Patch to add color selection for silkscreen and solder mask in 3D viewer

[Jeppe Johansen]

This patch essentially enables a user to change the color of the silkscreen and soldermask layers the same way the background colors can be changed.

[Nick Østergaard (nickoe)]

This looks good to me. One could argue that it would be nice to a default palette with common pcb's... but then again the user might want that to be tweaked.

I think this should be comitted.

[Mario Luzeiro (mrluzeiro)]

Longtime ago I added that feature, but, after discuss with Jean-Pierre, he suggest that we should make instead a template with common pcb colors.. (so why you see in the sources that const static colors) ..so user will not be confused adding crazy not meaningful colors... I agreed. .. Maybe we can have the two options.. default colors and custom colors..? I would be happy with some way to configure the color, but I think it will be quicker and practical to select it from pallet.

[Chris Pavlina (pavlina-chris)]

hmm? What's to confuse the user? Just set a sane default.

[firewalker (firew4lker)]

Nice feature. I just tested it. It works as expected. I opened OSHpark and picked their purple color with the color picker.

[firewalker (firew4lker)]

I don't believe that not having a fixed pallet will confuse the users.

[Nick Østergaard (nickoe)]

I don't believe either, but it would be nice to have a common palette, also such that you can set and save your favorite own colors, and then load them later instead of rembering color codes or setting it manually and tweaking everytime you want to change.

I mean a saveable and loadable color palette is not a must but very nice to have. The patch as is, is still very usable.

[Jeppe Johansen (jeppe-i)]

Something like the attached patch? I just added whatever colors I could immediately think of.

[firewalker (firew4lker)]

Is it easy to add selection for the copper color? Gold and Silver an Orange (for bare copper)?

[Jeppe Johansen (jeppe-i)]

Yes. It's basically done the same way(in constructor of INFO3D_VISU)

[firewalker (firew4lker)]

Can/will you add it to your patch?

[Jeppe Johansen (jeppe-i)]

Sure. Here's an attempt where I just added the default, another more gold-ish color, and a silver.

[firewalker (firew4lker)]

Thanks you.

Something of topic. What is the mechanism 3dview uses to display the board? The program "compiles" vrml file for the board, on the fly, and displays that one, adding all the other vrml files of the components?

[Mario Luzeiro (mrluzeiro)]

@firew4lker: The board (board + copper + tech layers) they are converted to an internal triangle mesh to be rendered. The VRML files are converted to a intermediary mesh models tree structures and then, rendered to openGL lists .. to be displayed.

but.. that may be changed in the future..

The "confuse" I mean if you have only an options to select a custom color, you have every time to select a new color by your own if you want to try a different color.. also, lets say you would like to make it blue.. what type of blue is a PCB board?.. user can choose bad colors :)
So if we want to make sure user pick exact standard colors it would be nice to have a pallet.

I didn't try your patch yet, can someone merge it in the main trunk?

[firewalker (firew4lker)]

Thanks you.

[Marcos Chaparro (nitrousnrg)]

I second Mario, it would be nice to see it merged, the way it is now is very usable in my opinion.