I'm looking for a way to import images that can be pasted onto certain objects I create in Bryce 7 Pro. So far, all I have found is not very easy to understand. 

Here is an example of what I want to do:

Let's say I created a 3D model of an airplane. Now in the real world planes have all manner of markings that are either painted onto them or applied as stickers or decals. There are things like the registry number, company logo, paint design, and so on. These types of things are not readily available in Bryce 7 Pro. There is a way to import the images for use; however, finding a tutorial that explains the process in easy to follow instructions has proven to be quite difficult. The reason I want to learn how to do this is because it will add a new level of realism to my renders. It would be nice to be able to create a spacecraft that has the name, its call letters, its registry number, its paint design, and the logo of its affiliation on the hull. If there are other programs I need to create the images I need, I have two very good ones available to me. One is MS Office PowerPoint, and the other is Gimp 2.

A good tutorial in PDF form or in another document form would be excellent; however, if there is a good easy to follow video available, I would welcome that as well. I found one video, but the person who made it goes far too fast, does not explain what is being done, and does not show the steps long enough to be of any use to me. My eyes were darting back and forth all over the screen trying to take it all in, and by the time I finally understood one thing, the video had already advanced five or six steps further. I cannot work that way. It is too hyperactive and frantic for me.

So if anybody has a suggestion or two on where I can find the information I need, I will appreciate the help. If someone knowledgeable with this process would be willing to create a good tutorial explaining it, that would be totally awesome. 

Thanks for any help anybody can provide.

Agent 0013.

Probably one of the more tricky aspects of 3d modeling, applying decals has always defeated me further than just creating prim with a logo or number on it and adding it to the model.

Unless I'm very much mistaken the process you need to master is called UV Mapping and is way beyond my skill set. If I understand it at all, it's a means to create the entire colour scheme - logos, numbers and paint job and apply it to your completed model in one shot.

You might shoot a site-mail to UVDan.......unless of course he gets here first.....

As things stand at this time, I am not sure how complicated the process is.

Before acquiring my DAZ 3D programs, and some others, I was working with MS Office PowerPoint. I had discovered a little known thing in the program that allows the creation of 3D shapes. I began using the program to create my own 3D art application. It required several PowerPoint files to be created and placed in a collection of several folders where I could access them when needed.

I was able to do some very good looking pieces, and even create limited animations. Still the program could never be as great as those I have acquired from DAZ 3D. The realistic looking renders are amazing, far beyond what I was doing before, and as far as characters and other models are concerned I would not have been able to accomplish the quality that is possible with these programs.

That being said, at least one thing is possible in PowerPoint that appears to be very complicated in Bryce. I can create what I was calling "skins" that can be used on the models I create in the program. That is something I still cannot do in Bryce. I know that it is possible to do in Bryce, because there are models I have downloaded that have the decals on them already. They are in .obp format and can be imported into my objects library with all decals intact.

I have been able to export certain materials out of DAZ Studio and modify them using other programs. Once this was done I simply saved them to the same folders they came from. This has given me extra materials for use on several types of things. Clothing, props, even skin can be modified in this way. Of course some of the materials I modify have restrictive copyrights that would prevent me uploading them to be acquired by fellow artists. My point is this; if I can do this with DAZ Studio materials, why can't it be done with Bryce materials?

So, if I can find a way to do it, I'll be happy. 

To the Bryster: If you can give me a link to the website where I can find UVDan, I'll look in on him and see what I can find.

Stay awesome!

Agent 0013.

UVDAn is a member here. Just send him a site-mail.

It sounds to me that what you need is a program like Wings3d. (please don't book me a session in the comfy chair, Bryster)

Bryce is my prefered renderer and animator, but when I need to use decals or any other texture that needs similarly precise positioning, I useWings3d because I can do the UV Mapping in there as well as the modelling.

I can export a model made in Bryce, and clean it up in Wings3d, then UVMap it, save as .obj and then reimport back to Bryce to actually use it.

Wings3d by the way is free, and still currently supported with updates and improvements, plus there's a forum here at Rendo for Wings as well, so you don't need to go far.

