too long and not very interesting

John, did you read part 1?

This is part 2,  which builds on part 1. This is a computer-centric article, not a track-planning article, and it's aimed at getting non-computer savvy modelers used to 3rd PlanIt's features as a drill down on some parts of the package.

Do you design track plans on computer? If not, then yes, skip the article and move on. It won't be very interesting.

too long and not very interesting

That's funny.  As I was reading one of the long, very detailed articles in this issue, I realized that one of the great things about this format is that the articles can be as long as they need to be to adequately cover the subject.  Articles that regularly run in print publications often seem to me as though they were cut short, perhaps at the cost of valuable information or close ups being left out.

I for one appreciate the in depth coverage that is possible with the MRH format.

That's true, in MRH we make 'em as long as we need 'em. Need more room for more photos and text? Then just add some more pages. Those electrons are cheap.

OUTSTANDING article!!!!  Thank you very much guys for publishing it.  I enjoyed it immensely.  Don't pay attention to the nay sayers.  There are many others of us that like it.  Looking forward to Part 3!!!!  Enjoyed the whole issue...

Again, thanks,

i was wrong,well half wrong. the length of the articles takes some getting used to. In a print mag paper and ink is money and maybe we get used to short articles. It has always been frustrating to buy a magazine and find little of interest to me in it. This format is differant.  Long articles can be followed by long articles. Not just one long article and a few short ones. For me this is going to take some getting used to. The whole idea of reading a magazine on t.v.( I know a computer) takes some getting used to. Please dont get me wrong I think this project is great and wish it all the best.

I think this series of articles overcomes some of the negative bunk and myths about using a computer drafting program. It's apparantly good enough for almost every technical profession (using AutoCad etc). Only those not willing to lean and learn it seem to object. That is not to critize their approach but it's certainly no reason to condem the use of such programs. For the time and investment I'm putting into my layout, the time and money I spent on 3dPlanIt has been greatly rewarded.

Calflash

how many copies of 3rd PlanIt will get sold because of these articles.  I had planned to just use Xtrkcad to save some cash, but the 3D model has always intrigued me and reading these articles has twisted my arm a bit. 

I know of two for sure that were sold because of the first article!

I agree 3rd Planit has such great 3-D rendering it's hard to resist.  I know and love XTrkcad too but the article makes 3rd Planit very attractive.

  I have had PlanIt 3D for a couple of years but after the tutorial that comes with it there wasn't much to show how to work with it. This has a lot of detail and was very good. Thank you for the great article and I hope to see more of the same type of detail.

I've been a great fan of 3rdPlanit since it's version 1.0 release.  At the time the only game in town was CadRail and it was rather cumbersome and slow; 3rdPlanit was quite refreshing.  Randy was also a joy to work with in terms of making product suggestions.  I've moved and it's now time to create a new basement layout.  As I dust off my copy of 3rdPlanit and upgrade the timing of this article was perfect.  Thanks for sharing your practical tips and insights.  I enjoyed the article and encourage you to include even more.

I think this article was great, I just looked over part 1, but with part 2 I really read it and watched the video's, I'll now go back to part 1 and pay attention.

3rd planit make track planning so simple and easy, the next layout I build will use 3rd Planit to plan it!

Pete Williams, Uxbridge, UK

I have used 3rdPlanIt for some years now, and I love it.

Thanks Ryan for showing me even more features and different techiches than I use. I have learned new stuff. I have not used the sectional builder, maybe next time.

You also helped me find the way of calculating the length of flextrack - simple as shift+K.

Maybe I can learn you one thing I think you missed when dealing with the printing.

Go to figure 27, and in the lower left corner you find a way to save even more:

"Hold the Shift Key and click a page to disable or enable it"

When you disable a page, the frame for that page turn red.

speaking of red - page 44 - on the enable Layer window pop-up, you wrote:

"Also note the Room is red - that means it's the active layer"

It is my understanding that the color red here shows the color used in the drawings,  the room is red, but the main track is black, if you not change the color yourself, which btw is possible.

When exporting images of the plan, I prefer doing them in bmp, and then convert them to PNG, as I have found that format is better with lines than jpg.

All this said, I am looking forward to part 3. You also inspired me to do more 3D work on my plans.

 Guys,

You ask for feed back on articles and even provide a link within the article for feedback.  John Henderson provides some negative feedback and it seems like folks don't like the feed back.  

Personally, I think the original comment could have been more detailed but feedback is feedback.

I don't want to see MRHM become like Model Railroader where 99% of the letters to the editor are all praise; it's just not real or constructive.  Have you ever seen some of the letters to the editor in car magazines?  They can be brutal! 

I agree with brothaslide - while attaboys are encouraging, it's the critical feedback that helps us improve.

I''m somewhat appalled at the lack of feedback we're getting. Issue 1 had 30,000 downloads - yet the feedback links have maybe a few dozen posts - if we're lucky.

