Adding to the Library?

[Random]

Ok, this may be an often answered question, but after three days of reading XML gibberish and crashing FGII on multiple occasions, I'm gonna ask for a change :P

All I want to do is add a book, much like the Default D20 Books to the interface. It's just some simple things I'd like to add for specific class changes to my particular game. Is there any easy way to do this or will an entire custom rules set have to be built?

[Hamish]

No ruleset needed. Each book is a module, located in your Fantasy Grounds II\modules folder. These modules are actually 3 zipped files, you can just open them using WinZip or something similar.
Once you've unzipped one of the default books, take a look at client.xml, it contains all the data in the book. The definition.xml is mainly used to specify the name of the ruleset this book is intended to work with. The thumbnail.png is the icon that will be shown in the Library.
You will only see books in your Module Activation screen that have this attribute set to match the foldername of you current ruleset. If you're not using a custom ruleset, just leave it set to d20.

Hope this helps....

[Griogre]

The thing that can be confusing about modules is there are two broad types: adventure modules and rule book modules. You want to add a rule book module.

Rule book modules come in three types: Player (client.xml), Common (common.xml) and DM only (db.xml). Who you want to see the information and whether you want it on the players computer determines the type as well as are you a player or GM. You probably want client or common.

You can use the basic rule book modules that come with FG to see how to make rule modules. If you go to he module folder in FG's data folder you will see some .mod files. Copy the d20Basicrules.mod to your desktop. You need to unzip this file and depending on what you use to unzip things it may or may not be able to unzip d20Basicrules.mod. If it can't unzip the file change the .mod to .zip in the file name and then unzip it. You will find 3 files inside. Ones a thumbnail of the the icon that appears in the library and module selection screen, ones a small xml definition file and finally the other is the client.xml file.

You are going to want to change the information inside of definition.xml to have the name of whatever you are going to want to call your new module and you are going to put your new info into the client.xml file. I would first go through the existing file and delete everything but one of each category. They copy and paste that one you save as a template and edit in your new information.

When you get everything in you want zip the files back up, change the .zip to .mod if you had to change the extension to get it to unzip and drop it in the FG Module folder and see if it works. If it does then go back in and delete all the stuff you kept as a template.

[grider]

I, too, am getting ready to start building my modules and I can't even find a "modules" folder.

Then, I finally found it at:
C:\Documents and Settings\insertYourUsernameHere\Application Data\Fantasy Grounds II\modules

Then, I noticed a link conveniently located the the FGII Start Menu Group. Boy, I need some sleep! :P

[Methos]

Need some help....

I created my client file and zipped client, definition, and the pic into a .mod file and placed it in the modules folder, but it isn't showing up in my library. I tried both creating/viewing local characters and hosting a game, yet it still doesn't show up. Any thoughts or need for further info to better understand my problem?

[Xorn]

View the client.xml in a web browser and see it if hollers at you for a broken tag group.

[Methos]

It would appear my problem is my lack of knowledge of the client file. Anyone know of any good tutorials or references regarding it? Or regarding creating a rules book module?

[Griogre]

There aren't any. XML is human readable so your best bet is to use one of the default d20 mods as an example to learn from. You need to build your rule module with the same structure.

If you do not see the module in your library, check two things: Your definition name has to match *exactly* with the name of your client and you have to have the module matched with the ruleset you are trying to display it in.

If you want - post the contents of the definition file so we can see it - it's like three lines and the first six lines of the your client file. Tell us the name of your ruleset too.

The odds are pretty high you have a typo there or the wrong ruleset associated with the module.

Like Xorn said your browser (or any good editor with XML) will help you find any bad element or attributes in the client file.

[Phystus]

Random, you picked a good time to ask that question, I'm trying to do the very same. :D

I'd like to put together a summary of house rules, the local pantheon of gods, and a map of the kingdom that my players could reference. It sounds like the house rules and pantheon should be possible, using the d20 basic rules as a model. But what about the map? I'd like to have a map that the players could look at whenever they wanted. How do I do that?

Thanks!

