Losing objects

Been using cc3 off and on for years so I never really 'learn' it, but here's a random problem. I have a map taken from fractal terrains and now saved in cc3. I have had plenty of success adding text to it, but now when I try to place mountains etc. it shows they are there until I redraw and they all go away. What am I doing wrong?

Comments

  • MonsenMonsen Administrator 🖼️ 81 images Cartographer
    This is due to sheet order.
    For performance reasons, everything you place gets placed on top until the next redraw. If things disappear when the redraw happens, it is because they are placed on a sheet that are behind the sheet with the entities that are hiding them. Check your sheet order, and also make sure that your various entities are on the sheets they are supposed to.
  • So if I select show all wouldn't that show them? Or do I have to try every sheet in order to see where they are placed? I tried placing them on the common sheet but they still disappeared.
  • I moved the symbols back up as far as that sheet could go, directly under common. Then I added a mountain to it and saved it. As soon as I redrew the mountain disappeared.
  • MonsenMonsen Administrator 🖼️ 81 images Cartographer
    Show all shows everything, but remember, sheets represents an ordering of entities in your drawing. So, entities on sheets near the top of the list will be hidden by entities on the sheets further down. Basically, any sheets higher in the list than LAND (or whatever sheet your landmass is placed on) will typically be covered up by the large landmasses, effectively hiding most of the entities on them.
    The common sheet is the first sheet in the list, and therefore the bottom of the drawing stack, so placing anything on common usually pretty much guarantees that it will be covered up by other entities.

    Normally, Symbols go to the SYMBOLS sheet by default, unless you have turned off the option for symbols to choose their own sheet. In most templates this sheet should be after the LAND sheet in the list.

    You can always use the List command on any entity to see what sheet it is on.
  • I have this problem sometimes, and here is what I have done to solve it. It can be tedious in the beginning, but it saves me issues in the long run.

    I create.different sheets for.each of my symbols, for example: symbols mountains, symbols forests, symbols structures and so on, and I place whatever type of symbol I'm using on its own sheet. That way, if I have to correct a.mistake, I can hide the sheets.around the problem so that I only tweak what I want to.

    This also works for.the issue you're having, because if you move the sheet down the list, you get just the items on that sheet. And remember cc+ draws from the top down, meaning the sheets on the bottom are the closest to you. Like making a bed - the fitted sheet goes on first, then the flat sheet, then the blanket, and pillows, then the bedspread....but when you're done, the bedspread is the only thing you see! Does that help?
  • Posted By: LadieStorm
    I create.different sheets for.each of my symbols, for example: symbols mountains, symbols forests, symbols structures and so on, and I place whatever type of symbol I'm using on its own sheet. That way, if I have to correct a.mistake, I can hide the sheets.around the problem so that I only tweak what I want to.
    That's more or less what I've gotten to doing (probably not as well or as consistently as you - yet). It's the way to go. I suspect that with a really large, complicated map, with lots of symbols, there might be an impact on performance, though.

    It also lets you do more interesting things with sheet effects.
  • Oh, it can get time consuming when it comes to rendering and such, just ask Sue about Merelan City!

    I haven't had that problem yet, but my maps are still relatively small. Actually, maybe not...lol, but when you start doing some of the more interesting effects, such as Shessar's cliffs and rivers, or Sue's waterfalls, or combine the two to do something crazy, like rolling surf...yup it can take a bit...but then it's worth it when you see the finished product.
  • yup, top sheet in the list is drawn first. Bottom sheet in the list is drawn last.
  • I also often separate symbols into different sheets, but usually like trees tall, trees short, buildings large, building small, etc. I do it more for effects so that I have better control over shadows and glows with items of varying sizes. I usually forget all about that in the heat of the creative moment, however, and then end up going in later and using Change Attributes to move things to different sheets. It does make life easier, though, if for some reason you need to isolate certain symbols for editing or whatever.

    And yes, to echo the others, things lower on the sheets list are higher on the drawn map. So the things at the top of the sheets list are the things that are on the bottom (underneath) of the map. Took me some time to grasp that concept.
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