Get started
Even though you'll be using the much faster "autocube"
method to build virtually all of your design elements,
it's important to start with the basic "points and lines"
method to get a ground-up understanding of RogCAD.
The first step when building a RogCAD project is to sketch
out your plan in 2D form, with the x and y directions
labeled:
(Even though you'll find that the "autosolid" routine
will virtually eliminate any need to refer to your
reference sketch, it's good practice for beginners to
make a clearly labeled reference sketch.)
Ten data points (vertices of a simple house) have been
labeled. Simple 2D sketches, sometimes in plan view,
sometimes in elevation, suffice for many projects. But
crude 3D sketches for labeling points is also frequently
helpful.
To enter the data for this sample project, open s-.txt
(found in the "empties" folder) then immediately save it
to the "data" folder (using "save as") as s-1.txt before
you forget.
The RogCAD 2.5 editing section header for s-.txt
********* THE USER EDITING AREA *******************
WIRECOLORS Edit colors for wireframe line groups.
STANDARD Edit data for standard points.
LINES Edit data for point-pair lines.
AUTOPLANE Edit data for planes.
AUTOCUBES Edit data for autocubes.
AUTOFRAMING Edit data for framing lines.
TRANSFORM Edit singles, resize, rotate, translate.
The first user editing section in s-.txt is for wireframe
colors. RogCAD allows you to break your wireframe model
into as many as seven color groups. You can leave these
set at their default values for now.
Standard points
Next is the STANDARD section. The x, y and z coordinates
which you specify on a point by point basis are called the
STANDARD points.
The data entry for our simple house follows. First,
notice the initial appearance of the STANDARD section:
STANDARD:
999 999,999,999
After entering data for the simple house,
the STANDARD section looks like this:
STANDARD:
1 0,0,0
2 0,0,8
3 0,30,0
4 0,30,8
5 20,30,0
6 20,30,8
7 20,0,0
8 20,0,8
9 10,0,12
10 10,30,12
999 999,999,999
Note: Never add line spaces or any other lines of text
between STANDARD and 999 other than your data. This is
true for all other RogCAD data entry areas as well.
The first point in this example (x,y,z = 0,0,0)
is point number 1.
The last data line in the above example contains values that
tell the program that it has reached the end of a data
segment, in this case it's the end of the point data.
(When the program reads x=999 y=999 z=999, it knows to move
on to the next data segment.)
Notice that a comma or a space (or multiple spaces, or a comma
and space/spaces) separates each bit of information in the data
lines. It is important that there be no comma at the end of a
data line. It is also important that there be no line spaces
between STANDARD: and 999 other than your data. You can rely
on just spaces, just commas, or use a style like the one above.
Always start your point "line labels" at 1 and don't skip
any numbers. You can create dummy points as needed during
subsequent editing sessions to avoid renumbering already
assigned points.
Point-pair lines data
The data points in the above example are the vertices of a very
simple house-shaped object. But we are not yet ready to run the
program. First we must specify lines to connect these points.
Any point not connected to another will not be recognized by the
program. A sample data segment containing point-pair line data
follows. You enter the following data below LINEG1: in the LINES
section:
LINEG1:
1,2 3,4, 5,6, 7,8, 1,3
3,5, 5,7, 7,1, 2,4, 4,6
6,8, 8,2, 8,9, 9,2 6,10
10,4, 9,10
999,999
The numbers above are point numbers. They are the ten point
numbers which were defined in the STANDARD data segment above.
Also note that the dummy point-pair 999,999 tells the program
to stop reading from this line group.
Now, in this example, I connected more points than necessary.
The following would also have enabled the program to recognize
all the data points:
LINEG1:
1,2, 3,4, 5,6, 7,8, 9,10
999,999
The only difference is that when the latter example runs, it
will not display the full wireframe model of the object, only
those five point-pair lines of the latter example. The program
runs a bit faster and there is less time spent entering data,
but you'll find that it takes very little extra time entering
all the point-pair lines for your object, and the program still
runs plenty fast. It's well worth the little extra effort to
have a nice well defined wireframe model on screen.
Notice that in the two preceeding examples, there is no
numbering system used for the point-pair lines. This is
because there is no need for the user to keep track of
point-pair lines as part of a numbering system. Keep the
columns precisely lined up for easy trouble-shooting and
editing.
Save your data file
At this point, you should select "save" from the file menu
to save this file as s-1.txt in its current form. Make sure
it's in the data folder.
This project is now ready for display on screen. But
first, you should learn about editing a file named
start.txt. You will find it in the "empties" folder.
It has two sections for editing: default view and
default palette.
First, you must copy the start.txt file to the "data"
folder.
Default view and default palette
Then edit the DEFAULTVIEW section of the copy of start.txt
in the data folder so that it looks like this:
DEFAULTVIEW:
90, 65, 30, 5, 10, 1, 1.5
This gives you a Perspective point of x=90, y=65, z=30,
a Focal point of x=5, y=10, z=1, and a Magnification
of 1.5.
During the construction and analysis phase of building your
project, it is typically useful to edit the default view
quite often. It's nice to have the correct vantage point
upon startup, rather than having to monkey with view
changes at run time. You'll find yourself switching back
and forth between 3 or 4 different default views during the
construction phase. For this reason, I always store the
noncurrent default views at the bottom of start.txt. I paste
them back into the correct place as needed.
Edit the DEFAULTPAL section so that it looks like this:
DEFAULTPAL:
"GRAY"
RogCAD automatically adds the .pal extension, so be sure
to not type in the extension. GRAY.PAL will be called
by RogCAD at run time. (All filenames are limited to
eight characters, not including the extension.)
Now select "save" from the file menu to save start.txt
in its current form in the data folder.
The program is now ready to run in its simplest form.
Run the program by double clicking rogcad.exe.
X and Y orientation arrows appear. They are part of a
special hidden data group. Once you clear them from the
screen, they don't reappear until you restart RogCAD.
(But the data for these are included in a file named
s-0.txt in the RogCAD samples folder. Place that file
in your data folder and call it to refresh the
orientation arrows. You can paste this data, along with
any modifications you wish to make, into any data
file.)
Along with the orientation arrows,
The main menu appears:
G A CV SH CH EN CLS QT
(not case sensitive)
G: is for group. Type G (enter). You're prompted for data
type, then group number for that type. Example: For the
simple house, we type S for data type, then 1 for group
number, because we are calling the data from s-1.txt.
Multiple groups can be displayed. Typically, projects
are best built using multiple groups, such as:
east windows,
south windows,
west windows,
north windows,
exterior shell,
porch structure.
