I have been using the Atlas track software program to design my layout. I have finished the track plan, but now I want to use a computer program like Paint to draw the scenery, roads and other items. Does anyone know of a free online computer program like Paint that can take a Atlas RTS file in which one can draw scenery, roads and other components to a higher level of detail than the Paint program?
EDIT: Seems I need to read more, you were asking about other programs. No, I don’t. but Paint works pretty dern well. here’s a few of my old ones:
Does RTS allow you to export to a BMP or JPG format? It’s been a while since I last used RTS. If so, you can take your track plan and export it, and then open it in Paint. However, if you go back and make more changes in the track plan, you’ll have to do it all over again.
Assuming you’re running some reasonably current version of Windows, try this: Bring up RTS, and click on the track plan window. Hold down the ALT key, and press the Print Screen key once. On my keyboard, Print Screen is to the right of function key F12, but it might be somewhere else on yours. Now, open up Paint. Hold down CTRL, and press V once. You should get the RTS image into your Paint window.
ALT-Print Screen captures the active window into the paste buffer. CTRL-V pastes the buffer into the active program.
Two more things:
Sawyer, I like your Geeps. Nice work, and you’re into the spirit of keep-em-runnin’ in the age of fallen flags and re-badging.
As for the track plans - are you sure you’re not falling into “analysis paralysis?” Once the track plan is pretty well established, yeah, it’s nice to put in roads and scenery, but it’s really time to put saw to lumber and start building the layout.
You can save your RTS files in a JPEG format - just use the “save as” function and select JPEG as the type of file. Make sure, though, that you are in the page view mode and can see your entire layout on the display.
You can open your file in Paint and create things that look like this:
Let me inform everyone that my benchwork is done and my subroadbed is placed ready for track. But before I spent my hard earned money, I desire to know that things are startegically placed with a good concept of placement for all scenery, structures and track. If that is “analaysis paralysis”, then I am inflicted at the highest point of contact. I remember the rule well in life amd model railroading, measure twice, cut once.
Thanks for the compliment on the geeps, I think they fit with my layout more.
as to the trackplans, that is a combination of wishful thinking and being between layouts. I designed those over the summer when I was moving into a new bedroom and thinking of different layouts to use in the space. I prefer to trackplan by creating a sketch and then actually obtaining the track components and laying them onto the foam and creating crude mock-ups. since I couldn’t do that, RTS “analysis paralysis” helped me. works for some, doesn’t work for others. It’s also rather fun, and can keep your one layout from getting old by designing other layouts.