From 6b75cc37131929cfe7755c228dda523fb12721b8 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Oliver Hamlet Date: Tue, 18 Nov 2014 16:14:23 +0000 Subject: [PATCH] Lots of readme updates. Besides images, I think it's done now. --- docs/LOOT Readme.html | 202 +++++++++++++++++++----------------------- 1 file changed, 91 insertions(+), 111 deletions(-) diff --git a/docs/LOOT Readme.html b/docs/LOOT Readme.html index ddf04305..26aab93f 100644 --- a/docs/LOOT Readme.html +++ b/docs/LOOT Readme.html @@ -152,9 +152,11 @@ paper-icon-button::shadow #icon {
  • Installation & Uninstallation
  • Using LOOT
      -
    1. Sorting Plugins -
    2. The Results Report -
    3. Customising LOOT's Results +
    4. Initialisation +
    5. The Header Bar +
    6. Plugin Cards & Sidebar Items +
    7. Filters +
    8. Editing Plugin Metadata
    9. Editing Settings
  • Contributing & Support @@ -206,28 +208,40 @@ paper-icon-button::shadow #icon {

    If LOOT detects that it is the first time you have run that version of LOOT, it will display a First-Time Tips dialog, which provides some information about the user interface that may not be immediately obvious. -

    Plugin Cards

    -

    Each plugin is displayed on its own card. The front of the card displays information about the plugin, while the back of the card holds the plugin's metadata editor. +

    The Header Bar

    -

    LOOT uses a few icons on plugin cards to convey information about plugins: -

    +

    The header bar provides access to LOOT's main features. Most of these features get disabled while there is at least one plugin editor open, so if you're trying to use an option that has been greyed out, first close any editors you have open. -The icon is a menu button. Clicking it displays the plugin's menu, which holds options for: +

    Main Menu

    + +

    The button opens the main menu. A few items may not be obvious in their function:

      -

    1. Toggling the plugin's conflict filter. This filters the plugin cards displayed so that only plugins which conflict with this plugin will be visible. If this plugin loads a BSA, other plugins that load BSAs which may contain conflicting resources are also displayed.

      - - Only one plugin's conflict filter can be active at any one time, so activating a second conflict filter will deactivate the first. The plugin for which the filter is currently active is outlined in blue, like this text is. -
    2. Editing the plugin's metadata. This flips the card over to show the editor controls. -
    3. Copying the plugin's metadata. The metadata is copied using the format that it is saved in, which makes it an easy way to share any edits you make with masterlist maintainers, for example. If posting the metadata in an online forum that supports BBCode (as most forums do), be sure to wrap it in [code] tags, eg. [code]copied text[/code], so that the spaces are not removed by the forum software. -
    4. Clearing all user metadata from the plugin. This is irreversible, so LOOT will double-check that's what you want if you click on it. +
    5. Redate Plugins is provided so that Skyrim modders may set the load order for the Creation Kit. It is only enabled for Skyrim, and changes the timestamps of the plugins in its Data folder to match their current load order. A side effect of changing the timestamps is that any Steam Workshop mods installed will be re-downloaded. +
    6. Copy Content copies the data displayed in LOOT's cards as YAML-formatted text. +
    7. Refresh Content re-scans the installed plugins' headers and regenerates the content LOOT displays. This can be useful if you have made changes to your installed plugins while LOOT was open.
    -

    The plugin filename is given in the card header beside the icons, along with the plugin's CRC value (if it has been calculated), and the plugin's version (if one has been found). LOOT looks for version numbers in plugins' description fields, so if a plugin supplies no version number, it cannot be displayed. +

    Game Menu

    + +

    The game LOOT is currently run for is displayed in the header bar, and clicking on it will allow you to switch to another game from the drop-down list that is displayed. Games which do not have installs detected are greyed out and cannot be selected. + +

    Masterlist Update & Sorting

    + +

    The button updates LOOT's masterlist for the current game to the latest available revision. If the latest revision contains errors (eg. due to typos), then LOOT will roll back until it finds a revision that works. + +

    The button begins LOOT's sorting process. By default, sorting first updates the masterlist. LOOT then sorts your plugins according to a combination of data from the plugins themselves, and any metadata they may have. If a cyclic interaction is detected (eg. A depends on B depends on A), then sorting will fail. Once sorting has calculated a new load order, the plugin cards are sorted into that order, and the and buttons are replaced with Apply and Cancel buttons, which apply and discard the calculated load order respectively. + +

    LOOT is able to sort plugins ghosted by Wrye Bash, and can extract Bash Tags and version numbers from plugin descriptions. Provided that they have the Filter Bash Tag present in their description, LOOT can recognise filter patches and so avoid displaying unnecessary error messages for any of their masters that may be missing. + +

