[Software] Blueprint, a building instruction generator for LDD

[vermontcathy]

14 minutes ago, SylvainLS said:

If it’s for a one-time build: in LDD, hide the parts that are easily accessible, as if you were carefuly breaking / de-building the model. Then use Ctrl-Z to rebuild the model step by step.

So, the order of the instructions it creates in Building Guide Mode is affected by the order that you build the model? (doing these steps you say will cause different results when I click on the Building Guide Mode button?) I have seen people share a video rather than the LDD steps, and wondered how they got the pieces to appear in a good order like that - your steps answer that question (would need video screen capture software, which I do have).

EDITED to clarify - I don't just want to be able to see the steps once in order to build it myself once, I want to be able to share instructions with other people. This method of un-building it in a logical way they using the undo button to rebuild would work well with screen capture video, and I may do that. But reasonable static-image steps would be nice, too. Simpler than recording, editing, and posting a video.

Edited November 10, 2017 by vermontcathy
to clarify

[supertruper1988]

@vermontcathy I loaded that up into BluePrint and the default alone makes 203 steps. It is not in a great order but it does generally work from the bottom up. It would take quite a few hours to make a more comprehensive instruction package. 

[SylvainLS]

44 minutes ago, vermontcathy said:

So, the order of the instructions it creates in Building Guide Mode is affected by the order that you build the model? (doing these steps you say will cause different results when I click on the Building Guide Mode button?) I have seen people share a video rather than the LDD steps, and wondered how they got the pieces to appear in a good order like that - your steps answer that question (would need video screen capture software, which I do have).

EDITED to clarify - I don't just want to be able to see the steps once in order to build it myself once, I want to be able to share instructions with other people. This method of un-building it in a logical way they using the undo button to rebuild would work well with screen capture video, and I may do that. But reasonable static-image steps would be nice, too. Simpler than recording, editing, and posting a video.

No, hiding bricks won’t change the Building Guide at all. It was just to help you circumvent your installation problems if you were in a hurry.

And yes, it’s a simple way to make instructions as a video or with screenshots (Ctrl-K in LDD / Tool box menu).

(Starting from the end also serves well in LDraw-based CADs to organize the building steps. But that’s another story  )

[jokey02]

Making logical groups in LDD will also be helpfull. Blueprint will follow the order you choose in LDD so now you have only to rearrange the steps within a group

[vermontcathy]

36 minutes ago, supertruper1988 said:

@vermontcathy I loaded that up into BluePrint and the default alone makes 203 steps. It is not in a great order but it does generally work from the bottom up. It would take quite a few hours to make a more comprehensive instruction package. 

Thanks for the help, everyone. I tried the video method with someone else's MOC's LXF file that was producing terrible steps in LDD and that method is growing on me. It's a little harder to share a video than a PDF with other people, but still doable. With a PDF, you have to keep advancing to the next page, and with a video you have to pause it - about the same about of hassle. It's nice that when you add a piece back in, if anything is unclear, you can spin the model to see it from different angles - and the person viewing the video would see that.

Supertruper1988, can you share the default PDF steps with me that it made? Let's see... in a PM can you attach a file? Or in a PM I can give you my email address.

[supertruper1988]

21 minutes ago, vermontcathy said:

Thanks for the help, everyone. I tried the video method with someone else's MOC's LXF file that was producing terrible steps in LDD and that method is growing on me. It's a little harder to share a video than a PDF with other people, but still doable. With a PDF, you have to keep advancing to the next page, and with a video you have to pause it - about the same about of hassle. It's nice that when you add a piece back in, if anything is unclear, you can spin the model to see it from different angles - and the person viewing the video would see that.

Supertruper1988, can you share the default PDF steps with me that it made? Let's see... in a PM can you attach a file? Or in a PM I can give you my email address.

I have PM'd you

[GrahamSlam]

I just nearly got malware from the Google Drive download link...he either included the malware or the page was hacked. Either way, whoever made this needs to fix this. My antivirus detected the files and I immediately got scam ads after downloading the file- and the ads were on my Windows homescreen.

[legolijntje]

6 hours ago, GrahamSlam said:

I just nearly got malware from the Google Drive download link...he either included the malware or the page was hacked. Either way, whoever made this needs to fix this. My antivirus detected the files and I immediately got scam ads after downloading the file- and the ads were on my Windows homescreen.

You mean the download for Blueprint? I'm not sure why you received warnings. The download seems to work fine and pretty much all anti-virus systems deem it safe.

[kokkie20]

9 hours ago, GrahamSlam said:

I just nearly got malware from the Google Drive download link...he either included the malware or the page was hacked. Either way, whoever made this needs to fix this. My antivirus detected the files and I immediately got scam ads after downloading the file- and the ads were on my Windows homescreen.

