Toolbar Descriptions
Chapter 3 - Toolbar Description
The Toolbar:
This is the toolbar. From here your mod is given life, your imagination will become
virtual reality, and your life will be shortened by 1.7 years due to stress. And that is the
point of this manual, to reduce or eliminate that 1.7 years of life lost from stress. So let’s
start with the actual Toolbar and see what we can find to do on it.
The
The toolbar is not exactly the average windows toolbar, which is quickly obvious if you
click on any of the menus to see what drops down. I will discuss each menu and each
button in order. Those menu functions that open a window I will go into greater depth
later in the manual. Many of the menu listings are also accessible by clicking one of the
buttons, and many also have a shortcut key combo. Let’s start with the menus.
The Menus:
File Menu:
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Buttons
Menus
File->Data:
This will open a window that allows you to view all plug-ins (.esp) and master files
(.esm) installed on your computer. Master files are listed first. Then plug-ins will be
listed, with the last one listed having the newest date. To load an .esm or .esp simply
double click it, and a check mark appears next to it. This means it will get loaded into the
CS when you hit the “ok” button at the bottom. Some things to remember:
When you load a plug-in, any .esm that it is dependent on will also be loaded, regardless
of whether or not you marked it for loading. This is automatic and you cannot prevent it.
This is true even when loading multiple plug- ins with different master file dependencies.
All necessary master files will be loaded.
TES files:
Pick what plug-in listed you want to load. Once you’ve made your decision on what to
load, you must highlight one file and click the “Set as Active File” button. This plug-in
will be considered active. This plug-in will be the only one you make changes to that can
be saved. You can still see data from any other plug-ins that you also load; you just
cannot save any data to those plug-ins. Once chosen just click the ‘ok’ button and the CS
will load any checked plug-ins and master files. If you load only master files you do not
need to make one active, the CS will load the
.esm
files and any changes you make will
become a new plug-in (you will be prompted to name it if you hit save). If you forget to
set a plug-in as active, the CS will bring up a prompt stating this and ask if you wish to
continue. If you click “No”, the CS will close. If you click “Yes” the CS will load up and
when you save it will be dependent upon that .esp.
Created By:
Who created this file? You can enter your name, or ID, in this block.
Summary:
Here you can write a small summary about your plug-in. If it’s small with few changes
you probably don’t need to say much. You should at a minimum list what this plug-in is
about, and a version number.
Parent Masters:
Here you will find listed all master files that a plug-in is dependent upon.
Details:
This button brings up a window that allows you to see all the changes you’ve made to
your mod. The window lists all data within a plug-in. If you see something here you don’t
remember creating or doesn’t have any effect on your mod, your mod is dirty and needs
to be cleaned.
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File->Save
Click and save your plug-in. I have noticed that when working within some windows
(Dialog, Scripting, and Cell Path Grid) if you click the Save button, then close the
window, the changes you make are saved only within that aspect of the game. You must
still click the save button to save it to your plug-in once that window is closed.
File->Tools->Combine Loaded Plug-ins
Load any and all plug-ins you want combined. Click on this option under the File menu.
A prompt will appear asking if this is what you want to do. If so, a window will appear
and you will have to provide a name for the new combined plug-in that will be created.
Do so and hit save. Your new combined plug-in will become the loaded plug-in,
displacing all others, become the active file, and will appear at the bottom of the list in
the Data window. Consider this option carefully before you do this, combining plug-ins
that conflict will produce problems.
File->Tools->Create Difference Plugin
I tried making a difference plugin with several different ways and got nothing but an
empty ESP. I think it’s just a placeholder for a function that is not yet implemented or not
included in the public release.
File->Tools-> Create Filtered Difference Plugin
At the moment I do not know what this does. If you do, please email me so I can place it
into this manual.
File->Tools-> Filter File By ID’s
At the moment I do not know what this does. If you do, please email me so I can place it
into this manual.
File->Tools-> Copy Plug-Ins Audio Files
As the name suggests, once you have your plugin loaded click this and a new window
will appear; this lets you select the source directory for the audio files. Once you select a
folder and click ok the target directory window will appear. Simply click on a new folder
to copy the audio files there or create a new folder by clicking the Make New Folder
button at the bottom of the window and the files will be placed in there.
File->Tools-> Resave With New ID’s
At the moment I do not know what this does. If you do, please email me so I can place it
into this manual.
