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RealmWorks CSV Import Tool

Acenoid said:
Hi Farling!

Is it possible somehow to get the rw importer to update my topics in rw? At the moment it will always create a duplicate topic tree correct? (its no problem - just wanted to know if iam missing something) :)
Click to expand...

Hi,
Unfortunately, the tool isn't able to update existing topics.

Realm Works creates a unique id for each topic, and the tool would have to read a full realm export instead of only a structure file in order to get the ids (and then it would have to do some checking to see if you wanted to update an existing topic or create a new topic for each row in the CSV/XLSX).
 
Farling said:
Darn, more testing required.

Are the issues you reported related to what the tool is like after loading a project, or even immediately after launching the tool?
Click to expand...

After loading a project. Starting the process has no issues.

Also, was the "RWTopic>>" message from loading a saved project from an earlier version of the tool? Earlier saves aren't compatible with the format used by 2.4.1
Click to expand...

Tested loading both a 2.3.0.0 and a 2.4.1.0 project file. Same result opening both.

Thanks.

-=Janrith
 
Three quick 2.4.1.0 tests: Each is a new 2.4.1.0 project file.

1. XLSX Name column mapped to Article Name of Spell (AD&D) Article type.
Load: OK
Mapping: OK
2. XLSX Name column mapped to Article Name of Spell (AD&D) Article type. Class mapped to Parent General Abilities Article Name.
Load: OK
Mapping: Missing parent
3. XLSX Name column mapped to Article Name of Spell (AD&D) Article type. Class mapped to Parent General Abilities Article Name, "AD&D" literal text added to Parent Name Suffix.
Load: OK
Mapping: Missing parent

I'm going to go through one at a time with my column mappings and see what triggers the RWTopic>> failed to find RWContentsItem for ":" error.

I'll let you know what I find out.

Thanks.

-=Janrith
 
Feature request:

"New Project" option on the File Menu...

Would like to clean the slate w/o needing to exit and reload the tool.

Thank.

-=Janrith
 
OK,

After a bunch of tests, it appears the importer doesn't like having column N populated. When Casting Time (column N) is not mapped in the project file, but Saving Throw, Material Components, Notes, Author, Filtered Name are (columns O, P, R, S and T are mapped), the project load succeeds without incident.

For some reason, when column N is mapped to a structure field in the project file, loading the project prevents any column past N from mapping successfully.

(*EDIT: It appears the Article Name is unaffected, as that is currently being populated by column T (Filtered Name); but the problem does affect subsequent sections.)

NOTE: Creating the definition and then generating an rwexport file in the same session works fine. It seems to only be a problem with loading the project file.

DETAILS:

XLSX Column Definitions:

A: Class
B: Source Book
C: Edition
D: Frequency
E: Level
F: Name
G: Reversed Spell
H: Reversible
I: School of Magic
J: Range
K: Duration
L: Area of Effect
M: Components
N: Casting Time
O: Saving Throw
P: Material Component
Q: Description
R: Notes
S: Author (formula)
T: Filtered Name (formula)

Here are the last few results:

Test results:

20:
Type: XLSX
Structure: v.03
Target Article: Spell (AD&D)
Columns Mapped: Filtered Name;School of Magic;Level;Range;Material Component;Duration;Components;Area of Effect;Saving Throw;Source Book;Edition;Author;Notes;Reversed Spell
Load: OK
Mapping: OK

So far so good...

Here comes the first failure:

21:
Type: XLSX
Structure: v.03
Target Article: Spell (AD&D)
Columns Mapped: Filtered Name;School of Magic;Level;Range;Material Component;Duration;Components;Area of Effect;Saving Throw;Source Book;Edition;Author;Notes;Reversed Spell;Casting Time
Load: RWTopic>> failed to find RWContentsItem for ":"
Mapping: No fields mapped past Casting Time (column N in the spreadsheet).

Is it the name of the column in the spreadsheet?

22:
Type: XLSX
Structure: v.03
Target Article: Spell (AD&D)
Columns Mapped: Filtered Name;School of Magic;Level;Range;Material Component;Duration;Components;Area of Effect;Saving Throw;Source Book;Edition;Author;Notes;Reversed Spell;renamed Casting Time to CT in XLSX.
Load: RWTopic>> failed to find RWContentsItem for ":"
Mapping: No fields mapped past Casting Time (column N in the spreadsheet).

Nope.

Is it a problem with the field definition in the structure file?

23:
Type: XLSX
Structure: v.03
Target Article: Spell (AD&D)
Columns Mapped: Filtered Name;School of Magic;Level;Range;Material Component;Duration;Components;Area of Effect;Saving Throw;Source Book;Edition;Author;Notes;Reversed Spell;mapped Range to Casting Time target as well.
Load: OK
Mapping: OK

Nope.

