Adding "Default" Skills
 

I noticed some skills aren't listed on the character sheet by default, both in HeroLab and the official character sheet. I'd like to have these listed on all character sheets rather than adding them to every new character sheet I make.
Can defaults be customized to include additional skills?

Are you familiar with using the editor? Using that, you could make replacement copies of the skills you want to change, and set them to be added to every character.

If you need help getting that accomplished, please ask, and I can walk you through that.

That would be helpful! I'd really appreciate a walkthrough.

Mind if I take a stab at it?

I want to get a response to Billy277 sooner rather than later - next time, BoomerET, just take a stab at it, rather than taking the time to ask. I'll add clarifications/corrections if I need to.

In the Tools menu, choose "Show Editor".
In the editor's file menu, File...New Data File, and then File...Save Data File, and give it a file name you'll remember, and you must put it in the default folder that HL offers when you go to save it.

Then go to the Skill tab, and click "New (Copy)" at the bottom left. While you've got the list of skills open there, write down the unique Id that's in parentheses on a piece of note paper for the skill you're going to be working on. I'll use Art and Craft (Photography) as my example, so I record that the Id is "skPhotogra", and then choose Art and Craft (Photography).

About 2/3 down, click "Always Display".

On the right-hand side, find "Replaces Thing Id", and enter the Id of the skill you're replacing - skPhotogra in this case.

At the top, find "Unique Id" - enter a new Id. I'd use "skMGPhotog" - MG are my initials, so I'm noting that this is my variant of photography.

Repeat that for all the other skills you want to change, save the file, and close the editor.

In the Develop menu, make sure "Enable Data File Debugging" at the top is turned on, and then choose "Quick-Reload Data Files", and you should now have the adjusted skill list.

Note that in the editor was the "Test Now!" button. I didn't have you use that, because Test Now can't handle replacements - it can only handle simple patch jobs adding new items to the database.

werd up ninja M, I'll be here in the shadows.


Dave

I have no problem if users want to help other users, and let me spend my time on adding new material and fixing bugs. Sorry for jumping ahead, I didn't know when you'd next get a chance to post here.

I completely understand.

I'm not a person to be depended on with something like this. I float in and out of hobbies on a regular basis.

I haven't played an RPG in probably over a year or more, but I still keep HL and RW updated, just in case that wild hair comes back.

Thanks to both of you! I think I've got it figured out.

That's fantastic to hear. Play around with it, make mistakes, try something else.

That's how I became such a great HL coder.
(Well, OK, maybe great is a bit of an exaggeration).

?Bit of an exaggeration? I think I'm going to stop now.

Good luck to you.


Dave