One group is in memory (active) at a time. All operations
are performed only on the active group. (Except for
reorientations of the model. Even though you only see
the active group moving about on screen, the inactive
groups are automatically updated as well.)
To display the simple house of s-1.txt, type G (enter),
then S (enter), then 1 (enter). The simple house now
appears along with the orientation arrows.
CLS: Clears the graphics portion of the screen. The background
color will change to whatever background color you've
specified in the data file for the active group. The same
thing happens when you use the A (arrows) routine or the
"change view" routine.
A: This routine lets you, the viewer, move laterally in the
X or Y direction or vertically in the Z direction. Type
A, then enter. Type P, F, or M. Type X, Y, or Z. Enter
a value for increment (typically an integer such as 10 or
20 when changing perspective and typically a decimal number
such as .1 or .03 when changing magnification), then press
enter. For smoother movements, use smaller numbers.
You use the up and down arrow keys to increase or decrease
values for X, Y, Z or magnification.
Stop your X or Y perspective movement when the drawing is
at about a 45 degree angle. At that point, switch to X if
you are currently in Y, or to Y if currently in X.
Similarly, when ascending vertically in Z, you'll need to
switch to X or Y at some point if you wish to fly over the
object.
Pressing E will allow you to move backwards through these
options. This is how you switch modes. If you keep
pressing E you will get back to the main menu.
When you first press an arrow key to enact movement, all
displayed groups except for the active group dissappear
from the screen. After reorienting your model to your
satisfaction, you can recall the other data groups. They
appear, properly reoriented. The same applies to CV and
SH below.
CV: Lets you re-enter perspective, focus and magnification.
SH: Lets you shift the drawing horizontally or vertically.
Increment is in screen pixels. A screen is 640 by 480.
This does not affect the perspective or focal point and
is rarely used and not generally recommended for
achieving realistic views. It's usually better to shift
your model by changing your focal point. Do this by using
CV or by selecting F in arrows routine.
CH: Lets you change a color. Use the arrow keys. The "previous
color" feature is very useful. Press E to return to the
main menu.
Enter 999 to use the graduated shades routine. Pay close
attention to the prompts. You must start with a lower
numbered color than you end with. The color numbering
scheme is 1 - 15, with 1 at the top. When entering the
RGB (red green blue) values, you must start with the
higher number. Valid numbers for RGB are 0 - 63.
(63 is lightest, 0 is darkest.)
EN: Sends you to the Enhance menu. This is where you can
turn your wireframe model into a solid model. But it's
only useful if plane data was entered into your data
file. (We didn't do that yet.)
QT: Quits the program.
Sketch labeling
You'll need to make well labeled 2D and possibly 3D crude
sketches of your object(s). What needs to be labeled are the
point numbers, plane numbers and autocube numbers. We haven't
covered those last two items yet. First, let's look at a
sketch of our example house:
(Look at the data files s-8.txt and s-9.txt in the
samples folder to see the data entry for the above
sketches.)
Autocubes
I've added door and windows (lower sketch). I've also given
the walls thickness, making inner and outer wall surfaces.
But notice that on the upper sketch I've labeled all the
points individually, and on the lower sketch I've mostly
just labeled "autocubes". You'll notice in the autocube
data text files (a-.txt, ax3-.txt ... etc) that autocubes
are grouped into blocks of ten or twenty, with 80 autocubes
per data file. You can enter anywhere from one to nine, or
one to nineteen autocubes per block (depending on block
size). It's okay to skip over blocks (leave empty). When
not using a block, you must leave the zero's in that block
as placeholders. Refer to the example data file a-9.txt for
single autocube entry, and to the example data file ax8-9.txt
for stringed autocube entry (which will be covered later).
These data files are in the samples folder.
Don't worry about rot or col (default values of 0,10) for now.
These stand for rotation index and color, values needed by the
automatic solid modeling routine, covered later.
NOTE: Never set a color index to 0. The program will
crash during auto-surfacing if it encounters
a color less than 0, and the auto-surfacing routine
necessarily will subtract 1 from a color for the
purpose of introducing lighting.
Autocubes have the advantage of requiring you to enter only
two points to define them, even though they consist of eight
points, and have the further advantage of not requiring the
user to specify point-pair lines or planes. Lines and planes
are automatically assigned. You can use the autocube method
whenever an object is rectangular and is squared away with
the xyz coordinate system.
(NOTE: You can use the TRANSFORMATION routines (which are
included in every data text file) to rotate, translate, resize
and deform autocubes. This allows you to use Autocube to
quickly generate rectangular objects, then rotate them into
odd angles. These routines help you to build libraries of
objects for use in multiple projects. See the
TRANSFORMATION section further down in this document.)
The following sketch shows how autocubes are oriented in the
xyz coordinate system:
Refer to a-9.txt and ax8-9.txt in the samples folder to see
how autocube data is entered. Notice that an autocube is
defined by entering the minimum value of x, the minimum value
of y, and the minimum value of z as point 1 of the autocube.
Max x, max y, and max z are entered as point 6. Notice that
point 6 is diagonally opposite point 1. Refer back to the
sketch of an autocube higher on this page. Now, really the
points for autocubes range from 1 to 798 per data group (except
in an s-.txt data group, where autocube points start at 401).
Autocube number 0 consists of points 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8. (9 and
10 are not used.) Autocube 0 consists of plane numbers 1,2,3,
4,5,6. (7,8,9,10 are not used.) Autocube number 40 consists
of points 401,402,403,404,405,406,407,408. (409 and 410 are
not used.) Autocube 40 consists of plane numbers 401,402,403,
404,405,406. (Planes 407, 408, 409 and 410 are not used.)
This scheme is used all the way through autocube number 79,
which consists of points 791,792,793,794,795,796,797,798 and
planes 791,792,793,794,795,796.
So, you see, you need only label autocube numbers 0, 1,
2, .... 56, 57, .... etc on your crude sketch. Just
keep a little autocube orientation sketch handy to refer
to as needed for plane and point assignment information.