We make it really easy to comment or ask questions - and we'll even track the author down and get him/her to post answers for you! So where's the questions/comments?

Or are we just so darn good that nobody has any comments or questions? Give me a break ... I don't believe that for a second. My only other conclusion is people are just too darn lazy to post ... and that's a real shame.

Maybe if we charged money for the magazine people would be more inclined to think it's worth their time to post a comment or question on the article comment threads? Not that I'm in any hurry to charge money for MRH, but sometimes people equate free with "not worth it".

I didn't see anything in here that was a slam to John's points, just a counterpoint.  I, for one, like the long articles and interactive stuff that this type of thing can do.  One of my criticisms of MR is that things are often TOO abbreviated, but they have to for the most part, because each page added is a cost to them.  

I agree that we shouldn't jump on critics, but I don't think it was jumping on him, just a different point of view.  Constructive criticism is what makes things better. 

I, for one, like the long articles and interactive stuff that this type of thing can do.  One of my criticisms of MR is that things are often TOO abbreviated, but they have to for the most part, because each page added is a cost to them.  

I agree that we shouldn't jump on critics, but I don't think it was jumping on him, just a different point of view.  Constructive criticism is what makes things better. 

Dave

Exactly!

It is my understanding that the color red here shows the color used in the drawings,  the room is red, but the main track is black, if you not change the color yourself, which btw is possible.

Knut is correct. The program assigns certain default colors to different layers if it creates them using the Layout Wizard, or the user can choose his own colors for each layer. The way one tells which layer is active is by the word "Active" in the "status" column when viewing the Layers window. Color has nothing to do with it.

For my own work, I use a fairly standard set of colors for the layers because I work on so many different files and the consistency helps me keep things straight. I just created a template with all the layers as i like them and open that each time to start a new project, "Saving as" the new  project name. Then I have to make sure to go in and select the proper scale and overall drawing size and we're off to the races.

In terms of printing 1:1, Knut is also correct about how to set the pages indivudally to print or not. A real paper- and time-saver that should definitely be fully described in future installments.

By the way, to print larger sizes up to 1:1, I have found that the inexpensive program pdf995 works well with my current (8.05) and past versions of 3rd PlanIt for creating Adobe Acrobat (.pdf) files. For clients who want 1:1 printouts, I often suggest FedEx/Kinkos, most of their stores have color or black-and-white roll printers that have done a good job with the pdf995 outputs from 3rd PlanIt. I just create segments of the layout as .pdfs in a custom page size up to 36" wide by a convenient length.

The price for roll printing varies a bit by location and b/w vs. color. A client recently was quoted 75 cents per square foot for black-and-white at his local FedEx/Kinkos. More expensive than printing out a bunch of sheets on your own home printer, certainly, but handy where there's a crucial segment or you want a larger one-piece printout for a display or something similar.

I have not had a chance to study the article carefully, but least one typo crept in. On page 50, one of the sections of Appendix A is titled "Rotate, Tile and Roll" That should be "Tilt", not "Tile".

Joe, I don't think the reason you aren't getting feedback has more to do with time constraints than it has to do with being lazy. With the economy the way it is people just don't have the time to comment these days. You see this not only here but also in other things. Attendance is down at movies and even services like Netflix are noting that people are more concerned with what things cost (and Internet time does cost money no matter how you slice it) and they only spend on what is absolutely necessary.

Even I need to scramble for cash these days so I have less time to spend and even less money to devote to the hobby. I wish it was different but there it is.

Irv

Sorry, Joe.  I should have responded.  I guess issue one and two were just so overwhelmingly great, that I didn't know what to say.  Let me say it now.

The first two issues of MRH magazine were superb.  I inititally read the articles whose titles and front page drew my interest, but then I went back and read the rest.  I also re-visited articles after reading discussion points in the forums.  The article lengths seemed long at first, but then, I'm so used to print media.  I like that fact that everything is so complete, with all the extras that rich media is able to support:  

Note to advertisers:  I've clicked on your sites, read the ads, bought stuff, and forwarded the links to others.  Keep supporting MRH.  This is where I go in my railroad-related electronic free time.

Don:

Great to hear how things are working out for you and your reading of MRH.

And you're a good guy to support MRH like you do by visiting the sponsoring advertiser sites. Every click to an advertiser's site is like paying us when you do - so it helps build our reputation and gives us a future as a forever free model railroading magazine that may actually become a permanent part of the hobby.

We'll see ...

maybe we are going off on a tangent here,but what the heck. If my original comment offended any one I am sorry. Some one who takes the time to write an article as detailed and informative as this one doesnt deserve to be told it is 'uninteresting' We should all respect other peoples work.  That said, i think it is important to let the publisher know what we like,and what we dont like. Perhaps a survey at the end of each issue. A simple one,for instance, 'did you read ______________ ? did you,like it,not like it,do you plan on reading it again?  Something like that may give a lot more feedback than what is happening now. I think more people (readers) are more comfortable checking a box than composing an e-mail. I dont believe this is laziness,it is taking advantage of the moment. What better time for 'feedback' than when the 'feed' is still fresh?

