EQInterface Forums - Adding a New window.

07-27-2002, 03:41 AM	#1
drynyks A Bat Join Date: Jul 2002 Posts: 1	Adding a New window??? I am wondering if anyone has figure out how to add a new window. I am not talkin right clicking chat window and doing new. I am talkin bout adding a totally new window to the interface to put whatever I want in there. I have figured out all I need to know about editting the existing windows but I want to add a new one. I know you have to edit the EQUI.xml file and add the new .xml filename in there and make the new .xml file but there must be more cause just doing that didn't work. If anyone has had any luck adding a NEW window to the UI pls post a quick explanation of the files you had to change. Thanks in advance hopefully =p Last edited by drynyks : 07-27-2002 at 03:56 AM.

07-27-2002, 12:55 PM	#2
psychogears A Shissar Disciple Join Date: Jul 2002 Server: Xev Posts: 106	http://www.eqgui.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=5 I'm pretty sure about this now. The interface is nice and customizable and everything, but at some point the executable, hard coded portion of the game has to communicate with the interface engine, and this is where you have to have a specific amount of names just so the buttons are referenced correctly by the program itself. I believe you cannot do anything more than what is intended by the big guys over at VI, such as make a new window that has more hotbox slots or just a secondary player information window. I tried making a new window last night but it didn't work... Think about it. You have no doubt browsed through the many many XML files, skipping the ones like "EQUI_BreathWnd.xml" that you weren't interested in programming... There is NO master file other than SIDL which defines the XML tags, and the EQUI.xml master XML file that says what all files there are in the library. Pretend you add a new file, like a window that just shows player mana, totally independent from the player info window with respect to instantiation... how does the EQ program know you put in a new window per se. The only thing you can do is let the client engine know you have a new file, but as far as how the EQ client references whatever is in the new file that is to be questioned. If you want to test it, try renaming "PlayerWindow" to something like "PlayerWnd" and see if it still works. I haven't tried this, but I'm pretty sure it won't, because I think the client has to call something that is specifically named "PlayerWindow" when it wants to display the player window which it assumes holds the HP, MP, and Stam bars. HOWEVER... I would think one could heavily tweak the interface by totally destroying the interior contents of all the windows and rebuilding it... like, someone mentioned in a post somewhere else in these forum that they wanted to make one window for group, playerinfo, and targetting... this could be done by modifying one of the existing windows, adding the group info and targetting info (not sure about this, but I think you can do it, since people are already adding XP gauges to their playerinfo bars, there should be no reason why you can't add group and targetting gauges), and just accessing that mega-window by pressing the keyboard button that summons your player, group, or targetting window... But ya. It's new, and I don't know everything. So if you actually DO find a way to make a new window AND have it be able to be referenced in the game itself... I will gladly shut up and start making the interface I wanted to when I first heard about the new UI coming to town. Good luck! -TJ __________________ Hazul, Plik, Xzhamacharathae, Seis, Lyca, Pogi, Camm... of Xev

07-27-2002, 05:07 PM	#3
guice Keeper of the Hampster Join Date: Jul 2002 Server: Mithaniel Marr Posts: 598	I've tried adding windows, it doesn't work. To be honest, it's not that hard to program the interface to be completely independent of what windows are where. It's just requires the engine to be completely object independent. Don't display anything unless there's a tag for it. Add call tags for buttons, rather than hard coding them. Use ScreenID names for the eqclient.ini values it stores (x,y and size). EQ was hard coded in spots it really shouldn't have been. Hopfully VI will see this and might fix it later on. Alan did mention the patch was the intro release of the new UI. The beginings of rolling it out. Maybe there's more being worked on?

07-27-2002, 09:38 PM	#4
Geddine A Wooly Rhino Join Date: Jul 2002 Server: Morell-Thule Posts: 77	I tried creating a new window when I split the inventory and player stats up but wouldn't work. Also tried having one buff window with icons and one with text, icons for play text for raid. But it just wouldn't recognise that I had another file to load. So I just replaced the pet window with the info. Just another note, some windows have hard coded actions into them which you need to take into account with the UI (the casting window appears whenever you cast a spell, whether the gauge is there or not. The breathe window will appear whenever you go underwater, whether the bar is there or not. The inventory will always appear when looting or banking, even if you have none of the slots there.) There is still alot of hard coding in the UI. Main things you can change are look(graphics), size, anything with an EQType. You cannot remove or add anything from the UI (Unless it is an EQType and even then may have restrictions as I haven't tried it). __________________ Geddine "Of all the things I've lost, I miss my mind the most"