SL Clothes Previewer

The reason is that I purposely did not implement png file format. I decided to only support tga because clothing textures should always be tga file format.

Not everyone likes to use TGA, though. I only use TGA for certain items. PNG is easier for me because I can see right away, as I'm working, what parts are transparent. Especially if what I'm working on is quick and simple, and I don't wanna fiddle with an actual alpha channel which, in photoshop, only shows me transparency through redness.

On top of that, I already have stuff in progress in PNG format. Are you saying I have to go through the mega hassle of converting all the transparency to an alpha channel style transparency and using TGA (which i have to run an annoying filter every time I save, mind you, to prevent white halos) just so I can preview the clothing before uploading it?

Purposely not allowing people to use a common image format because of a personal preference? What would it hurt to implement PNGs?

Hey, he wrote the program and shared it free. He is entitled to chose a personal preference. Don't kick a gift horse in the teeth.

I just didn't like the attitude that "everyone SHOULD use TGA, I will make sure of it by PURPOSELY not supporting PNG".

Can anyone tell me where I can find a free clothes previewer program that DOES support PNG? Because I really do not want to have to go out of my way, and make things harder on myself JUST for a previewer.

SL itself supports PNG, after all.

If you read through Chosen's transparency guide, also stickied in this forum, you'll find that actually one of the myriad reasons TGA is a better file format than PNG for textures with transparency is to prevent white halos. Sorry you don't like working with TGA, but if you are encountering white halos with it then you just aren't doing it right.

Ultimately it's not just a personal preference, it's a standard throughout the 3D graphics industry. And SL didn't support PNG until fairly recently actually, as a nod to beginners. While you seem to think that switching is doing things the hard way, in fact using PNG is doing things the hard way. Not in the short term, since it'll take a bit of practice to get used to proper alpha channels, but in the long term it's much better. You should maybe do a search for Chosen discussing the history of Photoshop 7, when Adobe tried doing away with alpha channels and had to switch back.

is there a mirror for the clothes previewer I tried several times and each time at different intervals it came up with a file not found error.

I work with TGA on certain heavy projects, but I use PNG when I just wanna be quick and simple.

I only encounter white halos on TGA if I do not merge the layers, then run the flaming pear "Solidify B" filter each time before saving. That step right there is pretty annoying, especially if I'm making very minor changes, and previewing each one till I get something -just- right. With PNG, I can just save it as is when I want to look at these minor differences, it's better for when I"m making something very quick in a hurry, for a contest somewhere or for a friend... all that fiddling with a separate alpha channel and playing with solidify filter can greatly increase the time it takes for me to do something.

With PNG, if I wanted to cut something away, I could just use the erase tool, or selection tools to remove areas from view, and I would accurately see the changes. With the alpha channel, I have to create the shape of what should be visible or not in the alpha channel, and edit both the image, and the alpha channel separately each change if I'm modifying the shape of the clothing in any way. That's why I prefer PNG for simple projects, because I'm not putting up with the hassle.

Yeah, if I was making something out of sheer lace, then yeah, the alpha channel with a TGA will definitely help a lot. But that wouldn't fall under 'quick and simple'.

In the end, it all gets converted to jpeg2000 anyways, and I make sure there's no white halos at all in either case. I should be able to use what fits best for me at the time.

Well I didn't really want to keep going back and forth on this, but a couple things you said do compel me to respond:


The reason for that is because you need to have a solid background in the same color as the visible part. That's what the Flaming Pear plugin does, it automates filling in the background. Thus, if you provide a solid colored background, you won't need to use the plugin.

Y'see, the reason white halos appear is due to anti-aliasing blending pixels on the edges with the background, so if your background is white (the default if you don't set a background) then the edges will blend to that. So you just need to have a background layer in the color of your clothing; no need to run Flaming Pear every time, just make a background layer once when you start.


Well that right there is one of the fundamental shifts one needs to make in learning to work with TGA. Don't use the eraser tool to define your transparency. You don't need to edit both the visible image and the alpha channel because you should only be editing the alpha channel, painting it white. Erasing stuff on the visible image is both unnecessary and undesirable (because you're destroying parts of your image.)

Although it is true that you can't see the transparency other than a red tinge (I've long wondered why Adobe doesn't preview the transparency of the alpha channel, but I assume they're just afraid to mess with things after the version 7 debacle,) it doesn't really matter for 3D graphics since the view within Photoshop isn't a true reflection of what it looks like anyway; that's why you want to preview the texture on a 3D model while working on it.



