Suggested improvements to exporting/printing layouts as images or to PDF

[Gödel]

Hello AnyRail Team,

I have been using the free version for a while now to try out track configurations and I think the program has great potential.  However there are a few things that if improved would make me upgrade to the full version immediately.  And encourage others no-doubt!

1. Exporting the layout to an image - this is a good feature but why why why would I only want to export the part of the layout on the screen?  If I want a high resolution picture of the whole layout then I have to make a dozen export pictures at higher zoom and paste them together in a graphics program!  It would be great to capture and export the whole layout at what ever size you wanted.

2. Printing. I would like to print at 1:1 which requires a plotter / long roll of paper. I have access to such a plotter at work but can't take the layout in a useful format e.g. PDF / 1:1 image file (see point 1) to print.  Could you add an 'Export to PDF' feature possibly?  I'm just downloading a "to PDF" print driver but it would be super if the program could do it directly?

3. While the interface needs some work to make it easier to use, (e.g. shapes and text, manipulating flexi-track) I have had no problems designing a large mainline station in N scale and would like to thank you all for putting such effort into a really useful program. Keep up the good work!

Thanks,
Gödel

[David]

Hello Gödel,

Thanks for your suggestions. Indeed, we've had more questions about getting a high resolution picture of the layout. I'll see if that's possible.

PDF printing is a nice suggestion. What exactly would you like as options? Because just creating an A4 or Letter size PDF document might not be what you're looking for. We should take a look at possible copyright/patent issues for PDF exports.

Indeed, handling shapes and such will become easier in the future; we're working on it.

David.

[David]

Just to let you know: creating a high resolution picture is quite simple now:

- Set the view scale to 1:2 or even 1:1, and select the 'File/Export as...' menu item.
- Choose the 'Complete plan' option, and press OK.
- Save the file in the format you prefer: png, gif, bmp or jpg.

If the resolution of the resulting picture is too high to process further, set the scale down a bit, and retry.

David.