Single autocubes can be entered into the following data text
files: s-.txt, a-.txt, ax3-.txt, ax6-.txt
ay3-.txt, ay6-.txt
az3-.txt, az6-.txt
Strings of autocubes can be entered into the following data
text files: ax3-.txt, ax4-.txt, ax6-.txt, ax8-.txt
ay3-.txt, ay4-.txt, ay6-.txt, ay8-.txt
az3-.txt, az4-.txt, az6-.txt, az8-.txt
Here is a data entry sample for single autocubes using s-.txt:
----------------------------------------------------------------
AUTOCUBE60:
601 20,30,0 23,40,20 0,4
611 25,30,0 28,40,20 0,4
621 30,30,0 33,40,20 0,4
631 35,30,0 38,40,20 0,4
641 40,30,0 43,40,20 0,4
651 45,30,0 48,40,20 0,4
661 50,30,0 53,40,20 0,4
671 55,30,0 58,40,20 0,4
681 60,30,0 63,40,20 0,4
691 65,30,0 68,40,20 0,4
701 70,30,0 73,40,20 0,4
711 75,30,0 78,40,20 0,4
721 80,30,0 83,40,20 0,4
731 85,30,0 88,40,20 0,4
741 90,30,0 93,40,20 0,4
999 999,999,999, 999,999,999, 0,4
----------------------------------------------------------------
Above is the data entry for cube numbers 60 through 74, creating
a string of autocubes.
Here is a simpler method, using ax3-.txt:
----------------------------------------------------------------
x1,y1,z1, x6,y6,z6, spacing, endcube, rot,col
(21 - 39)
AUTOCUBE20:
20,30,0 23,40,20 5 34 0,4
----------------------------------------------------------------
Above is the data entry for a string of autocubes beginning
with autocube number 20 and ending with autocube number 34.
(ax3-40 in the samples folder.)
Both methods produce the following output:
Planes data
For planes other than autocube, you define them in the same
manner as you defined point-pair lines earlier. You simply
specify four points. You do not need to define planes in
order for the program to display a wireframe model of your
data group. Just define whatever planes you wish to.
Although the plane routine works regardless of the order in
which you specify the four points of the plane, it's
strongly recommended that they be specified using the
following pattern:
Following this pattern will allow you to make use of the
k-plane and j-plane routines, which are described later.
(Triangular shapes can be treated just like four sided
shapes when it comes to defining planes. You simply
repeat one of the vertices. It's as if one side of a four
sided polygon had length zero.)
You enter your plane data in the AUTOPLANE section of s-.txt.
You keep track of plane numbers just like you keep track of
point numbers in the STANDARD point section - by using line
labels. Start with line label (plane number) 1, and don't
skip any numbers. You can create dummy planes as needed
during subsequent editing sessions to avoid having to
renumber any already assigned plane numbers.
Example:
-------------
AUTOPLANE:
1 1,3,5,7, 0,10
2 2,4,6,8, 0,10
3 11,13,15,17, 0,10
4 12,14,16,18, 0,10
999 999,999,999,999, 0,10
-------------
contains plane numbers 1, 2, 3 and 4.
The final two values in each line are for primary orientation
of the plane and for color. These are used to make the plane
ready for the automatic solid modeling routine. That subject
is covered later.
Sketch labeling, part two
You'll need to make well labeled 2D and possibly 3D crude
sketches of your object(s). What needs to be labeled are the
point numbers, plane numbers and autocube numbers.
The biggest challenge is in labeling your sketches in
a tidy manner. You'll soon develop shorthand methods
that you'll find make it easier. Using colored pencils
to differentiate between autocube, point and
plane numbers is useful. I sometimes just circle one
type of number, and make little squares around another.
Typically, once you have your plane data entered, you
won't have much more need of your sketch with the point
numbers labeled. So it's usually a good idea to have
a seperate sketch or set of sketches with only plane
numbers and autocube numbers, since that is the primary
information needed to turn your wireframe model into
a solid rendering. Of course, various situations come
up that require you to refer to point numbers, such as
when adding shingles, or when you've overlooked defining
a plane. So keep everything handy.
Enhance mode
The reason you need to know point and plane numbers is that
you'll need to supply that information when you manually
turn your wireframe model into a solid model in the Enhance
mode. (You also need this information to fine tune anything
that the auto-solid routine failed to model, since the auto-
solid routine is often only 95% effective for various complex
objects.)
Typically, before going to the Enhance mode, you use the
A (arrows) routine (under the main menu) to fine tune the
view that you wish to turn into a solid rendering.
Let's take a look at the Enhance menu. When at the main
menu, type en, then press enter. The Enhance menu appears:
H-S G H1 HP P1 PP q k j p SQ SK SJ c f l a SS SC CV V CH QT
(Not case sensitive. Type the letter(s), then hit enter.)
H-S: Enter H or S for hide or show. (See next entry.)
G: Groups
When you go to the enhance menu, whatever data group
was last active at the main menu is still active.
You change groups in the enhance mode just as you
did in the main mode (see above). However, in the
enhance mode, you control whether the wireframe
modeling reappears for a given data group by toggling
the H-S (Hide-Show) switch. A reminder of what data
group is active appears on the enhance menu. The
functions you call from the enhance menu operate
only on the data group which is active. You can
also type CLS at the enhance menu to clear the
display. Toggle the H-S switch to Hide before
using the auto-solid routine.
CLS: (Not shown on the menu.) Clears the graphics portion
of the screen. The background color will change to
whatever background color you've specified in the data
file for the active group.
Q: Enter Q, then type the plane number. This is for manually
coloring planes. Type the color number (from the chart on
the left). In time, you'll get good at coloring the planes
in the right order. If you make a mistake, simply keep on
going, trying other planes or other colors or whatever. Or
if you've messed up the drawing so badly that you want to
start over, enter CLS and start over. (You can also stop
work at any time, saving the drawing at its current state
for finishing later. See SC and SS.)
K: K-plane. I don't recall that this stands for anything.
But what it does is allow you to color a plane that
won't color using Quick plane. This happens when too
much of the plane in question is off the screen. Type K,
K1, or K2, then [enter]. Enter a color number.
Dense cross hatching occurs, coloring the plane.
These routines automatically assign how many cross hatch
lines to draw (300, 1200 or 4800). The
K and K1 routines are also used when a very narrow
plane doesn't successfully color using Quick plane.
J: The same as K-plane, but in a direction perpendicular
to whatever direction K-plane drew. You can also use
J1, J2. I often use K2 followed by J2
to get complete solid coloring of a plane, as sometimes
little dots are left behind.
SQ,
SK,
SJ: String of Quick planes, K planes or J planes. You'll
be prompted for a starting plane, and ending plane,
the increment ("1" colors every plane from starting plane
to ending plane. "2" colors every other plane. "3" colors
every third plane, etc), a starting color, and a color
increment. If you select a color increment of zero, then
every plane in the string will be the same color.
More about SQ, SK and SJ:
Take advantage of these routines when entering
your data, especially when entering cube data
for something repeatable such as posts,
spindles, window elements, or framing members.
You can quickly paint these elements using SQ
(or SK/SJ) if you've set them up cleverly in
your data modules. You make use of the
increment feature in SQ/SK/SJ to skip over
planes in a patterned fashion.
