How to submit a file to the RWA File Library

[Chacal]

This document is a tutorial for authors (builders, producers...) who want to have their work published in the Library. It contains guidelines that will ensure a smooth publication process.

1- Understand what we are doing

First of all, please read the presentation of the RWA Library so you know how it is used. Notice how the Library provides useful information to the user and to the RWA librarian, as shown in red text on the following screenshots. This document explains how you can provide this information.

RWA library1.jpg

RWA library2.jpg

RWA library3.jpg

RWA library4.jpg

RWA library5.jpg

[Chacal]

2- Prepare your content files.

Create a temporary folder and copy your content into it.

RWA library61.jpg

There are a few correct ways to do this, the figure presents a simple case where your files are in a folder named Railworks or Assets. You can also package your content using the TS Utilities Packager or TStools and copy the output to the temporary folder. You may also have any kind of documentary files, pictures, maps, etc.

Important: Respect intellectual property. Make sure you don't include copyrighted content. For TS content, this means do not include any files with a .geopcdx extension (e.g. "U36B.GeoPcDx"), unless you are triple-sure distribution of the file is authorized by the copyright owner. We will verify this before publication. Instead, provide instructions for copying the default geopcdx file.

3- Choose a name for your files
Choose a unique and short name for all your files. This will help the RWA librarian manage and publish your files. In the figure, we chose the name "SRR_FR_Caboose". We will use this as an example from now on. Use only letters, numbers, hyphens and underscores for the file name. Especially make sure to not use ampersands (&) and spaces, which our library software chokes on. Ampersands may be replaced with "n", e.g. "B&O" becomes "BnO".

4- Add description and instructions
Write a "readme" text document, which contains (refer to the screenshots above):
- a title, e.g. "FR Caboose SRR" or "Canadian Pacific heavyweight passenger cars".
- your name (optional) and your forum user name, e.g. "by Harry R. Adkins (harryadkins)".
- a short description, e.g. "This is a Southern Railway reskin of the payware caboose from the Feather River Route.". This short description should answer the question "What is it?". If this is not clear, users are not likely to download your content.
- a detailed description of your content, background information, etc, the usual contents of a readme file. Make sure you mention required freeware and payware, and you may be nice and insert links to these.
- clear and concise installation instructions, such as how to copy the content to its correct place in his Railworks installation. Write instructions aimed at the novice user.

Try to help the users find your content by using some words they will search on. For example, if your title is "EMD GP9 B&O", use "Baltimore and Ohio" in your short description, so that your content may be found by searching for "B&O", "Baltimore" or "Ohio".

Save this document in the temporary folder as "SRR_FR_Caboose.txt".

5- Add a screenshot
Take at least one screenshot proudly presenting your work. Carefully choose the angle, distance and lighting. Make sure the scene isn't cluttered with unrelated objects. If your content is complex you can have 2 or 3 screenshots, but one good picture is better than several mediocre ones. Using your favorite image editor (the freeware "Irfanview" is recommended), resize each screenshot to 830 pixels wide (this is important for proper formatting of the library page), letting the editor scale the height. Save your screenshot in the temporary folder as "SRR_FR_Caboose.jpg". If you have multiple screenshots, add numbers in the name, e.g. "SRR_FR_Caboose2.jpg". Save only as jpeg images, do not submit bmps or pngs.

6- Add a thumbnail
While your screenshot is still in your editor window, resize it to 150 pixels wide (important), letting the editor scale the height, and save it in the temporary folder as "SRR_FR_Caboose_tn.jpg". The screenshots above show what thumbnails are for.

7- Package your files
Check that you have followed all of the instructions above. Using your preferred archival utility (the freeware 7zip is recommended), select all files in the temporary folder and add them to an archive named "SRR_FR_Caboose.7z" (preferred) or "SRR_FR_Caboose.zip".

Use maximum compression, to preserve our bandwidth allocation. Verify your archive file, making sure all files are there and there's no geopcdx file. Files larger than 200 MB become difficult to manage on a web site. If this happens, please package your files in 2 or more archive files. They will end up on the same library page in the end.

8- Upload your file
Upload your "SRR_FR_Caboose.7z" file to any cloud storage (e.g. Google Drive, WeTransfer, DropBox, Media Fire, Sync.com, Mega, pCloud, OneDrive, iCloud, etc). Make sure the file is public, i.e. available to anyone with the link.

9- Submit your request
You must be a RWA forum member to submit content for the library. Register for a free account and post at least 2 posts on the RWA forums. This will authorize you to send a PM.

Log in to the RWA forums and send a PM to user "Chacal". Provide the link to your archive file in the cloud, along with any useful information for the RWA librarian, e.g. is this new content or is it a new version replacing an older item in the library.

The RWA librarian will check your content and publish it as soon as possible. There is no fixed delay for publication, it depends on the workload. Until your content is published, keep your archive file in the cloud, and check your PM inbox from time to time, in case the librarian needs more information from you.

Thanks for following these guidelines. Experience has shown that they are intuitive and easy to follow. The librarian will do minor fixes but will not redo the whole package. Occasionally a submission may be returned to the author.