Plo's Message Manager

These are tools and utilities that make it easier to run games. This includes Lib: macro tokens dropped into MapTool to manage the game, a conversion file for CharacterTool to allow use in MapTool, or just about anything else you can think of -- except graphics with macros and anything specific to a particular campaign framework. Those are already covered by the Tilesets subforum and the Links and External Resources forum.

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plothos
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Plo's Message Manager

Post by plothos »

A relatively simple tool I've put together for managing canned messages via a single macro button that opens an intuitive (I hope) interactive menu, somewhat like my Spell Manager.

What it does is simple. Store a title and a message of any length under a GM-only label. Click a link to send it, choose who should receive it, and they get a link sent to them, which opens a message window when clicked.

Interface is pretty straightforward, with add and clear links, editing and sending links, etc. Some bells and whistles to make sifting through your messages easier, and to avoid accidentally over-writing anything you don't want to lose.

Technical info:
Code is contained on a single token, and should not need any changes made to your campaign properties (though it does use the "hidden" property "Messages"). The name of the token can be changed, though it may still need to start with "Lib:". Alternatively, the macros could be copied and added to another Lib: token. As long as there is no conflict with the "Messages" property, nor of course any macro-name duplication, it should still work fine. To use, just copy the yellow "Msg. Mngr" button and make sure the macro call inside refers to the right token (if you have changed the name or moved the macros).
Example.jpg
Example.jpg (61.74 KiB) Viewed 10587 times
Attachments
Message Manager v1.0.rptok
(233.32 KiB) Downloaded 518 times
Drop-In Utilities:
My Spell Manager for D&D3.5 and PFRPG
My Inventory Manager for D&D and PFRPG, but more generally useable than that.
My Message Manager -- My Top-Down D&D Token Images
and my Custom Initiative & Status/Spell-Effect Tracker (work in progress, but functional).

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mfrizzell
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Location: California

Re: Plo's Message Manager

Post by mfrizzell »

Looks good I'll give it a try.
Thanks
DCI/RPGA# 7208328396 Skype ID mfrizzell77
Characters:
Strabor - Dwarf Avenger 5th Level
Tikkanan - Human Warlock 2nd Level
----------------------------------------------------
"People are more violently opposed to fur than leather because it's safer to harass rich women than motorcycle gangs."

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plothos
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Joined: Sat Jun 21, 2008 1:07 am

Re: Plo's Message Manager

Post by plothos »

It's rudimentary, but because of that it's really simple to use and does the job, I believe error-free.
Let me know of any suggestions you might have for improvements. :)
Drop-In Utilities:
My Spell Manager for D&D3.5 and PFRPG
My Inventory Manager for D&D and PFRPG, but more generally useable than that.
My Message Manager -- My Top-Down D&D Token Images
and my Custom Initiative & Status/Spell-Effect Tracker (work in progress, but functional).

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aliasmask
RPTools Team
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Joined: Tue Nov 10, 2009 6:11 pm
Location: Bay Area

Re: Plo's Message Manager

Post by aliasmask »

I may give this a looksy. I have something similar, but I have it as 2 macros (Init Marker and Toggle Marker). It requires a bunch of defined states (A-Z,1_- 0_,_1-_0,Transparent,Scroll) so it's not easy to import as a drop-in. [On a side note, I wish we could import states separately and not rewrite everything else].

Basically, the init macro prompts you for a marker ID like A1,12,B or any combination of a letter and a number less than 200. And it allows you to add Notes and GM Notes. It'll format the text with a header and footer so the font can be easily read and sets GM Name to the entered Id. The toggle macro just makes it a visible object for the players to click on designated by the scroll. Only the GM can see the room ids.

It'll convert any token in to a marker and it doesn't care if the token name matches other token names (took me a second to write code to work around that), so I can set all the token names to "Room" if I want to.
Example
example.jpg
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mfrizzell
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Joined: Sat Feb 13, 2010 2:35 am
Location: California

Re: Plo's Message Manager

Post by mfrizzell »

I finally got around to testing this, man I absolutely love the simplicity. I've used and continue to use other handout tools but only because I'm so heavily invested in them for the current campaign. The only thing I don't see is the ability to use picture with it.
This will go great with a tool I created that rolls a secret perception check and give's just the DM the results. With this I can then send a prepared message of what they see or heard or whatever to only those players who have tokens that succeeded at their perception check.
DCI/RPGA# 7208328396 Skype ID mfrizzell77
Characters:
Strabor - Dwarf Avenger 5th Level
Tikkanan - Human Warlock 2nd Level
----------------------------------------------------
"People are more violently opposed to fur than leather because it's safer to harass rich women than motorcycle gangs."

