RTM_Layout V1.02 under development

RTM_Layout is a 2D layout application to create floor plans for electronic projects. Its also useful to lay-out a room for an apartment or home. Having recently moved to another State, I've been using it for rooms as well as an upcoming project.

However, some features lacking in Layout are making me crazy. So I'm revamping it for another release. Here's a list of changes;

• Block now stays Selected after Adding: Many's the time I've added a blank-block and went to the Property-Page to change dimensions. But because it didn't stay 'selected' I ended up changing the Platform dimensions instead. This PIA bug is fixed!
• User Block Storage & Recall: A way for Users to create a Custom-Block and save it inside the RTM_Layout application. Now you can paste a saved Custom-Block into any layout drawing -- without recreating from scratch.
• Project Not Saved Warning: Doing almost anything inside a loaded project now triggers a not-saved flag. If you attempt to Close the App or Open another drawing, you're warned changes aren't saved. You can click a button on the dialog to save or not.
• Category -- in Project Picker: I use RTM_Layout for numerous types of layouts. I have many projects show up when I use 'Open'. Its become difficult to find certain types of Projects easily. So I'm adding a (sortable) Category column to designate types of layouts. You decide Category-text and save to your loaded project. The text appears in the project-picker in a User-Category column. See next Image...

EDIT(S):

Save As: now shows the current Project name allowing you an easy way to rename it. This updates Layout's setting for Auto-Load to ensure loading the newly named project on startup (if Auto-Load enabled).

Selected Block-Title Blinks: In my use of RTM_Layout, I made some Block-items very small to represent Opto and TTL chips. But when I select these Blocks, they won't show a hatched pattern (selected indication) because only the Title-text was visible. I have changed this behavior to extend hatch into Title-text -and- to blink Title-text (assuming settings allow it to be visible) such that finding Selected Blocks is fairly easy and fast. An added checkbox in the Autos-section of Settings lets you switch the blinking OFF. The blink-rate is kept at 1.3 Hz which is below the fastest recommended (2 Hz) blink-rate to avoid photo induced seizures.

I'm still making changes and testing. More later...

Lee