WingsForum

Wings3d Website

I don't recommend that you use PowerPoint for creating the decals or other images/textures you might want to use, but the GIMP is similar enough to PhotoShop and PaintShop etc that many people can use that to great effect.

(However it's some time since I last used PowerPoint for anything other than slideshows, so maybe its abilities have improved out of all recognition)  The GIMP however I know can do much more.  So if I were you, I'd use GIMP.

I think there are tutorials for GIMP for making decals,  (Try searching for GIMP and Decal tutorials) and I've done a tut for a related thing, doing drips and rust marks for a simple robot (uses Photoshop, but principles are the same.)

Link: UVMappingTutorial

This tut shows the process for UVMapping in Wings3d as well as making the Texture in PhotoShop so some of it should help even if you don't know GIMP so well.

If you know GIMP well, it should be possible to follow the tut doing the same things but in The GIMP.

It is unfortunate that Bryce doesn't yet have any UJVMapping abilities, but maybe that's yet to come.

Good luck.

(P.S. an .obp object with decals correctly positioned does not mean that making and placing decals is possible in Bryce, I do it in Wings3d, save as.obj, import that into Bryce and then I can swop the textures and save each different version as an .obp - because it's been UVMapped elsewhere but Bryce reads the UV corordinates).

If I create a model in Bryce with several parts made from separate booleaned shapes, would it be possible to take only those parts one by one to Gimp, UV map them, take them back to Bryce and reassemble them? Also if I reassemble the UV mapped parts and then convert to a mesh, will the UV mapped decals remain undistorted? If not, can I save the reassembled model as a .obj file that can be exported for use in other art applications such as Blender or Hexagon?

Stay awesome!

Agent 0013.

Quote - It sounds to me that what you need is a program like Wings3d. (please don't book me a session in the comfy chair, Bryster)

Bryce is my prefered renderer and animator, but when I need to use decals or any other texture that needs similarly precise positioning, I useWings3d because I can do the UV Mapping in there as well as the modelling.

I can export a model made in Bryce, and clean it up in Wings3d, then UVMap it, save as .obj and then reimport back to Bryce to actually use it.

Wings3d by the way is free, and still currently supported with updates and improvements, plus there's a forum here at Rendo for Wings as well, so you don't need to go far.

WingsForum

Wings3d Website

I don't recommend that you use PowerPoint for creating the decals or other images/textures you might want to use, but the GIMP is similar enough to PhotoShop and PaintShop etc that many people can use that to great effect.

(However it's some time since I last used PowerPoint for anything other than slideshows, so maybe its abilities have improved out of all recognition)  The GIMP however I know can do much more.  So if I were you, I'd use GIMP.

I think there are tutorials for GIMP for making decals,  (Try searching for GIMP and Decal tutorials) and I've done a tut for a related thing, doing drips and rust marks for a simple robot (uses Photoshop, but principles are the same.)

Link: UVMappingTutorial

This tut shows the process for UVMapping in Wings3d as well as making the Texture in PhotoShop so some of it should help even if you don't know GIMP so well.

If you know GIMP well, it should be possible to follow the tut doing the same things but in The GIMP.

It is unfortunate that Bryce doesn't yet have any UJVMapping abilities, but maybe that's yet to come.

Good luck.

(P.S. an .obp object with decals correctly positioned does not mean that making and placing decals is possible in Bryce, I do it in Wings3d, save as.obj, import that into Bryce and then I can swop the textures and save each different version as an .obp - because it's been UVMapped elsewhere but Bryce reads the UV corordinates).

PowerPoint will not work for the purposes of UV mapping. I already understand this. It is not possible to import .obj or any other 3D model into PowerPoint as far as I can tell. What is possible is importing .bmp, .jpeg, and other 2D image formats into PowerPoint for modifications. This will not help me with the UV mapping but it works well with DAZ Studio materials files.

Stay awesome!