Use an increment of 10 or -10 to color a string
of planes associated with autocubes. Thus, for
example, you can quickly paint autocube planes
433, 443, 453 ... 623, which are all facing the
same direction, using the same color for each, or
incrementing the color as well.
Hopefully, you'll be so successful with RogCAD's
autosolid routine, you'll have little need for
the SQ, SK, SJ, or any of the other plane coloring
routines listed for this menu.
P: Use this to define a plane for coloring. There is
occasionally a plane you wish to color, but you didn't
think of it at the time you were defining planes in your
data file. Rather than having to quit
the program and go back to your data file, you can just
define the plane "on the fly". Type P, then enter.
You'll be prompted for the point numbers (which you can
enter in any order), then for the color. You should
make a note to enter the data for that plane in your
data file the next time you are in there doing editing.
C: Cross hatch. This works like K-plane and J-plane,
except that you are prompted for points between which
cross-hatching will occur. The program will ask first
for the "top point for first end line", then "bottom
point for first end line". Top and bottom here are
completely arbitrary, just a device to keep things in the
right order. Next you're asked for the "top point for
second end line", then "bottom point for second end
line". If you mess up the order, or specify a lousy
color, or are unhappy with the number of cross hatch
lines you've chosen, you can just re-color that same
plane using Q or P, then try it again.
F: Framing lines. Whereas Cross hatch increments a plane
according to number of computer screen pixels, Framing
lines increments a plane according to it's true 3D
perspective. That is to say, Framing lines are
perspectively correct. This is the routine to use
for adding shingles, siding boards or railings, or for
dividing cabinets into equal parts to simulate simple
doors. Called Framing lines because it was originally
used to simulate building construction framing members,
such as stud walls. Inserts up to 100 lines.
L: Line. Draws a line between two points. Type L, then
enter. You'll be prompted for two points and for a
color. It's for when you need a line that you didn't
think to assign when you were in your data file.
A: Add a point. Adds a point to the point data base. It's
for when you need a point that you didn't think to assign
when you were in your data file. (Make a note to add it
to your data file later.) Type A, then enter. You'll be
prompted for a point number and for values for x, y and z.
Pick a point number that isn't being used (but not higher
than 800). If you don't like where it ends up, you can
erase it by re-entering the same data, but using the same
color as the color of the surface it ended up on. Now
re-define that point using new xyz values. This point
will now be available for use with P, C, L and F, but
possibly only until you switch to a different data group,
depending on whether the point number you assigned is being
used by the new data group.
CH: Change color. Same as CH at main menu. Type CH, enter.
Use arrow keys to change a color. Press E to return to
the Enhance menu. (Also see CH under the main menu
description for further information.)
V: View the perspective, focus and magnification values.
SC: Screen capture. This is my own screen capture routine,
built right into the program code. It creates large
image files, from about 50 KB to about 250 KB. (They
zip down to about 10% that size with Winzip for storage.)
But it does at least provide an easy way to save a drawing
for later rework. RogCAD automatically adds the .CAP
extension to the file name you assign, so don't add any
extension. All filenames are limited to eight characters,
not including the extension.
Use SC to back up your work periodically when doing
manual painting of your object. If you make a mistake
that ruins your drawing, just use SS (below) to get a
recent image back on screen for rework.
You must make a note of your perspective, focus and
magnification (pfm) values before exiting RogCAD if
you have created .cap images for later rework. The
same pfm values must be used when reworking a .cap
image. RogCAD will remind you of this whenever you
exit the program.
SS: Screen set. This puts the .CAP file back on screen. Do
not include the .CAP extension when entering the filename.
SP: (Not shown on the menu.)
Save palette. Lets you save the current palette, which
you have customized using CH, to a file for future
retrieval. RogCAD automatically adds the .pal extension,
so do not type any extension. (All filenames are limited
to eight characters, not including the extension.)
GP: (Not shown on the menu.)
Get palette. Retrieve a palette. Do not type the
extension.
QT: QuiT. Quit the program. You can also quit by pressing
control-break.
More about data entry.
Wireframe colors
Now let's take another look at data entry. You'll notice that
there are five line groups in the s-.txt data file.
The purpose of having many line groups is to allow for using
many colors in your wireframe model within each data group. The
data file contains a section labeled WIRECOLORS. You can edit
this section to customize your wireframe colors. A wireframe model
with many types of elements is easier to comprehend visually if the
types of elements are different colors.
Of course, the colors are referred to by numbers, so you'll
need to take note of what color is associated with what number.
Color 1 (K1) goes with LINEG1, K2 with LINEG2, etc. K6 goes
with the first autocube block, BLOCK401. K7 goes with BLOCK601.
The background color is BACK.
Valid colors for this version of RogCAD are from 1 to 15.
These fifteen colors can be selected from a palette of 262,144
colors.
Default palette
You might find sample.pal to be not very useful for a particular
project. To edit a palette, start RogCAD, enter EN to go to
the enhance menu, enter CH and enter new numbers for the
R,G,B values for any color. The range for these values is
0 to 63. R=63 G=0 B=0 yields a bright red. R=50 G=40 B=0
yields yellow. R=31 G=31 B=31 yields a medium gray. Just
experiment.
Once you have a palette you like, enter SP to save this palette
to a file which you name. Do not add the file extension, since
RogCAD adds the .pal extension automatically. The palette file
is saved to the data folder. File names are limited to eight
characters, not including the extension. You'll find that
every project you create will generate the need for a new
palette or palettes.
You can designate any palette as your default palette in the
start.txt file.
You can also quickly generate gradually shaded palettes by
selecting CH at the enhance menu. Follow the on screen
instructions. Also see CH in the enhance menu items further
up on this page.
You can fine tune palettes, save palettes, and switch
palettes at any time when in the enhance mode. Special effects
such as day and night lighting are achieved by switching
palettes while the drawing is on screen.
TRANSFORMATIONS
The TRANSFORMATION data entry areas allow you to rotate and
translate sections of data, especially to re-orient sections
of data that were generated by autocube (or by the curve data
files). Whereas autocube orients data into cubic shapes that
are square with the coordinate system, TRANSFORMATIONS
will allow you to rotate these cubics into any position
you desire. The rotation is about the z axis, or about
the y or x axis, depending on which transformation section
you use.
Here is an example:
We can create the above arrangement of shapes by:
* defining just four autocubes,
* then "stringing" each of them out by way of repeating,
* then skewing them,
* then rotating the resulting formation into three additional
and identical formations.
