Lot Editor Expanded Preview Panel 1.0

I think a medium option around 500 pixels wide would be helpful ...

Thanks again!

13 hours ago, Silur said:

I think a medium option around 500 pixels wide would be helpful ...

Thanks again!

Sounds good, and I've just created a version which is 500 pixels wide:

Lot Editor Expanded Preview Panel v1.0 (Medium Width 500px).dat

Of course if using this, make sure it loads instead of the main version.

I've also attached this same file in the description in case it might be useful as an alternative option for anyone else too. Anyone else who'd like a custom tailored version with the panel width, just let me know and I'll gladly create others with a different size.

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@Tyberius06

I like that idea and I'll investigate and see what can be done with widening the prop panel.

Thanks everyone for the kind words and reactions.

Hi, Cyclone Boom!

Thank you so much for your work here and on all Simtropolis !!!

I'll check it out immediately ... I'm sure it will be a SUPER moment !!!

Health to You and Your loved ones.

Thanks!!!

When I use either parameter, lot editor will not open now, not sure what I could have done wrong...

10 minutes ago, Rott said:

When I use either parameter, lot editor will not open now, not sure what I could have done wrong...

Yikes! That doesn't sound good.

Could you please post the full Target shortcut line for me how it was before, compared with what you tried? It might depend on the resolution of your monitor, and also adding the -d:soft parameter may well help the LE to run properly.

8 minutes ago, Cyclone Boom said:

Yikes! That doesn't sound good.

Could you please post the full Target shortcut line for me how it was before, compared with what you tried? It might depend on the resolution of your monitor, and also adding the -d:soft parameter may well help the LE to run properly.

I did not try the -d:soft method, do you know how/where I would use that?

16 minutes ago, Rott said:

I did not try the -d:soft method, do you know how/where I would use that?

Try adding it to the end of your Target shortcut like so:

Making the full parameters after the LotEditor.exe file in the path:

-f -r1600x900x32 -d:soft

It'll be worth setting the width and height based on the resolution of your monitor. The x32 sets the color bit depth, and this can be left as is.

Breaking it down it's like this:

-f -rWIDTHxHEIGHTx32 -d:soft

For me I have a 1600x900 screen, and so that's what I used for full screen to be displayed fully. Then click Apply and the OK button to close, and see whether this makes a difference when running the Lot Editor again.

8 minutes ago, Cyclone Boom said:

Try adding it to the end of your Target shortcut like so:

Making the full parameters after the LotEditor.exe file in the path:

-f -r1600x900x32 -d:soft

It'll be worth setting the width and height based on the resolution of your monitor. The x32 sets the color bit depth, and this can be left as is.

Breaking it down it's like this:

-f -rWIDTHxHEIGHTx32 -d:soft

For me I have a 1600x900 screen, and so that's what I used for full screen to be displayed fully. Then click Apply and the OK button to close, and see whether this makes a difference when running the Lot Editor again.

Not sure why it still wont work, this is what I have: 

 

"C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\SimCity 4 Deluxe\Apps\LotEditor.exe" -w -r1360x768x32 -d:soft

 

And it will not open lot editor, nor when I try my own monitor resolution

Hi again @Rott

A few questions for you:

1. What is your full screen resolution on your monitor?
2. Inside the "Start in" box below the Target line, what shows in there?
3. Does the Lot Editor start using those parameters without my mod installed in Plugins?

I'm wondering whether this might be related to the aspect ratio, because the 1360x768 is in 16:9 form, whereas yours might be 16:10 or something else. I see how you've got the Steam version there too, but I'd not have thought it would make a difference there.

I just tried using 1366x768 which makes it slightly wider, and that might be worth a go also.

2 minutes ago, Cyclone Boom said:

Hi again @Rott

A few questions for you:

1. What is your full screen resolution on your monitor?
2. Inside the "Start in" box below the Target line, what shows in there?
3. Does the Lot Editor start using those parameters without my mod installed in Plugins?

