This version has been the available as download on the site for a while, but I was travelling and could not find time to update the blog. New ideas were included and bugs fixed from user suggestions and feedback - thanks this time to KB, KdP, EH, JM and GS.
New functionality
GEM4D can now be associated to DXF-files and automatically opened when double clicking on a DXF-file in Windows Explorer. To create the connection, right click on the DXF-file in Explorer, select "Open with => Choose default program ..." and browse to "C:BasRockGEM4D" and select "GEM4D.exe". After the connection is successfully created, double clicking on a DXF-file in Explorer will automatically open the file in GEM4D.
"Right toolbar => Discs icon => Create disc => Disc type => 2 points" creates a disc by picking two points. Previously, the picking points had to be on the same elevation, but points can now be picked on different elevations and the plane will automatically be corrected for the supplied dip angle.
"Right toolbar => Toolbox icon => Smooth meshes" provides a smoothing filter that relaxes polygon connections. These filters used to be reasonably ineffective, and new algorithms are now used to smooth meshes more aggressively. The new filters worked very well on the test examples that I used, let me know your experiences.
"Right toolbar => Toolbox icon => Reduce polygons - Geometry loss" is a new polygon reduction function. The original polygon reduction option is still available and attempts to maintain the geometry, which obviously limits the reduction potential. The new algorithm does not retain the geometry as well, but reduces the polygon count substantially more effectively.
"Complex actions => Clipping => Show plane" creates a transparent plane that shows where clipping will occur. This option has been available for many months, but an edge was added to the plane for aesthetic purposes.
"Left toolbar => Mouse icon => Clipping Plane picking" is a new snapping option that snap mouse pick points to the "Complex actions => Clipping => Show plane" plane. This allows for meshes to be visible, but all snapping to occur on a flat plane. This is useful when digitising Measure lines for use in model building etc. - remember to keep the "Shift"-key depressed for continuous digitising.
Changes
When filtering both "Markers" and "Mapping" with the "Filter"-buttons below the grids, all filtering was first reset before the new filter was applied - even the filtering done in the grid. This logic was changed, and filtering no has to manually reset with the "Reset all filters"-button.
All the mouse pick snapping options are now on the "Quick toolbar", which are automatically added to the top of the scene when buttons 2, 3 or 4 are selected from the top of the right toolbar.
Bug fixes
The "Markers => Colour mode => DataColumn" occasionally greyed out - fixed
"Right toolbar => Ruler icon => Create measure lines" when creating continuous "Measure" lines with a vertical offset by keeping the "Shift"-button depressed, the line segments did not line up correctly.
"Top toolbar => Markers => Add a data density column" did not place a column number in front of the column name as with other columns - fixed.
Scene did not reset correctly when loading DXF-files by dragging-and-dropping them into the scene from Windows Explorer and with "Top toolbar => Load => Add AutoCAD file (DXF/DWG)".
