LEGODigitalDesigner4.

3UserManual
TheReadmefilecontainssystemrequirementsandthelatestinformationaboutthissoftwarerelease.Please
refertoitfirstifyouencounteranyproblems.

Contents
Welcomescreen
LEGODigitalDesigner
LEGOMINDSTORMS
LEGODigitalDesignerEXTENDED
MouseControls
Cameracontrol
Rotateview
Zoomview
Resetview
Panview
TheIconbar
Preferences
The3modes
1.Buildmode
Buildingtools
Contextualtoolbars:
UsingtheHingetool:
UsingtheHingeAligntool:
Howtocopyandpaste(Ctrl+C/Cmd+CandCtrl+V/CmdV)
Buildingpalette
1.TheBrickpalette
2.Groupingpalette
3.Templatepalette
2.Viewmode
3.BuildingGuidemode
Import/Exportmodels
Keyboardshortcuts

Welcomescreen

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EachtimeyouopenLEGODigitalDesignerorstartanewmodel,youllseetheWelcomeScreen.Clickto
choosefromthefollowingthemes:

LEGODigitalDesigner
Buildyourdreammodelfromahugeselectionofbricks.

LEGOMINDSTORMS
Workwithallthebricksfromtheuniquerobotset.

LEGODigitalDesignerEXTENDED
ChoosetheLDDEXTENDEDthemeifyouwanttomixbricksandcolorswithoutlimitations.

MouseControls
Hereswhatyoucandowiththebuttonsonyourmouse:

Leftmousebutton
Clickonabricktoselectit.
Clickanddragtomoveabrickaroundonthescene.

Rightmousebutton
Clickandholdtorotatethescenescameraview.

Mousewheelscroll
Useyourscrollwheeltozoominandoutinthescene.

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Cameracontrol

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TheCameracontrolletsyourotateamodelandzoominandout,
soyoucanseeyourmodelfromdifferentanglesandindifferent
sizes.

Rotateview
(NumLock,numbers8,2,4,6).Youcanrotatethe
cameraviewusingeitherthebuttonsontheCamera
controloryourkeyboard.

Zoomview
(NumLock,+andkeys).Selectthe+andkeyson
yourkeyboardorthe+andbuttonsontheCamera
controltozoominorout.

Resetview
(NumLock,number5).ClickResettoreturnthe
viewpointtoitsstandardposition,withallbricksand
modelsvisibleandcenteredonthescene.

Panview(shortcutonly)
(Shft+rightclick).HolddowntheShiftkeyandclick
therightmousebuttontopanyourmodelfromtheleft,
right,toporbottom.

TheIconbar

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Welcomescreen(Ctrl+N/Cmd+N).Openanewdocumentwithablankscene.
Save(Ctrl+S/Cmd+S).Savethemodelonthescenetoyourharddrive.
Undo(Ctrl+Z/Cmd+Z).Takeonestepbacktoundoyourlastaction.
Redo(Shft+Ctrl+Z/Shft+Cmd+Z).Takeonestepforwardtoredoyourlastundoneaction.
UploadtoGallery(Shft+Ctrl+B/Shft+Cmd+B).Submityourmodeltooneofthe
onlinegalleriesonLEGO.com.

Screenshot(Ctrl+K/Cmd+K).Saveanimageofyourmodelasitappearsonthescreentoyour
LEGODigitalDesignerfolder.

Explode(Ctrl+U/Cmd+U).Blastyourmodeltopiecesandwatchitrebuilditself.
Backgrounds(Ctrl+F/Cmd+F).Changethebackgroundbehindyourmodel.
OutputasHTML(Ctrl+H/Cmd+T).ViewyourbuildingguideasaprintableHTMLpage.

Preferences

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Shortcut:(Ctrl+6/Cmd+,).OnaPC,selectEditfromthemenubarandthenselectPreferences.OnaMac,
selectLEGODigitalDesignerfromthemenubarandthenselectPreferences.Youcanusethepreference
windowtoturnfeaturesonandoff.YourchangeswillbesavedwhenyourestartLEGODigitalDesigner.

Showinformationfield Addstheinformationfieldtothebottomofthescreencontaining
informationaboutthebricksyouhaveselectedorthebricksinthescene

Showtooltips Addsyellowlabelsnexttothemousecursor.Theseexplainshowthedifferentbuttons
work

Enablesoundintheapplication
Keysforturningshownalongwithcursor Akeyboardiconisshownonthecursorto
indicaterotation

Repeatinsertingselectedbricks Lastchosenbrickisstucktothecursorandgetleftclicking,
placesanewcopy.