Agent 0013

Quote - It sounds to me that what you need is a program like Wings3d. (please don't book me a session in the comfy chair, Bryster)

Bryce is my prefered renderer and animator, but when I need to use decals or any other texture that needs similarly precise positioning, I useWings3d because I can do the UV Mapping in there as well as the modelling.

I can export a model made in Bryce, and clean it up in Wings3d, then UVMap it, save as .obj and then reimport back to Bryce to actually use it.

Wings3d by the way is free, and still currently supported with updates and improvements, plus there's a forum here at Rendo for Wings as well, so you don't need to go far.

WingsForum

Wings3d Website

I don't recommend that you use PowerPoint for creating the decals or other images/textures you might want to use, but the GIMP is similar enough to PhotoShop and PaintShop etc that many people can use that to great effect.

(However it's some time since I last used PowerPoint for anything other than slideshows, so maybe its abilities have improved out of all recognition)  The GIMP however I know can do much more.  So if I were you, I'd use GIMP.

I think there are tutorials for GIMP for making decals,  (Try searching for GIMP and Decal tutorials) and I've done a tut for a related thing, doing drips and rust marks for a simple robot (uses Photoshop, but principles are the same.)

Link: UVMappingTutorial

This tut shows the process for UVMapping in Wings3d as well as making the Texture in PhotoShop so some of it should help even if you don't know GIMP so well.

If you know GIMP well, it should be possible to follow the tut doing the same things but in The GIMP.

It is unfortunate that Bryce doesn't yet have any UJVMapping abilities, but maybe that's yet to come.

Good luck.

(P.S. an .obp object with decals correctly positioned does not mean that making and placing decals is possible in Bryce, I do it in Wings3d, save as.obj, import that into Bryce and then I can swop the textures and save each different version as an .obp - because it's been UVMapped elsewhere but Bryce reads the UV corordinates).

PowerPoint will not work for the purposes of UV mapping. I already understand this. It is not possible to import .obj or any other 3D model into PowerPoint as far as I can tell. What is possible is importing .bmp, .jpeg, and other 2D image formats into PowerPoint for modifications. This will not help me with the UV mapping but it works well with DAZ Studio materials files.

Stay awesome!

Agent 0013

I just downloaded Wings3d. I am surprised at the small size of the file. It will probably take some time to familiarize myself with the program, but judging from what I read at their website, I think it will prove to be easier to use that Gimp or Photo Shop. Once I am familiar with the program I'll check out using it to UV map my Bryce models.

With my fingers crossed five different ways,

Stay awesome!

Agent 0013.

Looking forward to seeing the results, Agent0013

I've used 3D models created in 3rd party modelers but the uv mapping theory generally is the same for most 3D packages. Once the model is complete it can be exported as an ".obj" file which is a non-proprietary format and an industry standard which most 3D packages can handle.

I've often used UVMapper Pro for models I was going to use in Bryce and other rendering engines. UVMapper has a free classic download which works pretty much the same as the Pro version and will suit most your needs. As with most mapping packages the user has to decide which type of mapping format will best suit their needs when they first import their mesh model. In the attached image I show how I uv mapped my rendition of the Viper Mark II Battlestar Galactica Fighter which was rendered in 2009 using Bryce. Some models are easier to map when using Box mapping, like I used on the Viper fuselage because you can design (paint) the bottom, sides and top separately on the same template. On the same template also together with the box format I used planar mapping on the cockpit control panels of the ship and a planar split along the Z axis for the pilot's helmet and pilot. It is best to divide your model into groups such as; fuselage, control panels, pilot and helmet as in this case so that you can separate each element and move them around the template so that it would be easier for you when you export the finished template into your imaging editor program. Same box mapping was used on the F-16 model rendered in View. These renditions and others can be viewed in larger resolution in my gallery.

UVMapper tutorial and download pages;

http://uvmapper.com/tutorials/tutorial_classic_win.html

 

Quote - If I create a model in Bryce with several parts made from separate booleaned shapes, would it be possible to take only those parts one by one to Gimp, UV map them, take them back to Bryce and reassemble them? Also if I reassemble the UV mapped parts and then convert to a mesh, will the UV mapped decals remain undistorted? If not, can I save the reassembled model as a .obj file that can be exported for use in other art applications such as Blender or Hexagon?

