EQ UI XML help needed

[Verdandi]

I tried posting on EQ Interface and got a bit of help, but not enough. I know we have some clever coding types around here, so hopefully someone can help me.

I'm trying to update my old buff window, which was just perfect. It was horizontal with just a long silver bar across the top for clicking to move or adjust the window. The buffs are in a single row, with the the effect names displayed under them. There's still a screenshot on Remelio's EZBoard.

My plan was to just add the extra 10 buff slots, even though I'm not able to use them yet. I added all the extra pieces, copied the button and label for buff14 ten times and changed the numbers to 15-24 respectively. I also wanted to shrink the buff icons a bit, which caused a lot of trouble while I figured out how decals work.

So, now I've got the numbers all looking like they should work, but this is what it actually looks like in practice:

The buff labels are all shifted one to the right, so that it says "Unfailing Reverence" under the buff to the right of the actual Unfailing Reverence buff icon (buff 2). The right-most buff (buff 1) doesn't have its label anywhere at all. Furthermore, buff 15, Primal Essence, has its label under buffs 14 through buff 25.

I've quadruple checked my code that the right buff numbers are on the right labels in the right locations. So I have no idea what the problem is. I've attached a .txt file of the entire XML.

Anyone?

(I know the text of the label is also getting scrunched in a less than pleasing manner. I will probably increase the size of the icons again a bit to alleviate that, but I'm willing to leave it as-is for now. It's still a huge improvement over no labels at all.)

[Lothay]

Back when I was coding UIs for EQ, I ran into the same issue. Basically, it's not fixable. Your code is good, and in theory, should work. But it doesn't. I never found a solution, and quit trying after a few days.

[Twistagain]

Not sure if this will help or not, but try making your eqtypes for the labels equal to the buff number + 500 (500 for buff0 to 524 for buff 24.) I'll test your window on my machine to see if I can get it to work and will post my result here.

Edit: Of course, as you probably already know, my advice was completely unhelpful. :\ I'll look at it some more and see if I can figure out what's going on, but considering Lothay's statement, I probably won't investigate for an extended time.

Edit #2: I've got it "working" now (can't fully test, myself.) I've just shifted over the labels by 35 (making them where the next icon over is.) I have no clue why this is, but I suspect it has something to do with the fact that I can't get the icons to move over at all, regardless of what I make their location (still figuring that one out). End result is that it works for the first 15 buff slots (0-14)...after that, I can't tell...I don't have the AAs.

I also changed the labels to EQTypes 500-524...you should use those as they are the "new" slot numbers. For now, Sony maintains that 45-59 will still work for slots 0-14, but 15-24 *only* have new labels. It's possible that they would rework the original types for something else, I suppose.

Edit #3: Doh...of course. The icons' locations are hardcoded based on the size of the first buff icon. You can't move them, as far as I can tell.

[Itek]

Prologue - I jokingly refer to charging for my services in this post. I'd never actually -charge- Verdandi for help. It's tongue-in-cheek and meant to emphasize the fact that I would not like to take on such a project. Let there be NO mistake. I'd help if I thought that no one else could more readily handle the project.

I hate XML. I loath EQ's variant still more. I took a quick look at the default file and your file. The default is so utterly devoid of ... *sigh* Your file looks needlessly complicated. Relative position is YOUR FRIEND. Hard coding sizes/positions will ONLY cause you pain. (This is, in fact, the entire PURPOSE of XML.)

Basic coding practice says "off by one error." The spell name for buff 2 appears where spell name one should be and so forth. The probable solution is to change the numbers/place they appear in the code. (e.g. put label above button and try, this should solve the problem, or the problem admits of no simple solution, I bill my time at $50/hour for normal stuff, XML/HTML/WindowsXP/Citrix tasks at quadruple rate.)

As for scaling... evil. It's probably always gonna be a problem with text wraping. (But if you feel it essential keep the current /decal method of changing from 40x40 to 30x30 but change AlignText, or whatever, to left rather than center, centering text-wrap = evil-incarnate.)

But in the final analysis... I think you are making things too hard on yourself.

1) You can resize the existing window to be one buff tall and 25 buffs wide. No problem.

2) You already know how, and have success at, changing the "title" of the window to your desired look.

3) Hover works ... want to know the name / duration of a buff hover the mouse over it. (Working right to left when you hit alt it will look NASTY though.)

3b ) To fix that you could try to make hover point -90 degrees and then flip each displayed character +90 degrees. (Precise method of getting hover, EQ calls it flyby, to do this isn't immediately obvious from the default file or yours, see above about my $200/hr rate for XML goofiness. Someone on EQInterface probably knows how already anyway.)

e.g. If you look at your left hand, palm down, fingers pointed to your right imagine the text displayed "right side up" along the edge of your index finger. Point your hand down. (That's the -90 degrees) Now the text goes from top to bottom, but you need to tilt your head to read it. Turn the letters, each, a quarter turn counter clockwise and the text is now top to bottom right side up. (That's the +90 degrees.)

Room for all buffs, the look you want, the size you pretty much need to use, full functionality and a decent look. (You don't get to see the names of the buffs without holding ALT, but really you probably don't need to see the buff names 100% of the time and now you only obscure the screen when you NEED to.)

Hack. n. A piece of code which results in the desired result.