Enablesthedialoguesforthatwarnyouaboutnonbuyableelements.

Brickcount:Showthenumberofbricksinabox
InvertcameraXaxis:invertthecamerasmovementwithrespecttotheX
(left/right)mouseaxis
InvertcameraYaxis:invertthecamerasmovementwithrespecttotheY
(up/down)mouseaxis
Brickcount:Showthenumberofbricksinabox
Highqualityrenderingofbricksplacedinscene Makesyourmodellookbetter.
HighqualityrenderingofbricksintheBrickpalette Makesbricksinthepalettelook
better.

Outlinesonbricks Enabletoseetheedgesonallthebricksinthescene.
Advancedshading Enablesadvancedshadingthatmakesyourmodellookmorerealistic
Chooselanguage Selectthelanguageofyourchoice
Compatibilitymode OnlyusethisifyouhavetroublerunningLDD
Resetpreferences Resettopreferencestodefault

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The3modes

LEGODigitalDesignerhasthreeoperationmodes:

1.Buildmode
2.Viewmode
3.Buildingguidemode
Youcanswitchbetweenmodesbyclickingoneofthethreemodeiconslocatedin
thebaratthetopoftheapplication.

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1.Buildmode

Buildmode (F5key).ClickBuildtoenterBuildmode,whereyoucanbuildandedityour
modelandscene.

Buildingtools
TheBuildingtoolsareonlyavailableinBuild
mode.Usethesetoolstoselect,move,clone,color
androtateyourbricks.
Selectiontool(Vkey).UsetheSelectiontooltoselectsinglebricksinthescene.Clickthe
SelectiontoolbuttontorevealapanelcontainingAdvancedSelectiontools(useShft+Vtoswitch
betweenthedifferenttools).
AdvancedSelectiontools (Shft+Vtotogglebetweentools).Clickthe
SelectiontooltodisplaytheAdvancedSelectiontoolspanel.Advanced
Selectiontoolsletyouselectmultiplebricksandmakeselectionsbased
onbrickcolor,shapeandconnectivity.
Clonetool(Ckey).UsetheClonetooltomakeduplicatesofbricksinthescene.
Hingetool(Hkey).UsetheHingetooltorotatebricksthatareconnectedwithahingeorasingle
studconnection.
Pitch,RollandYawangleentryfieldsThepitch,roll
andyawangleentryfieldsallowpreciserotationofa
joint/hingewithinitsdefinedlimits.
HingeAligntool(Shft+Hkey).UsetheHingeAligntooltoautomaticallyconnecttwoseparate
connectionpoints.
Flextool(Fkey).UsetheFlextooltobendandtwistflexibleelements(indicatedbyasmallicon
inthebrickpreview.
Painttool(Bkey).UsethePainttooltochangethecolorormaterialofbricksinthescene.
LEGOEXTENDEDPainttool(Bkey).IntheEXTENDEDtheme,youcanfreelypickany
LEGOcolorandapplyittoanybrickyouwant.
LEGOEXTENDEDColorPaletteselectiontoolDisplaysapaletteofLEGOcolors
dividedintosolid,transparent,metallicandlegacy.(EXTENDEDthemeonly)
ColorPickerAllowsyoutopickupcolorsbyselectingbricks.(onlyintheEXTENDED
theme)
DecorationtoolLetyouadddecorationstosurfacesofselectedbricks.(onlyinthe
EXTENDEDtheme)
Hidetool(Lkey).UsetheHidetooltohidebricksormodels.
Deletetool(Dkey).UsetheDeletetooltoremovebricksfromscene.

UsingtheHingetool:
TheHingetoolletsyouselectahingedelementonyourmodelandmoveitinthedirections

TheHingetoolletsyouselectahingedelementonyourmodelandmoveitinthedirections
indicatedbythearrows.Aselectedelementcanbemovedusingyourmouseorthearrowkeyson
yourkeyboard.Whenanelementcanberotatedinmultipledirections,theselecteddirectionisindicated
withagreenarrow.Toselectadifferentdirection,clickoneoftheyellowarrowsorusetheTABkeyon
yourkeyboard.
TheHingewheel alsoletsyourotateinacircularmotionandsnapthe
rotationto45degreeincrements.
TheNumericInputfield letsyoumanuallyinputanglevalues.

UsingtheHingeAligntool:
TheHingeAligntoolmakesiteasiertoworkwithTechnicelementsinparticular.Selectthetwo
endpointsofachainofbeamsandwatchthemconnect.