No malware notices here?
Eset (Nod32) doesnt see anything, MBAM doesnt see anything either when i want to download it...
What AV you running and which link you exactly talking about?

[kokkie20]

Tried to select it all, and then right click it and move to next/prev page?

Try to already place it kinda correct in current place cause it overlapse the other steps

 

@msx80

Function request: align steps on page

sometimes i move steps back and forth but always out of alignment. Any chance you can implement something for better alignment on the page?

Thanks

[kokkie20]

Hmm if you want you can send the blueprint file to me in a pm and ill take a look at it for ya. 

The other message was for the creator of the program ;) 

[iCleverStyle]

Очень хороший день.

Я использую LDD для классов с детьми LEGO WeDo. ИНСТРУКЦИИ ПО СТРОИТЕЛЬСТВУ подходят мне, но не нравится порядок сборки.

Я нашел выход: я управляю шагами текстового редактора и строит порядок в файле lxf.

Работа с шагами в Blueprint превосходна.

Вопрос: @msx80
Можно ли сделать в Blueprint функцию редактирования раздела «СТРОИТЕЛЬНЫЕ ИНСТРУКЦИИ» файла lxf?

---

A very good day.

I use LDD for classes with children LEGO WeDo. BUILDING INSTRUCTIONS are suitable for me, but I do not like the order of assembly.

I found a way out: I manage the steps of a text editor and build an order in the lxf file.

Working with the steps in Blueprint is excellent.

Question: @msx80
Can I make in Blueprint the editing function of the "BUILDING INSTRUCTIONS" section of the lxf file?

Edited November 27, 2017 by iCleverStyle

[supertruper1988]

Hello, @iCleverStyle

This is an english only forum. I used google translate to read your message. You cannot change the order of items in blue print via the LXF. It ignores the LDD order and builds generally from the bottom up. You then have to rearrange the parts to make your instructions. 

[iCleverStyle]

@supertruper1988, thank you.

What you wrote about, I know. I need to add a new functionality. What I do manually, correcting the code can be done in a visual editor. Blueprint seems to me ideal for this task.

Edited November 27, 2017 by iCleverStyle

[MovieMocs]

Hi guys,

I was just wondering if anyone else is having this problem and how I can fix it. Blueprint is just being overall slow...It takes 5 sec. to add a new step, it takes 20-40 seconds to move 2-6 parts and it takes up to 10 seconds to even select a part. Can someone help me? Thanks

[supertruper1988]

That seems like a low RAM issue. How many pieces is your file? I have run into errors and slow ness over the 2500 piece mark.  

[MovieMocs]

@supertruper1988

Hardly any...Max file I've done is 800 but the problem is still occurring with even 150 parts :(

[supertruper1988]

What kind of computer? I have 16GB of ram so I have no issues at that part count. 

Have you updated Java recently? If you havent maybe update. If you have maybe see if you can roll it back. 

If you think it is a file thing feel free to send me a PM and I can try to open them and see if they are giving me any trouble. 

[kokkie20]

No problem here to and running 8gb with sometimes mocs of about 2500+ pieces. Not sure what it could be, opened up task manager and see how your ram/cpu is doing with blueprint opened? 

[GrahamSlam]

I brought this up before. My antivirus, Norton, still sees malware in a file from Blueprint. Some .dll file included in the .zip had malware, but Norton isn't naming it. Anyway, the download site was vulnerable to hacking, so Blueprint should be available to download elsewhere.

[MovieMocs]

@supertruper1988

 

I have 4GB of ram but when I check the performance of my computer it's not even using all of it...there's still 2.4 free. My java is up to date. i don't know what's going on :(

[supertruper1988]

hmm ill pm you my email and I can see if its a file thing

[theDeanoRama]

On 25/11/2017 at 8:26 AM, LvdH said:

I'm having a problem. It won't regenerate the instructions from the steps, it just stays the way it was. Anyone had this problem before, and if so, how did you fix it? I really don't want to redo it again (for the 3rd time...). I already updated Java.

For example, here I have a model as callout, so it should be on the same page as the complete model, but its got its own page, even if I regenerate from steps. Some of my other steps are just completely ignored.

\

Do you have any empty submodel sections? I find if I accidently create but not populate a submodel, it won't generate (or regenerate as the case may be) pages.

[Vegard]

Anychance that this tool could be made Ldraw  or stud.io compatible?

Edited December 22, 2017 by Vegard

[Vegard]

I know, but as I wrote in the Lpub thread it is not a very good tool having to write commands.