~P

[Griogre]

The default d20 modules do not have any examples of images in a library book. They are not difficult to add though.

Conceptually you use a link to the image that is very similar to the link to an image in an adventure module. The difference between an adventure module and a library book is you need to explicitly path to where your image is because there is no default folder location for images like there is in a campaign.

Here’s some sample XML pulled from an adventure module:


Ripped from the Encounter section of an adventure module:

<id-00005>
<name type="string">SK1 00 Shadowfell Keep L1</name>
<text type="formattedtext">
<linklist>
<link class="imagewindow" recordname="image.id-00002"> </link>
</linklist>
</text>
</id-00005>

The important XML is in red - it is a link that pops an image window.

You now need to define where the graphic is for the image:



Code ripped from the image section of an adventure module:
<id-00002>
<image type="image">
<bitmap>images/Gilded Lady.png</bitmap>
</image>
<name type="string">Gilded Lady</name>
</id-00002>



So you can see there are two stages: 1) the link that pops the window and 2) the record that tells the window what image to pop and where it is. The link goes inside any formattedtext you could cut and paste the red into it though the call to id-00002 is a lame name because you can't tell what you are calling (done this way because FG is auto generating the XML).

id-0002 holds the information on where the image is and it's name (note this stuff is *all* case sensitive. The pathing assumes you are starting in the module so if all you do have is one map you could just leave it in the folder you make the book from. If you have more than one map though you should make a folder (call it images to match the example) with the name of the map.

I'm not sure if that was not enough info or too much. Let me know if you have any questions.

Edit: Typos :p

[Phystus]

Thanks Grigore!

Hopefully I'll play with that soon, I'm still trying to solve issues with the text portions... :confused:

I created a simple thumbnail.png for the module. The thumbnail shows up just fine in the module activation window, but doesn't show up on the library list. The book title shows up on the library list, and if you click on it, everything works fine otherwise.

Any ideas?

~P

[Griogre]

Make sure the name element in the db.xml matches the name element in the definition *exactly* - case counts too. If that looks good then you may not have built the library element correctly. XML is freeform but FG expects certain things of it's inputs. It expects something like this:


<?xml version="1.0" encoding="iso-8859-1"?>
<root version="2.0">
<library>
<WhatEverYouWant>
<name type="string">ShouldMatchDefinitionNameExactly</name>
<categoryname type="string">LibraryPaneHeader</categoryname>
<entries>
....Lots of stuff
</entries>
</WhatEverYouWant>
</library>
... Non Library link data
</root>

[Phystus]

Griogre, thanks again! That was exactly the problem.

~P

[Phystus]

So now back to adding a map...

I think I understood most of what you were saying, but I do have one question: do I zip up the map along with common.xml, definition.xml and thumbnail.png to make the module?

Thanks for your patience with the newbie!

~P

[Griogre]

You could do it that way. I would make a folder in there to hold the images if you have more than one map though. Where ever you put it, the path has to match where it is. In the example on the other page the GildedLady.png would have been in an images folder that was zipped up with the common.xml, definition.xml and thumbnail.

Watch the uncompressed size of images in the common modules because that is what is transfered so over to the players when they connect so try to keep images small and in as low a bit depth as possible - you don't really want to be shoving out megs of data five or six guys the first time they connect.

Sepia is really helpful for some styles of maps because it is a "colorful" greyscale that looks like parchment and looks good in 4 bits.

[Phystus]

Thanks for the clarification. Yeah, file size could be the real bugbear here. Thanks for the sepia comment, it might make a good choice. I'm (re)starting an old-school sort of campaign for an old-school group (and an old-school DM, I suppose :o ) so simple, not-so-"artistic" maps will fit in fine. :D

~P

[Phystus]

After a bunch of trial and error, I finally figured out where to put the <images> section (between </library> and </root>), I got it to actually display the map. Before that it would open the correct type of window, but wouldn't show the map.

So I had my wife connect up. She could open the link to the map in the library but couldn't see the map. The window opens but it remains blank. She's on the same LAN as I am so the problem shouldn't be connection speed, especially since the file is only 225K.