Stay awesome!

Agent 0013.

 

No, GIMP cannot create UVMaps, it can create textures to use on UVMaps, but not the UV coordinates themselves.  For that you need a 3d program wih UV capabilities, Blender, Wings3d, Cinema4d, 3dsMax, Maya, and I think Rhino and Silo can too.

Naturally I recommend Wings3d.

It would be possible to take each part of a booleaned object into WINGS3D and apply UV coords.  Not sure what you mean by: "if I reassemble the UV mapped parts and then convert to a mesh," they are always mesh, also there's no disassembly involved in UV mapping, so 'reassemble' doesn't make sense.

You can export a model from Wings3d as an *.obj - either before or after applying UV coords, Wings3d has no preference - it's up to you.

Such *.obj's can be imported into any program that can import an *.obj file.

Fran is correct, GIMP is a image editing program and cannot create uv mapping for mesh objects. Most modeling programs nowadays offer  some sort of uv mapping module within it.

Wings 3D is an excellent freebie package that allows you to model mesh objects and uv map them under the same roof, as do several other modeling programs. UVMapper is solely for UVMapping although it offers simple primitives such as spheres, cubes and cylinders but it's more geared toward uv mapping.

You must first output a uv template from these modeling programs. Therein every polygon on the model is given a uv coordinate location on the map and is flattened according to the type of uv mapping you decide is best for that particular model (cylindricle, planar, spherical, box and so on). Once you've created the uv map template, that template is outputed in whatever format you chose (Jpg, bmp, png...) so that it can be imported into your image editing program; Photoshop, GIMP, Paintshop Pro or whatever.

When you open the file in your editing program it will serve as a guide on which to paint on (usually on different layers) and will fit the model it was generated from. You must save the model from which the uv map was created from so that the model contains the coordinate system that was generated for it. And when you've finished creating the textures for the model in your image editing program, you must use the model that generated the original template because it contains the mapping information. You can have two copies of the same model but only the one that the map was generated from will accept the mapping coordinates although some packages allow you to save uv coordinates so that any model of the same type can aquire the coordinates. I hope this was helpful in clarifing the issue.

 

Quote - > Quote - If I create a model in Bryce with several parts made from separate booleaned shapes, would it be possible to take only those parts one by one to Gimp, UV map them, take them back to Bryce and reassemble them? Also if I reassemble the UV mapped parts and then convert to a mesh, will the UV mapped decals remain undistorted? If not, can I save the reassembled model as a .obj file that can be exported for use in other art applications such as Blender or Hexagon?

Stay awesome!

Agent 0013.

 

No, GIMP cannot create UVMaps, it can create textures to use on UVMaps, but not the UV coordinates themselves.  For that you need a 3d program wih UV capabilities, Blender, Wings3d, Cinema4d, 3dsMax, Maya, and I think Rhino and Silo can too.

Naturally I recomme

Quote - > Quote - If I create a model in Bryce with several parts made from separate booleaned shapes, would it be possible to take only those parts one by one to Gimp, UV map them, take them back to Bryce and reassemble them? Also if I reassemble the UV mapped parts and then convert to a mesh, will the UV mapped decals remain undistorted? If not, can I save the reassembled model as a .obj file that can be exported for use in other art applications such as Blender or Hexagon?

Stay awesome!

Agent 0013.

 

No, GIMP cannot create UVMaps, it can create textures to use on UVMaps, but not the UV coordinates themselves.  For that you need a 3d program wih UV capabilities, Blender, Wings3d, Cinema4d, 3dsMax, Maya, and I think Rhino and Silo can too.

Naturally I recomme

Fran, in response to your statement " Not sure what you mean by: "if I reassemble the UV mapped parts and then convert to a mesh," I will explain. When one creates a model from several booleaned shapes and then groups them it is a type of assembly. In the case of Bryce When a negative boolean intersects a positive one and is grouped with it the negative one cuts out the area of the positive that it occupies. That is one type of assembly that is possible. You can also group neutral shapes and even do intersections of shapes with the grouping feature. 