I'm wondering whether this might be related to the aspect ratio, because the 1360x768 is in 16:9 form, whereas yours might be 16:10 or something else. I see how you've got the Steam version there too, but I'd not have thought it would make a difference there.

I just tried using 1366x768 which makes it slightly wider, and that might be worth a go also.

1. Im using dual monitors, I dont know if that's a problem but on the monitor it should opening the res is 1920x1080

2. "Start in:" is blank after

3. Same error when I remove the dat file from my plugin folder

This is with no extra parameters and the dat file, it does open but....

That's very strange indeed, and it appears as if there's a graphical issue going on there.

However, good news as I've reproduced the issue as per your screenshot...

I just tried using the 500px version which is appears you're using, and I also get the exact same.

What I did next is to only use the -d:soft option, and not setting a custom resolution at all. So try giving that a go and hopefully it'll then give a basis to work from with adjusting the resolution to what will start the program. This doesn't happen for me using the main 800px version, and so there could be an incompatibility when having the panel at 500px for some reason.

Also I found something else too. Bizarrely enough, using the compatibility mode for Windows 95 (yes, 95!) made it display properly without needing the -d:soft parameter adding. Setting this from the tab from the shortcut:

 

I'm using Windows 7 here, so it might appear a bit differently as I notice you're using Win 10 from the window style.

Some more things to try anyway, and I'm encouraged how I've been able to reproduce the glitching error on that particular mode. I recommend just trying to add the -d:soft as the only parameter to your Target box, and fingers crossed that gets it starting properly.

I'll update the description to mention about this.

Ok, using only the -d:soft parameter, it opens, is this how it should look:

 

And using only Windows 95 compatibility here's what happened: 

27 minutes ago, Rott said:

Ok, using only the d:soft parameter, it opens, is this how it should look:

Excellent, that's a big step in the right direction, and confirms it works the same as I found there. Perhaps one of the other compatibility modes might work, but there's no need to mess around with those, and I found it only does the same thing as using -d:soft as you now have. I also found how saving the compatibility mode didn't always work, and so I had to go back and do it again.

At this point the Lot Editor with my mod is working properly, and now it should be possible to set a custom resolution to make the window wider.

Here's some possible options to try:
(Use one at a time)

Option A

-w -r1600x900x32 -d:soft

Option B

-w -r1366x768x32 -d:soft

Option C

-r1600x900 -d:soft

Option D

-r1366x768 -d:soft

 

Maybe also experiment with other resolutions such as:

1680x1050
1440x900
1280x800
1024x600
1024x576

I found how the LE starts in windowed mode even without the -w present, and so that's because it's the default. Since you've got a dual screen setup, it could be how running in full screen mode might mess things up, and so just a word of caution if adding the -f instead.

I just can't get it to open in that maximum ratio, still a big improvement over the default:

These were the best resolutions I could get, this is definitely not the worst result but if there's a way to maximize it, that would be awesome. Thanks again.

Glad you got something working there with the custom resolutions.

I've done a bit more research, and came across this post in an old topic. It does appear how the LE can fail to start if setting a resolution which it's unable to support. Potentially this could be an area which the DxWrapper compatibility layer could be useful (as per the description info). I've only experimented with this briefly myself, but it does have a range of options for configuring how rendering settings are applied.

That might be something potentially worth playing around with, and it seems like perhaps the LE doesn't like wider screen formats as are common nowadays. Since when the program was released back in 2003 and even 1600x900 would've been rare (if not unheard of).

The error described there sounds exactly like what was happened when I tried certain resolutions, the window never appears.

I'm just glad to not have to view the lot through a periscope anymore...

Hi, Cyclone Boom!

I noticed strange things recently ...

1. I installed Lot Editor Expanded Preview Panel v1.0 (Medium Width 500px) with parameters

2. I got this picture with some of my props

3. After several unsuccessful attempts, I removed the -d:soft value from Apps

4. I just replaced the parameter PNG from Lot Editor Expanded Preview Panel v1.0 (Medium Width 500px) with a PNG from Lot Editor Expanded Preview Panel v1.0 only.

