Importing/Exporting Character issues

[Overdog]

I am having issues adding any characters to a map that I export and then import into the Combat Tracker.

Steps:

1. I open up a test campaign and click PCs
2. From the Character Selection window I click Edit List
3. From the character I wish to export I click the Down Blue Arrow/Export Character button and save my character to my desktop as a xml.
4. I then open up a second test campaign and click PCs again
5. From the Character Selection window I click the Edit List again
6. I then select the Blue Up Arrow/Import Character icon at the bottom of the window and navigate to my exported character on my desktop.
7. I then open up the character and add in a portrait. Note: I had one selected before I exported but it disappeared.
8. I then open up the Combat Tracker and drag and drop the imported character to it. I immediately notice that the portrait doesnt appear for the character in the Combat Tracker and I am unable to drag and drop the imported character onto a Map.
9. I then create a new character in the current campaign and add a portrait to and I am able to add it to the Combat Tracker and then to the Map without an issue.

Anyone else have this issue or have a workaround or suggestion to what I may be doing wrong?

Thanks.

[kylania]

7. Portraits are saved per campaign, or centrally. If you want to reuse a portrait across campaigns save it to FGData\portraits then the GM can assign it as needed.
8. It's probably missing a token and is on your map multiple times. :) Set a portrait on it first and token.

[Overdog]

7. Portraits are saved per campaign, or centrally. If you want to reuse a portrait across campaigns save it to FGData\portraits then the GM can assign it as needed.
8. It's probably missing a token and is on your map multiple times. :) Set a portrait on it first and token.

Thanks for the feedback. I did actually set a portrait first on the character before I added it. I can add the token directly to the map from the Character Selector but then it wont be in the Combat Tracker.

[damned]

I was able to reproduce this just now.

Open your newly imported character and if it still doesnt have a Portrait give it one. Then drag the portrait from top left of char sheet to teh top right where the Icon should be. Then you will be able to add you Char properly to CT and Map.

[Overdog]

I was able to reproduce this just now.

Open your newly imported character and if it still doesnt have a Portrait give it one. Then drag the portrait from top left of char sheet to teh top right where the Icon should be. Then you will be able to add you Char properly to CT and Map.

Thanks Damned, that worked. I am surprised this hasnt come up already. I just bought the software yesterday and discovered it. I will add this post to the bug tracking post so it can be fixed.

Note: it seems the command line import character option works fine. You still need to add in the portrait but you dont need to drag it to the upper right corner of the sheet.

[Zacchaeus]

Is this really a bug? From what I can gather you didn't give the original character a token before it was exported and it is this which is causing the problem. When you create a character, although the portrait also defaults to the token in the right hand side you should replace that with a proper token. Then when you export and import all that needs to be done is give the character it's portrait back and it'll work fine.

[Trenloe]

When you create a character, although the portrait also defaults to the token in the right hand side you should replace that with a proper token.
Note - this is purely a matter of taste, I use the portrait as the token on most of my PCs. The "issue" around using the portrait as a token is that FG creates a token from the portrait and stores it only in the campaign where it was populated, so if you then export/import the PC into a new campaign the token isn't populated as it isn't available in the new campaign. Hence the need to re-populate the portrait/token as mentioned above.

[Zacchaeus]

Note - this is purely a matter of taste, I use the portrait as the token on most of my PCs. The "issue" around using the portrait as a token is that FG creates a token from the portrait and stores it only in the campaign where it was populated, so if you then export/import the PC into a new campaign the token isn't populated as it isn't available in the new campaign. Hence the need to re-populate the portrait/token as mentioned above.

Ah, I wasn't aware of this because I thought that a PC always needed a token. And I'd always use a token anyway even if I had know. I withdraw my objection m'lud :)

[Overdog]

I guess its debatable if its a bug but from my perspective (as a software engineer) this is a bug because it produces unexpected behavior. Since you need to always add a token there should be some logic in the application that doesnt allow you to add it to the Combat Tracker without a Token. Which is why I called it a bug.

[Trenloe]

I guess its debatable if its a bug but from my perspective (as a software engineer) this is a bug because it produces unexpected behavior. Since you need to always add a token in addition to the portrait there should be some logic in the application that doesnt allow you to add it to the Combat Tracker without a Token. Which is why I called it a bug.
If you add a PC/NPC to the combat tracker without a token you can then add a token by dragging one to the blank token space on the combat tracker. It's keeping the whole process as flexible as possible - add a token before you add to the combat tracker or add one after you add to the combat tracker, or even change the token once in the combat tracker - your choice. Not a bug in my opinion.

[Overdog]

If you add a PC/NPC to the combat tracker without a token you can then add a token by dragging one to the blank token space on the combat tracker. It's keeping the whole process as flexible as possible - add a token before you add to the combat tracker or add one after you add to the combat tracker, or even change the token once in the combat tracker - your choice. Not a bug in my opinion.

Like I said...its debatable to me but if this was by design by the team then that is another story. I just dont feel it is intuitive or very user friendly so I guess I would slate this as an enhancement request then.

[Trenloe]

Like I said...its debatable to me but if this was by design by the team then that is another story. I just dont feel it is intuitive or very user friendly so I guess I would slate this as an enhancement request then.
So, is your enhancement request that PCs (NPCs as well?) can't be added to the combat tracker without a token? If so, this would break many gaming situations: when a GM wanted to add a PC/NPC to the combat tracker but not to the map, encounters running without a map, etc., etc.. The combat tracker is the heart of most rulesets and can be used for tracking lots of data, with or without the need for a map.

Flexibility is the key functionality here - you don't always *need* a token against a PC/NPC on the combat tracker. Hence adding a PC/NPC to the combat tracker shouldn't be restricted to requiring a token.

Yes, it might be counter intuitive to someone new to Fantasy Grounds - you'll experience this quite a few times as you get to know the software and understand the need for flexible design decisions that need to cover many, many different RPGs and GMing styles. In this specific case, you now know how it works (and there's nothing stopping you using it), you have more information on why it was designed the way it was - to allow flexibility. Hopefully this has helped you understand the need for *not* restricting addition of PC/NPCs to the combat tracker when they don't have a token. :)

[Overdog]

That does make sense and I am new to it so I am sure I will find more issues like this. I really appreciate your feedback and insightful comments.

[damned]

it is a bug in that the behaviour differs for imported characters vs characters created in that campaign.
When you add a portrait to a brand new character it defaults to adding that as the Token also - you can select another token still.
When you import a character and add a portrait it does not automatically apply that portrait to the Token field.

[Overdog]

it is a bug in that the behaviour differs for imported characters vs characters created in that campaign.
When you add a portrait to a brand new character it defaults to adding that as the Token also - you can select another token still.
When you import a character and add a portrait it does not automatically apply that portrait to the Token field.

Well I added it to the bug list anyway. It should also be noted that if use the command line to import the character it works fine.