Lua Edu Tools v1.2 beta

[selden]

You might take a look at the Web page
http://www.lepp.cornell.edu/~seb/celest ... intro.html
It includes descriptions of a simple and of a complex Nebula addon.

[Vincent]

How an add-on could be enabled and disabled initially?

I added a Nebula type addon. As you know, only asteriod belt is enabled and others are disabled.

So, the question is how to set up inital value of enable/disabl status of add-ons?

The Lua Edu Tools automatically set addons initial visibility using the "Visible" declaration in the .ssc/.dsc file.
So, adding Visible false into the Nebula .dsc declaration will disable it by default in the Lua Edu Tools addons manager.

[sblee]

It works just as you said.

Thank you, Vincent.

S.B.

[Vincent]

It works just as you said.

Thank you, Vincent.

S.B.

Seung-Bum,
you're welcome.

[Fenerit]

Hallo, Vincent.

I've look a bit at LUATOOLS code... What do you think about this "personalization"?

in Config.lua add (last line):

Code: Select all

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-- Define colors of elements of the 'Lua Edu Tools' Graphical Interface
-- such as text messages, active buttons, sliders, ...
-- Colors are defined using {Red, Green, Blue, Alpha} color code where
-- Red, Green, Blue and Alpha are decimal values between 0 and 1.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
cbutextoff =   {0.8, 0.9, 0.9, 0.8}   -- unactivated button text color
cbutexton =   {0.8, 0, 0, 0.6}   -- activated button text color
cbubordoff =   {0.2, 0.4 , 0.4, 0.6}   -- unactivated button border color
cbubordon =   {0.6, 0, 0, 0.4}   -- activated button border color
ctext =    {1, 1, 1, 0.9}   -- main text color
ctextalert =   {1, 0, 0, 0.7}   -- text color for alert message
csetbofill =   {0.05, 0.1 , 0.1, 0.9}   -- setting box filling color
cslidefrbord =   {0.8, 0.9, 0.9, 0.5}   -- slider frame border color
cslidebobord =   {0.3, 0.5 , 0.5, 0.9}   -- slider box border color
cslidebofill =   {0.2, 0.4, 0.4, 0.2}   -- slider box filling color
cscrollfill =   {0.1, 0.3, 0.3, 0.2}   -- scrollbar filling color
cclotext =   {0.4, 0.6 , 0.6, 0.9}   -- close button text color
cchetextoff =   {1, 1, 1, 0.25}   -- unavailable check-box text color
cdistmark =   {0.5, 0.5, 0, 0.9}   -- distance marker color
ctextlayout = {0.7, 0.7, 1, 1}     -- text color for  wordpanel  #Celestia blue = {0.7, 0.7, 1, 1} 


and then in infoBox.lua:

Code: Select all

[203 (notepad++)] textlayout:setfontcolor(ctextlayout);

Seem that all works well. In this manner is possible to customize the text color of moreInfo's wordpanel diversely from the default color of the buttons caption's text (ctext).

[Vincent]

Massimo,

This is indeed a useful change, thanks.
I've added the following entry in config.lua, so that anyone can set
his/her own color for the information text:

Code: Select all

ctextinfo =     {1, 1, 1, 0.9}    -- info text color

PS: Sono contento di riverderti qu?, dopo la tua arrestazione.
Spero che non avrai troppi problemi nel futuro quando andrai
a bere qualche birre.

[Fenerit]

.
.
.

PS: Sono contento di riverderti qu?, dopo la tua arrestazione.
Spero che non avrai troppi problemi nel futuro quando andrai
a bere qualche birre. [/quote]


Plut?t je me demande pourquoi est arriv? plus haut...

