The final message from Peter was simply to confirm that the color and texture features in the Cabinet Wizard are no longer there. No details. No reason given.
I've changed all my shortcuts to read: "Punch Semi-Pro Bronze".
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USING CUSTOM TEXTURES WITH THE VERSION 8 CABINET WIZARD in VERSION 12.
If any of you have tried this workaround, you might have noticed that very few (if any) of the custom textures show the picture, or sample, in the list, even though the texture is still applied as expected. The reason for that is that the version 8 Cabinet wizard needs a PPV picture file, but version 12 uses PTX files. This isn't really a problem even though the two file types use different resolutions. In the end, they're both bitmap files.
To get the custom (or any missing) textures to show in the v8 Cabinet Wizard texture list, you'll need to do some copying, pasting, and re-naming within the affected texture directories. The goal is to create a PPV file for each of the textures in the directory that don't have one.
CAUTION: Practice SAFE computing!! Before doing any of the following, copy the target directory to a place out of the main Punch installation path. In the event of a calamity, just copy it back where it came from and all will be as it was.
Since there's always multiple ways to do anything involving files, I'll let you decide how to execute the copying, pasting, browsing, etc. I also won't give detailed instructions on other OS techniques, nor will I address the Apple OS. If you're not experienced nor comfortable doing this kind of thing - Don't!
As for the renaming. This can get REALLY tedious doing them one by one. If you're going to do more than just a few files, I highly recommend using a file renaming utility. The one I used is a neat little freeware called Oscar's Renamer. You can download it at the mediachance web site. The instructions that follow assume you'll be using that utility, but others should have the same kinds of features.
First, decide which kinds of textures you might want to apply to a cabinet (or countertop) and make a note of them. Some of the hardwood flooring textures make for some very interesting cabinets. But, obviously, some other types are totally inappropriate.
Browse to the directory containing the textures you want to appear. Copy the directory to a location out of the Punch installation path. See "Caution" above.
1. Change to List View. We only want to see the filename and extension. If you're an experienced computist, you already have "Hide extensions for known file types" un-checked.
2. Holding Ctrl and using the mouse, click to select (highlight) each file in the directory with a PTX extension. DO NOT select any other file type.
DO NOT select the PTX file for a texture that ALREADY HAS A PPV FILE.
If there's more than about 20 files to select in a single directory, you might want to do them one column at a time. But you CAN select them all at one time if you want to. Note that this is non-contiguous file selecting. ie. there will be un-selected files between the selected ones. See Note at bottom of this post for a caution.
3. Copy to clipboard using your favorite method. (Ctrl-C; Edit/Copy, right click, etc.)
4. Paste (Ctrl-V; Edit/Paste; right click, etc.)
5. You now have copies of all the PTX files and they're all located in the directory you're working in. In Windows systems, all their names begin with the words "Copy of ". Notice that there's a space after the word "of" (but the text editor on this forum strips it out even though I specifically included it within the quotes for clarity), and all have the PTX extension.
6. Right click any file in the directory and click "Renamer" to start Oscar's Renamer which will automatically load all the files in the directory.
7. The renamer automatically shows the directory contents in alphabetical order. Scroll to the first instance of a filename starting with the words "Copy of ". Using your favorite method, select ALL the files whose names start the same way. Make sure they're all completely selected.
8. On the menu, click Edit/Replace.
9. In the Replace dialog, in the "Find What:" text field, enter "Copy of ". Don't forget the space after the word "of". Don't type the quotes. Press Tab to go to the next field.
10. In the "Replace with:" text field, make sure the field is empty (no characters or spaces and cursor at far left).
11. In the "Replace In:" option box, make sure the "Selection" radio button is ticked (change only the selected files).
12. Click "Replace All". Click OK on the box that pops up.
13. Back at the "Find What:" text field, enter "ptx". Press Tab. For "Replace with:" enter "PPV".
14. Click Replace All". Click OK on the box that pops up. Click Cancel on the Replace dialog to close it.
15. Examine the list before writing the changes. The files proposed to be changed will have a yellow background and a yellow circle in front of them. Make sure all the copied files were converted. Make sure there's no leftover characters or spaces at the front of the file name, and that the original filename is intact. If you find a problem, use the ordinary editing features of Oscar's Renamer to make corrections. However, there'll be nothing to correct if you selected ALL the "Copy of" files, and followed the other directions correctly.
16. If all is well, click the "OK" button at the far right of the toolbar in Oscar's Renamer. Click OK when asked if you want to write the changes to the folder. Wait for the changes to be written (yellow background and circles disappear). Close the Renamer.
Repeat these steps for any other texture directory you want to have showing in the wizard.
NOTE: Selecting multiple non-contiguous files with the mouse can sometimes cause problems if the file type has an association and you inadvertently drag the mouse while making a selection. If you associated PTX files with a graphics viewer or editor (or any other program), it's a good idea to delete that association before starting this procedure. You can always double-click one of them later and re-establish the association.