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File->Tools-> Update Plugin Audio File ID’s
At the moment I do not know what this does. If you do, please email me so I can place it
into this manual.
File->Tools-> Create Map to Map Map
At the moment I do not know what this does. If you do, please email me so I can place it
into this manual.
File->Tools-> Apply ID Map To Altered Forms
At the moment I do not know what this does. If you do, please email me so I can place it
into this manual.
File->Import/Export
When I saw these menu items I was hoping for the ability to use text files to import data,
and/or to export data to another plug-in. Not quite. Sometimes I have gotten it to export
data and then import it to another plug-in, other times it doesn’t. Haven’t figured out yet
why, suspect it only works when data for an object is already present, and you are merely
making changes. It will not work to add (or delete) objects to an
.esp
.
File->Preferences
This will bring up a window with options to change the rate at which you can move
objects within the Render window, move your view within the object window, load cells
as you work, and what you can view of the exterior/interiors (The Preferences window
can also be displayed by clicking the preferences button on the toolbar; to the right of the
save button)
Movement Tab
Snap to Grid.
When the Snap to Grid is checked, objects in the Render Window will move a
number of units determined by the number enter in the Grid Snap box. The CS states
to use multiples of 8 (8, 16, 24, 32, etc), though any number can be used. This can be
of use in moving objects quickly and getting them to line up with other objects easier.
Note: This is useful when placing large static objects, like when putting together a
building (interior or exterior). But for small objects it’s probably easier to do manually
without this enabled. Really it’s a matter of choice, what you feel works best for you.
Snap to Angle.
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When the Snap to Angle is checked, objects in the Render Window will rotate a
number of degrees determined by the number entered in the Snap to Angle box.
Remember there are 360 degrees in a circle. See above Note about use.
Snap to Reference.
This is very handy. If you click Select Reference in Render Window you can click on
an object to snap another piece to it. This is done by selecting the other piece and
activating grid snap. Very handy for snapping building pieces together!
Movement Speeds:
These are the speeds at which objects or the viewpoint moves or rotates in the Render
Window.
Landscape Movement, Sensitivity Multiplier:
This is the rate at which the landscape mesh/wireframe is changed, or moves, in
response to your mouse when landscaping. The default is quite slow, good for small-
refined changes. Increase if you wish to make large changes quicker.
PathGrid Connection, Auto Distance:
At the moment I do not know what this does. If you do, please email me so I can
place it into this manual.
Render Window Tab
Time of Day:
This makes the sky look different if you have the sky displayed.
Clipping Distance:
In simple terms, effectively, this is how far you can view into the distance. Move
the slider bar closer to near for slower systems for better and/or quicker response
from the CS. There is a single tick mark approximately ¼ over from the left on
the bar. This is exactly 8192 units in viewable distance (the size of a cell).
Note: I like have it set close (for a single cell) when adding/deleting or modifying objects
in a cell. Then about halfway when adding buildings and structures for a town or village
that spans more than one cell. When landscaping I set it to max and use wireframe mode.
I change this slider quite often as I work. Use what works for you.
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Allow Render Window Cell Loads.
When unchecked, the CS will only load cells, and their objects, that are visible in
the Render Window. Cells not fully visible will not be loaded; wilderness cells
will not be created outside of the Render Window. If checked, the CS will load
visible cells (even partially visible ones), and a two cell ‘buffer zone’ around each
and every fully, or partially, visible cell in the Render Window. This may slow
down some slower systems.
Shaders Tab
Don’t even mess with this. Unless you fully understand what this does, leave it
alone. I messed around with it and it stuffed up the CS. Trust me, if you don’t
know what it does, Leave it!
LOD Tab
These control the distance that you can see Actors, Items or/and Objects in the
CS. Making them lower will make less objects appear further away; very handy
for low-end machines.
Misc Tab
Skip Initial Cell Load On Editor Start:
When a plug-in is loaded cell data loaded for cell 0, 0. This prevents that from
happening. I have found unchecking this to have a minimal effect in load time for a
plug-in, but it may help on slower systems.
Skip Initial User Plugin Load:
At the moment I do not know what this does. If you do, please email me so I can
place it into this manual.
