Creating New CC3 Drawing Style? (also: custom drawing tool arrowhead path?)

[LindaJeanne]

My search-fu is weak: I can't find any information on creating new drawing styles for CC3.

I discovered that creating a folder at //CC3/System/NewStylename will allow "NewStyleName" to appear in the "Styles" drop-down of the "Drawing Properties" dialog and of the "Custom Drawing Tools" dialog.

But when I have the drawing set to "NewStyleName", the "default terrain", etc, buttons give an error message saying there is no such tool defined in the current drawing style, even when there is.

I'm surprised that there's no documentation (at least not that I can find) on creating new drawing styles, since it seems a key feature -- it's fun to make maps in drawing styles created by other people, but to really get down to business, I'd like to design my own.

Also, is there a way to create a custom drawing tool that is an arrowhead path (I want to create tools for showing ocean currents and prevailing winds, on large scale maps). I found a command-line tool that adds an arrowhead -- I suppose I could figure out how to create a macro that adds an arrowhead to a path for a custom tool, but I want to make sure I'm not missing an easier way. I'm still pretty new to all of this.

Thanks!

[waldronate]

I vaguely recall that the WWII atlas has an arrowhead path tool add-on.

[NeonKnight]

I recall there was a Monthly Feature in one of the annuals that details how to make a drawing style. Let me check further (I just did a re-image of my laptop and I have yet to re-install CC3 to check stuff).

[LindaJeanne]

I took a look, is this what you were thinking of?
http://sub.profantasy.com/2007/december07.html

Thanks

[ProFantasy]

I took a look, is this what you were thinking of?
http://sub.profantasy.com/2007/december07.html

Thanks

Hi, do you have the info you need to do this, now?

In summary, you got the right idea making a folder. Then, you need to copy a complete set of existing files from another drawing tools folder (generally .dto, with a few .dtm). Go into CC3, open an existing template (*.fct) file and save a copy, then create the drawing tools. If you drawing tools contain fill styles which are unique to that template, they won't work on other templates, which is why you should build them with a template in mind.

In the Help file, drawing tools styles > creating new drawing tools goes through this procedure.

Creating new styles of drawing tools
CC3 allows you to create sets of appropriate drawing tools for your templates. These sets are called styles and are stored in folders under the CC3 System\Drawtools folder. The draw tools themselves are stored in .dto files. Macro drawing tools are stored in plain text dtm files, and their thumbnails in standard fcw files. Each subfolder is available as a style in a pull down list on the drawtools dialog, each one being a style. The default style for the template is stored in with the template.

You can add a subfolder, then create a whole bunch of tools (or copy some from another folder and modify them) and use them as you wish for your own map styles. If you are using raster art, you might use Import PNG fill styles to add suitable fill styles for your maps.

There are two ways of adding arrows - the first is the warrow command from WWII interacrtive atlas, the other you have discovered. You can change their style using Tools > Set Properties > Arrow Style…

[LindaJeanne]

Thanks!

"If you drawing tools contain fill styles which are unique to that template, they won't work on other templates, which is why you should build them with a template in mind." -- yup, I discovered that the hard way B)

[Terraformer_Author]

Check out these forum threads at Profantasy:

http://forum.profantasy.com/comments...&page=1#Item_0

and

http://forum.profantasy.com/comments...&page=1#Item_0