Preparing a MPD for Official Model Repository compliance
Preparing a model to follow the Official Model Repository specifications can be a daunting task, as there are many little details to take care of. Fortunately, MPDCenter tool comes to the rescue!
1 - Setting up MPDCenter to find your LDraw folders.
These settings are located in menu options -> options
- If f your LDraw folder is a clean one, without any unofficial part, set the path to pure official folder on it as well as your LDraw base folder. Set the unofficial parts folder to the folder that contains your unofficial parts (doh')
- If you mix your unofficial parts with official ones, download an up-to-date complete.zip and unzip it in a folder then set the path to pure official folder on it. Set your LDraw base folder and unofficial parts folder to your regular LDraw folder.
2 - Preparing your MPD model
This tutorial uses a model of the UCS Millennium Falcon by Roland D. available here, both in its initial version not OMR compliant, and in its processed, OMR conform version.
- Name your mpd file as "xxxxx - name of set.mpd", here "10179 - Ultimate Collector's Millennium Falcon.mpd"
- Start MPDCenter, open your mpd file. MPDCenter trundles a bit - your file is NOT OMR conform!
- In the tree window (left pane), select main model of your file (here main.ldr) then Edit -> Header dialog
- In the dialog that omens, set author name, theme, etc... and most importantly the license as redistribuable (a not-redistribuable file can't be OMR compliant), click "Apply".
- Answer "yes" to apply the header data to all file in mpd, and yes again to allow MPDCenter to rename files in MPD to be OMR conform.
- MPDCenter does its thing, then (because this file contains specialized parts file - the bended 47996 that has no redistribuable license) complains that the mpd is still not OMR conform...
- To solve this issue, click on each specific part file in tree window, then right click on it, and set license entry to redistribuable. Note that this step is not needed for models that don't contain specialized parts (or if the parts already carry a redistribuable license)
- Check again for OMR conformity (Information->LDraw OMR check). This time, we get references to ~Moved to parts that should be updated (in MPDCenter options it is possible to make this update automatic on file load)
- To do this: Edit -> Update '~Moved to' refecences
- We are almost done... the last step is to include all unofficial parts to the MPD so that it remains consistent even if unofficial parts are renamed, moved or rotated. This is actually the most important step of all... To do this: Import -> Import unofficial files.
- Save the MPD file.