Contextualtoolbars

Contextualtoolbarsliedirectlybeneathmaintoolbarsandcontainspecialsubtoolsforeachtool.For
example,theContextualtoolbarbeneaththeHingetooloffersaninputfield,whiletheContextualtoolbar
beneaththePainttoolcontainsanumberofusefulsubtools.

Howtocopyandpaste(Ctrl+C/Cmd+CandCtrl+V/CmdV)
Sometimesyoumightwanttotakeexistingbricksand
duplicatethembycopyingaselection.
Copy(Ctrl+C/Cmd+C).Youcancopypartofyourmodelby
selectingthebricksyoudliketocopyandpressingCtrl
C/CmdC.
Paste(Ctrl+V/Cmd+V).Youcannowpasteyourbricksby
pressingCtrl+V/Cmd+Vandplacethemwhereveryoulikeonthescene.
Note:CopyandPastearealsoavailableviatheEditmenu.

Buildingpalette

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EachtimeyoustartbuildingamodelinLEGODigitalDesigner,youwillseeabuildingpalette.The
buildingpalettefeaturesthreetabs:
1.Brickpalette:Containsbricksforbuilding
2.Grouppalette:Containsgroupsofbricksyouhavecreated

2.Grouppalette:Containsgroupsofbricksyouhavecreated
3.Templatepalette:Containstemplatesyouhavecreated

1.TheBrickpalette
TheBrickpalettegivesyouaccesstoanunlimitednumberofbricksyoucanbuildwith.
Selectabricktobuildwith.
Chooseandclickonthebrickyouwanttouse.Thebrickwillbecometransparent
soyoucanseewhereyouaremovingit.Movethebricktowhereyouwantiton
thesceneandclickagain.
Showgroup/Hidegroup.Showsorhidesbricksinthe
groupwithinthepalette.
FilterBricksbyLEGOsets.ClickthisicontochooseaLEGOset.
Yourbricklistwilldisplayonlythebrickscontainedintheselectedset.
Eachbrickappearswithanumberthattellsyouhowmanyofeachbrick
thesetcontains.Itwillcountdowntozeroasyouusethebricks.Ifyouusetoo
manyofonebrick(morethantheLEGOsetcontains)thenumberwillturnred.
Therednumbertellsyouhowmanyextrabricksyouhaveusedthatarenot
includedintheset.
Scaledividers.Resizesthedividersandtheircontentsto
betterfityourscreenresolution.
Findbricksbycolor.Whenyouclick
thisicon,apanelwillopenbelowthe
icon.Selectthecolorormaterialyouare
lookingfor.Thiswillfilterthebricklistsoitonlyshowsbricksinthecolor
youhaveselected.ThispalettealsoletsyouHidecolorsandonlyshowgrey
brickssoyoucanconcentrateontheshapes.Youcanremoveanychoices
youhavemadeinthismenubyclickingRemovefilter.
Searchfield.Searchforthebrickyouneed.
Trytypingwordslikeround,roofordog.
LEGODigitalDesignerEXTENDEDpaletteWhenintheLDD
EXTENDEDtheme,brickscanbecoloredfreely,regardlessoftheirdesign.

2.Groupingpalette
Usegroupstosaveaselectionofbricksforlateruse.Groupsmakeiteasyforyou
toaccessgroupsofbricksthatyouoftenneedtoselect,suchascarwheels,
rooftopsoraircraftwings.
Creategroup(Ctrl+G/Cmd+G).Tocreateagroup,firstselectthe
bricksyouwanttogroup,andthenclicktheCreateGroupbutton.

Addtogroup.Usethisfunctiontoaddselectedbrickstoanexisting
group.
Removefromgroup.Usethisfunctiontoremoveselectedbricksfrom
anexistinggroup.
Createsubgroup.Createasubgroupthatbelongsunderanothergroup.
Forexample,youmightwanttocreateaCargroupandthena
Wheelssubgroupunderit,soyoucanselecteitherthewholecarorjustthe
wheels.

Grouppreview.Grouppreviewshowsyouathumbnailofagroupscontents.Try
draggingitaroundbyclickinganddraggingwithyourrightmousebutton.Note:
YoucanalwaysdeletegroupsbyclickingtheredXintheupperrightcornerofthe
grouppreview.

