swallis Posted March 19, 2008 Share Posted March 19, 2008 This is something I have always wanted, and while I have tried several potential solutions I never really am happy with the result. Bbuche's post today about a scene BOM promted me to post this. At any given time I may have 20 or more different product designs in various stages and I often wish I had a way to make general notes in the scene that would be there next time I open it, sometimes months later, to remind me what I was doing. The 3D notes don't really work well for that. I would like just a text window that would sit on top of the scene. I know I can put notes in the description box of the scene properties, but that is size limited and inconvenient since it can't stay open while I work. Linking to an external word file would be okay I guess, if it was easy to use and made itself obvious. If I am overlooking some good way to do this, let me know. If there isn't one, maybe I will make it an ER if I'm not the only one who would find it useful. Scott Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tlehnhaeuser Posted March 19, 2008 Share Posted March 19, 2008 (edited) Hi Scott, What I do is simply drag a Word document from a catalog into the scene. This generally gives a very good depiction of the notes and you can right click and edit to get into it to view the enitire note. Hope this helps Tom Oh and you want to use a large font size ( 40-70pt) so the image in the scene is legible. Edited March 19, 2008 by tlehnhaeuser Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest damann Posted March 19, 2008 Share Posted March 19, 2008 Hi Tom How can I get a Word document in the catalog browser? Thanks for a answer amdi Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest EricFoy Posted March 19, 2008 Share Posted March 19, 2008 I like to use WordPad. It's readable with 10 pt font, and doesn't do any weird scaling stuff on the screen -I don't know if that's a problem with Word, but OpenDocs get kinda funky on you. I can't help but think that simple RichText probably takes less disk space too... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swallis Posted March 19, 2008 Author Share Posted March 19, 2008 Tom, Thanks for that. I remember using word documents as inserted objects several years ago, but not as catalog items. I don't remember why I quit using them at the time, but when I try it now I see that the transparent background doesn't work for me in advanced rendering mode. It is a dark opaque solid, with text that sometimes displays and sometimes doesn't. The other drawback is that since it is a 3D object it gets in the way, and has to be suppressed in renderings, etc. I will see if I can work with it though, and it may be useful. Thanks, Scott Eric, I just tried WordPad and it makes a light colored sheet and is more legible. Are you guys getting a transparent background in Adv Render Mode? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swallis Posted March 19, 2008 Author Share Posted March 19, 2008 (edited) Hi Tom How can I get a Word document in the catalog browser? Thanks for a answer amdi 21106[/snapback] Right click in a catalog, select "object" and use the dialog box that pops up. You can also drag it into the scene from a folder, then into a catalog, but it acts a little different. Not sure what the implications might be. Scott Edited March 19, 2008 by swallis Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest damann Posted March 19, 2008 Share Posted March 19, 2008 Right click in a catalog, select "object" and use the dialog box that pops up. You can also drag it into the scene from a floder, then into a catalog, but it acts a little different. Not sure what the implications might be. Scott 21109[/snapback] Thanks, Scott Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest EricFoy Posted March 19, 2008 Share Posted March 19, 2008 Eric, I just tried WordPad and it makes a light colored sheet and is more legible. Are you guys getting a transparent background in Adv Render Mode?21108[/snapback] Wordpad gives me a gray background. Nice and readable. The other programs give me a transparent background. Not as easy to read, but better for looking through, I guess. I just suppress it to get it out of the way. Hotkeys, baby: alt-s=suppress, alt-a=unsuppress. I do a lot of suppressing. My kids tell me the same thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swallis Posted March 20, 2008 Author Share Posted March 20, 2008 Wordpad gives me a gray background. Nice and readable. The other programs give me a transparent background. Not as easy to read, but better for looking through, I guess. I just suppress it to get it out of the way. Hotkeys, baby: alt-s=suppress, alt-a=unsuppress. I do a lot of suppressing. My kids tell me the same thing. 21111[/snapback] Okay, that will have to do I guess. ...But if I suppress the notes, I will need a note to remind me that I have a suppressed reminder note. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest EricFoy Posted March 20, 2008 Share Posted March 20, 2008 Okay, that will have to do I guess. ...But if I suppress the notes, I will need a note to remind me that I have a suppressed reminder note. 21112[/snapback] Got that covered!... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tlehnhaeuser Posted March 20, 2008 Share Posted March 20, 2008 Well, I guess we ran the gambit on this subject. Now, I will have to say, lets go back to Scotts intial ER. Maybe there be a section in the Scene/Property Bowser reserved for "Note Storage" that would act as a link to a Text Editor. In addition, a little alarm indicator theres note attached to scene if the Browsers are not open. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swallis Posted March 20, 2008 Author Share Posted March 20, 2008 Eric's solution is straight forward and will have a short learning curve since it resembles my current paper-based note system. And like my current system it probably won't help a bit. Tom, your suggestion sounds pretty cool. Let me know when you get it ready for me. Thanks for the help, and maybe others will have ideas or at least comment on whether it would be useful to them. My workflow is not really the norm and my needs may be different than most. Scott Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest EricFoy Posted March 21, 2008 Share Posted March 21, 2008 ...And like my current system it probably won't help a bit.21123[/snapback] I'm insulted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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