Custom LDD part sets

LEGO Digital Designer makes parts available in predefined "sets," which may or may not correspond to the part sets used for pricing on LEGO Factory.

These part sets are defined in simple XML files within the LEGO Digital Designer file hierarchy. Here's how you can find them:

• On Macintosh, control-click the LEGO Digital Designer application and choose "Show Package Contents." Navigate therein to Contents/Resources/database/bricks.
• On Windows if you did the default installation, navigate to here: C:\Program Files\LDD\database\bricks and you'll see the .tix and .png files... for example myRobot seems to be C:\Program Files\LDD\database\bricks\000021LEGOFactoryMyRobot.tix

You will see two files for each part set. One ends in .png, and is the icon to be used for that set within LDD. The other ends in .tix, and defines the set itself.

Structure of a .tix File

A .tix file is an XML file consisting of a single <Collection> element. Within that are two kinds of subelements: <SetItem>, which defines a part type in the set, and <Identifier>, which holds various metadata.

Here is a simple example of a .tix file containing three 1x1 Earth Blue plates (note the structure): <XML> <?xml version="1.0"?> <TabulaXML>

 <Collection>
   <SetItem>
     <Primitive>
       <Material>
         <Identifier>
           <Origin>MaterialID</Origin>
           <Name>140</Name>
         </Identifier>
       </Material>
       <Identifier>
         <Origin>DesignID</Origin>
         <Name>3024</Name>
       </Identifier>
     </Primitive>
     <Quantity>3</Quantity>
   </SetItem>
   <Identifier>
     <Origin>LddSetName</Origin>
     <Name>200099LEGOFactoryEarthPlates</Name>
   </Identifier>
   <Identifier>
     <Origin>SetDescriptionEng</Origin>
     <Name>LEGO Factory - Earth Plates</Name>
   </Identifier>
   <Identifier>
     <Origin>SetDescriptionDeu</Origin>
     <Name>LEGO Factory - Earth Plates</Name>
   </Identifier>
   <Identifier>
     <Origin>SetType</Origin>
     <Name>1</Name>
   </Identifier>
   <Identifier>
     <Origin>LaunchDate</Origin>
     <Name/>
   </Identifier>
   <Identifier>
     <Origin>ExpiryDate</Origin>
     <Name>20051231</Name>
   </Identifier>
   <Identifier>
     <Origin>Starter</Origin>
     <Name>1</Name>
   </Identifier>
   <Identifier>
     <Origin>Priority</Origin>
     <Name>1000099</Name>
   </Identifier>
   <Identifier>
     <Origin>Version</Origin>
     <Name>1</Name>
   </Identifier>
 </Collection>

</TabulaXML> </XML>

In this trivial example, the file is mostly <Identifier> tags, but of course in a real part set these are outnumbered by <SetItem> entries.

Within each <SetItem> are two important identifiers: the MaterialID, which defines the part color, and the DesignID, which is the LEGO part number. So in the above example, 3024 is the part number for a 1x1 plate, and 140 is the material ID for Earth Blue. Each <SetItem> also contains a <Quantity> tag defining how many of that part are in the set.

The order in which the different colors of identical bricks appear in the Brick Window, is determined by the order in which they appear in the .tix file. The .tix file does not set the order in which the types of bricks are displayed in the Brick Window, or which category they are found in via the Category Window.

A Perl script can be used to produce a rough TIX file.

Adding Custom Sets (part collections)

You can make your own .tix and .png files, perhaps using the stock ones as examples or starting points, and add them next to the others. These will be available upon your next launch of LDD.

You'll need to know what part number corresponds to what part.

Note for Macintosh users: the bricks folder may be locked, in which case the Finder will ask you to authenticate when you drag in your custom files. Just enter your password, and the files should move successfully.

Custom icons may be created by mimicking the naming scheme used by LEGO and creating a numbered PNG file corresponding to your custom .tix file. For example, if your custom tix is named 000099LEGOFactoryMyCustom.tix, you will need a .png file with the same naming scheme: 000099LEGOFactoryMyCustom.png. The system is actually more flexible, but I won't get into that here. Be sure you have also set the internal names and priority XML tags toward the end of your custom .tix. If you would like to use transparency mask with your icon. Add that mask to the alpha channel of your PNG file. (NOTE: This has been verified--I've done it a dozen times)

NOTE: It has not yet been verified that doing this allows you to upload designs to LEGO Factory, but certainly, if you set up bag collections, you'd want to stick to just the parts that are in THEIR assortments, and in the right proportions... (remove this notice once it's verified it works!)

(OK, it works. See this thread on LEGOFan.org... if the file has only valid palette parts you can save, change palettes and upload successfuly)

Material IDs

Only a few material IDs have been discovered so far. Here's a good trick for discovering more: make a .tix file containing parts of the same type, but for each one, set the <Quantity> equal to the Material ID. Then launch LDD, and mouse over each part in your custom set. When LDD shows you the quantity available, you can write this down as the material ID along with the corresponding color.

However you need only do that if you want to confirm. The following table has been generated for you already and has all the material IDs that the LEGO factory will accept...

