Picture Import Wizard

Use the Picture Import Wizard to import pictures of plants, animals, and other objects. The wizard can also be used to import materials such as brick, stone, and grass.

To get started, first take a picture of your object using a digital camera. Then transfer the picture to your computer using the software that came with your camera. Scanned pictures will work as well, as will pictures downloaded from the Internet.

Next, edit your picture using the Realtime Picture Editor (included), Photoshop, Paint Shop Pro, or any other picture editing program. (You can also edit your picture after it has been imported using the Realtime Picture Editor.)

Then use the Picture Import Wizard and import your picture.

To import a picture:

1.   Select Tools > Picture Import Wizard.

2.   Click Next.

3.   Select the type of picture you want to import and click Next.

Tip: Select Plant if you are importing a picture of a plant, Picture for a picture of some other object (such as a chair or planter), Region for a fill region material, or Retaining Wall to import a material for use on edging and retaining walls.

4.   Navigate to the picture you want to import and click Open.

5.   The picture you have selected will be displayed. To select a different picture, click the picture and repeat the previous step. Then click Next.

6.   Enter the file name you want to use for your imported picture. Use a name that you will easily remember, since this name will be used when you later look for it. When importing a plant, use the common name of the plant. Then click Next.

7.   When importing a plant, you will be asked to enter additional information about the plant, including its botanical name, mature age/height, and planting zones. This information is optional. However, we recommend you at least enter the mature age and height so the software can determine how to grow your plant when using the Set Plant Growth feature.

8.   Click Next. Then click Finish to finish the wizard.

The wizard will copy your picture to the following directory:

Windows XP: \Documents and Settings\user\My Documents\Realtime Landscaping Photo 3\Custom Data\type\Custom\

Windows Vista: \Users\user\Documents\Realtime Landscaping Photo 3\Custom Data\type\Custom\

Note: When using Realtime Landscaping Pro, replace Photo with Pro in the above directory name.

Where user is your Windows user name, and type is the type of picture you are importing.

A new category, Custom, will appear in the Choose Artwork dialog after a picture has been imported.

Editing your Pictures using the Realtime Picture Editor

Once you have imported your picture, you can use the Realtime Picture Editor to remove the background and make other changes. The Realtime Picture Editor is integrated with Realtime Landscaping Photo and has many features that make it easy to edit your pictures.

To edit an imported picture using the Realtime Picture Editor:

1.   Create an object that uses the picture.

2.   Select the object.

3.   Click the options button to the right of the picture property. When the drop-down menu appears, select Edit using Picture Editor.

4.   Make the desired changes. Then click Save, followed by Exit and return to Realtime Landscaping Photo.

See Realtime Picture Editor for more information on using the picture editing software.

Editing your Pictures using Photoshop or Other Editor

You can also edit your pictures using Photoshop or other picture editing software.

To edit an imported picture using Photoshop or other Editor:

1.   Open and edit the desired picture using Photoshop or other software. Imported pictures are stored in the following directory:

Windows XP: \Documents and Settings\user\My Documents\Realtime Landscaping Photo 3\Custom Data\type\Custom\

Windows Vista: \Users\user\Documents\Realtime Landscaping Photo 3\Custom Data\type\Custom\

Note: When using Realtime Landscaping Pro, replace Photo with Pro in the above directory name.

Where user is your Windows user name, and type is the type of picture you are importing.

2.   When saving the modified picture, be sure to use the Targa (tga) file format with 32-bits per pixel (alpha channel).

3.   Start and restart Realtime Landscaping Photo. This is necessary because Realtime Landscaping Photo keeps a copy of the picture in memory and needs to reload the modified picture. (This happens automatically when using the Realtime Picture Editor.)

A picture of the author's (lazy) cat was imported using the Picture Import Wizard. The Realtime Picture Editor was then used to remove the background.

Tips:

•      The wizard will make a copy of your picture. If you change the original, you can re-import it using this wizard.

•      Once you have imported your picture, you can edit it using the Realtime Picture Editor. For example, you can use the Realtime Picture Editor to remove the background of a plant. See Editing using the Realtime Picture Editor for more information.

•      When importing materials for edging and retaining walls (such as stone and brick), your bitmap should be square and look good then tiled. For best results, tiled materials should be square and either 256x256 or 512x512 pixels in size.

See also:

Adding a Picture
Adding a Plant
Realtime Picture Editor
Model Import Wizard