John:

Great idea!

Actually, starting with issue 3, you will be able to rate our articles. While I don't want to get too wrapped up in comparing various authors' work or considering certain articles to be "in competition", we (the MRH Staff) do agree it would be good to see what kinds of articles people like and what articles people don't like.

That said, just because an article may be less popular (and we know ahead of time from previous issue ratings) that a given article will be less popular doesn't mean we won't publish that kind of article - we just won't want to fill an entire issue with such articles!

First I want to appoligize for take some time to respond, I've been out of pocket traveling most of April for work related conferences and also word smithing part 3 of the series to meet the deadline.....<<takes a deep breath>>

KnuT, the printing 1:1 portion of the tutorial was written some time before I had learned about this feature, and I appologize for not updating it with the information about being about to toggle the print pages on or off for printing. I discovered this feature as well but forgot to add it to the tutorial. Thank you KnuT for reminding us about that awesome feature.

And again, you are correct, in the Enable Layers window the default color of the layer as displayed within the track plan itself is also the color of the text within the Enable Layers window, rooms just happened to be red, as well, Landscape is green, Benchwork is blue, and the Main layer and Main line is black. The active layer is actually designated with a Status of Active within the Enable Layers window. I am sorry for any confusion I may have created with the inaccurate statement in part 2.

I am still working on part 3 which will be the final installment and wish that I could cover every detail of 3rd PlanIt, but I can only hope to scratch the surface. The tutorials will ultimately leave out some features, but it is my hope that in the future after part 3 has been published that I can put together quick 3rd PlanIt clinics that will address one technique or tip that will continue to push us DIY track planners to create our own model railroad worlds.

Regards,

First post here - I just want to say that I think the concept and idea of the online publication is great!  Price is right too in this economy or for those on a restricted budget.

I do look at the ads and like the interactive content because I can find more if I want to know about a product or service being offered, as well as be able to search reviews and other information from one launching point.

The articles are first rate in my opinion.  I was trying to think of some constructive criticism, but haven't yet.  I'll try to keep the objectivity concept in my mind as I read more and view other features of MRH.  I do agree that if no one finds anything they feel could be better or points out a differing opinion, it is hard to move to the next level - whatever that may be.

Anyway, thanks for all the effort and the great content - so far.  As others have said, the 3pi stuff is awesome for me since I've had the product for over 3 years now and this series is just the right mix to get me going further.

The 3pi forums are good, but the different perspectives shown here get right to the point and the helpful videos clearly show you how to accomplish the steps.

Don K

I really enjoyed both part 1 and 2 but for some reason I can't view the videos in part 2.  I don't have a problem with the part 1 videos and I am using the same PC for both.  Would it be possible to get  a link to the videos of part 2 that I could download and view separately?

Keep of the great work and look forward to part 3

David

David - that's exactly what the LITE Edition is - links to the videos on the web in both Flash and Quicktime format. The embedded videos in Issue 2 are Quicktime, so you've got a Quicktime problem.

Go to the troubleshooting tips and follow the instructions in the Quicktime section - most likely if you download the latest Quicktime player from Apple, life will be good. In some cases you may need to uninstall Quicktime, reboot, install the latest Quicktime, and finally reboot. That generally will fix the problem if nothing else will.

But the LITE Edition has links to both video formats, just in case people have problems. I'm thinking we need to also include links to the other video format on the web in the PREMIUM Edition (to be renamed to the Embedded Edition, since that's really what it is), just for cases like yours where your Quicktime player is out of date or corrupt.

Dear Joe,

I did not find the troubleshooting section until this morning and found the discussion on the video problem.  I'll try loading Quicktime and see if that works.  The lite version does work but I usally like reading these articles where I do not have a web connection.

Ryan,

I've imported a track plan from a magazine and am trying to print it at 1:1, but instead of being 24" wide(which is what the track plan is), the printout is 43".  If I change to 1:2, the printout is 18" wide.  Also, the plan is so small I can't see if, and even if I zoom in, all I get is a straight line.  I'm running ver. 8.06.004.1385.

Thanks for any help you can give me.

Bob Hayes

I've imported a track plan from a magazine and am trying to print it at 1:1

I'm not Ryan, but maybe I can help.

Are you saying you brought the track plan in as a .jpg? To print that 1:1, you'd have to enlarge it to its full size (in feet) within 3rdPlanIt. 3rdPlanIt can be a little fussy about huge .jpgs and the resulting resolution will be so low at 1:1 that i don't think it will be useful. Or are you saying that you used 3pi to draw over a track plan imported as a .jpg?

When you print, you need to select 1:1 in the print dialog, click "set", then select the paper size you will be using.

Or maybe I just don't understand what you are trying to do.