First, you create a string of autocubes running in, say,
the x direction. Ax3, ax4, ax6 and ax8 all give us places
to do this. (See introduction at top of page.) Here we
used ax6 (This file is included in the samples folder
and named ax6-50.txt.):
BLOCK001:
Points 1 - 98
dummy data entries needed
x1,y1,z1, x6,y6,z6, spacing, endcube, rot,col
(1 - 9)
AUTOCUBE00:
0,0,0, 1,3,3, 2, 5, 0,6
BLOCK101:
Points 101 - 198
dummy data entries needed
x1,y1,z1, x6,y6,z6, spacing, endcube, rot,col
(11 - 19)
AUTOCUBE10:
0,4,0, 1,10,8.25, 2, 15, 0,6
BLOCK201:
Points 201 -298
dummy data entries needed
x1,y1,z1, x6,y6,z6, spacing, endcube, rot,col
(21 - 29)
AUTOCUBE20:
0,11,0, 1,14,3, 2, 25, 0,6
BLOCK301:
Points 301 - 398
dummy data entries needed
x1,y1,z1, x6,y6,z6, spacing, endcube, rot,col
(31 - 39)
AUTOCUBE30:
0,4,8.25, 1,10,11.25, 2, 35, 0,6
-----------------------------------------------------------
Notice, we used an x width of 1 (the difference between
x1 and x6) and an x spacing (we are in an x oriented
autocube stringing file) of 2. So you can expect there will
be a space of 1 (meter or whatever you're calling it) between
each cube.
Also note the endcube in each of the four blocks is numbered
five higher than the starting autocube of each block. This
means there will be six cubes in each block. Each block will
be a string of six autocubes.
We used a rotation index of zero in each string for this data
file because we're not rotating the string of autocubes in this
data file (rot,col is autosolid information), and a base color
of 6.
This data entry yields the following image:
Next we skew these autocubes. In ax6-50.txt, we enter the
following data into the STEP10TRANSLATE snippet:
--------------------------------
first, last, tranx, trany, tranz
TRAN
STEP10TRANSLATE:
4,54,0,0,4
6,56,0,0,4
202,252,0,0,4
208,258,0,0,4
302,352,0,3,0
308,358,0,3,0
304,354,0,-3,0
306,356,0,-3,0
999,999, 999,999,999
---------------------------------
Because we are using the STEP 10 version of the translation
snippet, every tenth point gets transformed instead of every
point. The STEP 10 version is the version to use when
translating strings of autocubes, since autocubes follow a
step 10 pattern (see the autocube section higher on page).
We used four blocks (or strings) of autocubes to make our
initial model. The block 001 contains a string of autocubes
whose points range from 1 to 58. Block 101 contains a string
of autocubes whose points range from 101 to 158. Block 201
contains points 201 to 258, and block 301 contains points
301 to 358.
Refer to the autocube orientation sketch and notice that
we are operating on points 4,14....54; points 6,16....56;
202,212....252; etc. These are the range of points for each
line in the above snippet, from "first" to "last".
We're not changing any of the x values, but we do modify
the y values in block 301 and the z values in blocks 001
and 201. No changes are made in block 101.
The changes made are relative to the original values as
generated by the autocube routine.
We save the file as ax6-51. (It's in the samples folder.)
This sketch illustrates the change:
Next, to make three identical groups with different
orientations, we rotate this group about the z axis using
ZROTATETRANSLATE. We rotate 90 degrees, slide it along the
necessary amounts in the x and y directions, then save the
file as ax6-52.txt. Then we go back to ax6-51 again, rotate
180 degrees, slide the needed x and y, and name it ax6-53.txt.
Finally a 270 degree rotation and x-y translation with the
name ax6-54.txt.
In ax6-52, enter 1 for the rot value, in ax6-53, enter 2 for
the rot value, and in ax6-54, enter 3 for the rot value.
(A rot value of 1 corresponds to rotations of about
90 degrees, 2 corresponds to about 180 degrees, and
3 corresponds to about 270 degrees. Use 6 for the col value
in each of them. See the section on automatic solid modeling
further down.)
Finally, we return to ax6-51 to translate that data the
necessary x and y distances, then re-save it. The goal was
to get the four groups centered around the origin. By
running the program after each edit, you can check your
logic.
Select the following for
perspective, focus and magnification:
1,0,20000, 0,0,0, .4
Output:
It will give you a "floor plan" type view. Call the
x-y orientation arrows along with your other data groups.
The x-y arrows are displayed by calling s-0.txt from the
samples folder.
When rotating an autocube, the numbering system for its points
and planes rotates with it. So you need to be aware of that
when manually coloring such an object in the enhance mode.
Here are the three ZROTATETRANSLATE snippets:
In ax6-52:
-----------------------------------------
first, last, zangle, tranx, trany, tranz
TRAN
ZROTATETRANSLATE:
1,358,90,7,13,0
999,999, 999,999,999,999
---------------------------------
In ax6-53:
-----------------------------------------
first, last, zangle, tranx, trany, tranz
TRAN
ZROTATETRANSLATE:
1,358,180,-13,7,0
999,999, 999,999,999,999
---------------------------------
In ax6-54:
-----------------------------------------
first, last, zangle, tranx, trany, tranz
TRAN
ZROTATETRANSLATE:
1,358,270,-7,-13,0
999,999, 999,999,999,999
---------------------------------
Here is the TRANSLATE snippet in ax6-51
(we could have used ZROTATETRANSLATE and
selected rotation 0):
---------------------------------
first, last, tranx, trany, tranz
TRAN
TRANSLATE:
1,358,13,-7,0
999,999, 999,999,999
---------------------------------
All the above transformation routines are referred to as
"snippets" because the user copies and pastes them into
the data file in whichever order is needed. All the
transformation routines are stored at the bottom of every
data file. The user highlights the desired routine,
copies it, then pastes it into the appropriate area of the
data file. Refer to the data files for the above example
to see this illustrated.
The following simple pavillion was created using the same
techniques as above. The two rows of beams on the left were
generated as a string, skewed, saved as ax3-61, then rotated
180 degrees, slid along the x axis until it lined up with the
first set, then saved as another file, ax3-62. The center
joists are in ax3-63, and the two roof sections are in s-60,
all in the samples folder:
End of PART I.
PART II covers autosolid information, curved surfaces,
and analytical tools.
PART II
Autosolid
Read through these directions for using auto-solid, then
see the text file "auto.txt" for detailed instructions on
how to see auto-solid in action.
To get RogCAD to do most of the object painting for you,
you need to pay attention to how you arrange your project.
Since the autosolid routine works only on whatever group
is in memory, you should group your data strategically.
