Subject:
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Re: MLCad Suggestions
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.cad.mlcad
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Date:
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Mon, 21 Feb 2000 09:50:05 GMT
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Viewed:
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1835 times
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Please find below my comments ....
> - Part selection: Put a text entry field between the available parts and the
> preview area that accepts LCAD part numbers and then inserts the part,
> similar to when you hit "OK" in the parts selection dialog. This would be
> quicker than using the Find or Add Parts dialogs.
This should not be a problem, will try to make it ...
>
> - Add an option to display only the last "N" parts (or steps) in the model,
> or the N previous parts/steps to the currently selected, or some variation
> of that. This would give enough context to continue to add pieces to the
> model, without the expense of redrawing the entire model. This is similar
> to "draw to selected part only" but I think it would be even more useful for
> creating instructions.
This is generally possible, but keep in mind that this might be a slower thing.
>
> - Make MLCad as mode-less as possible. It should be possible to pan
> (translate) and zoom (scale) the view without switching modes. A single
> mouse button can control both operations using a gestural approach: when the
> user clicks the button and begins dragging, if the drag starts out being
> vertical, the program enters zooming mode; if the drag starts out being
> horizontal, the program enters panning mode. (Once the mode is established,
> the mouse can move horizontally and vertically as usual in either mode). It
> would be great to be able to pan/zoom without changing modes all the time.
> You can still leave the current pan/zoom modes as they are too - this would
> just be a nice shortcut.
>
> Since the interface already uses two mouse buttons, this could be done using
> a modifier key (shift/ctrl/etc.).
I will try something to make it better, and which works into this direction ...
>
> I don't see a good way to get rid of the construction vs. instruction step
> modes.
Neither me :-(
>
> - In instruction step mode, tie the model part listing to the currently
> displayed instruction step. It is very useful to be able to see the LDRAW
> commands that correspond to the currently displayed step, and it would be
> nice not to have to find them manually. Perhaps the LDRAW STEP command for
> the step just drawn could be highlighted to show the correspondence even
> more clearly.
Good idea, will try to make it ....
>
> - In instruction step mode, make it possible to skip ahead (for example) ten
> steps, or to jump to a specific step number. Ideally the up/down arrow keys
> would move forward/backward one step and pageup/pagedown would move forward/
> backward ten (or whatever) steps.
Ok, will try to make it ....
>
> - When switching between construction and instruction step mode, make the
> model part list stay in the same place! After stepping through the
> instruction steps and finding a spot that needs fixing, users shouldn't have
> to start over and re-locate the position in the model part list.
Should be possible will try to make it ....
>
> - Add more selection options, such as the ability to add all the parts in
> a step to the current selection, and the ability to do "inside" and
> "crossing" window selections like "real world" CAD programs.
I'm planning a change in the selections in version 1.9, where it will be
possible to have unlimited selections, this will be the time for enhancements,
could you explain the "inside" and "crossing" a little bit more?
>
> - The "help" option results in "Online help is not available because MSIE4.0
> or higher was not found". Just tying it to the default browser would be
> nice.
Bad thing, but it will not work, since I use a active-X control based on
MSIE4.0. However you should try to upgrade to a higher version of MSIE.
>
> - A wish that applies to the LCAD community in general: make a DAT->PostScript
> converter so that really high-quality printed output is possible.
Uuups, that one is hard, you force me to look at postscript :-(
Does someone have a ready made converter, which I could use, or at least the
specs are required (I don't have one).
>
> - And finally, the ultimate wish: rewrite MLCad using OpenGL and Tk (or a
> similar toolkit) so it is portable between Windows, Unix, and Macs. Then I
> wouldn't have to boot into Windows to use it (it's the only thing I use
> Windows for) and many other people would also be able to use it more easily.
The thing with OpenGL is that: I tried a version of MLCad using this, but for
the following reason it's not possible to use it ..
- It's not faster than my drawing routines unless it can't use the hidden
surface tests, which is wy we introduce BFC's.
- It can't be used for editing since MLCad stores references to the parts in
the drawings for fastest selection, which is not possible with Microsofts
OpenGL (no private planes).
I understand the wish of the users for going to Linux and Macs but MLCad
currently is totaly based on MFC which makes it hard to run it on other
operating systems.
But I have something in mind, to try programming it with Java ... and than ...
no limits regarding operating systems ...
>
>
> Again, MLCad is already very useful and a lot of fun to use. I hope that
> you continue to develop it and realize its full potential!
Sure ... MLCad 1.8 is on its way out ...
(sneak into? Basic support for dat primitives: Lines, Triangles, Quads ...
Full support for BFC :-), many bug-fixes, free rotations of RotationSteps and
3D View using the mouse only ... ;-)
So please stand by ....
Planned takeoff in about 14 days ....
>
> Best regards,
> Steve
Also,
Michael
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Message has 5 Replies:
 | | Re: MLCad Suggestions
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| (...) Or use HTML help in Windows whcih im sure that the MFC suppourts if not the SDK? (...) DAT->PostScript (...) GhostScript? - I think theres a windows verison. (...) Java 2 has Java3d - Or you could use VRML + Java via the External Authorign (...) (25 years ago, 21-Feb-00, to lugnet.cad.mlcad)
| | | Re: MLCad Suggestions
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| (...) Or use HTML help in Windows whcih im sure that the MFC suppourts if not the SDK? (...) DAT->PostScript (...) GhostScript? - I think theres a windows verison. (...) Java 2 has Java3d - Or you could use VRML + Java via the External Authorign (...) (25 years ago, 21-Feb-00, to lugnet.cad.mlcad)
| | | Re: MLCad Suggestions
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| (...) A DAT->PostScript converter would be awesome, either as a stand-alone utility, or as a plug-in to MLCad. But I don't think it needs to be in the core of MLCad (in other words, maybe someone else can work on this besides Michael? Not that I'm (...) (25 years ago, 21-Feb-00, to lugnet.cad.mlcad)
| | | Re: MLCad Suggestions
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| (...) You must be doing some interesting optimizations for the drawing? It doesn't seem any harder to render the last N parts than the first N? (...) I also noticed that when you delete a part, MLCad jumps back to the start of the list. It would be (...) (25 years ago, 22-Feb-00, to lugnet.cad.mlcad)
| | | Re: MLCad Suggestions
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| "Michael Lachmann" wrote... (...) If it fails, you could try launching the user's preferred browser by calling: ShellExecute(0, "open", "MLCAD.htm", NULL, NULL, 0); However, you will miss the Index and Contents buttons (which I cannot get to work (...) (25 years ago, 22-Feb-00, to lugnet.cad.mlcad)
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Message is in Reply To:
| | MLCad Suggestions
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| I've been using MLCad and having a lot of fun with it. It's a great program. I do have a number of suggestions that could (IMHO!) make it even better. - Part selection: Put a text entry field between the available parts and the preview area that (...) (25 years ago, 19-Feb-00, to lugnet.cad.mlcad)
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