Warning

The current version of MillMage is a Release Candidate — a stable version of software that is nearly ready for official release, but in need of additional public testing. Please report any unexpected behavior in the MillMage Software Questions section of our forum, including screenshots and as much detail as possible. Ask hardware compatibility questions in the MillMage Hardware Compatibility section.

Users new to MillMage should follow the Getting Started guide.

Video: How to Use a Release Candidate

This video features our sister software, LightBurn. While there may be slight differences in appearance and layout, the demonstrated processes are similar in MillMage.

Warning

This documentation is in active development and in a prerelease state. These documents are not complete and may include missing pages, broken links, and placeholders. Content is being updated as feedback is reviewed. Your patience is appreciated.

Export Operations

The Export Operations wizard exports groups of operations into separate GCode files, based on attributes such as Sequence, Operation, or Tool Number.

You can then transfer these GCode files to your machine, and command it to execute the operations contained in individual files.

Using the Export Operations Wizard¶

To open the wizard, right-click in the Operations Window and select Export Operations from the context menu.

The Export Operations window is split into three tabs. The first tab shows the individual folders and files that will be exported, based on your current input. If you enter only plain text, all operations will be exported to a single file.

Add special tokens to the filename to tell MillMage to divide your operations into separate files. A full list of tokens is available in Format Syntax tab, and you can double-click any token in that list to add it to the filename. Any plain text included before, after, or between tokens will appear in the filename verbatim.

Once you've added tokens to the filename, the list in the Export Files tab will display the individual files that will output, along with the operations that each file will contain.

The Operations tab will show a list of all operations in your project, along with the file they'll be exported to.

You can also choose a Preset format from the dropdown menu at the top of the window. Several common presets are built-in to MillMage, and you may save your own presets for later use.

Click the folder icon in the lower right to choose an Output Folder on your computer, then click Export to save the files. Your chosen Output Folder, along with your chosen Filename Format, will be saved for your next use of the exporter (but not automatically saved as a Preset).

See below for an annotated screenshot of each option in the Export Operations window.

Exporting GCode without an Automatic Tool Changer

If you do not include at least one tool change token that by necessity splits operations which use different tools into different files, you will see the following warning message at the bottom of the Export Operations window:

You do not have an Automatic Tool Changer and have not split the files on Sequence, Operation or Tool index

If your project uses only a single tool, you may ignore this message.
If your project uses multiple tools, exporting the files without adjusting the formatting will result in operations that use different tools exporting to the same file, and running in sequence. That will lead to an incorrect tool being used for some operations, if you do not manually pause your machine and execute a tool change between operations.
If your machine does have an Automatic Tool Changer, but you are seeing this message, enable Output Tool Change and Has Automatic Tool Changer in the Custom GCode tab of the Device Settings window.

Export Operations Options¶

Click any option in the image below to jump directly to the relevant section for that option, or scroll down for a list of options and descriptions.

Preset¶

Select from a list of Built-In Presets to automatically populate the Filename Format field with tokens that will sort the operations based on the indicated parameters.

You can also enter your own custom tokens and save them as a new preset.

Rename User Preset¶

After selecting a user preset, click here to rename it.

Delete User Preset¶

Delete the currently selected user preset.

Save New Preset¶

Save the currently entered Filename Format as a new preset. A window will open where you can name the preset, then click OK to save it.

Filename Format¶

The format of the files that MillMage will export. Filenames are comprised of plain text and special tokens that the exporter uses to determine how to split the output files.

Export Files¶

This list shows the files that will be exported based on your currently entered Filename Format.

Each name next to a folder icon indicates a folder.
Each name next to a scroll icon indicates an individual GCode file in that folder.
Each operation contained within a GCode file is listed below the file.
The Mode and Tool of a given operation are listed to its right.

Operations¶

The list in this tab shows every operation in your project. To the right of each operation you'll see the Mode, Tool, and name of the GCode File to which the operation will output.

Format Syntax¶

This tab shows a list of all possible tokens you can use to divide your project into separate GCode files. A description of each token is listed in the column on the right.

Tokens listed alongside the wrench icon in the second column are tool change tokens — in other words, inserting this token into the Filename Format will automatically split all operations that use different tools into separate files.

Exporting GCode without an Automatic Tool Changer

If you do not include at least one tool change token that by necessity splits operations which use different tools into different files, you will see the following warning message at the bottom of the Export Operations window:

You do not have an Automatic Tool Changer and have not split the files on Sequence, Operation or Tool index

If your project uses only a single tool, you may ignore this message.
If your project uses multiple tools, exporting the files without adjusting the formatting will result in operations that use different tools exporting to the same file, and running in sequence. That will lead to an incorrect tool being used for some operations, if you do not manually pause your machine and execute a tool change between operations.
If your machine does have an Automatic Tool Changer, but you are seeing this message, enable Output Tool Change and Has Automatic Tool Changer in the Custom GCode tab of the Device Settings window.

Double-click any token in the list to add it to the Filename Format.

Any manually-entered tokens must be typed exactly as they are listed below, and all invalid tolkens will be excluded from the output.

Click here to see the complete list of tokens presented in the Format Syntax tab

Code	Tool Change	Format Syntax
{project}		The filename of the current Project
{project short}		A shortended version of the Project filename
{op}	Yes	The numeric order of the operation
{op index}	Yes	The numberic order of the operation without zero padding
{op name}		The name of the operation
{seq}	Yes	Operations are grouped into Sequences that use the same tool and are given a numeric order
{seq index}	Yes	The numeric order of the sequence without zero padding
{tool}	Yes	The numeric order of the Tool used for the operation
{tool index}	Yes	The numeric order of the Tool without zero padding
{tool name}		The name of the Tool used for the operation
{tool number}		The Tool Number defined by the Tool Properties
{tool category}		The category 'folder' that the Tool is organized into
{tool radius}		The Tool radius
{timestamp}		A complete in YYYY_MM_DD_HH_MM_SS format
{date}		The date in YYYY_MM_DD format
{time}		The time in HH_MM_SS format
{day}		The day in two-digit format
{day name}		The name of the day of the week
{month}		The month in two-digit format
{month name}		The name of the month
{year}		The year in four-digit format
{year short}		The year in two-digit format
{hour}		The hour in two-digit 24-hour format
{hour short}		The hour in short 12-hour format
{hour ap}		The hour as am/pm
{minute}		The minute in two-digit format
{second}		The second in two-digit format

Output Folder¶

Click the folder icon to select a location to save the exported files on your computer.

Export¶

Click Export to save all folders and files to the chosen output location. Your current Filename Format and Output Folder will be saved for the next time you open the Export Operations window.

Cancel¶

Click Cancel to discard any changes you've made and exit the window without exporting any GCode. No adjustments you've made will be saved.

For more help using MillMage, please visit our forum to talk with MillMage staff and users, or email support.