Adding custom Urban Furniture
We manufacture outdoor furniture and are always adding the same models into designs.
Is it as simple as copying a stripped down Rhino file into the directory C:\ProgramData\AsuniCAD\Lands\Rhinoceros (64-bit)\Library\ to be able to browse my items without copying them one by one into a scene?
Are there any tips to making these models work as well as possible and include lines as well as 3D and texture data?
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Albert Rodríguez on -
Hi Andrew,
yes that's the only way right now.
We are studying the better solution to let users to use their own library, or a library supplied by a manufacturer like you.I think the simplest way is to add an option to define sources for urban furniture blocks. These definitions should include:
- A Name for the library
- A Path to the 3dm files
- Optionally, a folders tree structureIf you look at our browse dialog, there is a combo box in the top-left corner. It is intended to change the source to a different library:
The new source definitions should be listed here.
Even, we could offer a mechanism to register the source definition into the windows registry so that a manufacturer can be able to supply a library in a msi installer and Lands Design should detect it.
This is just an idea that we may implement. Any suggestion is welcome!
What do you mean when you talk about including lines, 3D and texture data?
Some tricks that are already working are the following:- Lands looks for "b2d-" and "b3d-" prefixes in the models filenames. In the case that it finds 2d and 3d versions for a model being inserted, Lands loads both. Once inserted, the user can convert the instance from 2d to 3d and from 3d to 2d.
- If there is a txt file with the same name that the 3dm file, Lands reads it in order to get localized descriptions for the model
- If there is an image file with the same name, Lands uses it as the preview in the browser. This is useful to show high quality rendered images as previews for the 3dm models.
What do you think? Have you any good idea or any wishes about how a urban furniture library could be integrated? Do you use any database for models and prices?
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Permalink Reply by Andrew on -
Thanks Albert,
Really helpful.
I see what you mean now by 2D & 3D contents and how Lands uses everything in the model.
I didn't realise I could include an image in the same folder, this would be really helpful for our designers to pick products to put in a scheme.One thing that would be really helpful also is something similar to the plant list but for the furniture, essentially adding an illustration, item name and info label for any of the imported urban furniture items, this way we can illustrate both planting plans and also products that we are placing into a design as well as possibly the price to enable us to create an illustrated quotation for a client.
At present all of our models, assemblies and prices are in separate databases so never link up. To be able to connect designs, product information and quotes into one would be awesome!
Andrew
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Permalink Reply by Albert Rodríguez on
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Currently, you can add a urban furniture list from the drop down menu (lands Design > Documentation > Listing > Urban Furniture List)
In the list properties you can enable the icon field so that the 2d block is used in the table:
When you say "Info label" are you thinking in those labels we use for plants?:
If so, have you any example image of how they should look like?
Ah! What I said about including an image file in the folder to get better previews, I tested it and does not work. It is implemented, but disabled. I'm going to enable it for the next WIP.
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Permalink Reply by Andrew on
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Brilliant, that's great.
Will it be possible (once you have activated the images functionality) to have a product image instead/as well as the 2D block illustration in the table?
Other info such as item price with a total price box, weight and other options such as colour may be helpful, with their appearance controlled with a checkbox in the same way the name and quantity fields are shown.Another function that would be really helpful when doing plans with multiple furniture items would be a search function in the library window. We have a four/five digit product number for everything, so it would be great to be able to search by name/number, as the library could become quite large over time.
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Lands Furniture List.jpg, 1 MB
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Permalink Reply by Andrew on
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Is it possible to set the 'Code' for an item of furniture within the text document so it automatically appears in the list without having to insert it in the highlighted area in my attachment?
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Permalink Reply by Albert Rodríguez on
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Thanks for your ideas and proposals, Andrew, about using an image instead of the 2D block, and a searcher in the library browser. We take good note of them!
In respect to add fields like price, color, weight, etc. I think we should offer a way to add custom fields to our lists. And also a way to define some rules to automatically get values, like the code, from the filenames. By now, you must insert manually the code for each library block.
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Permalink Reply by Andrew on
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That's great, I'd love to see these ideas included in a future release.
Glad to help, it's exciting to see such a useful plugin for Rhino being developed!Custom, user defined fields are probably the best way to go as you say, as this way the user can have as much or as little detail as they like in the table. Perhaps having a template txt file to include the detail in? or have the system recognise content in the file (a word preceding a colon: would be the field name, and if left blank remains invisible in Lands perhaps)?
Or, what about having a browsing window the same as the plants database with a 'Properties tab for adding all the data for Urban furniture items?
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Permalink Reply by Andrew on
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Are there plans to enable network sharing of the urban furniture library?
It would be good when adding our own models to be used as urban furniture, to be able to use a single central library folder on our server that links to each user.
I tried using a shortcut (called 'library') within the lands folder, but it wouldn't recognise it.Is there a work around for this?
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Permalink Reply by Albert Rodríguez on
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Hi Andrew,
It should be enough if the user was able to write into de path field the url of the network folder, like:
\\server\libraryUnfortunately, currently the path field is a read-only box. I'm going to move it to an edit box to let you write any path you may need.
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Permalink Reply by Andrew on
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That's great, thanks for your reply, I was assuming any custom items had to be located in the Lands folder itself, but being able to browse/type a custom location is great.
Is there a setting to make Lands look in a different folder by default, or have it remember where you last looked in the library to save having to browse to a shared folder every time?
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Permalink Reply by Albert Rodríguez on
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Thanks to you, Andrew! The browse option is already available from the top right button in the browser. The "Type" option will be available in the next WIP.
In respect to the default folder, currently there isn't any setting like this, but I think it links with the above idea of having user defined sources for urban furniture blocks. Each source would define the root folder, and the program could remember the last source used so that the next time you open the browser it goes to the desired folder. I'll try to move it up in the wish list so that you it can be available in the next version.
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