A Campaign Story entry dragged (a 'short cut') to a Module Map is not saved correctly

[swest]

I brought this up in this post (https://www.fantasygrounds.com/forums/showthread.php?23903-Anyone-else-experiencing-scrogged-Shortcuts-%28pushpins%29)in the 3.5e/Pathfinder forum. Now that I know how to reproduce it, I thought that I would post a more succinct problem statement here, so that it might get some attention (although Moon Wizard has seen it, so it may already be getting all the attention it needs :)). Also, this problem is not likely limited to PFRPG, but I haven't tried it with others.

Executive Summary:


If, during a campaign, you create Story entries on the fly and then drag them to a map that comes from a module that you have loaded, and for which you have enabled Shortcuts, those Story entries will create usable push pins. However, when Fantasy Grounds is closed and restarted in the same campaign, those push pins will no longer point to the correct Story entries.

Steps to recreate the problem:



Create PFRPG campaign 'test'.
Click Library Banner, and open Module "Well Met in Kith'takaros".
Click Story Banner, and the first, default (?) Category, which is blank.
Create new Story entries, titled 'Test 1', and 'Test 2'.
Click Images & Maps Banner, and select category "Well Met in Kith'takaros Graphics".
Click "Floor Plan: GM Blood Temple".
Enable Shortcuts on "GM: Blood Temple".
Drag Story entries 'Test 1' and 'Test 2' to "GM: Blood Temple", creating 2 push pins.
Click on Story category, "Well Met in Kith'takaros Main".
Drag Story entry '1. READ FIRST: About White Haired Man Adventures' to "GM: Blood Temple", creating a 3rd push pin.
Hover over push pins to make sure they are accurate.
Exit FG back to the Launcher.
Reload 'test' campaign.
Click Images & Maps Banner, select category "Well Met in Kith'takaros Graphics", click "Floor Plan: GM Blood Temple".
Enable Shortcuts on "GM: Blood Temple", and you will see the three push pins are still there.
Hover over them, one at a time, and the push pin that was 'Test 1' will now read, '1. READ FIRST: About White Haired Man Adventures', the push pin that was 'Test 2' will now read 'Event 1: Dorian Orsova Lays Down the law', and the 3rd push pin will still, correctly, read '1. READ FIRST: About White Haired Man Adventures'.



Thanks for your attention.

- s.west

[Nylanfs]

So what it sounds like it isn't doing is storing the changes to the images correctly in the campaign db and making an attempt to resolve the links.

I wonder if the same thing happens if you drag the map image into your campaign images and then make the pins?

[swest]

Well, I kinda wondered that over in the other thread... I posed the question:


This has made me think about the way I have been 'using' the Module content. Are we supposed to, somehow, drag stuff we want to use from the Module to another location before we use it? In other words, should I make a Campaign copy of the '10a Thistletop-Player' map, and use it, instead of the Module version? Is there even a way to do that? Does this question make sense?

And, yes, I'm wondering how to do that? You can only have one "Images & Maps" window open... how would I move content around with only the one window?

[ ... goes to try ... ]

So, I can drag a map entry to one of the other category tabs... but that doesn't copy it, it moves it.

hmmm.... and there doesn't appear to be any way to "copy'n'paste", instead of drag..

Ideas?

However, even if it could be made to work, this seems to kinda subvert the basic principle (as I understand it) of the way modules are used in a campaign...

Also, while I'm open to any and all suggestions, I would still assume that this is a bug... no?

- s.west

[Nickademus]

I think I know why this is.

When you add the first and second push pin, it creates them in the database with the id of 'id-00001' and 'id-00002'. This is the standard format for the campaign database. When you add the third push pin it adds it as 'id-00003' with a source of 'id-00001@Well Met in Kith'takaros'. The previous push pins don't have a source entry because the default source is the current campaign.

When you close FG it saves changes made to modules in a file named after the module in the moduledb folder in the campaign. It is probably trying to place a source for the first too push pins. When it fails to find one it uses the default source, which at that time is the module in which the file (moduledb/Well Met in Kith'takaros.xml) is referring to, it creates them based on the pins' current id number. So you get three pins with the sources: 'id-00001@Well Met in Kith'takaros', 'id-00002@Well Met in Kith'takaros', and 'id-00001@Well Met in Kith'takaros'.

As you can see, the first two pins now point to the module data instead of the campaign data. This is because there is identifier for the campaign itself since it is not a module loaded into itself. I ran into this problem recently making cross modules.

[Moon Wizard]

Pins across modules should work, but using pins for campaign data will get rewritten on reload of the session. It's on my list to review for the next patch release.

This piece of code is back from the stone ages of Fantasy Grounds before I started working on it, so I need to figure out what they were trying to do here. I think it might have something to do with making link references within modules easier to enter, but I'm just guessing since it's before my time.

Cheers,
JPG