Arcade tutorial 4: Model Sequence Tutorial 25 June 2006

Kirk Martini 2006 University of Virginia

Arcade Tutorial 4: Model Sequence Tutorial

The following tutorial demonstrates the following Arcade features beyond preceding tutorials: Creating and editing a slide show presentation of Arcade model files. To support teaching and other presentations using Arcade, version 4.0 introduces a function to organize a collection of Arcade model files into a sequenced presentation, treating each file as if it were a page in a PowerPoint presentation. Such a presentation is called a model sequence. This tutorial first shows how to use a predefined example presentation included with the program, and then provides instructions for creating your own presentation.

Use a predefined sequence:

Open the first example sequence. (Help > Example sequences > 01-all-examples.rc2)
The screen appears as shown below

The program shows a model sequence based on the contents of the examples folder in the Arcade program folder (C:/Program Files/Arcade/Arcade/examples). The upper window shows a thumbnail for each file. The left window shows a series of options for displaying the model sequence.

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Arcade tutorial 4: Model Sequence Tutorial 25 June 2006

Kirk Martini 2006 University of Virginia

Advance to the next model. o Click the Next button in the left window.
You can also advance to the next model using any of the following methods: Click Menu File > Model Sequence > Open Next Model Click the right arrow in the tool bar. Press the F10 key. Note that the blue outline highlighting the thumbnail moves to the next thumbnail in the upper window. This highlight indicates which model is currently open.

Open another model o In the left window, check the checkbox Open on click. o In the upper window, click on a thumbnail file at random.
The model corresponding to the clicked thumbnail opens, and the thumbnail is highlighted.

Change the order of the sequence. o Click and drag a thumbnail, moving the cursor to a position between two other thumbnails, then release the mouse button.
The dragged thumbnail is relocated to the new position, and the corresponding model file opens. To change the position of a file without opening it, uncheck the Open on Click checkbox in the left window.

Exclude selected files from the sequence o In the left window, check the checkbox Show Exclude? checkbox.
A checkbox with the label Exclude? appears on each thumbnail.

o Check the Exclude? checkbox for the second and fourth thumbnail.
The thumbnail is rendered with a dark background to indicate it is excluded from the sequence. The screen should appear similar to below:

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Arcade tutorial 4: Model Sequence Tutorial 25 June 2006

Kirk Martini 2006 University of Virginia

o Check the Open on click checkbox in the left window if it is not checked already. o Click on the first thumbnail to open the corresponding model file. o Click the Next button in the left window to advance to the next model.
Note that the third model appears rather than the second, this is because excluded models are skipped in the process of advancing through the sequence.

o In the left window, uncheck the Show excluded models checkbox.

The thumbnails representing the excluded models disappear

Show files in full view mode. o Click menu View > Toggle full view.
The display goes to full view mode.

o Click the right arrow in the tool bar (or press the F10 key) to advance to the next model.
Tip: Normally if you select a tool while in full view mode, the display reverts to palette view mode so that the palettes corresponding to the tool are visible. To stay in full view mode while selecting different tools, press the Alt key while clicking on the tool bar.

Create your own model sequence

Choose a folder containing model files. o Click Menu File > Model Sequence > New.
Note that the Model Sequence submenu can also be accessed by right clicking in the Model Sequence window.

o Use the dialog box to navigate to the following folder C:/Program Files/Arcade/Arcade/examples o Click Select.
The model sequence edit window and options palette appear, with a thumbnail for each of the model files in the folder.

Save the sequence. o Click Menu File > Model Sequence > Save. o Use the dialog to save the sequence to test-sequence.rc2.
Note: The sequence file must be saved to the same folder where the model files are located. The entire folder can be copied or relocated, but the sequence file and model files must remain together, otherwise the sequence file will be unable to find the model files. You can visualize the entire folder contents as a single slide show, where the model files are the slides and the sequence file is the tray.

Play around. o Try other options not discussed above such as the Show title on rollover and Show image checkboxes in the left window.

Notes on Model Sequences

Missing files: If a file from the sequence has been renamed or removed from the folder, the sequence file will not be able to find it when the sequence is loaded. This condition is indicated in the thumbnail by showing a black square for the image and using red text for

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Arcade tutorial 4: Model Sequence Tutorial 25 June 2006

Kirk Martini 2006 University of Virginia

the file name. If you click menu File > Model Sequence > Refresh, the program will rescan the folder, including in the sequence files newly added to the folder, and removing from the sequence files no longer present. Old files: If you create a model sequence in a folder containing Arcade files saved by a version of the program preceding 4.0, the thumbnail will be blank. If you open and save the file with Arcade Version 4.0 or later and then click File > Model Sequence > Refresh, the thumbnail will appear.

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