What SilverDrill is:

The SilverDrill applet is an easy and simple sketchpad for making and sharing animated shows online.  If you need a professional drill design solution to create and print shows for your students or clients, I offer a program called Field Artist for that.
Click here to learn more about Field Artist.

SilverDrill runs right in your browser window.  You can use it to create your own shows or to view shows that other members have done. To view some shows that other members have done, click here.

To create a SilverDrill show, you choose a cast, then add a number of sets to the show by moving the cast around with the mouse.  You have many keystroke commands available that help you move the cast members and arrange them into lines, arcs, and other shapes.  See the complete list of keystroke commands below.  You can also add flag spins and rifle tosses using keystroke commands.

You can edit your shows after you save them by going to the "Manage My Shows" page under the "CREATE" section.  Just click on the title of your show in the list to make changes.

General advice about using SilverDrill:

SilverDrill runs right in your browser. You can see the SilverDrill applet embedded in some of the pages of this web site that allow you to view shows others have created, and to create you own shows.

You can create your show completely within the applet and save it when you are finished. You have to have an account for this website to create and save shows. An account is free and takes seconds to set up. From your account, you will be able to view and edit your existing shows from a web page.
 
While working on your show, do not close your browser or click on any of the website menu options or move to any other web pages until after you have saved your show. If you go to another web page, the applet will restart and you will have lost your work. So when creating a show it is important to save your work before going to any different web page, including this help page. If you want to see the help while working, clicking the HELP button on the applet menu ( not the website menu! ) will open the help section in a new browser, which will not disturb the show you are working on.

You can edit shows after you save them.  To see your saved shows, just click on the title of the show on the "Manage My Shows" page under the CREATE section of this website.    To see an existing show that you have done, go to your list of shows on the web site and click on the title of the show you want to see or work on.  This will open your show and let you make changes and save it again.

When you click on your show on the "Manage My Shows" screen (under CREATE), the applet is opened in edit mode, which lets you make changes to a show you have already saved.  In edit mode, all commands are available.  When you click on a show ( including your own show ) from a viewing page ( under the WATCH section of the website ), or when you click on another member's show, the applet is opened in view mode, which means many commands including save are disabled.  So if you want to change an existing show, make sure you open it from the Manage My Shows page  under the CREATE section of the website.

How to select and move cast members in SilverDrill

You can select cast members by dragging a box around them with the mouse pointer. Selected cast members appear with a red rectangle around them.  To deselect all of the marchers, click in the open area. When you select a group of cast members with the mouse, it deselects any that were selected before. To prevent this from happening and select multiple groups of cast members, just hold down the Shift key when dragging the box.

You can also select a cast member by clicking on that cast member.  This will deselect any other cast members unless you hold down the shift key when clicking.  So you can select a series of cast members by holding down the shift key and clicking on each one.

To move cast members, first select the cast members you want to move and then click and drag on any of the selected cast members to move the entire group.

When moving your mouse over a cast member that is not selected, you see a rectangle highlighted around that cast member's body which indicates your mouse is over it.  A selected cast member has a red rectangle.  A highlight is a blue rectangle that lets you know the mouse is over that cast member and you can click to select it or click and drag to move it.

Another way to select multiple cast members is by using rolling selection. To do this, you click on an unselected cast member and then hold down the mouse button while rolling the mouse in order through the other cast members you want to select. As with the other selection modes, use the Shift key to not deselected previously selected cast members when you start a rolling selection.

When using grouping commands like Circle, Line and Arc, the order you selected the cast members in will be important. The selection indicator for each member will be a slightly different shade of red, from darker to lighter, to show the order the cast members were selected in. So when selecting multiple cast members for grouping commands it is very important to pay attention to what order you select them in.

When you move cast members after having created at least one set, you will notice path lines are drawn which connect the cast members to their last known position on a set.  These lines help you keep track of which cast you have moved, and help guide you in designing the motion for the next set.  They disappear after the SET command is used and are not seen during animation of the show. Colored squares (status indicators) will also appear on cast members which have been moved.

There are three kinds of transitions for sets: float, pivot, and FTL (follow the leader). Cast members that are merely moved are in a float transition, and their status indicators and paths are green. Cast members in an FTL have white status indicators. Cast members in a pivot have yellow status indicators.

You can make cast members hold props instead of flags.  A prop is held by one cast member.  You move a prop by moving the cast member that holds the prop.  You won't be able to see the cast member behind the prop, but the cast member will be in the middle of the prop.  When you move your mouse over the cast member in the middle of the prop, you will see the blue highlight rectangle appear that lets you know the mouse is over the cast member and you can click to select or click and drag to move the cast member / prop.

