Parts in LDCad

[Sparky678911]

Hi everyone i have been using MLCad for a while and trying to use LDCad 1.6d now i am slowly getting there, but some parts in MLCad are not in LDCad how do i add them or import all the parts thanks

[N. W. Perry]

Hi everyone i have been using MLCad for a while and trying to use LDCad 1.6d now i am slowly getting there, but some parts in MLCad are not in LDCad how do i add them or import all the parts thanks

Which parts are missing? Both programs will find parts in your LDraw library(ies), as long as the program knows where to look. Do you have all of your parts folders listed in LDCad's Prefs->LDraw->Search (library) paths… setting?

[Sparky678911]

    I am not sure how does this look

[N. W. Perry]

I am not sure how does this look

Ah, yes, it looks like LDCad isn't searching in the right place for unofficial parts. The path you have there should be changed to type "donors", and a new search path added for unofficial parts. Do you have an Unofficial folder in ..\Documents\LDraw (alongside complete.zip)?

[Roland Melkert]

The path you have there should be changed to type "donors", and a new search path added for unofficial parts. Do you have an Unofficial folder in ..\Documents\LDraw (alongside complete.zip)?

Indeed,

And to add the unofficial parts follow these instructions:
http://www.melkert.net/LDCad/faq#faq_unoflib

The difference is probably because MLCad uses unofficial parts as a substructure of the official library location, something LDCad doesn't support as it is designed to use an unlimited number of parallel libraries.

[Sparky678911]

Hi thanks for reply i am so lost sorry in the FAQ i clicked on this link (complete Unofficial Ldraw Library) and took me to dead page and the other part in Ldraw search paths i am lost there as well i am sorry but new to this program thanks for help[url=http://www.ldraw.org/article/14.html][/url]

[Roland Melkert]

Hi thanks for reply i am so lost sorry in the FAQ i clicked on this link (complete Unofficial Ldraw Library) and took me to dead page and the other part in Ldraw search paths i am lost there as well i am sorry but new to this program thanks for help[url=http://www.ldraw.org/article/14.html][/url]

Yes I noticed that too and turns out the new page should be
https://www.ldraw.org/parts/direct-parts-access.html

On it you can download the current ldrawunf.zip the faq talkes about.

I'll update the page's text and link later this week.

[Orion Pobursky]

Yes I noticed that too and turns out the new page should be
https://www.ldraw.org/parts/direct-parts-access.html

On it you can download the current  ldrawunf.zip  the faq talkes about.

I'll update the page's text and link later this week.

Im going to add the redirect but it easier to do it when I'm at home vice trying to do it on my phone.

[Sparky678911]

Thanks for replies does this look better and still can not find a part it is in MLCad the part number is (35188)   https://www.bricklink.com/v2/catalog/cat...=4#T=C&C=4  thanks again

[Roland Melkert]

Thanks for replies does this look better and still can not find a part it is in MLCad the part number is (35188)

Part 35188 is an offical one, are you sure you have the latest complete.zip  (the 2020-01 - Jun 28, 2020 version)

This could be different from MLCad as MLCad can't use the complete.zip as is, so it might be loading the (previously) unofficial 35188 part while the new unofficial library will not include it as its been included in the official library now.

[Sparky678911]

Ok so i think i have it now i think i am not using the search parts right i put part number in for a couple and came back with nothing but i found the parts looking for them

[N. W. Perry]

Ok so i think i have it now i think i am not using the search parts right i put part number in for a couple and came back with nothing but i found the parts looking for them

If you've just made some changes to the search paths, you may have to quit and re-launch LDCad to see those libraries in a search.

[Roland Melkert]

Ok so i think i have it now i think i am not using the search parts right i put part number in for a couple and came back with nothing but i found the parts looking for them

By default the part bin filter only searches trough part descriptions, if you want to seach by number follow these steps:
http://www.melkert.net/LDCad/faq#faq_srcName

[Sparky678911]

Thank you all for Help i am slowly getting there thanks

[Sparky678911]

Hi all i have a question i am building a model that has shocks but they are little bit long can i shorten them or get the individual parts to make them up thanks

[Philippe Hurbain]

Hi all i have a question i am building a model that has shocks but they are little bit long can i shorten them or get the individual parts to make them up thanks

Instead of a fixed length shortcut, you can use a LDcad template: Top level parts bin -> templates -> misc shock absorbers. These templates can be adusted in length (use LDCad nested mode)
See http://www.melkert.net/LDCad/docs/advEdit , bottom of page.

