Table of Contents

Crossfire X11 crossedit Map Editor

This page should describe the usage of the old disbanded X11 Crossedit editor,
that had been included in the server source code up to at least version 1.11.0 .

:!: Special Note :

When closing a subwindow, do not hit the X button in the window frame decoration !
Always select “File” > “Quit” or “File” > “Close” .
Attempting to close the window by the X button will result in incomplete terminated windows.

See also existing short page Crossedit .
For the more modern Java-Editor, read Gridarta .


Mouse

At times, when there hadn't been any scrollwheel on mice,
then the usage of the mouse could have been plausible.
But with the scroll wheel on the middle mouse button,
it is difficult, to find out, what it needs to select something.

Left mouse button

When clicked in the scrollbar line, moves the scroll bar one tile down.
When clicked and hold on a green/white button, shows the button's submenu.

Middle mouse button

When clicked on an arch face picture, selects the item in the Arch menu list.
When clicked and hold in the scrollbar line, moves the scroll bar further,
than with single left and right clicks.
When clicked and hold on a green/white button, shows the button's sub menu.

On a map that has been 'opened' , a short middle click creates a black frame around the
clicked map tile, and the stack of archetypes on that tile show up in the
' Look: ' box part of the Main Menu .

When kept hold on such opened map, it offers to select a larger area on that map.
The NW-most tile stack will be displayed in the “Look:” box.

When middle clicked on an archetype inside the “Look:” box, it opens a separate
window titled “Attr: Name” .

When applied inside some Entry line, pastes the current clipboard therein.

Right mouse button

When clicked in the scrollbar line, moves the scroll bar one tile up.
When clicked and hold on a green/white button, shows the button's submenu.


About the difference to Load and to Open a map file

Special Note: The file selector does only update the content of a directory,
when it has moved to another directory before and then back to the desired folder.

:!: Big fat WARNING : After Open'ing an existing map file, only the newly drawn content gets saved. All the other former entries are discarded !!

The crossedit editor has two modes to show an existing Crossfire maps file :

The “Open” functionality is only available in the Main Menu GUI for the “File” button,
all other windows have the “Load” function in the “File” button.

Differences

In “Open” mode, the map gets shown completely, with all
stacked tiles visible.
This is therefore of importance, to view the final result,
as it will be visible to the player.

In “Load” mode, only the topmost item will be shown.
Especially multi-tiled items like big monsters and
big buildings will be shown, as if there were no ground tiles beneath them,
suggesting, that the painter has forgotten to draw the ground tiles;
but they are (still) there !

In “Load” mode, the tiles are shown in a bordered grid field.

In both modes, it is possible to edit the map, but only in “Load” mode,
the changed and added content is merged into the map; and both
content, previous and new, are saved to disk. In “Open” mode the file gets
altered in a way, that the old content is discarded and only the new
content is saved back to the file.

If a painter Open's a map file, that is several thousand lines long,
just to add a half dozen tiles, and then Save's , he will end up
with a small file of less than hundred lines, and all the former work
of thousands of lines will be gone into the Nirvana !

To make backups of files being worked on is in case of the crossedit editor of highest importance !!

How to Load a file

The main menu has no load option.
But the windows that are created, when choosing a “Pick” and “Walls” selective menu,
these have the “Load” option. When loading a map file using these subwindows,
their selection items will be gone, and the map presented in their window instead.

These sub-windows can be deployed with their selection items easily new,
by just choosing them again. So it is possible to have dozens of
Pick and Wall sub-menu windows on the screen.

How to edit a loaded file

Now it is time to alter or add content to the Load'ed file :

When deleting a tile, the underneath tile will show, until the stack
on that tile is completely withdrawn. Onto such an empty tile, a new
item can be placed; best are ground items like rivers, streets, terrain.

In some selection window, select the needed item by Middle-Click of the mouse,
then drop it onto the map by Left-click.

But : Only one item ( layer ) at a time !

After having done a couple of items in the “Load” mode,
it is time to save the new map: File > Save .

After hitting the “Save” button, close this sub window that “loaded” the map: File > Close .

In the main GUI now “Open” that file, just to view it, and not to edit it.
This is to make sure, that the new map content is drawn as desired.

Now “Close” this Open'ed window; whenever asked to save hit “Forget it” .
This “Save” Question is presented, because the user has accidentally edited
parts of the shown map. Repeated : Never ever “Save” an Open'ed map !

But try it out, at least once, on a minor map of no importance, to see, what I am talking about .. ! :-)


Simple First Start instructions

When the crossedit starts, then left-click select File > New. This should open an additional new window titled “Edit /Noname” .
In the Arch menu button deselect everything by deselecting “all” and “toggle” ; again all left-clicks.
In the Arch menu button select “background” to select floor items by left-click.
In the scrollbar left-click to move the scroll bar a first time.
In the scroll-bar middle-click and keep hold for moving fast to the items one would like to choose.
Middle-click on the item to select it, which should then show in the bottommost box.
Move the mouse pointer into the other window titled “Edit /Noname” , and left-click to put the item (floor) there.

This procedure is pretty annoying at the beginning, but one can adjust to it :

Step 1

Create a new map.

Step 2

Use the Middle mouse button to select a major ground item tile.

Use the middle mouse button to select large fields in the new and empty map, that consist of a plain gray area.

Select “Fill” in the “Edit” button .

Do that as many times, until the map has in rough the desired ground structure.

Step 3

Save the new created basic ground structure to a file name.

Step 4

Close this window, that created this new map.

Step 5

Open the file, just to view it, and detect your failures.

If the filename does not show in the file selector, go some directory down
and .. back; then the new filename should be displayed in the selection list.

Step 6

Close the Open'ed map, without saving anything !

Step 7

Choose a sub-window from the “Pick” menu.
My guess is “other” , because it does not contain many
items to select, and can be also found under the button “Walls” > “Caves2” .

Step 8

In the menu of that sub-window select “Load” to load the file.
The file will be shown in that window, the former content is discarded.

Step 9

Edit that Load'ed map, only one layer at a time each tile.

Step 10

After having done an edit on a couple of tiles, “Save” the map ( under “File” button ) .

Step 11

In the “File” button, “Close” that window, that you used to “Load” and edit.

Step 12

End of loop and continue at Step 5 .

Step 13

At the end of the session, make a backup copy of the files you worked on !


See further

Crossedit Main menu window
Editor Edit'ing window to actually create the maps
Pick and Walls sub menu windows