Auto-Save:
Check this box if you prefer the CS to auto-save your plug-ins, and enter how often in
the minutes box. I have this feature off to prevent saving something stupid I didn’t
realize I did making my mod dirty or unplayable. I also hit the save button after every
single change I make out of habit and experience.
Preview Movement Tab:
Preview Movement:
These are the speeds at which objects or the viewpoint moves or rotates in the
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Preview Window.
File->Exit. Quit the CS.
Edit Menu:
Edit-
>Undo/Redo:
Undo a
mistake you made, or redo something you
clicked undo on, but decide to keep.
Edit->Cut/Copy/Paste Render:
This is your standard cut, copy, and paste. It only applies to objects in the Render
Window.
Note: You can use the mouse pointer to box in multiple objects, thus selecting them as a
‘group’ and treating them as such for cut/copy/paste.
Edit->Paste in Place:
This will place cut/copied objects at the selected spot, upon the ground or floor.
Edit->Duplicate:
Clicking this will create a duplicate of selected object(s). The duplicate will appear
exactly on top of the object(s) duplicated.
Edit->Find:
Brings up the find window. This window has a drop down menu listing of all objects in
the plug-in. You choose which one you wish to find and it searches references until it
finds one. It then shows the object’s reference in the Render Window in the cell it found
it in. You can use the next set of menu options to see the next or previous found
reference. If an object has no references in the game, it will not execute.
Edit->Find Next/Previous.
This will cycle through the objects references ‘found’ with the Find option.
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Edit->Find Text:
This option brings up a window with a search box, a button to the right of it labeled ‘Find
text’ to start the search, and three tabs. These tabs are labeled Dialog, Script, and Object.
It will list all dialog, script, and objects in the appropriate tabbed window according to
your search criteria. The function appears to accept results that may not be clearly related
to your search criteria (though usually are).
Edit->Search & Replace:
This brings up a small window with two drop down boxes. The first is the object you
wish the CS to find all references for, and the second is the object you want the first to be
replaced with. There are two check boxes. One will execute the function in the current
cell; the other will only operate on a selected object (which should be listed in the first
drop box) or group of objects.
View Menu:
View->Toolbar:
This will display or not display the buttons beneath the menus.
View->Statusbar:
This will display or not display the bar at the bottom of the CS window displaying
information on currently selected objects and actions.
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View->Render Window:
This will display or not display the Render Window.
View->Object Window:
This will display or not display the Object Window.
View->Cell View Window:
This will display or not display the Cell View Window.
View->Open Windows
At the moment I do not know what this does. If you do, please email me so I can place it
into this manual.
View->Preview Window
This previews the objects in the game.
View->Current Cell Only:
Completely grayed out. I have no idea what it does, if anything, and could not get it to be
active.
View->Markers:
This will display or not display North, Door, Temple, Divine, and Travel markers in the
Render Window.
View->Light Radius:
This will display or not display the radius of light emitted by an object by the presence of
a globe encircling an object that emits light.
View->Wireframe:
This will display or not display the landscape and all objects in wireframe mode.
View->Bright Light:
This will brighten everything within the Render Window. By default the Render Window
is somewhat dark. To better see objects within it, click this option. Just keep in mind it
will look different when in-game; if you forget to put any lights in because you
‘brightened’ your Render Window…
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View->Sky:
This displays the sky in the render window. Refer to The Buttons->Sky.
View->Solid Subspaces:
At the moment I do not know what this does. If you do, please email me so I can place it
into this manual.
View->Collision Geometry:
This will display or not display the collision grid in the Render Window, showing where
the PC will collide with objects. This is only for objects, not landscape.
View->Leaves:
This will display or not display the leaves on trees, take this off if you have a low-end
machine. It increases performance considerably.
View->Trees:
This will display or not display trees; this can also increase performance considerably.
View->Isometric:
This will center your viewpoint upon a selected object at ground level, facing north
View->Top:
This will center your viewpoint upon a selected object above said object, looking straight
down at it (north is up on your screen).
World Menu:
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World->Weather:
This window controls all the weather settings. You can modify any of them or make your
own weather effects. You can adjust anything with the weather in here; you can adjust the
wind speed, the sky textures, lighting and heaps more.
World->Climates:
This window is basically the same as the weather window, except it controls the climates.