Now once a series of shapes are grouped, a small icon box with a C in it appears. According to the Bryce 7 Artist's Guide, clicking on this icon will convert the grouped shapes to a mesh; and indeed if you enter one of the edit menus, you will find an option in the list that says "Convert to Mesh" or something similar. Some people call it collapse; however, I have found that when this feature is used, the converted item become a single object that cannot be disassembled. It can be booleaned and grouped with other objects just like the primitives. This can then in turn be converted as well. In this way some really complex models can be created.

So what I am actually saying is that after I create the model and save the separate parts to my objects library, I would export them to a UV Mapping capable program, do the UV Mapping, save the parts as .obj, import them back into Bryce, reassemble the model with the UV Mapped surfaces applied, and finally click the C icon to convert the model to a mesh. If you prefer the word collapse instead, then that's what I mean. 

Of course the description of what I am explaining is a bit complicated, but I cannot think of a simpler way to explain it. Hopefully you can understand it.

Stay awesome!

Agent 0013.

To The Bryster:

There is something going on with this forum. I'm not sure if it is just this thread, my PC, Renderosity.com, or what; but when I am writing a response to a message, or adding a comment to the thread, a series of grey horizontal lines appear that obscure the words. It does not happen at the top of a message, but when a new paragraph is started a line appears. If there are several paragraphs in the message, I get several lines that will bunch up at the bottom of the message textbox.

Maybe you can find out what it is. My PC has been thouroughly scanned and nothing was found.

I thought you needed to know about this.

Stay awesome!

Agent 0013.

Agent0013,

First time I've heard of this problem. Sometimes with a slow connection the frames and text can take a while to update after scrolling.

Quote - Agent0013,

First time I've heard of this problem. Sometimes with a slow connection the frames and text can take a while to update after scrolling.

That may be the problem, as I am not close to the WiFi server I am using. It is constantly varying in signal strength.

Stay awesome!

Agent 0013.

Let me know if there is something you need to see a video on and I will hook you up.  I have been needing to make a video for UV Mapper Classic for some time now.

Quote - Let me know if there is something you need to see a video on and I will hook you up.  I have been needing to make a video for UV Mapper Classic for some time now.

That would definitely be welcome. I think it would be helpful to me as well as many others who have the classic version. My OS is Windows 7 Home Premium. I look forward to your tutorial. 

Assigning materials, textures, and image maps would be a good subject to cover. At any rate I will appreciate whatever you can provide.

Stay awesome!

Agent 0013.

Quote - Fran, in response to your statement " Not sure what you mean by: "if I reassemble the UV mapped parts and then convert to a mesh," I will explain. When one creates a model from several booleaned shapes and then groups them it is a type of assembly. In the case of Bryce When a negative boolean intersects a positive one and is grouped with it the negative one cuts out the area of the positive that it occupies. That is one type of assembly that is possible. You can also group neutral shapes and even do intersections of shapes with the grouping feature. 

Now once a series of shapes are grouped, a small icon box with a C in it appears.

Yes, I know how Bryce does boolean, I've been using Bryce for many years now.  I think it was just the way you used the phrase 'convert to a mesh' so close to 'UVMapped parts'  it made it sound that you might not have realised that even a booleaned object is still a mesh.  Just a problem in understanding what the other person typing, meant.

Lol - maybe it's not just 'people separated by a common tongue' but the lack of body language generated by a keyboard... or not!

Quote - So what I am actually saying is that after I create the model and save the separate parts to my objects library, I would export them to a UV Mapping capable program, do the UV Mapping, save the parts as .obj, import them back into Bryce, reassemble the model with the UV Mapped surfaces applied, and finally click the C icon to convert the model to a mesh. If you prefer the word collapse instead, then that's what I mean.

I don't mind, convert or collapse - whatever.  I guess because I model mostly in Wings3D I'm used to selecting individial groups of faces and applying a different material to various different parts - all on a single model.  Instead of Mapping each part of an intended boolean mesh prior to merging them together via various boolean operations and 'C'onvert.  Everyone has their own way of working. 

