D&D Insider to Fantasy Grounds Converter

[EugeneZ]

I have finished initial development of a program to convert DnD Insider characters to Fantasy Grounds. This tool used to be available as a web application but its utility was cumbersome, limited in utility, and people kept having strange problems.

Download

Download the zip here: https://eugenez.net/downloads/ddi-importer.zip (Also, attached)

Contents

This zip contains three files.

converter.exe: Run this. You must have the .NET framework 2.0. If you do not, download it here: https://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=0856EACB-4362-4B0D-8EDD-AAB15C5E04F5&displaylang=en
dndi-to-fg2-v3.xsl: This is the XSL stylesheet that does most of the gruntwork. Making it available alongside the software means in most cases that only this file needs to be updated to fix bugs. The file's availability may also be useful for those wishing to enhance or otherwise use the conversion functionality.
DDI Importer Helper.ext: This is a Fantasy Grounds extension. Moon Wizard's upcoming ruleset release will most likely contain the code this extension provides, but until then, install this extension and enable it on any campaign you import characters to if you want the converted characters' powers to act as if they had been dropped from your library. After the next 4E_JPG release, this will become unnecessary and I'll note that in this thread.


Using the Software

You can use the software in several ways.


Player: As a player, simply select your DnDi save file and select at least one of the Options in Step Three. The easiest way for your DM to recieve your character us using the Send to Server option. Just check off the box, click Convert, and send your DM the resulting text (it's automatically sent to the clipboard). Alternatively, you can send the character to your local character list, but you must have connected to the campaign at least once for this to work -- and also, local characters have limitations. Lastly, you can save the converted XML file and send it to your DM manually if you do not wish to use the sever option.
DM: DMs will require the use of the second tab. The easiest way to operate the software is to fill out the first tab ("Convert") as if you were a player, but do not select any of the first three options. Do not click Convert. Instead, go to the second tab and select the target campaign, then click the third option "Convert Selected Character on Player Tab and Import." Alternatively, if your player provided you with a server URL or file, you can use the first two options.


Powers and Catalogs

WotC does not store much information about powers in the save file. Because of that, it's not possible to provide a lot of info about powers in the converted character. However, using Tenian's 4E Parser tool, you can generate a catalog. By enabling the "take powers from 4E Catalog.mod" option, this file will be used to "link" powers in the resulting conversion.

If you have Tenian's parser, click the Catalog menu and switch to Catalog mode, ensure the options are set correctly, and click Catalog -> Catalog. This will generate the 4E Catalog module in your FG2 modules directory and the converter will be able to find this file.

Limitations and Bugs

The conversion process is made difficult by the limited information provided in the character save file. Particularly, if your items have powers, these powers will not be present in the conversion as this data is not made available in the save file. In addition, the Weapon/Implement list on the Combat tab is often inaccurate. The converter may give you a head start in this section but always be sure to double check this section.

Lastly, I am sure there are numerous edge cases that are not covered. There are bugs. Hence, when you convert, you may wish to give the character sheet a once-over. Please post any bug reports here and I will continue to improve the software.

[EugeneZ]

Hi folks,

I've gotten enough bug reports over e-mail that I have been working on updating the tool. Big thanks to those who submitted bug reports! (Instead of just complaining generically about my software in other threads that I've seen over the last few months...)

I ran into a problem, however, with the XSL-based approach I initially used. The goal behind using XSL was two-fold: Get the converter done quickly, and allow drop-in updates. The quickly part worked... for a very buggy inital converter. Fixing the bugs is taking longer than I'd like because of how hard XSL is to work with. And I think drop-in updates are pretty dumb for a 170 KB program.

So I've decided to scrap XSL and do the conversion in code (C#, if you're curious). This will hopefully allow for a much more bug-free conversion. Another benefit of this is the ease with which I can implement a character editor. This will allow a player converting his or her character to see the results of the conversion and adjust them if needed. This is important because the DnDi save file simply isn't very accurate about some things (Weapons, Implements, Magic Items, Powers). As a side benefit, it will allow DMs to "manage" the characters without starting Fantasy Grounds.

