STAR TREK 2d20
Page 1 of 23 12311 ... Last
  1. #1
    Minty23185Fresh's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2015
    Location
    Goldstone, CA, USA
    Posts
    1,211
    Blog Entries
    29

    Field Filters for All Libraries


    THIS EXTENSION IS NO LONGER AVAILABLE.

    As of late September 2023 I've not played D&D in over a year now.
    It's doubtful that I will return in the near future.
    Currently I have no interest, nor time, to maintain it.





    ## STOP!! ##
    ## Before downloading and trying to use this extension READ,
    ## UNDERSTAND and be willing to COMPLY with the instructions
    ## and limitations stated in posts #1 - 4 of this thread.
    ## STOP!! ##


    • This extension provides enhanced options for filtering which records appear in the Library record list.
    • The intended user is the Game/Dungeon Master, though the players are not restricted from using it.
    • The optimal use of this extension is for game design and prep, though game play may be slightly enhanced.


    The following posts to this thread contain additional information that you agree to peruse:
    #2 - What it does, how and why. Plus restrictions and licensing.. (revised May 3, 2021)
    #3 - Versioning information and index to enhancement details.
    #4 - Known issues. Work under construction. Acknowledged enhancements. And what ever else.

    FGU users can subscribe for automatic updates in the Forge (here).

    This extension is not available for FGC.
    Last edited by Minty23185Fresh; September 27th, 2023 at 14:24. Reason: release v0.4.3, Forge subscriptions
    Current Projects:
    Always...
    Community Contributions:
    Extensions: Bardic Inspiration, Druid Wild Shapes, Local Dice Tower, Library Field Filters
    Tutorial Blog Series: "A Neophyte Tackles (coding) the FG Extension".

  2. #2
    Minty23185Fresh's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2015
    Location
    Goldstone, CA, USA
    Posts
    1,211
    Blog Entries
    29

    What the Field Filters for All Libraries Does

    Extension History:
    This extension has been around for a while now. It has seen some major enhancements since its original inception: which was a tool to help me add more consistent field data to the Psionic Powers I was adding to the Mystics module (Spell Library Filters). Once I recognized the utility of having filters for all fields in every recordset library, this extension came to fruition.

    Extension Necessity:
    Fantasy Grounds has copious amounts of data available to its users. Lists of NPCs, Spells, Weapons, Armor and other Adventuring Gear. Trying to sift through the records, looking for an item that matches specific criteria can be daunting, even if you're just looking through a single book. Compound that with multiple books (modules) at your disposal and it may seem impossible. This extension, the Field Filters for All Libraries (FFAL), can help you locate records that meet specific criteria, by filtering the data. Examples: (in the books that I have) show me all the NPCs that have a CR of 3 and that can fly. Or show me all the Spells that have a conical area of effect.

    Extension Use:
    There are two types of Filters: Drop-down Combo Boxes and Text Search Filters. Most fields in the Recordset have specific data types and or specific data values, for instance an NPCs ability scores are always numeric. In the typical 5E setting, per Wizards of the Coast, there are specifically stated player character Skills. These kinds of fields employ the Drop-down Combo Box type filter. Open narrative data, like Story entries or Spell descriptions use the Text Search Filter control. The user can enter any text value they wish into a Text Search Filter (it is not case sensitive) but can only choose from a list of possible values for the Combo Box Filters. The user cannot change which filter is assigned to which field. The filter employed by FFAL is determined by the field type (numeric, boolean, specific text values, or open text fields) as specified in the underlying database.

    The functionality that FFAL provides has grown over the years. There are various options that can be set to affect how and which filters are displayed as well as how filters behave. Information about the options that are available as of May 3, 2021 are indexed through the screenshot below. References to additional information are shown as blue annotations with the number in parentheses being the post number(s) that provide additional details. For instance post #62 of this thread provides additional information about the Advanced Mode's Equality Operators.
    Untitled.png

    Extension Interactions:
    Many new users of Fantasy Grounds see the huge variety of community developed extensions available to them and they load 'em up. "What could be better than all this additional functionality?" The answer might be none of it! But certainly, less of it. If you are not actively using an extension's functionality, don't load it. Community developers work in a bit of a vacuum. I don't pay attention to what's out there, unless I want or need it. Because the more extensions I have loaded the greater the chances are that those extensions might adversely interact with one another - giving errant results, undesired behaviors or crashing. I make sure my extensions work with the rest of my extensions and with those that I use from other community developers. But not every other extension out there.

    This extension, though uncomplicated, wholesale replaces some CoreRPG ruleset code thereby increasing the possibility of conflicts. Especially with other extensions that change the default functionality of the Recordset Library dialogs.

    If you have problems with this extension, it is your responsibility to determine if the fault is extension conflicts. The first thing I will ask you is: "Do you use any other extensions?" If so, "Have you unloaded all the other extensions? Do you still have a problem?" So you might as well figure it out beforehand. If you don't know how to go about it, take a look at post #18 of this thread.

