Page 1 of 1
HTTR ScenMaker Tools - new version
Posted: Tue Aug 24, 2004 8:41 am
by Golf33
I've just PMed Marc Schwanebeck and JeF with a new version of the HTTR ScenMaker Tools Excel Add-in. For those who aren't familiar with it, it adds a special toolbar to Excel, specifically for working with the force data exported from the HTTR ScenMaker application.
Here's some more detail on how to use it, from the readme file:
Highway to the Reich ScenMaker Tools v1.10 for Microsoft(r) Office Excel
========================================================================
by Steve "Golf33" Long, Panther Games Pty Ltd
CONTENTS
--------
This package contains three files:
Book.XLT
a customised startup template designed to work with exported data from the HTTR ScenMaker.
HTTR SM.XLT
a customised template designed to work with exported data from the HTTR ScenMaker.
ScenMaker Tools v1.10.xla
an Excel add-in that creates a new toolbar containing tools for working with
exported data from the HTTR ScenMaker.
HOW TO USE
----------
1. In the HTTR ScenMaker, select Import/Export > Export Forces to Clipboard.
2. Start Excel. If you installed the Book.XLT template file, Excel will start and display a single worksheet called "ForceData". If you installed the HTTR SM.XLT template file, Excel will start and display a blank workbook. Create a new workbook using the HTTR SM template. You should now see a single worksheet called "ForceData".
3. Click the Paste button on the "ScenmakerTools" toolbar and select one of the options for pasting from the pull-down menu.
4. Edit the data as desired.
5. Click the Copy button on the "ScenmakerTools" toolbar.
6. In the HTTR ScenMaker, select Import/Export > Import Forces from Clipboard.
You can now use the buttons on the "ScenmakerTools" toolbar to manipulate the data easily. The buttons are:
1. +/- or +
when applying a random variation, this determines whether the variation can only be added to the base value ( + ) or whether it can be either added or subtracted ( +/- ). Clicking the button changes from one to the other.
2. 0% or 5% or 10% or 15% or 20%
displays the current random variation. Clicking the button will cycle through these values.
3. Variation...
clicking Variation... will open a pull-down menu where you can select an amount of random variation to apply to the base value.
4. Base Value...
with a cell or group of cells selected, clicking Base Value... will open a pull-down menu where you can select the base value. Clicking on one of the base values will enter that value, plus or minus the random variation (depending on your settings for buttons 3-5 above), and a comment into each of the selected cells. The comment will contain the maximum and minimum possible values and the base value that were active for that cell, so you can keep track of your settings throughout.
5. Paste...
clicking Paste... will open a pull-down menu with options for pasting in data exported from the HTTR ScenMaker. You can choose to preserve cell background colour formatting, cell comments, or both; or you can choose to clear all contents of the worksheet before pasting in the new data. When you select one of these items, you will be prompted to proceed as a precaution since pasting new data will permanently clear all existing values.
6. Copy
copies Force Data from the worksheet into the clipboard.
7. Highlight...
Clicking Highlight... will open a pull-down menu with options for highlighting HQ or artillery and mortar units, or for clearing existing highlighting. Selecting one of the highlighting options will bold the text in each row containing a unit of that type. When you selecting one of the highlighting options you will be given the option of clearing any existing highlighting before proceeding.
It should be available for download in a few days. If it isn't, pester Marc for it[;)]!
Regards
33
RE: HTTR ScenMaker Tools - new version
Posted: Tue Aug 24, 2004 10:26 am
by Marc von Martial
Can you email me the file or put it on the FTP [;)]
RE: HTTR ScenMaker Tools - new version
Posted: Tue Aug 24, 2004 2:26 pm
by Marc von Martial
v1.10 is now available in the downloads section of the HTTR website and on our PUB FTP.
RE: HTTR ScenMaker Tools - new version
Posted: Tue Aug 24, 2004 11:13 pm
by Golf33
Thanks Marc!
Regards
33
RE: HTTR ScenMaker Tools - new version
Posted: Wed Aug 25, 2004 7:51 pm
by Rooster
Thanks Golf - I'm still learning the old fashioned way of creating and modifying a force, but I want to give your this tool a try. From reading a little, it seems good for modifying existing forces, but can't be used to add units... that has to be done directly in the Scenmaker. Right? But what about completely copying and pasting a new unit over an existing one... (i.e. if I wanted to "import" units from the FP that you've provided with the game into one that I've created from scratch, I'd just need to know how many I wanted to paste from yours, create or duplicate some "generic units" in mine and then copy paste from yours to mine, overwriting the generic units. I guess I should just try it, eh?).