[Aphyle2007]

Fenerit,

It has been a while since I've been able to view your fantastic work, until this past week. I've enjoyed seeing what you have created, and am especially interested in the work with Lua Edu Tools v1.2 beta. I've been experimenting with .lua file definitions, rounding our some that were either incomplete or not accessible. With the Large Igneous Provinces, and sharing them with my colleagues, several interesting variations came up in discussion:

sedimentary basins of the world - including those with petroleum reserves;
aquifers of the world - something of growing importance to the growing world population;
tectonic provinces of the continents - more and more data on these emerge all the time;

I could supply you with maps of these, but I am very interested in how you assemble your .cmod files. Can you direct me to the proper software and tutorials? Otherwise, we can chat about what these can look like and could be accessed via Lua Edu.

Also, this web page has graphics that might be of interest to you in your other model constructions:

http://www-sst.unil.ch/Research/plate_tecto/teaching_main.htm

Sincerely,
Aphyle2007

[Fenerit]

Hallo Aphyle2007, happy to see you again!

Surely, I need links! For the three you specified I shall move in that direction, that is, of finding maps; nonetheless bring to mind that this way of modeling has some limits on accuracy at close range because the difficult to trace the shapes upon not VT texture. This latters when zoomed on 3d modeler loss the details by blurring, as well as one can see also in Celestia. Another problem is the slighty unwraps of meshes around the mean latitude, which result in a detachment of the model, no matter whether the primitive is equally or disequally subdivided. Anyhow, I believe that I shall post a video with this kind of modelling, although must be assumed that functions and name-operation will be different between modelers and perhaps also better than mine.

[fsgregs]

Vincent:

I am working to incorporate Lua Edu tools 1.2 in the update I am preparing for the educational activities, to version 1.6.0-ED. In that light, I have been looking for the code in the Lua commands that specify how many lines of text will appear in the add-on menu when the "Set Addons Visibility" tab is clicked. Currently in Lua Edu Tools 1.2beta 6, only 4 lines of add-on names appear. Users have to use the slider next to the menu to see additional add-ons. In a classroom with some of lights on, the slider lines are too dim to see clearly and my students are having to squint to find the small slider.

1. What line in the file code do I change to have 10 add-ons appear in the addon list, before a user has to use the slider bar?
2. How do I brighten the text and slider box in the add-on menu so it is easier to see in a partially lit room?

Thanks as always

Frank

[Vincent]

Frank,

1. What line in the file code do I change to have 10 add-ons appear in the addon list, before a user has to use the slider bar?

You need to modify line 85 in the tools/addsBox.lua file

Code: Select all

nAddsLinesMax = 4;

2. How do I brighten the text and slider box in the add-on menu so it is easier to see in a partially lit room?

All the colors are customizable. This can be done in the config.lua file:

Code: Select all

cslidefrbord =    {0.8, 0.9, 0.9, 0.5}    -- slider frame border color
cslidebobord =    {0.3, 0.5 , 0.5, 0.9}    -- slider box border color
cslidebofill =    {0.2, 0.4, 0.4, 0.2}    -- slider box filling color

As to the color of the addon label, the best option is to set it in your addon .lua file by adding the following line:

Code: Select all

labelcolor = {red, green, blue, alpha},

[fsgregs]

Vincent:

Thanks. Your advice worked fine.

Frank

[Vincent]

Update!
The Lua edu Tools v1.2beta7 includes the following changes:

- Added Ecliptic long/lat and Galactic long/lat to the celestial coordinates display.
WRTo this change, the "measures" checkbox was renamed into "coordinates", which is more appropriate.
- Added entry to config.lua to set the number of lines that appear in the Addon Visibility list.
- Compass update :

* Fixed inverted longitude for bodies with retrograde rotation (Venus, Uranus and Pluto)
* Made the long/lat values match the values read onto the planetographic grid for oblate spheroid bodies.
* Made the compass enabled only for planets (+ Pluto) and planets' major moons.

Download link :
http://gvince.perso.sfr.fr/celestia/lua ... 2beta7.zip

[Fenerit]

Thanks as ever, Vincent.