    Plugin Cards & Sidebar Items

    + +

    Each plugin is displayed on its own card, which displays all the information LOOT has for that plugin, and holds its metadata editor. Each plugin also has an entry in the Plugins tab of the sidebar. The sidebar entry contains the plugin's name and icons for plugins that load BSAs or have user metadata. Clicking on a plugin's sidebar entry will navigate to its card in the main content area. + +

    The card's button opens the plugin's menu, which provides access to a few plugin-specific features, including a conflict filter and access to its metadata editor. These are explained in later sections. + +

    The Copy Metadata option copies the plugin's metadata in the same format that it is saved in, which makes it an easy way to share any edits you make with masterlist maintainers, for example. If posting the metadata in an online forum that supports BBCode (as most forums do), be sure to wrap it in [code] tags, eg. [code]copied text[/code], so that the spaces are not removed by the forum software. + +

    The dummy plugin icon and CRC values are only displayed on plugin cards after plugins have been fully loaded, which happens during conflict filtering and sorting. LOOT will also display a version number if one can be found in the plugin's description field.

    If LOOT suggests any Bash Tags to be added, they will be displayed in green text, while any Bash Tags to be removed will be displayed in red text. Users generally don't need to do anything with this information, as if they're using Wrye Bash it will automatically apply LOOT's suggestions, and if they're not using Wrye Bash then this information doesn't apply. @@ -235,54 +249,23 @@ The icon is a menu butt

    If you think a message suggests an unnecessary action, report it to an official LOOT thread. If you encounter a message that is non-conditional, ie. it suggests an action but is still displayed on subsequent runs of LOOT after the action has been carried out, also report it to an official LOOT thread, so that it can be made conditional. -

    The Header Bar

    - -

    The header bar provides access to LOOT's main features. Most of these features get disabled while there is at least one plugin editor open, so if you're trying to use an option that has been greyed out, first close any editors you have open. - -

    The main menu is accessed by clicking on the button. It contains the following items: -

      -
    1. Redate Plugins is provided so that Skyrim modders may set the load order for the Creation Kit. It is only enabled for Skyrim, and changes the timestamps of the plugins in its Data folder to match their current load order. A side effect of changing the timestamps is that any Steam Workshop mods installed will be re-downloaded. -
    2. Clear All User Metadata removes all user-added metadata from all plugins. If this is clicked, LOOT will first request confirmation before removing any data, as the process is irreversible. -
    3. Copy Content copies the data displayed in LOOT's cards as raw YAML data, which emphasises completeness over readability. -
    4. Refresh Content re-scans the installed plugins' headers and regenerates the content LOOT displays. This can be useful if you have made changes to your installed plugins while LOOT was open, as it is faster than closing and re-opening LOOT. -
    5. Settings opens up LOOT's settings dialog. -
    6. View Documentation opens this readme file in your default web browser. -
    7. Open Debug Log Location opens the folder in which LOOT stores its debug logs and other data, which can be useful when troubleshooting. -
    8. About displays LOOT's about dialog. -
    - -

    Next to the main menu button is the drawer button, . This is only displayed when LOOT's window is sufficiently narrow that the sidebar is displayed as a slide-out drawer, and is used to toggle the drawer state. - -

    To the right of the menu and drawer icons is the game menu. The current game's name is displayed, and clicking on it will reveal a drop-down menu where other games can be selected. Selecting a game will switch LOOT to run for that game. Games which cannot be detected as installed are disabled in the list. - - -

    Masterlist Update & Sorting

    - -

    LOOT's masterlists are metadata databases that LOOT uses to provide messages and help sort plugins. By default, LOOT uses a separate masterlist for each game, with each masterlist being hosted online and maintained by the LOOT team. - -

    Clicking the button updates LOOT's masterlist for the current game to the latest available revision. If the latest revision cannot be parsed (eg. due to typos), then LOOT will roll back until it finds a revision that works. - -

    Clicking the button begins LOOT's sorting process. By default, sorting first updates the masterlist. LOOT then sorts your plugins according to a combination of data from the plugins themselves, and any metadata they may have. If a cyclic interaction is detected (eg. A depends on B depends on A), then sorting will fail. - -

    Once sorting has calculated a new load order, the plugin cards are sorted into that order, and the and buttons are replaced with Apply and Cancel buttons. If the Apply button is clicked, LOOT applies the load order. If the Cancel button is clicked, then the load order and any edits made are discarded. - -

    LOOT is able to sort plugins ghosted by Wrye Bash, and can extract Bash Tags and version numbers from plugin descriptions. Provided that they have the Filter Bash Tag present in their description, LOOT can recognise filter patches and so avoid displaying unnecessary error messages for any of their masters that may be missing. -

    Filters

    Clicking the Filters tab in the sidebar will replace the sidebar's plugin list with a list of filter toggles that can be applied to hide various combinations of plugins and other content. The available filter toggles are:

    There are also two other filters:

    -

    Editing Plugin Metadata

    +

    Editing Plugin Metadata

    A metadata editor panel.