Also... I don't know if it happens in the current version of Bryce (because I find Wings easier than Bryce to model in, so I don't often model in Bryce) but I seem to remember that sometimes the wrong boolean material would end up on some of the faces during a boolean operation - which I found agravating. But my memory could be wrong - or it could have been a fault of an earlier Bryce version, 4 or 5 or something.  So that problem might now be fixed in Bryce 7.

Your method of going back and forth between Bryce and UVMapping just sounded a little over complex to me, involving extra work, which is why I suggested another way... but like I said, each to their own.

Good luck.

To Fran On The Edge & all others contributing to this thread:

As someone that is fairly new to the digital art community, I am here mostly to learn what I can. All of you have been most helpful to me. I pass along what I know in case someone wishes to try it. It is true that we each have our own methods and preferences. That is what makes each of us unique, and of course our work speaks for us about our style and personality.

It is good that we share our methods with each other, rather than keep them to ourselves. I for one can learn from this far more than I can contribute. I try other methods and suggestions to see if they will fit into my developing style. Thus I welcome any advice that my friends here are willing to contribute.

When I put forth a method that I am currently using, it is only because I wish to explain how I am doing the work. If others wish to try my method, they are welcome, but it is not in any way a demand that they do so. 

I, like all of you here, enjoy creating my art. It is why I do it. It gives me great satisfaction to be able to express my imagination. All of you have become a part of that process by allowing me access to what you know, and by providing information that can lead me to more knowledge. For this, and for your kindness and friendship I give each and everyone of you my deepest and most personal thanks.

Stay awesome!

Agent 0013.

Agent0013, Welcome to the friendliest and most helpful forum in Rendo! :biggrin:

Yup, I agree with you, especially about Bryce being fun to use - I love it and hope that you either do already or soon will.  I've always thought that the great thing about Bryce is its ease of use for the beginner, but even those of us who have used the program for years can learn something new about it, or a new way of using it.

Yes, fun.

I have a question about certain types of files I have downloaded for use with Bryce. Three format types of which I am not familiar with that are supposedly object files. they are .3ds, easytoy work space, and RAR. As I can find the .3ds format in the list of types that can be imported into Bryce, that does not worry me as much as the other two; and I can get the easytoy work space files into DAZ Studio, where I can export as .obj for import into Bryce. The one that is a total mystery to me is the RAR format. Each of the object files of this type had .obj as its format in the listing before I downloaded them, but they show up as this RAR format on my computer once I have acquired them. They are models I would really like to use. My question is actually twofold. How do I import RAR files into Bryce, or do I need some special plugin or software program that can convert them into usable files?

Stay awesome!

Agent 0013.

PS: Here is a piece I recently did using Blender and Bryce together. The main parts of the model were done with Blender, and the Boolean operations, the background, and the render were done in Bryce. I did no UV mapping for this one, the text is actually a series of text objects, and the striping is actually a separate object as well. Let me know what you think.

Quote - Yup, I agree with you, especially about Bryce being fun to use - I love it and hope that you either do already or soon will.  I've always thought that the great thing about Bryce is its ease of use for the beginner, but even those of us who have used the program for years can learn something new about it, or a new way of using it.

Yes, fun.

Fran, I wish to ask if the recent Bryce materials I downloaded are presets that you made? They are of 6 rusted metals and some of them are even full of holes that make them look like the rust has eaten all the way through the metal. If these were uploaded by you, I must say they are awesome indeed.

I tweaked one of them to see what I could come up with and the result was fantastic, My model looks as though it has been badly damaged by an explosive. I could put the new preset in a zip file and send it to you if you wish. I think you will like it. Like the one I tweaked for this, you can tweak this one as well.

Stay awesome!

Agent 0013.

Nice starship. RAR files are compressed.  You will need winrar or winzip or another decompression utility to open them up and reveal the hidden treasure inside. 

Quote - Nice starship. RAR files are compressed.  You will need winrar or winzip or another decompression utility to open them up and reveal the hidden treasure inside. 

