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C. Andrew Dunning

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Posts posted by C. Andrew Dunning

    Unlock the built in PIO's.

    in Wishlist - Feature and Content Requests

    Posted

    A few more comments:

    1) The more I think about it, the more the idea of some of the Fundamentals tools being opened has appeal. That would, at least at some level, serve both those who want to learn and those who want to modify. I know the folks in Columbia are slammed, but it would be interesting for one of the powers-that-be to chime in on this.

    2) Though VW should include a healthy set of tools, I don't believe that, in every case, it is a wrong expectation or asking too much for users to develop tools. Yes, there is some effort involved, but users would then end up with tools to their spec.

    3) I believe that scripting is far more in-reach than a lot of VW users perceive. Yes, things can quickly get complicated (no question of that), but a lot of VW users are much more capable in this area than they allow themselves credit.

    4) There are some incredibly talented scripters in the VW community who, if they could get some return on their investment of time and effort, might be interested in creating tools.

    Back to work...

    Unlock the built in PIO's.

    in Wishlist - Feature and Content Requests

    Posted

    I think it would be somewhat difficult to make a 100% direct link between the quantity of third-party PIO development and the locking of PIOs. I DO, however, find it a bit odd that, for a software package w. as many users as VW has, one can count on less than two hands the number of developers creating commericially-available third-party tools/commands/PIOs. The number gets even smaller when one counts only those developers who are aparently currently active.

    The effect I DO see, however, has been (and tends to be) on my learning curve. I have learned syntax, calls, and general technique primarily from the incredible graciousness of other developers and from a ton of trial-and-error. There have been several instances in which I've had to start something from scratch - instances in which having a starting-point would have been a HUGE time-saver. There are also cases (where I believe this thread started), in which I wanted to adjust or fix one of the stock tools and simply had to live it w. as it was.

    (Also, and I'm not sure where this fits in the conversation, but one of the variables that can't be ignored is the evolution of PIOs in recent years. Unless I'm mistaken, weren't the "open" scripts primarily tools and commands?)

    Thoughts??

    Unlock the built in PIO's.

    in Wishlist - Feature and Content Requests

    Posted

    I've been following this thread w. some interest. I was fortunate enough to begin using VW in the pre-encryption days. I remember learning a lot by looking at the script code. I also was one of those who voiced frustration/concern/annoyance when things initially got locked down - though now, w. my own PIOs, I appreciate being able to encrypt the code for my tools. I've got WAY too much time/effort invested not to do protect them. That being said, I was (and remain) slightly mystified about the total lock-down.

    If anyone from NNA is following this discussion and can chime in, some questions for you:

    - What instigated the initial locking of all of the stock scripts?

    - Were the stock scripts being "borrowed" and adapted for other CADD packages?

    - Was it an effort to protect tools licensed from developers out-side of NNA?

    - Was there any discussion of encrypting some of the scripts/PIOs and leaving some open?

    - I'll assume that this came down to a business decision. Seeing that the scripts/PIOs run only in VW, how was their being open hurting sales?

    - Were there tech-support headaches resulting from users making modifications and breaking things?

    I'm not trying to resurrect an old fight, here. I just feel that a little general understanding might help to settle this discussion.

    Thanks!

    Texture Height

    in Vectorscript

    Posted

    Good morning!

    I know of two ways to get a texture's width via VS (GetTextureSize and GetObjectVariableReal-511). Are there any calls/methods to get a texture's height? I've been looking and am not being very successful.

    Thanks...

    Disabling Linear PIO Resize Handles

    in Vectorscript

    Posted

    I have what may seem like an odd question regarding the "Basic" Control Points / resize handles for Linear PIOs - the ones that define the end-points of the line: Is there a way to hide or, better-yet, keep them visible and simply disable them - given specific criteria?

    Thanks!

    Martin LC / Stage Bar symbols

    in Entertainment

    Posted

    You beat me to it...

    By entering the right format, spacing, and Structure settings in the OIP, VSx-LED will create a dynamic object that is pretty close to an actual LC drawing - and will map images across the pixels. Attached is an image with the VSx-LED object on the left Martin's drawing on the right showing you how close things are.

    Let me know if you have any questions...

    setting texture bitmaps

    in Vectorscript

    Posted

    Jeff -

    You are quite welcome!

    I think you have discovered what many have come to accept: things ALWAYS take more time than anticipated. My wife translates "I'll be in my office for a few minutes tinkering with a script idea" to be "I'll see you in a week."

    Do you want to share a little about your project? I'm now pretty curious...

    setting texture bitmaps

    in Vectorscript

    Posted

    Jeff -

    You are right: quite a can of worms. Once things are working, though, a very useful can.

    As to your question, do you have your vsoWidgetPopupClear and vsoWidgetPopuoAdd calls in a "41" event? Someone may correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe that doing that will do what you want.

    Regards -

    setting texture bitmaps

    in Vectorscript

    Posted · Edited by C. Andrew Dunning

    Here are some things that might help you. They are a collection of things that have been shared with me recently by individuals much wiser than myself, so I take very little credit for anything useful below...

    First, what you're wanting to do is quite doable.

    Second, you'll want to do a little reading. See Shape Pane Page and the calls under "Document List Handling" @ Main Developer Page . The first link includes a link to an example file that may prove to be quite helpful. (It was to me.)

    Third, some particulars:

    The following will clear the popup you want to populate:

    vsoWidgetPopupClear([Widget/Parameter Number]);

    The following will fill the popup w. the list of textures you have generated:

    [Resource List ID] := BuildResourceList(97,[Folder Index for Resources],[sub-Folder for Resources],[Number of Resources found]);

    If [Number of Resources found] <> 0 then

    Begin

    For [Count] := 0 to [Number of Resources found] DO

    BEGIN

    vsoWidgetPopupAdd([Widget/Parameter Number],GetNameFromResourceList([Resource List ID],[Count]+1), GetNameFromResourceList([Resource List ID],[Count]+1) );

    END;

    End;

    Re-read the first link, paying attention to the details.

    Let us know how things turn out.

    setting texture bitmaps

    in Vectorscript

    Posted

    Jeff -

    A few comments that may or may not help:

    In working w. textures you'll need to be able to get a given texture's index (via Name2Index) and its handle (via GetObject).

    Working another way, you get the index of a texture applied to the PIO via GetTextureRef and then the name via Index2Name. Your test to see if a texture has been assigned is to check for an index value >0.

    As to setting the repeat, have a look @ SetTexMapBool. This is a VW09 or newer call that allows you to set horizontal or vertical repeat. You'll need the handle of the 3D object onto which you're mapping the texture and the ID of the part of that element being textured.

    Make sense? Enough to get you going again?

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