EQ UI Target Box From scratch
 

Hi All, I have created the look that I want for a target box. Now on to the fun part, The Codeing. How, Where, etc. Do I get the nessacary Info, to code this WITHOUT useing someone elses UI, So it is 100% mine and I can give credit to those who Helped. I Have searched all through theese forums and find only broken links, for like the fiddle, and swiddl programs, and such, I have Dreamweaver and it deals with xml files and such. Any and all Help would be great. thanks in advance

I see people are viewing the thread
 

I was noticeing people are viewing this thread, and am not sure if anyone is going to help. I still can not locate any uptodate tips on this..

Hey saw your post...there is a file in your default UI known as "AboutSIDL.doc" that will explain some info that you need to make your UI...if it is too hard to read then find someone else....That is all I can help ya out with...sorry still trying myself...

Thanks
 

I created the Look I wanted In Photoshop, Now need to add codeing, and downt know how to make the xml file properly, I am useing Dreamweaver to view xml..

The best thing to do with something as simple as a target box is to simply use EQ to view it. It means having to reload the ui every time you make a mod, but its what most of us do. I have SdlWdl, but I never use it. I use Notepad to edit, its free works just fine and is the easiest text editor to use for simple scripts since it wont try to help you. I use Gimp to edit images.

I suggest starting with the code for the default target box, just expand its over all size to something really big, like 500x500 and start adding pieces to it until it breaks, fix whatever is broken then keep at it. Once you have the layout you like,resize it properly and put the image for the skin file into the folder and then fool with it until its right. There really is no reason to write all the code out for the box when its already written out in the default file, you will just be writting the same exact code with different numbers for where things are located.

Somethings like text tags can be just invented eg.
<LabelItem="Target_LabelX">
<ScreenID>LabelX</ScreenID>
<RelativePosition>True</RelativePosition>
<Font>3</Font>
<Location>
<X>1</X>
<Y>1</Y>
</Location>
<Size>
<CX>300</CX>
<CY>12</CY>
</Size>
<Text>This MoB will soon send you to your bind point</Text>
<TextColor>
<R>255</R>
<G>255</G>
<B>255</B>
</TextColor>
<NoWrap>true</NoWrap>
<AlignCenter>False</AlignCenter>
</Label>
.
.
.
<pieces>Target_LabelX</Pieces>

Will add text to the upper left corner saying "this MoB will soon send you to your bind point" in white #3 font. Feel free to copy this and play with stuff like nowrap and size to see how the game will affect it.

Other stuff like gauges or stat numbers, tribute etc. must have the proper EQtype assigned or the will not work right or not work at all.

GL, remember its mostly patience that makes a good UI. Target windows are probably the easiest things to modify since they are so basic to begin with.

Just wanted to thank you for that post, it make a little since. I was wondering, since i made the look i wanted in Photoshop, with the way I wanted the Font to be, and the color I wanted, and size, Can I get it to look the same in the game or are we limited to only certain size and color font. If we can make these type of changes, could you, or someone else explain briefly, to me and the rest of us how that would be possible. I am going to post some pics of what look and what I am going for, and maybe some one can give me a few Ideas to make it functionable. I know my Target Box is a good Idea, It is Ideas My Wife Has, I Just created It, She Plays a cleric, and she wanted something like what i will post. She is excited for me to get it working. Just need help Learning the basics, Like what files I need to edit and such to make it work.. I will post pictures Shortly..

Pictures
 

OK THese are Not working In Game I just have My Images, That I would Like it to look Like .. Here it goes...

More Pictures
 

OK THese are Not working In Game I just have My Images, That I would Like it to look Like .. Here it goes...Continued

Thought
 

OK, This is My Ideas On it I Hope you like it, And any Ideas would be great.
And Thanks In Advance

2nd post of Pictures
 

If you look at the second Blue Con Picture I have and make it Bigger you can See the attack Indicator functioning, so see what I was Going for..

as for the font, I know you can change it globaly in the options window on the general tab, not sure if you can do it for an individual UI piece. I seem to remember reading something about it on one of the forums, but I can't remember what the result was.

I am not sure what I am looking at in the pics. It appears to be your wife targeting you as you kill a mob while she is casting CH. The numbers I presume are either her HP or mana, the number "81" I have no idea. There are a bunch of things the UI will not do, one of them is display the color con of the PC/NPC in HoTT, another is it will not display the actual numerical health of an NPC/PC. There is a nice post here somewhere(stickied I believe) that has a list of all the things the UI will not do.

Adding a spell casting bar should be no trouble, but remember that the EQType for it will cause it to disapear when no spell is being cast, so when at rest you will see a large empty space. Adding the HoTT bar and numerical HP/mana is also easy, you can take the code directly from the default pieces, just change the tags to Target_WhatEver. Also Playername is associated with the numerical health, you will ether have to delete that part of the code, or position the offset to make the playername move outside the window.

The health bar and casting bar will probably not stretch as long and wide as you want it, so you will have to generate an image for it and its associated elements when you make the background images for the hash marks etc. The flashing border with its nice crisp look will also probably have to be made from scratch since the default one fade to the center. Gimp is a very good Image editor for .tga files. The HoTT bar will probably resize correctly, but may not match the others style wise, you will have to experiment with it.

Let me see if I get this
 

Ok thank you for your post, I have figured out how to resize the text. second the pictures you see are me being targeted, and i am targeting shroudkeeper, the 2 numbers are her(Cleric or caster) mana/mana max with mana percent to the side, Yes she would be casting CH, Now those pictures are not like I just created the Whole thing in Photoshop. Correct me if Im Wrong, But i think i understood you to say you could Not resize the Hott bar? Is that what your saying. Also How in the world do i get my Box with my pretty texture to it to show up Without haveing to target anything, right now I look at a plain box from the deafault xml, thatr i sized up to the sized i want, but it is plan grey then whern i target something it shows up as the box I designed. Ill start there..

HoTT
 

In other words when you click on my picture, and make it big, could I actualy get my Hott bar that big?

You can resize any gauge, but when you resize them beyond a certain point they look funny or wont resize anymore. Making the gauge smaller is usualy easier, so your 1/2sized HoTT bar should resize, but I doubt if the double sized targets health and mana bar will. If you want a pretty background with nothing targetd, you will have to create a new background skin with Gimp or another .tga editor. If you want the hash marks and the like in the gauge to show up with nothing targeted, you will have to add that to the background skin since the gauge vanishes when nothing is targeted, then you will have to carefuly place the gauge agaisnt the background so they overlap perfectly so it seems seemless. If you go this route, it will probaly only look right at whatever screen resolution you use at the time. gauges much beyond the default size are usualy player made .tga files.

Also, you are showing color con changes in the HoTT area, as I stated earlier, you can only see the color con of your target, not your targets target. Not sure if you intend to have the ToT portion reflect your targets color, seems a bit confusing to me to have something other than your target Show color con.

I have a background that i want to show all the time, but dont know how to put it in the code so it will show up.. the con my wife wanted it like that all the way across the top so she can easily see it. it is to reflect her targets health Not the Hott. so is this workable just the way iy looks or you cant put the Hott Gauge Over the con indicator at all?