    Extension Copyright:
    This extension is copywritten by me, in its entirety. The copyright does not prevent you from modifying it for your own use. But you may not share nor publish the modified extension with anyone as long as it has any of my copywritten code in it.
    Last edited by Minty23185Fresh; May 3rd, 2021 at 23:41. Reason: rewritten, added Intended Scope section

  3. #3
    Minty23185Fresh's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2015
    Location
    Goldstone, CA, USA
    Posts
    1,211
    Blog Entries
    29

    Versioning Information

    Versions:
    Feb 25, 2023 v0.4.8 patches an issue caused by CoreRPG ruleset changes.
    Aug 01, 2022 v0.4.7 ruleset changes caused ext to fail. (see post #197)
    May 24, 2022 v0.4.6 ruleset changes (the "Unidentified" fields) required a patch
    Apr 21, 2022 v0.4.5 minor extension.xml changes for better Forge support
    Apr 21, 2022 v0.4.4 discontinued support for FGC
    Jan 05, 2022 v0.4.3 Ruleset changes to CoreRPG (FG Unity) required rework.
    May 02, 2021 v0.4.2 Ruleset changes to CoreRPG required a patch
    Mar 06, 2021 v0.4.1 Ruleset changes to CoreRPG required a patch
    Feb 22, 2021 v0.4.0 Enhanced internal troubleshooting routines (see post #177)
    Feb 05, 2019 v0.3.3 Enhancements, Case Sensitivity, All Fields
    Feb 17, 2018 v0.3.2 Equality Operators and Logical Operators in Advanced Mode.
    Feb 06, 2018 v0.3.1 Quick fix for FG v3.3.4 compatibility.
    Feb 03, 2018 v0.3.0 Interform resize and Advanced Mode.
    Dec 11, 2017 v0.2.1 scrollable list when more than five field filters
    Nov 16, 2017 v0.2.0 specific support added for CoreRPG, 3.5E and PathFinder & bug fix
    Nov 12, 2017 v0.1.2 support for NPCs and Notes library dialogs
    Nov 07, 2017 v0.1.1 fixes issue as reported in post #12 of the thread
    Nov 05, 2017 v0.1.0 Initial release (high version number because this extension is a major revision of SLAFS).

    Enhancement Index:
    As enhancements were made to FFAL, I posted details of each enhancement and how to use it in the latest post to this thread. Each of those posts have important information but sifting through the more than 150 posts in this thread to glean those details is daunting. Here is an index:
    • Record List vs Filter List Rescaling (post #47)
    • Advanced Filter Mode and the Filter Context Menu (posts #49-52)
    • Equality Operators in Advanced Filters (post #60)
    • Logical Operators in Advanced Filters (post #61)
    • Special Handling of the "Identified" Field (post #92)
    • Text Case Sensitivity Options for Filter Values(post #93)
    Last edited by Minty23185Fresh; February 26th, 2023 at 18:03. Reason: version 0.4.8

  4. #4
    Minty23185Fresh's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2015
    Location
    Goldstone, CA, USA
    Posts
    1,211
    Blog Entries
    29

    Problems, Fixes and Enhancements

    As of the latest release (see post #3):

    No known bugs.

    No planned enhancements.
    Last edited by Minty23185Fresh; February 26th, 2023 at 16:43. Reason: release of v0.4.8

  5. #5
    viviolay's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2016
    Posts
    161
    This is amazing. I just tried using FG a few days ago believing the functionality was native to the program and was surprised it wasn't. Thank you so much!

  6. #6
    The reason why I didn't add all fields for filtering was because I originally had some issues with adding every field for filtering. Specifically, performance issues (with lots of module data loaded, i.e. 5K+ records of each type) and UI issues (filters took up more room than list, and forced window to be larger than I wanted). So, I picked the most likely fields that people would be searching on for each record type. Some of those performance issues may be less than they were originally, since the campaign lists have matured a bit. It sounds like Minty is working through the UI issues and finding solutions. It will be great to see what he comes up with.

    Regards,
    JPG

  7. #7

    Join Date
    Apr 2008
    Location
    Virginia Beach
    Posts
    3,096
    Hopefully, this will be a candidate to incorporate in a future update without the extension, but nice work nevertheless!

  8. #8
    Minty23185Fresh's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2015
    Location
    Goldstone, CA, USA
    Posts
    1,211
    Blog Entries
    29
    This morning while I was adding support for filtering fields in Tables, it dawned on me that I am doing this all brut force instead of allowing software to do the work for me (and the user). I need to implement "Smart Filters". When I brut force it, I create a new item, in this case a new Table, then go and look at the db.xml file and create filters for each of the fields. I decide whether to use combobox or text-search-box based on the type and contents of the field. If there are links and the like I have to decide whether or not to create filters for the "sub contents".

    All this info is available to the software. With Smart Filters, the user could put the form into edit mode and create their own filters, they'd choose a field to filter, and some parameters (combo vs text), maybe specialized sorts routines, etc.

    A user is only going to filter one, maybe two, but at the outside three fields at any one time. This methodology relieves me of the real estate issue (trying to fit a large number of filters on the form) and trying to determine which fields to ignore when setting up "All" of the hardcoded custom filters. It might also help with cross ruleset compatibility.

  9. #9

    Join Date
    Apr 2008
    Location
    Virginia Beach
    Posts
    3,096
    Difficult to follow what you are proposing, Minty. Drop downs are what people will expect and since they are not taking up real estate unless dropped, I am not sure what the real estate concern is.

  10. #10
    Erin Righ's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2016
    Location
    Vernon, BC, Canada
    Posts
    396
    Love to see this for Pathfinder, maybe someone with more skills than me could take this up?

Thread Information

Users Browsing this Thread

There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)

Tags for this Thread

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •  
5E Product Walkthrough Playlist

Log in

Log in