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Importing Anyrail track plan into PanelPro


ITG
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Help please. 

I’m still at the early stages of exploring how I wish to control digital points (turnouts), currently done by button-pressing accessory numbers on my Prodigy Advance 2.  I am quite keen on the benefits of a visual mimic panel on a laptop, using JMRI. I’ve had some trial success with doing this, but I would prefer better graphic representation than that afforded by LayoutPro.

An option could be to import my Anyrail track plan into PanelPro, which I have been able to do.

 

But I am stuck as to how one links the actual point graphics from Anyrail into PanelPro. I see that on importing the Anyrail plan, that a populated Turnout Table is created, with both system name (titled IT1, IT2, etc) and  user name (both TOR and TOL are used, with what seem like random numbers). Because of the Prodigy I’m using, if I am setting this table up without the Anyrail import, the prefixes have to be MT (for MRC). And of course, numbered to align with how I have linked them to the Prodigy.

 

So how do I ‘name’ these Anyrail imported turnouts in such a way that PanelPro recognises them? 

Thanks in advance as always for the help a novice can always get on this forum.

Ian

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JMRI has some importing capabilities, but its not how I'd address your issues.

 

As I understand it, you want a visually attractive layout panel ?     You have (at least some) of the turnouts in a turnout table in JMRI.   Give those turnouts sensible names, and use the names in any subsequent work in JMRI. 

Having got this far, use the Panel Editor to create a Panel, with any visual appearance you like.  You will need a graphics editor if wanting to do things to the appearance (GIMP is free and very good).

 

The approach I'd use is within the Panel Editor, positing the turnouts, using the icons from the JMRI library, roughly where you'd want them, but nothing else.   Then screen shot that panel (CTRL-Alt-PrntScrn on a windows PC) and paste the image into graphics editor.  Now, (ideally on a separate layer) draw all the other static elements of the panel - the plain line, any text, etc.. etc.., leaving spaces where the turnout icons would be.   Save the resulting image (minus the turnout icons) as a PNG.    Back in Panel Editor, import the PNG as a background, and positing the turnout icons precisely where wanted. 

 

 

- Nigel

 

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Be aware that software track-plan  mimics are there for your convenience and understanding.

You could park all your points, blocks, sensors, etc in a corner of the plan, delete all the straight bits and curves and the software wouldn’t know the difference - it would work exactly as it does when your pseudo-accurate track-plan is in use.

Edited by RAF96
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