A simple example is a four sided building. As noted in the
"groups" discussion under the enhance menu, the following
strategy is important. Each of the following should
constitute a data group:
east windows,
south windows,
west windows,
north windows,
exterior shell,
porch structure.
If you were to combine all these elements into one group,
RogCAD's simplistic autosolid routine would be undermined
by the arrangement of the planes and would yield terrible
results. Arranged as instructed, the autosolid routine is
typically 95 percent accurate. The user fine tunes the
displayed model by manually painting a couple of planes.
If you are viewing the east and north side of a house, then
you would typically autosolid the shell (including roof)
first, then the windows groups of the two visible sides.
Enter P1, then answer the prompt for group number.
Next, you are prompted for lightest and darkest sides. To
make this work, you need to have set up your color chart
correctly. You will need three shades of each color you
are using for an individual element. These shades need to be
next to each other in the color palette. They must run from
light to dark going down the chart (increasing in color
number). You then assign the middle shade to that element
(plane or autocube) in your data file. You also assign a
direction number to the planes and a rotation index to
autocubes.
Typically, the best answers for the lightest/darkest prompts
are 6 for lightest and 1,2,3 or 4 for darkest. The top plane
of autocubes is 6, and that is a natural source for a lightest
side.
It might seem like there wouldn't be enough colors in a
15 color palette to do much with this routine, but it's
surprising. Siding, trim, windows and roof together use up
twelve colors, leaving two for other elements, and one for
background. You can also re-use some of the "used" colors
for elements that are not adjoining the aforementioned
elements. (The 255 color palette of the future version
of RogCAD presents no challenge at all.)
When the autosolid routine (P1) is called, RogCAD will
adjust the shading using the dark, middle and light version
of the color group, based on the direction or rotation index
you've specified in the data files.
The last two values in each line of the AUTOPLANE section of
your data file (where plane data is entered) hold direction and
color information. Enter the middle number of your color
trio for that plane, and enter the direction of the face of
the plane. The direction is a number from 1 to 6, corresponding
to the autocube plane direction numbers. If the plane sits at
a funny angle (like a sloped roof), just pick a number that best
suits it. You can always go back and edit it.
The last two values in each line of the stringed autocubes
contain rotation index and color (rot,col). The rotation index
refers to any rotation to which you might be subjecting that
string using a ROTATE transformation in your data file . Valid
values are 0,1,2 or 3. 0 corresponds to no rotation,
1 corresponds to 90 degrees, 2 to 180, and 3 to 270. If you are
rotating the string some in-between angle, just pick a number
which best suits it.
The rot,col in the single autocube sections work the same way.
The data files also contain an area for specifying framing
lines. These are for simulating shingles, siding, brick,
window mullions, spindles, deck boards, etc. They are
specified on a plane by plane basis. The autocube planes,
whether generated as single autocubes, or as a string of
autocubes, are specified in that same area. Refer to the
section on autocubes above for autocube plane numbering
information.
You can specify these framing lines in one or two directions,
thus the names AUTOFRAMING1 and AUTOFRAMING2. These are
automatically drawn when a plane is colored by autosolid.
You'll need to experiment to learn which direction you need.
There is no obvious pattern to it. But it can only be one of
two ways, so you'll get to the bottom of it fast for each
plane. The autosolid routine will automatically assign the
correct color for autoframing lines, based on that plane's
assigned middle color and the way you answer the lighting
condition prompts at run time.
In s-.txt and a-.txt, framing lines are assigned on a per
plane basis. In a(xyz)(n)-.txt, they are assigned a string
at a time. For a string of one, just specify that plane
as both the start plane and end plane.
If you assign auto-framing lines to a "flat" autocube (one
that you've defined as having a zero width), then you'll
get bad results with the auto-framing of that "cube". So
make sure your cube is not utterly flat. Give it at least
a micro width.
After the autosolid routine finishes its modeling for the
active group, you should make manual corrections, if needed,
before moving to the next group. Rather than having to type
Q or K or J for this task, you can just type PP (enter) and
then just provide the plane number. The autosolid routine
still has that plane's adjusted color in memory and will
paint it correctly. If you have already switched groups,
then you would need to make your manual corrections using
Q or K or J planes.
You also have two other options for autosolid painting. They
are P2 and P3. (They don't show on the menu.) These two
routines use slightly different algorithms than P1. P1 has
the best track record, but different algorithms work best with
different designs. If you don't like the results with one,
try another.
Finally, you can use the hidden line routine, which makes
very clean drawings on your screen. Type H1 (or H2 or H3)
on a group by group basis just like you did with P1. You
make your manual corrections by typing HP after the routine
finishes, and before moving to the next group.
Single autocubes:
first point, min x,y,z, max x,y,z, rotation, color
String of autocubes:
x1,y1,z1, x6,y6,z6, spacing, endcube, rot,col
Autoplanes:
Plane, direction, color
NOTE: never set a color to 0
Refer to the data file s-30.txt in the samples folder to
see a variety of this type of data entry. Then run RogCAD,
call that data file, and run the autosolid routine. See
the text file "auto.txt" for detailed instructions on
how to do this.
Curves:
Curved surfaces are built from one of three basic
orientations: x based, y based, or z based. An
arched doorway would be x or y based. A curved
walkway would be z based. More complex objects
might land somewhere in between and be modeled
using either x, y, or z along with various shape
modifiers, or rotated through any angle by using
the TRANSFORMATION functions.
First, we'll look at curve generation in the
high resolution / 255 color version of RogCAD.
The following RogCAD-generated image shows some
simple arcs made with xcurv (cx-.txt). Further
down is the code snippet from cx-.txt used to
generate them. The code snippet contains user-
entered data.
You'll notice that each arc consists of two
long curved parallel lines and 50 short
lines connecting them. What we really have
are 49 small polygons simulating a curve.
Each (double) curve consists of 100 data
points, regardless of the arc length.
These points, lines and planes are generated
automatically by the curve routine. You
just specify the start degree, the arc
length, the radius, the offset, and various
optional modifiers. Each curve must be a
double curve, though they need not be uniform
within that pair in any manner. (You can
generate some very exotic forms.) You
can also make the two elements (bottom line and top line)
identical, thereby effectively generating
a single lined curve if you need to.
You can vary the radius between bottom line and top line,
or you can vary the offset, or both, depending
on what architectural element you are building.
There are eight of these double lines in each
curve data file. You terminate the data reading by
changing the 111 to 999 following whatever line pair
you wish to be your last.
Curve painting
(The methods described below might seem a bit
slow, but RogCAD provides you a text file where
you can enter curve painting instructions in
advance of running the program. These chunks
of instructions are "macros". They allow you
to recreate solidly painted curved surfaces
with a key press. You'll find that your macros
need very little tweaking as you go along with
your project design.)
