buffer exchange / helper parts

[Jetro de Château]

I need to add an arrow and buffer exchange to some instructions I am making. I have't had time to check out the new feature in LDCad so I'm using MLCad for this. I have a set of helper files from holly-wood.it and I can use them in MLCad (placed under /Unofficial/Helper, path added to MLCad.ini, but the parts don't turn up in LDCad or LPub for that matter. 

What am I missing? Is there a better way to go about this? Should I use Buffer Exchange to show where to insert a pin or is there a better option with LPub commands?

[Roland Melkert]

What am I missing? Is there a better way to go about this? Should I use Buffer Exchange to show where to insert a pin or is there a better option with LPub commands?

Did you add those paths to LPub and LDCad too?

Also I believe MLCad shows all bufexchg content all the time, LPub and LDCad show them only when appropriate as they apply the visibility rules BUFEXCHG meta's dictate.

[Merlijn Wissink]

I need to add an arrow and buffer exchange to some instructions I am making. I have't had time to check out the new feature in LDCad so I'm using MLCad for this. I have a set of helper files from holly-wood.it and I can use them in MLCad (placed under /Unofficial/Helper, path added to MLCad.ini, but the parts don't turn up in LDCad or LPub for that matter. 

What am I missing? Is there a better way to go about this? Should I use Buffer Exchange to show where to insert a pin or is there a better option with LPub commands?

I'm using those exact same helper parts without any problems in my instructions (using LDCad and LPub3D). I downloaded the arrows from holly-wood.it and then placed them in my unofficial files folder. From there everything worked fine.

The problem might be that you put them in unofficial/helper. I believe (but don't qoute me on that) LDCad and LDView don't look into subfolders. So either add unofficial/helper as a (2nd) unofficial library in LDCad/LDView (if you use LDView as renderer in LPub3D) or just put the parts in the root unofficial parts folder.

[Jetro de Château]

I'm using those exact same helper parts without any problems in my instructions (using LDCad and LPub3D). I downloaded the arrows from holly-wood.it and then placed them in my unofficial files folder. From there everything worked fine.

The problem might be that you put them in unofficial/helper. I believe (but don't qoute me on that) LDCad and LDView don't look into subfolders. So either add unofficial/helper as a (2nd) unofficial library in LDCad/LDView (if you use LDView as renderer in LPub3D) or just put the parts in the root unofficial parts folder.

I followed your advice and now I can see the arrow in both LDCad and LDView. Oddly though, even though I have LDView selected as render engine in LPub, I don't get the arrow there.

[Travis Cobbs]

I'm using those exact same helper parts without any problems in my instructions (using LDCad and LPub3D). I downloaded the arrows from holly-wood.it and then placed them in my unofficial files folder. From there everything worked fine.

The problem might be that you put them in unofficial/helper. I believe (but don't qoute me on that) LDCad and LDView don't look into subfolders. So either add unofficial/helper as a (2nd) unofficial library in LDCad/LDView (if you use LDView as renderer in LPub3D) or just put the parts in the root unofficial parts folder.

I followed your advice and now I can see the arrow in both LDCad and LDView. Oddly though, even though I have LDView selected as render engine in LPub, I don't get the arrow there.

The current version of LDView doesn't properly save the "Extra Search Directories" list. So, if you add something to that list and then load a model, it will find things from the directory you added. But if you exit LDView and reopen the same model, it won't. Since LPub3D runs a unique instance of LDView in hidden fashion, the "Extra Search Directories" list doesn't work. This will be fixed in the next LDView release. Right now, you can create an ldraw.ini file and add directories in there, although I'll have to investigate to figure out how specifically to do that. Let me know if you were trying to use "Extra Search Directories".

Anyone else who wants to pipe in with ldraw.ini instructions is welcome to do so.

[Jaco van der Molen]

What am I missing? Is there a better way to go about this? Should I use Buffer Exchange to show where to insert a pin or is there a better option with LPub commands?

Did you add those paths to LPub and LDCad too?

Also I believe MLCad shows all bufexchg content all the time, LPub and LDCad show them only when appropriate as they apply the visibility rules BUFEXCHG meta's dictate.

I use Bufferexchange all the time, but I don't see LDCad buffering. All parts still show stepping through the model.

In LPub you can use "Remove Group" too using the native MLCad Group meta.
This even enables you to buffer exchange in any step.

[Roland Melkert]

I use Bufferexchange all the time, but I don't see LDCad buffering. All parts still show stepping through the model.

I works for me, but I'm no expert on using it

   

Or did you disable it (by accident) 'BUFCHG' should be green in the top right session panel.

[Jaco van der Molen]

I use Bufferexchange all the time, but I don't see LDCad buffering. All parts still show stepping through the model.

I works for me, but I'm no expert on using it

Or did you disable it (by accident) 'BUFCHG' should be green in the top right session panel.

I could not find where to enable or disable bufferexchange, only realizing later that it was LDCad 1.5 I was using by mistake...
Found it (ofcourse) in 1.6... my mistake.