[fsgregs]

Vincent:

Your Lua Edu tools (LET) is getting just wonderful. I am already incorporating it into all of my Celestia educational activities.

I would appreciate your advice. I have configured two addons to run through Lua Edu Tools addons that both use location labels. Both addons are in different folders in the addons folder in LET. The first addon is titled "World Capitols", and simply takes the default "world-capitals.ssc" file from the Celestia 1.6.0 data folder, and toggles it on or off. The 2nd addon is also a location addon, toggling on a location set of cites on Earth that are not world capitals.

My problem is that when I toggle one addon on, it also turns on the other addon, even through the locations ssc file for the other addon is in a different addon folder, and I have not checked that addon box. I guess it is because both addons designate their locations as "cities". Apparently, toggling cities on activates all cities location files in the Lua Edu Tools addon folder.

Is there a way (celx command???) to prevent a particular location addon file from launching unless its checkbox is specifically toggled on?

Your advice as always, is much appreciated.

Thanks

Frank

[Vincent]

Frank,

My problem is that when I toggle one addon on, it also turns on the other addon, even through the locations ssc file for the other addon is in a different addon folder, and I have not checked that addon box. I guess it is because both addons designate their locations as "cities". Apparently, toggling cities on activates all cities location files in the Lua Edu Tools addon folder.

Right, this is precisely the way it works.

Is there a way (celx command???) to prevent a particular location addon file from launching unless its checkbox is specifically toggled on?

Unfortunately no. You can display on/off a specific location type, but not each location individually.
And there's also no way to know whether a specific location was loaded from a ssc file or another.

[Vincent]

I've been thinking about modifying the behaviour of the addon
visibility box so as to get the script associated to a specific addon
launched whenever the checkbox is either activated or unactivated.
So far, the script is launched only when the checkbox is activated,
and thus, complex scripts that use several toggling states can't be
used. This is the case for scripts and addons on which Martin and I
have been working recently. So I think it is really worth making this
change.

However, I'd like to get opinion from Lua Tools users before doing
anything, especially from Massimo (Fenerit) who has worked on many
great additions to the Lua Tools...

[Fenerit]

I've been thinking about modifying the behaviour of the addon
visibility box so as to get the script associated to a specific addon
launched whenever the checkbox is either activated or unactivated.
So far, the script is launched only when the checkbox is activated,
and thus, complex scripts that use several toggling states can't be
used. This is the case for scripts and addons on which Martin and I
have been working recently. So I think it is really worth making this
change.

However, I'd like to get opinion from Lua Tools users before doing
anything, especially from Massimo (Fenerit) who has worked on many
great additions to the Lua Tools...

Hallo, Vincent; after the gelato I think this will be a great addition for several reasons (at least three):
1) Is an aid for add-on's interactions, since more add-on can share the same feature without to check the relevant boxes all the times;
2) Can allow the launch of plug-ins together the add-on (as long as this latters wouldn't have its toolkit's separate insertion);
3) Can restore the settings flags to the default if an add-on has changed something. (for example, add-on "nebula" based need the activation of this render which can be not set as default, once execute, the add-on can restore such flag.

[fsgregs]

Vincent:

It is a good idea, and will broaden the ability of scripted addons to run in Lua Edu Tools. The endpoint in all scripted journeys should be that when the checkbox is checked, the addon turns on and runs. When it is unchecked for the final time, the script ends and the addon features all turn off.

Thanks for the addition. These addons are becoming really good in Lua tools. I have been modifying a bunch of Celestia addons to run smoothly in lua tools, including Cham's and Massimo's great work. In particular,I have tried to establish the location labels into categories that do not conflict with each other. I will be releasing those modifications soon for all interested parties.

[Andrew]

Hey, Im having a little trouble with Lua Edu ... I have follwed the install instructions.
BUT when I load Celestia ... I see "Lua Edu Tools Disabled"
Any ideas cheers.
Andrew