SCARM - Simple Computer Aided Railway Modeller

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Mixy, I haven't used SCARM in a couple weeks but I think I am going to try my hand at track design again this weekend. Like I said, I am fluent with all kinds of CAD/CAM software, and even 3D modeling. I know a lot of cool features in all of these different programs. Some of which would be very helpful in SCARM.

If I were to suggest a few things for future releases, is this the appropriate place to do so?
 
Hello Kevin,

Yes, you can share your ideas and opinion about SCARM here. I am open for everything, however, I cannot promise that all things will be possible to be implemented :)

Mixy
 
This has probably been stated before but, SCARM is one of the most user friendly layout designers I have seen and used. A great program for designing layouts :)

Cheers,

wombat457
 


Ok, thought I would give this a try. 1. I am unable to get the scales on the top and bottom to go from zero to the number I need. Instead it insists on being a negative and positive scale. So I have to have the zoom set so far out I can't see what I'm doing or I have no idea where in the space I am placing components.
2. It is not joining pieces for me. After trying 3 or 4 times it will finally drop the 2nd piece connected to the first. What am I doing wrong?
 
Iron Horseman said:
Ok, thought I would give this a try. 1. I am unable to get the scales on the top and bottom to go from zero to the number I need. Instead it insists on being a negative and positive scale. So I have to have the zoom set so far out I can't see what I'm doing or I have no idea where in the space I am placing components.
2. It is not joining pieces for me. After trying 3 or 4 times it will finally drop the 2nd piece connected to the first. What am I doing wrong?
Click to expand...

Are you using the mouse wheel to zoom in and out? If so, the zoom feature centers where your mouse wheel is pointed. So if you zoom out, then move your mouse to X,Y zero (X is the scale across the top, Y is the vertical scale) then zoom in you should zoom in to 0,0.

Use the toolbox to be more precise where you place items. Tools>>Toolbox (notice there is a dropdown menu in here full of goodies).

To connect two tracks, click the track you would like to move to highlight it. Hold down CTRL and click the left mouse button on the track and hold the mouse button while you drag. Place the arrows of the ends you wish to connect close together and they should change to a green and red color. When they do let go of the mouse button.

It is clunky at first. But once you get a little used to it is gets much easier, and is a great tool for designing. That is if I could design anything but pretzels LOL.
 
Oh, I found the videos to be most helpful. I think you mentioned in a thread that you don't watch videos. But they are a great way to get started with the software.
 
NScaler said:
Are you using the mouse wheel to zoom in and out? If so, the zoom feature centers where your mouse wheel is pointed. So if you zoom out, then move your mouse to X,Y zero (X is the scale across the top, Y is the vertical scale) then zoom in you should zoom in to 0,0.
Click to expand...
Hmmm, I forget my mouse even has a wheel... But I don't think this is what I want. I want the scale to have the 0,0 coordinate fixed in the upper left hand corner.
 
A couple of tips ...

A couple of things that might help you with seeing everything you are doing:

1. Use the up, down, left and right arrows on your key board to move the layout around,
2. Use the "/" key to automatically give you a full view of your work
3. Use the scroll wheel of your mouse to zoom in and out

Those three things make keeping things up close and personal but allow you to move around :) Hope it helps, even a little.

Cheers,

wombat457
 
Yeah, I don't think you can do that. Have you used the toolbox yet?

You ever used Remote Assistance?
 
Iron Horseman said:
I want the scale to have the 0,0 coordinate fixed in the upper left hand corner.
Click to expand...

Press Home key. This will move the coordinate center (0,0) to the upper left corner as you wish. However, if you want to keep it there when you zoom, move the mouse pointer to (0,0) and use the mouse wheel to scroll.

You can also move the plot by hold down and drag the middle mouse button (actually that is the wheel).

See all keys and combinations in SCARM here: Using of Keyboard Shortcuts.

Hope this helps ;)

Mixy
 
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Can I change the settings so I can move left and right? Like, scroll left and right? So far, I can only seen to zoom in and out to get from one side of my layout to the other.

Thanks
 
OK Mixy. Here are a few suggestions. Now remember, these are just suggestions. I know nothing about programming and how hard it is to add these things so just take this as just suggestions and you do not need to respond. I completely understand if these things won't work.

- First of all, the one thing I like about XTrackCAD is the fact that it already has a library full of the Walthers model kits. These are very helpful in getting an idea of track spacing. I would love to see a LOT more model libraries included in SCARM.

