Here are a few tips to make using the editor a little easier, as well as to help make descriptions, tavern board posts, bios, etc, easier on the eyes.
1. To get a list of commands and their uses while in the editor, type .h and you will get a list. This must be on a separate line, with nothing else. Hint: most of the commands that the editor uses are in that format, .(letter).
2. Always keep line length in mind when using the editor. What I personally have found to be the easiest to do, is to type in text up to as close to that line length as possible, and hit enter after every line. This will make all your text line up, and helps you to avoid getting your text trunctuated. It makes for splendidly neat paragraphs when done this way.
3. Before you're done using the editor, type .s to read what you have so far. It also helps out a great deal to do it periodically while you type, so that you can proofread and edit as you go along, rather than having to delete most of what you've already typed out just so you can edit a single typo in the second line.
Hope this helps out any of you who have been stumbling and fumbling while using the editor. If anyone has any other helpful hints, tips, and tricks for using the editor, feel free to share.
The .i command is the most powerful feature of it. With it you can ignore line lengths and still have text separated by paragraphs.
When inputting text, I generally write it up in a text editor. Then, depending on the width of said editor, I can copy and paste in 3-4 lines at a time, adding an empty line after each paragraph, and then use .i to make it all nice and neat.
Be aware that the editor formatter likes to doublespace between sentences.
This is the ruler provided by the in-game editor when you type something. Paste that into a text editor like Notepad and use that to make breaks in the proper places beforehand, so you don't have to do it later. Then you will have an organized piece that looks good in-game.
[---|----|----|----|----|----|----|----|----|----|----|----|----|----|----]
Quote from: Cutthroat on August 14, 2008, 11:01:37 AM
This is the ruler provided by the in-game editor when you type something. Paste that into a text editor like Notepad and use that to make breaks in the proper places beforehand, so you don't have to do it later. Then you will have an organized piece that looks good in-game.
[---|----|----|----|----|----|----|----|----|----|----|----|----|----|----]
When doing this, turn off line wrapping.
The editor shames me daily.
The three commands I always use before I finish using the editor are
.i (to format/indent properly)
.p (as a last check for typos)
.s (to show me what it all looks like)
.x emote nods to ~woman
.x tell woman Hold on a moment, my dear. Someone is contacting me through the way
.x emote holds a hand up to his head.
.x ooc just let me finish up with this post.
.x lets you interact with the game while in the editor <- won't do anything in the game, and return a 'what?'
Good stuff!
Tip: If you are using zMUD/CMUD make sure you turn parsing off when using the editor commands.
Brandon
.x assist sarge
.x bash
.x stand
.x open pack
.x get sword pack
.x etwo sword
.x flee
.x flee
.x flee
.x flee
.x wish all We're raiding the main gith camp...anybody up for some extra (v)NPC action?
.x bash gith
Ever since, Amos has indulged a latent fear of erdlu eggs, a phobia that threatens to
Quote from: Marauder Moe on August 14, 2008, 10:41:27 AM
The .i command is the most powerful feature of it. With it you can ignore line lengths and still have text separated by paragraphs.
When inputting text, I generally write it up in a text editor. Then, depending on the width of said editor, I can copy and paste in 3-4 lines at a time, adding an empty line after each paragraph, and then use .i to make it all nice and neat.
This.
I usually just .f and go.
.s
.i
~
I don't use .f because I like the indent at the beginning of my description.
LPMuds come with "ed", which is more or less equivalent to the UNIX "ex" line editor. It would be easy to borrow the code for this to plug into Arm, I believe.
Full control over ranges of lines, substitutions, regular expression based searches and so on. Easy to learn. It's pretty handy in a text-only environment.
And as to how it'll work in Arm 2:
http://www.zalanthas.org/blogs/brideofson/archives/001419.html#more
Badass, Morgenes. The blog update is hugely appreciated, too.