This section
describes the program options screen and explains what the hell all those
little checkboxes mean. Unless
otherwise noted as a “global” option, all options are individually saved with
each profile configuration you have.
Program
Options Screen Elements
Reset Defaults Button
Resets ALL
program options to the default values.
Save and Close Button
Saves all changes
made to the Program Options screen and then closes the window.
Cancel Button
Cancels any changes
made to the Program Options screen and then closes the window.
General Tab
Scrollback Buffer
This is the number of lines that the game will hold in the scrollback buffer. If memory is a concern, it is recommended that you do not set the value above 1000.
Linewrap
This is the number of characters that are displayed on each line on the main screen..
Page on Scrollback
If this box is checked, when
scrollback mode is invoked, an extra pageup is also invoked.
Feed to Scrollback
If this box is checked, any
text that is received by the main display is appended to the end of the
scrollback buffer.
Exit Scrollback at Bottom
If this box is checked, when
the scrollback reaches the bottom, the next “scrolldown” command (Page Down,
click, etc.) will close the scrollback.
Display Menu Items
If this box is checked, the
Menu Items on the Main Screen are visible.
Disable LED Flash
If this box is checked, the
alias/filter LED (to the left of the command line) will be disabled.
Esc Buffer Clear
If this box is checked,
hitting the Esc key will clear any commands remaining in the current delay
buffer.
Escape All
If this box is checked,
hitting the Esc key will, in one fell swoop, effect all actions usually done
one at a time by pressing the Esc key.
This includes exiting Scrollback Mode, hiding the Keyhistory, clearing
the delay buffer (if the above option is also checked) and clearing the text in
the Command Line. If this box is not
checked, hitting the Esc key will do each item one by one, in order.
Note: Take caution when turning this one off. If you do, your Activator Character should be something that you
don’t use in normal typing. If this
option is turned off, then your Activator Character will be used to parse the
line into multiple commands. For
example, if your character is the semicolon and typed the line “say I went to
the store; however it was closed” That
would come across as two different commands “say I went to the store” and
“however it was closed” which would make little sense to both the game and
whoever you were talking to.
Enable Chat Monitor
If this box is checked, the
Chat Monitor will be locally disabled. System
stability could be in jeopardy from use of this. If problems arise,
discontinue use.
Enable Tell Monitor
If this box is checked, the
Tell Monitor will be locally disabled. System
stability could be in jeopardy from use of this. If problems arise,
discontinue use.
Scrollback Labels
If this box is checked, the
index labels on the right hand side of the scrollback display will be
visible. These labels indicate which
lines within the scrollback you are currently viewing.
Use Alt+F4 to Close
If this box is checked,
Alt+F4 can be used the exit the program.
Connection Break Warn
If this box is checked, when
you try to manually break the connection (via reconnecting or exiting the
program), if there currently is an active connection, you will be warned before
severing it. If this box is not checked, the connection is instantly
severed in these cases without any notification.
Lock after Panic
If this box is checked, the
program will be locked when returning from panic mode.
Allow Beep in Panic
If this box is checked, the
program will allow a message beep to be heard even in panic mode (when normally
all program sounds are turned off).
Idle Panic/Minutes Spinner
If this box is checked, the
program will automatically panic after the selected number of minutes.
Secondary Connection -
Auto-Disconnect
If this box is checked, the secondary connection will automatically disconnect upon disconnection of the primary connection.
Secondary Connection -
Secondary Prompt
Whatever you put in this box will appear before each new batch of data from the secondary connection.
Secondary Connection -
Enable Secondary Text Coloring Checkbox and Color Grid
If you want the secondary text colored, check the checkbox, then left-click on the color you want the text to appear in.
Secondary Connection - I (italics) Checkbox
If this box is checked, text
for the secondary connection will appear in italics.
Note: Due to some MUDs using ANSI colors in different ways, coloring and
italicizing the secondary text is an inexact science. As such, some
unexpected (and quite colorful) effects could result.
