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9.04 Multiple Sketch Jobs

Sometimes it might be necessary to sketch the same design multiple times. This can easily be done through the interface. The interface remembers the last design it sketched and displays this design at the top of every sketch page where it can simply be selected to repeat that sketch.

If you’re connecting to the MDA through the interface and try to start a new sketch while the MDA is still sketching, you’ll notice that the interface prevents you from doing so and displays a warning message informing you that it can’t start a new sketch until the last one is finished. It will not queue the sketch that was ordered last. You will need to reselect the design after the MDA has finished. This however will not happen if you use TactileView to start a new sketch while the MDA is still sketching. We are working on implementing a solution for this. For now, however be aware that you should always wait for the MDA to finish and the arm to return to its home position, before starting a new sketch.

9.02 Interface

SVG images can be sketched from the MDA interface, from the following four pages:

  • Uploads, images can be uploaded to this page by yourself
  • USB-stick, images from an inserted USB-stick
  • MyImages, images requested by you, made by designers from the MyImages community
  • Examples, images from the various example categories present on the MDA

In every case the way to start sketching the image is with a simple mouse click (or a different method for “clicking” the image). . The MDA will then start sketching the selected image.

At the top of all of the four pages, the last sketched image is shown, by clicking on this image, the image will be sketched again.

The Uploads and MyImages pages also allow you to delete images from the MDA.

Note that when you try to sketch another image while the MDA is still sketching, you will get a notification that the MDA is busy, and you will have to wait until the MDA has completed the sketch to issue the sketch command.

9.01 SVG Files

The MDA can sketch images based on the SVG format.

SVG stands for Scalable Vector Graphics and has an extensive set of commands to create images, with basic shapes like lines, rectangles, circles, etc. that can be assigned properties like solid, dashed, colours, filled shapes, etc., etc. As you might understand, for images to be sketched on the MDA, only a limited subset of these SVG properties can and will be used. Although the MDA software can read any type of SVG file and will show a full preview of this file in the interface, only a limited set of these properties can be processed and sketched on the MDA itself. Presently, the MDA supports the following SVG elements:

  • Line, Polyline and Polygon – all lines will be sketched as solid lines. Style data like thickness, endpoints, etc. will be ignored
  • Circle and Ellipse – only solid outlines, all style data will be ignored
  • Rectangle – only solid outlines, style data for rounded corners is supported, all other style data will be ignored
  • Path – only solid outlines

Other SVG elements and style data is not supported by the SVG interpreter of the MDA.

Note that tools like Adobe-Photoshop can output SVG format files. However, what Photoshop (and other programs) sometimes do is embed a JPG or PNG pixel type file inside an SVG file. The core of those files remains a pixel file, which cannot be sketched by the MDA. If the MDA interfaces encounters files with embedded pixel files, it will display the warning: “non-sketchable elements” below the image preview. However, seeing that the file itself may contain both sketchable and non-sketchable elements, it is up to you whether or not to sketch the image. In the case of an SVG image with only pixel content, only the right-up marker will be sketched.

Instructions for drawing your own SVG images

  • There are many tools that can create SVG format images, a popular and free tool is Inkscape. However, make sure that the selected tool will create “real” SVG images, i.e. an image with vector elements instead of embedded pixel images.
  • The MDA will always scale the created image to A4 format, and rotate the image as needed so that the maximum amount of sketchable area is used. Even so, when creating a new drawing, start with an empty A4 template
  • On the A4 template, you can fully use the A4 area, up to the edges of the “paper” to create your image. However, keep in mind that the MDA has a margin of approximately 5 mm from the edge of the A4, and will resize your drawing if part of your drawing lies within this margin. As such it is good practice to not draw within 5 mm from the edge.
  • Although the MDA sketching software ignores line thicknesses, it is advised to give all elements a thickness of 3 pixels. The reason for this is that the previews of the images are much smaller than an A4, and as such a 1 pixel lines will be difficult to see in the preview image, while 3 pixel lines are easy to see in the preview image.

