Contents

1. Introduction

2. Backing Up Plugins

3. What It Can't Do (Yet)

4. Loading Plugins

5. The Main View

6. Record Windows

7. Scripting

8. Dialogue

9. Containers, Levelled Lists

10. Find Text

11. Cleaning Records

12. Submitting Bugs

13. CSV Export/Imports

14. Script Templates

1. Introduction

This document explains some of the new features and the major differences from the official editor.

Comments and suggestions are always welcome...visit the SourceForge site at mwedit.sf.net to add bug/features, contribute to the forums, or simply e-mail me at uesp@sympatico.ca.

2. Backing Up Plugins

Fortunately, MWEdit automatically backs up your plugin when you save it. The first time the plugin is backed up, the backup will be named "Plugin.esp.001". Subsequent back ups will be "Plugin.esp.002", "Plugin.esp.003", etc... MWEdit will never overwrite an existing plugin which means that if you save often, you'll have an almost complete history of changes in your plugin. This is useful if you accidently saved something you didn't want or need to revert to an earlier version for debugging.

Note that for large plugins, you may wish to delete the backups occasionally if you are low on disk space.

3. What It Can't Do (Yet)

1. 3D view (so you cannot add/edit cell references)
2. Region paint
3. Animations
4. Path grid
5. Cell reference information edit

4. Loading Plugins

It is also possible to load a plugin without having to load the required master files. This is particular helpful for quickly testing plugins or for debugging. It is important to note that if you do load a plugin without it's master(s) it is possible to 'lose' some information. For instance say an item in the plugin uses some script that is in the master file. If you edit and save that item the script field will be reset since the script doesn't exist. This may be fixed in a later version.

MWEdit uses a standard Multiple Document Interface (MDI) which allows you to edit several plugins at the same time. You can use this to copy content from one plugin to another (simply drag records from the main view from one document to the other).

5. The Main View

You'll also notice that all record types are in the record type list rather than having some items in the list and some accessed from the menu (like scripts, globals, etc... in TESCS). Currently the only thing not in the list is the plugin info (author and description text).

The list's columns are also slightly different, such as with the addition of the "Mod" column for all record types. This allows you to easily view all the active and deleted records by simply sorting by "Mod". Other record types have addition columns added as well. The last sort column as well as the column widths are saved and restored when you switch record types.

The record list is color coded to quickly identify active (green) and deleted (red) records. You can use the View-View Changed menu item to display only the current active records. Right-click on the item list to display commands such as Copy, Rename, etc... New, and hopefully clearer, icons have been created for all record types.

Note that all record lists in the game generally function identically. For instance, in the container item list you can double-click to display and edit that item.

6. Record Windows

7. Scripting

A completely new script compiler has been created from scratch which records many more error messages and warnings than the TESCS compiler. An error message will prevent the script from compiling successfully while a warning message will not (although the compiler script may not work as expected). Some of what the new compiler checks include:

1. Object types used in functions are checked more rigourously. If the function expects an NPC ID, you'll receive an error/warning if you use another type.
2. Functions that are known to be broken will result in a compiler message.
3. Compiler does not permit the use of reserved words as local variables (such as END, X, Y, etc...).
4. Required spaces in IF and SET statements (spaces are added if missing)
5. Checks for missing or extra function arguments.
6. Does not allow the use of multiple objects references on one line.
7. Checks the number of buttons/variables used in the MessageBox function.
8. Warns for missing function commas.
9. Warns for local/global ID conflicts.
10. Checks if the function accepts variables or not.
11. Checks maximum length of variables, IF, SET statements, etc...
12. Checks for unknown or incorrect syntax.

There are three levels of recording warning/error messages: Weak, Default, and Strong, allowing you to set how many warning/error messages are recorded during a compile.

The script text is color coded which allows you to easily identify functions, numbers, keywords, etc... A default white or blue color scheme is available or define your own custom colors which are saved in the registry. The color formatting can also be disabled. The font used in the script window can also be selected.