Material IDs

Material ID	Color Name
1	White
2	Grey
3	Light Yellow
4	Brick Red
5	Brick Yellow
6	Light Green
7	Orange
8	Cobalt Blue
9	Light Reddish Violet
10	Transparent
11	Pastel Blue
12	Light Orange Brown
13	Red Orange
14	Pastel Green
15	Lemon
16	Pink
17	Rose
18	Nougat
19	Light Brown
20	Nature
21	Bright Red
22	Medium Reddish Violet
23	Bright Blue
24	Bright Yellow
25	Earth Orange
26	Black
27	Dark Grey
28	Dark Green
29	Medium Green
36	Light Yellowish Orange
37	Bright Green
38	Dark Orange
39	Light Bluish Violet
40	Transparent
41	Transparent Red
42	Transparent Light Blue
43	Transparent Blue
44	Transparent Yellow
45	Light Blue
47	Transparent Fluorescent Reddish Orange
48	Transparent Green
49	Transparent Fluorescent Green
50	Phosphorescent White
100	Light Red
101	Medium Red
102	Medium Blue
103	Light Grey
104	Bright Violet
105	Bright Yellowish Orange
106	Bright Orange
107	Bright Bluish Green
108	Earth Yellow
109	Black IR
110	Bright Bluish Violet
111	Transparent Brown
112	Medium Bluish Violet
113	Transparent Medium Reddish Violet
115	Medium Yellowish Green
116	Medium Bluish Green
118	Light Bluish Green
119	Bright Yellowish Green
120	Light Yellowish Green
121	Medium Yellowish Orange
123	Bright Reddish Orange
124	Bright Reddish Violet
125	Light Orange
126	Transparent Bright Bluish Violet
127	Gold
128	Dark Nougat
131	Silver
133	Neon Orange
134	Neon Green
135	Sand Blue
136	Sand Violet
137	Medium Orange
138	Sand Yellow
139	Copper
140	Earth Blue
141	Earth Green
143	Transparent Fluorescent Blue
145	Metallic Sand Blue
146	Metallic Sand Violet
147	Metallic Sand Yellow
148	Metallic Dark Grey
149	Metallic Black
150	Metallic Light Grey
151	Sand Green
153	Sand Red
154	Dark Red
157	Transparent Fluorescent Yellow
158	Transparent Fluorescent Red
168	Gun Metallic
176	Flip/Flop Red
178	Flip/Flop Yellow
179	Flip/Flop Silver
180	Curry
182	Transparent Bright Orange
183	Metallic White
184	Metallic Bright Red
185	Metallic Bright Blue
186	Metallic Dark Green
187	Metallic Earth Orange
189	Reddish Gold
190	Fire Yellow
191	Flame Yellowish Orange
192	Reddish Brown
193	Flame Reddish Orange
194	Medium Stone Grey
195	Royal Blue
196	Dark Royal Blue
198	Bright Reddish Lilac
199	Dark Stone Grey
200	Metallic Lemon
208	Light Stone Grey
209	Dark Curry
210	Faded Green
211	Turquoise
212	Light Royal Blue
213	Medium Royal Blue
216	Rust
217	Brown
218	Reddish Lilac
219	Lilac
220	Light Lilac
221	Bright Purple
222	Light Purple
223	Light Pink
224	Light Brick Yellow
225	Warm Yellowish Orange
226	Cool Yellow
227	Transparent Bright Yellowish Green
228	Transparent Medium Bluish Green
229	Transparent Light Bluish Green
230	Transparent Bright Purple
231	Transparent Flame Yellowish Orange
232	Dove Blue
234	Transparent Fire Yellow
236	Transparent Bright Reddish Lilac
268	Medium Lilac
283	Light Nougat
284	Transparent Reddish Lilac
285	Transparent Light Green
298	Cool Silver, Drum Lacq
301	Metalized Silver
100001	Metalized Silver
1100028	Dark Green with Road
1101028	Dark Green with Road Corner

It's possible that the material IDs will always match the LEGO Color Table at peeron.com. The colors checked so far do match, but it's not yet known whether this is true for all colors.

Material IDs are defined in a separate .tix file located at C:\Program Files\LEGO Software\LEGO Digital Designer\database\ui\tabula.tix.

A Perl script was used to generate the above color list from tabula.tix, shown below. It has structure as follows:

<XML> <?xml version="1.0"?> <TabulaXML>

 <MaterialTable>
   <Material>
     <Colour>
       <RGB>
         <Red>215</Red>
         <Green>197</Green>
         <Blue>153</Blue>
       </RGB>
     </Colour>
     <Identifier>
       <Origin>Description-dan</Origin>
       <Name>Teglgul</Name>
     </Identifier>
     <Identifier>
       <Origin>Description-deu</Origin>
       <Name>Ziegelgelb</Name>
     </Identifier>
     <Identifier>
       <Origin>Description-eng</Origin>
       <Name>Brick Yellow</Name>
     </Identifier>
     <Identifier>
       <Origin>Lego Material ID</Origin>
       <Name>5</Name>
     </Identifier>
     <Identifier>
       <Origin>Style</Origin>
       <Name>Plastic</Name>
     </Identifier>
   </Material>
 </MaterialTable>

</TabulaXML> </XML>

(Please contribute more material IDs here as you confirm them.)

Design IDs

You'll need to know the "Design IDs" (part ids) of parts for this to work. A similar trick for discovering parts as is given above for material IDs should work.

Design IDs

LEGO Design ID	LDraw number/Part Name and Peeron Link
3024	3024 - 1x1 plate

In this example, the LDRAW number is the same as the one used by LDD, but this does not seem to be true across the board. In many instances, especially in the case of transparent bricks, LDD uses a different number.

Note: it is known that LEGO sometimes uses different molds for transparent bricks or for bricks that carry plating or coatings, due to wall thickness issues. Since many LDraw numbers are taken from the numbers molded in to the bricks themselves, it makes sense that those correspond there if LDD is using LEGO internal numbers for things.

It appears that a set of files describing each available piece is in this directory: C:\Program Files\LEGO Software\LEGO Digital Designer\database\geometry\. The numbers there also seem to match relevant LDraw numbers.

Unfortunately, these are binary files, so that cannot be confirmed.

(Please contribute more Design IDs here as you confirm them.)