Subject:
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Feedback on everything CAD related
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.cad
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Date:
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Sat, 17 Feb 2001 23:46:47 GMT
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Highlighted:
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(details)
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821 times
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G'day folks,
I've got some miscelleaneous ramblings here regarding a variety
of CAD software and their websites. I'm posting it here because
I find it very difficult to determine who is responsible for
what..., that is feedback in itself :] Also, because there
has been so much talk lately regarding organizations, developer
collaboration, etc., etc., I figured there's info in here of
use to everyone involved. Consider this a testimonial from
Joe Schmoe (no relation actually) trying to find his way
through the minefield that is the CAD community.
I currently use MLCAD, L3P, and POV-Ray to make CAD models and
render them. I haven't updated any of these tools since I first
installed them early last fall. I set out today to get things
"up-to-date" and also to see if new tools were available that
I should perhaps be using. This is my story... ;]
1) Launch MLCAD to see what version I have: v1.9R4.
2) Surf over to www.lcad.org. Wrong site. Nothing at all
www.l-cad.org. Oh yeah, legacy issues..., finally
find what I want at www.ldraw.org.
3) Click on "Downloads", then "Updates". Find updates for
part libraries. Not what I want. Hit the "Back" button. Read
the text next to "Updates"..., oh okay. Click on "Software".
4) Click on "MLCAD". Note the latest version: v1.99R1. Okay,
I need an update. Where's the update? Follow the link
"Go to Michael Lachmann's MLCad Site". Get message that the
page has moved to a new address.
5) On the MLCAD site, click on "History" to learn about v1.99R1.
There's no links on the history page to download any updates.
6) Go back and click on "V1.99R1" and end up at the Downloads
page. Scroll down to the "Installation and Download" section.
Note the text about installing Ldraw to run MLCAD. Oh yeah,
forgot about that. Now I wonder if my Ldraw is up to date...,
does it ever change? Hop back over to Ldraw.org's Software
Downloads page to look for Ldraw. It's not there. Ironic :]
7) Jump back to Ldraw.org's front page. Still can't see where
to download Ldraw itself from. Give up and click on "Get
Started NOW!", then "Advanced User" (a stretch, I know). Find
a download page for Ldraw, but no version info. The first
thoughts of what lead me to post this message begin to form.
Still don't know if Ldraw ever receives updates.
8) Head back to the MLCAD Downloads page. There's no update
to go from v1.9R4 to v1.99R1. Download the full v1.99R1 by
clicking on "Download the latest version (V1.99R1) now."
9) While waiting for the download, attention turns to L3P.
Back to Ldraw.org's Software Downloads page and click on "L3P".
Yup, newer version available. Remember seeing the headline
here on LUGNET. Read the notes for L3P and click on "LGEO POV
Library" to learn more. End up at the L2P Download page.
What's this got to do with "LGEO"..., okay, better question,
what *is* "LGEO"?? That's why I clicked on it. Figure it's a
bum link and go back to the L3P Download page.
10) Click on "View Lars C. Hassing's L3P Site". Ay-carumba
that's a long page!!..., longer than this post even! ;] I
like the pretty pictures. While I still don't know what "LGEO"
is I can tell from the pretty comparison pictures that it
somehow magically makes renderings from L3P look much nicer.
No more pineappled minifig heads! :]
11) Scroll down the looong page and decide that this site
requires just too much reading..., smacks of effort ;] Decide
to head to LUGNET and look for the announcement about L3P's
latest version.
12) Meanwhile the MLCAD download finishes. I'm scared to run it
and leave it sit.
13) On LUGNET I find message http://news.lugnet.com/announce/?n=930.
In the middle of it I find some instructions for piecing together
the new L3P ensemble. I follow the link to download the LGEO
parts library.
14) Now I'm at http://www.el-lutzo.de/lego/lgeo.html. Pretty
page, but I can't read much of the text because of the background.
Hitting CTRL-A highlights the entire page and now it's legible.
15) Spend some time reviewing the page, and decide that clicking
on "Lgeo POV-Ray Library (548kB)" will get me the full package
to which I need add the download at "Update #15 (138kb)".
16) Go back to Ldraw.org's L3P Download page and download L3P
since it seems there's no update patch.
17) Start to do the MLCAD installation. Read the ReadMe.txt
file from the archive and note that it says to get the latest
parts library. Back on Ldraw.org's Updates Download page I
check the latest release. Sep. 2000, which I already have
installed. Okay.
18) Back in the ReadMe.txt file I notice that it's referring to
v2.0 instead of v1.99R1. Weird and now I'm confused. I decide
to follow the instuctions to remove the existing MLCAD even
though I'm not sure I have to. I follow the manual procedure
and nuke the directory containing MLCAD. Turns out it
also contained Ldraw and the parts libary (and L3P). Back to
Ldraw.org to download those...
19) While downloading the parts library I note that the "complete
update" at http://www.ldraw.org/download/updates/ is 2.52 MB
while http://www.ldraw.org/download/start/advanceduser.html
claims only 1.87 MB.
20) Do the regedit to complete MLCAD's removal. My system now
no longer has a single LEGO CAD application on it when all I
originally set out to do was update my softare. I contemplate
leaving it this way... :] So now I'm back to square-one with
installing everything all over again.
21) Install Ldraw painlessly. Run out of disk space while
installing the parts library (don't ask).
22) Complete the parts library installation by running mklist.exe
as advised on http://www.ldraw.org/download/start/advanceduser.html.
Note this isn't mentioned in the ReadMe.txt with MLCAD.
23) Extract the MLCAD download to a temp dir and notice that it
contains duplicate files which overwrite themselves. Tell
it to overwrite them (I guess).
