Looking for help with Templates

[GM Rob]

I have been trying to "import" a template (the 5RD one) for the last hour or so, and my poor old brain won't spit out the right procedure. The Forum post says to simply "copy and paste" the code, but I can't for the life of me figure out exactly *where* to paste it!

Where should I look for answers to basic questions like this?

 

[GM Rob]

I have been trying to "import" a template (the 5RD one) for the last hour or so, and my poor old brain won't spit out the right procedure. The Forum post says to simply "copy and paste" the code, but I can't for the life of me figure out exactly *where* to paste it!

Where should I look for answers to basic questions like this?

Pure bull-headedness is a great substitute for actual intelligence! I eventually figured out that I didn't need to "import" the 5RDT because it was already there as part of CL. I also figured out that the "copy and paste" Johnn mentioned in his forum post actually means "copy and paste and make sure there are no spaces at the start of any lines". My copy/paste from the CODE window grabbed a bunch of extra spaces, so pasting it into a page didn't work. the three ticks (```) must be the first thing on the line, and it all works better if there aren't any leading spaces anywhere.

 

[JochenL]

Where should I look for answers to basic questions like this?

I am sorry you hit this roadblock, and I am glad you could solve it finally.

As a developer, I tend to forget that basic things for me might be obstacles for other people.

I would be happy if you could point me to other unclarities that need a further explanation!

 

[GM Rob]

Are there any templates in CL other than 5RDT? How can I tell what is available? Is there a way to create my own templates?

 

[JochenL]

Currently, there are no other templates. We are planning a new editor with template support for 2023.

 

[Gary F]

Any news on templates?
I'd like the ability to create templates for the different things (e.g., location, NPC, etc.)

 

[JohnnFour]

@Gary F That's on our 2023 road map. @JochenL not sure if you want to venture a general target timeline for Grey Matter.

Also @Gary F I really appreciate your questions for a CL campaign demo. I have copied them and will be making a video to answer them.

 

[JohnnFour]

Any news on templates?
I'd like the ability to create templates for the different things (e.g., location, NPC, etc.)

Oh, and Jochen has released a couple Stat Block templates if you are interested:
https://campaign-community.com/index.php?resources/writing-statblocks.422/

 

[GM Rob]

After seeing Johnn's dungeon23 generators, I'm thinking about using generators for the boilerplate text in some of the pages I routinely create. Things like session preparation notes (à la SlyFourish), in-game timeline pages, NPCs, creatures, etc. Each one would simply dump the markup I use to start one kind of page. I suppose it's not much easier than cut-and-paste from a blank template page, but I suspect I can add in some initial random content like what is in the three-line NPC generator.

The current 5RD and statblock templates do a lot of special formatting that's not typically available in the page markup. At least I don't know how to do all the tricks those templates show!

 

[JohnnFour]

After seeing Johnn's dungeon23 generators, I'm thinking about using generators for the boilerplate text in some of the pages I routinely create.

Awesome! I've reached the same conclusion. Let's share templates.

Here's what I use for 3LNPCs:

name: 3LNPC Stat Block
explanation: A 3 Line NPC stat block
path: Stat Blocks
categories:
  - Stat Blocks
  - Dungeon23
formatting: Old
resultPattern: "{stat_block} \r\n"
wrapResultInCurlyBraces: false
tables:
  - name: stat_block
    entries:
      - |
        __Appearance:__
        __Portrayal:__
        __Hook:__

        ## Possessions

        ## Origin Story

        ## Stat Block

Things like session preparation notes (à la SlyFourish)

Cool idea!

, in-game timeline pages, NPCs, creatures, etc. Each one would simply dump the markup I use to start one kind of page. I suppose it's not much easier than cut-and-paste from a blank template page,

I'm finishing the flow much easier to maintain dynamic and reusable Templates via the Generator Service than copy and paste.

I also tested a text automation tool. Type in a code and watch the tool type out saved strings.

The ability to click within the same browser window just feels a lot smoother to me.

And I keep the generator Servce UI open a lot too because you can run generators over there too. And when I get an idea for a new or updated generator entry I can quickly edit and save, then refresh in CL.

but I suspect I can add in some initial random content like what is in the three-line NPC generator.

In Default there is a 3LNPC generator. It has a special function where you can get down to re-rolling specific lines that Jochen coded in. It's in our backlog to see if we can make that feature available to all GMs.

The current 5RD and statblock templates do a lot of special formatting that's not typically available in the page markup. At least I don't know how to do all the tricks those templates show!

Those are special ones Jochen has coded as well.

Jochen is investigating template functionality using something called Gray Matter. We don't know its full capabilities yet but it's a candidate for an actual templating system GMs would use.

 

[valenpendragon]

I suspect that the trick is getting NLP into the process. I’ve been playing with Python programs as translators and had some success. For the moment, my version of PyInstaller is making Windows ports, but I do have Linux systems that I might be able to make Linux forks on. I also have one that translates a wonderful card deck into backstories. The problem now is figuring out how to pull that code into a new GitHub project that only includes a blank JSON with a template for the cards. I need to purge the stuff drawn from original material.