I seem to be having difficulty making things line up the way they should. Am I the only one who has this problem? I consider myself very computer literate but I can't seem to get the hang of these programs. Is it just my lack of patience? I have a vacation coming up with no plans to go anywhere so I was hoping to get started on a bedroom size layout. I tried atlas right track but that is too limited with the sectional track and inconvenient way you have to lay the flex track. I tried 3rdplanit but I didn't have much luck with that one either and it was only the demo and had lots of restrictions. Any suggestions on getting me through the learning curve? Thanks for any and all help. RR:tb-wacky:
I would recommend one evening try running the online tutorials. I thought that Xtrak was intimidating the first time that I tried to use it. After running most of the online tutorials, and some practice, I now feel fairly proficient using it. I really like the program. Even if I don’t run Xtrak for awhile, after a few minutes of reviewing the tutorials, I am back in business again. Just my 2 cents worth Paul
Same here, and I am a software engineer. I found it difficult and not very intuitive. Had I the patience, I would download the code and rewrite the user interface! BUT, as far as the available FREE software, it's great. I've never used any of the commercial versions, so I cannot comment on them.
Join this group and do a search for Tutorials The Layout Party! - Index Roger has written some very good tutorials on-line help is here XTrkCad - Help and the Yahoo group is here XTrkCad : XTrkCad Greg K, there are already people working on it - if you would like to help, I know they would be delighted to have you. Shortliner
It's worth persisting with. I agree it's not the most slick of interfaces but it's free. I struggled initially but after a couple of hours had a passable first draft. I worked with the Kato templates and found them pretty flexible, sometimes joining sections can be a bit of a hassle but the geometry is fairly forgiving. In fact I've since translated an Xtrk plan into reality and it pretty much worked, real life is more forgiving than the mathematical accuracy of Xtrk. What specific issues are causing a problem?
Thanks for the replies. I will continue to try and have more patience to get through the learning curve. I will look at the links posted and try the tutorials. My biggest problem right now is trying to get the tracks to connect properly. They seem to just overlap and not join causing some interestingly sharp curves. I am only to the point of trying to get some basic mainline laid and If I get through this I am going to have to figure out how to work in the grades. I must have patience. I must have patience. I must have... RR
I'll add to the "try the tutorials" chorus. I was in the same boat about a year ago...the tutorials got me going. Now I actually enjoy playing with it.