The above image shows the same simple
arcs painted in the enhance menu
(using the 255 color version). The
simplest way to paint an arc or a portion
thereof is to use the SQ, SK, or SJ
routines. (String of quick planes, string
of K planes, string of J planes.) You
simply specify the start plane, the end
plane, the increment (inc > 1 lets you
skip planes), the start color, and the
color increment. Using 49 colors somewhere
in the 1 - 63 range of default.pal yields
49 shades of gray. You can go forwards or
backwards through the planes or the colors.
Typically, when shading a full circle object,
one would just want to shade 24 or 25 planes
at a time, going from light to dark or vice
versa. Example:
SQ (string of quick planes)
Start plane: 201
End plane: 225
Increment: 1
Start color: 50
Color inc: -1
SQ (string of quick planes)
Start plane: 249
End plane: 226
Increment: -1
Start color: 50
Color inc: -1
This colors the full circle, with the lightest
shade (50) at plane 201 and 249 (which are
adjacent to each other), and the darkest shade
(26 and 27) opposite them at planes 225 and 226.
If you just want to paint a string of
curve planes all one color, you can
color 49 planes (or more) all at once
by selecting color incr = 0.
When using this DOS version of RogCAD, you
should rely on SK or SJ for curve painting,
rather than SQ. SQ can sometimes wipe out
your screen if one of the planes of a curved
surface is viewed on edge, something that is
not rare.
255 color curves information:
'planes 1 - 49 go with points 1 - 100
'planes 101 - 149 go with points 101 - 200
'planes 201 - 249 go with points 201 - 300
'etc
' 701 - 749 701 - 800
Version 2.5 curves
See the section above for background information.
In the low resolution version (2.5), there
are just 9 planes per curve. These planes
can be gradually shaded just as in the 255
color version, using a string of 9 colors
from the 15 color palette.
15 color curves information:
'planes 1 - 9 go with points 1 - 20
'planes 21 - 29 go with points 21 - 40
'planes 41 - 49 go with points 41 - 60
'etc
' 141 - 149 141 - 160
Curve data example
Here is that code snippet from xcurv which
generated the above images:
radius offset weight
start,arc Z Y Z Y X left,inc deform
DATA 111
B1:
DATA 90,180, 10,10, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0
T1:
DATA 90,180, 11,11, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0
DATA 111
B2:
DATA 180,180, 13,13, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0
T2:
DATA 180,180, 14,14, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0
DATA 111
B3:
DATA 270,180, 16,16, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0
T3:
DATA 270,180, 17,17, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0
DATA 111
B4:
DATA 350,180, 19,19, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0
T4:
DATA 350,180, 20,20, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0
DATA 999 (ends the data read)
Complex curves
You can model complex shapes, such as a
boat with complex curved boards, each
board molded to its neighbor. Molding one
complex curve to another is very simple.
You simply repeat the previous T(n) with an
identical B(n) for the next curve. The
variation need only occur within a curve
pair.
The "left,inc" feature is the trickiest to
use. Comprehensive instructions for it are
still just a bit in the future. What it
does is deform your curve in a "weighted"
fashion in the direction parallel to the
axis of rotation. You can weight the
deformation in various ways by choosing
various values for "left" and "inc".
(Don't worry about what "left" or "inc"
stand for.) Try numbers between -90 and 90
for the value of "left".
Choosing left = -90 and inc = 1.3 will gradually
pull the curve higher from one end to the other.
Having non-zero values for "left" and "inc"
leads necessarily to assigning a value for
"deform". "Deform" provides the magnitude
of the deformation. Assign positive or
negative values, and remember, you can modify
T(n) differently from B(n) with any of these
variables. Choosing inc > 1.3 when left = -90
will cause the curve to begin to dive back
down again along its way. The higher the
value for inc, the sooner the curve begins to
dive again.
Setting left = -90 and inc = 3.5
will bring the tail end of the curve back
down to the same height as the front end.
Very high values of inc create a roller
coaster curve. The lower the value of
"left", the higher the value "inc" can have
without getting the roller coastering.
Different values of "left" yield different
shaped curves, even if the overall rise
is the same.
By the way, the use of the words "height",
"rise" and "dive" above are arbitrary. Depending
on which curve module (x, y or z) you're in,
those terms could just as well be referring to
sideways motion.
Run-time curve generator
(Called the ct program for curve tester)
(The Windows version of RogCAD will provide
faster methods of getting feedback on your
curve data, making the following DOS utility
obsolete.)
You can experiment with curve generation
by running the program ct-start.exe, found in
the ct folder. (Make a shortcut to it,
and place that shortcut in your rogcad25 main
folder.) This curve maker contains just one
curve pair for each basic curve orientation -
x, y and z. You can easily edit and re-display
curves at run-time, though no copy of your
edited data can be saved.
Here is the ct-start.exe menu (in z mode):
Start Arc XRad YRad Xoff Yoff Zoff Left Incr Deform
Start Arc XRad YRad Xoff Yoff Zoff Left Incr Deform
SH CV A X Y Z RE GO QT
CLS (clear screen) is also available, though
not shown on the menu.
Always begin by doing the following:
Enter X, then enter RE (for reset) to activate
the x mode. Similarly for Y and Z modes.
Then enter the uppercase letter(s) for any menu
item in the upper two rows (followed by either
T or B (for top or bottom).
Examples:
XRT [enter]
DB [enter]
Change as many as you wish, even over again,
then enter GO to see the results. Previous
wireframe models remain on screen along with
your most recent one until you enter CLS.
Enter RE to reset the curve back to its
original shape for whichever mode is currently
active. Change groups to clear the menu
variable values.
This program will help to unravel the
mysteries of curve generation.
Fuller instructions are included in the ct folder.
The following diagram illustrates the degree coordinates
and arc direction for cx, cy and cz curves:
You can deduce the 180 and 270 degree locations. You
should print out a copy of this diagram for reference.
The following screen capture shows the default z curve
in the ct program. The default values don't appear on
the menu, but here I've added them in faded text just
for illustration. The default values are listed in the
instruction document in the ct folder.
The next screen capture shows three variables changed:
Analytical tools
RogCAD's analytical tools are simply a collection of
methods, using the "autocube stringing data files" to
generate customizable and rotatable grids by which to
analyze the positioning and sizing of the elements of
your project, and using multicolor lines within the
grids and within your objects to make easy distinctions
and measurements.
The use of the arrow keys to zoom in and pan back and
forth further enhances your capability to fine tune the
manner in which various elements of your project fit
together.