Any ideas?

~P

[Griogre]

I would guess the name of your main library xml file is db.xml. Right now the link leads back over to the host computer and she can’t open it.

You need to make a choice on who holds the information. You can either make a module where everyone needs a copy of the module – like the d20 Spells module. This has the advantage that everything is local so it loads fast and you are not as worried about file size but you do have to distribute the module ahead of time and for it to work right *everyone* has to have the same version.

However, I assumed you were making a module that stays on the host computer and is transferred when they connect. To do that - just rename your db.xml file to common.xml file. :)

Sorry it didn’t occur to me that you might have problems locating the image section.

[Karazax]

edit: never mind.

[Phystus]

Actually, it already is common.db.

And the weird thing is, the rest of the data shows up just fine on her session. And the link to the map shows too. It even opens the image window, but the image never shows up. Could there be some sort of permission parameter I need on the image statement or something?

Thanks!

~P

[Griogre]

Ah, I misunderstood you. If the image frame pops with no image in it's almost always a pathing problem to the image. What that is telling you is it can't find the image.

[Phystus]

I did some searching about on the forum yesterday and found some threads where people had posted their 'house rules' reference mods. I downloaded a couple and saw that they had coded their images just like I did. The only difference was that both the ones I downloaded were client modules, not common.

I saved mine as client, but with no other changes, put a copy on my wife's laptop via sneakernet, and it worked.

So apparently images in reference modules won't download from the host?

In any case, this does give me a bit more flexibility on file size. :D

Thanks for the help!

~P

[Griogre]

Referance images can be downloaded from the host. Most Savage World player modules use the arrangement.

[Phystus]

Well, I basically copied what you had so kindly posted earlier. Here's the code.



</text>
</id-00004>
<id-00005>
<name type="string">Map of Plynar</name>
<librarylink type="windowreference">
<class>imagewindow</class>
<recordname>image.id-00002</recordname>
</librarylink>
</id-00005>
</entries>
</Plynarinfo>
</library>
<image>
<id-00002>
<image type="image">
<bitmap>images/plynarmap2.jpg</bitmap>
</image>
</id-00002>
</image>
</root>


As a common module the image displayed on my (GM) system, but not hers (player). As a client module it works on both. The map is in the images subfolder in the .mod file, and the filename is correct, including case.

I'm still curious what the deal is, but it does work OK as a client module, so at least the immediate problem is solved. Thanks for all your help with this!

~P

[Griogre]

The xml looks right. When you made the common module, you did include the image folder with the map inside the library module when you zipped up the module? IE you should have zipped up common.xml, definition.xml, thumbnail.png and images folder to make the library module.

I didn't realize you were going to use a library link the call to pop the image. I would suggest you add @Name of Module after all top level library link calls (doesn't have any effect on your problem though). There might be some benefits to you by doing this down the line if you do a second module and you start doing module cross linking.

As a general rule client modules are better for static data you are not going to change and don't mind having on the client. Common modules are better when you expect the data to change and don't want your clients to worry about updates or you don't want the module on the client.

Edit: For future referance (since the thread was resurrected) the xml above has a problem in the <id-0002> area it should read (the red text was missing):



<image>
<id-00002>
<image type="image">
<bitmap>images/plynarmap2.jpg</bitmap>
</image>
<name type="string">Plynar Map</name>
</id-00002>
</image>

[Phystus]

Yep, I did all that. About 30 times now.:(

As in <recordname>image.id-00002@Plyar Information</recordname> ?

I'll give it a shot, what the heck.

I had been a bit torn between client and common, I suspect I'm not done deliniating house rules yet, I'm restarting an old AD&D campaign under 3.5 rules so there's lots of 'adjustments' to make. That was my motivation to go common. On the other hand, I can put in a nicer map with a client module without worrying about transfer problems. At least my players are a pretty computer savvy crowd, they won't have any problems installing it.

Thanks for your help with this, I really appreciate it.

~P

[Foen]

As in <recordname>image.id-00002@Plyar Information</recordname>

Shouldn't that read Plynar Information?