Thanks,
Dan
RE: HTTR ScenMaker Tools - new version
Posted: Wed Aug 25, 2004 11:43 pm
by Golf33
Sort of. Each unit has a unique identifier or "ObjID", this is contained in the left-hand column when you paste exported data into Excel. In the template spreadsheets, this column is shrunk a lot since you don't normally need it when working with the data from a single scenario. If you make the column wider you'll see what I'm talking about.
When you import data in the ScenMaker, it looks at each ObjID in the data on the clipboard, finds the unit in the scenario with the same ObjID, and pastes the data in that row onto that unit.
When you create a new scenario the ObjIDs for your units will be different so you can't directly paste data from one scenario into another. The closest you could do would be to leave the ObjID column alone and paste the data into the other columns, but this will only work if you have the units in the exact same order. Fiddly, but possible (speaking from experience).
Note that the estab attached to each unit isn't exported so when you create your blank forces you'll need to assign them all the correct estab as well as importing naming data. This is why you have to get the order right, otherwise you'll end up with a Bn HQ labelled "Mortar Platoon" [:o].
Regards
33
RE: HTTR ScenMaker Tools - new version
Posted: Fri Aug 27, 2004 1:56 am
by Golf33
Marc,
please disregard the 1.34 version of the tools - I've discovered a bad bug in all versions that will be fixed shortly - will email you with the corrected version.
The bug would occur if the user was working on a sheet that contained hidden cells, either hidden by the user manually or using a filter. If the selection being worked on spanned the hidden cells, any changes made would affect the hidden cells as well as the visible ones. I only just realised this since I don't normally work with hidden filters.
Version 1.37 fixes this by ensuring only visible cells are selected!
Thanks
Steve
RE: HTTR ScenMaker Tools - new version
Posted: Fri Aug 27, 2004 11:45 am
by Marc von Martial
New version online and available from HTTR website.
RE: HTTR ScenMaker Tools - new version
Posted: Mon Aug 30, 2004 1:28 am
by Golf33
Aargh. Please bear with me, I'm afraid I am no professional coder and this stuff just needs a lot more testing than I realised. I have to recommend not using the tools until version 2 since I've just discovered another bug in 1.37 that will result in the macro overwriting the entire spreadsheet if you try and change the value of a single cell only. I hope this will be the last one but then I thought that last time, so I'll sit on these tools until I have had a chance to really test them thoroughly and am sure they really work as advertised.
Sorry for the inconvenience, I hope no-one else has encountered these issues!
To sum up: don't use the tools. I'll pass a working version on to Marc for upload once I am quite certain that it works perfectly.
Anyone that wants to help test these things is welcome to contact me by email at:
steve at panthergames dot com (replace the punctuation)
Regards
33
RE: HTTR ScenMaker Tools - new version
Posted: Mon Aug 30, 2004 6:59 am
by marc420
Ah, testing is sooooo much fun. And you have absolutely no idea how much can go wrong with code until you try to give it to someone else to run.
RE: HTTR ScenMaker Tools - new version
Posted: Mon Aug 30, 2004 8:03 am
by Golf33
A lot of it is because the behaviour of VBA macros depends very heavily on the behaviour of Excel itself, which is of course largely undocumented. The first problem I found was that selections spanning across hidden cells include the hidden cells, which seems totally counter-intuitive to me since why would you ever want to change the value of a cell you can't see?
I fixed that by some tricky stuff involving re-selecting only the visible cells of the user's selection, which seemed to work fine, but then I discovered that if you apply this procedure to a single-cell selection it actually picks up every visible cell on the document!
That one is easily avoided by just checking for a single-cell selection before worrying about whether the cells are visible, but given the track record I want to test it more extensively before releasing it this time.
Regards
33
RE: HTTR ScenMaker Tools - new version
Posted: Mon Aug 30, 2004 9:09 pm
by Rooster
[:)] Thanks for working on this - it will come in handy - creating units with the menus provided in the Scenario Maker isn't too rough, but anything that makes it easier is welcomed indeed.
Do you find that the add-in saves lots of time??
RE: HTTR ScenMaker Tools - new version
Posted: Mon Aug 30, 2004 11:17 pm
by Golf33
ORIGINAL: Rooster
[:)] Thanks for working on this - it will come in handy - creating units with the menus provided in the Scenario Maker isn't too rough, but anything that makes it easier is welcomed indeed.
Do you find that the add-in saves lots of time??
Yes, it does. Being able to set a whole group of units together without having to drag them all to the map saves quite a bit of effort, as well as reducing the risk of carpal tunnel [;)].
I am working on a routine to highlight differences between two spreadsheets that will make it a bit easier to copy unit details from one scenario to another, although obviously the estabs will still have to be set up correctly in the ScenMaker.
Regards
33