Templot Club Archive 2007-2020
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posted: 20 Jun 2011 23:37 from: Nigel Brown click the date to link to this post click member name to view archived images |
Martin For some reason I'm uncomfortable with the Gauge menu in the new TDV, mainly I think it being called Gauge! It's a lot more than that, and I think it's not obvious e.g. where you go to set the scale (because it's called Gauge not Scale). But then I think calling it Scale has similar objections. I've been wracking my brains, such as they are, for a better word. The best I can come up with is Model (as opposed to Real), i.e. somewhere where you set the current model track parameters. While I'm here, any chance of sticking a couple of 3mm/ft items in the top gauge/scale list? Cheers Nigel |
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posted: 21 Jun 2011 06:07 from: its_all_downhill
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Hi Nigel, I have been looking at this as well but I think gauge is perfectly ok as that is what we are building our track to not necessarily to scale i.e building in 4mm could encompass OO, EM, P4, OO-SF etc which are all same scale but different gauge widths, so to me it makes sense to call it gauge. Sure Martin will be along to inform us more eloquently shortly. Regards Tom |
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posted: 21 Jun 2011 09:44 from: richard_t
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Personally I think the Martin could lose the gauge menu. I was happy with old dialog box. I would have thought that typically one set's the gauge/scale once at the start of the project - yes I know they'll be exceptions - but they are just that. Just my 2 cents. |
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posted: 21 Jun 2011 11:06 from: Nigel Brown click the date to link to this post click member name to view archived images |
its_all_downhill wrote:I have been looking at this as well but I think gauge is perfectly ok as that is what we are building our track to not necessarily to scale i.e building in 4mm could encompass OO, EM, P4, OO-SF etc which are all same scale but different gauge widths, so to me it makes sense to call it gauge. Sure Martin will be along to inform us more eloquently shortly.Tom But it's a lot more than gauge. It encompasses all the particular settings used for a particular standard at a particular scale. Take 12mm gauge. It could be 4mm scale 3' narrow gauge, it could be one of 3 standards defined for 3mm scale at that gauge (standard, intermediate, fine), it could be NMRA TT standard, and so on. The same menu sets not only the gauge but all things like check rail gap to do with the standard selected. cheers Nigel |
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posted: 21 Jun 2011 12:32 from: Martin Wynne
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Hi Nigel, Tom, I'm not sure that I can do eloquent.  In ordinary speaking the word "gauge" simply means "size", as for example for wire diameter in swg -- "standard wire gauge". We use it that way in modelling too, for example "EM gauge" simply means "EM size" and implies both a scale and a track gauge (and in fact covers two different track gauges, 18.0mm and 18.2mm). Strictly speaking, if we want to refer specifically to the distance between the rails it should be two words "track gauge". However, the web forums are full of arguments about this, and whether it should be "0 Scale" in the American style or "0 Gauge" in the UK, so whatever we do in Templot is sure not to please someone. The gauge settings were previously in the template > gauge and scale > menu item (091c), or the control > gauge and scale > menu item (074b), which seemed clear and unambiguous. But I regularly receive enquiries from first time users saying "where do I set it to 0 gauge?" or similar, so I felt that moving the short list to the top menu bar would make it easier to find. Bear in mind that setting the scale and gauge is the first thing a new user wants to do, and the first sight of Templot can be a bit daunting. Unfortunately the convention for the top menu bar is to use a single word for the headings, which caused me some head scratching. I settled on "gauge" in the "size" sense rather than just the "rail spacing" meaning. Whether everyone will read it that way is doubtful of course. That's why I added a dummy first item "track gauge and scale". On the other hand I have now broken the single-word convention with the print now! menu, so I could change this one to gauge & scale or maybe scale/gauge or something similar. But I rather like Nigel's idea to call it model, especially the symmetry with the existing real menu for the prototype settings. I will see if that idea grows on me. There are other purely model settings which could go there too, for example the trackbed edges menu items would fit there better than in the geometry menu. And it would be a natural home for the metric/scale calculator. richard_t wrote: Personally I think the Martin could lose the gauge menu. I was happy with old dialog box.Hi Richard, Well it's still there, at gauge > other gauges... , and also from the program panel in the session > gauge and scale... menu item. But a short list of the most common gauges seems a helpful addition, and it also provides a home for the modify current settings > menu items. regards, Martin. |
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