LDraw.org Wiki - User contributions [en]

LDraw to LDD conversion

2008-01-16T20:53:42Z

RoscoHead: Minor changes

The LDraw and LDD libraries differ in color numbers, sometimes in part numbers, the fact that LDD parts are measured in millimeters while LDraw uses LDUs – LDraw Units, but most notably in the part's origin point. While LDraw parts have their origin in the middle of the part the LDD origin is in the bottom right-hand corner.

<center>[[Image:Tutorial_LDD_LDRAWorigin.png]][[Image:Tutorial_LDD_LDDorigin.png]]</center>

The conversion between LDraw and LDD is governed by the '''ldraw.xml''' file which contains all the information about these differences. The file can be found in the "LEGO Digital Designer/Assets" directory (where "LEGO Digital Designer" is the directory in which LDD 2 is installed). Though the current LDD ships with a version containing a good bunch of translations compiled by the LEGO Universe Team and LDraw-Users you might replaced with an updated version that can be found [http://www.ldraw.org/files/ldraw.xml here] (to download the file right-click the link and select "Save Target As...").

To install the file just go to the "LEGO Digital Designer/Assets" directory, back up the existing '''ldraw.xml''' and overwrite it with the latest version. Once this is done start or restart LDD and it will now use the updated list.

===Importing a LDraw-File into the LEGO Digital Designer===

<center>[[Image:Tutorial_LDD_Conversion1.gif]]</center>

1.) Select the '''File''' menu and then the '''Import (Ctrl+I)''' tab ('''File > Import (Ctrl+I''').

<center>[[Image:Tutorial_LDD_Conversion2.gif]]</center>

2.) In the popping up dialog you first have to select '''Ldraw-Files (*.ldr)''' from the Files of type: drop-down box. Otherwise the dialog will show only its default '''LXF-Files (*.lxf)'''.<br />
3.) You can now read LDraw files (but not MPD files). After hitting the '''Open''' button it should load your LDraw-Model although there are likely to be numerous mistakes due to oversensitivity of the LDD collision detection or not supported colors.

<center>[[Image:Tutorial_LDD_Conversion3.gif]]</center>

4.) For the event you get this type of warning you should check the following:
:* Did you use parts not supported by LDD? The pallette of the supported LDD parts can be found at the LEGO Digital Designer homepage: http://ldd.lego.com/
:* Contains your model parts in not supported colors? LDD's color pallette is in some ways limited by the bricks you can purchased through LEGO Factory. Therefore you can for example use a Brick 1 x 2 in all the colors below, but the LEGO Digital Designer will refuse to load an orange 1 x 2:

<center>[[Image:Tutorial_LDD_Conversion4.gif]]</center>

:* The part will not load because its translations hasn't been added to the ldraw.xml file yet or the internal LDD part number has changed. Please contact the LDraw Team if the part in question comes in the right color and is supported by both system but gives out an error. We will do our best to add the part for the next release.

[[category:tutorials]]

Macintosh-Compatible LDraw Software

2007-06-14T00:13:37Z

RoscoHead: /* Utilities */ remove rsoplay - not Ldraw related

This is an inventory of Macintosh compatible LDraw and LEGO related software. Everyone is encouraged to contribute updates, clarifications, and corrections to this page. The objective is to compile and maintain a definitive list of the tools Mac users have at their disposal to work with the LDraw system.

== Editors ==

These programs can be used to create LDraw models.

* [http://bricksmith.sourceforge.net/ '''Bricksmith''']: Arguably the premier Macintosh LDraw editor. Features a minifig editor, a flexible part browser, and more.
* [http://ldglite.sourceforge.net/ '''ldglite''']: Keyboard oriented editor with numerous options; most faithful to the original LDraw and LEdit experience.
* [http://homepage.mac.com/aallan/mbc.html '''Mac Brick CAD''']: Multiple iterations of this editor are available. [http://homepage.mac.com/aallan/faq.html#1]
* [http://olson.pair.com/brickdraw3d/ '''BrickDraw3D''']: Features drag-and-drop part insertion and movement.
* [http://ldd.lego.com/ '''LEGO Digital Designer''']: Limited translation between LDraw and LDD format is possible.

== Viewers ==

These programs are primarily intended to view existing LDraw models.

* [http://ldview.sourceforge.net/ '''LDView''']: Robust viewer with fly-through mode, automatic part downloading, and numerous rendering options.
* [http://www.magnusviri.com/lego/downloads/lcx.html '''LCX''']: Experimental viewer with [[BFC]] tools and a rudimentary text-based editor.

== Utilities ==

Some of these utilities are command line programs that may require familiarity with the [http://developer.apple.com/documentation/MacOSX/Conceptual/OSX_Technology_Overview/CommandLine/chapter_8_section_1.html Terminal] to employ.

* [http://bricksmith.sourceforge.net/LSynth.html '''LSynth'''] and [http://anoved.net/2007/04/lsynth-service.html '''LSynth Service''']: Synthesize flexible elements like hoses and chains. [http://www.users.qwest.net/~kclague/lsynth/]
* [http://www.hassings.dk/l3/l3p.html '''L3P'''] and [http://www.magnusviri.com/lego/downloads/l3p.html '''L3P Launcher''']: Convert LDraw files to [http://www.povray.org/ POV-Ray] format for high-quality rendering.
* [http://www.br-eng.info/about/lego/Misc/txt2dat/index.htm '''txt2dat''']: Generate textual LDraw stickers.
* [http://www.philohome.com/isecalc/isecalc.htm '''Isecalc''']: Compute part intersections.
* [http://www.philohome.com/isecalc/isecalc.htm#Linetrim '''Linetrim''']: Clip lines against surfaces.
* [http://bricxcc.sourceforge.net/utilities.html '''Programmable Brick Utilities''']: Mindstorms tools including RXEDumper, Wav2Rso, wavrsocvt, and MIDIBatch.
* [http://anoved.net/tw_ldraw_kit.html '''TextWrangler LDraw Kit'''] and [http://anoved.net/tw_ldraw_kit.html#ldlocate '''ldlocate''']: Improve TextWrangler's ability to edit LDraw files.


== Web ==

These online services are not strictly Macintosh oriented, but they are accessible to Mac users.

* [http://www.antonraves.com/converter.php '''Anton's LDraw Converter''']: Convert LDraw files to POV-Ray format; used for numerous impressive animations.
* [http://anoved.net/bitsticker.html '''Bitsticker''']: Convert images to LDraw stickers.
* [http://anoved.net/txt2dat.html '''txt2dat online''']: Generate textual LDraw stickers.
* [http://anoved.net/isecalc.html '''Isecalc online''']: Compute part intersections.

[[category:Mac]]
[[category:Software]]
[[category:Articles]]

Category talk:OSes

2007-05-25T16:21:07Z

RoscoHead:

Should this category be called "Operating Systems"? [[User:RoscoHead|Rosco]] 12:21, 25 May 2007 (EDT)

LDraw.org Wiki talk:Site support

2007-05-25T16:18:03Z

RoscoHead: How to link to Paypal?

The button on the Ldraw.org site is a <form>, which I'm pretty sure can't be edited in directly (BICBW). If possible, can someone look into how to get it working, or remove this page. [[User:RoscoHead|Rosco]] 12:18, 25 May 2007 (EDT)

LDraw.org Wiki:Site support

2007-05-25T16:15:04Z

RoscoHead:

Please support us by making a donation to our host, Peeron.com

''Insert Paypal link here''