I have created a Java program for managing an "Almanac" (basically, a compendium of information about a setting, along with notes and other general information that can be generated in play as well as at design time. Currently I've posted an installer (http://75.70.105.39:8080/Almanac_Download.html) at my home server. This application requires Java 1.6 and the existing installer is a jar file that will run on Windows or Unix systems. (If you have Mac OSX, you'll need Java 1.6 from Apple, which only appears to be available for OSX 10.5. I don't have that, so I can't support Mac OSX right now, but if you want to be the guinea pig, go ahead and ask.)
I've posted about this in the Tavern and the IRC channel, and gotten a few nibbles, so I decided to put up a thread so people can provide feedback or ask questions.
What does it do?Well, you'll probably start by importing a map and creating almanac entries for some of the larger entities in your setting (whether they be planes, worlds, continents, or kingdoms). Each entry has a configurable set of properties that you can assign - whatever you need like population, government style, wealth, or anything else you need to keep track of. You can add an HTML description block for the entry, then go ahead and create entries for the smaller entities. All the entries are hyperlinked so you can easily navigate from one to the next.
Drag icons on to your map to create hot spots that are linked to the appropriate almanac pages.
Quickly create notes about a setting - maybe rough ideas or ticklers for further work, or notes about events in play. Also create records for significant NPC's or people your players have encountered in that location.
Ultimately I'd like to be able to export selected almanac entries (or maybe parts of them marked public) to static HTML. Probably also to enhance the software with the ability to export/import fragments to facilitate sharing and collaboration.
What can you do?If you want to try it now, it seems fairly functional. But there's only me doing this, and I don't have a real test team, so report any questions, issues, concerns, or ideas for new features here.
Tooltips missing or not helpful or badly formatted.
* Issues with layout or presentation.
* Things that are confusing to you.
* Things that don't work, or don't work the way you expect them to.
* Features you'd like, or anything that seems missing.
* Features you find annoying or that work poorly.
* Especially anything that prevents you from doing what you'd like to do.
Edited to add: If anyone wants more interactive talk, I'm also snakefing on AIM, or hndykstra AT gmail DOT com.
Very, very cool snakefing.
I might have to beta test it for ya. I don't think it's something I would use, but I don't mind helping out a fellow programmer.
That's cool with me. You can do the destructive testing. Beat on it until it begs for mercy.
SF,
I'll try to download from home.
The Alpha-2.0 release is now ready and can be downloaded from the usual place (http://75.70.105.39:8080/Almanac_Download.html).
With this release, you can now create pages for almanac items. This is useful for smaller towns, villages, cities, or any other site that doesn't rate a full almanac page. Items are quick and dirty - notes, people, and a quick run down of significant features. They can be useful to keep track of towns and villages that your players have encountered, or to create locations that will be needed in upcoming adventures.
Almanac entries now also have sections. So you can create a section for religion, history, culture, or any other purpose. Like the main entry on the page, sections use HTML syntax.
Also, any display that accepts HTML now also supports hyperlinks. To link to an external web page, use the usual HTML link syntax. (E.g.,
<A href="http://www.thecbg.org">the CBG</A> would link to the CBG main page.) The page opens in your default browser.
To link to an internal entry or item, use the special pseudo-URL syntax:
href="entry:(relative_path)" to link to an entry page, where the path is relative to the current entry.
*href="entry:/(absolute_path)" to link to an entry page, where the path is absolute from the main almanac page to the desired entry
*href="entry:(path)#(section)" to link to a particular section of an entry
*href="item:(path_to_entry)/(item_name)" to link to an item that is defined in a particular entry. This supports either relative paths (relative to the current entry) or absolute paths.
Links are supported in the main page or any section of any entry, or on any note, or the description of any person.
Various and sundry improvements in tool tips and the installer are also included. The release notes link on the download page has more details. This version will install right on top of the previous version with no problem, and it will open existing files.
[Edited: I should add, if for any reason you have problems downloading large files, drop me a note via PM or otherwise and I'll see if I can burn you a DVD with everything you need.]
Well I haven't gotten much of a chance to test it but it seems to run smooth so far. I think the only question I have is if it can export to plain text (strip code tags and format appropriately). If not that would be quite useful. Another possible option is to covert to commonly used bbcode (<b> to for example).
Exporting to various forms is certainly on the list. Although I think it might be more effective to give people the option to enter BB Code and export either straight or HTML - there is plenty of code out there for converting BB Code to HTML, but hardly anything for the reverse.
That said, I confess to being a little mystified at the continued prominence of BB Code. Basic BB Code isn't much simpler than basic HTML, in my opinion. If you start with HTML there's a whole lot you can grow into, if you are interested, whereas BB Code remains fairly limited.
Anyway, export is probably for a 1.1 release. For RC1 I'm looking at refining the existing stuff and adding in tagging, and searching on tags and titles.
Right now the things I'm worried about most are flaky edge cases and abusive user tricks, like trying to add things that have the same name and not being able to tell them apart. Also, missing tooltips, areas that need help files, missing resources, and the like.
i downloaded it and did some stuff, but i'll long-time test is as a documentation tool for my two gaming groups.
at first glance i can only say: i'm impressed. the interface is intuitive and it has all the features i would look for into an almanac app. :)
Quote from: Scholari downloaded it and did some stuff, but i'll long-time test is as a documentation tool for my two gaming groups.
at first glance i can only say: i'm impressed. the interface is intuitive and it has all the features i would look for into an almanac app. :)
I agree. While I was confused at first, the mouse-over explanations and the labels quickly helped me pick up what to do.