Secondary Connection - LED Connection Control Colors
Use these buttons to color
the LED (the little light to the left of the command line in the main
screen) depending on which connection (primary or secondary) has current
input control.
Media Tab
Enable System Sounds
If this box is checked,
sounds generated by the game will be heard.
If your computer does not support sounds, this option will be
automatically turned off whenever a sound attempts to play.
Message Beep
You
can set the sound to play when you receive a message beep. Pressing the button will select a
sound. Use the small button to the
right (the notes) to play the sound you have selected as a sample. Use the small loudspeaker/eraser button to
clear the sound.
Auto-Show Imagery
If this
box is checked, the Imagery will be automatically opened whenever an image
comes across.
Auto-Expand Imagery
If this
box is checked, the Imagery will be automatically expanded to preset limits
when an image comes across.
Imagery Max Height
This is
the maximum height the Imagery will be auto-expanded to.
Imagery Max Width
This is
the maximum width the Imagery will be auto-expanded to.
Enable Remote Media
Support
If this box is checked, the
program will support media file loading/playing/repeating commands from Portal©
enhanced MUDs.
Auto Download Media
If this box is checked, this
allows Portal© enhanced MUDs the ability to automatically download media to the
media\sounds and media\images directories of your local machine.
Notify Auto Download of
Media
If this box is checked, when
a media file is automatically downloaded, you will be notified of the filename,
as well as the URL from which it was downloaded.
Auto-Play Downloaded Media
If this box is checked, when
a media file is downloaded, it will automatically begin playing.
Status Bars Tab
Each status bar on the
Status Monitor has 5 distinct phases: Low, Median, High, 100% and
>100%. You are able to customize,
for each bar, the percentage points that separate the Low, Median and High
phases. For example, if you set the hit
point Low-Median Spinner to 25. That
means that the separation between the low and median phases for the hit point
status bar will occur at 25%.
The status bars are
separated horizontally by type: hit points (red cross), spell points (sparking
orb), guild points 1 (green rune), guild points 2 (violet rune) and the enemy
(warrior).
Use Status Bar Colors on
HP1 Bar Checkbox
If this box is checked, the
actual text (e.g. 50/100) on the HP1 bar will appear in the same color as the
respective gauges for that status element.
HP Bars/Status Monitor
Checkboxes
These checkboxes determine
if the individual status elements will appear on the HP bars and/or the Status
monitor. If a box is checked, the corresponding element will appear. If a box
is unchecked, the corresponding element will be hidden. This is handy to use if your MUD doesn't use
a particular status element.
Low Buttons
These buttons select the
color for the individual low status phases.
Low-Median Spinners
These spinners control the
individual breakpoints between the low and median phases for the status bars.
Median Buttons
These buttons select the
color for the individual median status phases.
Median-High Spinners
These spinners control the
individual breakpoints between the median and high phases for the status bars.
High Buttons
These buttons select the
color for the individual high status phases.
100% Buttons
These buttons select the
color for the individual 100% status phases.
>100% Buttons
These buttons select the
color for the individual >100% status phases.
Gauges Background Color
This
button selects the background color of the gauges on the HP1 & HP2 bars.
Show Status Gauge % as Text
If
this box is checked, the status gauges on the HP2 bar
will show a text % value as well as their normal, graphical representation.
HP4 Bar Left Message Window Border Color
This
is the color the border of the left message window on the HP4 Bar will flash.
HP4 Bar Right Message Window Border Color
This
is the color the border of the right message window on the HP4 Bar will flash.
HP4 Bar Message Duration
This
is the number of seconds that a message will remain visible on the HP4 Bar.
HP Status Caption Masks – Hit Points
You can change the
appearance of Hit Points to appear as this mask instead in hints, captions etc.
HP Status Caption Masks – Spell
Points
You can change the
appearance of Spell Points to appear as this mask instead in hints, captions
etc.
HP Status Caption Masks – Guild
Points 1
You can change the
appearance of Guild Points 1 to appear as this mask instead in hints, captions
etc.
HP Status Caption Masks – Guild
Points 2
You can change the
appearance of Guild Points 2 to appear as this mask instead in hints, captions
etc.