Hack. v. The art, and to lesser degree science, of writing hacks.

Nasty Hack. adv. phr. A piece of code, generally written quickly and with disregard for consequences, which achieves desired results with limited understanding of how the code language works.

Elegant Hack. adv. phr. The antithesis of a nasty hack.

Crack. v. What all non-true-hackers refer to as 'hacking.' Crackers = criminals. Hackers = code gurus.

[Verdandi]

Twistagain, I'm at work so I can't test it yet, but I can't wait to get home and try. You're right, they're hard-coded to be 1 pixel apart. Hence my sizing and spacing. I don't have the AAs either, but my experience with the old version is that I can push the silver bar so far up that it's essentially invisible up there off the top of my screen, but can still be accessed for the menus. So I won't mind the extra long bar lurking out of sight. And I'm not likely to need the extra buff slots any time remotely soon so I'll worry about whether they'll work when the time comes.

And Itek, I really appreciate the in depth explanation! Problem is I don't know that much about it. I don't fully, or even mostly understand any of it. I'm nasty hacking, I suppose: comparing what's in Cairenn's mod to what's in the default to find the patterns and trying to add the extra slots to Cairenn's mod. I haven't the foggiest idea how to do relative positions, although they do sound better.

That said, I can answer why I want this UI and not to just adapt the default. I've been living without labels since DoN killed my old window (it gave the red XML error after OoW but still worked). I hate it. Being a shaman I have a hard enough time getting in all the slowing, dotting, pet siccing, buffing, cannibalizing, ghetto mezzing (rooting), and backing up the main healer, without having to take time to hover over unidentified buffs (and hope I don't accidentally click them off in the process). Not to mention I'm just plain absentminded. I spent three hours yesterday unaware I had DMF; I didn't realize until I logged Verdandi in again to test this buff window. I need my buff labels.

And I really like the sleek little silver bar, especially since I can push it off into effective invisibility. While using the default UI I've made it partly transparent to be less obtrusive, but it still bugs me. I want the box gone.

I have no affection for decals - quite the opposite - but I don't know how to do away with them. I will try shifting the label text to left align instead of center though. I think I saw something about that in that not-especially-helpful AboutSIDL document.

I REALLY appreciate the explanations, I do! I just don't know how to implement those that I think would be useful. And I know folks have better things to do than make me custom UIs. If someone can just make it work well enough I'll be quite content.

[Itek]

okie... quick note... text is default aligned left so you don't need to (and actually CANNOT specify AlignLeft) just take the AlignCenter bit out

.... see why I hate XML ?

I'm looking for a way to make the text do what I said I'd try for... currently digging into ButtonDrawTemplate // Flyby // Ui2DAnimation:item


... I mentioned I hate XML right?

Wish I'd never looked at this, now it's gonna bug me.

But Verdandi, and I know I'm on shaky ground suggesting how someone else lays out their screens (TheWife won't even let me give her advice anymore) but...

With the default window squished over on the left hand (or maybe even right hand?) of the screen all you have to do is hold down ALT to get the names of spell gems and buffs to display. So while you wait for slow to cast... peek over at the buffs. (alt -insert slow gem number here- ... then keep holding alt down as the cast bar scrolls down)

*wanders off to do battle with XML documents until TheWife wakes up and we can play my Cleric and her Beastlord alt... one more ding for her till Kitty-Crack... whee!! ...*

EDIT:



Ok, I checked a bunch of files and then scrounged around EQInterface. (I forget my username there and can't log in and don't truly wish to get sucked back in...)

You CAN, probably, change the way the hover text is displayed.

BUT....

You can't specify it on a window by window basis. It's called the "tooltip reference" and it applies for ALL mouse-over/hover text and the "ALT held down" displayed text.

Someone remind me why I don't like XML? Oh... wait.... think it's coming back to me...

Sorry Verdandi.

[Verdandi]

Thanks for trying, Itek! It's okay, Twistagain's mod works well enough for me. Yay! The code may not be pretty, but if it works I can deal. Maybe it's just as well I don't really know how messed up the code is.

Here's a screenshot of my final UI (linked since even slightly shrunk and at lowish quality it's a bigger file). The choppy buff label text isn't really as big of a deal as I'd thought, since my usual play PC has higher resolution than the one I was testing on. The labels don't take up much space at all - I do value my open screen space, in spite of wanting them. Everything I don't use much gets put away until I need it (like the Actions window) and many things that have to stay get faded. The Window Selector window is faded completely, but reappears when I hover. I love that feature, especially with the text sticking around so you can still see where they are.

All is again well with the world. I's a happy shaman!

Thanks much for the fixed mod, Twistagain! And for the insight and help, Itek!

[Twistagain]

Not a problem. Glad it worked for you. I kind of agree with Itek here, though (which is rare. Sorry, Itek.) I don't like SOE's XML (or XML in general, really)...and I really don't like how they use it (unnecessary tags, etc.) So I try to spend as little time as possible modding UIs. I generally find a mod I like on EQInterface for each window and then change what I don't like...the only exception being my player window, which is completely home-brewed (never found one I liked.)

I'm a programmer by trade, and I would never be as sloppy at work as I am with my EQ UIs. Just don't want to take the time to clean up the sections of tags that, ultimately, are working "correctly".