Discussion: OCAD 8

How can I create Control Circle breaks? I found the "To Graphics" item in the "Edit Menu" and was able to make the break using the "Cut Tool". So now I have a circle with a good break, but the object is no longer a control included in the course. Can I convert the broken circle back into a Control Symbol included on a course?

I don't think you can put back a break in a circle (I've never managed to...), probably easiest to delete and re-create.

I know this doesn't help for OCAD 8... but Purple Pen has a very nice tool for cutting (and removing cuts from) the control circles. I used it extensively for a recent race, it was very intuitive.

I don't want to "put back a break in a circle". I want to incorporate the broken control circle into a course design along side other, unbroken control circles. Choosing "To Graphics" and breaking the circle seems to render the control circle into a plain old graphic with no control like properties.

"To Graphics" was the wrong thing to do. Delete that circle, and put in a new circle with the code that you had before. Then, with the Objects tab selected, you can select the circle for edit, and use the scissors to cut a break in the circle (click, drag, release). The break will appear on all courses. You can do the same thing for connecting lines, but for them you need to have the Courses tab selected, and click Preview.

Forget it and use Condes or Corpse instead.

Or Purple Pen. It's free, it's easy to use, and it works well.

Is it yet possible to print straight from Purple Pen, Condes or Ocad (in course setting mode) without exporting courses first and opening them in ocad and set course drawings like circles below black color?

Cuntting circles or exporting about ten courses on by one and open then one by one in Ocad and printing them there - it's pretty tedious job if you have to do it something like twice a week year around, year after year. That's why no-none does it (at least here), but they just print without cutting or exporting importing anything. And now people run with maps like this (a training event two days ago) every week in our typical training events we have every day. And blame ocad/condes for it.

The simpelst way to fix 90% of the problem would making a checkbox: [X] Print 100% black over courses. Most of heavy users I know have been hoping for years something like poping up in future releases.

Jagge: I sometimes use the view/Draft mode feature in Ocad 9 (view/transparent map in Ocad 8). Then you get a map like this:

It's not quite what you are looking for since it blends colours other than black into the purple lines as well.

Condes - to cut a control circle, select the control, select the cut line tool, place the cursor on the control circle at the point you wish to cut the line, click. Condes cuts the line by a pre-set amount (not user-selectable as far as I can see). The cut is inherited by the control and is retained for all courses. For the line between controls, the method is similar to the method described above for the control circle.
PurplePen - Select the control, select Item/Add gap, cut the control circle at the required point. Note that in PurplePen, whether the cut is shown for all courses or not depends on the printing scale, i.e. the cut is specific to a control at the scale shown in Course/Properties/Appearance/Map printing scale/, so if your "all controls" map is at 1:10000, and courses are printed at 1:5000, the cut on control circles cut on the "all controls" view will not be shown on courses printed at 1:5000 (I misinterpreted this feature on an earlier post and mistakenly said that cuts were specific to courses ).

For the line joining controls, PurplePen allows you to adjust the length of the cut, which is a nice feature.

OCAD - Select the control you wish to cut, select the cut tool, drag the cut tool across the area to be cut (not available in preview mode). Cut is inherited for all courses. NB - to select the control, either select from the control list, or click in the middle of the control circle. For lines between controls, choose preview mode, select the line, select the cut tool, cut the line where required.
Corpse - not familiar with this software, so unable to offer advice.

For course printing, Condes and Purplepen allow printing directly from the software without need to export to OCAD.

People don't like seeing those dirty blended colors and thats why the transparent mode isn't used. I personally find them quite confusing too. And we have seen one does not bother to cut anything with a mouse for a training event, soon they get enough and stop doing it thinking "computer should do this for me".

So it may not be worth upgrading to 9 from 0cad 8 if one thinks this is a important issue.

Jagge is right about the hassle of getting black to print above purple without exporting, and as far as I know this is common to all methods.

I don't understand Hawkeye's comment about 0CAD being useless for putting gaps nto circles and lines. It seems completely simple and straightforward to me, without the drawbacks that he notes for Condes and PurplePen.

Gotta back JJ on that one. What's the big deal? You use the scissors, drag from the start of the break to the end, and it's done. Takes maybe 30 seconds if you're being really careful.

Thanks jjcote and ebuckley - agree, not useless (hyperbole removed), just annoying having to switch between modes. Note also correction to the behaviour of cuts in Purple Pen in my previous post.

I got it done. It *is* simple and straight forward. Thanks everyone.