Getting the most out of your LDraw Experience
Ever since James Jessiman released LDraw in 1996, other members of the online LEGO enthusiast community have been writing their own utilities to support the file format. Over a period of time a series of programs have arose to aid a user in creating models, managing files, and rendering photo-realistic images. Here is an introduction to some of the most popular ones.

Thomas Burger's Datsville LMT Out From MacArthur Tunnel model - MOTM winner for December 1999.

You have probably seen some high quality pictures of LEGO models done with LDraw software by now, such as what is featured in the LDraw.org Model of the Month competition. The pictures, called 'renderings,' are actually made in a totally separate program called POV-Ray. LDraw model files and POV-Ray code are not compatible, so before the models can be rendered they have to go through a conversion process.

There is currently one popular conversion program, L3P. L3P will convert your model to POV-Ray format qucikly and easily. You can even use the high quality parts of the LGEO library. Once the model file is in POV-Ray format, you can launch POV and use its rendering features to give you the high quality image you want.

At the same time, these conversion utilities are difficult to use for the amateur, because they are based in the DOS command line system. A program called L3PAO has helped fill that void by becoming a Windows front-end to the L3P conversion process. Download L3PAO for Windows control over L3P and enjoy generating POV models easily.

On LUGNET, LDraw users like to share their creations with each other by posting a DAT file. LUGNET has created some DAT file specific newsgroups which allow LDraw formatted content to be posted and served through a script direct to your computer. From there, a few people have designed LDraw viewers, which are essentially light versions of rendering programs which are designed to give a fast show of the model. Some of these can spin the model around in 3D to look at all angles. Among the popular viewer programs are L3Lab, LDView, and LDGLite.

Support
If you are having trouble setting up these additional LDraw tools, you should first go to LUGNET's CAD groups. These newsgroups are an excellent resource for those seeking support with any program which is a member of the LDraw family of tools. Many dedicated users discuss the programs there and are more than willing to help out. You can also search the groups to make sure your question hasn't been asked before. The people there are friendly and ready to help, give this a try!

But, if this doesn't work, you should seek out the author of the specific program you are having trouble with directly. They are usually active participants on LUGNET, also, they post their email addresses on their websites and sometimes in their programs under the Help menu.

Model by Tim Courtney. Screenshot from LDView.

Advanced Tools
Currently we don't have an introduction to the advanced tools available. However many of these are available for download in the download database, as well as discussed on the LUGNET CAD groups. In the future, LDraw.org plans to have an introduction to advanced tools guide simliar to this document for users to refer to.

Happy Building!
We hope you have found this introduction to LDraw helpful. You are now on your way to designing your very own stunning LEGO models on your computer. Be sure to share your models with the community in the LUGNET DAT groups and on your own homepage - and document your creations using this system, so you can re-use your pieces safely and be able to build your models back later! Most of all, have fun!!

The LDraw.org Staff