Is it positional in the spreadsheet?

24:
Type: XLSX
Structure: v.03
Target Article: Spell (AD&D)
Columns Mapped: Filtered Name;School of Magic;Level;Range;Material Component;Duration;Components;Area of Effect;Saving Throw;Source Book;Edition;Author;Notes;Reversed Spell, Casting Time moved from column N to column J in XLSX.
Load: RWTopic>> failed to find RWContentsItem for ":"
Mapping: No fields mapped past Components (new column N in the spreadsheet).

Yep.

No idea why though.

I hope this helps.

-=Janrith
 
Last edited:
Thanks for all the detail Janrith!
I'll have a look to see why column N (number 14) is causing a problem.
(Initial thought, column N could be number 13 if you start counting at 0, and 13 is the ASCII for code for carriage return [end of line].)
 
Version 2.4.2 is available

This fixes more bugs.
It is now possible to load a project in which you've used column 14 in your data table.
The parentage that you've set up for topics should also be saved and restored.

Many thanks to Janrith for his diligent hard work in finding the column 14 issue.

No previous saved projects will load successfully in this version.
 
Just a quick note to say, brilliant QA and debugging work to both Janrith and Farling. Very impressive!

And specifically @Farling: thanks for this amazing tool (which I'm surprised LWD did not built into RW), and for your continued support and tinkering that makes it consistently and (frequently!) better. *doffs cap*

~Ash
 
Janrith said:
Feature request:

"New Project" option on the File Menu...

Would like to clean the slate w/o needing to exit and reload the tool.

Thank.

-=Janrith
Click to expand...

Actually you only need to load a structure file (you could pick the same file). This will remove all the columns that you've configured.
 
Taronthir said:
I haven't discovered yet how to make multi-domain tag entries in the csv/xls so they'll be interpreted properly.
Click to expand...

"Tags (Multi-Domain)" snippets are not supported yet.

If you want multiple tags on a more normal "Tags" snippet, then you can do this by separating the tab labels with a comma in your source data cell.
 
Downloaded 2.4.2.0 and tested. Loading the project file is working now EXCEPT:

1. Literal text in a Parent's Name and Suffix is not preserved when reloading.
2. Literal text in File Details/Credits field is not preserved when reloading.

The big meat in mapping worksheet columns to category fields is working WOOT!

Feature Request:
Any chance we can get the project filename appended to the app title on load? Having the * appended to the name when there are unsaved changes would be an added bonus :).

It would help to remember what file you are working in w/o having to open the Save Project As... dialog.

Thanks again for the awesome tool!

-=Janrith
 
When you select Load Data, the tool appears to cache the data in memory and use that cache rather than re-reading the worksheet to build the rwexport file.

This means, if you subsequently update your source file (XLSX confirmed, probably the CSV will work the same), you need to select Load Data in order to refresh this cache or your updates won't make it to the rwexport file.

This is actually a good thing, since changing your column definition out from under your project definition could have alignment issues, depending on how the columns are being read from the file.

Haven't tested whether this cache is cleared when selecting a new structure definition. If the cache is maintained, it might be another argument for a New Project... option.

I'll test caching of CSV data and what happens when the structure is changed tomorrow... it's getting late.

Later.

-=Janrith
 
Janrith said:
When you select Load Data, the tool appears to cache the data in memory and use that cache rather than re-reading the worksheet to build the rwexport file.

This means, if you subsequently update your source file (XLSX confirmed, probably the CSV will work the same), you need to select Load Data in order to refresh this cache or your updates won't make it to the rwexport file.

This is actually a good thing, since changing your column definition out from under your project definition could have alignment issues, depending on how the columns are being read from the file.

Haven't tested whether this cache is cleared when selecting a new structure definition. If the cache is maintained, it might be another argument for a New Project... option.

I'll test caching of CSV data and what happens when the structure is changed tomorrow... it's getting late.

Later.

-=Janrith
Click to expand...

Hi,

Yes, when you select "Load Data" then it is read into memory and the file can be changed without changing the loaded data.

When you load a saved project, both the data file and the structure file are read from disk again - so any changes you've made in the CSV or XLSX file will be read in at that point.

The storage of the loaded data and the loaded structure are totally separate, so you can load a new structure file and use the already loaded data with that new file, or vice versa.
 
Janrith said:
Downloaded 2.4.2.0 and tested. Loading the project file is working now EXCEPT:

1. Literal text in a Parent's Name and Suffix is not preserved when reloading.
2. Literal text in File Details/Credits field is not preserved when reloading.

The big meat in mapping worksheet columns to category fields is working WOOT!