Please see the below screenshots of the character overview interface so far. Clearly a lot of the numbers aren't working, this is just a GUI screenshot. I'm still working on the functionality. I hope to a have a more powerful, less buggy version of the converter completed by the end of the month.

[MacLeod]

Very Nice, it's the little things like these that made me decide on Fantasygrounds!

[tdewitt274]

Just throwing this out there, but there are a lot of requests for moving characters from one Campaign to another. If it's possible to pull from the Campaign to import and then export, you may want to consider this in your program.

Just a thought!

Thanks

[EugeneZ]

Just throwing this out there, but there are a lot of requests for moving characters from one Campaign to another. If it's possible to pull from the Campaign to import and then export, you may want to consider this in your program.

Just a thought!

Thanks

Thanks, I'll consider it. As you say, it should be a step away after all the functionality is complete. But I'm pretty sure there is already a tool for this made by Dr Zeuss. It's one of the many awesome things he's made in the past months, which is probably why I'm having trouble finding it...

[Zeus]

The tool Eugene has referred to is the v2 beta of Tenian's original Campaign Tools. I haven't updated it in nearly a year but it should still work.

The tool allows you to import DDI characters (using an early version of Eugene's XSL) - note powers do not link when imported. The tool also allows you to print/view PC charsheets as well as import/export them to/from one campaign to another.

You can grab a copy here (https://zgp.eugenez.net/FGII%20Campaign%20Tools%20v2%20Beta/).

DrZ.

[joshuha]

I hope to a have a more powerful, less buggy version of the converter completed by the end of the month.

How is it progressing? If you need any help and don't mind sharing the source I would be happy to pitch in.

[EugeneZ]

I was going to release the source after I was done... but thanks for the offer! I'll get the code into an SVN repo tonight and send you a PM/IM or whatever.

[dm-crazy]

ty eugenez for amazing tool! ;)

[EugeneZ]

I've sent joshuha a PM (thank again!) but I figured I'd toss the URL out here incase anyone cares to take a stab at it (or just wants a look):

https://svn.eugenez.net/ddi2fg

It's a read-only SVN repo, but if you happen to want a login, shoot me a PM or IM...

I plan on hitting the code hard this Sunday. Missed my end-of-month promise but there it is.

[Talmon]

Great work so far, by the way,how is this coming along?

[jaqknife]

where can I get the 4E Catalog.mod file?

[drahkar]

jaqknife-

None of the actual modules can be distributed due to copyright restrictions. What he is referring to is using Tenian's 4E Parser tool to create the mod file which his program can then import.

[jaqknife]

ok not real sure how to do that. I do have the parser program though.

[Jundle]

I'm using windows 7 and I'm getting an error "Could not import character: Object reference not set to an instance of an object." Below is the full log output. When I did this import on my xp box, everything seemed to have work.

Any ideas on what I can do to fix it?



10:06:57 AM: Starting conversion...
10:06:57 AM: Looking for converter engine...
10:06:57 AM: Loading DnDi character file...
10:06:57 AM: Beginning conversion, please wait...
10:06:57 AM: Successfully converted character!
10:06:57 AM: Backing up your db.xml...
10:06:57 AM: Opening your db.xml and the conversion xml...
10:06:57 AM: Locating free node...
10:06:57 AM: Import complete! Saving character to node: id-00001
10:06:57 AM: Could not import character: Object reference not set to an instance of an object.
10:07:39 AM: Starting conversion...
10:07:39 AM: Looking for converter engine...
10:07:40 AM: Loading DnDi character file...
10:07:40 AM: Beginning conversion, please wait...
10:07:40 AM: Successfully converted character!
10:07:40 AM: Backing up your db.xml...
10:07:40 AM: Opening your db.xml and the conversion xml...
10:07:40 AM: Locating free node...
10:07:40 AM: Import complete! Saving character to node: id-00001
10:07:40 AM: Could not import character: Object reference not set to an instance of an object.

[Jundle]

Never mind. I loaded the characters into a different module, and it worked. Then I tried to load the characters into the module i first tried, and it works now too. woot!

[mattcolville]

It's not clear to me from this thread what URL I should be following. It sounds like EugeneZ started with a .NET framework, XLS dependent solution and then switched to a C# program that doesn't depend on Excel? Is that right?

