Remote game prep

zandraxon · December 30th, 2016, 07:07 AM

Happy New Year to all!

My gaming group has our annual winter "Turtlecon", XVIII.V coming up. I purchased HL to assist with streamlining combat and try to make the 18 or so hours of in-game time I need to prep for a bit easier. Running 3.5 because we're old and refuse to change... ;-)

So with ShadowC's help, I've been able to create some monsters from the entered races, and I know how to import them into the encounter builder, AND I have created some home-brew content. But here is the hitch; I'm traveling with my laptop instead of my main PC, so I need to make sure all of this work will come with me!

I already have a 2nd HL license, which I will be loading on the laptop. I will then add the community pack again.

1) Do I simply copy any portfolios manually and drop them in the same spot on the laptop?
2) If I pre-create encounters, is that the same process?
3) While on my PC, if I pre-link from RW to the encounters, do they have to be located under the same directory structure on the laptop, or should I create the links AFTER I move to the laptop?
4) Any other tips or tricks anyone can point out? Things to be careful about?

Leaving tuesday morning... lots of work over this holiday weekend!

Thanks all!

ErinRigh · December 30th, 2016, 07:28 AM

1. Copy the portfolios to any directory on your laptop, you can find them with open portfolio, and HL remembers where you were
2. Same for encounters, I think
3. RW creates an independent link in the program, and I don't think it auto updates

Sendric · December 31st, 2016, 12:23 PM

I haven't played around with RW enough to know the answer to three, but I would assume you might have to re-create the links.

As for Hero Lab itself, the program doesn't care where the portfolios are. You can save them to a "cloud" directory like DropBox or OneDrive and be able to view it just fine. Or you can copy them over to a location on the laptop. It makes no difference to HL.

Any user files you create (if you create them) would need to be copied over to the data directory. They won't work otherwise.

ShadowChemosh · December 31st, 2016, 12:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by zandraxon

3) While on my PC, if I pre-link from RW to the encounters, do they have to be located under the same directory structure on the laptop, or should I create the links AFTER I move to the laptop?

RW has a snippet type called Hero Lab Portfolio that actually stores the .por/.stock file directly into RW. This means the data for the encounter is stored inside of RW and will be cloud synced to whatever computer opens the realm.

Your laptop still would need to have all the .user files and HL binary program setup to fully view the .por file. But RW can even show you the base statblock from the .por file without any HL software.

zandraxon · January 1st, 2017, 09:09 AM

Well... things are looking good. Still having issues making a good connection between RW and HL, but all my HL files are happy and loading on the laptop, including my "Home Brew" d20 file with a couple of magic items and a race I built.

Thanks for the feedback and suggestions! I made my fear save...

ErinRigh Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2016 Posts: 621 December 30th, 2016, 07:28 AM	1. Copy the portfolios to any directory on your laptop, you can find them with open portfolio, and HL remembers where you were 2. Same for encounters, I think 3. RW creates an independent link in the program, and I don't think it auto updates
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zandraxon Junior Member Join Date: Sep 2015 Posts: 23 January 1st, 2017, 09:09 AM	Well... things are looking good. Still having issues making a good connection between RW and HL, but all my HL files are happy and loading on the laptop, including my "Home Brew" d20 file with a couple of magic items and a race I built. Thanks for the feedback and suggestions! I made my fear save...
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