Main Screen

 

Main Screen Elements

 

 

Menu Items

These items, defined below, are what you use to access the other screens of the game.  Some are actions themselves (such as the "Screens to Home" selections), but most bring up other screens.  Most functions can be accessed by a Ctrl+Hotkey combination as displayed in the menu.  For example, to access the events screen, you would hold down the Ctrl key and then press the "E" key.

 

Toolbar

This area, located just below the menu items, contains button shortcuts to most of the Menu Items.  It also contains the Record Tool.  The Toolbar is customizable.  Right click on the Toolbar and select Customize Toolbar to enter the Customize Toolbar Screen.  Click on the “X” button on the far right to close the Toolbar.

 

Statusbar

This bar, also located under the menu items, displays a whole slew of information at a glance.  Each element of the Status Bar, reading from left to right, is defined below.  Click on the “X” button on the far right to close the Status Bar.

 

System Messages Light

This small, rectangular red light is imbedded into the gray bar on the left hand side of the Status Bar. Normally hidden and unlit, it will brighten if there are any system messages to view. Clicking on it is a quick shortcut to the System Messages screen. Passing the mouse over this light will tell you how many messages there are by writing the amount to the Message Bar. The light will remain lighted until all filtered messages have been cleared.

 

Connection Lamp

This green lamp is lighted if there is a current connection to the server. It remains dim otherwise. Right clicking on this lamp brings up a popup menu with connection options.
 

Secondary Connection Lamp

This yellow lamp is lighted if there is a current secondary connection established. It remains dim otherwise. Right clicking on this lamp brings up a popup menu with connection options.

 

Logging Text Lamp

This red lamp is lighted if the input stream is currently logging to a text file. It remains dim otherwise. Right clicking on this lamp brings up a popup menu with scrollback logging options.

 

Download Lamp

This blue lamp is lighted if there is any data available in the download buffer. It remains dim otherwise. Please see the help file Menu Items|File Menu for more information on data downloads. Right clicking on this lamp brings up a popup menu with download options. This option is available on Portal© supported MUDs only.

 

Registration Lamp

This teal lamp is lighted if your copy of Portal© is currently registered. It remains dim otherwise, meaning you should click here to register.

 

System Clock

Displays the current time according to your computer’s clock.
 

Delay Countdown

Located to the right of the clock, this field is normally black and empty, but when a delayed command is performing, a small, animated analog clock will appear, along with the number of seconds remaining in the current delay (if there is one). Clicking on the analog clock or the countdown numbers (while visible) will cancel the current delay and move onto the next command or delay, whichever is next in the buffer.

 

Buffer Count

The number of actions remaining (if any) in the delayed buffer are displayed here in ( ). If there are any other delays remaining in the buffer, those also count towards this total. Clicking on the buffer count down arrow (while it is enabled) will open up the list of items currently in the buffer. Commands remain in the buffer upon login until the connection is actually established.

 

Event Enabler

This small box displays a capital E (for "Events"). Clicking the "lighted" E will disable ALL events and cause the E to darken. Pressing the darkened E will re-enable events and cause the E to light up again.  This also disables status events and Ticker actions as well

 

Message Bar

This long, horizontal gray bar instantly displays the hints of main screen elements as you pass your mouse over them. For example, passing it over a Toolbar button will give you a hint as to what pressing that button will do.

 

Ticker

When the Ticker is enabled, a small timer appears to the right of the Message Box. The number displayed is the current value of the Ticker. If the Ticker is not enabled, this item is hidden. For more information on the Ticker, see the help topic: Ticker. The ticker only runs while you are online. Double-clicking on the Ticker will disable it.

 

Scrollback Counter

This small box displays the number of lines in the current scrollback. Double-clicking on the counter will clear the scrollback.

 

Main View

This screen displays all incoming text messages from the game server.  To select text in the main view, simply click the mouse down, drag over what you want, then unclick the mouse.  You can then select to copy it to the clipboard or copy it to the Autotyper by right clicking the mouse on the main view and selecting your choice.  The normal view appears when the program is started.  To enter Scrollback Mode, press the PgUp key.

 

Note: If the Enable Hyperlink option is checked in the Program Options screen, any hyperlinks that appear in the main display will be displayed in the desired color.  Clicking on any hyperlink will open up your default web browser and link up the hyperlink.  A hyperlink is defined by any string of text that begins with either www. or http://

 

Scrollback Mode

When in Scrollback Mode, the Main View screen splits into upper and lower sections.  The top section is frozen, allowing you to PgUp and PgDown to view text that has since scrolled off your screen, while the lower section scrolls as the Main View normally does upon new text coming in.  You can drag the separator bar by left clicking the mouse on it, dragging it to the desired position, then releasing the mouse button.  The position is saved with your character profile.

 

The labels on the far right indicate the index of the lines you are viewing within the entire scrollback.  The top number is the index of the first line in the scrollback window and the second number is the index of the last line.  The third number indicates how many lines are currently in this scrollback view.

 

Use the single-arrow buttons to scroll a line at a time either up or down.  The keyboard equivalent to this is holding the Ctrl key down while pressing the Up or Down arrow keys.

 

Use the double-arrow buttons to scroll a page at a time either up or down.  The keyboard equivalent to this is pressing the Page Up or Page Down button.

 

To return to the normal view, either press the small “X” button below the index labels or hit the ESC key.