What link should I be following?

[EugeneZ]

The link in my first post is the right one. There was a XSL solution at some point -- XSL is eXtensible Stylesheet Language, not XLS which is the extension for Microsoft Excel. The C# solution still uses XSL (not XLS) internally.

Just grab the software at the top. It's sadly a bit out of date -- I still use it and it mostly converts fine but I wish I had the free time to update it.

[mattcolville]

The link in my first post is the right one. There was a XSL solution at some point -- XSL is eXtensible Stylesheet Language, not XLS which is the extension for Microsoft Excel. The C# solution still uses XSL (not XLS) internally.

Just grab the software at the top. It's sadly a bit out of date -- I still use it and it mostly converts fine but I wish I had the free time to update it.

No worries. I tried it out, but while it appeared as though everything went fine on the Converter end, when it was done I could not see the character regardless of whether I was looking as a player or DM.

I'm pretty new to FG2 and the way it deals with players vs DMs and how it organizes it's data, so I'm pretty sure my frustration here is not with your converter. :D

[PhilFischer]

Matt, be sure and make sure you do not have the campaign open. As the DM do not select any options on tab one, and use tab two to hit the bottom button. That fixed my problems which were similar to yours.

I'm not stuck getting powers into the imported characters with text. I originally used the tenian '4E Parser version 4.0.38' to build a compendium file. I read in six or seven books with the Append off on the first book, and Append Yes on successive books.

I'm not sure what this does as I do have modules of each of the books I have previously made. I just get frustrated when you load two of them it crashes the program.

Is loading the compendium supposed to help? What does it do, it appears to just load some text files into the modules directory.

Any way my problem is when I build the catalog > catalog. I get the following error: Cannot Find Central Directory.

Here is an image if it helps: https://img573.imageshack.us/img573/5548/4eparsererror.png (https://img573.imageshack.us/i/4eparsererror.png/)


edit: This is with the 118 and I get the same error.
I have a 4g system that runs Win7. I've rebooted my system.
Not sure what else to try.

[PhilFischer]

As the above post details my inability to build the 4E Catalog, could I get someone to mail me one. I have DDI.

[Zeus]

I'm not stuck getting powers into the imported characters with text. I originally used the tenian '4E Parser version 4.0.38' to build a compendium file. I read in six or seven books with the Append off on the first book, and Append Yes on successive books.

I'm not sure what this does as I do have modules of each of the books I have previously made. I just get frustrated when you load two of them it crashes the program.

The Append option is used when scraping content from the Compendium, it allows you to scrape data to a common set of Parser source text files. This is useful for building singular modules of monthly published content such as Dragon and Dungeon magazine content.

To avoid crashes, when Parsing the modules ensure that you:

- have a clean parse with no errors (check the processing window for error messages)
- avoid using special characters in the source files / ensure no URLs get captured in the source files as part of the scrape (you might need to do a manual search and replace for this)
- provide a unique Modestring for each module


Is loading the compendium supposed to help? What does it do, it appears to just load some text files into the modules directory.


The Parser can scrape the functional data for a set module directly from the Compendium. This is faster and more robust than manually copying the data from PDFs etc.


Any way my problem is when I build the catalog > catalog. I get the following error: Cannot Find Central Directory.

edit: This is with the 118 and I get the same error.
I have a 4g system that runs Win7. I've rebooted my system.
Not sure what else to try.

I have not seen that error before, I'll send a note to Tenian and ask him for direction. Sounds to me like a folder permission error.

Does your system have multiple Windows 7 user accounts? If so, did you install FGII and the Parser under different accounts?

[mattcolville]

So I could parse and append all the Dungeon mags, and Dragon mags, for instance? And if I kept the parser output files, I could just reparse and append every month and make new modules? That seems useful. I figured append was something like that.

[mattcolville]

Could I parse all the Player's Handbooks and Foo Power books into one big file of powers and another big file of feats? That seems useful. I'd like to find a way to make it easy for my players to replicate their characters in here and one big obstacle is needing to know which product every power and feat came from when the Character Builder flattens all that data.