    LOOT uses metadata to supply plugins with messages and Bash Tag suggestions, and to help it sort plugins that it otherwise can't sort correctly. Users can add to their plugins' metadata through each plugin's metadata editor panel, and plugins with user metadata are labelled with a icon. -

    A plugin's editor panel is accessed by clicking the Edit Metadata item in the plugin's menu. Multiple plugins can have their editor panels open at once, but everything in LOOT's menu bar is disabled while there is at least one panel open. -

    Table rows that are for masterlist metadata cannot be edited or deleted. User metadata rows can be deleted by clicking their icon. -

    Rows can be added to the Requirements, Incompatibilities and Load After tables by dragging and dropping plugins from the sidebar into the table area. +

    A plugin's editor panel is accessed by clicking the Edit Metadata item in the plugin's menu. Multiple plugins can have their editor panels open at once. Clicking the editor's Apply will apply any changes made before exiting, while the Cancel button will exit the editor and discard any changes made. -

    The Apply button will save any changes made, then exit the editor panel. The Cancel button will exit the editor panel without saving any changes. +

    The editor contains a few simple inputs and a set of tabbed tables through which metadata can be supplied. The simple inputs are: +

    +

    The various metadata tables can be switched between by clicking on their tabs: depending on the size of LOOT's window, not all tabs may be visible without scrolling. +

    Rows can be added by clicking the Add new row... text and filling in the input fields. Alternatively, the Load After, Requirements and Incompatibilities tables can have rows added by dragging and dropping plugins from the sidebar into the table area. +

    Rows that are for masterlist metadata cannot be edited or deleted. User metadata rows can be deleted by clicking their icon. - -
    ControlDescription +
    Table TabDescription
    Enable User ChangesIf this is checked, LOOT will use the metadata you supplied. Otherwise, your metadata will be ignored. -
    PriorityModifies plugin position relative to others. Plugins with higher priority values load after plugins with lower priority values. Plugins have a default priority of 0. Plugin priorities are only compared if: -
      -
    • The two plugins conflict with each other. -
    • One or both of the plugins is a "dummy" plugin, containing only a header record. -
    • One or both of the plugins has a global priority. -
    -
    RequirementsThis is a list of files that are required by the current plugin for it to function correctly. The current plugin will be loaded after any plugins listed. LOOT will also display an error message if any of the listed files are missing. Any file, not just plugins, can be listed here, and each entry has three fields: +
    Load AfterThis is a list of plugins which, if present, the current plugin must load after, but which are not required. This metadata can be used for resolving specific compatibility issues. Each entry has three fields:
    • The filename is the path, relative to the game's Data folder, of the file to be checked for. This field is required.
    • The display name is optional, and if specified will be used instead of the filename in any error messages that are displayed if a problem is encountered relating to the file.
    • The condition is the optional condition string that is used to determine if the file should be checked for. If left blank, the file will always be checked for. Condition strings are a relatively advanced part of LOOT's functionality, and their syntax is covered in the Metadata Syntax documentation.
    +
    RequirementsThis is a list of files that are required by the current plugin for it to function correctly. The current plugin will be loaded after any plugins listed. LOOT will also display an error message if any of the listed files are missing. Any file, not just plugins, can be listed here, and each entry has the same three fields as for the load after table.

    Note that listing a plugin's masters as requirements is unnecessary, as LOOT already checks them. -

    IncompatibilitiesThis is a list of files that are incompatible with the plugin. LOOT will display an error message if any of the listed files are found. Any file, not just plugins, can be listed here, and each entry has the same three fields as for the requirements table. -
    Load AfterThis is a list of plugins which, if present, the current plugin must load after, but which are not required. This metadata can be used for resolving specific compatibility issues. Each entry has the same three fields as for the requirements table. -
    MessagesA list of messages that are to be displayed for the plugin in LOOT's report. These have no bearing on a plugin's position in the load order. -

    Each message has four fields: +

    IncompatibilitiesThis is a list of files that are incompatible with the plugin. LOOT will display an error message if any of the listed files are found. Any file, not just plugins, can be listed here, and each entry has the same three fields as for the load after table. +
    MessagesA list of messages that are to be displayed for the plugin in LOOT's report. These have no bearing on a plugin's position in the load order. Each message has four fields:
    • The type is fairly self-explanatory, and is used to provide messages of varying severity with appropriate emphasis in LOOT's report.
    • The content is the actual message text. @@ -336,13 +317,27 @@ The icon is a menu butt

      If a message's condition determines that it should not be displayed, then it will not be displayed, no matter the language. However, if a message's condition determines that it should be displayed, but the language is specified and doesn't match the language LOOT is running in, the message will not be displayed.