How to create transitions

There are three kinds of available transitions: float, rotation, and follow the leader (FTL).

You create a show by first choosing your cast and moving them to their opening positions, then clicking the SET command.  This creates the opening positions for your show.  You then continue the show by moving cast and adding sets as many times as you want.

A set can have three kinds of transitions in it: float, FTL ( follow the leader ), and rotations.  You can have multiple FTL's and rotates and floats all in the same set.

When creating a set, make sure you move ALL of the cast members you want to move in that set, either by dragging them to a new position (float), rotating them, or adding them to a follow the leader (FTL) transition.  Then click the SET command to finish the set.  This way, all the cast members will be moving at the same time.

If you finish creating a set and you don't like what you did, type 'X' ( capital X ) to delete the last set.  You have to click SET to finish the set before you can delete it.

To create a float transition, move the cast members to their new positions.  That's all you have to do.  Move all the cast members you want to move before you click SET.  This creates a transition from the previous position to the next set of positions.  To create more transitions, just keep moving the cast members and clicking the SET button. Cast members that are in a float transition for a set will be indicated by a green square. The green square goes away when you finish the set.

Creating a follow the leader (FTL) transition is easy. First, start the FTL by clicking the FTL button on the menu. Then use the mouse to draw a path from the last member in the FTL, through each member in the group up through the leader, and then continue the path to where you want the leader to end up. Double click to finish making your path. The FTL is recorded as a transition when you press the SET button after drawing an FTL path.   You will see the cast members that participate in the FTL outlined in white.  There will also be a path drawn on the screen that shows the outline of the FTL.  Both of these markings go away when you finish and commit the set.  You can have more than one FTL in a set.  If you start an FTL and mess it up by clicking on the wrong person or missing a person, just click the FTL button again ( without double clicking to finish your FTL path ) and this will cancel the FTL and you can start it over again. Cast members that are in an FTL transition are marked with a white square.

When selecting the members in order for the FTL, you can either click on each member in order, or click on the first member then roll the mouse through the other members in order while holding the left mouse button down.

To create a rotation command, you have to first select the group of members you want to rotate. Then click the ROTATE button on the menu. A pivot point will appear near the center of the group. Use the mouse to move the pivot indicator to the point you want them to rotate around. Then use the '[' and ']' keys to pivot the members to their new positions. Finally, click the ROTATE button again to finish the transition. The transition is recorded when you click the SET button after setting up the rotation.   Cast members that are part of the rotation will be outlined in yellow, until you complete the set by clicking the SET command.

You can combine all three kinds of transitions in a single set. Starting with an initial position, just use the mouse to move those cast members who are floating to their new positions, but do not click SET just yet. For those members you want to rotate, use the steps above to set up the rotations for each group of members you want to rotate. You can set up as many rotations as you want, but don't click SET yet. Finally, to set up the FTL transitions for the set, follow the directions above for each FTL path you want to draw through the different groups of members who are doing FTL transitions for this set. You can set up as many FTL's as you want, but don't click SET.

Finally, when you are finished setting up all the floats, rotations and FTL's for the set, click the SET button to finalize the transitions and record them in the show.

When you move cast members in setting up a set, you will notice path lines are drawn which connect the cast members to their last known position on a set.  These lines are to help guide you in designing the motion for the next set.  They disappear after the SET command is used and are not seen during animation of the show.  The path lines are not drawn for cast members who are part of an FTL or a ROTATE, they are only for ones who are floating directly to their next set position.

Cast members who are in a rotate for the set you are currently building, are marked in yellow.  Cast members who are in an FTL are marked in white.  Cast members who have been floated are marked in green and show paths to their previous position.  You can't have the same cast member participating in a float and an FTL or a float and a rotate or a rotate and an FTL.  Each person has to be in one kind of transition, per set.

If you try to move cast members with the mouse who are already part of an FTL or a rotate, they won't move.  This remains true for those cast members until you finish the set.  If you don't like the way a set is going and feel like you messed it up, just finish the set by clicking the SET command.  Then type the 'X' ( capital x ) command which will erase the last set you added, and you can start over again.  Pressing the '7' key will play back the last set you just added.