24) Go to the temp dir to run "setup.exe" as instructed in the
ReadMe.txt file. Notice that there isn't one. Run "MLCAD.exe"
instead. Select the dir I put ldraw into and get error:
"LDraw/LEdit package not installed!" WTH?! :[
25) Try to run Ledit.exe to prove it's installed and get
"runtime 200" error. Back to Ldraw.org to download the
bug patch. Before patching notice that my Ldraw dir only
has Ledit.exe and no Ldraw.exe. Nuke the directory, including
parts library, to start over.
26) Reinstall Ldraw and the parts library. Add the runtime 200
bug patch (wish I could read the German messages). Test by
running Ldraw..., it asks for a filename. Instead try running
Ledit. Execute my first (and last) Ledit command: <ESC>, Q.
:]
27) Back to "installing" MLCAD and discover that it doesn't
run any setup it just runs the program immediately. Okay, this
ReadMe.txt *definitely* needs to be re-written. Click on
Help | About and see it's only version v1.99. What happened
to the R1? Back to the MLCAD site Download page. Yup, there
is a v1.99 and a v1.99R1. I downloaded v1.99R1 but all I
got was v1.99, no R1. What's up?? Decide to click on
"Download the update from version 1.99 to 1.99R1 here:".
28) Meanwhile I move MLCAD from the "temp dir" I stuck it
into to an actual final resting place (and different from
ldraw's dir this time!). One file, MLCad.log, refuses to move
or be deleted due to a sharing violation. Great. Turns out
there are 2 "where is Ldraw?" dialogue boxes open from MLCAD, I
have no idea why. I close them and the file can now be moved.
MLCAD seems to run okay.
29) The MLCAD v1.99R1 patch is now downloaded. I look at it
and the MLCad.exe it contains is identical to the one I
already have. So much for the patch. I put it in the MLCAD
dir anyhow and then run it. Click Help | About and still
see v1.99, no R1. I give up.
30) Holy cow, 30?!!
31) Okay, back to the LUGNET article on L3P's latest version.
Installing the LGEO library and update now. I toss them into
the same dir. I ignore the references to L2P since I don't have
it (do I need it?).
32) Before telling L3P where these are located, I assume I
have to install it first (LUGNET article skips that part).
I toss it into a directory and mess around with setting up
the paths and environment variables for L3P.
33) Okay, from the LUGNET article it looks like I do have to
get this L2P thing after all and this means I've just installed the
LGEO library incorrectly. Off to Ldraw.org's Software Downloads again...
But all the links on http://www.ldraw.org/download/software/l2p.html
are busted. Great. Re-read the article and try to understand
better what it's saying. Okay, good, it sounds like I really
don't need L2P. I just need to set another environment var for
L3P (LGEODIR). Done.
34) Okay, now I update POV-Ray with the settings to find the
LGEO library. Done.
35) Time for a test. I download
http://home16.inet.tele.dk/hassing/l3p_i/m4555d.dat and try
it. I run "l3p -b -f -ca40 -q3 -lgeo m4555d.dat" and get this
error: "*** Environment variable LGEODIR must be set to a directory
with LGEO part." Great, well, it *is* set! Now what?! :[
At this point I give up. Several hours later after trying to
do a simple upgrade, I have only accomplised an MLCAD upgrade
(which doesn't indicate the proper version), and an L3P upgrade
that won't run the LGEO support. Very frustrating indeed.
To everyone, I sincerely appreciate all the great effort everyone
puts into developing these toys, I mean "tools" :] They're
great..., once they're working. The problem is right now
there is just too much complication in the procedure of installing
(or worse, updating) the basic utilities that a CAD user wants to
use. While I applaud all these great organizational efforts going
on to unify standards, address licensing issues, etc., etc., I
think there needs to be effort just put into streamlining processes
such as the one that I've just tried to go through (and ultimately
failed in). Making sure the instructions are current would be
a huge help.
I know I'm preaching to the converted, so hopefully my testimonial
here has been able to point out very specific detail issues
where there are problems, as opposed to just being a rant :]
Thanx for reading and for all your efforts.
KDJ
_______________________________________
LUGNETer #203, Windsor, Ontario, Canada
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Message has 4 Replies:
 | | Re: Feedback on everything CAD related
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| (...) [massive snip] P.S., I did eventually get L3P to work with LGEO support, and without needing L2P. I had to reboot my machine for the LGEODIR environment setting to take effect in NT. I don't know why..., I never had to do that before. Weird :] (...) (24 years ago, 18-Feb-01, to lugnet.cad)
| | | Re: Feedback on everything CAD related
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| (...) On the other hand, if you are a new user, it is rather easy to start from the MLCAD page, go to its download page, read the instructions, then go to the provided link for the LDraw page, go to the "For Beginners" section, download the LDraw (...) (24 years ago, 18-Feb-01, to lugnet.cad)
| | | Re: Feedback on everything CAD related
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| "Kyle D. Jackson" <flightdeck@sympatic...mblock.ca> wrote in message news:G8xE1z.HEp@lugnet.com... (...) Major snip. Phew... Kyle, I'm printing out your post right now and I'm going to let it sink in for a while, re-read it and try to make sense of (...) (24 years ago, 18-Feb-01, to lugnet.cad)
| | | Re: Feedback on everything CAD related
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| (...) It looks like you had a lot of trouble, next time try: 1) Download (URL) 2) Run leocad-0.73-win.setup.exe 3) Have fun ! :) For LGEO support, you just need to fill the path where you installed it in the "POV-Ray Export" dialog but you can write (...) (24 years ago, 18-Feb-01, to lugnet.cad)
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