Text Options Tab
Command Options
This group determines how
certain text and commands appear and are executed. There are many different kinds of text, these are listed below.
Typed Commands
Text entered into the Command Line
Autotyped Text
Text Autotyped from the Autotyper
Sent Text
Text pasted from the clipboard or sent via a text file
Alias Commands
Commands invoked via aliases
Macro Commands
Commands invoked via macros
Event Commands
Actions invoked from events firing off
Quickchar Commands
Commands translated from a string of quickchars
Ticker Commands
Actions invoked by the ticker
Parsed Commands
Commands parsed by using the activator character
Sprinting Commands
Commands sent by the cartographer when sprinting
Commands use a hierarchy
system for coloring, nicknames, variables/functions and adding ! (each of which
are described in detail below). The
major command combination possibilities are listed below.
Alias/Macro Command > Parsed Commands
Alias/Macro Command > Quickchar Commands
Event Action > Parsed Commands
Event Action > Quickchar Commands
Quickchar Command > Parsed Commands
Ticker Action > Parsed Commands
Ticker Action > Quickchar Commands
Ticker Action > Alias/Macro Command
Ticker Action > Alias/Macro Command > Parsed Commands
Ticker Action > Alias/Macro Command > Quickchar Commands
Parsed Command > Quickchar Commands
Sprint Command > Quickchar Commands
All actions that are
executed beneath another command follow the rules according to the highest
command in the hierarchy. For example,
If the ticker fires off an alias which then fired off a string of
quickchars, the final commands (from the quickchar string) would be colored as
ticker items and follow the rules for nicknames and adding ! for the ticker. If you manually fired off
the same alias, the quickchar commands would follow the color, nickname,
variable/function and add ! rules for aliases.
Only when you manually fire off the string of quickchars will they
follow the rule for quickchar commands.
Note: As defined in the Activator Character help file, if you put a “ in the
first line of any command, it tell the program to send the text literally. No nicknames will be replaced, nor any
variables. No functions will be
evaluated, no activator character parsing performed and no ! will be prefixed
to the command. The “ in the first
position overrides ALL text options for that particular command.
Below are the detailed descriptions of the text
options columns.
Echo Column
This column of checkboxes
determine if the command text appears on the display. For example, if you wanted to see all the text you enter via the
command line to show up on the display, you would check the Typed Text
checkbox.
Color Column
This column consists of a
series of small buttons and the letter "A" in different colors. Press the button to change the color you
wish the text to be displayed. The
letter "A" represents an example of how the text will appear on the
display. If you do not choose to
display the text (via the previous column) the color you choose for the text
makes no difference.
Nick Column
Checking a checkbox in this
column determines whether or not nicknames will be applied to these
commands. If a box is checked, all text
will be checked for any nicknames and will be adjusted accordingly.
Var Column
This column is used to
determine if you wish to use variables with this text option. If the box is checked, whenever you insert a
variable with the @ symbol, the current value for that variable will be
replaced. For example, if you typed
give @aaa to joe, with the var-checkbox for typed currently checked, and @aaa currently equaling sword, it would be
the same as if you typed give sword to joe.
If you did not have the box checked, the @aaa would come across
literally.
f(x) Column
This column is used to
determine if you wish to use functions with this text option. If the box is checked, whenever you insert a
function into the command, the function will be evaluated before the text is
sent. For example, if the box was
checked and you typed hey there cap(bob), it would come across as hey there
Bob. If the box wasn’t checked, the
cap(bob) function would come across literally.
! Column
Sometimes, when writing a
note or composing a mail on the game, you might have an event be fired off by
some other text on the game. If this
happens, any actions you then perform will be put into the note or mail, and
not sent as commands. To prevent this,
adding a ! (called the bang) to the beginning of the line will cause whatever
you enter to happen outside of the mail, note, etc. you are working in (in
UNIX, these are called shells). So, if
you’re writing a letter and typed “smile” the word “smile” will appear in the
mail itself. If you typed “!smile” then
you would actually smile (as per the command) and nothing would be entered into
the mail.
