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Hi everybody -
A few of you are curious about the new default file format the latest
version of MLCad uses, .LDR. I will attempt to explain this to eliminate
any confusion.
For a while we (website organizers and core contributors) have wanted the
file extension for LDraw models to change. DAT is problematic because its
an ambiguous file format, many different programs use it. To identify more
with LDraw, we chose LDR.
The extension change is just that. Nothing changes in the actual file
format. It allows an LDraw model file to be distinctive from other files.
Programs such as L2P and L3P should still work with .ldr, I see no reason
why they shouldn't.
Program authors should be prompt to make the switch in the next release of
their respective titles. The default extension for opening files and
writing files should be .LDR, and there should be the option to open .DAT
files as well. As of this moment in time there is no plan to change the
extension for .MPD, which stands for Multi-Part DAT.
Also, program authors should register the LDR file as an 'LDraw Model,' not
naming the extension to reflect their own program.
Some programs are written so they reclaim file extensions when they are
installed. As a more user friendly feature, users should be given the
option to either always reclaim, ask before reclaiming, or never reclaim.
If any incompatibilities do arise from the new default extension, they
should be reported to the specific program author and reported on LUGNET for
others' information.
Tim Courtney - tim@ldraw.org
http://www.ldraw.org - Centralized LDraw Resources
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Message has 4 Replies:
 | | Re: LDR - New LDraw File Extension
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| (...) This is Not exactly required! (...) Yes, but it will break compatibility, with older programs. (...) Don't really know. (...) So, the actual goal, of switching to an unambigous extension, doesn't really work, because, everybody, must keep (...) (23 years ago, 3-Dec-01, to lugnet.cad, lugnet.cad.dev, lugnet.cad.mlcad)
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