[Zeus]

So I could parse and append all the Dungeon mags, and Dragon mags, for instance? And if I kept the parser output files, I could just reparse and append every month and make new modules? That seems useful. I figured append was something like that.


Thats correct. I use this approach to maintain a single PHB Dragon module which contains all Dragon magazine content for my players.

[Zeus]

Could I parse all the Player's Handbooks and Foo Power books into one big file of powers and another big file of feats? That seems useful. I'd like to find a way to make it easy for my players to replicate their characters in here and one big obstacle is needing to know which product every power and feat came from when the Character Builder flattens all that data.

You could but it would create very large modules that would take longer to open and share.

I would create all the modules you require and then use the Parser's Catalog feature to create a master Index of all powers in your modules. Its then a simple case of directing your players to using the Catalog making it easier for them to locate which source book module are required.

[PhilFischer]

You could but it would create very large modules that would take longer to open and share.

Ok, but once they were downloaded and then on the system and once you paid a one time startup of the module, it would be loaded and might potentially take a smaller amount of memory?

I'm happy to know what/how the text files are used for.

Does the 4E Catalog, when you build it, look at the text files, or at the modules in the directory? How exactly does it work as an index? I'm guessing it knows all the feats of all the modules in the modules directory; and matches them that way. Hopefully you wouldn't have any duplication.

Hence I couldn't use someone elses 4E catalog file because they would have different modules.

[mattcolville]

You could but it would create very large modules that would take longer to open and share.

I would create all the modules you require and then use the Parser's Catalog feature to create a master Index of all powers in your modules. Its then a simple case of directing your players to using the Catalog making it easier for them to locate which source book module are required.

Ok, well longer to open I understand, but sharing isn't an issue if all my modules are in a shared DropBox folder with all my players.

I have a 4E Catalog file, but I didn't build it. The problem I have is; I don't know which products that Catalog file points to. And it doesn't point to Dragon Magazines. I'd probably reparse everything manually if I could make that work.

How does the Catalog feature work? Can you Append to a Catalog?

[EugeneZ]

A catalog is just a series of "pointers" to other modules. You need to have the respective modules available and enabled for the catalog module itself to be useful. It's purpose is to allow you to search for a power whose source you do not know and be able to find it on the catalog index rather than having to find the specific book.

Also, while I'm in this thread, I think it's fair to say that considering WotC switched the format of their parser, the converter whose thread this is, is on hiatus. When I have time I'll look into re-using the code to import from whatever format they use now, if any. My source code is available if anyone wants to take a stab.

[Zeus]

Just a quick follow up on the Parser "Cannot Find Central Directory" error when compiling a Catalog.

To quote Tenian:

"No, it's a problem with zipping/unzipping. My guess would be one of his modules is not a valid zip file, either due to corruption or because he has something named .mod that isn't a zip file (maybe a zip-7 or one of those other compression formats)."


So, check your modules folder and ensure all the 4E .mod files are valid ZIP archives.

[mattcolville]

Yeah I get what the catalog *is* I'm basically asking if there's any way to open one up and figure out which products it points to.

I have a 4E catalog. It doesn't point to the Dragon Magazines. Could I edit it, so it does? In fact, I don't know exactly which products it DOES point to. Could I open it up and find out?

[Griogre]

Ok, well longer to open I understand, but sharing isn't an issue if all my modules are in a shared DropBox folder with all my players.

I have a 4E Catalog file, but I didn't build it. The problem I have is; I don't know which products that Catalog file points to. And it doesn't point to Dragon Magazines. I'd probably reparse everything manually if I could make that work.

How does the Catalog feature work? Can you Append to a Catalog?
Bear in mind that huge files are still a problem if you are going over a gig or two because some of your players probably don't have that much memory available just for FG on laptops or old computers or if they are still running XP. On the other hand if your module files are just text it likely will work.

[eschatus]

So, fun in the dark sun; and the importer seems to come up short... anyone had any luck using the importer to import monks or theme powers? I get the monk powers, but because of the sweet nature of the monk move/attack stuff it looks like it's going to be a fair bit of manual effort to get em in right. How about theme powers? Ideas there?

