Thumbnail for Route

trainman53

Veritas Obitus
Quick question for the experts: How do I attach a Thumbnail/Pic to my route so it will show in the games' list of routes and/or on 'My Content' in CM?........thx in advance......:)
 
Good Morning Trainman53
The thumbnail image may be any image you want (generally a screenshot of the layout/object) in jpg format. The dimensions must be exactly 240 pixels wide by 180 pixels high.


To add the thumbnail to an asset, first locate the asset in Content Manager, and right click on it. Now, go to 'edit', then click on 'edit in explorer'. This will open the asset for edit, and open the 'editing' folder in Explorer.


Now, copy and paste your thumbnail image into the folder that was opened. Now, double click on the 'config.txt' file to open it, and add the following at the bottom:


thumbnails
{
0 {
image "$screenshot$.jpg"
width 240
height 180
}
}




Please ensure that the name (in this case '$screenshot$.jpg') matches the name of your thumbnail icon. Now save the config.txt file, and close the notepad window and the Explorer window. Now, right click on the asset in Content Manager, and click on 'edit', then on 'commit'.


Your asset now has a thumbnail image. This should also add the thumbnail in the routes menu.

Regards
 
Yep, Dermmy is right, route thumbnails are 512 x 512. Easy mistake to make though if you are going on memory.

Cheers,
Bill69
 
Aren't route thumbnails 512 x 512....

Yep, Dermmy is right, route thumbnails are 512 x 512. Easy mistake to make though if you are going on memory.

Sometimes, but generally not.

To be 100% accurate an asset can have a thumbnail any size you like (below certain caps), or none at all. To be accepted to the Download Station a 240x180 thumbnail is required. The modern routes menu (TS2010 onward) actually uses a square thumbnail, so the builtin routes typically include a 256x256 image (though some are 512x512). To maximise compatibility you can use both though, like this:

Code:
thumbnails
{
  0
  {
    image                               "thumbnail256x256.jpg"
    width                               256
    height                              256
  }
  1
  {
    image                               "thumbnail240x180.jpg"
    width                               240
    height                              180
  }
}

Terry
 
In my routes, I've been doing it like this:

Code:
thumbnails
{
  thumb
  {
    width                               240
    height                              180
    image                               "thumbnail.jpg"
  }
  
  preview
  {
    width                               256
    height                              256
    image                               "splash.jpg"
  }
}

I think I got this method off the wiki. I haven't uploaded any like this to the DLS nor brought in to TS12 SP1 yet. Should I change them to the method Terry gave above?

Andrew
 
Given that a route created in Ts10 or 12 can only be used in those versions and that in both those versions the image displayed in the route/session menus and in CM is square not rectangular I'm not sure I understand the inclusion of a rectangular (240 x 180) image. I'd just go with the square format. Whether that's 256 or 512 apparently doesn't matter, though the larger will give a somewhat crisper image in the menus with (I assume!) no in-game penalty...
 
Thanks for the tip. I Will try a square screenshot, because I tried many times with my route with a 240 x 180 and really don't understand why it does not show up. Rail4Pete
 
Not both rectangular

the image displayed in the route/session menus and in CM is square not rectangular I'm not sure I understand the inclusion of a rectangular (240 x 180) image.
The thing is that you are wrong: They are not both rectangular. The one in the route/session menu is 256x256 and the one in CM is 240x180.

I just tested it and the piece of code of pw3r works nice.

I first tested it with just a 1:1 and just a 4:3 size image and that did not work. I started with a 480x480 and a 480x360 and 2 clearly different images. As a result CM showed me the 480x480 version. I left the images the same size but changed the dimensions listed in the config file to be 256x256 and 240x180 and now CM and in-game show different images. No more strangely stretched images :D!
So the images can be any size, as long as the dimensions pointing to them are correct.
 
The thing is that you are wrong: They are not both rectangular. The one in the route/session menu is 256x256 and the one in CM is 240x180.

I just tested it and the piece of code of pw3r works nice.

I first tested it with just a 1:1 and just a 4:3 size image and that did not work. I started with a 480x480 and a 480x360 and 2 clearly different images. As a result CM showed me the 480x480 version. I left the images the same size but changed the dimensions listed in the config file to be 256x256 and 240x180 and now CM and in-game show different images. No more strangely stretched images :D!
So the images can be any size, as long as the dimensions pointing to them are correct.
That is a mystery for me, I have tried everything and the screenshot do not show up.
 
Given that a route created in Ts10 or 12 can only be used in those versions and that in both those versions the image displayed in the route/session menus and in CM is square not rectangular I'm not sure I understand the inclusion of a rectangular (240 x 180) image

I believe that's the traditionally expected size for DLS thumbnails.

chris
 
In my routes, I've been doing it like this:
..
I think I got this method off the wiki. I haven't uploaded any like this to the DLS nor brought in to TS12 SP1 yet. Should I change them to the method Terry gave above?

As far as I can tell, you're using exactly the same method as Terry.

chris
 
I believe that's the traditionally expected size for DLS thumbnails.

chris

Yep, it is. And I was wrong about the CM thumb, which is still a 240 x 180 rectangular format, so I see the need for that.

The preview shot in the in-game Route and Session menus in TS10 and TS12 though is definitely square. I've always used 512 x 512, but 256 works also.

Terry's thumbnail container quoted above gives the best of both worlds.

Having only one thumb though square seems to be better, it does not distort when 'rectangularised' in CM. A 240 x 180 gets stretched out of whack in the in-game menus...
 
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