World->World Spaces
This is where you can create a whole new Tamriel! In here you can make a new world
space by right clicking in the grid to the left and clicking new. You name you new world
whether it is a town or island, or even an Oblivion Plane. You can change the Music,
Water, and Climate or even add a map!
World->Regions:
This allows you to change the settings for regions, including weather and sounds. A
region is a collection of cells that are of similar make (i.e. the Great Forest, Jerall
Mountains, etc), but they don’t have to be similar. A town is part of a region, and a single
cell, or several cells, could be quite different yet still be considered part of a region.
World->Cells
This brings up a window to create an interior cell. It does not create anything within the
cell, it only allows one to adjust the lighting, allow sleep, set a water level, or, believe it
or not, create an interior cell and set it to act like an exterior cell. Refer to the Cells
Window for more information.
World->World Testing:
This brings up a further menu enabling you to test certain aspects of the plug-in world
data for errors and conflicts. Some things to keep in mind, each of these tests will test the
entire game world and your plug-in. A couple of these will take some time. If you just
made a small change, wait and test your plug-in in game, or wait until you have more
changes to check and then run a test. These are great functions to help you debug your
plug-in.
Test Models:
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This will test all 3D models of all references in the world and your plug-in. If an
object is missing part of it’s 3D mesh or texture, this should discover that and when
done testing will provide you with a list of all such errors it found.
Test Icons/Textures:
This will test all Icons and Textures for missing textures or Icons. If it finds any
missing it will tell you so you can correct them.
Test All Cells:
This will test every cell in the game world, landscape and objects, checking for any
possible errors. This will take a very long time to finish.
Test Interior Cells:
This functions in the same way, as does Test All Cells, except it only applies to
interior cells. Takes quite a while.
Test Path Between Cells:
After you choose a Starting Space and a Destination Space this test will ensure that
NPC’s can travel along the PathGrid to get to that cell.
Output Model Size List:
I am not sure what this does, but it takes a very long time. If you do know what it
does, please email me so I can place it into this manual.
PathGrids:
These tests fix various problems with PathGrids that have been created.
Update Distant LOD Data:
At the moment I do not know what this does. If you do, please email me so I can
place it into this manual.
Update Bounds:
At the moment I do not know what this does. If you do, please email me so I can
place it into this manual.
Update Model Texture Lists:
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At the moment I do not know what this does. If you do, please email me so I can
place it into this manual.
Recalculate Land Normals:
At the moment I do not know what this does. If you do, please email me so I can
place it into this manual.
World->Edit Cell Path Grid:
This brings up a box you can use to add nodes to the landscape, and link them. This
creates paths for NPCs and creatures to follow.
World->Path Grid Generation:
At the moment I do not know what this does. If you do, please email me so I can
place it into this manual.
World->Run Havok Sim:
If you have an object selected in the Render Window that has Havok Physics, it will
fall just like in game physics. This will work on NPC’s with their health set to 0.
World->Landscape Editing:
This is what you use to modify and change the landscape in the CS. Refer to the
Landscape Editing Window for more information.
World->Heightmap Editing:
This is what you use to modify and change the heightmaps used in the game. Refer to
the Heightmap Editing Window for more information.
World-> Create Local Maps:
At the moment I do not know what this does. If you do, please email me so I can
place it into this manual.
Character Menu:
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Character->Hair:
This brings up the hair window; here is where you add new hairs into the game. Refer to
the Hair Window for more information.
Character->Eyes:
This works basically the same way as the hair window; which isn’t very complex. Refer
to the Eyes Window for more information.
Character->Race:
This brings up a window within which you can edit, create, or delete a race. This does not
create, edit, or delete a body for a race; this only defines the data about a race. Refer to
the Race Window for more information.
Character->Skills:
This brings up a window to modify skills, somewhat. You cannot add or delete skills. Nor
can you change what actions are associated with a skill. Refer to the Skill Window for
more information.
Character->Class:
This lets window lets you create you own classes that you can add into the game. Refer to
the Class Window for more information.
Character->Birthsigns:
The Birthsigns Window allows you to assign spells, an image, and a description to a
Birthsign for someone to choose from when creating a new PC. Refer to the Birthsign
Window for more information.
Character->Faction:
This window is where you can modify existing factions or create your own. Refer to the
Faction Window for more information.
Character->Packages:
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This menu allows you to edit or make your own AI packages; these are the NPCs
Schedules. Refer to the AI Window for more information.