When this box is checked,
the associated actions will have a “!” added to the front of the command when
it is sent to the game. You won’t
actually see the bang character in the echoed text, but it will be sent
nonetheless.
Delay Column
Normally, Portal© sends
commands to the server as fast as the connection will allow. There are times, however, where you might
wish to slow down the sending of certain commands to a reasonable pace. By checking the corresponding delay
checkbox, those commands will be sent to the MUD server delayed as defined by
the Delayed Text Speed (below).
Special Text Appearance -
Selected Text Color
Use the color button to
choose the desired colors you wish selected text to appear in.
Special Text Appearance -
System Text Color
Use the color button to
choose the desired colors you wish system text to appear in.
Special Text Appearance -
Hyperlink Text Color
Hyperlinks (if enabled) will
appear in the main display underlined, in the colors chosen here.
Enable Hyperlinks
This option determines
whether or not hyperlinks will be highlighted in the main display.
Delayed Text Speed
Speed at which to send
delayed text (1 tick = 1 millisecond).
Setting the speed to 0 is effectively zero delay, which will send the
commands as fast as possible.
Special Characters -
Activator Character
This is where you change
your Activator Character to whatever you desire (if you don’t like the default
; that is). For more information on the
usage of the Activator Character, see the corresponding help file of the same
name.
Special Characters -
Quickchar Insertion Character
This is where you change
your Quickchar Insertion Character to whatever you desire (if you don’t like
the default “ that is). This character
is used to fit real commands into a string of quickchars. Please see the help file on Quickchars for
more information on the use of the Quickchar Insertion Character.
Autocopy Selected Text
If this box is checked, any
selected text in the main display or scrollback is immediately copied to the
clipboard.
Auto-Mask Password
If this box is checked, your
typed password will be auto-masked to the screen. It will still appear on the Command Line, but will not be shown,
nor added to the Keyhistory.
Full Flashing Text
If this box is checked,
flashing text will alternate the foreground and background colors with each
flash. Otherwise, only the foreground
will flash on and off.
Grammar Auto-Correct
If this box is checked, actions
and commands will have some basic grammar and punctuation checked. For example, when this option is enabled, if
you typed “don’t” it would come across as “don’t” instead. “im” would become “I’m” etc. Now you can be as lazy as you like and still
appear literate.
Enable Pure Line “
Character
If this box is checked, when
using " in the first character of a command, Portal© will send that
command free of all variables, nicknames, functions, etc.
Enable Forced ,
Character
If this box is checked, when
using , (the comma) in the first character of a command, Portal© will send that
command immediately, through any current wait delays
Command Line Tab
Command Line
Retention Defined
Command Line Retention is
the Command Line’s ability to keep a command you just sent from the command
line (by pressing Enter) in the Command Line without erasing it. While this may seem simple at first, there
are other, more advanced aspects you can do with Command Line Retention. Some commands were created for you when your
character was created, they will be listed in the Retention Grid. You can delete these default values if you
don’t like them being retained. First
we’ll list the tab components and then show some examples on how to use the
Command Line Retention ability.
Retain All Commands
When this box is checked,
all commands entered to the game are retained.
If this option is checked, all other controls on the Command Line tab
are disabled.
Enable Command Line
Retention
If this box is checked, the
command Line will retain only those commands defined in the Retention
Grid. If the box is unchecked, no
commands will be retained at all, and the Command Line will be cleared every
time you send anything from it.
Note: With this checkbox unchecked, no commands will be retained in the
Command Line. The commands will not be
erased from the Retention grid though, and simply remain idle until you
activate them again via this checkbox.
Retention Grid
This grid displays all
commands that are currently retained.
If the checkbox in a command’s row is checked, it means any time that
command is retained, it is appended with a trailing space.
Delete Command Button
Deletes the currently
selected command in the Retention Grid.
New Command to Retain
Field
Enter the new command you
wish to retain here.
Add Trailing Space
Checkbox
The new command will have a
space appended to it whenever it is retained in the Command Line.