I have a bug to report: The installer doesn't work correctly on Vista Business x64 SP1 (latest patch level). It doesn't ask for elevated privileges during installation and therefore the installation is silently redirected by Vista to the current account's virtual store where the installer then fails to create the application .BAT file. A screenshot with the resulting error message is attached to this post.
But nonetheless the program looks really promising. :)
Attachments:
* Screenshot (//../../e107_files/public/1231977814_233_FT61044_error.jpg)
Well, that .bat file is extraneous now anyway, so I don't think that error will really cause
you any problem.
Working on BB converters for various variations of the code. What would be people's preference on this: export to file or to pop the converted code up in an editor for copy/paste to your favorite BB? Maybe both, give you a chance to review the code, or select a dialect before saving it?
Almost have the BB converters working, I guess I can post an update this weekend.
If any non-English speakers want to help with translating into their native language, let me know. I can send you the translation files.
It's a useful thing, although I'd rather prefer starting my own wiki than this. It gives me more possibilities and editing everything is much easier.
That's an awesome idea. After lunch I'll install it and give it a look over. This might be just what I was looking for.
Similarly ,have you seen the DM Setting Handbook from Goodman Games?
It doesn't let *Nix users set it for all accounts?
Edit-- Okay, so all in all, it looks kind of interesting. All I can see it doing so far, though, is simply organizing notes. Mu biggest comment so far is that the text contrast doesn't seem high enough in some areas. I would comment on the lack of help files, but i think you've mentioned that as being on the to-do list.
Which areas seem too low? HTML display, editors, etc? I can easily adjust the contrast, I haven't fully worked out the color theme anyway.
Wiki is certainly an alternative, and certainly a better one for many people. I started this project mostly as a testing ground for the look and feel and UI framework code, so if it doesn't actually go anywhere, no big deal.
I'll look at the installers on *nix. I thought there was an option there for all users, so maybe I disabled it by accident.
This is a lot bigger than I thought. It's going to take me some time before I can get down into it.
Thought I would give this a try as I love anything that will help keep track of game ideas/notes. I tried to install it and I get this error.
"This directory can not be written! Please choose another directory."
I've tried to modify the path and I get the same error.
C:\Program Files\DSP\Almanac
This is the original path.
Hmmm, let me guess: Vista?
I do have a Vista box around here, I'll try it there using various levels of access. That box and I aren't on speaking terms lately, since it somehow decided it wasn't an authorized Windows install and I had to reload it from the OEM disks...
Quote from: snakefingHmmm, let me guess: Vista?
You are correct. It is Vista.
Okay, I got it to install. I was reading a post for a different program and it stated that you have to install to a folder you have permissions to, not the program file folder. Before I had changed the path except for that.
So I installed to my personal folder and it installed fine. I haven't used it yet but at least it is installed.
Quote from: snakefingHmmm, let me guess: Vista?
I do have a Vista box around here, I'll try it there using various levels of access. [...]
The problem is that the installer is not asking for elevated privileges before copying the files to the
%PROGRAMFILES% folder. In that case, Vista redirects any write operations to the current account's "virtual store" in
%USERPROFILE%\Documents\AppData\Local\VirtualStore (see also this article (http://www.randyrants.com/2007/02/vista_tip_virtu.html)). This obviously breaks all applications that use absolute paths and not relative paths, because without elevated privileges you're not allowed to write into the program files folder.
Yeah, I'll have to read up on the installer to see if there is a way to request that. You'll have the same problem, of course, on Unix if you don't run the installer with sudo. The installer is a Java-based one that uses JNI to do OS-specific stuff, so they could have an option I've missed. If not, I'll have to look around for some kind of MSI packager. Note going to pay for it though.
Okay, updated version to Alpha-2.1. I think this will be the final alpha, so when I finish the help files and a few known issues, the next version will be the first Release Candidate.
New in this version:
Convert HTML code to BB code or plain text.
*Can add tags to entries, items, sections, or people.
*Search page finished - can search on tags or names.
*Improved contrast on most pages.
*Better handling of images to improve reuse of images across pages.
*Exe wrappers for Windows.
*Exe installer for Windows should deal with the elevated privileges issue on Vista.
*Unix installer can now install for all users, if you run it as root. But, then there seem to be some issues with the uninstaller. Still works as before if you run as normal user.
*Help button added and partial help files installed.
*New context menu options added to the table links.
This version changed the way that it searches for images in its archive, so there is a small chance that it might not be able to find them in legacy files. It seems to work okay for me, but my files get so corrupted with test runs that I can't be sure I've run a fair test. If you see a problem, don't save any changes (or make a backup) and send the problem file to me for diagnosis. Then you should be able to continue working.
There is a separate windows installer now. I couldn't get the elevated privileges to work right on Unix, so instead I opted for an EXE wrapper for Windows. Supposedly a .EXE file with Setup in the name automatically gets elevated privileges (with user permission), so hopefully that will deal with the Vista issues.
Update: I found some bugs in the text editor relating to some of the key bindings. Specifically, the undo wasn't working, nor was the previous word navigation. (Ctrl-Z, Ctrl-left arrow, Ctrl-Backspace)
The undo bug was particularly irritating because it prevented you from undoing complex edits - precisely the ones you'd most likely want to undo. Since the 2.1 release has only been out a day, I just replaced the old version without reversioning - but if you installed yesterday, be aware that you might have some issues with undo.