MM3i and Surveyor Questions:

[tsgint]

I have succeeded in getting my maps etc. into Surveyor. Karte720 720 loaded and corrected. Now:
1. How do I raise/lower the map object above/below the terrain?[Seems to me there is a 'hot-key' to do this.]
2. Can I set the Height of viewing inorder to lay larger areas of track or to view a larger area?
3. Is there anyway to correct a bunch [50plus] assets [Karten 720 720] config.txt files that all have the same correction? Can you just correct one/ copy it/ and paste it in the next one?.
4. Anybody heard from Norbert on new version of MapMaker?

Tks for the info
Glen

 

[Capt_Haddock]

Firstly, to raise or lower the maps there is a button on the Objects menu with a little red house and up and down arrows (in TRS2004 anyway).

Second, I wish there was an easy way of batch editing the Kart config files, my current layout has 170 of them! Actually, there is probably a way of writing a VBA macro in Excell that would automate producing and editing these files but I don't know what it is. There might be a VBA wizard lurking somewhere in Trainzland who does know and could be asked to write one.

Thirdly, if something goes wrong and you need to use Norbert's restore function you will find that the track and trackjside objects survive but all other objects change or vanish. I would advise doing as much work as possible with the green grid switched off so that you can see the maps and make sure you have not accidently deleted or moved them.

Good luck
Chris

 

[tsgint]

Okay!!Okay!!!
I'll write it then....getting tired editing the karte files.
Program will delete the 'mesh' line....anything else you want it to do?
[I was being lazy and hoped there was another way.]
Glen

 

[Capt_Haddock]

Glen
In the UK the official mapping system (and hence all available maps) is based on a different projection to UTM. Consequently a bit of fiddling about is needed to calculated the Northings and Eastings for each corner of each map section. The only way I can handle it is to made a spreadsheet with one worksheet to calculate Northings and one for Eastings (basically by using Autofil to produce an array of numbers).

The two are combined to produce a single grid. Each “cell” of which is made up of two Spreadsheet cells and represents the Northing and Easting of each grid point on my map. (tried to paste example from Excel but it went completely pear shaped)

An Excel Macro that enabled these numbers to be automatically inserted into MapMaker config files would be brilliant and would have saved me several weeks of slog.

Regards

Chris

 

[geophil]

A pixel-wise geodetic transformation between the O/S grid and UTM would be the accurate way to accomplish this for a cartographic raster map.

geophil

 

[tsgint]

Notes

1. My first pass on a quick way to correct karten 720x720 files.
Copy a corrected config.txt to somewhere you can remember the path.
In my case it was to G:\TRS2006.
Create a cmd/batch file on the desktop with the following line.

xcopy g:\trs2006\config.txt g:\trs2006\editing\karte7~1\config.txt /Y

[I used texteditor to do that -Rt.Click desktop,choose New text document. Open NewTextDocument on Desktop. Past line above in. Close and save. Change the name to CorrectConfig.cmd or somesuch name.]
Move it to the right-hand side of your desktop.

syntax: xcopy pathto\config.txt pathto\editingfolder\config.txt
the '/Y' surpresses the overwrite dialogue.

I found when you open an asset to edit it is put into the
intalledtrs2006path\editingfolder. Ctl-M then commits it and deletes the folder.
Use explorer or my computer to find where it is on your system and change the path name in the above to match.
Note use 8.3 naming.

Now start up CMP. Shrink the CMP screen so you can see the desktop down the right hand side.
Filter on faulty/local. There are all your Karten 720 assets. Hi-lite one. Ctrl-E to open it for editing. {That creates the Karten 720x720 folder under editing with the faulty config.txt in it}
Dbl-Click your CConfig.cmd. Ctl-M to commit the asset.
Hi-lite the next one...repeat.
If your hand is big enough you could left hand Ctrl-E,Ctrl-M and dblClick/Hi-light with righthand.
If you have a utility to assign ctrl keys to a batch file or cmd file you could reduce this to three key strokes.
In my case:
Ctrl-E, Ctrl-Alt-M, Ctrl-M.
Let me know if you have problems.
I'll still work on the program.
Anybody have any ideas on hooks into CMPfor programing?????
Glen

 

[tsgint]

Geophil...
I wrote a QB program to read through a text file and transform it.
In the text file I have entries for topleft, bottom right co-ordinates and clipping name. I track my clippings with entry's into the text file as I do them. I then run the QB program which creates the mapconfig files named after the clipping. Still has some bugs but it works. Note to self. Do everything in Caps and you will save renaming files.
I like your idea. If I understand you would only need one corner.
The use clipping size to figure the other corners.
e.g. 800x600 pixels size.
800Xpixelcoverssize for other corner.
600Xpixelcoversize for other bottom.
Do you remember what pixelcoversize is????
Is there a way to programically get the clipping size given the file name???
Hum!!!! this sounds like something that could be done.
I wonder if Norbert has any hooks in his program....I could use Fortran if I had to.
Glen

 

[geophil]

Glen, I can' tell you how Norbert handles image processing in MapMaker. But the single corner point and image dimensions (translation plus scale) will only suffice if the image is aligned with the principal axes of the projection grid and scale is constant. In TransDEM I handle this entire conversion stuff (full affine transformation, project/unproject, datum shift, pixel interpolation filter) during the georeferencing task early in the processing pipeline. Then, later on, during the route generation task, creating each texture carrier tile (1000 x 1000m in my case) is a relatively simple procedure with translation and scaling only.

geophil

 

[prometheus_au]

G'day guys,

I'm using MM3i and when my maps (61 of them) get processed by MM3i they get cut off with large amounts of black banding in the resulting images. happy to provide examples. I've checked the co-ordinates of each clipping (each one is 720x720 pixels but that shouldn't matter). Any ideas?