[Sparky678911]

Hi thanks for reply i am not sure about this and can not get to grips with it so i have got the made shock on the model but i need another the same and haave tried to copy and paste but will not let me i am getting lost now sorry 

[N. W. Perry]

Hi thanks for reply i am not sure about this and can not get to grips with it so i have got the made shock on the model but i need another the same and haave tried to copy and paste but will not let me i am getting lost now sorry 

Once you have the shock made, you can just drag a second copy of it out from the File Content part bin (like a submodel). You can also select the one already in your model, and press Insert to drop another one.

If you need another shock that you can make changes to, you would go into the edit session for the first one (by pressing the wrench icon), then choose Session->Duplicate this subfile… to make an identical copy that you can alter.

[Sparky678911]

ok so the shock i have made is wrong is there a way to measure from one point to another thanks

[N. W. Perry]

ok so the shock i have made is wrong is there a way to measure from one point to another thanks

Yep, just select the parts you want to measure between, then right-click the selection and choose Selection->Selection Info. You can measure distances, angles, and some other stuff.

If you need to measure from a point that doesn't have anything to select (like a certain hole or stud in the part), you can add a temporary "helper part" and use that for the selection.

That same link Philo shared has an illustrated example of using Selection Info.

[Sparky678911]

Hi and thanks for replys and help i think i might be a bit thick i did what you said but i get no measurments i really dont understand this part of it and tried reading the link, i am dyslexia so makes life very hard for me i am sorry to be a pain

[Philippe Hurbain]

Hi and thanks for replys and help i think i might be a bit thick i did what you said but i get no measurments i really dont understand this part of it and tried reading the link, i am dyslexia so makes life very hard for me i am sorry to be a pain

After you display the info menu you have to check"show measurements" to actually display the measurements.

[Sparky678911]

Ok i think i have the size now how do i get it from this page to my main model please

[N. W. Perry]

After you display the info menu you have to check"show measurements" to actually display the measurements.

Yep, make sure you have "Show info" set to yes, and then at least one of the following 3 options also set to yes. Something like so:

  Screen Shot 2020-08-31 at 7.34.07 PM.png (Size: 45.23 KB / Downloads: 251)

(It may help to pin down the menu to keep it open while you make these selections—that's the little icon next to the X at upper right.)

[N. W. Perry]

Ok i think i have the size now how do i get it from this page to my main model please

From the Session menu, choose "MPD main session" to go to the main model (or click the toolbar icon that looks like a row of houses). Then from the part bin, choose the Overview bin (the one that says MPD inside it) and go to File Content (again, the one that says MPD inside it). This will show all the submodels you have, including your shock absorber. You can now just drag it in to the main model, or click it and press Insert.

[Roland Melkert]

From the Session menu, choose "MPD main session" to go to the main model (or click the toolbar icon that looks like a row of houses). Then from the part bin, choose the Overview bin (the one that says MPD inside it) and go to File Content (again, the one that says MPD inside it). This will show all the submodels you have, including your shock absorber. You can now just drag it in to the main model, or click it and press Insert.

You can also press the END key when done working in a submodel, this will return you to the previous edtied model.

Once there you can use SHIFT+INS to insert the previous (now the shock) session's model into the current model.

[Sparky678911]

From the Session menu, choose "MPD main session" to go to the main model (or click the toolbar icon that looks like a row of houses). Then from the part bin, choose the Overview bin (the one that says MPD inside it) and go to File Content (again, the one that says MPD inside it). This will show all the submodels you have, including your shock absorber. You can now just drag it in to the main model, or click it and press Insert.

Thank you so much for the help i got it now i am sorry to be a pain it hard learning new software and understanding it thank you 

[Sparky678911]

Hi everyone quick question why does some most of the parts snap together and the odd 1 or 2 do not thanks

[Roland Melkert]

Hi everyone quick question why does some most of the parts snap together and the odd 1 or 2 do not thanks

Not all parts have the extra information needed for part snapping.

This because it's not part of the LDraw library itself, it's LDCad specific information that needs to be added separately.

You can request it for specific parts in this thread:
https://forums.ldraw.org/thread-23807.html

[Sparky678911]

Thank you for replay now where i had sorted the shocks out and saved model last night open it today and they are gone ????

[N. W. Perry]

Thank you for replay now where i had sorted the shocks out and saved model last night open it today and they are gone ????

Gone from the main model, or gone from the file altogether? Are they still there in the File Content part bin?

[Roland Melkert]

Thank you for replay now where i had sorted the shocks out and saved model last night open it today and they are gone ????

