| ThingMaker Documentation Chapter 4) Working With Tools

| Working With Tools The next two tutorials explore the tools in the Tools Palette. The Path Tool is covered in tutorial 4, while the Shape and Color Tools are covered in tutorial 5. Tutorial 4: Path and Draggable Things This Tutorial introduces the Path Tool and the Drag Action. The Path Tool is a powerful addition to an animator's tool kit. With it, your Things can move on their own in a Scene. The Drag Action lets you make Things that a user can drag around the screen.

Here are the steps you'll perform in this tutorial:

- Open an existing Gallery file
- Add a Path to a Thing
- Adjust the parameters for the Path
- Add an Action to a Thing

  Getting Started
  1. Run the ThingMaker application.
  If it's not already running, launch ThingMaker.

  2. If you don't have a blank Scene, choose New from the File Menu.

  3. Choose Open Gallery from either the File Menu, or the bottom of the Gallery Palette.
  ThingMaker lets you open other Galleries besides the Gallery that's visible on screen. Multiple galleries are an ideal way to archive or distribute your collections of Things.

  If you have edited the current Gallery, ThingMaker will prompt you to save changes before opening the new one.

  The default gallery that ThingMaker opens when you first launch the program is called ThingMaker.TMG. It is located in the ThingMaker directory.

  4. Choose Tutorial4.tmg and click open.
  The tutorial Gallery file is located in the path: drive:\Program Files\Parable\ThingMaker\Tutorial

  ThingMaker switches to the new Gallery.

  Adding a Path to a Thing
  With the Path Tool, adding a Path to a Thing in the Scene is easy.

  1. Drag the Tree Thing to the Scene Window.
  Place it somewhere at the bottom of the Scene.

  2. Click the Path Tool.
  This tells ThingMaker that you are going to use this Tool.

  3. Click on the Thing and drag it upwards in the Scene.
  After clicking the Path Tool, move the cursor to the Thing. The cursor should change shape from an arrow to a hand. Click and drag the Thing to draw a Path in the Scene. A line will appear as you draw, indicating the Path the Thing will travel.

  If the Thing didn't move, but you have drawn a Path in the Scene, then you did not click on the Tree Thing before you began drawing the Path, and the cursor did not change to a hand shape. Though you can add a Path to the Thing after it is drawn (see "Path Tool" in the Reference) delete the Path and try again. Select the Path Tool, click on the Tree Thing, and drag it about the Scene.

  4. View the Scene.
  Click the Play Button and see what happens. The Tree Thing should move upwards in the Scene, and will stop at the end of the Path.

  Adjusting the Speed on the Path
  Now you are going to edit the Path.

  1. Open the Settings Palette.
  This will show that a Path Icon has been added to the Settings Tray.

  If you don't see the Settings Sheet for the Path, click on the Path Icon in the Settings Tray.

  2. Set Play to Continuously.
  This parameter describes how the Tree Thing will move on the Path. It will play to the end and jump back to the beginning before replaying.

  3. Preview the Scene.
  Press the Play Button, and you should see the Tree Thing travel along the Path repeatedly in the Settings Sheet's Preview Window.

  Stop the Scene before continuing.

  Redisplaying the Path
  The Path is only displayed when the Path Settings Sheet for the Thing is chosen.

  1. Click on the Scene to unselect the Tree Thing.

  2. Click on the Thing again.
  The Path is not displayed. The Path is only displayed when the Path Settings Sheet is selected in the Settings Palette.

  3. Open the Settings Palette and click on the Path Icon in the Default State of the Thing.
  Clicking the Thing will display the Path, making it editable again.

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