[LDPartEditor] 0.8.9 Beta Released

[Nils Schmidt]

Hello!

My weekend begins... and here is LDPartEditor 0.8.9...


As always, you can download LDPE from this page:
http://nilsschmidt1337.github.io/ldparteditor/

Changelog:
(6 new features and 8 bug fixes, 1 critical)

With this release you will be able to...

• ...get a standard file header on any new *.dat file.
  
• ...benefit from a better performing colour change and BFC swap in the text editor.
  
• ...benefit from a little bit faster render engine (depends on the 3D settings).
  
• ...shutdown LDPE quicker. LDPE does not ask you for unsaved projects anymore.
  
• ...see "Ctrl+Click" hints on button tooltips (only for modifiable functions, e.g. "Round")
  
• ...get lowercase folders names in the project structure.
  

The following critical issues were fixed:

1. Risk of data loss: "Delete" in the text editor with no selected text threw an exception.
   
2. The pipette copied the RGBA values from an overwritten colour 16.
   
3. The subfile-compiler did not support "s\" sub-parts on linux.
   
4. "Save As..." did not use the lowercase "s\" prefix for subfile names.
   
5. "New Project" created a folder in the application directory.
   
6. Shaders did not compile on Intel HD Graphics.
   
7. The rubber band selection got cleared if the selection process was computationally intensive.
   
8. Opening a file in the 3D editor was not sychronised with the part tree on the left.
   

What will the next release 0.8.10 deliver? A completely new options menu for GUI colour customisations and more...

---

The program was tested intensively with "real world" files.
However, it is still a beta version and something can go wrong in about 100.000 lines of code.

Make sure that you choose the right architecture for your OS and Java Virtual Machine (JVM) (64bit or 32bit).
A short guide how to check if a 64bit JVM is installed on your system is located at the bottom of this message.

1. Download the zip-Archive
   
2. Extract the archive content to the location of your choice
   
3. On windows, double-click "run.bat" to start LDPE.
   
4. On linux/mac, you have to excecute the shell script "run.sh" to start LDPE.
   

Please note that this software is in the beta stage. Although, LDPE 0.8.9 was tested, there are already known issues  for this release. There is a potential risk of data loss.

You can search for updates if you do the following steps:

1. On windows, double-click "update.bat" to search for updates.
   
2. On linux/mac, you have to excecute the shell script "update.sh".
   

I listen carefully to your requests and possible complaints. Please leave me a message, with your thoughts and wishes to further improve the software.

LDPE is a 3D CAD application: The overall system requirements are higher. While I recommend to use a powerful 64-bit multicore system, it could be possible, to run LDPE on older machines as well.

System Requirements:

Minimum System Requirements:

• Java Runtime Environment (JRE) 1.8
  
• OpenGL 2.1 compatible Graphics Card
  
• Operating System (32/64bit): Windows [XP; Vista; 7 or newer], Mac OS X [>=10.6], Linux [e.g. Ubuntu Linux >=10.4]
  
• CPU: Multicore-Processor e.g. Intel Core 2 Duo or AMD Athlon II (>2.0Ghz)
  
• RAM: 4GB
  
• Video-Memory: 512 MB
  
• Free Disk Space: 100 MB
  

Recommended Requirements:

• Operating System (64bit): Windows 7, Mac OS X [>=10.6], Linux [e.g. Ubuntu Linux >=10.4]
  
• CPU: Multicore-Processor with 4 cores (or more)
  
• RAM: >4 GB
  
• Video-Memory: >=1 GB
  
• Free Disk Space: 512 MB
  

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
How to check your JVM version (32- or 64-bit):
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

You can try on the command line:

Code:

java -d64 version

If it's not a 64-bit version, you'll get a message that looks like:

Code:

This Java instance does not support a 64-bit JVM. Please install the desired version.

In general, I recommend to install the 64-bit version of the JVM for Java 8.

[Philippe Hurbain]

Questions/suggestion of the day...
- Got a part, made from two mirrored subparts and a "middle". Both are opened in LDPE. Is there a way to force main part to refresh subpart displayed in main part when I make modifications to this subpart? I tried "synchronize folder/editor contents", it took forever and did nothing (except that the parts list ended empty, while the part was still shown in 3D and text editors).
- When you build an element such a quad from existing vertices, it's best to draw a marquee around the vertices to make sure you "capture" them. But if you somehow miss the existing vertex, a new one is created "somewhere". I suggest that creation of new vertices happen only on simple click, and that if you draw a marquee that contains no vertex nothing is done.

[Magnus Forsberg]

Here are some little issues that are bothering me.

1.)
I have noticed a similar problem as Philo in selecting vertices.
Select the first vertice in a tri/quad. If I then try to grab two, or three, more vertices at once, it drops the first vertice and I have to select it again.

2.)
Would it be possible to select a line of code by clicking on the line number in the text editor?

• If I want to comment out four lines, I have to make sure that the cursor is not placed in front of the fifth line. It gets commented out too.
  
• I have to click in front of a line of code and drag to the end of it, to be able to copy all of it. Or, I click in front of the line and drag down to the next line, to select the entire line of code. In fact, place the cursor in front of the next line.
  

The difference in behaviour of selecting lines is not good.
Sometimes I have to select the entire line (to copy a line), and sometimes it is enough to place the cursor in the line (to inline a line, or toggle a comment). Copying the last line is hard when the text file doesn't ends with a CR/LF.

