcad seems to ignore them). It will be easier to add them when 53992 will become official.
- 85543 and 61069 are indeed in library - I had to update my local repository.
- added path\rubberBandRound.ldr:[sourceInv=templates] and path\nxtCable.ldr:[sourceInv=templates].

Please note that these files is based on brickset.com listing, and parts are sorted by color.
If one part exists in different colors in the set, I added it couple of times (in future it will be easier to add color mapping):
54821.dat (color ball, 4 colors) 32140.dat (L-shaped beam, 2 colors) 32009.dat (Double Angular Beam, 2 colors)

Regards,
Jakub

[Philippe Hurbain]

I noticed a few connectivity issues with the smooth Technic panels (64680, 64693, 87086, etc...), several holes can be used only from inside of the panel, not from outside, and top hole of wide panels can't be used at all.
Also 6141 1x1 round plate is missing bottom tube connectivity...
Is there any way to fix these issues at "user level"? No big deal anyway since gridded moves come to the rescue...

[Merlijn Wissink]

I didn't know about this sets feature in the parts bin. But it looks very useful to me.
Could someone maybe make a simple tool to generate such a pbg file from a .xml/.bsx or .csv file?

[Roland Melkert]

I checked all panels, and you are right the info is a mess

Luckily many of those panels use the same subpart, so correcting them wasn't that big of a deal.

Attached is a (rename .zip to .sf) updated shadow.sf, place it in the LDCad installation's seed folder while the program is closed.

Tweaking the info yourself is possible but it's currently undocumented and VERY user unfriendly. Editing snapinfo inside LDCad it self is high on my 1.5 wish list so it might become alot easier in the future. Currently I myself use the dev version (which has the option to visuallize the info, like below) and notepad.

   

You can give it a try/look by unzipping the .sf file (as it's a plain zip file containing a LDraw library tree). If you do make changes you need to point LDCad to the unpacked version of the shadow using the LDraw paths dialog.

[Roland Melkert]

Jakub Trznadel: "don't forget about my wish about having color definition within pbg"

It's already possible/supported, it's used in the 8071.pbg file.

Basically you'll have to add ":[color=nn]" after the .dat item (note: use ':' only if it isn't already in the line.). 'nn' is the LDraw color number.

[Philippe Hurbain]

Thanks Roland, I have not checked extensively but it seems to work fine now.

Tweaking the info yourself is possible but it's currently undocumented and VERY user unfriendly. Editing snapinfo inside LDCad it self is high on my 1.5 wish list so it might become alot easier in the future. Currently I myself use the dev version (which has the option to visuallize the info, like below) and notepad.

I see... not utterly clear at first sight

One question, is there a way to duplicate a submodel? Case in point, two almost identical flex parts. I created one, duplicated it and edited the other side before realizing that both flex parts referenced the same submodel

[Roland Melkert]

I see... not utterly clear at first sight

Indeed, although most of the time you only have to describe the radius changes inside holes and on pegs. Side note in the previous note I wrote to unzip the .sf file, but I forgot it actually contains another file (.csf) which you also need to unzip first .

is there a way to duplicate a submodel?

Not currently, but I like the idea I'll add it to my 1.5 todo list.

[Philippe Hurbain]

I forgot it actually contains another file (.csf) which you also need to unzip first .

I figured that...

Not currently, but I like the idea I'll add it to my 1.5 todo list.

In the meantime I'll use a text editor
About submodel duplication, it would be nice to offer the option of mirroring it, at least for flex parts where there are no assymetric parts problems.

[Philippe Hurbain]

Another sure way to crash: inadvertantly select a submodel, then use models -> delete this submodel...
(you can always count on me for monkey tests
Edit: Seems more complex than that, seem to be unable to delete any submodel. More when I figured out things...
Edit 2: OK, I was actually attempting to delete main model (did I say monkey test?). But this shouldn't crash, and it doesn't with other files, but for some reason this one does (attached).

[Roland Melkert]

I think it's caused by the groups, as it didn't crash anymore when I removed grouping by select all / ungroup (twice as there is a group using another group.)

So any model containing groups probably causes a crash while deleting that model, thanks for reporting.

I'm going to create a 1.4a soon as this is the second bug regarding groups and 1.5 is still nowhere near the beta stage. So if you or anyone else has additional issues please let me know.

Thanks again.

[Philippe Hurbain]

I'm going to create a 1.4a soon as this is the second bug regarding groups and 1.5 is still nowhere near the beta stage. So if you or anyone else has additional issues please let me know.

Most probably a video (NVIDIA GeForce GTX 280) driver issue, but... I recommended LDCad to a friend, and he gets this ugly display. Any hint?

   

[Roland Melkert]

It looks like LDConfig.ldr isn't loaded/found. The color wheel should be empty as well in such a case.

Manually locating the color def file using the prefs/ldraw/configuration files dialog should fix it.

[Philippe Hurbain]

Sometimes I just feel dumb... should have thought of that!!!

[Trevor Sandy]

Here you go: Generate LDCad parts bin custom list.

Cheers,
Trevor