    Bash TagsA list of Bash Tags. These are used by Wrye Bash when generating a Bashed Patch. LOOT's metadata includes Bash Tag addition and removal suggestions, and any Bash Tags that came with the plugin are also displayed.

    As LOOT can suggest Bash Tags be added or removed, it is possible for the same Tag to appear twice, being suggested for addition and removal. In such cases, removal overrides addition. -

    Each Bash Tag has three sub-fields: +

    Each Bash Tag has three fields:

    • The state determines whether the Tag is to be suggested for addition or removal.
    • The name is the actual Bash Tag name.
    • The condition decides if the Tag is to be suggested or not. It functions as for files and messages.

    If a plugin's masters are missing, an error message will be displayed for it. Filter patches are special mods designed for use with a Bashed Patch that do not require all their masters to be present, and so any plugin with the Filter tag applied and missing masters will not cause any errors to be displayed. +

    Dirty InfoA list of dirty plugin CRCs and related information. Each row has five fields: +
      +
    • The CRC of the dirty plugin. +
    • The ITM Count for the dirty plugin. +
    • The number of Deleted References that the dirty plugin contains. +
    • The number of Deleted Navmeshes that the dirty plugin contains. +
    • The name of the Cleaning Utility to use to clean the dirty plugin. +
    +

    LOOT uses the information supplied to construct a warning message for the plugin if it matches any of the given CRCs. +

    LocationsA list of URLs that the mod to which the plugin belongs can be found at. This metadata is not currently used by LOOT, but it may be useful to record it. Each location has two fields: +
      +
    • The URL at which the plugin's parent mod can be found. +
    • The Version which can be found at the given URL. +

    Editing Settings

    @@ -367,7 +362,7 @@ The icon is a menu butt Game SettingDescription - NameThe name of the game, or another identifying string, that is displayed in menus and the LOOT's title bar. + NameThe name of the game, or another identifying text, that is displayed in menus and the LOOT's title bar. Base Game TypeEvery game LOOT runs for must use the plugin file format and load order system of one of the following games: LOOT Folder NameThe sub-folder which LOOT uses to store the game's files in. Each game must be given a unique sub-folder. Master FileThe game's main master file. This is specified as it must load before all other plugins. Note that Skyrim-based games will always load Skyrim.esm first, so this column must always be set to Skyrim.esm for such games. - Masterlist Repository URLThe URL of the repository that LOOT uses to update its local copy of the masterlist. If set to an empty string, masterlist updating will be skipped. + Masterlist Repository URLThe URL of the repository that LOOT uses to update its local copy of the masterlist. If left empty, masterlist updating will be skipped.

    Masterlist repositories are Git repositories that are configured to allow unauthenticated read access and contain a masterlist file named masterlist.yaml in their root directory. The LOOT team maintains a set of official repositories for the games that LOOT supports by default. Masterlist Repository BranchThe branch of the masterlist repository that LOOT should get masterlist updates from. @@ -453,65 +448,50 @@ A copy of the license is included in the file named "GNU FDL v1.3.txt".Fixes

    Additions

    Changes

    @@ -529,12 +509,12 @@ A copy of the license is included in the file named "GNU FDL v1.3.txt".Fixed loot_load_lists() ignoring userlist paths, and accepting invalid paths.
  • Fixed loot_eval_lists() accepting invalid language codes.
  • Fixed loot_get_dirty_info() never outputting the loot_needs_cleaning_no code. +
  • Fixed loot_write_minimal_list() causing a crash when passed an invalid output path.
  • Added load order sorting and application functions.
  • Added masterlist update and revision checking functions.
  • Added support for native Linux builds.
  • Added unit testing of API functions to help ensure correctness and consistency of functionality.
  • Added loot_get_build_id(), which outputs the shortened revision ID that the API was built from. -
  • API updates are now released alongside application updates, in a separate archive. The archive contains the documentation in PDF format, the API's header file, and a 32-bit DLL.

    0.6.0 - 05 July 2014