Foen

[Phystus]

Yep! :o Good catch!

Luckily that wasn't a cut and paste from my code....

~P

[Cirra]

Hi there. Thanks for this thread. It opened up a whole new world for me.

I am wondering, though. Once you are done with the xml files, are you supposed to zip them back up? If so, are you supposed to change the file extension once you zip them?

[Tenian]

Yes just zip the files and rename them to be .mod

Place them in the correct directory and FGII should detect them when you start.

[Cirra]

All right, as a test, all I did was change the name to what I am going to call it. I did the same in the definition file. I zipped both, changed the extension and placed the new mod into the modules folder.

For some reason, though, when I begin the game, the new mod doesn't show up nor do any of the others, which I kept in there. What am I doing wrong?

Edit: OK, I figured out that when ever I use a different ruleset than the d20, that nothing shows up in the library. I copied the d20 ruleset into a different folder and called it Test Rules. I made no changes to the files. And still, it didn't come up. Am I missing a step?

[Tenian]

There's a line in the definition.xml file that lists the ruleset the module is applied to. If you've changed the name you'll need to modify this to match.

[Cirra]

I did this and still no library. Why aren't any of the rulesets except the original working? I did everything step by step how it said. Heck, I even created a new ruleset called Test Rules, but nothing shows up in the library...not even the original books.

Edit: OK...I have a ruleset folder located in my application data Fantasy Grounds II folder. I copied the entire ruleset from the example folder for the d20 ruleset. This is a list of every file in that ruleset folder:
fonts folder, frames folder, icons folder, scripts folder, tokens folder...

xml files: adventure_images, adventure_items, adventure_npcs, adventure_story, base, bmpfonts, charsheet, charsheet_abilities, charsheet_combat, charsheet_inventory, charsheet_main, charsheet_minisheets, charsheet_notes, charsheet_skills, charsheet_spells, charsheet_templates, charsheet_toplevel, common_templates, desktop, desktop_classes, desktop_local, desktop_panels, desktop_templates, gameelements, graphics, graphics_frames, graphics_portraitsets, graphics_radial, library, reference, reference_basicclasses, reference_spells, utility, utility_combattracker, utility_export, utility_notes

Is there anything else that should be in this ruleset folder?

[joshuha]

Haven't read through the whole thread but have you placed this in the base.xml of your new ruleset (to get the d20 ones to show)?

<importinfo>
<acceptfrom ruleset="d20" />
</importinfo>

[Cirra]

Haven't read through the whole thread but have you placed this in the base.xml of your new ruleset (to get the d20 ones to show)?

<importinfo>
<acceptfrom ruleset="d20" />
</importinfo>


I love you! :D

Thanks!

That did it!

[Cats]

I seem to be having the same issue the previous poster posted. I am trying to get a library module working... and just like the previous poster I am not seeing anything in libraries anymore. I am doing it for the 4e rule set... It is just basically some house rules that differ from standard 4e when we play. I am trying to do this for my husband, who happens to be a software engineer who is very very helpful and forgiving... but now and then it is nice to accomplish something on the computer and surprise him WITHOUT having to beg him for help... so please help? Just tell me what you need to know and I can give you more information.

It was a client xml. I stuck 4e_JPG in the definition file. I TRIED to get the thing to work from the base.xml file, that was suggested above, but I am not sure I stuck that in the right place... and honestly I am at the point of head spinning because of anxiety from being foolish... At least I know I am not the first one who was this lost.

[Tenian]

Check the following:

1) Is the client.xml file you have, valid XML. Firefox or IE should be able to check it.

2) When you create the mod file, make sure the XML files are at the root level, not within a folder

3) Have you checked the module activation window and confirmed the module is available and activated?

4) If the module is available, activated, and has valid XML, confirm that it has a <library></library> structure within the client.xml

[Foen]

Hi Cats and welcome to the forums, I hope you find us all helpful and friendly.

If you need a bit more explanation about Tenian's suggestions then please just shout and we'll try to provide a bit more detail. You could also post snippets of the xml here (best not to post the whole module ;)) and we can also take a look for anything obvious.

