Before submitting that bug report...

[Rodney]

I was just about to launch a bug report because every time I tried to create a preview icon in A:M I was being shown the desktop.

I then thought perhaps it best to post to the forum to see if others were seeing the same thing.

Then I thought about how unstable my entire system has been of late (I haven't restarted my computer in a long time)

Then I thought that resetting A:M should be tried before anything else (yes, and especially before reformatting my harddrive!)

 

And it worked.

Now I can create preview icons.

Note to self.

 

Here's what I think contributed to the problem AND what might also relate to some other problems, especially when working with older files.

I had run across an old model online and thought as an exercise I would fix some spline issues and see what I could do to update the file.

As A:M was working with that older file format (that has a different preview icon format BTW) it might have run afoul of trying to update that incompatible formatting.

Perhaps that was it. Perhaps not. Whatever it was, resetting A:M cleaned out the cobwebs and things are again working as designed.

 

So, when things start looking bad don't forget to reset, restart A:M and try again.

[John Bigboote]

Good advice. However- REALLY DUMB question... What is a preview icon?

[Rodney]

What is a preview icon?

 

It's the internal image stored with A:M files that allows applications (specifically A:M) to show a preview of the contents of the file.

It's best known as the image that displays when grabbing (dragging and dropping) resources from A:M's Libraries.

 

To create the preview image simply place what you want to appear as a preview in the window, then Right Click and select Create Icon.

As the preview will be saved as part of the file make sure you save your file.

 

All the various resources of A:M (with a few exceptions) have a preview image. Those that don't get one specifically assigned get a default icon that identifies the type of resource; model, action, chor, material, etc.

[Rodney]

In other news...

 

I've been debating putting in a feature request to update the icon format to base64 but I'm not sure that is the ideal solution.

The plus would be that base64 images display very nicely in browsers and it's fairly straightforward to code programs to take advantage of accessing that image data. There are lots of base64 encoders/decoders out there.

 

The primary downside remains that more data results in larger files which would counter one of the benefits of A:M's file format; small file sizes.

Files with minimal preview data can be very tiny.

 

The other side of the coin is that a full solution should likely incorporate preview/proxy data for external images (decals, textures, etc) and incorporation of such might constitute a step backward.

Example of proxy usage: An A:M model might use an external decal of high resolution but the image data stored in base32/64 can be included in the file. As such if the external file is misplaced/lost at least A:M might grab that proxy to supply the decal. The resolution would be lower but in many cases would be more than adequate, at least until the full rez image is supplied.

 

As mentioned, addtional benefits can be derived from the image data.

For instance, a mobile platform/app could leverage the preview images so that an A:M user could sort through various resources in preparation for production outside of A:M. Then upon launching A:M... bam. Keekat's your uncle.

So, the answer to the question of how can we get A:M onto mobile platforms is simply to leverage A:M data.

We wouldn't have all the bells and whistles of A:M but in most cases we don't need those, especially during initial planning.

 

Okay, enough of that dreamin' stuff.

Back to our scheduled show already in progress...