Feature Request:
Any chance we can get the project filename appended to the app title on load? Having the * appended to the name when there are unsaved changes would be an added bonus :).

It would help to remember what file you are working in w/o having to open the Save Project As... dialog.

Thanks again for the awesome tool!

-=Janrith
Click to expand...

Addendum to #2 above. It looks like the Credits are actually still in the project file, the UI just keeps wiping out the field.

Repro:
(assumes a loaded project file with a Credit value populated)

a. Open File Details.
b. Enter data into the Credits field; click OK.
c. Click File Details. Credits is empty.
d. Click Cancel to avoid saving the empty field.
e. In the cmd line navigate to export directory
f. findstr /I Janrith "Test Import 34.rwexport"

result:

<credits>Janrith</credits>

Thanks again.

-=Janrith
 
Version 2.5 is available

When a project has been saved or loaded, the name of the project is displayed in the window title (requested in http://forums.wolflair.com/showpost.php?p=277143&postcount=511). (No star appears to indicate that the project has been modified.)

Fixes a bug where "fixed text" in a field definition was not being displayed after changing categories or loading a saved project (repoted in http://forums.wolflair.com/showpost.php?p=277143&postcount=511)

Fixes a bug where the credit box in the File Details windows was being populated with the Requirements text when the window was opened. (reported in http://forums.wolflair.com/showpost.php?p=277158&postcount=514)
 
Last edited:
Version 2.6 is available

A "*" is put in the window title bar if modifications have been made since the last load/save of a project.

On quitting the application, a prompt is displayed if a project has not been saved since the last change.
 
Downloaded 2.6.0.0.

Literal text parent loading verified.
Credits field in File Details loading verified.

* (unsaved flag) working for target fields on main window (article, parent, true names, relationships). Does not yet apply to checkboxes or dropdowns (ether standard ones or the "tool icon" ones), or the File Details modal dialog. Also can't get it to prompt me to save my changes when moving to a different file once I've triggered the *.

I don't want to side track you on your feature priorities; just wanted to fill you in on my observations.

Thanks again.

-=Janrith.
 
This CSV tool looks like it may do the job I need it to do. But I'm not sure it will work.

I'd like to transfer pertinent character and NPC data into Realm Works from a character sheet (.xls spreadsheet).

Please note that I am using the HARP system and it is not in HeroLab.

I'd prefer if it was possible to just name certain cells withing the spreadsheet and the CSV tool simply import those specific cell values into specific snippets within RW.

My questions:
1. Does the CSV tool require one to have columns of data with headers or is it possible to pull only specific cell data from a single cell in a ".xls" spreadsheet (or from multiple singular cells)?
2. Do I still need to "save as" the ".xls" spreadsheet into a CSV file so this tool can read the info or does the CSV tool read .xls data also?
3. Is it possible to overwrite data when a character or NPC increases in level? Meaning can I just import the same character over and over again or would I need to delete the RW snippets/character entry every time someone goes up a level?
 
My questions:
1. Does the CSV tool require one to have columns of data with headers or is it possible to pull only specific cell data from a single cell in a ".xls" spreadsheet (or from multiple singular cells)?
It works on a table. All columns must have a header. Think of it as one column per snippet. Each line in that table would align with a different topic.
2. Do I still need to "save as" the ".xls" spreadsheet into a CSV file so this tool can read the info or does the CSV tool read .xls data also?
You can save as XLSX or CSV
3. Is it possible to overwrite data when a character or NPC increases in level? Meaning can I just import the same character over and over again or would I need to delete the RW snippets/character entry every time someone goes up a level?
No this will not work as the tool does not save unique UUID's for future use. It creates a new one for each snippet during the import process.
 
daplunk said:
My questions:
1. Does the CSV tool require one to have columns of data with headers or is it possible to pull only specific cell data from a single cell in a ".xls" spreadsheet (or from multiple singular cells)?
It works on a table. All columns must have a header. Think of it as one column per snippet. Each line in that table would align with a different topic.
2. Do I still need to "save as" the ".xls" spreadsheet into a CSV file so this tool can read the info or does the CSV tool read .xls data also?
You can save as XLSX or CSV
3. Is it possible to overwrite data when a character or NPC increases in level? Meaning can I just import the same character over and over again or would I need to delete the RW snippets/character entry every time someone goes up a level?
No this will not work as the tool does not save unique UUID's for future use. It creates a new one for each snippet during the import process.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the reply and explanation.

For player characters I would have to delete their snippets then do the export/import thing each time they go up a level.

For the table requirement I can create a spreadsheet that can gather all the pertinent data from each of the character sheets so that it is easily formatted into a table for the CSV tool. It adds extra work to getting it all straightened out for the game, but I'll get it done eventually.
 
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