Make images on scale 1:1 and use measuring with TactiPad

As mentioned above, the MDA will resize any image with another format than A4. Even with an A4 image, the MDA will resize the image in case there has been drawn within the 5 mm margin. In order to create drawings that will not be resized, and for which you want to use the measuring equipment (measurement indicators and ruler) of the TactiPad, do as follows:

  • Use an A4 template, and make sure in your settings that the width and height are set to 210×297 mm or 297×210 mm, and that the viewbox is set to 0-0-297-210 or 0-0-210-297 as well.
  • Do not draw in the outer margin of 5 mm
  • As the measuring indicators of the TactiPad have a spacing of 5 mm, and start at the exact position 0, 0 (left top of the page), start your drawing at 5, 10, 15, etc. mm from the top and left edge of the page, so it aligns with a measuring indicators.

 

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8.01 Automatic updates

The MDA interface and supporting tools will be updated when new developments or bug-fixes are available.

In addition, when new example images are available, those images will also be automatically downloaded to the Example directory of the MDA.

These updates will happen automatically when the MDA is switched on, and the MDA is connected to the internet. The update process can take up to two or three minutes, depending on the speed of your internet connection. During this time it is possible to use the MDA interface, which will update itself in the background. Switching to another page, or refreshing the present page will show the new version of the MDA interface when update is completed.

7.03 LAN/WAN

The MDA has built in capabilities for LAN connections through wired ethernet or WIFI Ethernet.

Wired Ethernet connections can be created by plugging in an Ethernet cable that is connected to your network to the MDA’s Ethernet port. Upon switching on the MDA, the MDA will configure itself for your network, assuming that your router acts as a DHCP server (which is the default).

WIFI connections can be established trough the MDA interface. Navigate to the menu Setup option, login and select Network Setup. This page shows the various network connections with their associated IP-addresses.

If you have not setup a WIFI connection earlier, the page shows all the available WIFI networks in the vicinity of the MDA. Select the appropriate network and you will be prompted for the WIFI password for the selected WIFI network. Enter the password and the MDA will connect to this WIFI network. This might take a few seconds.

If you have setup a WIFI connection earlier, the MDA will try to connect to this network automatically. If successful this connection will be displayed, and you have the possibility to disconnect from this WIFI network.

The MDA automatically switches over from broadcasting the WIFI hotspot (when you need to connect your device directly to the “mda-hotspot” network to access the interface) to connecting to the WIFI network configured under “Setup – Network setup”  (when you connect your device to your own network to access the interface). When the MDA establishes a WIFI connection between the MDA and your own network, the hotspot is automatically disabled. When the MDA is no longer connected to a WIFI network, the hotspot automatically becomes active again.

Note that you can change the name and password of the WIFI hotspot of the MDA. The default name is mda-hotspot, with the default password being 12345678. On the lower part of the “Network Setup” page, you have the possibility to change the name and/or password.

Here you can also change the name under which the MDA shows up on your network from the default name mda.

An additional setup requirement on this page is the setup of the WIFI country code, which should be the official two-digit code of your country in capitals. More precise, it is the two-digit country code of the country your WIFI router is registered for, but this will in most cases be your country itself. This is an absolute requirement for newer WIFI routers. Failing to set the proper code might give failures in the WIFI setup or WIFI connection.

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7.02 Hotspot

The MDA interface is equipped with WIFI hotspot functionality.

The default WIFI functionality for the MDA is as a WIFI hotspot. By default the WIFI hotspot is broadcasting under the default WIFI network name (network SSID) mda-hotspot. This name might have been changed to something different. If so, look for the new WIFI hotspot name when trying to connect to the hotspot.

With a PC, Mac, tablet or smartphone, you can search for this WIFI network and connect to it, using the default WIFI password 12345678. (Note for WIFI hotspot use, that if your device is connected to a different WIFI network, you will lose this connection, as your device is only able to connect to one WIFI-network at the time, meaning you’ll lose your internet connection as well unless the MDA has access to the internet).

