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Author Topic: Image Editor Software For Creating Transparent Buttons?  (Read 11899 times)

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Image Editor Software For Creating Transparent Buttons?
« on: February 26, 2009, 11:52:07 AM »
I've completely lost my mind, and am designing my own screenset for Mach3.  I need to use transparent buttons, but am not at all up on image/bitmap editing tools.  What formats can I use for this (looks like maybe only .png?) and what is a good editor for creating the images?

I'm making an all-in-one milling screenset, containing all the functionality I've ever used (aside from one-time setup stuff) on a single screen.

Regards,
Ray L.
Regards,
Ray L.
Re: Image Editor Software For Creating Transparent Buttons?
« Reply #1 on: February 26, 2009, 11:56:23 AM »
Can't help you with your problem Ray, but when you get it done I hope you will share it with us.
Sounds like a neat screen.

Thanks,
RC

Offline Graham Waterworth

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Re: Image Editor Software For Creating Transparent Buttons?
« Reply #2 on: February 26, 2009, 12:08:14 PM »
I use RealDraw v4.0

Graham
Without engineers the world stops

Offline Hood

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Re: Image Editor Software For Creating Transparent Buttons?
« Reply #3 on: February 26, 2009, 01:35:37 PM »
Depends what you mean by transparent buttons, if you are wanting to have a totally invisible button then just choose Image Button in Screen4 and dont asign an image to it, it will be seen in screen4 as a green outline but will be invisible in Mach.
Hood
Re: Image Editor Software For Creating Transparent Buttons?
« Reply #4 on: February 26, 2009, 01:40:20 PM »
Is Transparent also similar to putting a button on an LED that is slightly larger than the button ?
RC
Re: Image Editor Software For Creating Transparent Buttons?
« Reply #5 on: February 26, 2009, 02:18:36 PM »
I use RealDraw v4.0

Graham


Graham,

Thanks, I'll give that a try.

Regards,
Ray L.
Regards,
Ray L.
Re: Image Editor Software For Creating Transparent Buttons?
« Reply #6 on: February 26, 2009, 02:29:42 PM »
Depends what you mean by transparent buttons, if you are wanting to have a totally invisible button then just choose Image Button in Screen4 and dont asign an image to it, it will be seen in screen4 as a green outline but will be invisible in Mach.
Hood

Hood,

Not quite.  An example of what I'm doing is the SpindleCW button on the ProgramRun screen.  It is composed of the button itself, labelled "Spindle CW F5", and an LED, assigned to OEM code 11, which is Spindle CW.  The LED image is a .PNG which consists of an opaque border, and a transparent center, so that when the LED is active, there is a blinking yellow border around the button, with the button itself unchanged.  The LED image actually contains two different images, one of which is used when the LED is off, the other when it is on.  If this .PNG is replaced with an identical (looking) .BMP, the opaque center of the BMP obscures the button when the LED is active.  The RESET button  is implemented the same way, but in this case the LED blinks from RED to GREEN.

Regards,
Ray L.
Regards,
Ray L.

Offline Hood

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Re: Image Editor Software For Creating Transparent Buttons?
« Reply #7 on: February 26, 2009, 02:36:37 PM »
Yep, realdraw is what you want then, I think you get a 30day trial of it so if you work fast you may get it done without having to buy it although from what I remember the cost wasnt too bad anyway.
Hood
Re: Image Editor Software For Creating Transparent Buttons?
« Reply #8 on: February 26, 2009, 02:39:20 PM »
Can't help you with your problem Ray, but when you get it done I hope you will share it with us.
Sounds like a neat screen.

Thanks,
RC

I will do that.  I'm actually looking forward to getting this done.  I've always found myself flipping from screen to screen while working, which is a PITA.  I'd go from Program Run, to MDI (usually just to do one move), and to Offsets (to do edge-finding, etc.).  I've now got touch probes and macros to do all the touch-offs and set DROs (tool length, edge finding in X+/X-/Y+/Y-, and center-finding on circles and pockets).  All of that will now be on the one page, along with much larger DROs, G-code and toolpath displays, spindle, coolant and feedrate controls and over-rides, and more.  The buttons will all be nice and large, so it should work well with a touch screen.  My hope is that this one screen will provide every function I need for 99% of my day-to-day work.  I will probably just put this into the 1024.set screenset in place of the standard Program Run screen, so all the functionality on the other screens will still be there when/if needed.

Once you've figured out how to deal with scream4 (which is quirky, to say the least...) actually creating the screen is really not difficult, nor does it take terribly long.  The time-consuming part is going to be creating all the many, many necessary bit-mapped graphic elements it is constructed with.  This is something I have about zero experience with, so it'll be a learning experience.

Regards,
Ray L.
Regards,
Ray L.
Re: Image Editor Software For Creating Transparent Buttons?
« Reply #9 on: February 26, 2009, 02:51:38 PM »
Sounds good Ray, I hope it all fits.
Anxious to see it.
Thanks,
RC