Thanks for the compliment on the starship.

So where can I find a good decompression utility that is free to download? I don't have much money these days for things like that.

Stay awesome!

Agent 0013.

Winrar is free I think. Google should get you there.

Quote - Winrar is free I think. Google should get you there.

Thanks. I'll look into it.

Once you install winrar, you can right click on a compressed archive and it will give you choices.  I usually put my rar files in their own empty folder and then use the Extract here option.

Quote - Once you install winrar, you can right click on a compressed archive and it will give you choices.  I usually put my rar files in their own empty folder and then use the Extract here option.

I checked into WinRAR and downloaded it, but it is only free for a trial period of 40 days. I was able to extract the RAR files with it. Thanks at least for the information. I plan to seek out a totally free substitute that I can keep indefinitely. As long as it does what I need it for, that's all that counts to me.

It seems that there are too many different ways to compress files, and I have to wonder why they cannot set things up to use just a few. I think maybe it is because the computer code writers want to keep there jobs or something. I am not meaning to disrespect anybody.The truth is that I know nothing about the ways such things work. Still to me, simple is the best way to do anything.

Stay Awesome!

Agent 0013. 

I have been using winrar for about 7 yrs.  It only throws a fuss about registration when I do  not use the right click method to extract files.  For instance if I double click directly on the winrar file, I will get the registration dialog.

Quote - I have been using winrar for about 7 yrs.  It only throws a fuss about registration when I do  not use the right click method to extract files.  For instance if I double click directly on the winrar file, I will get the registration dialog.

So what I need to do then is learn more about the process and how to get around the 40 day trial period? I mean, when I downloaded the WinRAR software, there was something about being required to buy the right to use it after 40 days. Of course I would like to keep it, but if it boils down to not being able to keep it, I think there must be others available and completely free that will do the job just as well. Yes this was easy to use as I got all of my RAR files extracted in less than an hour, (about 30 or so files). It definitely works really well.

So is there a way to keep it for free? If so, what must I do?

Stay awesome!

Agent 0013.

I just use mine via the open dropdown options - extract to etc.

Agent0013 just do what I said in the post above yours and you can use it for years.

Quote - Agent0013 just do what I said in the post above yours and you can use it for years.

Good deal. Being new to all of this is sometimes hard, but I am learning thank to everyone that is providing such valuable help.

I ditched winrar some years ago because I got tired of it complaining about registering.  What I use instead is 7zip which is 100% free and open source.  You can get it here:  http://www.7-zip.org/

 

It supports ALL archive formats and will even open up ISO disc images.

Thanks for the link!

I'm not having any problems with WinRAR as of yet. The dropdown method of use is working perfectly. I just put the files into the folders I want them in and extract them to those folders. I don't get the big extra window asking me what I want to do.

Even so, I'm copying the link to 7-zip and keeping it in a special folder in case I ever need it. Thanks.

Stay awesome!

Agent 0013.

Thanks for that - does 7-zip do auto extracting files - so you can send stuff to people who don't have an archiver?

Quote - Thanks for that - does 7-zip do auto extracting files - so you can send stuff to people who don't have an archiver?

Good question, Fran. I would like to know about that also.

Here is a pic of the 7-zip context menu flyout, click for full size.

Quote - Here is a pic of the 7-zip context menu flyout, click for full size.

Unrelated question I know but I have to know: I noticed that you have AVG, Microsoft Security Essentials, and Malwarebytes in the list to the right. How do you keep the different protection software from adversely affecting each other?

The reason I ask this question is that I have had all of them and they worked really well as long as there was no other protection software on my hard drive. I have MS Security Essentials now and it is the best I have ever had.

When I had AVG I had to download Malwarebytes to help me fight a series of Trojans that had come in attached to what appeared to be trusted email. AVG started having problems then, because the other one was on the hard drive at the same time. When I uninstalled Malwarebytes and removed it from my PC the problems stopped. Now I only have MS Security Essentials. I have Glary Utilities and C Cleaner for defragmenting and cleaning out unwanted files, so now my PC hardly ever has a problem.