Through the MDA interface, it is possible to change the name of the WIFI hotspot network and/or the WIFI password. For more information, see chapter 6.07.

With the MDA interface, it is possible to connect the MDA to your own WIFI network (Setup menu, Network setup). When you have established a WIFI connection to your own WIFI network, the MDA wifi-hotspot will automatically stop functioning. The MDA’s hotspot will automatically start again as soon as you terminate the connection between the MDA and your own WIFI network. This can be when you manually disconnect by using the disconnect option on the network setup page, or when the MDA loses connection to the WIFI network; for example when the WIFI network stops broadcasting.

 

 

7.01 USB (TactileView)

You can connect your MDA directly to a PC using the USB-B port at the back of the MDA.

This way you can directly sketch images made in the TactileView software onto the MDA (File menu, Sketch with MDA, Sketch button).

Note that this option bypasses the MDA interface completely and should not be used in parallel with the MDA interface. When the MDA interface is used in parallel with TactileView, and a sketch command is send from the interface while the MDA is busy with a sketch command from TactileView, the MDA will run into trouble trying to complete the TactileView sketch.

6.08 Help

The help page gives the link to the MDA manual on the Thinkable website. Note that the MDA should be connected to the internet in order to make use of this manual from the MDA interface.

6.07 Setup

The “Setup” page is password protected, you must submit your password to enter this page (default password is admin). If you have registered your MDA and have forgotten your password, you can request a new password on this page as well. Also, if you have obtained an MDA from someone else, and this owner has not removed his/her password, you can request a factory reset password from Thinkable. For details on password protection of the MDA, see chapter 12.02 of this manual.

After logging in the Setup page provides links to the Owner/Administrator registration page, Global data setup and the Network setup page.

The Setup page also provides a Logout button. It is advised to logout from the Setup page as soon as you are finished with (modifying) the setup, in order to prevent that others make changes to the system.

Owner/Administrator registration
You can register your MDA with Thinkable by providing the requested information on the Owner/Administrator registration page. Upon registration you will receive information on developments and on updates of the MDA. Note that a number of the fields are mandatory. The password you enter will not be send to nor be stored by Thinkable. If you forget your password, you have the possibility to request a new password, which will be send to the email address you have provided during registration. If you have registered earlier, you can modify any of your registered data at any time by making changes to the appropriate fields any than resubmit your registration data.

Global data setup
You can select the language of the interface and the dimensions (metric or imperial).

Here you can also enable “Sketch on Click” or “Confirm to Sketch”. After selecting an image to be sketched, there are two options depending on the setting:

  • After clicking on the image the sketching is kept on hold until the sketch is confirmed or cancelled (Default).
  • Click on the selected image and the MDA will start sketching immediately.

In a multi user environment or when the MDA is not under direct control/ in direct proximity, you want to make sure the TactiPad is placed on MDA and ready to receive a new image or that the new sketch will not cross over into the previous one.

However the setting ‘sketch on click’ will save some operation time.

Network Setup
The upper part of the Network setup page shows information on whether or not you have a wired connection, a WIFI connection, displays the network name (SSID) of the WIFI connection, or shows that the MDA is working as a WIFI hotspot.

If the MDA is connected to a WIFI network, you have the possibility to disconnect from this network. When the MDA is not connected to a WIFI network, it shows the available WIFI networks. You can select the appropriate network, and by providing the network credentials (either password for a home network, or user name and password for an Enterprise network), your MDA will connect to this network.

On the lower part of the Network setup page you have the possibility to change the name the MDA will has on the network (default is mda), as well as change the name of the WIFI hotspot network (default is mda-hotspot) and the wifi password of the hotspot (default is 12345678). You also have to provide the two-digit country code here (see chapter 7.03).

Note that there is no need to change the MDA’s name or hotspot name in case of a single MDA. Only if there are multiple MDA’s connected to your network, is it important that MDA’s do not have the same names nor broadcast on the same hotspot SSID’s.

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