Complete help on all the script functions is available from the help menu. The help describes all the function parameters, the return value, and function description as well as any special function notes (such as whether it is a Tribunal function, etc...).

Other script commands include the ability to export and import scripts to/from text files and the compiling of scripts on save automatically (no warrning/errors displayed). The Import/Export option is available from the File menu. Exporting a script will output the entire script(s) to a text file with the same name as the script (existing script files are overwritten). When you import a script the script name will be taken from the script name within the file (i.e., begin scriptname).

8. Dialogue

When copying or renaming dialogue topics you will also create a copy of all child INFOs. You can similarily create a copy of INFO records within a dialogue topic (select the records and right-click on the list).

The INFO list in the dialogue window displays more information than that in TESCS. If the INFO uses any functions the entire function description (ex: 'GameHour >= 18') will appear in the list allowing you to more quickly determine which INFO you wish to edit.

Other options include being able to easily change the order of INFO records and the standard filtering by NPC.

The INFO record IDs are generated slightly differently than in TESCS in a manner which virtually guarantees that the ID is unique. The ID is an up to 30 digit number such as 610641915360541333977 with the following format:

Bytes 0- 9: Current system time in seconds since midnight, January 1, 1970

Bytes 10-19: Drive c: serial number (or clock ticks if serial number is not available)

Bytes 20-29: Incremented counter per application session starting at 1

9. Containers and Levelled Lists

10. Find Text

11. Cleaning Records

It may not be possible to clean some INFO records depending on their contents. INFO records use a doubly linked list structure which, if a record is cleaned, can be permanently messed up resulting in lost INFO records or an infinite looping structure. Generally you can clean INFO records unless you move or add new ones. You'll receive a warning message if you cannot clean a particular INFO.

12. Submitting Bugs

13. CSV Import/Export

Unlike the files output by the TESCS the supported CSV format is flexible and allows more record data to be imported or exported. The first line in the CSV file gives the column names for the subsequent data. In order for a CSV file to be successfully imported, these column names much match that as listed in the table below. The columns can appear in any order and all but the ID and ItemType columns are optional.

More supported records and fields will be added in the future. The easiest way to ensure a correct CSV file format is to export some sample records and load that file into your spreadsheet application. You can import multiple record types but exported files contain only the selected records of the currently displayed type in the main view.

When importing records, any existing record with the same ID will be overwritten, assuming it is the same item type. This allows you to reimport the same CSV file several times as you fine tune your item list.

14. Script Templates

The script template file is a regular text file that contains the entire source script for the templates (from the begin to the end statements). The source script will also contain special template variables that will be replaced by values in the CSV file. Take the following simple source script as an example:

begin [ScriptName]
	short DoOnce

	if ( DoOnce == 0 )
		player->AddItem, [ItemID1], [ItemCount1]
		set DoOnce to 1
	endif
end

The CSV file in a regular Comma Seperated Value file that can be output by most spreadsheet applications. It contains the values of template variables to insert into the scripts to be created. A sample CSV file matching the above source example is given below:

	ScriptName, ItemID1, ItemCount1
	dh_itemscr_01, gold_001, 1050
	dh_itemscr_02, dh_item_test_01, 1
	dh_itemscr_03, dh_levelist_01, 4

There are several options available affecting the creation of script templates.

Keep Quotes (CSV)

When this option is checked, any quotes in the CSV file will not be removed from the CSV strings. This might be important if some of your IDs contain spaces. Depending on how your CSV file is created or exported, keeping quotes may result in an incorrect format for some values (like numbers). This option only takes affect for CSV files loaded after the setting change.

Only Complete Rows (CSV)

With the option checked only complete rows in the CSV file will be considered valid for script creation. Incomplete rows (rows will missing values) will be ignored.

Auto Script Name

With this option checked you can specify a script prefix to use when creating new scripts. The Script names will start with your prefix followed by an 4 byte number index (scriptname_0001, scriptname_0002, etc...). If this option is unchecked the script name will be taken from the ScriptName column in the CSV file.