[EugeneZ]

Unfortunately, the monk pile-o-powers in FG2 has nothing to do with the importer. But, yes, there are a host of other problems with the importer that I've promised to fix but to be honest, when WotC switched to the online version, I lost all desire to update my software. Most of the code is in place for more of an "out-of-FG" character editor, though, so maybe that will work better for the future.

Anyway, I'd recommend not using the importer for now unless you appreciate its help on the non-Powers portions (even though it does get other stuff wrong sometimes too).

[eschatus]

cue Vader, "Nooooooo!"

The jerks at WotC put an export back in tho! k, so; any thoughts on maybe opening the source so enterprising jerkwads such as myself might take a whack at it?

[mattcolville]

Yeah I second this. You can now export from the online character builder.

I've been using FG2 now for several weeks, I've got lots of players running around in my world. But until last night, they were all 1st level and mostly solo.

Last night was the first time my normal, in-person group used FG2. We did it in person, so I could help everyone. It took about three hours just to get everyone's mans into FG2.

For those of you used to the software, this will seem ridiculous, but when you've got 5 guys all with different expectations, different tech-backgrounds, all sitting around, it can be a pain.

I should probably start another post about this but if there were three things I'd ask for as a customer, one of them would be; import from the character builder. Its so important for players to be able to get in and start playing and the #1 cause of friction right now is people getting their characters into FG2.

I mean, there's *plenty* for the new user to learn, just when he's playing.

[Orcini]

I have looked at the parser. That is a tool for those more technical and with more time than I.

I have just began a campaign and I am a story oriented DM. It's all about the story but I still need to do some mechanical work behind the scenes. It used to be easy as I have been a DM for 30 years, yes, I am old. Old = bad for learning curve.

Anyway the point of my rambling. Is there a way to use the DM Adventure Tools to make an encounter and then drag it kicking and screaming into FG ?

I hope you are not going to tell me to use the parser and if you do, can you be really specific.

[mattcolville]

I have looked at the parser. That is a tool for those more technical and with more time than I.

I have just began a campaign and I am a story oriented DM. It's all about the story but I still need to do some mechanical work behind the scenes. It used to be easy as I have been a DM for 30 years, yes, I am old. Old = bad for learning curve.

Anyway the point of my rambling. Is there a way to use the DM Adventure Tools to make an encounter and then drag it kicking and screaming into FG ?

I hope you are not going to tell me to use the parser and if you do, can you be really specific.

Using the parser is just going to require a lot of Cargo Cult thinking on your part and there's probably not a lot you can do about that. Most of the problem is the way things are named. Output in the Input folder for instance. If you know that it's the Output from Step One that's going to end up being the Input on Step Two, it's easier. But it's still a really bad way of naming things.

There's a thread around here from DrZuess that walks you through the process step by step. It explains exactly what to do. Though it doesn't really aid comprehension all that much. But it works.

I presume you want to use the Parser so you have all the monsters and magic items at your fingertips?

[Orcini]

I used the parser and followed the step by step and got a test something or other in the mod folder. I then opened it up and got an empty library file.

It was worse than my vasectomy... seriously.

I have some "offsite back-ups" for most of the material and am putting together a story for my crew but I was wondering if it was possible to grab those critters that are not in those backups.

I was also wondering if I could grab the pdf of a dungeon adventure (which I can due to the subscription) and just import that into FG to make a stand alone module.

I assume that it can be done, but I was wondering if it can be done by a person who thinks html means "How to make lunch"

[mattcolville]

I used the parser and followed the step by step and got a test something or other in the mod folder. I then opened it up and got an empty library file.

It was worse than my vasectomy... seriously.

I have some "offsite back-ups" for most of the material and am putting together a story for my crew but I was wondering if it was possible to grab those critters that are not in those backups.

I was also wondering if I could grab the pdf of a dungeon adventure (which I can due to the subscription) and just import that into FG to make a stand alone module.

I assume that it can be done, but I was wondering if it can be done by a person who thinks html means "How to make lunch"

I'm not sure what your offsite backup is a backup of.

There's no way to "parse" a dungeon adventure as far as I know.

