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Subject: 
How to Rotate LPub Instruction Images with ROTSTEP (a crash course for fellow Mac users)
Newsgroups: 
lugnet.announce, lugnet.cad.dev.mac
Followup-To: 
lugnet.cad.dev.mac
Date: 
Fri, 22 Aug 2008 04:21:19 GMT
Viewed: 
143 times
  
Now that LPub is available for the Mac, fellow Mac users may be excited to start creating instructions for your LDraw models. If you’re like me, however, you might at first be perplexed about how to tell LPub to show your model from different angles in different steps.

It turns out that this is accomplished with “ROTSTEP”, a meta-command borrowed from MLCad. You can enter these statements by hand, which is what I’ve done with the instructions I’ve created so far.

Here I will introduce you to ROTSTEP and provide some examples to illustrate how it is applied. The ubiquitous CAR.DAT model has volunteered for example duty.

The Default View

Without any ROTSTEP statements, LPub renders models in this orientation:



We’ll experiment with RELative ROTSTEP statements, which will rotate the model around the labelled axes defined by this default orientation.

The ROTSTEP Statement

Here is the general form of the ROTSTEP statements we will use:

0 ROTSTEP X Y Z REL

X, Y, and Z are the degree values that the model should be rotated around the respective axes. For more information about other forms of the ROTSTEP statement, consult the MLCad extension specification (PDF).

Refreshing Images in LPub

If you add ROTSTEP commands or otherwise modify the model using LPub’s editor pane, you may need to refresh the images displayed for each step. First, click the Tools menu and select “Clear Assembly Image Cache”:



Then click the “Redraw” button in the LDraw File toolbar. (It is the circular arrow above the editor pane.) You don’t need to do this yet, but once you make some changes you may need to.

90 Degree Rotation

Here are three screenshots showing the effects of 90 degree rotation about the X, Y, and Z axes. Look carefully at the editor pane to see the corresponding ROTSTEP statements - I’ve highlighted the key values.



Negative values rotate in the opposite direction. Notice that the rotation remains in effect for subsequent steps.

Restoring or Changing the View

You can specify different rotations for as many steps as you want, of course.



Note that “0 ROTSTEP 0 0 0 REL” restores the original default view, as in the second step of the above screenshot.

180 Degree Rotation

Here are a few more examples.



Experiment with different rotation increments. Try combining rotation about two or more axes in one ROTSTEP statement.

An “Applied” Example

Here is a page from the instructions for my Biplane alternate model for the B-Wing Fighter.



I’ve flipped the model upside down with “0 ROTSTEP 0 0 180 REL” in step 4 to reveal the pieces added to the bottom of the 4 x 6 plate.

Entering ROTSTEP Statements in Bricksmith

I’ve been learning how to use ROTSTEP statements by trial and error as I experiment with LPub. As a result, I’ve been adding ROTSTEPs with LPub’s editor. Once you get the hang of it, though, you may want to enter them right in Bricksmith as you build the model.

Hold down the Option key while clicking the Model menu in Bricksmith to reveal the “Insert Raw Command” command:



Double-click the new raw command item in the File Contents drawer and enter the ROTSTEP statement:



Do not include the initial 0 when entering ROTSTEP statements this way.

Notes

These examples are based on LPub 4.0 and Bricksmith 2.0.

Please post any corrections, clarifications, or additional tips in reply!



Message has 3 Replies:
  Re: How to Rotate LPub Instruction Images with ROTSTEP (a crash course for fellow Mac users)
 
Hi Jim, Thanks for the great tutorial! I have a note or two.... <snipity doo, dah> (...) 0 ROTSTEP END Also cancels rotation. (...) Great stuff! Thanks again! Kevin (16 years ago, 22-Aug-08, to lugnet.cad.dev.mac, FTX)
  Re: How to Rotate LPub Instruction Images with ROTSTEP (a crash course for fellow Mac users)
 
Just want to say I appreciate (and use) this mini tutorial all the time! -Dan (16 years ago, 28-Oct-08, to lugnet.cad.dev.mac, FTX)
  Re: How to Rotate LPub Instruction Images with ROTSTEP (a crash course for fellow Mac users)
 
(...) Jim, please add this to the tutorial section at LDraw.org w. (15 years ago, 10-Oct-09, to lugnet.cad.dev.mac, FTX)

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