LEGODigitalDesigner4.

3UserManual
TheReadmefilecontainssystemrequirementsandthelatestinformationaboutthissoftwarerelease.Please refertoitfirstifyouencounteranyproblems.

Contents
Welcomescreen LEGODigitalDesigner LEGOMINDSTORMS LEGODigitalDesignerEXTENDED MouseControls Cameracontrol Rotateview Zoomview Resetview Panview TheIconbar Preferences The3modes 1.Buildmode Buildingtools Contextualtoolbars: UsingtheHingetool: UsingtheHingeAligntool: Howtocopyandpaste(Ctrl+C/Cmd+CandCtrl+V/CmdV) Buildingpalette 1.TheBrickpalette 2.Groupingpalette 3.Templatepalette 2.Viewmode 3.BuildingGuidemode Import/Exportmodels Keyboardshortcuts

Welcomescreen
LEGODigitalDesigner
Buildyourdreammodelfromahugeselectionofbricks.

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EachtimeyouopenLEGODigitalDesignerorstartanewmodel,youllseetheWelcomeScreen.Clickto choosefromthefollowingthemes:

LEGOMINDSTORMS
Workwithallthebricksfromtheuniquerobotset.

LEGODigitalDesignerEXTENDED
ChoosetheLDDEXTENDEDthemeifyouwanttomixbricksandcolorswithoutlimitations.

MouseControls
Hereswhatyoucandowiththebuttonsonyourmouse:

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Leftmousebutton
Clickonabricktoselectit. Clickanddragtomoveabrickaroundonthescene.

Rightmousebutton
Clickandholdtorotatethescenescameraview.

Mousewheelscroll
Useyourscrollwheeltozoominandoutinthescene.

Cameracontrol

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TheCameracontrolletsyourotateamodelandzoominandout, soyoucanseeyourmodelfromdifferentanglesandindifferent sizes.

Rotateview
(NumLock,numbers8,2,4,6).Youcanrotatethe cameraviewusingeitherthebuttonsontheCamera controloryourkeyboard.

Zoomview
(NumLock,+andkeys).Selectthe+andkeyson yourkeyboardorthe+andbuttonsontheCamera controltozoominorout.

Resetview
(NumLock,number5).ClickResettoreturnthe viewpointtoitsstandardposition,withallbricksand modelsvisibleandcenteredonthescene.

Panview(shortcutonly)
(Shft+rightclick).HolddowntheShiftkeyandclick therightmousebuttontopanyourmodelfromtheleft, right,toporbottom.

TheIconbar
Welcomescreen(Ctrl+N/Cmd+N).Openanewdocumentwithablankscene. Save(Ctrl+S/Cmd+S).Savethemodelonthescenetoyourharddrive. Undo(Ctrl+Z/Cmd+Z).Takeonestepbacktoundoyourlastaction.

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Redo(Shft+Ctrl+Z/Shft+Cmd+Z).Takeonestepforwardtoredoyourlastundoneaction. UploadtoGallery(Shft+Ctrl+B/Shft+Cmd+B).Submityourmodeltooneofthe
onlinegalleriesonLEGO.com.

Screenshot(Ctrl+K/Cmd+K).Saveanimageofyourmodelasitappearsonthescreentoyour
LEGODigitalDesignerfolder.

Explode(Ctrl+U/Cmd+U).Blastyourmodeltopiecesandwatchitrebuilditself. Backgrounds(Ctrl+F/Cmd+F).Changethebackgroundbehindyourmodel. OutputasHTML(Ctrl+H/Cmd+T).ViewyourbuildingguideasaprintableHTMLpage.

Preferences

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Shortcut:(Ctrl+6/Cmd+,).OnaPC,selectEditfromthemenubarandthenselectPreferences.OnaMac, selectLEGODigitalDesignerfromthemenubarandthenselectPreferences.Youcanusethepreference windowtoturnfeaturesonandoff.YourchangeswillbesavedwhenyourestartLEGODigitalDesigner.

Showinformationfield Addstheinformationfieldtothebottomofthescreencontaining
informationaboutthebricksyouhaveselectedorthebricksinthescene

Showtooltips Addsyellowlabelsnexttothemousecursor.Theseexplainshowthedifferentbuttons
work

Enablesoundintheapplication Keysforturningshownalongwithcursor Akeyboardiconisshownonthecursorto

indicaterotation

Repeatinsertingselectedbricks Lastchosenbrickisstucktothecursorandgetleftclicking,
placesanewcopy.