The data from Dungeon that you really need is the Monster info and the Maps. Everything else...you can enter all the text into FG2 and format it and link it all and make it look super nice and easy to use. But it takes a long time. So it's maybe a good idea if you're planning on running an adventure more than once? Otherwise here's what I do.

1: I have all the dungeons parsed into one file and I named that file with the last issue number in there, so I always know what's in there. All that's in there are monsters and I think some traps, but most traps don't parse, it seems.

2: I grab the maps right out of the PDF. I just grab them and drop them to my desktop.

3: Depending on the map size, I may size it down. It needs to be small enough so that the player with the smallest monitor doesn't end up unable to see anything except this huge map blocking his UI. I also save it out as a JPEG. You can usually shrink these things down to a nice small size without loss of quality.

Sometimes the maps in Dungeon are really small, in which case I head to the Map Archive online and get the high quality versions.

Sometimes the maps in Dungeon have the tokens baked into the image, in which case I have to spend some time photoshopping them out. You can use GIMP for all this, I think. Usually though, even though you can see the tokens there in the Dungeon mag, when you drag the map onto your desktop, you get a version without tokens. They're all in different layers in the PDF is the thing.

4: I create a Combat entry for each encounter and open up my Dungeon Magazine Module. Find the beasties, drag them in, give them tokens.

5: When running the game, I have the PDF open on my second monitor. If I feel like using text from the actual article, I just copy it and paste it into chat, usually with the /story prefix.

Stuff like Skill challenges and Traps I just run on the fly.

I am 100% sympathetic to your plight and want to help. :D

[Orcini]

Thanks.

My "offsite backup" is a load of already parsed files of the MM etc. Fortunate find for me.

I just did the tutorial again from https://oberoten.dyndns.org/fgwiki/index.php/4EParser_Tutorial_1:_Your_First_Module on a txt file created of a single monster and it brought up solid immediately so I am giving it the swan song and saying goodbye to further efforts for now.

I am however going to use your suggestions and grab the info from the dungeon mags etc and fire them into something to make the modules. I should be able to recreate the encounters from the mod files I found. (I am not selling them they are for my personal use;) )

If anyone wants to send me some ready made modules that would be appreciated. If there was a way to grab the Scales of War, yowza that would be a coup.

The error if you wanted to know was ... sorry for the length.

==========

3/2/2011 4:53:22 PM : ERROR:System.Xml.XmlException: 'xp25hp1_amissedattackneverdamagesaminionac13_fort itude12_reflex14_will12speed6initiative_3perceptio n_1low-lightvisiontraitssniperifthegoblinmisseswitharange dattackwhilehiddenitremainshidden_standardactionsm shortsword_weapon_' is an unexpected token. The expected token is '='. Line 40, position 59.


</magicitemdesc>
<ritualdesc>
</ritualdesc>
<monsterdata>
*** <goblinsniper level1minionartillerysmallnaturalhumanoid xp25hp1_amissedattackneverdamagesaminionac13_forti tude12_reflex14_will12speed6initiative_3perception _1low-lightvisiontraitssniperifthegoblinmisseswitharange dattackwhilehiddenitremainshidden_standardactionsm shortsword_weapon_•at-willattack_melee1_onecreature___8vs_achit_4damage_ rshortbow_weapon_•at-willattack_ranged20_onecreature___8vs_achit_4damag e_triggeredactionsgoblintactics•at-willeffect_immediatereaction__thegoblinshifts1squa re_skillsstealth_8thievery_8str13__1_ dex17__3_ wis12__1_con13__1_ int8_-1_ cha8_-1_alignmentevil*****languagescommongoblinequipment leatherarmorshortswordshortbowarrowx20>
<name type="string">Goblin Sniper Level 1 Minion Artillery Small natural humanoid XP 25 HP 1; a missed attack never damages a minion AC 13; Fortitude 12; Reflex 14; Will 12 Speed 6 Initiative +3 Perception +1 Low-Light Vision Traits Sniper If the goblin misses with a ranged attack while hidden, it remains hidden. Standard Actions m Short Sword (weapon) • At-Will Attack: Melee 1 (one creature); +8 vs. AC Hit: 4 damage. r Shortbow (weapon) • At-Will Attack: Ranged 20 (one creature); +8 vs. AC Hit: 4 damage. Triggered Actions Goblin Tactics • At-Will Effect (Immediate Reaction): The goblin shifts 1 square. Skills Stealth +8, Thievery +8 Str 13 (+1) Dex 17 (+3) Wis 12 (+1) Con 13 (+1) Int 8 (-1) Cha 8 (-1) Alignment evil*****Languages Common, Goblin Equipment leather armor, short sword, shortbow, arrow x20</name>
<levelrole type="string">Level 0 </levelrole>

[mattcolville]

Thanks.

