Okay, next step

[Cairenn]

Since no one ever reads or uses the Site Suggestions forum , I'll post this here.

Next step for the site (beyond that which is still in the works), that kinda got delayed because of all the other stuff that was being worked on around here, is updating the FAQ. It's got the basic "how do I download & install", "how do I upload", and that's pretty much it, at this point. That needs to change.

Soooo .... help me write the updates to the FAQ. If you were first coming to the site, brand spanking new to UI stuff, didn't have a clue as to what 3/4 of this stuff meant, what questions would you want to see answered in an FAQ?

Gimme basic:

"What is ...?"
"How do I ...?"

and the appropriate answers. ie don't give me "use a toc updater every time there is a patch", or I might be forced to smack you around with a trout!

[woofiest]

Well there's no certain order, I just type as it pop up in my head.

Q: Where's the Addons list/manager that allow me enable loading out-of-date Addons?
A: Lower Left corner of the Character Selection screen, after you login.

Q: How do I backup data that any AddOns saved on my system?
A: Backup the SavedVariables.lua file under C:\Program Files\World of Warcraft\WTF\Account\<loginName> folder somewhere else. If you transfer this to another system, basically the other system will then have all your setting loaded just the same as your original system.

Also, there's the layout-cache.txt and chatcache.txt file located under C:\Program Files\World of Warcraft\WTF\Account\<loginName>\<characterName> folder. The layoutcache.txt is a per-character setting for the UI layout. The chatcache.txt is a per-character setting of the channel it's subscribed to (i.e. listing of /chatlist command).

Q: Where is the FrameXML folder that everyone mentioned about? What's it for?
A: It's located at C:\Program Files\World of Warcraft\Interface\FrameXML. Basically it stores the default UI's LUA and XML files. Some Addons attempt to modify the default UI by placing a file in that exact same folder. It's generally a "bad" idea/approach to do so.

Q: After trying things out, how to restore to default UI?
A: Delete the C:\Program Files\World of Warcraft\Interface folder completely, should restore you to default UI. You might also consider deleting your layoutcache.txt file under the WTF folder.

Q: How do I move my chat window?
A: Right-click on the chat window's tab, and select unlock will let you move the chat window around as well as resizing it. Remember to lock it once you are done though!

Q: I lost my combat log, is there anyway to get it back?
A: Go to Interface Option, and check the "simple chat" checkbox. This should get your combat log window back. You can go back to the same place to uncheck the checkbox once you are done.

Q: What's LUA? what's blizzard API? what's XML? etc
A: hook them to some linky such as
LUA - http://www.lua.org/docs.html
Interface Customization - http://www.wowwiki.com/Interface_Customization

Q: Can you suggest any free software for PC user to extract Addons packages?
A: linky to 7-zip for PC: http://www.7-zip.org/

Q: Can you suggest any free software for Mac user to extract Addons packages?
A: linky to ZipIt for Mac: http://www.maczipit.com/

Q: Is there any Addon out there to allow auto-shoot wand? Or auto cast a spell after such-and-such?
A: That is technically impossible, limitation of the Blizzard API. Every spell cast is associated with a hardware event (i.e. mouse-click, or key-press).

Q: Is there any Addon out there show the actual level of the target, instead of the skull icon?
A: No, Blizzard removed that API in one of the content patch. It's technically impossible.


Last but not least, I love your "which is the best mod?" script-bot answer too!

[Cairenn]

Good starting list Woofiest, precisely the sort of thing I'm looking for.

Not sure about:

A: hook them to some linky such as
LUA - http://www.lua.org/docs.html
Interface Customization - http://www.wowwiki.com/Interface_Customization

I'd rather send them to the tutorials forum for that, I think, but willing to continue to hear feedback on it

Definitely not sure about the next two:

Q: Can you suggest any free software for PC user to extract Addons packages?
A: linky to 7-zip for PC: http://www.7-zip.org/

Q: Can you suggest any free software for Mac user to extract Addons packages?
A: linky to ZipIt for Mac: http://www.maczipit.com/

How often do those questions actually come up? Again, what do others think?

As said at the beginning of my post, this is a good start, what else ya got folks?

(Oh, and for the record, sure, I could just write the FAQ myself, but this community is precisely that, a community. It's community driven.)

[woofiest]

That's fine Cairenn, cut out what you see not a fit

Like I said I just type as whatever pop up in my head. Hehehehe

[Cairenn]

And it's appreciated.

[woofiest]

Oh, another Q&A just pop up my mind:

Q: How can I get rid of the graphic at the left-and-right end of the default UI bar?
A: <insert the script there... I forgot>

Q: Can each character have their own specific key-binding setting?
A: Unfortunately not. But there're Addon out there try to provide a possible solution, to allow you have class-specific binding setting save-and-load (e.g. ClassBinding).