Did you store the shocks in separate models (loose .ldr files)?

Missing files should show up using red crosses, are you seeing those?

If so check if all files are in the same location and the main model references them without the full "c:\etc\etc" prefix.

[Sparky678911]

Gone from the main model, or gone from the file altogether? Are they still there in the File Content part bin?

Looks like gone from the File Content i did have a clean up and remove some sub models would that of done it, if so does that mean i can not remove the submodels thanks 

[N. W. Perry]

Looks like gone from the File Content i did have a clean up and remove some sub models would that of done it, if so does that mean i can not remove the submodels thanks 

Yes, if you had selected "remove embedded parts", that would have removed the shock subfiles. Then you'd see the red crosses where they're supposed to be, as Roland mentions below.

[Sparky678911]

they have gone i might of deleted something i should not have, so i have gone to make new one but when i go to measure from point to point it just says 0.0 so that one problem and another is when i go to change the size of the shock wont let me (lucky i have the size wrote down) but can not seam to make again i wish they did a video tut on how

[N. W. Perry]

they have gone i might of deleted something i should not have, so i have gone to make new one but when i go to measure from point to point it just says 0.0 so that one problem and another is when i go to change the size of the shock wont let me (lucky i have the size wrote down) but can not seam to make again i wish they did a video tut on how

Perhaps you're not in Nested mode? Or you've got two copies of the shock in identical location? A distance of 0.0 means you've selected multiple objects at the same coordinates.

[Sparky678911]

just wanted to say thanks i am getting hang of it 

[N. W. Perry]

just wanted to say thanks i am getting hang of it 

Impressive! Did you use the universal joint helper script for the steering column?

[Sparky678911]

Impressive! Did you use the universal joint helper script for the steering column?

Thanks and no i have not use i will look into it thanks

will i find it on there website

[N. W. Perry]

Thanks and no i have not use i will look into it thanks

will i find it on there website

There's a thread about it here in the forum:
https://forums.ldraw.org/thread-23697.html

In LDCad you'll find it under Scripts->technic. The key is selecting the parts in the right order!

[Roland Melkert]

There's a thread about it here in the forum:
https://forums.ldraw.org/thread-23697.html

That thread is about the prototype version of the solver, the one in 1.6d is more user friendly

[N. W. Perry]

That thread is about the prototype version of the solver, the one in 1.6d is more user friendly

Yes, and I remember there being some more explicit instructions in a readme or a changelog somewhere, but I couldn't remember exactly where.

[Sparky678911]

Hi everyone ok so i had to rebuild computer a lost a hard drive i am all sorted nor but for some reason iot is not getting the Unofficial parts up does any one have any ideas thanks

[Roland Melkert]

Hi everyone ok so i had to rebuild computer a lost a hard drive i am all sorted nor but for some reason iot is not getting the Unofficial parts up does any one have any ideas thanks

Did you download the offical and unoffical zips at the same time, because the offical one has just been updated meaning the old unofficial one will have duplicates.

Otherwise check the latest log file in %appdata%/LDCad/logs  for 'error' and 'warning' lines.

[Sparky678911]

Hi thanks for the reply i have sorted it now do have a question on the left hand side of the screen where i have the colour and the parts for some reason or somehow i  moved them and now can not get the back where they were thanks

[Roland Melkert]

Hi thanks for the reply i have sorted it now do have a question on the left hand side of the screen where i have the colour and the parts for some reason or somehow i  moved them and now can not get the back where they were thanks

You undocked them.

To fix it see
http://www.melkert.net/LDCad/faq#faq_dock


This seems to be a very common problem, maybe I should lock the gui by default in clean installations?

[N. W. Perry]

You undocked them.

To fix it see
http://www.melkert.net/LDCad/faq#faq_dock


This seems to be a very common problem, maybe I should lock the gui by default in clean installations?

I definitely have undocked the panels by mistake on several occasions, and then had to remember how to re-dock them. It might be just a matter of requiring a modifier key to un-dock as well as to re-dock, or perhaps a specific widget or handle in the panels for docking/undocking.

[Orion Pobursky]

You undocked them.

To fix it see
http://www.melkert.net/LDCad/faq#faq_dock


This seems to be a very common problem, maybe I should lock the gui by default in clean installations?

Yes please.

[Sparky678911]

Thanks for help

[Roland Melkert]

It might be just a matter of requiring a modifier key to un-dock as well as to re-dock, or perhaps a specific widget or handle in the panels for docking/undocking.

I think this is the best option, to require a downed ctrl key for both undocking and docking (depending on the current state).