To transition props, you transition the cast member who is holding the prop.  Each prop is held by one cast member.  You can select or move the cast member holding the prop even though you can't see the cast member behind the prop.  When you move your mouse over the middle of the prop the cast member is highlighted with a blue rectangle.  Drag the rectangle to move the cast member the same as you would any other cast member.

How to animate your show

As you add sets to the show, you will notice that buttons will be added to the toolbar at the bottom, one button for each set in the show.

To go to a set, click on the toolbar button for that set.

To go to the beginning, click the first button on the toolbar at the bottom, or press 'w' on your keyboard ( see the list of applet keystrokes below ).

To see the show animate, click the START button on the top menu, or press the spacebar ( spacebar also stops the animation ).  You can press the STOP button on the toolbar to stop the animation.

You can advance a single step by typing 't' on the keyboard, or type 'r' to go back one step.

To make the animation play faster, press the '>' key and repeat until the animation is as fast as you want it.  To make it slower, press '<' as many times as desired.

You can also add special animation features such as flag spins and rifle tosses to your show.  For more information about how this works, see the list of applet keystroke commands below.

About the tools and buttons

There are two mouse tools at the top, Slider and Cast. Only one is active at at any given time. The Slider tool lets you rotate the screen, slide (pan) it around, zoom in and zoom out. The Cast tool lets you select and move cast.

Slider Tool
- Right click + drag right/left to rotate the field (when in 3D mode)
- Right click + drag up/down to adjust the angle of elevation
- Left click + drag to shift (pan) the field right, left, up or down
- Shift bar + Right click + drag to zoom in or out

Cast Tool
- Click on a cast member to select
- Drag a box around cast members to select
- Click + drag on seleted cast members to move them

Here is a summary of what all the commands on the button menu on the applet are for:

START  

Starts the animation of your show.  The animation starts from the previous set of where you were when you stopped.

STOP

Stops the animation on the current step.

SET

Add a new set to the show.  Remember you have to click SET after first setting up your initial positions.  Ever other set is added when you set up your transitions after the previous set, and then click SET again to add another set to the show.

FTL

Click FTL to begin an FTL transition, then draw a path through the members and double click to complete the FTL path.  You can draw as many FTL transitions as you want for different groups of cast members, add float and rotate transitions as desired, then click SET to combine the whole thing into a set.

PIVOT

Click this button to begin setting up a pivot transition ( you must first select the cast members you want to rotate ).  Set the pivot point with the mouse, rotate the selected members using the '[' and ']' keys, and click PIVOT again to finish the transition.  A pivot transition is not the same thing as just rotating selected cast using the '[' and '[' keys, because that merely produces straight-line motion, while the PIVOT transition produces true rotation around a fixed point of your choosing.

CAST

Allows you to add cast.  You will see a form appear and you can enter the desired number of cast members.  You can further customize the appearance of your cast members by selecting them and using the keystroke commands that cycle through the available instruments and uniform styles.  When you start a show, always do this part first. It doesn't really work to add cast after you have already defined some sets.

3D

Click this menu item to show a 3D perspective view of the field or switch back to the overhead view.

ZOOM

The normal view of the field is a portion between the 20 yard lines.  Confining the show to this area allows the cast to be viewed larger and therefore easier to see and work with.  If you click the ZOOM button, you go to a full view of the entire field.  This makes your cast appear smaller ( because they have to be in correct proportion to the field ) and therefore harder to see and work with.  Click ZOOM again to go back to the partial view of the field.  If you decide to use the full field view, you have to stay in that view the entire time you are working with and viewing your show, or else you won't be able to see all of your cast.  When you save a show in full field mode, the show can only be viewed in full field mode.  When you save a show in partial field mode, the show can only be viewed in partial field mode.  So, it's best to decide before starting a show whether you want to use the partial field or the full field and stick with that view the entire time you are making the show.

SAVE

Click SAVE to save the show to an online database.  The first time you save, you will be prompted to give the show a title.  Try to choose something creative and interesting that will make people want to watch it.   When you open the show to work on it some more, the software will prompt you with the original title the show had when you opened it.  If you are saving an existing show you have opened and then save it under the same title, it overwrites the previous show.  However if you started with a new show or opened a different show and happen to choose an existing title to save it under, the web site automatically appends a number onto the end to make the file name unique and prevent it from over writing your other shows.

It is a good idea to save your work often, to prevent from losing work.  Remember, if you click on a web site menu or a bookmark or link or otherwise move to a different browser page while working on a show, the applet goes away and you will have lost any work that you did not save.