Q: How can I hide the default UI bar? Is there anyway to break it apart and hide only potion of the bar?
A: Unfortunately the default bar is all "glued" together with the pet/class bar as well as the XP bubble on top of it. But there're Addon out there allowing you to break the default bar into pieces and custom hide the one you want (e.g. CustomHideBar)

Q: How can I move the Bag position, Character frame, Quest frame, Skill frame, etc to my desire location?
A: Unfortunately not supported by default UI. But there're Addon out there that provide this extention to the default UI (e.g. MoveAnything).



These might not be really best fit FAQ... but gosh how many times I've seen and replied to them... I lost count....

I'll come back whenever I can see some yet-repeat-again question on Blizzard UI forum

[woofiest]

Also, Just wonder, you guys planning on flattening out the FAQ structure? A single click directly to "how to install UI" would be better, than 2-click after layers of link

Off I go home now... hehe... *yawn* work is so borning.

[Cairenn]

Remember how we like to have some actual organization on the site, instead of just an "all jumbled together" layout?

There's the FAQ stuff for End users. Then there's the FAQ stuff for Authors. End users don't care about how to upload. Authors more than likely know how to install a mod.

Yes, I understand not wanting to go through layer after layer after layer. However, to me, it is more frustrating when I'm trying to find something (whether on a web site or in a grocery store) when everything is all jumbled together with no apparent rhyme nor reason.

Using that exact analogy (since I just thought of it, i so smrt!), imagine that you are going to get your groceries. The grocery store you are used to isn't open, so you go to this other one on the other side of town that you've never been to before. You walk in, and there is no organization to the store layout at all. There are no isles, no labelling signs, no groupings. You've got the fish sticks sitting beside the apples which are sitting beside the kitty litter over in this corner. Over in that corner, you've got the frozen french fries beside the toothpaste and the croissants. The orange juice is beside the qamquats, sitting above a shelf of flour. You still aren't sure where the spices are hidden ...

See the point?

I know that (continues) to be one of the on-going complaints about the site, the "layers" or "groupings", and we are trying to work on it, but we aren't going to just have every single thing on a single layer/group. You'd never find a darn thing then!

[Inokis]

How in-depth do you want this Cairenn? Are you wanting 'How do I modify the UI?' type faqs or just UI Installation/Site Navigation info?

[Cairenn]

I'm not sure. Probably just the "basics", at least for now. The more in-depth stuff doesn't really work well as FAQ type stuff, I don't think. When you start getting into nitty-gritty "how do I modify X to produce Y result", that is a bit more than FAQ. We can consider it, if there is call for it, and it would definitely go under the "Developer FAQ" section (oh no, those dratted sections again! ). I think for now we want to just start with the good basic "what is a Mod" "what is a script" "what is a macro" type stuff, hey?

BTW, don't get me wrong, we completely want to help and support the mod authors just as much as the rest of the community, heck, without them there wouldn't be a community! That's why we've got a section of the forums specifically for the more detailed, technical side of thing! I just figure that because those types of questions are more technical and detailed, a basic FAQ isn't really going to be a lot of help.

[Inokis]

These are questions I had that took forever for me to figure out when I first started:

Q: I lost a spell/skill Icon, how can I get it back?
A: Open your spell book and look under the tabs on the right hand side of the window. Tradeskills and innate abilities are in the first tab, and your schools of skills are in the subsequent tabs. There is an additional Pet tab for skills your pet uses. You can then drag these icons to your action bar.

Q: How do I make a macro?
A: Type /macro in the chat channel to bring up the macro dialogue box.

Q: How do I cast a spell using a macro?
A: Open up your spell book and shift left click on the spell you want to display in the macro, while your prompt is in the macro text area.

Q: Can I cast more than one spell in a macro?
A: You can only use the /cast spell(rank) command once per macro. However, you can cast multiple non ranked skills/spells using a script.

Q: How do I reload the UI?
A: Type /console reloadui in the chat channel.

Q: I'm stuck and I can't move, what do I do?
A: Open up the Help Window (? button), then select issues a GM can assist with. Select the Stuck menu.

Q: How do I petition?
A: Open up the Help Window (? button), then select issues a GM can assist with. Select a menu, at the bottom select 'Submit a help ticket'.

[woofiest]

Yet again... those "can I cast 2 spell in one macro" question.

*fainted*

http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/th...ation&t=123103

[Syllani]

Originally Posted by Inokis Q: Can I cast more than one spell in a macro? A: You can only use the /cast spell(rank) command once per macro. However, you can cast multiple non ranked skills/spells using a script.

Please explain how this is possible.

[Inokis]

/cast Arcane Shot(Rank 3)
/script CastSpellByName("Auto Shot");

[Syllani]

Originally Posted by Inokis /cast Arcane Shot(Rank 3) /script CastSpellByName("Auto Shot");

Is this the only example you have?

Auto Shot doesn't really count, since it's activated automatically whenever you use a special shot anyway.

I tried something similar on my lowbie shaman and couldn't get it to work:

/cast Lightning Shield(Rank 1)
/script CastSpellByName("Earthbind Totem");

which resulted in me spamming Lightning Shield over and over.

Like I said... afaik it can't be done with two "normal" spells.