 

Note: Pressing the Scroll Lock key will toggle entering/exiting of Scrollback Mode.

 

Indicator Light

This is a small rectangular light, placed to the left of the command line (in the dark gray bar along the left side).  The light appears gray until activated.  The light is used to provide a subtle indication of when a special Main Screen event occurs.  It will flash momentarily, then fade back to gray.  When an incoming system message (or filtered event) has been intercepted, the light will pulse red.  The light will pulse green when an alias has been used to change text you entered.  Also, when control is established over a secondary connection, the light will change color.

 

Command Line

The command line is where you enter all messages, commands and instructions for the game.  Nothing is actually sent until you hit the return key, so feel free to edit your entry as much as you want before you send it off.  This is also where you induce aliases, quickchars and other keyboard input.

 

Another unique feature of the command line is what’s known as “Command Line Retention.”  Please see the help file on Program Options – Command Line Tab for more details on this handy dandy aspect.

 

You can also choose to have the command line auto-expand for inputs that are larger than one line.  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.  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.  To force a line break into the command line, hold down Shift+Ctrl and press the Enter key.

 

Note: The maximum characters you can send per command line is 500.  This also applies to lines sent via pasting or the Autotyper.

 

Note: You can access the Portal© spellcheck and thesaurus instantly while in the command line.  Press F7 for the spellcheck and Shift+F7 for the thesaurus.

 

Keyhistory

A unique feature of the command line is the ability to intelligently record and retrieve your most recent events.  This feature is called the Keyhistory, of which there are two versions, the Up Keyhistory and the Down Keyhistory.

 

The Up Keyhistory

By pressing the Up arrow once, a small window will appear above the Command Line.  Here you will see the last command you entered, as well as its index (-1).  Pressing the Up arrow key a few more times will bring up more commands that you entered earlier, along with their indexes (-1 is your most recent, -2 the one before that, etc.)  You can navigate through all of you most recent command by using the Up and Down arrow keys.

 

Once the Up Keyhistory has “zeroed in” on a command, it will only remain visible for a few moments before auto-vanishing.  If you wish to keep the command that was found, simply move the cursor in the Command Line, either by clicking with the mouse or using the Left or Right arrow keys.  Pressing Enter will immediately send the command to the game.

 

The Up Keyhistory has a feature that allows you to search the Keyhistory using the first few letters of the command you are seeking.  Enter the first few letters (case sensitive) and press the Up arrow key.  The Keyhistory will auto-complete the letters you entered, attempting to find the first match.  For example: if you had typed "pull cork from bottle" about 50 commands back, you could type “pul” and press the Up arrow key.  It will then go directly to that command.

 

The Down Keyhistory

The Down Keyhistory is slightly different from the Up Keyhistory, but still retrieves data from the same set of commands.  By pressing the Down arrow key once, a list box will appear above the command line.  Here you will see your most recent commands in groups of 8 at a time, along with their index in the Keyhistory.  You can use the Up and Down arrow keys to navigate through the commands.  Once you have found the one you desire, either press Enter to grab it, or move the cursor in the Command Line.  The Keyhistory will auto-vanish after a few seconds.  Pressing Enter after a command has been copied into the command line will actually send it to the game.

 

Just as with the Up Keyhistory, you can search for specific commands using the Down Keyhistory.  Simply enter the first few letters of the command you desire, then press the Down key.  Only those commands whose first letters match those you entered will appear in the list box.  Once the box appears, you can navigate the list and select a desired command as described above.

 

Note: Windows98 has a cute, but somewhat annoying property you can set that will animate items on your desktop.  This kinda plays havoc with the Down Keyhistory though, so we recommend turning it off.  To do so, press the Windows Start Button and follow this path: Settings > Active Desktop > Customize my Desktop… > Effects Tab.  Make sure the “Animate windows, menus and lists” checkbox is Unchecked, then hit the OK button.

 

Note: The keyhistories can be saved over closing Portal© by choosing the persistent keyhistory global program option.

 

HP1 Bar

This bar, located just below the command line, displays the current number status for your character’s major status points. Click on the “X” button on the far right to close the HP Bar.  Right click anywhere on the HP1 Bar for more options.

 

HP2 Bar

This bar, located just below the HP1 Bar, displays the gauges for your character’s major status points.  Click on the “X” button on the far right to close the HP2 Bar.  Right click anywhere on the HP2 Bar for more options.

 

Note: You can control the appearance of the HP1 and HP2 bars using different colors and “skins.”

 

HP3 Bar

This bar, located just below the HP1 and HP2 Bars, displays the "glines" (guild lines) for your character’s guild status.  Use the slider bar to resize the glines to the desired widths.  Right click on the bar to change the font size.  Click on the “X” button on the far right to close the HP3 Bar.  You can choose to copy the text from the glines to the clipboard by right clicking as well.  The test that is copied is the raw, uncolored text.  Unlike the HP4 Bar, the HP3 Bar does not auto-clear after a specified time.  It remains static until it’s changed manually (or automatically via an event or enhanced MUD interaction).

 

HP4 Bar

This bar, located just below the HP1, HP2 and HP3 Bars, displays the Combat and Guild message boxes for your character.  Use the slider bar to resize the message boxes to the desired widths.  Right click on the bar to change the font size.  Click on the “X” button on the far right to close the HP4 Bar.

 

Note: For non-Portal© supported MUDs, please refer to the help file on Using Variables on how to apply the HP Bars for use.