Realm Introduction ("Home Page") in Export?

[MaxSupernova]

Hey folks,

I've been playing around with getting my data out of RW, and I've done a Compact Export of the entire realm, and it seems that everything is there *except* the Realm Introduction page, the topic that is my Realm Starting Point.

I have a major map and some important information on my Realm Introduction page that I need in a Entire Realm export.

Does anyone else see this, or am I doing something wrong?

EDIT: More info. The topic is of the category "REALM STARTING POINT". If I try to set the "Getting Started" topic on the Export Page, I can't select the Realm Starting Point topic, as it is not listed anywhere even though it is populated. I though to test what happens if I set the Starting Point to another topic, but I can't change the Realm Starting Point to another topic, as going to Manage Realm and hitting edit doesn't let me change the Starting Point (it stays greyed out and uneditable)

[Silveras]

The "Welcome" page is basically the Home page for the Realm. It's the landing page, but it doesn't export. The only thing you should really put there (IMHO) are links to the Topics that contain your information. If you think of it like a Table of Contents for your realm, it may be easier to see what I mean.

[MaxSupernova]

Not sure why I wouldn't want a table of contents page to export too...

[Silveras]

Well, because the Realm you import into already HAS a Start Page / Home Page.
So exported content imported elsewhere is an "add-on" to that Realm, even if the Realm itself is empty then you Import.

Does that make more sense?

[daplunk]

Yeah the Home page is unique to your realm. It's designed as the place where you can create your own table of contents but its assuming you live in the world where the content market exists.

Once the CM comes out you will start seeing alot of Source articles with GM Synopsis and Player Synopsis articles.

There are effectively the content articles that will come with official content.

Then you can create your Home contents from the content within the realm mixing the content however you like.

[kbs666]

The simplest way to think about this is that for exported content the Source topic is the starting point for the content just like the realm home page is for a standard realm. So that is where you need to move all that stuff you have in your home page topic if you want it to be part of your export.

[MaxSupernova]

I understand now why it works this way, which is different than thinking it makes any sense.

I'm not exporting to import, I'm exporting to print.

And the advice is that I need to ignore the specifically designed "Start Here" page and create another one just because "Export All" doesn't actually export all because they couldn't come up with a way to take a realm's start page and set it into another topic on import? So they've taken a really useful feature and turned it into "Oh, don't use that functionality, you'll lose the data if you ever do anything with it".

Sorry, the whole idea that "Export All" doesn't export all is just a bit crazy to me, especially given the pre-defined "Put lots of information here" fields that are built into the Realm Introduction page.

The more I work with this software, and the more I see the avid defense of some of the design decisions, the more I feel like I'm taking crazy pills.

[kbs666]

Designs that change and get added to as time goes on are inevitable when the design space is as unexplored as this one is.

I'm sure if Rob and co. could start from scratch knowing what they know now RW would look and function quite differently.

Specifically in regards to the realm home page, exporting it won't work since it has no name or other identifier and on import no one would want such over writing their own home page's. Keep in mind that export is meant to facilitate import. That it allows printing is purely a side effect.

[daplunk]

It's completely logical when you consider there is only one home button and it only goes to one place.

If you were able to import multiple home pages you would break the home button and need to add further complexity to provide a mechanic to change the home article.

[Bidmaron]

MaxSupernova has a point. Why not export it (if for no other reason than to support printing) but just not import it?

The export function should not have been designed solely for import. Part of the reason for export is because MANY people at launch days griped because RW was a product that was hotel california - you can check out but you can never leave (the data was confined completely to RW and there was no way to use it anywhere else).