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About Archicad and BIMcloud libraries, their management and migration, objects and other library parts, etc.

ISSUE: UI Dialogue User Interfase

Nader Belal
Mentor
Dear Graphisoft,

I would like to point at two thinks:
1. In ArchiCAD GDL manual, it does say anything about how it can become a problematic issue working with .PNG or .Tif files type directly on the user interface dialogue box (i.e.: transparency only works in any other case, & I don't know if that was also true for .SVG files)

2. I think you should work of this issue

Best regards,
Nader
A good friend of mine have once told me that I´m so brute that I´m capable of creating a GDL script capable of creating GDLs.
18 REPLIES 18
Multipage tiffs are readable by ACDsee...(shareware, I have a licence for ancient version which still works) ...
Lately I have found a freeware viewer: "Focus on Image" (basing on imageMagic under the hood), that can read such tiff files...I did not test the write capabilty, but imageMagic does the job (either packing or unpacking the multipage tiffs)

Piotr
Nader Belal
Mentor
@Piotr

I´m trying to use imagemagik to combine tifs in one multipage tiff, but it happens that imagemagik repeats the inserting each tiff
A good friend of mine have once told me that I´m so brute that I´m capable of creating a GDL script capable of creating GDLs.
Nader Belal
Mentor
@Piotr

I was just asking, what if, that after create the 100% scale vector image, you just save the 300% as png ?

Wouldn't it be more efficient ? besides scaling problem that we usually face is that of scaling up a small image, not down !!!
A good friend of mine have once told me that I´m so brute that I´m capable of creating a GDL script capable of creating GDLs.
I checked 300% PNGs only instead of multipage TIFFs... and it is looks good if the UI (at least on Windows) is not scaled... if it is scaled TIFFs always looks better.

The only good effect on scaled interface is when using graphisc that is a photo-like...and in such case jpg gives good results (if only the transparency is not needed)

UI of objects can use only bitmaps...as well all images in AC are bitmaps. There is no use of vector graphics in AC interface (at least on Windows)

Piotr
Nader Belal
Mentor
@Piotr Dobrowoski

1st of all, I want to thank you for your help.

2nd I have found an easier way to do it (partially in Adobe Illustrator, but you can choose the program that suits you best)

1. Create the vector image in Adobe Illustrator at 100%, then save it (that will be your template).

2. Then save it again with a different name.

3. In the new file, and text must be exploded and converted to a shape.

4. Create a new layer that will contain all the vector elements in it as sub-layers (let's call it 100).

5. Drag a copy of the artboard.

6. Select and cut all elements in the new artboard.

7. Create a new layer (let's call it 150).

8. Select the new layer, and "Paste in place" so the the copied elements be inserted in the new layer with the same layer structure.

9. Scale elements by 150%, then select the artboard and scale it 150% (make sure that you select the same origin)

10. Repeat steps from 4 -5 until you get the 200 & 300% scale.

11. Save file as SVG.

12. Go to ArchiCAD folder.

13. run windows command prompt

14. Type LP_XMLConverter convertlibrary -excludesvg [svg file location] [tiff destination]*

*If the source and destination locations are the same, LP_XMLConverter will simply not work

PS:
a. I have observed that svg files only accepts 1 artboard only (don't take my word for it), but it you have converted the svg to multipage tif, and the size in of that icon in the UI is messed up, then move the artboard behind the elements with 100% scale

b. Transparency in svg may cause troubles, best/easiest way to deal with it, is to make a rectangular shape with the same size of the artboard with 0 (zero) fill, and 0 (zero) stroke width.
A good friend of mine have once told me that I´m so brute that I´m capable of creating a GDL script capable of creating GDLs.
Nader Belal
Mentor
@Piotr Dobrowoski

Just one more question ...

I was trying to create an multipage tif with transparency, but the background is painted black in the UI_page.

What should I do to conserve transparency ?
A good friend of mine have once told me that I´m so brute that I´m capable of creating a GDL script capable of creating GDLs.
Nader Belal
Mentor
@Piotr Dobrowoski

Never mind, I got the trick.

And thank you very much
A good friend of mine have once told me that I´m so brute that I´m capable of creating a GDL script capable of creating GDLs.
I think You complicated the procedure too much

I use Affinity designer, but any vector program would do.
1. Create a file with size corresponding to the UI element in pixels
2.Make any vector elements
3.save/export to svg...
convert it with the library tool... the multipage tiff will be created automatically - no scaling / duplicating needed.

Piotr
Nader Belal
Mentor
ohh, I see

I didn't expect that the LP_XMLconverter would create the other pages.

Thank you
A good friend of mine have once told me that I´m so brute that I´m capable of creating a GDL script capable of creating GDLs.