Enablesthedialoguesforthatwarnyouaboutnonbuyableelements.

Brickcount:Showthenumberofbricksinabox InvertcameraXaxis:invertthecamerasmovementwithrespecttotheX (left/right)mouseaxis InvertcameraYaxis:invertthecamerasmovementwithrespecttotheY (up/down)mouseaxis Brickcount:Showthenumberofbricksinabox Highqualityrenderingofbricksplacedinscene Makesyourmodellookbetter. HighqualityrenderingofbricksintheBrickpalette Makesbricksinthepalettelook
better.

Outlinesonbricks Enabletoseetheedgesonallthebricksinthescene. Advancedshading Enablesadvancedshadingthatmakesyourmodellookmorerealistic Chooselanguage Selectthelanguageofyourchoice Compatibilitymode OnlyusethisifyouhavetroublerunningLDD Resetpreferences Resettopreferencestodefault

The3modes

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LEGODigitalDesignerhasthreeoperationmodes:
1.Buildmode 2.Viewmode 3.Buildingguidemode Youcanswitchbetweenmodesbyclickingoneofthethreemodeiconslocatedin thebaratthetopoftheapplication.

1.Buildmode

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Buildmode (F5key).ClickBuildtoenterBuildmode,whereyoucanbuildandedityour
modelandscene.

Buildingtools
TheBuildingtoolsareonlyavailableinBuild mode.Usethesetoolstoselect,move,clone,color androtateyourbricks. Selectiontool(Vkey).UsetheSelectiontooltoselectsinglebricksinthescene.Clickthe SelectiontoolbuttontorevealapanelcontainingAdvancedSelectiontools(useShft+Vtoswitch betweenthedifferenttools). AdvancedSelectiontools (Shft+Vtotogglebetweentools).Clickthe SelectiontooltodisplaytheAdvancedSelectiontoolspanel.Advanced Selectiontoolsletyouselectmultiplebricksandmakeselectionsbased onbrickcolor,shapeandconnectivity. Clonetool(Ckey).UsetheClonetooltomakeduplicatesofbricksinthescene. Hingetool(Hkey).UsetheHingetooltorotatebricksthatareconnectedwithahingeorasingle studconnection. Pitch,RollandYawangleentryfieldsThepitch,roll andyawangleentryfieldsallowpreciserotationofa joint/hingewithinitsdefinedlimits. HingeAligntool(Shft+Hkey).UsetheHingeAligntooltoautomaticallyconnecttwoseparate connectionpoints. Flextool(Fkey).UsetheFlextooltobendandtwistflexibleelements(indicatedbyasmallicon inthebrickpreview. Painttool(Bkey).UsethePainttooltochangethecolorormaterialofbricksinthescene. LEGOEXTENDEDPainttool(Bkey).IntheEXTENDEDtheme,youcanfreelypickany LEGOcolorandapplyittoanybrickyouwant. LEGOEXTENDEDColorPaletteselectiontoolDisplaysapaletteofLEGOcolors dividedintosolid,transparent,metallicandlegacy.(EXTENDEDthemeonly) ColorPickerAllowsyoutopickupcolorsbyselectingbricks.(onlyintheEXTENDED theme) DecorationtoolLetyouadddecorationstosurfacesofselectedbricks.(onlyinthe EXTENDEDtheme) Hidetool(Lkey).UsetheHidetooltohidebricksormodels. Deletetool(Dkey).UsetheDeletetooltoremovebricksfromscene.

UsingtheHingetool:
TheHingetoolletsyouselectahingedelementonyourmodelandmoveitinthedirections

TheHingetoolletsyouselectahingedelementonyourmodelandmoveitinthedirections indicatedbythearrows.Aselectedelementcanbemovedusingyourmouseorthearrowkeyson yourkeyboard.Whenanelementcanberotatedinmultipledirections,theselecteddirectionisindicated withagreenarrow.Toselectadifferentdirection,clickoneoftheyellowarrowsorusetheTABkeyon yourkeyboard. TheHingewheel alsoletsyourotateinacircularmotionandsnapthe rotationto45degreeincrements. TheNumericInputfield letsyoumanuallyinputanglevalues.