- It would be easier to place things if you could just type the X,Y coordinates instead of having to open the toolbox. For instance, click New Start Point, type X10.Y10. then press ENTER to place a start point at that location. From there if you type A45. the track snaps to 45 degrees. From there if you place a flex track and type R18. it locks the track in an 18" radius with the remainder of the track going tangent from there.

- Based on every CAD program out there your coordinate system is backwards in Y. The area below 0 should be a negative value. And your degrees rotate backwards. You have the angular wheel rotated so 0 is to the right which is correct. But 45 degrees should rotate the line counter-clockwise, so up and to the right.

- I would like to have the 3D view zoom and pan the way it works in the 2D window. IE you zoom to and from where your mouse is located.

- It would be a lot nicer if the benchwork design could have curves just like the track. It would be easier to draw my benchwork in particular. I know you can draw a number of straight lines, but that is a lot of work ( as I know building this FREE software is ;) ).

That's really all I have for now. But I know I have a few more. Regardless whether any of these things are worth messing with or not, thanks Mixy for such a great program!
 
elsner203 said:
Can I change the settings so I can move left and right? Like, scroll left and right? So far, I can only seen to zoom in and out to get from one side of my layout to the other.

Thanks
Click to expand...

Use the up, down, left and right arrows on your key board to move the layout around,

wombat457
 
Thank you for the suggestions Kevin :)

I will consider them for the future releases of SCARM, however, cannot promise that all will be implemented.

About the arrow keys - they should work when SCARM starts. But there is a small bug - when Esc key is pressed, the arrow keys stops working until SCARM is restarted. The bug will be fixed in the next release of the program.

Mixy
 
I have interurbans/streetcars, is it possible to get the flex track down to 10-8 inch radius?
 
Last edited by a moderator:
My biggest suggestions are as follows. The more I use it, the more that comes to mind.
1. When using sectional track such as Bachmann EZ track, there are times where I need to figure out the exact combo of small pieces to fill in the remaining section. It would be nice to know the exact distance I need to fill. Basically a dimensioning tool that snaps on to the ends of the track pieces and tells you the distance between the track end points.
2. I am not sure what your future plans are for the software, but how about open sourcing it so that others can modify the coding and make it better?
3. Make a section that lets one insert their own track pieces. This would be very useful for people who hand lay their own track. Say for example, that you use an editable XML file, that would let one put in the details of their custom track piece, such as length, radius or straight, and gauge.
4. The ability to reorganize the track pieces and/or be able to select the pieces you want to use to be stored in a quick select area. Basically a custom library of track that a user can define. Why is this helpful, well whenever I want to design my On30 layout, I have to keep checking to see which curves are which radius's. Most do not appear to be in a logical grouped order, and above that I only want to use 2 different radius's on my layout yet I have to keep going through all the buttons. I want an easier way to organize and find the track pieces that I want to use.
5. Instead of having to click on a piece of track, and then selecting "move" how about just letting a user click on it, and drag it to where they would like it.
6. Include a command line, so for example, if I am working with Bachmann track, or any manufacture I can just type in say 9 inch straight, and the piece gets added on the screen. Command lines might seem 80's style, but they are vastly more efficient and much quicker compared to moving the mouse and hitting buttons and icons on the screen.

Anyhow that is my two cents.
 
I'm starting classes for computer programming soon. Maybe I can help with future updates for SCARM! If I can't write code for beans, just tell me to.... SCRAM?
 


OK, I will try to answer in a single post to all :)

@dinwitty: This is not possible yet within the user interface, but you can edit the library files or make your own where the flex-tracks are with desired minimum radius. See more about this below in p. 3.

@Nucular: Here are my comments:
1. You can use the Measuring Tape to see the distances between two points or track ends. Press 'C' key to make end point arrows transparent. However, a dedicated tool for giving exact distances between start/end points is a good idea and I will implement such feature in some of the next versions of SCARM.
2. I do not intend to make SCARM open source, but nobody knows what will happen in the future :)
3. You can make your own tracks or libraries and use them in SCARM even now. The libraries are simple text files - you can open and see them in Notepad. They are located in Lib folder of SCARM installation folder. There is a special library with description of all statements and parameters - download it from here: www.scarm.info/temp/BTTB-TT.lib.
4. This will be added to the interface in the future, but if you want, you can reorganize the statements even now by directly editing their order into library files.
5. You can move the selected tracks, but need to hold Ctrl key to be able to drag them with the mouse. See more here: http://www.scarm.info/index_en.html#faq.
6. I am afraid that this is not possible. It will need a lot of coding in order to perform smart and will be used from less than 1% of users.

@elsner203: Any help is appreciated, but what I need most is extensive testing of the stability, usability, correctness of the library data and overall performance of the program.

Mixy
 
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