Character->Quests:
This window controls all the quests in the game; here you can make your own or modify
existing ones. Refer to the Quests Window for more information.
Character->Filtered Dialog:
The Filtered Dialog Window allows you to view the dialog for any NPC in game. Up the
top left corner you will see a small dropdown box; this is where you choose the NPC to
look at their dialog. There is more information about dialog at the Quests Window.
Character->Export Dialog:
Exporting the dialog will export the entire dialog from your loaded plugins; this may take
a while if you have lots of dialog in your mod and if you have a low-end machine.
Note: This also exports the entire Oblivion.esm dialog, so be careful.
Character->Export NPC Face Textures:
This exports Face Gen Textures for all NPCs; this will take a very long time to do if you
have lots of NPCs or a low-end machine.
Gameplay Menu:
Gameplay->Magic Effects:
The Magic Effects Window allows you to change how magic appears and sounds in game
when cast as a spell, the particle visual effect, and the icon showing it as active. This
window does NOT change or alter spells! It changes the in game visual effects associated
with a ‘spell effect’ that is used to create spells. Refer to the Magic Effects Window for
more information.
Gameplay->Settings:
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There are four tabs on this window; Gameplay, Magic, Stats, and Menus. Each tab
displays similar game settings. I will not describe here what each setting does or how it
relates to the game.
Gameplay->Edit Scripts:
You can add or delete a script from this menu. Refer to the Scripting Window for a
description on getting started with scripting.
Gameplay->Globals:
This is a list of global variables in the game that can be referred to in scripting, some
from the console, and some from the Dialog Window. Few things will cut the FPS during
gameplay than adding global variables to your mod. Consider adding a new global
variable to this list very, very carefully. It’s up to you.
Gameplay->Idle Animations (Animation Manager)
The Animations Manager is what tells the characters in game what animations to
perform. Refer to the Animation Manager Window for more information.
Gameplay->Facial Animations
This recreates all dialogue/facial animations in the game which means this will fix any
dialogue animations that are missing or have been lost or replaced. My game had no
facial animations until I done this.
Help Menu:
There are only two options, about tells you the version of the CS and gives you a picture
(seen as the first page of this manual). The other is a link to cs.elderscrolls.com. This is
the website to go to if you need to find out something… but now you have this manual.
The Buttons:
The buttons are merely shortcuts to commonly used functions within the CS. I will not go
into depth for each function associated with one of the buttons, I will only specify what it
does, or refer you to the section that describes that function.
Data:
Opens the Data Window. Refer to File->Data.
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Save:
Saves your plug-in. Refer to File->Save.
Preferences:
Opens the Preferences Window. Refer to File->Preferences.
Undo:
Made a mistake? Just click this button.
Redo:
Oops,
you meant to do that, it wasn’t actually a mistake. Redo what
you just undid.
Use Grid Snap:
Toggles on the Grid Snap function. Refer to Files->Preferences.
Use Angle Snap:
Toggles on the Angle Snap function. Refer to Files->Preferences.
Heightmap:
Opens the Heightmap Editor window. Refer to the Heightmap Editing Window
for more information.
Landscape Editing:
Click this button to bring up the Landscape Editing engine. Be advised, this will
prevent most functions in the CS except those related to landscape editing, as this
engine is a system resource hog. Refer to the Landscape Edit Window.
Edit Cell Path Grid:
Click this button to edit the Cell Path Grid. This will allow you to set down path
grids.
Enable Havok:
If you have an object selected in the Render Window that has Havok Physics, it
will fall and hit other objects just like in game. This will also work on NPC’s with
their health set to 0.
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Bright Light:
Toggles brightness in the Render Window. Refer to View->Bright Light.
Sky:
Toggles the sky display in the Render Window.
Leaves:
This will display or not display the leaves on trees, take this off if you have a low-
end machine. It increases performance considerably.
Quest:
This displays the quest window for editing all the quests in the game; here you
can make your own or modify existing ones. Refer to the Quests Window for
more information.
Filtered
Dialog:
There are many
functions and different drop down menus within the
Dialog Window. I will not explain how to do dialog in this section. The Quests
Window is where you should handle the entire of the dialog. Refer to the Quests
Window for more information.
Scripts:
Again, I
will not go into depth on the Script Window. To see how to
write scripts refer to the Scripting Window.
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