UsingtheHingeAligntool:
TheHingeAligntoolmakesiteasiertoworkwithTechnicelementsinparticular.Selectthetwo endpointsofachainofbeamsandwatchthemconnect.

Contextualtoolbars

Contextualtoolbarsliedirectlybeneathmaintoolbarsandcontainspecialsubtoolsforeachtool.For example,theContextualtoolbarbeneaththeHingetooloffersaninputfield,whiletheContextualtoolbar beneaththePainttoolcontainsanumberofusefulsubtools.

Howtocopyandpaste(Ctrl+C/Cmd+CandCtrl+V/CmdV)
Sometimesyoumightwanttotakeexistingbricksand duplicatethembycopyingaselection. Copy(Ctrl+C/Cmd+C).Youcancopypartofyourmodelby selectingthebricksyoudliketocopyandpressingCtrl C/CmdC. Paste(Ctrl+V/Cmd+V).Youcannowpasteyourbricksby pressingCtrl+V/Cmd+Vandplacethemwhereveryoulikeonthescene. Note:CopyandPastearealsoavailableviatheEditmenu.

Buildingpalette

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EachtimeyoustartbuildingamodelinLEGODigitalDesigner,youwillseeabuildingpalette.The buildingpalettefeaturesthreetabs: 1.Brickpalette:Containsbricksforbuilding 2.Grouppalette:Containsgroupsofbricksyouhavecreated

2.Grouppalette:Containsgroupsofbricksyouhavecreated 3.Templatepalette:Containstemplatesyouhavecreated

1.TheBrickpalette
TheBrickpalettegivesyouaccesstoanunlimitednumberofbricksyoucanbuildwith. Selectabricktobuildwith. Chooseandclickonthebrickyouwanttouse.Thebrickwillbecometransparent soyoucanseewhereyouaremovingit.Movethebricktowhereyouwantiton thesceneandclickagain. Showgroup/Hidegroup.Showsorhidesbricksinthe groupwithinthepalette. FilterBricksbyLEGOsets.ClickthisicontochooseaLEGOset. Yourbricklistwilldisplayonlythebrickscontainedintheselectedset. Eachbrickappearswithanumberthattellsyouhowmanyofeachbrick thesetcontains.Itwillcountdowntozeroasyouusethebricks.Ifyouusetoo manyofonebrick(morethantheLEGOsetcontains)thenumberwillturnred. Therednumbertellsyouhowmanyextrabricksyouhaveusedthatarenot includedintheset. Scaledividers.Resizesthedividersandtheircontentsto betterfityourscreenresolution. Findbricksbycolor.Whenyouclick thisicon,apanelwillopenbelowthe icon.Selectthecolorormaterialyouare lookingfor.Thiswillfilterthebricklistsoitonlyshowsbricksinthecolor youhaveselected.ThispalettealsoletsyouHidecolorsandonlyshowgrey brickssoyoucanconcentrateontheshapes.Youcanremoveanychoices youhavemadeinthismenubyclickingRemovefilter. Searchfield.Searchforthebrickyouneed. Trytypingwordslikeround,roofordog. LEGODigitalDesignerEXTENDEDpaletteWhenintheLDD EXTENDEDtheme,brickscanbecoloredfreely,regardlessoftheirdesign.

2.Groupingpalette
Usegroupstosaveaselectionofbricksforlateruse.Groupsmakeiteasyforyou toaccessgroupsofbricksthatyouoftenneedtoselect,suchascarwheels, rooftopsoraircraftwings. Creategroup(Ctrl+G/Cmd+G).Tocreateagroup,firstselectthe bricksyouwanttogroup,andthenclicktheCreateGroupbutton.

Addtogroup.Usethisfunctiontoaddselectedbrickstoanexisting group. Removefromgroup.Usethisfunctiontoremoveselectedbricksfrom anexistinggroup. Createsubgroup.Createasubgroupthatbelongsunderanothergroup. Forexample,youmightwanttocreateaCargroupandthena Wheelssubgroupunderit,soyoucanselecteitherthewholecarorjustthe wheels.

Grouppreview.Grouppreviewshowsyouathumbnailofagroupscontents.Try draggingitaroundbyclickinganddraggingwithyourrightmousebutton.Note: YoucanalwaysdeletegroupsbyclickingtheredXintheupperrightcornerofthe grouppreview.