 

5. Now it looks like this (there were minor flaws with the position of the parts).

And now it works !!!

What do you think of it? How can this be and why is a PNG file here?

Thanks

@Silur

That is interesting, and thanks for posting in such detail about what you've found.

My first thought is whether the -d:soft command might not have been recognised correctly. I notice how it has a semi colon there ( ; ) instead of the colon ( : ) which is required for the syntax to be valid. Just a little difference there, and so perhaps this prevented software rendering from being enabled, and then it led to the graphical glitching you experienced. I also noticed that from testing in certain resolutions also.

The PNG image stored inside the .dat file is the background panel which I'd edited to fit for both sizes of the expanded LE panel. This needs to be there so it replaces the Maxis default background, since I made it fit where the size and rotation controls are located. For the 500px width version, this less wide than the 800px for the main version since I made it to be the correct size to match the display.

It seems likely how the software rendering not working explains the glitch, and then by copying over the narrow panel means the LE can display this no problem. Another thing to try is just use the regular version (not the 500px one), and that might be better suited for your monitor.

Hope this helps!

Thanks Cyclone Boom

As I wrote earlier, everything works fine for me now.

Thanks again, all your advice is very useful and I will keep it in my head.

mine worked with Windows XP (SP3) compatibility

and man was this a big help! no more staring at a small window on a big screen.

definite must-have for LE users.

 

@Cyclone Boom It is a very helpful mod but do you know how to expand this panel?

 

@AP

Thanks for the review with your kind words!
 

@Barroco Hispano

Glad it's useful, and I like that idea with widening the props panel. This seems similar to what Tibi suggested previously also, and it's something I've been meaning to investigate. I believe it might be doable, and so just a matter of finding the time since Cori and I have been quite busy recently. I'll look into it for sure, and it would be a worthy Version 2.0 update if it can be done.

Once again, brilliant people have distracted me from a project I was deeply involved in. I will never learn! This is a very useful and long overdue modd.

The 833 pixel version is too rich for my blood, because although I am capable of running in higher resolutions, changing from my normal 1024x768 would affect everything I do on this machine. I opted for the 500 pixel version, but, as others found, the lower left pane is black, and has the afterimage of opening lots. That does not go away. (FYI, I use Win XP - no comments please, I've heard them all.)

I tried all the tricks outlined above but nothing worked, UNTIL I changed the shortcut properties to "-r800x600x16". Perhaps changing the PNG file format might help.

As to the comment above about widening the "Items" choice menus, some 11 or 12 years back, I found that just as frustrating. At that time I did a lot of experimenting, (don't remember everything I did, and won't be revisiting the issue), and developed the .dat file attached. It worked (at least, for me).

The file I created is incompatible with your modd, in that it contains the original Maxis Lot Editor UI. However, I took the additional files necessary for widening the choice windows and copied them into the 500 pixel version datfile. I now have the best of both worlds. Attached is my original file. It may be of use to you or someone else. Just remember to remove the LE main UI exemplar, 0x00000000,0xCB6B7601,0xEB69F864.

LE_UI_Item-Window-Size.zip

Adding a new comment, so anyone who downloaded the above gets a notification. The download item in my prior comment contains some unnecessary files, the download attached contains the one relevant UI mod to alter the size of Lot, Prop & Flora resource list boxes. It does NOT change the base/overlay texture windows, nor does it change the Family window. I rarely use it, so didn't bother. Cyclone Boom indicated he may incorporate the size change in future updates, so he may change the Family window as well.

Also, I have resolved the black, non-refreshed lower left pane of the 500 pixel version. Somehow, that particular PNG file was 16 colors only. I am supplying Cyclone Boom with the fix so he can update, but if you are familiar with the iLive reader, and have a competent image program, it is a simple matter to extract that PNG file, change the color depth and re-insert it.

Hope this helps, Cyclone Boom has created a very useful modd.

Lot Editor Resource Choice Size Change Mod.dat