TrainPlayer News, October 2022 --
Version 8.2
This
year we took a break from pushing back the frontiers
of virtual railroad technology, and instead
finally put some effort to modernizing our
user interface. TrainPlayer has had the same
scheme since v1.0 -- long toolbars with lots of
buttons that seem to get tinier each year
(fellow grandpas know what I mean :-) -- so for
8.2 we
rethought it, rebuilt it, equipped it with
new artwork, and now are pleased to present it
to you. Hope you like it.
The new scheme is called Dynamic
Toolbars -- still based on
toolbars, but now easier to see and work with,
more sensibly organized for easier navigation,
and simpler to customize using various
quick-access devices.
Highlights are described below. For more info, see
the
8.2 Feature Page, or, for a really detailed look,
see the PDF document
A
New Style for the TrainPlayer User Interface.
Try it free.
All users are encouraged to upgrade free to 8.2 -- just
click the button below.
If you have not already upgraded to 8.x, the
download provides a demo of Paint Shop -- fully
operational but with restrictions, and a $19 charge to upgrade to the full system.
See How To Obtain 8.2 below, and be sure to check
the special deal for
new users.
Dynamic Toolbars
The basic idea:
is that we can have larger toolbars if we don't insist
on making them all visible at once. We have a main
set of tools available all the time, and task-specific
subtoolbars which come up on demand -- but only one at a
time, in order to maintain focus and save screen space.
The goal is to have only what you need to do a specific
job -- track, scenery, scripting, etc. -- and to manage
that with a minimum of clicking.
New artwork: all
toolbar icons are original images in scalable vector
graphics (SVG) format, which look sharp at any size.
This gives the program a new look, and gives you the
flexibility to choose toolbar sizes.
Tabbed documents: all open
documents are now listed as tabs across the top of the
window frame -- easily seen, activated, or closed.
Quick customization: a
down-arrow at the right end of each toolbar leads to a
menu of choices for adding and removing buttons.
The most common choices are listed on the menu; all
others are available (as before) via the full
customization dialog.
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down-arrow button
calls up subtoolbar |
right-hand
arrow calls up menus |
Quick-access toolbar:
a popular feature in ribbon-style interfaces is the QAT,
a small set of commonly-used buttons at the top left.
Our version comes with the usual choices, and allows
adding pretty much any other command in the program.
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mainframe header
showing Quick-Access Toolbar and tabbed
documents |
Toolbar styles: a new
section in Preferences makes for easy choices of toolbar
sizes and styles. Also available are a dozen new
application styles, thanks to our framework from
BCGSoft.
More info: a detailed
look at the new 8.2 features is given in Richard
Fletcher's PDF document
A
New Style for the TrainPlayer User Interface.
A different sort of look is available by viewing his
demonstration video.
Other
8.2 Features
New in Paint Shop:
a shaded cylinder decal
lets you make perfect boilers and tankcars in
your choice of base color. A
wireframe decal picks up details
from an image so that you can paint underneath.
The picture below shows both of these in a
typical use.
New cars to decorate: 8.2
comes with a new car collection -- the
Pedersen Paintables -- more than thirty
precision images of basic car types, expertly drawn by
Chris Pedersen, undecorated and ready for your own color
scheme.
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Pedersen Paintable
tanker with
shaded cylinder underneath wireframe |
Anyrail import: if
your AnyRail layout includes a transfer table,
importing gets you a working model in
TrainPlayer.
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import from AnyRail
produces working transfer table |
For the complete list of 8.2 changes and bug fixes, see
TrainPlayer Version
History.
For more info >
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Other News
Videos: Our intrepid
research department (i.e., Richard) has learned the art
of making entertaining instructional videos, and
has generated several of them on various topics.
We will be revealing them over time. For now, take
a look at this one:
Video Demo of 8.2 Interface.
Acknowledgement: Version
8.2 owes a lot to useful insights and testing from our
friend Alan Conover, expert TrainPlayer user, developer
of interesting TP add-ons and adjuncts such as Backyard
train watcher, TP Script Editor, LinkChecker, WhereUsed,
and others. Thanks Alan!
How to Obtain 8.2
If you are new: you get the
free demo version -- fully operational, with no time limit, but
restricted in certain ways as described in the Readme.
When you start the program, you are greeted with a license
dialog.
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If you are a licensed user:
you get a free upgrade to Version 8.2, including a demo
of Paint Shop if you do not already have it. The demo
is fully operational, except the
results are not saved.
<= If you do not have Paint Shop, you will get the
8.2 Welcome dialog with an offer to
upgrade for $19. (Click for larger image.)
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Any
user: use Help > Check for Upgrades
to see what upgrades are available =>
If you do not already have them, you can add the
Chris Pedersen Car
Collections for a special bundle price.
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Questions or problems:
send
us e-mail.
Newsletter Special
-- The Full Package for only $89 --
TrainPlayer/TrackLayer 8.2 with
Paint Shop and Chris Pedersen Cars
If
you are new to TrainPlayer, we offer you a great price on everything we
have -- TrackLayer 8.2 with PaintShop and CP Cars
-- which includes all of TrainPlayer 8.2, track and scenery
tools, unrestricted use of Paint Shop, the complete Advanced Ops system, thousands of layouts and
cars, advanced scripting, and the full collection of
high-quality Chris Pedersen
Cars. This offer is not available on
our Products page, only by clicking here:
|
Click takes you to the shopping cart page, where you can
check out using Visa, MC, or PayPal. If you would
like to receive a DVD, request one at checkout.
Offer valid until Dec 31,
2022.
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Contact
Questions, complaints, suggestions? Drop us a
line, or stop by our forum.
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Clicks
Dynamic Toolbars
Other
8.2 Features
Other News
How to Obtain 8.2
Special
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TrainPlayer 2022 |