WildTools Developments

PowerCADD & WildTools
nametabb
Posts: 41
Joined: Wed May 29, 2019 8:50 pm
Location: Pound Ridge, NY

Re: WildTools Developments

Post by nametabb » Sat Nov 13, 2021 3:14 am

Alfred,

Once again I/we thank you for your hard work and perseverance.

Best, Bill

PeterKona
Posts: 58
Joined: Sat May 08, 2021 12:15 am

Re: WildTools Developments

Post by PeterKona » Sun Nov 14, 2021 7:04 pm

Thanks for all the great work Alfred!

On the Text tool, I have never liked "Advanced" Text. It does things like mirroring to backwards text and wrapping letters of single words. I don't find those features of Advanced Text useful.
What I've always wished for is leader text with preset width (what wraps properly), What I do now (sometimes) is use a library of pre-formated leader objects, but that is not as nice as using the WildTools leader tool. And commands for both the ability to unwrap text blocks (change to single line), and to remove returns in a block of text, would be nice

But i appreciate that you have to work with what's available, and appreciate the updates you are working on.

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Alfred Scott
Posts: 272
Joined: Wed May 29, 2019 8:47 pm
Location: Richmond, VA
Contact:

Re: WildTools Developments

Post by Alfred Scott » Wed Dec 01, 2021 10:45 pm

I have just uploaded a new copy of WildTools 10.6.

In PowerCADD, select WildTools Updates from the Help menu.

This will take you to a web page for WildTools 10.6.

Click on Download WildTools Development Version link.

Recent changes:

MattTools and DerekTools
I have included for you to look at MattTools and DerekTools.

MattTools some interesting ideas that Matt Arnold wanted to pursue on evaluating Architect schools in the Rect Chart Wing Chart Tool.

In the dialog for the Wing Chart find a design of a resource allocation program for a Home Owners Association that a friend of mine developed in Excel, and he asked me to work on an interactive interface design. You look out for 30 years on the maintenance costs, etc.

DerekTools is nothing but a collection of vector icons for inclusion in PowerCADD. These icons have been included at pdf images but not a vector icons the way they are done in WildTools.

Doors & Windows—Window Pane/Muntin Tool
There is a new Window Pane/Muntin tool included with a concept from Matt Arnold. The idea is that you can create window panes and muntins by drawing an enclosing rectangle. It’s important to set the scale of the drawing to something sensible for the size of windows.

I’m sure you are all aware of the announcement of the collaboration between Engineered Software and PowerCADD and AutoDesSys and FormZ. This is a wonderful development. Ten years ago, working with David Kropp at AutoDesSys we developed the ability to Copy in PowerCADD and Paste in FormZ with the OpenClip format that we worked out, and I’m encouraging and hoping that the ability to Copy in FormZ and Paste in WildTools can be hooked up again. This was working once and the programming is still in PowerCADD and WildTools to handle this, and you can experiment with these capability with the OpenClip Viewer App which you can find at www.openclip.net where all of this is discussed.

You may be amused to check out Bozo Technology which you can turn on in the WildTools preferences. It provides a mechanism to ‘encourage’ you to update to a new version of PowerCADD that might be offered at some point in the future. It is harmless and annoying and you can simply delete the silly extra objects placed in the drawing.

Picture Frame Tool
Added photo of Phil Loheed.

Text Tool—WildTools
Eliminated ‘classic’ Text tool, which placed obsolete text objects in the drawing.

Nuts & Bolts
Fixed Canadian square tube error.
Fixed depictions of flat and oval head 3D screws.
Changed drawing of 3D threads from polygons to Beziers.

Thicken Tool—WildTools
3D Thicken Tool—WildTools 3D
Perspective Thicken Tool—PerspectiveTools

Now produces Beziers from circles, arcs, rotated ellipses, etc.

Plan Title Tool—Doors & Windows
Fixed crash.

Expiration Dates
Expiration dates for new features pushed out into the future.

*****

SimpleTools
At this point I’ve essentially run out of ideas for new tools and my next step is to produce a new tool palette for PowerCADD. It doesn’t make sense to me for a software company to have such a limited and incomplete set of tools as part of the basic program. The tool palette hasn’t changed in about 20 years, and it’s hard to keep from laughing when you look at the Mechanical Tools and some of the tools in the tool palette.

What I have in mind is a basic set of tools, with about the same number of tools as now. The tools will be simple, easy to learn and easy to use, and they will not have power user features and shortcuts such as shift-toggling, Zoomer integrated with the tools, etc. The tools should be complete, so that a Trim tool should trim anything to anything but with a simple click-drag interface and without finger-technology and multi-click interfaces. WildTools is a feature-filled set of tools, like PhotoShop, and this will be more like iPhoto. I’m just going to work on it, and I’ll be happy to hear any suggestions you may have as we go along.

Alfred

Alfred P. Scott
5407 Patterson Ave, Suite 202B
Richmond
VA 23226

(804) 353-1713
cell (804) 690-4591
alfred@seqair.com
alfred.scott@me.com
www.seqair.com

Matt_A
Posts: 172
Joined: Wed May 29, 2019 9:45 pm

Re: WildTools Developments

Post by Matt_A » Thu Dec 02, 2021 5:12 pm

Just want to add this about the new Window Panel/Muntin Tool --

there are eight tools in Alfred's tool dock. Each places a different style of muntin division into a rectangle.