Both of the issues you raised go away if you stop thinking about the image as a snapshot of what the clothing will look like and think of it more like a bolt of fabric with cut patterns marked out. The problem of filling the background doesn't matter because the entire image is filled up with your fabric. Meanwhile the alpha channel becomes a little more intuitive when you think of it as a pattern showing where the fabric will be cut.



Anyway, this is all addressing the conceptual end of what file formats to use. However, there is a practical matter affecting me here as well. The laptop I developed SLCP on broke some time ago, and so while I have the code, I can't compile it (specifically, I can't compile any changes I make) until I replace my laptop, and that probably isn't going to happen any time soon thanks to a run of huge medical/dental bills that have been buffeting me lately

Understandable. I had a laptop die on me after 3 years. It was a crappy laptop anyways.

But yeah, I suppose I'll just have to go TGA full time then; even if it takes a few extra steps. Heh.

I have another question.

Is there any way to bring up the panel where you add/refresh textures? I run most of my stuff maximized, including photoshop, firefox, mIRC, and SL itself. I rarely even see my desktop on my PC.

This said, every time I want to refresh the image after updating it in the previewer, I have to minimize ALL my programs *just* to get that one floating window to be visible again (since it doesn't appear on the taskbar or in alt-tab in any way). Is there any way to bring that window to the front without going through so much hassle? I pretty much have to close and reopen the SLCP and reload the images I use every single time, because it's actually faster than minimizing all my stuff to access the panels.

Never thought about that issue, interesting. For now, just note that there's a really fast way to minimize all programs; there's a button among the icons on the taskbar labeled "Show Desktop." I know that doesn't solve the real problem, but at least it solves the issue of minimizing everything taking too long.

Has anyone else encountered problems running this under Wine 1.1.2?
It ran great in previous versions, but i just had an update to 1.1.2 version. The Previwer loads just fine, but the graphics are completely messed up. Looks like when a television has the vhold out of whack.
I tried various options using winecfg, but no luck so far.
I don't want to downgrade b/c my poker client is running better now( ha ha).

I wanted to take a look but seems the provider deleted your files.
Can you please upload again and update the links?
Thanks.

Thanks, I wish they wouldn't keep doing that.

I tried to download SLCP today too and it wasn't there. What a great program Johan can't wait to use it once it's available again thanks!

The file is still mia. Does anyone else have it? Maybe a friendly Skype user

Edit: NM I've got it now. Thanx

Okay i am probably doing something stupidly wrong, but when using the tool my TGA's get plastered over the AV al wrong, the bossom part gets projected on the arms.
When actually uploading inworld this does not happen.
So i fear i did something blonde here?

I'm sure this has been mentioned many times, but the alpha transparency looks white when I try to view a corset that I've been trying to make on it.

@snowy: Are you using GIMP? There's a checkbox when saving TGA to flip the image, that was an issue brought up a few pages ago.


@miya: Are you loading the image on the base layer? Transparency only works on one of the initially empty layers; the base layer is always solid, for viewing a skin on.

Incidentally, if the background of the image is white that's kind of a problem in and of itself, but y'know one fire at a time.

Hey everyone im a little upset because i was about to down load SLCP and it goes all 'File not Found' on me, anyone know why anyone have a correct link??

I tried to download them, and they've been removed >.> I wish they would be uploaded soon...

For both of you guys, I just tried downloading the file from the link in the first post and it worked fine. I even made sure to clear my browser's cache to make sure it wasn't simply grabbing a copy of the file on my computer and was actually trying to download a fresh copy.

So, try again. If you look through old posts in this thread you would see this issue and it's explanation a few times: because the free host I'm using doesn't have an enormous amount of bandwidth, it's relatively frequent for too many people to connect at the same time. Of course, I understand perfectly why someone would skip reading the thread (way too much to sift through) so I'll add this explanation to the first post as well.

a million thank yous. been away from SL for 2 years, and have alot of clothing ideas to pump out for a store!
This will save me ALOT of lindens, and time...-bows lots-..thank you!

I try to load a tga that I made in gimp and the program just quits.

Yep. I just rebooted my whole computer from power down to power up and the same thing happens. Any ideas?

This program is very helpful but the controls are rather wild to use. I can never get the camera angled right unless after several tries of some wild uncontrolable spins, rotations and zooms. I use a trackman track ball which generally works well.

Slowing down the control rates or control options would be nice.