3.Templatepalette
Templatesletyoupermanentlysaveagroupofbrickssothatnexttimeyoustarttheprogram,thetemplates
willstillbeavailable.
SavetoTemplate(Ctrl+Alt+G/Cmd+Alt+G).Saveaselectiontoa
templatebyfirstselectingthebricksyouwanttoadd,andthen
clickingthisbutton.
TemplatePreviewThisshowsyouathumbnailviewofthe
contentsofaTemplate.Trydraggingitaroundbyclicking
anddraggingwithyourrightmousebutton.

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2.Viewmode

Viewmode(F6key).Thismodeletsyouviewyourmodelwithdifferentbackgrounds.You
canalsousetheexplodebuttontoexplodeyourmodels.

Takescreenshot.TakesascreenshotandputsitinyourPicturesfolderinyourOS.
Explodemodel.Explodesyourmodelintoamillionpieces.
ChangeBackground.Clickthistocyclebetweendifferentbackgroundenvironments.

3.BuildingGuidemode

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BuildingGuidemodegivesyouaccesstotheBuildingGuideplayer,whichyoucanusetoplaythroughthe
differentstepsinyourbuildingguide.

Next/PreviousStep(RightArrowkey).Goonestepforwardor
backwardinthebuildingguide.

RepeatLastStep(Spacebar).Playthelaststepagain.
StepSliderDragtojumptoaspecificstepinthe
buildingguide.

StepCounterDisplaysyourcurrentstepnumberandthetotalnumberof
stepsinyourbuildingguide.

AssemblyViewRevealsapreviewofyournext4bricks.

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Import/Exportmodels

Import. ImportLXF,LXFMLandLDrawfilesintoLEGODigitalDesigner.Youcanimportfilesevenif
youalreadyhaveamodelopeninthescene.
Note:RemembertoopenyouroldmodelsusingtheImportfunction.

Export. ExportletsyoucreateLXF,LXFMLandLDrawfilesthatcanbeopenedinotherapplications.

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Keyboardshortcuts
Viewpointcontroller:
Rotateviewleft
Rotateviewright
Rotateviewup
Rotateviewdown
Resetview
Zoomin
Zoomout

PC

MAC

4Key(NumLock:ON)
6Key(NumLock:ON)
8Key(NumLock:ON)
2Key(NumLock:ON)
5Key(NumLock:ON)
+Key(NumLock:ON)
Key(NumLock:ON)

4Key(NumLock:ON)
6Key(NumLock:ON)
8Key(NumLock:ON)
2Key(NumLock:ON)
5Key(NumLock:ON)
+Key(NumLock:ON)
Key(NumLock:ON)

VKey
Shft+V
HKey
Shft+H
CKey
BKey
LKey
DKey

VKey
Shft+V
HKey
Shft+H
CKey
BKey
LKey
DKey

Ctrl+G

Cmd+G

Ctrl+Alt+G

Cmd+Alt+G

Ctrl+O
Ctrl+S
Ctrl+P

Cmd+O
Cmd+S
Cmd+P

Buildingtools:
Selecttool
ToggleSelecttools
Hingetool
HingeAligntool
Clonetool
Painttool
Hidetool
Deletetool
Groupingtool:
Creategroups
Templates:
Createatemplate
Iconbar:
Open
Save
Print

Print
Undo
Redo
UploadtoGallery

Ctrl+P
Ctrl+Z
Shft+Ctrl+Z
Shft+Ctrl+B

Cmd+P
Cmd+Z
Shft+Cmd+Z
Shft+Cmd+B

Rightarrow
Leftarrow
Space
PageDn
PageUp
Ctrl+H

Rightarrow
Leftarrow
Space
PageDn
PageUp
Cmd+T

Ctrl+I
Ctrl+E
Shft+Ctrl+S
Ctrl+QorAlt+F4
Ctrl+X
Ctrl+C
Ctrl+V
DeleteKey
Ctrl+A
F1Key
F2Key
F3Key
Ctrl+6
Ctrl+1
Ctrl+2
Ctrl+3

Cmd+I
Cmd+E
Shft+Cmd+S
Cmd+Q
Cmd+X
Cmd+C
Cmd+V
DeleteKey
Cmd+A
F1Key
F2Key
F3Key
Cmd+,
Cmd+1
Cmd+2
Cmd+3

BuildingGuidecontroller:
Nextbrick
Previousbrick
RepeatLastStep
Nextstep
Previousstep
OutputasHTML
Menuitems:
Importmodel
Exportmodel
Saveas
Exit
Cut
Copy
Paste
Delete
SelectAll
Help
Whatisthis?
About
Preferences
Show/HideBrickPalette
Show/HideToolPalette
Show/HideWebBrowser

Note:Macshortcutscanvarydependingonyourcountry.