All the best

Foen

[Cats]

"1) Is the client.xml file you have, valid XML. Firefox or IE should be able to check it."

Yes, valid xml. I am a graphic artist with a million programmers for friends... I started by making sure it was valid, because that one would have been an easy thing to figure out... and they would have teased me to death for not checking. I have done a lot of web design, and I think programmers get a kick out of torturing graphic artists when we piddle in their realm. (Cringes down ready to be thwapped by angry programmers... after once again rolling a 1 on initiative...)


2) When you create the mod file, make sure the XML files are at the root level, not within a folder
Yeah, I checked that... although I had done that yesterday... I fixed it before posting here and had checked it again...

3) Have you checked the module activation window and confirmed the module is available and activated?

It is not available and activated.... this is the step I am bombing in. Is this where base.xml comes into play? If so help! If not Help!

4) If the module is available, activated, and has valid XML, confirm that it has a <library></library> structure within the client.xml
And yes on <library> I just took the original file, copied it and took it's structure, and continued on with it so that when I screwed up I knew it was not from my xml. I just did a ton of <li> for races... I figured if that worked then I would go back and structure in a decent and pretty way once I had the basics down... which I obviously am still struggling with.

[Tenian]

Okay:

1) Is your module in the modules folder? I'm assuming it is but it can't hurt to ask.

2) Is your module file named [something].mod
Make sure it is not [something].mod.zip or something similar. You probably want to disable the "Hide extensions for known file types" option of your folder view

3) Was your module file created as a ZIP file. You can't use a rar file. The basic right click->send to->Compressed (zipped) Folder of windows makes a usable zip file.

4) If your module is in the right place, is named .mod and is a zip file, then it's likely the issue is a mismatch between the ruleset you are using and the definition.xml file within the module. Can you post the definition.xml file from your module and the exact name of the ruleset you are using. The ruleset name should be visible from the FGII create a new campaign screen (there's a section to select a ruleset).

Note if your module is not showing in FGII and you make one of the changes above, you may have to exit FGII and restart it for it to detect the changes. I've never had any luck with FGII detecting new modules while it's running.

[Cats]

1) Is your module in the modules folder? I'm assuming it is but it can't hurt to ask.

Yeah... It will end up being something that stupid though.


2) Is your module file named [something].mod
Make sure it is not [something].mod.zip or something similar. You probably want to disable the "Hide extensions for known file types" option of your folder view

Yes, I hate Vista because you have to dig to find how to change it so you can see extensions... but I did that part properly.


3) Was your module file created as a ZIP file. You can't use a rar file. The basic right click->send to->Compressed (zipped) Folder of windows makes a usable zip file.
Yes, I used windows and compressed.

4) If your module is in the right place, is named .mod and is a zip file, then it's likely the issue is a mismatch between the ruleset you are using and the definition.xml file within the module. Can you post the definition.xml file from your module and the exact name of the ruleset you are using. The ruleset name should be visible from the FGII create a new campaign screen (there's a section to select a ruleset).

I am using the 4E_JPG ruleset... But none of my libraries are showing up anywhere anymore, no matter the ruleset. I will just have to back up my data and reinstall if that is the case.
And I have been restarting. I think I am just a bit braindead and not a programmer... however, I will be an asset to the community once I can get my head around the basics...

Okay posting the things I have...


<?xml version="1.0" encoding="iso-8859-1" ?>
- <root version="2.0">
<name>Erda Essentials</name>
<author>Paul and Cat Schirf</author>
<ruleset>4E_JPG</ruleset>
</root>

And now I have given away my anonymity... I never was much of one for it anyhow... but now I actually have to claim my husband... :p

And here is a snippet from the client. I used visual studio because I am lazy and so I know I closed everything and it validated in firefox and ie just fine... what is odd is the base.xml in the ruleset does not validate... maybe I have to replace that... maybe I broke it... GRRRR....

