Zugg Software :: View topic - Style Options and Layout Constantly Resetting

Newbie Joined: 19 Oct 2008 Posts: 8

Now that I'm really starting to use CMud I keep running into several problems that are really getting very aggravating. I hope it's ok to make a few different threads so the topics don't become too muddled. I probably have 4 or 5 major issues right now but this thread is just about 2 of them.

Problem 1: Styles keep reverting

I have all my color/font Style Options set for the different windows (session, syntax, editor, status window etc). The actual setting values do not change. However, in particular when I open the Package Editor to write or edit a script, the script-edit textbox is using the wrong fonts,font colors, and background colors. I like my text light on a dark background, and that's how I have it set up, but when I open the editor it's always the same screwy combination with dark background for certain tokens and then white background for whitespace, and so on - next to impossible to read.

To make it readable, I simply need to navigate to Options -> Colors and display the options window -- not change anything -- just display the dialog. Then if I go back to the Package Editor all my colors are correct.

Problem is, EVERY stinking time I bring focus to a different window to look at something, when I go back to the Package Editor the styles are all screwed up again - the exact same wrong scheme, so I need to continually open or bring focus to the Options dialog and then go back to the Editor in order to be able to see what I am doing.

And yes, I HAVE gone into each level of the options, from Global Default to individual module. I tried checking "absolute" instead of "relative" and going through them all again. As I said though the problem isn't the values being stored, it's the fact that they are not being correctly applied when the various windows load and/or regain focus.

I switch windows many many times, especially when debugging scripts, and I cannot explain how frustrating this is.

Problem 2: Layout requires adjusting every time CMud is started

I have a certain layout, not too complicated, basically my main session window filling the left half of the CMud application window and several tabbed capture screens taking up the right half. This arrangement is then docked inside of the application window, which is manually sized - not maximized, so that I can see and access other apps/windows as well. Then I also have the Status window separated from those and to the right (outside) of the entire application window.

That's how I have to manually arrange everything every single time I start CMud. Once I get it arranged how I want it, I manually save it ("Save Session Layout") and select "Lock Layout". I have "Auto-save Layout" deselected so it doesn't have any excuse to accidentally save the arrangement diferently if windows get pushed out of place. I also do have the "use Layout" option set under Session Properties.

However when I close and then reopen CMud, it always comes back the same incorrect way: the application window itself is the correct size, but it's a blank window with nothing docked inside it. The left/right combination appears in front of it (undocked), and very small, like 2" square. Furthermore, the Status window always becomes tabbed on the left side of the combo behind the session window!

So first I need to drag the left/right combination window back into being docked inside the CMud application window. Then, since the combination window appears so small, it's internal arrangement is crunched together and I need to resize the split between left and right sides. Then I need to drag the status window out of that arrangement and back over outside and to the right of the application window. Then I re-do all the saving and locking, curse a bit, and so on.

I am keeping my fingers crossed that this unpleasantness can be resolved, either via someone's brilliant suggestion of something I didn't think of, or by the software being fixed. If not I will be forced to jump in front of a large speeding truck.

Thanks,

Lee, aka Mandelbrot

Posted: Thu Nov 06, 2008 5:29 pm

What version of Windows are you using? Sounds like it might be a Vista permission problem.

On Problem 1, can you give me an exact step-by-step procedure for trying to reproduce your problem? I just changed the styles in a blank session and the package editor seemed to retain the color settings. You might try deleting your STYLES.INI file in case it has gotten corrupted, but I'll still need a procedure for seeing the problem that you are having.

On Problem 2, you might have a corrupted layout file for your session that is preventing CMUD from saving the changes to your layout. To fix this, hold down the SHIFT key and click the Open Offline option for your session. That will reset the layout to the default. Now you can move around your windows. Use the #SAVE command to save your layout file.

However, if there is a file permission problem that is preventing the *.XLY layout file from being saved, then that will cause the problems you are having. But all of my layouts here are saving without a problem, so it's not a general problem with CMUD.

Newbie Joined: 19 Oct 2008 Posts: 8

I'm using XP Pro. I guess it might be relevant that I'm running it on OS-X via Parallels, but I haven't noticed any problems with other windows applications also run in the same environment. I do notice that XP often insists on checking the disk image when I reboot, and quite more often than usual finds some file weirdness - always with a CMud file of some kind - either a .db file, or a settings file or etc. So that supports your suggestion about the corrupted settings/layout
files. I'll look into deleting and redoing them, and maybe finding some way of automatically backing them up every minute or so, so that I have something to restore if (when) this happens again.

I am also inferring that no one else who read this has this problem (from the absence of comments to that effect), so I'm going to suspect Parallels for causing these shenanigans.

In any case, thanks for the input. Much appreciated.

Newbie Joined: 19 Oct 2008 Posts: 8

Update: I saved a copy of my session and have been using the copy, and the layout now appears correctly when CMud loads. So it must have been a corrupt layout file.

As for the Style Options, I noticed something after my last post that I hadn't noticed before. It's not an issue related to window focus, it's something to do with the "Value" textbox for Variables. If I look at the body of a Trigger (or alias etc), correctly formatted as I want, and then look at a variable to see what it's current value is, when I switch back to the Trigger the formatting is changed -- as how I described in the first post, with white background for the whitespace etc. The "Value" area for Variables appears as white background with black Courier, and I see no way to change that (all of my style backgrounds are set to black or dark colors, so this isn't using any of them apparently).

Is there a way to fix this?

Wizard Joined: 22 Mar 2007 Posts: 2320

I think I understand what you are talking about in the colors for the editor window. I believe the problem is that you have not changed the background colors for Zscript. In the Preferences for Colors, scroll down the styles and open the style group labeled zScript. In there you can set the color and fonts for variables, aliases, and so on. By default, the background color for all of these is 'default', which is white for the editor window. You can change the foreground and background colors as you please. You may also have to change the settings in the Syntax Editor styles.

Wizard Joined: 22 Mar 2007 Posts: 2320

Actually, I just took a closer look. Don't change the background colors in the zScript styles. Instead, go to the Syntax Editor style group, and set the Default style. That plus the Text Editor style in the General group should do what you need. You may need to edit specific zScript styles so that some of the foreground colors are more visible on your new background.

Posted: Fri Nov 07, 2008 9:18 pm

I've added the issue with the Variables editor to the bug list. The colors for zScript only effect the *script* editor, and since Variables do not use scripts, it isn't using the script editor. Instead, the Variables page is just using a normal windows text "memo" input box, and it isn't changed by any of the Style settings.

Newbie Joined: 19 Oct 2008 Posts: 8

I tried the suggestions in Rahab's last post (actually verified I had already tried them, and did it all again anyway), but this did not fix anything. Thanks Zugg for opening an issue on this.

Semi-related, I notice there is a category for "User Styles" but I see no way to define (create new) user styles.

In any case, thanks for the help.

Wizard Joined: 22 Mar 2007 Posts: 2320

User styles are a planned feature not yet implemented. I'm looking forward to it, but it is (rightly) a low priority.