 

[switchdoc]

Hi Prometheus,

I am quite delighted that there is someone working with my MapMaker program still. As far as I followed the forums here and in Germany, this seems rather outdated by Geophil's TransDEM. It is payware - but not unaffordable so.

For your question:

You receive black areas on your templates when there is no mapimage to be displayed there. That means, the boards are not completely covered by the map. Have a look at that screen, where you slect the boards. Each red box that does not exactly represent a square will have a black edge.

Norbert

 

[prometheus_au]

Hi Prometheus,

I am quite delighted that there is someone working with my MapMaker program still. As far as I followed the forums here and in Germany, this seems rather outdated by Geophil's TransDEM. It is payware - but not unaffordable so.

For your question:

You receive black areas on your templates when there is no mapimage to be displayed there. That means, the boards are not completely covered by the map. Have a look at that screen, where you slect the boards. Each red box that does not exactly represent a square will have a black edge.

Norbert

Norbert,

it's an honour to be chatting with the creator of such an easy to use program. Thanks for your efforts in putting it together.

Interestingly when I select the tiles and maps all areas are filled in with the map in the background, the resulting BMP then has the black areas. See the screen shots below.

the result...

The blacked out areas are not confined to the edges of the BMP, some have turned out like this...

Any suggestions would be helpful.

Cheers & thanks
Prometheus.

 

[switchdoc]

<humble>

thanks for the flowers. I am well aware of the shortcomings of my prog, namely that difficulty with the configs in 2006. Maybe I will do a kind of patch to correct the configs on the weekend. (I never thought that there still is somebody using my prog...)

</humble>

Your problem:

I am not so very sure but taking a guess:

MapMaker was done to handle Karten files maximum 800 x 600 pixel. As these could be misaligned with regard to the UTM grid, the matrix to contain the data during processing is 1000 x 1000 points. If your karten file either

(1) exceed 1000 x 1000 points

or

(2) exceeds 800 x 600 points and is not parallel to the UTM grid, then some areas might be cut off during processing.

So: Could you please check the size of your karten.bmp files (open them in paint and check the attributes). If (1) or (2) are met, then I think we have the root cause.

If not:
Email some (heavens, not all of the 172 !) of the karten files together with their configs. Your project's .plt file would be helpful as well.

Norbert

 

[prometheus_au]

The BMP's are all 720x720 and an example of two of the config file follows. I don't think the issue is TRS2006 as the problem appears before importing into Content Manager.


-55,0299000,5839000 ! zone,easting,northing top left corner
-55,0300000,5839000 ! zone,easting,northing top right corner
-55,0300000,5838000 ! zone,easting,northing bottom right corner
-55,0299000,5838000 ! zone,easting,northing bottom left corner

-55,0299000,5838000 ! zone,easting,northing top left corner
-55,0300000,5838000 ! zone,easting,northing top right corner
-55,0300000,5837000 ! zone,easting,northing bottom right corner
-55,0299000,5837000 ! zone,easting,northing bottom left corner

I will email you some of the Karten and config files for you to have a look at as well as the PLT. Please

Thanks for your assistance.

 

[doncraig]

Bump
Can I ask if anything more came from this thread as I am presently trying to create a route and am having difficulty.
I am trying to use MapMaker 3i.03.
Is anyone still using MapMaker ?
Help please
Don W

 

[Yethi]

I created all the important maps with MapMaker.
When I look at prometheus config numbers there are steps of thousends so he will always have the black parts.

@Don
Do you have specific questions?
To bring the files to TRS2006 you have to rename them and move to the folder after opening the route for editing.

Otto

 

[doncraig]

Hi Otto,
I will reply to you when I get back from holiday.
I have used MM3 before and I think I got what I wanted from it.
I have just resurrected it from the depths of my hard drive and thought I would make another short route but I have still to find the instruction manual.
thanks,
Don W

 

[doncraig]

MM3i

Hi Otto,
Another bump on this thread. I have dug up my copy of MapMaker and will try again to see if I can make any headway with it.
I have in mind a very short restored route complete with a large yard in which there is a museum.
I will try to create this and will let you know (if I may) what happens.
take care
Don W

 

[doncraig]

Hi Otto,
deleted
Don W

 

[tsgint]

Still Using it

No SwitchDoc....I'm still using your program.....
If you ever decide to update it and need some help
programming let me know....I think its a well put-to-gether
approach and suits my needs. I get my topo maps from
Dept. of Mines and Forests here, cut them up [electronically]
and use your program to weld them together.
Tks for all the work you've done.
Glen [tsgint]

 

[doncraig]

Hi Otto,
I have just finished a scan of a short route I wanted.
I have used UTM references for latitude and longtitude as the maps from the OS here in Britain use a different reference point.
I have successfully downloaded the SRTM data and have created the files as advised by Norbert.
I am about to open TRS2004 and start surveyor so I will let you know what happens.
take care
Don W