My "offsite backup" is a load of already parsed files of the MM etc. Fortunate find for me.

What you want, take about an hour to do, is all the Dungeons parsed. That way you know that any monster or NPC you need is in that .mod file. As opposed to just the Monster Manuals which won't have everything in Dungeon. I parsed them all into one file, which you can easily do with the Append feature.

Check your Private Messages, yo.



The error if you wanted to know was ... sorry for the length.

==========

3/2/2011 4:53:22 PM : ERROR:System.Xml.XmlException: 'xp25hp1_amissedattackneverdamagesaminionac13_fort itude12_reflex14_will12speed6initiative_3perceptio n_1low-lightvisiontraitssniperifthegoblinmisseswitharange dattackwhilehiddenitremainshidden_standardactionsm shortsword_weapon_' is an unexpected token. The expected token is '='. Line 40, position 59.



Yeah you get these. Means you either need to reparse (usually doesn't work) or dig into the XML file and edit it. That's not very hard, but you'll need something like NotePad++ or Textpad, both free. You open up the file in question and just do a Find for whatever the error is. In this case "xp25hp1_amissedattackneverdamagesaminionac13_forti tude12_reflex14_will12speed6initiative_3perception _1low-lightvisiontraitssniperifthegoblinmisseswitharange dattackwhilehiddenitremainshidden_standardactionsm shortsword_weapon_" and either delete it or replace it with whatever the parser was expecting or, as I often do, just delete that monster entirely. :D

[EugeneZ]

The jerks at WotC put an export back in tho! k, so; any thoughts on maybe opening the source so enterprising jerkwads such as myself might take a whack at it?

The source has been open for months.

https://svn.eugenez.net/ddi2fg/

There's the SVN repository. It's a Visual C# Express 2010 solution. You can download that for free.

I don't really remember what state it's in, but there's not much code, shouldn't be that tough to piece together. Still, if you've got questions, feel free to IM me... eugene0506 on AIM, eugene.zar on Skype, eugene.zar at gmail dot com on Gmail chat.

I definitely want to work on this and leverage the import/export/server functionality to basically make it really simple to work with FG2's character database. Importing from the WotC tool would be a plus, but unlike some people, when I disagree with a company's choices, I do the only thing that they listen to. Hence I no longer have a DDI subscription... still, with everything else I listed done, the import would be quite trivial with a few sample files that I'm sure people can send me if I asked for them. But the problem I ran into with the initial version was I was trying to be "clever" when doing the conversion and it's just not a 1-step process. There needs to be a code structure for keeping track of the information. And that structure needs to be readable and writeable to the FG2 database. Once that's done, the import code would just be a matter of reading the file and moving the data to the structure.

[EugeneZ]

So, good news. The new CB exports in the same format as the old one! This is definitely a huge boost to my confidence and I plan on working on this tool in the near future.

[guver]

Hi guys,

I was planning on running a 4E campaign using FG.
My group is all suscribed to DDI and we use Character Builder extensively... we can't even live without it... and we found the converter to be a bit buggy lately... with more and more things added every day.
I see you guys are resuming work on this converter and I was wondering if there is a newer build besides the one that was posted a long long time ago in FourUglyMonsters.

Thank you all for the great work and support you give to gamers like us who don't have the guts to make a piece of software like this one. :D

Regards,
Guver.

[EugeneZ]

The one in this thread is the latest. The FUM one is older.

Still, this one has a lot of bugs, too.

[Nestor]

I found this post after i posted in another thread

https://www.fantasygrounds.com/forums/showthread.php?p=109119#post109119

just some strange issues that i had with the ddi converter

thanks for your time with this project