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="iso-8859-1"?>
<root version="2.0">
<library>
<Erda static="true">
<name type="string">Erda Essentials</name>
<categoryname type="string">Erda Essentials</categoryname>
<entries>
<races>

[Tenian]

Unless you've made changes to it, prior to trying to get a module to work, I recommend replacing the base.xml of the ruleset with the version from the 4E_JPG zip file.

Your ruleset is installed in the 4E_JPG folder under rulesets correct? If you named the folder something different, this becomes the ruleset name.

[Cats]

After a full reinstall I got it working... Thank you so much.

[Foen]

Sorry you had to do a full reinstall, but I'm glad you got it working.

Foen

[Tenian]

I take credit for all successes...and blame Foen for all failures!

[Foen]

Naturally: I'm the route of your downfall and am happy to encompass your doom ;)

Stuart

[ZiggZagg]

Ok, I am having the exact same issue as above, but I have not changed rulesets. I am just trying to use the original d20 ruleset that comes with the program. I am just trying to get it to work for right now, so all I did was copy the d20basicrules.mod file to my desktop. I changed to .zip, unzipped, changed the name in the client and definition file to "d20 test module", zipped back up as zip file using WinRAR, changed extension back to .mod, and placed it in the modules folder at the base of the data folder. But the module is not showing up at all in create/view local characters, or when I try to host a campaign. I know I have to be missing something basic, but I can't find what it is.

Edit: Ok, got it to show up in the module window, but I can't get it to activate over into the Library Window.

Edit: Nevermind. I finally figured it out. This thread helped a lot, I just had to read over another 632 times to make sure I got everything. Thanks for the help to all who contributed

[Thyfur]

I figured I would put this up here, as an example of what I have done to my own custom ruleset. This is just the beginning of make a .mod and having show up correctly with all the links intact. This is what I got from these post, plus a little tinkering on my own.

First make a copy of the files you are about to modify, 1. if you screw up, you have the back up, 2. if it is going to be a new mod file then you have to do this anyways. In my example I am modifying d20basicrules.mod. Change the folder rules to show file extensions. Rename d20basicrules - copy.mod to yourrules.zip, in this case I called my GWcore.zip. (For my Gamma World campaign). Open the definition.xml file, I use Notepad++. The code looks like this.


<root>
<name>d20 Basic Rules</name>
<author>Fantasy Grounds d20 Essentials</author>
<ruleset>d20</ruleset>
</root>

Now it looks like this:

<root>
<name>GW Core</name>
<author>Fantasy Grounds d20 Essentials, modified by me</author>
<ruleset>GW</ruleset>
</root>

the <name> tag is for the name of the module that shows in the library, and the <ruleset> tag is for the ruleset that the module works with by default.

Next post I will put in the changes needed for client.xml.

[Thyfur]

After saving your file, open up the client.xml file. First thing you want to change is this:

<d20basicrules static="true">
<name type="string">d20 Basic Rules</name>


into this:

<d20basicrules static="true">
<name type="string">GW Core</name>

but now you need to make several changes for the links to work correctly once you open it in the library. The coding will look like this:

<appraise>
<listlink type="windowreference">
<class>referenceskill</class>
<recordname>reference.skills.appraise@d20 Basic Rules</recordname>
</listlink>
<name type="string">Appraise</name>
</appraise>

The code you need to change is @d20 Basic Rules to @GW Core (or whatever you module name is). There can be an easy 1000 entries for this alone, so use CRTL+F and do a find and replace. Now it should look like this:

<recordname>reference.skills.appraise@GW Core</recordname>


If you miss the @module name codes, links will be broken. I figured this just help those that have been reading this post over and over to get the meaning out of it, and to jump start their custom modules or ruleset. And good luck to the tedious endeavor! :pirate:

[Thyfur]

Sorry last thing, and very important, but for those that are sleep deprived, you might missed it.

Save your client.xml file, close the .zip file, rename it to GWcore.mod (yourmodulename.mod) and launch Fantasy Grounds to test it. :p

[Foen]

Actually, I think they go in the 'modules' folder, not the ruleset one. PS It's 8:50am here ;)

[Thyfur]

You caught me, before I made the edit. :D

[gurugnu]

Ahh, keep files at root level. Thank you