XML Modding Questions

[SailorLovins]

Can you give me a screenshot of an example where
<text type="formattedtext">
<p> </p>
</text>

and

<text2 type="formattedtext">
<p> </p>
</text>

are used? I would like to see the visual results.

[Trenloe]

You won't see anything with that - as they is just open text. <p> tags are paragraph breaks.

But, using <text2> indicates that there will be two columns. Check the "Here are the valid field values:" text in the Wiki reference manual.

[Talyn]

Here, try this for a visual and codified example:

<block_0000>
	<frame type="string">sidebar</frame>
	<align type="string">left,right</align>
	<text type="formattedtext">
		<p>This is the <b>text</b> field.</p>
		<p>Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.</p>
	</text>
	<text2 type="formattedtext">
		<p>This is the <b>text2</b> field.</p>
		<p>The &#60;align&#62; tag is parsed in <b>text,text2</b> order. When using a refblock frame such as this, the frame will always be applied to the right column.</p>
		<p>Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.</p>
		</list>
	</text2>
</block_0000>

[Bidmaron]

Trenloe, I had assumed that two columns meant the Table of Contents and the reference text, but this doesn't sound that way. I haven't gone through every module I've purchased (I buy a lot to support SW), but is there a PF module that is in two column format? The core rulebook isn't, nor is Rise of the Runelords.

[Talyn]

Probably not @Bidmaron. Given the usable default width to a refpage (meaning we're not considering resizability), the font size and the buffer between each asset in a refblock, the two column layout is rather limited in its usefulness. I've used it here and there (usually not even for a full page, just subsections of a page) such as the Lankhmar Player's Guide but it generally works out to be a more pleasant reading experience with single column except for a few outlying circumstances.

[Bidmaron]

Thanks, Talyn. I don't have your Lankhmar material, so can't check it.

[SailorLovins]

Thank you everyone who has patiently helped me bridge some gaps. Special shout out to Trenloe and Tayln. I am going to send you two brief message later. Here is my next question. Thanks to your combined assistance I have finally produced the start pages of a reference manual. It is viewable in fantasy grounds. However it is not in the order in which I intended. I am following the authors format as precisely as possible. Everything is out of order. My question is what tells each block item to appear in what order? I am not seeing a pattern here. Additionally, as you can see in notepad screen shot, I have a column block type containing an image and some text. How do I get the image to appear on the left and the text on the right? Attached is a png of my fantasy grounds result and followed by a png of the page in question as it appears in notepad++. I am disinclined to press forward too much until I understand this important principle so it's on to the drawing board for a personal project I am working on. Thank you again everyone.

This is the Reference Manual I produced from notepad++ as it appears in fantasy grounds.
FGresult.png


This is my XML file as it appears in notepad++ focused on the reference manual page and the order in which the blocks have been created. They do not stay in order. I need the blocks to appear in the same order as I have wrote them. Also how do I change the block containing an image and text in two columns to swap places? Image on the left and text on the right.
PCxml.png

[Trenloe]

Trenloe, I had assumed that two columns meant the Table of Contents and the reference text, but this doesn't sound that way. I haven't gone through every module I've purchased (I buy a lot to support SW), but is there a PF module that is in two column format? The core rulebook isn't, nor is Rise of the Runelords.

Note - this is just for the reference manual. Text2 is just one of the options for a second column in the reference manual "block". As referenced in the wiki page: "The second alignment value will then be applied to the text2, image or picture field." Text2 is just an option available to be used if desired. It's up to the reference manual developer to decide if there is any layout that is appropriate for them to use - like maybe a sidebar, a small flavour image or similar.

[Trenloe]

The order is alphabetical based off the XML block name:copyright cover, credits, disclaim,.

That's why in the reference manual wiki is shows the example as block_01

Call you blocks something like block_01, block_02, etc. and they will be displayed in that order.

[Talyn]

As @Trenloe notes, refpages are alpha-sorted by their names, as are the refblocks within them. Same with chapters and subchapters.

My personal standard is — if I will be containing the entire book within a single refchapter (99% of all reference manuals do this, it's cleaner to work with) — I name it chapter_00 (variable number of zeroes depending on my mood, but minimum of two). For the credits/legal/blahblah section, that is subchapter_00 (again, variable zeroes, but two allows me to go up to 99 subchapters before running into problems) then subchapter_01 will equate to Chapter 1 of the actual book. Makes it easier for me to mentally keep track of what's what. Likewise, I number my refpages and refblocks in similar fashion.