Add Command Button
Adds
the new command to the Retention Grid with the appropriate “Add Trailing Space”
option.
Note: Any commands entered or deleted from the Retention Grid remain added or
deleted, regardless of how you exit the Program Options screen (either the Save
and Close Button or the Cancel Button).
Examples Using
Command Line Retention
Use Command Line Retention
to repeat a simple command that gets repeated frequently
An example of this might be
a direction, “n” (north) for example (n has already been added for you). To move north many times, you might type n,
press Enter, type n, press Enter and repeat this many times. With retention enabled, you can type n once,
then press Enter. You’ll notice that
the “n” is not erased from the Command Line, which mean if you hit Enter again,
it will again send “n” to the server.
You can continue sending n to the server by pressing Enter as long as
you desire and the “n” won’t disappear from the Command Line (until you erase
it). You’ll also note that the retained
command remains highlighted. This
allows you to overwrite it with another command without having to erase the
retained one first. This only occurs if
you do not use the “Add Trailing Space” option for retention of that command.
Use Command Line Retention
to repeat part of a command that gets repeated frequently
A perfect example of this is
the “tell” command. Let’s say you are
talking to Bob, sending a whole slew of tells, and are tired of typing “tell
bob” each time you tell him something.
Well, you could use the Tell Monitor to alleviate this problem (see the
help file on the Tell Monitor) or, you could use Command Line retention. Simply retain the command “tell bob” and
this time, use the “Add Trailing space” option. What this will do is retain only “tell bob” while deleting the
rest of the line typed. For example,
let’s say you type “tell bob hi there”
With retention enabled, press enter and two things happen. First, the command “tell bob hi there” is
sent to the server (as expected) but you’ll notice that the words “tell bob”
have been retained (with a space afterwards).
The cursor is perfectly positioned for you to now type something else
after them and do another tell to Bob.
Note: Any command retained using command Line Retention can be edited or
erased just like any text normally in the Command Line can be. You can also use the Esc key to erase the
line as normal.
Auto-Expand Command Line
If this box is checked, the
Command Line will automatically expand and word-wrap when there are multiple
lines present. This is so you can see
the entire message that you will be sending.
If the box is unchecked, the Command Line will remain one single
line. When the Command Line is
expanded, use Ctrl+Home to move to the beginning of the message and Ctrl+End to
move to the end. Home and End without
Ctrl will move to the beginning and ends of individual lines respectively.
Truncate Command Line
If this box is checked, when
you press Enter, all characters after the cursor in the Command Line are cut
off. Also, if you highlight a block of
text, only that text will be sent when you press Enter.
Keyhistory Tab
Message Options - Keyhistory Buffer
This
is the number of commands that will be held in the Keyhistory buffer for your
later retrieval. If memory is a concern, keep this value relatively low.
Message Options - Characters Required for Keyhistory
This
is the required length (in number of characters) of a command for it to be
inserted into the Keyhistory. For
example, if this is set to 5, then all commands that contain at least 5
characters will be inserted into the Keyhistory. All others will not.
Keyhistory Well Items
These items are a kind of
“resident” Keyhistory item that remains in the system as long as there’s
something defined in them via this screen.
When you use the Up Keyhistory feature, it will search all items in the
Keyhistory, then search through the well items. It’s basically used for commands you do a lot and wish to always
have in the Keyhistory. Normally you
would use an alias or macro for such things, but this is just another way.
Active Keyhistory
When turned on, this option automatically displays
the most recently matching Keyhistory item in the command line as you
type. So as you type each letter, the system will attempt to make a
match-up. This is handy for quickly seeing if you even have something in
your Keyhistory without having to tap the up or down arrow. Once you've
zeroed in on the new item, simply tap the up arrow or hit the End key and it's
locked in, ready to enter.
Auto-Highlight Keyhistory
When this box is checked, commands retrieved by the Keyhistories will be highlighted.
