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kylania
July 10th, 2015, 18:54
I've searched the forums and Google and didn't find anything about this, but is it possible to swap the fields that ability modifiers and ability scores go in, so that the larger field is the modifier (since that's all that matters in 5E) and the actual ability score goes in the little lower bubble?

Here's an example from the official 5E sheets (https://media.wizards.com/downloads/dnd/StarterSet_Charactersv2.pdf):

https://i.imgur.com/3ZiQdiF.jpg

I realize that the larger box is a numeric input field and a dragdrop zone, but perhaps the numeric display could be swapped while retaining the type and drop feature via xml magic or some suchness? :)

Moon Wizard
July 10th, 2015, 19:15
I don't have a good answer, since I think it is a non-trivial issue that is related to current implementation and user experience. I understand where you're going with it, but paper sheets vs. electronic sheets have slightly different considerations.

The bubbles that you see which show the bonus are not editable objects, but are just text widgets in the current interface definition. Also, I have found that it is difficult to build an interface around editable fields for a character sheet which are that small. Too many issues around targeting with the mouse, and user expectations.

As you say, it would need to be some sort of hidden field workaround kind of thing, but people would get confused because the bonus field would then appear to be an "editable" field (since it's the same size/shape). I would be worried about user interface confusion issues. (i.e. character sheet works different than every other field and every other app)

It can be done via an extension for someone who wants to take the time to work through the coding, and really wants it this way.

Cheers,
JPG