FIELD COLOR / LINE COLOR / BG COLOR

To change the color of the field, lines, or background, click the corresponding button. A color selection tool will appear. Drag the mouse on left side of the color selection tool to choose a hue and saturation, and drag on the right side of the tool to select a luminosity (bright or dark). When you have the color you want, just click off of the color selection tool to dismiss it.

HELP

Clicking this button starts the Help portion of the web site in a new browser.  This allows you to view the help without changing to a different web page, which would cause you to lose your work if you were working on a show.

UNDO

Undo your last action.

Many functions in the drill applet can be accessed with keystrokes. These functions let you animate your show, customize your cast appearance, and move and group your cast members into formations. Some of these keystrokes are shortcuts for menu choices on the top menu, and others can only be accessed through the keyboard. Here is a list of what the keystrokes do:

Space   Stop / Start

x   (lower case x) Delete selected cast members

X   (upper case x ) Delete the last set

+   Scale selected cast larger

-   Scale selected cast smaller

"   Scale selected cast larger by height only

:   Scale selected cast smaller by height only

'   Scale selected cast larger by width only

;   Scale selected cast smaller by width only

l   (lower case L) Group selected cast into a line.  This command relies on the order the cast members were selected in.

L   (upper case L) Group selected cast into a line and make it vertical or horizontal depending upon original layout of the selected cast.  This command relies upon the order the cast were selected in.

b   Group selected cast into a block.  Relies on selection order.

B   Group selected cast into a square block.  Relies on selection order.

) and (  Group selected cast into an arc. Repeat command to change depth of arc.  To use this command, make sure you select the cast members in the desired order.  The 2 endpoint people will be used to determine the endpoints of the arc. Use either the Shift key or the Ctrl key with ) and ( keys to determine which direction the arc will face.

c   Group selected cast into an open curve.  This command only equals out the spacing of the cast along an imaginary path joining their current positions.  This command relies on selection order.

C   Group selected cast into a closed curve.   This command finds an imaginary closed path joining the selected cast and evens out their spacing along that curve.  Relies on selection order.

u   Change uniform style

f   Cycle through flag styles of selected cast ( F to go backwards ) on the current step. You can choose different flag styles for different cast members, but the cast you select must be flags to use this command.   If you don't select any cast members the command has no effect.  The flag style change takes effect on the step you are on when you use the keystroke.  To begin with a flag style, choose the flag style while sitting on step one of the show.   To change flag styles mid-show, go to the step you want the change to occur, and use the 'f' command to chooose the style change.


p   Cycle through props for selected cast ( P to go backwards ) on the current step. 
     Each prop belongs to one cast member.
     You can choose different props for different cast members, but the cast you select must be flags to use this command.   If you don't select any cast members the command has no effect.  The prop change takes effect on the step you are on when you use the keystroke.  To begin with a prop, choose the prop while sitting on step one of the show.   To change props mid-show, go to the step you want the change to occur, and use the 'p' command to chooose the style change.


d   Change equipment style ( includes equpment other than flags - rifles, instruments, percussion, etc.

o   Group selected cast into a circle. Relies on selection order.

[   Rotate selected cast 5 degrees clockwise

]   Rotate selected cast 5 degrees counter clockwise

{   Rotate selected cast 1 degree clockwise

}   Rotate selected cast 1 degree counter clockwise

k   Skew selected cast members horizontally ( K to change direction )

j    Skew selected cast members vertically ( J to change direction )

z    Reverse the positions of selected cast members.  You can select any number
       of cast members. 

v   Cycle the positions of selected cast members.

7   Replay animation from the last set

>   Increase animation speed

<   Decrease animation speed

w   Go to beginning of show

t   Go one step forward

r   Go one step backward

s   Stop / Start Animation

g   Go (Start Animation)

Up Arrow   Move selected cast up 1 pixel ( if Shift key is down, 1 step )

Down Arrow   Move selected cast down 1 pixel ( if Shift key is down, 1 step )

Left Arrow   Move selected cast left 1 pixel ( if Shift key is down, 1 step )

Right Arrow   Move selected cast right 1 pixel ( if Shift key is down, 1 step )

3   Turn the 3D view on or off

a   Animate selected cast.  You have to select cast members that are all of the same type ( section ) and then type 'a' to choose the available animations ( such as rifle tosses and flag spins ) from a list.  The animation will be applied on the current show step that you are on.  This does not have to be on a set, it can be between sets.   You can apply animations after all your sets are added.   Just stop the show on any step to apply animations that are to begin on that step.

A  Select all cast members