Enable Tab-Completion
When this box is checked,
text that comes across the screen is captured into a buffer. When you then
type in part of a word into the Command Line, then hit the Tab key, it will
attempt to match it to one of the words in the buffer. Hitting Tab again
will cycle to the next possible match. Shift+Tab reverses the
cycling. This is very cool if you see a long or difficult to type word
come across such as superfragilisticexpialidocious. In this case, you'd
only have to type in "sup" and then hit Tab to bring down the whole
word. Play with it and check it out, it's fun.
Note: Some machines will be slowed by this function, so if you notice such, you might consider turning this off.
Completion Buffer
This value controls the number of unique words held in the tab-completion buffer. If you notice a slowdown, you may want to reduce this number.
Characters Required for Buffer
Only words that are this number of characters in length or longer will be entered into the buffer.
Lowercase All Words
If this box is checked, all words that are inserted into the buffer will be set to all lower-case letters.
Command
Reversing Tab
Command reversal is used in
different places in the program.
Aliases are the most common usage.
This grid allows you to define what commands get reversed with
what. For example, the command “n”
(north) has the natural reverse “s” (south).
This means that when you want the command “n” reversed, you’d want it
replaced with “s” This area is where
you define the replaced values for certain commands.
Reversed Commands Grid
This grid lists the
currently defined commands and their reversed values.
Delete Command Button
Deletes the currently
selected command/reversed pairing from the Reversed Commands Grid.
New Command Field
Enter the new command to
reverse here.
New Reversed Command Field
Enter the reversed value for
the new command here. For example, if
you entered “in” for the command, you would enter “out” into this field.
Duplicate Reversed
Commands Checkbox
Checking this box will add
the command/reverse pairing, as well as the reversed pairing. For example, if you had “in” and “out” as
the command/reversed pair, the pair “out” and “in” would also be added to the
grid.
Add Command
Adds the new
command/reversed pair to the grid.
FTP Emulation
Tab (Portal© supported MUDs only)
Downloading
Data
Portal©
allows you the feature of downloading data from Portal© supported MUDs. This gives you the ability to grab entire
files and lists, which you can then send to the autotyper or save to a text
file for later use. Any file download
is performed by the MUD server, which is usually initiated by a command you
would send to the server. This is a great
convenience to game wizards, for instead of editing a file online, they can download
it, copy it to the Autotyper, edit it locally, then upload it back to the
server via a quick Autotype.
Auto-save downloaded
files to the local directory Checkbox
If this box is checked, all
downloads will be written automatically to the local directory.
Overwrite local files of
same name with download Checkbox
If this box is checked, all
auto-downloads to the local directory will first check to see if the file of
the same name and extension exists. If
it does, it will not overwrite the file.
Local Directory List Box
Double click on a directory
to select it as your local download directory.
This directory is where download files will be written to, if you have
chosen to do so.
Local Disk Drive Box
Select the disk drive you
wish to peruse with the directory List Box.
Use Delay on Upload Checkbox
When checked, uploaded files
will be delayed according to the Delayed Text speed as defined on the Text
Options tab. Otherwise, the files are
uploaded as fast as possible (which could be too fast for some MUD servers).
Global Options
Tab (these options are saved for all
characters)
Show Warnings
If this box is checked,
warnings will pop up when you try to replace things that already exist with new
ones. For example, if you are about to
overwrite an existing event with a different set of actions, a small window
will open asking for you to confirm if you want to proceed.
Disable Backup Reminder
If this box is checked, you
will not see periodic (though still rare) messages reminding you to backup
important files. Basically it's always a good idea to have a backup of
profiles, maps, etc. This helps you remember to make them.
Maximum Events
This option helps prevent
recursion within events. Setting this
number tells the program to only execute this many events in a span of 5
seconds. A violation of the 5-second
rule will turn the left bar of the Main Screen red and prevent any new events
from activating actions (or sounds etc) until the event counter is reset (when
the next 5 second interval occurs).
Persistent Keyhistory
If this box is checked, the
Command Line keyhistory is saved upon closing Portal© and re-loaded upon
re-executing Portal©.
those who like to have
the links presented always available for a quick clickthrough.