[HelpDesk] viewing building instructions

[Jedi]

.dat files are the old format that LDraw use to use.  .ldr is the new file extension.  You can use either extension and all the ldraw application will open them.  However, .dat should be used for part files while .ldr should be used for model files.
   
  Now for your main questrion.  The only way the files you have are going to be "water downed building instructions" is if the author added STEPS in the model.  STEPS tell MLCAD where to stop the model so you can see what parts were added before moving on to the next "step".
   
  If you open the file in MLCAD the default view is "see the entire mode" or "edit mode".  If you go to Settings -> View Mode (or F2) you can see the model in the steps parts.
  You can click on the model windows to move forward one step at a time or use the blue arrow keeys inthe toolbar to move forward and backwards as you like.  If when you go into view mode you see the entire model then there are no steps in the file.
   
  If you want to print out a series of building instructions images you can use LPub (http://www.users.qwest.net/~kclague/LPub/) to print out the images.
   
  -Ahui
  LDraw Help Desk

Summer Hamidian <summereh at gmail.com> wrote:
  Hello. I am hoping you can help me with some basic questions.

I have never used LDraw and the last time I built something with Legos, I was very little. I have some DAT files that are supposed to contain building instructions. I am trying to build something based on those instructions. I have LDView, which gives a very cool 3-D image, and I have MLCad, which shows a lot of in-depth stuff regarding what I'm trying to build (the famous Lego robot that solves the Rubik's Cube). I don't know how to use these and the DAT files to build it. Can you please help or point me in the right direction. Do these "building instructions" have step-by-step instructions in English ("connect part A to part B as shown in picture")? Or is it just the 3-D image, and I have to build it using that? 

Any help is appreciated. Basically I want to build something using some given DAT files, but I need watered down instructions because it has been a long time since I played with Legos.

Thanks in advance.

-Summer
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