Tag Based Snippets

[BeyondLimitation]

I'm the type of person that really likes to see a label pointing out what a specific piece of information is. Even if I can just read the information and know what it is, I still like formatting to be fairly normalized throughout. Which is one of the things that's annoying me a little bit so far about Realm Works, because I can't find a decent way to do this the way I'd like to.

I'll use the new individual topic as an example. By default, it has some tag-based snippets like gender and race. Let's say I wanted to add a snippet that offers a description. I'd like it to have a label that looks like the gender & race snippets (to make it look uniform under player preview). To get that, I have to make it a tag-based snippet and fill in the annotation with the description, just not picking a tag at the time. However, this leaves this HUGE gap between the label and the text under the preview. My other option is to just do a text-based snippet, and write something like "Description: The person looks like this." However, the formatting looks way different from other snippets when that's done. The only way I really see how to get what I want is by deleting the default snippets and just retyping them in under a text based one.

So, my main question is whether or not there is a way to achieve the formatting that I'd like without having to delete the default snippets that come up?

Second, I'll say that if there is not a way to achieve this by default, how about add a new type of snippet. It's basically just the text one, but split into two sections. The first is a label that has the same formatting by default as the tag based ones, but can have anything typed inside. The second lines up right after the label and can also have anything put inside.

[Dakadin]

Are you able to accomplish what you want by using the Manage tab and selecting Tags? It give the option to add your own tags and tag domains that way.

[BeyondLimitation]

Technically, yes I could accomplish this by making a new tag, however I don't really need to save the information beyond use in the single topic at hand. Tags seem to work best when they can pop up from time to time again, like reoccurring races or equipment types. However, I'm thinking more along the lines of something that would be a sentence that would ONLY apply to the specific topic at hand, like say the physical description of a character or the exact location within a room that an object is located (like within a concealed compartment within a specific statue).

The exact scenario where I ran into this concern was while designing a new category designed to handle spells from the D20 system. Certain things like schools/subschools, components, saving throw, and so on can be repeated over and over, so tags work great for them. However, when it comes to target, area, and effect...it varies wildly from spell to spell. Tags just don't work for these since I probably will never need the entry again. I could type these in as text snippets, but they won't be labeled unless I specifically write "Area: 2 mile radius" or "Target: Willing living creature touched". And if I do that, the formatting will be extremely different from the tag based snippets beforehand.

One option that just dawned on me is that I can theoretically make each one of these entries their own section, using the section header as the label I'm looking for. However, it'll still seem a little strange as my tag-based snippets would technically be labeled twice (once as the section head and once at the beginning of the snippet itself).

[Silveras]

Earlier versions had the labels for text fields.. but that requires each text field to be a unique field/snippet with a specific purpose and name. They're largely the same, functionally, other than the label... and so the un-labeled "Any Text" snippet appeared.

I am sure LoneWolf would like more feedback on whether having distinct fields with labels is better than not, and how much better it is if you feel it is better.

I find value in being able to add as many "Any Text" fields to use any way I need to, but I also see the value in having some specifically-labeled and purposed fields.

[Zaphod Beebledoc]

BeyondLimitation.

Are you thinking of the labels like the Gender or Race ones?

[BeyondLimitation]

Exactly Zaphod. I decided to show screenshots of what my concern is to explain it better. In my TestRealm that I'm using to learn features, I created a new Chuck Norris character. Now, let's say I wanted to add some new info to him. It's labeled as Stuff and the information that would go in it is Blah Blah Blah. Picture 1 is if I used a Tag-Based Snippet to achieve the label effect I want, but putting the info in the annotation spot results in an indention. Picture 2 is if I just do a text snippet and label it myself. It looks more uniform but the formatting still makes it look strange. Both of these are on the player preview screen





I can achieve the effect that I'd like by putting "Blah blah blah" in as a tag, but let's say that information is unique to only my Chuck Norris character. So saving it as a tag seems kinda like a waste since those really seem to be for reoccurring information, like various races that are present in your game.

From what I gathered from Silveras' post, there used to be something very similar to this in an early version, but got removed for some reason.

[Zaphod Beebledoc]

I've just had a quick play with the text editing controls and you can change part of a snippet.

So, "Stuff" can be a different colour, size and font to "Blah blah blah!"

[Zaphod Beebledoc]

Just had a thought!

You could create a tag domain called Misc and put things in there. It would give you the formatting you require.

Maybe they will allow the saving and reusing of formatting via macro. Would be nice!

[Pitchwife]

THREAD NECROMANCY!

I'm with BeyondLimitation on this one. Having *some* snippets give headings, while others do not, just doesn't look great. It also means that some information lacks context. A brief glance shows that the Area (in acres) of The Docks is "16", and the Population is "2000". Also, "Commercial". Also, "Low". "Commercial" what, you ask? "Low" what? Excellent questions. If only you knew what the Snippet Type was...

[Knightblde]

I agree. If my data has no label, I don't know what my data is. Adding a million text fields is great, but we should be able to label those fields with a simple label box. I like the idea of showing or hiding the label on command, but labels would be greatly appreciated.