Lone Wolf Development Forums  

Go Back   Lone Wolf Development Forums > Realm Works Forums > Realm Works Feature Requests

Notices

Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
RampagingHoardes
Member
 
Join Date: Jun 2013
Posts: 94

Old September 2nd, 2014, 02:40 PM
Any chance of a Bulk File Importer into RW?

It would be so helpful if we could read an entire pdf, word or comma delimited file into realm works as a topic(s) and then be able to tag the text and split it into further topics based on the tag we set. This would be a HUGE leap forward for the product.


A Bulk loader for Herolab would also be nice even if the data has be be massaged first to meet Hero Lab file specs.

Did a lot of this type stuff in the past so i am pretty sure this shouldn't be an issue other than time.

The amount of time saved by not having to do manual entry or to minimize manual entry would seize the gold for next year.

Fingers Crossed.
RampagingHoardes is offline   #1 Reply With Quote
mirtos
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Oct 2011
Posts: 865

Old September 2nd, 2014, 02:48 PM
+1, but i think it should be a CSV file.
mirtos is offline   #2 Reply With Quote
RampagingHoardes
Member
 
Join Date: Jun 2013
Posts: 94

Old September 2nd, 2014, 03:11 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by mirtos View Post
+1, but i think it should be a CSV file.
Honestly it should read any of what I listed to be the most helpful.

Many gaming books and modules are now pdf having the ability to import this directly is invaluable.
RampagingHoardes is offline   #3 Reply With Quote
Cornelius
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Feb 2013
Location: Bennekom, Netherlands
Posts: 206

Old September 3rd, 2014, 01:43 AM
Although I would like this I think it will be trouble how to implement it properly.

For me the best option would be if I buy a product from a publisher in pdf I get a RW copy as well.
Cornelius is offline   #4 Reply With Quote
chiefweasel
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Miamisburg, OH
Posts: 1,322

Old September 3rd, 2014, 03:49 AM
I had a long talk with a few of the developers at Gen Con during the meet and greet about this very thing. There are a few issues that need to be overcome, but they are looking at it. That being said it may be a while before anything is out for it.

Web site - Cheese Weasel Logistics - www.cheeseweasel.net
Twitter - @CheeseWeaselGMZ
For user created content check out www.d20pfsrd.com and www.cheeseweasel.net
For video demos of Hero Lab go to http://www.youtube.com/user/TheChiefweasel?blend=9&ob=5
chiefweasel is offline   #5 Reply With Quote
Ladyofdragons
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2011
Location: NJ, USA
Posts: 130

Old September 3rd, 2014, 05:38 AM
my mind is a tad boggled on how you would automate this.

Step 1 you would have to convert PDF to text. Sometimes this works well, other times not so much. Lots of editing may be required.

After you get it into text format, then you need to divide all that content up into topic chunks. That's not something that can be automated, you'd want to specifically design topics and heirarchy and content/topic type. Even if you wanted zero control over structure you'd have to break up the content somehow. Most publishers use different standards, and certainly different games do, so there's not really a sure way to determine how to automatically split content.

Lastly, you'd have to divide all those topics up into logical snippets, which also is not something that would be done remotely well if it was automated. Most you could do there is one big text snippet per topic, which you would then have to go through all the work splitting it up to be readable/useable anyway.

My feeling is you'd be much better off converting your PDF to text and doing logical human-led copy/paste. Or wait for the content to come out on the marketplace.

-------------------------------------
"...You're going to backstab him with a ballista?"
Ladyofdragons is offline   #6 Reply With Quote
lfseeney
Member
 
Join Date: Nov 2011
Posts: 76

Old September 19th, 2014, 10:34 PM
There is a command for splitting a block of text into a new snippit, so getting the data in,
then using that to break it down would be much faster than the copy paste create new copy paste I would think.
lfseeney is offline   #7 Reply With Quote
Zaphod Beebledoc
Senior Member
 
Join Date: May 2013
Location: Birmingham, UK
Posts: 459

Old November 27th, 2014, 04:04 PM
A big issue for me is the time I need to wait for RW to switch between topics, so any bulk importer, which I really, really, *really* would like, would ideally do the importing behind the scenes.

I've got a great deal of stuff I want to put in, and a lot of it is in Excel files.

With my limited database knowledge, I would think that comma separated value files, which Excel can create easily, would be the best way of doing it.

Would the best way to have a .csv detailing a topic and then it's snippets or a .csv that creates topics, then one that puts in aliases, followed by one that puts the birth dates in, and another for death dates, etc?

Sleet was enjoying a tasty beverage at his local tavern, when a Tarrasque showed up in the local area. He managed to valiantly get on it's back and ride it. How he did it is a mystery to this day...

RW: Engine Heart, I Love The Corps! Home Brew: Star Gate: Avalon, Monda Minutia. I'm good with: OpenOffice, Paint, Lego Digital Designer. & not so good with: Realm Works, Hero Lab, CC3+, GIMP, Cityographer, Hexographer, Fractal Mapper, AstroSynth, Inspiration Pad Pro. RW Kickstarter Supporter.
Zaphod Beebledoc is offline   #8 Reply With Quote
pickin_grinnin
Member
 
Join Date: Apr 2014
Posts: 31

Old December 1st, 2014, 01:09 AM
Quote:
Originally Posted by mirtos View Post
+1, but i think it should be a CSV file.
I agree. For me, .csv importability (and exportability) would be enough for me to actually start to put data into my copy of RW.
pickin_grinnin is offline   #9 Reply With Quote
Dark Lord Galen
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jul 2012
Location: Texas
Posts: 707

Old December 1st, 2014, 04:54 AM
I would agree a de-limited text type of import / export feature could be useful, BUT As LADY above points out, I can't wrap my mind around how LWD could do such efficiently...

Exporting is not as problematic since LWD can control how the data leaves RW.Once the ability to create PDfs or print comes into play this will help the sharing of data from an exporting perspective.

Importing is another matter all together.

Even Adobe (which is the defacto product) for PDFs cannot manage a perfect clean "copy" from PDF to say word *.doc file or an *.xls sheet of Excel. And all of these products have been around for YEARS.

I see ALOT of user clean up that would remove any "time savings" getting the data into the right snipits, tags, articles, etc... I then forecast numerous complaints from the community on wrecked databases, information in wrong places, etc and the community then wanting LWD to "fix it".

Currently cut and paste, (to me) seems the simplest most direct approach. I highlight what I want, and only what I want.. and put it where I want...

I just don't see this working... unless some copies of RW came with a leprechaun feature that magically does this?? IF so I need that patch!!! hehe seriously.... lets not put unrealistic expectations in front of ROB and Company for them to.... IMO... spend energy on that would glean little to no fruit.

Remember RW is a Database, so it is not only just getting the information in, it is also getting that information arranged properly. It isn't as simple as scanning a hardcopy document and creating a digital one.
Dark Lord Galen is offline   #10 Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump


All times are GMT -8. The time now is 12:58 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® - Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
wolflair.com copyright ©1998-2016 Lone Wolf Development, Inc. View our Privacy Policy here.