I need HL data entry advice.

I'm trying to enter KibblesTasty Homebrew classes to Hero Labs. I'm stuck on the first hurdle. Under Skill Table #1 I set the number of picks a character can have at 2, then in the Choices I select all the options. When I tested it, it GAVE the character all of the skills as proficient, and the tab where you can normal pick the choices didn't have a selection link. Fenris, if you have an entire class (including sub-classes) coded, could you let me know the files? You have them ultra organized and I'm not sure where anything is lol. I can open them up in safe mode and just use it as a pattern.

nm, fixed it. I had to add a custom ability counter first, then both selections appeared

*sigh* I really wish I ACTUALLY knew scripting. I'm basically cobbling Fenrir's work on the Mystic Class as well as the Artificer class into entering the Inventor. Basically 'ok, this sub-class feature works similar to this other, how did Fenrir code that? ok, now, where can I go to find what group and subgroup that ID is in so I can make my own version' lol

Fenris, if you see this I have a big question for you. When you coded the Artificer you set it up so that the Infusions had their own tab... how the HECK?! I looked all over the files and I can NOT find anything that would indicate such a thing! lol. The other issues I KNOW I can figure out, things like having a sub-class add more to my secondary abilities list. sub-class preqs I just have to look at how you coded the warlock invocations that require certain pacts to figure out how the scripting is. But the tab thing has me messed up!

Hey dude! The Infusions tab's what is called a Configurable. Configurables have their own tab in the Editor. You can make a configurable and bootstrap it to the class/subclass/whatever. Then it's just a lot of work to figure out the fields you need to manipulate to show stuff on that tab. You'll mostly be making Custom Abilities (under the Class tab in the editor) and then tying them to that Configurable as options to select.

By all means, poke around everything I've done and steal, steal, steal! The Infusions tab is the most complicated configurable I've done. There's also the Tasha's Variant Tab and the Supernatural Gifts tab you can look at for slightly less complicated setups.

And for the record, I didn't create the Mystic in the files. That was before my time. I've just done most of the stuff since Mordenkainen's Tome of Foes. I don't want to take credit for stuff I didn't do

yeah I figured out it was the configurables, I just can't make it actually CREATE the tab! lol. I'll look at it later, my brain is fried after an hour of comparing .user files to try to properly configure mine with the correct ID tags. I ended up just bootstrapping the custom abilities to the class at the level I chose it so I can make and print a character for the game I'm about to start playing for now lol. It's NOT a long term solution, as it's only for good for THAT character that I made those choices with. but I need sleep Thank you for answering though! This project I've taken up makes me wish my health had not kept me from my computer science degree. script logic is something I never really covered before I had to withdraw for good.

If it makes you feel better, the extent of my computer science knowledge ends with a single web design class in high school, which really has nothing to do with Hero Lab. Everything I do here is built on:

1. These scripting resources
2. Combing through the existing files, making copies and experimenting
3. Searching these forums, and begging people to answer my questions when I can't find the answers
4. Slogging through the HL wiki

A lot of it is also knowing 5e in and out. The more you know about it, the more you can say "the thing I'm trying to do works like thing X that's already in the game," which means you know where to look in the HL files for inspiration.

lol Thanks Fenris. I really appreciate you taking the time to talk with me about this. And yeah I've been doing the comparison. 'hmm, I know that the Artificer does this, so how did they do that?' then looking and going 'wait.. I don't know what that tag means. I need to find others like it so I can puzzle it out' I know the helper.whatever.whatever.container tags are scripting logic to tell the program where to find that particular variable. I just need to figure out the paths so I can use them properly

Oh, one other tool I use: Notepad++. It's totally free, and I use it to search through all the .user files at once. So you don't have to browse through each file to find something; you can instead search for a tag, and ID, etc. all at once!

Do you use that for data entry too, or the built in editor?

Depends on what I'm entering. New subclass or a one-off monster? I use the editor because it's way faster than hand-programming stuff.

But when I'm converting and dumping a hundred new monsters with a hundred new abilities? I use Excel to do mass data inputs, and I've written excel cell coding that adds in all the repetetive formatting. Then I paste that into a .user file via Notepad++.