All except the fifth one place a fixed pattern of muntins in the rectangle

The fifth one from the left is different -- it places an "industry standard" grid that divides the window into rows and columns that depend on the size of the rectangle (at least that is what we were aiming for). The larger the rectangle the more lines in the grid.

PeterKona
Posts: 58
Joined: Sat May 08, 2021 12:15 am

Re: WildTools Developments

Post by PeterKona » Fri Dec 03, 2021 4:34 am

If I understand it. I think I like Matt's idea. For example we often have to take an area and place rectangles such as a certain number of cabinet doors in a space. Even a simple layout tool that creates rectangles with specified "gutters" between them would be nice.

Alfred. I like your idea that a trim tool will work on different types of objects. Given that the logic has to be worked through, it would be nice to move in that direction. I often work with lines only because so many tools function on lines.

Matt_A
Posts: 172
Joined: Wed May 29, 2019 9:45 pm

Re: WildTools Developments

Post by Matt_A » Sat Dec 04, 2021 6:17 pm

Peter -- the functions for the muntin tool I mentioned are built into the new tool that is included in the current WildTools download. The tool is in the doors and windows palette. We are hoping we got the inflection points where the jump from one division to two divisions calibrated correctly.

Matt_A
Posts: 172
Joined: Wed May 29, 2019 9:45 pm

Re: WildTools Developments - Per Alfred request

Post by Matt_A » Wed Dec 22, 2021 6:32 pm

There is a new WildTools update posted and ready for download. You can try to access it from the Help > WildTools Updates... menu item in PowerCADD..

..or go to Openclip.net and click the link for WildTools Update. The changes are in the release notes.

EDIT: when you do this and reopen PowerCADD there will be an experimental, second tool pallette named WildTools, which lacks most of the tools we are familiar with. DON'T PANIC. You can move or close that palette and the familiar WildTools palette will be there right underneath it.

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Alfred Scott
Posts: 272
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Location: Richmond, VA
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Re: WildTools Developments

Post by Alfred Scott » Thu Dec 23, 2021 5:52 pm

The new tool palette is SimpleTools, which right now is a collection of selected tools to be included in the new tool palette, and at this time they are identical to the same tools in WildTools.

Merry Christmas to all. We are now in Wyoming with Sara, Elizabeth and Margaret.

Alfred

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bellarchitect
Posts: 81
Joined: Sat Jun 01, 2019 8:18 pm
Location: New Jersey

Re: WildTools Developments

Post by bellarchitect » Fri Dec 24, 2021 6:53 pm

Merry Christmas Alfred and Todd!

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Alfred Scott
Posts: 272
Joined: Wed May 29, 2019 8:47 pm
Location: Richmond, VA
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Re: WildTools Developments

Post by Alfred Scott » Wed Jan 12, 2022 8:00 pm

I have just uploaded a new copy of WildTools 10.6.

In PowerCADD, select WildTools Updates from the Help menu.

This will take you to a web page for WildTools 10.6.

Click on Download WildTools Development Version link.

Recent changes:

I have previously included MattTools and DerekTools, but they are not included here.

I have previously included SimpleTools which was intended as a replacement set of tools for PowerCADD, but I’ve eliminated this. Instead it makes sense to wait to see what changes will be made to PowerCADD.

Doors & Windows—Window Pane/Muntin Tool
There is a new Window Pane/Muntin tool included with a concept from Matt Arnold. The idea is that you can create window panes and muntins by drawing an enclosing rectangle. It’s important to set the scale of the drawing to something sensible for the size of windows.

I’m sure you are all aware of the announcement of the collaboration between Engineered Software and PowerCADD and AutoDesSys and FormZ. This is a wonderful development. Ten years ago, working with David Kropp at AutoDesSys we developed the ability to Copy in PowerCADD and Paste in FormZ with the OpenClip format that we worked out, and I’m encouraging and hoping that the ability to Copy in FormZ and Paste in WildTools can be hooked up again. This was working once and the programming is still in PowerCADD and WildTools to handle this, and you can experiment with these capability with the OpenClip Viewer App which you can find at www.openclip.net where all of this is discussed.

You may be amused to check out Bozo Technology which you can turn on in the WildTools preferences. It provides a mechanism to ‘encourage’ you to update to a new version of PowerCADD that might be offered at some point in the future. It is harmless and annoying and you can simply delete the silly extra objects placed in the drawing.

Picture Frame Tool
Added photo of Phil Loheed.

Text Tool—WildTools
Eliminated ‘classic’ Text tool, which placed obsolete text objects in the drawing.

Nuts & Bolts
Fixed Canadian square tube error.
Fixed depictions of flat and oval head 3D screws.
Changed drawing of 3D threads from polygons to Beziers.

Thicken Tool—WildTools
3D Thicken Tool—WildTools 3D
Perspective Thicken Tool—PerspectiveTools

Now produces Beziers from circles, arcs, rotated ellipses, etc.

Plan Title Tool—Doors & Windows
Fixed crash.

Expiration Dates
Expiration dates for new features pushed out into the future.

Alfred

Alfred P. Scott
5407 Patterson Ave, Suite 202B
Richmond
VA 23226

(804) 353-1713
cell (804) 690-4591
alfred@seqair.com
alfred.scott@me.com
www.seqair.com

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