TrackBuilder
Track Builder 3
A fine program from Softrail at http://www.softrail.com/trackbuilder.html It's a 16-bit app, so a bit archaic. Functional though.
If you design layouts, be sure and support this software by buying a copy. ATCS Monitor would not be possible without it.
Nope, you can't copy and paste portions of layout BETWEEN layouts, only within the same layout. One approach to minimize duplication for adjacent territories is to create a single humongous layout, then delete portions of it to create smaller sections. Particularly useful in urban areas with multiple railroads running RF codeline.
Installing TB3
Install to whatever directory you want.
ATCS Monitor modifies the actual application to support a specific feature used only by ATCS Monitor (not the intended Train Dispatcher application), so when ATCS Monitor is run, it will take care of that for you automatically, turning TB3 3.1G into a version 3.1H. Nothing to be concerned about at all...just telling you in case you notice it.
Vista users, take heed: After running the installer, it seems that the key component, build3.exe is missing from the installed directory! Not sure what that is all about...yet another Vista "feature" I guess. Only workaround I know of is to grab a copy of that file from an installation on a different version of Windows. Runs fine, then.
TB3 will not always automatically convert from version G to H. When running TB3 the first time you may need to associate the .lay files with the TB3 program. This can be done two ways. Open TB3 and save a simple quick layout to a .lay format. The second is to associate the files manually by right clicking a .lay file name, select open with and browse to "Build3".
Using TB3
You can launch it from your Start menu, directly from the install directory, or ... and this is the best one ... by clicking on the yellow TB3 tool on ATCS Monitor, TB3 will launch and edit the currently displayed layout!
See the section LayoutGettingStarted for specific layout creation tips.
-- Main.DougNipper - 06 Mar 2007