3.Templatepalette
Templatesletyoupermanentlysaveagroupofbrickssothatnexttimeyoustarttheprogram,thetemplates willstillbeavailable. SavetoTemplate(Ctrl+Alt+G/Cmd+Alt+G).Saveaselectiontoa templatebyfirstselectingthebricksyouwanttoadd,andthen clickingthisbutton. TemplatePreviewThisshowsyouathumbnailviewofthe contentsofaTemplate.Trydraggingitaroundbyclicking anddraggingwithyourrightmousebutton.

2.Viewmode

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Viewmode(F6key).Thismodeletsyouviewyourmodelwithdifferentbackgrounds.You
canalsousetheexplodebuttontoexplodeyourmodels.

Takescreenshot.TakesascreenshotandputsitinyourPicturesfolderinyourOS. Explodemodel.Explodesyourmodelintoamillionpieces. ChangeBackground.Clickthistocyclebetweendifferentbackgroundenvironments.

3.BuildingGuidemode

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BuildingGuidemodegivesyouaccesstotheBuildingGuideplayer,whichyoucanusetoplaythroughthe differentstepsinyourbuildingguide.

Next/PreviousStep(RightArrowkey).Goonestepforwardor
backwardinthebuildingguide.

RepeatLastStep(Spacebar).Playthelaststepagain. StepSliderDragtojumptoaspecificstepinthe
buildingguide.

StepCounterDisplaysyourcurrentstepnumberandthetotalnumberof
stepsinyourbuildingguide.

AssemblyViewRevealsapreviewofyournext4bricks.

Import/Exportmodels
youalreadyhaveamodelopeninthescene. Note:RemembertoopenyouroldmodelsusingtheImportfunction.

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Import. ImportLXF,LXFMLandLDrawfilesintoLEGODigitalDesigner.Youcanimportfilesevenif

Export. ExportletsyoucreateLXF,LXFMLandLDrawfilesthatcanbeopenedinotherapplications.

Keyboardshortcuts
Viewpointcontroller: Rotateviewleft Rotateviewright Rotateviewup Rotateviewdown Resetview Zoomin Zoomout Buildingtools: Selecttool ToggleSelecttools Hingetool HingeAligntool Clonetool Painttool Hidetool Deletetool Groupingtool: Creategroups Templates: Createatemplate Iconbar: Open Save Print Ctrl+O Ctrl+S Ctrl+P Cmd+O Cmd+S Cmd+P Ctrl+Alt+G Cmd+Alt+G Ctrl+G Cmd+G VKey Shft+V HKey Shft+H CKey BKey LKey DKey VKey Shft+V HKey Shft+H CKey BKey LKey DKey PC 4Key(NumLock:ON) 6Key(NumLock:ON) 8Key(NumLock:ON) 2Key(NumLock:ON) 5Key(NumLock:ON) +Key(NumLock:ON) Key(NumLock:ON) MAC 4Key(NumLock:ON) 6Key(NumLock:ON) 8Key(NumLock:ON) 2Key(NumLock:ON) 5Key(NumLock:ON) +Key(NumLock:ON) Key(NumLock:ON)

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Print Undo Redo UploadtoGallery BuildingGuidecontroller: Nextbrick Previousbrick RepeatLastStep Nextstep Previousstep OutputasHTML Menuitems: Importmodel Exportmodel Saveas Exit Cut Copy Paste Delete SelectAll Help Whatisthis? About Preferences Show/HideBrickPalette Show/HideToolPalette Show/HideWebBrowser

Ctrl+P Ctrl+Z Shft+Ctrl+Z Shft+Ctrl+B

Cmd+P Cmd+Z Shft+Cmd+Z Shft+Cmd+B

Rightarrow Leftarrow Space PageDn PageUp Ctrl+H

Rightarrow Leftarrow Space PageDn PageUp Cmd+T

Ctrl+I Ctrl+E Shft+Ctrl+S Ctrl+QorAlt+F4 Ctrl+X Ctrl+C Ctrl+V DeleteKey Ctrl+A F1Key F2Key F3Key Ctrl+6 Ctrl+1 Ctrl+2 Ctrl+3

Cmd+I Cmd+E Shft+Cmd+S Cmd+Q Cmd+X Cmd+C Cmd+V DeleteKey Cmd+A F1Key F2Key F3Key Cmd+, Cmd+1 Cmd+2 Cmd+3

Note:Macshortcutscanvarydependingonyourcountry.