Use the ax4 file to create a series of lines parallel
to the y axis and strung out in x direction. Use the
ay4 file to create a series of lines parallel to the
x axis and strung out in the y direction. The simultaneous
displaying of these two groups will create a horizontal
grid which you can lay over your object.
Similarly use the az4 file along with the ax4 or ay4 file
to create a vertical grid. These grids can be rotated
into odd angles if you need to overlay a grid onto a
project element which sits at an odd angle.
Use two colors in your grids - a subtle color for small
increments, such as 1, and a bold color for larger
increments, such as 5 or 10. Edit the colors in the
wireframe line colors (wirecolors) section.
Here is an example:
File ay3-.txt
x1,y1,z1, x6,y6,z6, spacing, endcube, rot,col
(1 - 19)
AUTOCUBE00:
0,-10,0 0,-9,14 2 10 0,0
Here, lines parallel to the z axis are strung out in the
y direction. The height of the lines is 14. Even though
"2" is entered as the spacing, the spacing is actually 1,
because the autocubes have a y width of 1 and an autocube
is drawn every 2 units. Notice that these are "flat"
autocubes because the x width is zero.
Here is the mate for the previous string of autocubes:
File az3-.txt
AUTOCUBE00:
0,-10,0 0,10,1 2 7 0,0
Lines parallel to the y axis are strung out in the
z direction. The length of the lines is 20.
Together, these two groups form a grid in the z-y plane.
Next, let's add a bold line every 5 units:
File az3-.txt:
AUTOCUBE20:
0,-10,0 0,10,5 10 21 0,0
Check out the data entry for these useful tools:
the xy plane grid
ax4-97
ay4-97
the xz plane grid
ax4-98
az4-98
the yz plane grid
ay4-99
az4-99
all in the samples folder.
Tips
1. To obtain a "plan view" (2D floor plan), just select
the Z perspective value of about 20000 and select
X focal, Y focal, Z focal, X perspective and Y perspective
centered on the object. But not quite. Actually you'll
need to select X perspective slightly different from
X focal, or Y perspective slightly different from Y focal.
The orientation of the 2D plan will depend on which element
you vary, the X or the Y. Here's a good choice:
P: x = 0 y = 0 z = 20000
F: x = -1 y = 0 z = 0
Experiment.
The same logic applies to 2D side elevations, but with
X or Y being the far perspective element. Also, with
side elevations, you don't need to offset any of the
values to get a squared away view.
A more reliably crisp plan view can be obtained by
using the RESIZE transformation snippet to change
all z values to zero.
2. You can use the SH (shift) function
to create drawings of unlimited virtual
resolution. By using the SHift function,
you can fill the screen with just one
section (such as apx 1/4 or 1/6) of your
object while preserving both the
perspective and focal point. You can
capture each screen image and then
paste them together in a paint utility
program using the computer at a high
resolution.
To see the dramatic difference, click virtual.htm.
3. Inches versus feet. The values you enter for xyz can
mean anything you want them to mean. You can consider
all your xyz data to be inches, feet or whatever. You
just need to be consistent. The only effect on the
running of the program is the magnification value.
4. You can take your perspective point right inside an
object. Unfortunately, due to some BASIC virtual
screen math limitations, errant lines can occassionally
appear. Try shifting your perspective a bit. If all
else fails when trying to colorize an inside view, you
can fake an inside view by placing your perspective
point just outside the object and adjusting your
magnification and focal point to create the same view
as if you were truly inside. Remember, this program
allows for wide angle lens shots by bringing the
perspective point in close and selecting a focal point
and magnification to create the desired effect.
5. Occasionally, when coloring a plane using Qp or Pl, the
plane gets only partially colored. Overide this by
coloring that plane again using some other color. Then
recolor with the color you desire. You can always rely
on k2 or j2 for plane coloring if your computer is fast.
6. You can create point-pair line data and plane data where a
point defined in the STANDARD data segment is connected
to a point defined in the autocube data segments.
This can sometimes save you from having to define
extra points, like where a sloped roof meets an
element created using autocube, such as the shell
of a house.
7. Triangular shapes can be treated just like four sided
shapes when it comes to defining planes, cross hatching
or using framing lines. You simply repeat one of the
vertices. It's as if one side of a four sided polygon
had length zero.
8. Using the "add a point" routine under the enhance menu,
you could design a project right on the screen, though
it would be quite slow. You would also have to make
note of what coordinate values you are using and then
type them into your data file at some point for repeated
use. In fact, I occasionally do some limited design work
in that manner. It's also good for analytical work.
9. It's sometimes useful to add dummy points (and
lines and planes) to the data base in the course of
editing. Just add data that won't affect the
displayed output. This could mean just repeating
data, or defining points without defining point-pair
lines to go with them.
Crazy output
There are scores more tips I could provide. I learn more
tricks every time I create a new project. Send an email
to rogcad.com for answers to questions that come up and
to get help for any problems that arise. Problems
generally arise when there is a missing space or comma, or
an extra comma in a data segment. These things can create
crazy output or cause the program to immediately crash.
This is why it's important to keep the data columns straight
and tidy.
Fortunately, by having your project's data spread out
among various groups, any data entry problem is automatically
isolated within a group. So finding the culprit is usually
short work.
If you have a data base that is producing crazy results,
or that causes the program to crash, send a copy of your
data base to the feedback at rogcad.com for debugging.
Save and print a graphics screen
It's sometimes useful to print out a copy of your wireframe
model prior to entering plane data. The printout of the
wireframe can be used to label plane data.
Old section:
>>
To print out a graphics screen, you first need to capture
it in a manner that Windows can understand. Press the
print screen key (usually without shifting). Then quit
the program and open MSPaint. You'll find a copy of the
image in the clipboard. Print it out from MSPaint.
For higher productivity, capture your screens with a TSR
program such as Screen Thief (see rogcad.com/sitemap.htm
or luebeckdownloads.com).
<<
New section:
>>
If you're running the RogCAD for DOS that was compiled
in BASIC (rogcaddos-bas.7z zipped files), then you're
likely using DOSBox on a modern computer to run
RogCAD for DOS, in which case screen captures are
as easy as pressing [alt][prt sc].
Identically, if you're running the RogCAD for DOS
that was compiled in c++ (rogcaddos-c.7z) (and therefore
not requiring DOSBox) you capture screens in that
same manner.
<<
RogCAD for DOS can display only 15 colors at one time
on screen and can use only 640 X 480 resolution.
The Windows version of RogCAD can display 255 colors
on screen at resolutions up to 1600 X 1200.
12/11/01 (updated 12/25/20)
rogcad.com