3.)
An extra CR/LF is added to any file when I hit the Save button in the text editor.
Add an CR/LF to the end of a file in the text editor and Save it. When I open the file in LDDP it ends with two empty lines.
I want the Text editor to allways keep one empty line at the end of the file.

[Nils Schmidt]

Hi :D

I am a little busy with the implementation of the new resizable "Options" dialog window (for 0.8.10), but I wrote down your thoughs and wishes here: #244, #245, #246, #247, #248.

With 0.8.10 you will get the possibility to modify a few threshold values and a lot GUI colours from the 3D editor view and the text editor.

In the near future, I will start to translate the GUI into other languages! :)

Got a part, made from two mirrored subparts and a "middle". Both are opened in LDPE. Is there a way to force main part to refresh subpart displayed in main part when I make modifications to this subpart?

Yes, you can click on the "Compile Subfile Data" button .
Automatic sub-file synchonisation is a great idea, too:
#249
Implementing more and more automatic synchronisation is unfortunately not that easy... :(

[Philippe Hurbain]

Yes, you can click on the "Compile Subfile Data" button .

Ah. I wouldn't have guessed that... What is the exact meaning of "Compile Subfile Data"? If it's just "update subfile content" maybe some tool renaming would make this more explicit

Automatic sub-file synchonisation is a great idea, too:
#249
Implementing more and more automatic synchronisation is unfortunately not that easy...

I can live with manual way

[Nils Schmidt]

Ah. I wouldn't have guessed that... What is the exact meaning of "Compile Subfile Data"? If it's just "update subfile content" maybe some tool renaming would make this more explicit ;)

I renamed that button to "Update/Compile Subfile Data" :)

I had written a tutorial for the "Compile Subfile Data" feature :)
https://github.com/nilsschmidt1337/ldpar...lpe-inline

There comes a little bit more functionality with this button... The unofficial !LPE INLINE meta command is also involved here...

[Philippe Hurbain]

If you put all parts/subparts (attached) in the same folder, part 19065 is properly displayed, but 19066 doesn't show subparts, only vertices of the subpart. If I select one subpart in text editor and hit "show in 3d" it is properly highlited, and I can move it... even stanger, during the move the subpart is displayed properly but disappears again as soon as move is completed. What really puzzles me is the different behaviour between both parts, that have a very similar structure !?!

[Nils Schmidt]

...but 19066 doesn't show subparts, only vertices of the subpart....

Thank you for this very interesting bug report! I was able to reproduce this on all operating systems.
The bug is very hard to find. So, thank you again for attaching those files for a later regression test
I will fix this with the 0.8.10 release.

edit: I found the root cause. LDPE uses bounding boxes. They hide the sub-file when the box is not on the screen (to speed up the rendering process).
Something is wrong with the calculation... The bounding box of the subfile is not on the screen...

edit2: Found the solution! 19066s01 used an empty sub-file somewhere deeper (1-16chrd). The bounding box for empty subfiles was invalid. This invalid value was inherited to other files and as a result: NOTHING was displayed!

The issue is now closed.

[Philippe Hurbain]

Wow! thanks!

[Willy Tschager]

Feature request of the day:

* I'd like to have an icon with the opposite of "Split Quad into Triangles". I know, I know, there is Rectifier, but I'd like to have a quick'n'dirty button without the need to do all that Rect and Color Modification and Scope selection. You will reply that I could use the "Create a new quad..." tool in the first place, but sometimes it is just easier to draw all triangles and decide afterwards which should be converted.

* I guess we all agree that the current primitive box is far from being ideal. I'd say as long as it doesn't work as in LDCad, where you can change the color but more important rotate them in the thumbnails I'd rather have a text tree as in MLCad. I prefer reading "4-4ring3.dat" or "bump5000.dat" rather than guessing what that thumbnail might stands for.

* I already stated that I'd like to have the view angle icons in an additional toolbar ... please add also an On/OFF for BFC and the Special COnd.line Mode.

w.

[Nils Schmidt]

Hi Willy :)

* I'd like to have an icon with the opposite of "Split Quad into Triangles"

I created an issue here: #254
Your suggestion is very good and easy to implement! I will include this feature in version 0.8.11.

* I already stated that I'd like to have the view angle icons in an additional toolbar ... please add also an On/OFF for BFC and the Special COnd.line Mode.

This could be useful, but I will not implement it yet. I have to release 0.8.10 and 0.8.11 first.
The issues are here: #255, #256

* I guess we all agree that the current primitive box is far from being ideal. I'd say as long as it doesn't work as in LDCad, where you can change the color but more important rotate them in the thumbnails I'd rather have a text tree as in MLCad. I prefer reading "4-4ring3.dat" or "bump5000.dat" rather than guessing what that thumbnail might stands for.

Tip of the day:

Press 'M' on your keyboard to rotate the primitive thumbnail while moving the cursor over it.
Or press the middle mouse button to rotate the primitive thumbnail while moving the cursor over it.
The rotation/translation mechanics are copied 1x1 from the 3D view.
You can even assign another shortkey for the emulation of the middle mouse button.

You can enter some text in the "Search Primitives" text box to search for primitives (it checks the description and the file name)

[Philippe Hurbain]

+1 for the triangle merge! Loosely related, it would be nice to have a button to create condline between two selected surfaces.

As for primitives selection indeed I type in start of name (eg. box3), then fine tune selection by browsing the images, using relatively big icons to see something and orientation capability. Works fine this way.

[Philippe Hurbain]

Report of the day: if you copy a LPE vertex then try to move one of them, both copies are moved.