dorpond
RPTools Team
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Joined: Thu Jun 01, 2006 2:05 pm
Location: Buffalo, NY

Re: Plo's Message Manager

Post by dorpond »

This is really really nice! Thanks for sharing!
How to use my bundled artwork (MT1.3B60+): http://forums.rptools.net/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=11759

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plothos
Great Wyrm
Posts: 1890
Joined: Sat Jun 21, 2008 1:07 am

Re: Plo's Message Manager

Post by plothos »

My pleasure. Glad you like it. :D
Drop-In Utilities:
My Spell Manager for D&D3.5 and PFRPG
My Inventory Manager for D&D and PFRPG, but more generally useable than that.
My Message Manager -- My Top-Down D&D Token Images
and my Custom Initiative & Status/Spell-Effect Tracker (work in progress, but functional).

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mfrizzell
Dragon
Posts: 762
Joined: Sat Feb 13, 2010 2:35 am
Location: California

Re: Plo's Message Manager

Post by mfrizzell »

plothos wrote:It's rudimentary, but because of that it's really simple to use and does the job, I believe error-free.
Let me know of any suggestions you might have for improvements. :)
Is there anyway to set different font colors per message?
I tried setting font colors for a single message and it would bleed to the next one even the header.
DCI/RPGA# 7208328396 Skype ID mfrizzell77
Characters:
Strabor - Dwarf Avenger 5th Level
Tikkanan - Human Warlock 2nd Level
----------------------------------------------------
"People are more violently opposed to fur than leather because it's safer to harass rich women than motorcycle gangs."

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Micco
Giant
Posts: 148
Joined: Mon Jun 16, 2008 10:21 pm

Re: Plo's Message Manager

Post by Micco »

I just got around to trying this out. I love the simplicity! :) I'm definitely using it in my game.

Thanks yet again, Plo!

neofax
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Location: Philadelphia, PA
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Re: Plo's Message Manager

Post by neofax »

@Plothos: For some reason, it eats my   at the beginning of a paragraph. Is there some way to have it so that the non-break space works? Or, does anyone know how to place a tab character at the beginning of paragraphs?

rwg
Kobold
Posts: 16
Joined: Fri Mar 19, 2010 5:51 pm

Re: Plo's Message Manager

Post by rwg »

To indent paragraphs (or make a bunch of spaces anywhere) do as follows:

Paragraph1 text<br> &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp Indented Paragraph2 text
-or-
Paragraph1 text<br>&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp Indented Paragraph2 text
Last edited by rwg on Fri Dec 31, 2010 5:39 am, edited 2 times in total.

rwg
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Posts: 16
Joined: Fri Mar 19, 2010 5:51 pm

Re: Plo's Message Manager

Post by rwg »

For a silly example of what you can do with HTML try this:

Title player sees: <img src="http://www.fast-trackit.co.za/images/questionmark.png" />
Message text: Todays <font color='blue'><b>Blue Light Special</b></font>&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp <img src="http://images.ibsrv.net/ibsrv/res/src:w ... pecial.jpg" height="50" width="50" /><hr><br>For every <b>$5</b> you donate using <u>PayPal</u> to the GM you get a <font color='red'>PlotPoint</font> blessing<b>!!! </b><br></ul><li>Limited time offer so act now.</li> </ul><i><SPAN STYLE="background-color: #ffffcc">For quantity orders please contact one of our friendly sales associates. </span> <font size='-2'><br>Equal opportunity employer. </i>

Note that you can have images in the body and the link sent to the player.
Attachments
msg mgr.png
msg mgr.png (28.56 KiB) Viewed 9859 times

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plothos
Great Wyrm
Posts: 1890
Joined: Sat Jun 21, 2008 1:07 am

Re: Plo's Message Manager

Post by plothos »

Hahahah, awesome. I had no idea I was providing such a powerful marketing tool. :D
Pretty soon MT will be free, but DMs will be sponsored and you'll have to pay extra to play in ad-free games. LOL.
Drop-In Utilities:
My Spell Manager for D&D3.5 and PFRPG
My Inventory Manager for D&D and PFRPG, but more generally useable than that.
My Message Manager -- My Top-Down D&D Token Images
and my Custom Initiative & Status/Spell-Effect Tracker (work in progress, but functional).

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Azhrei
Site Admin
Posts: 12086
Joined: Mon Jun 12, 2006 1:20 pm
Location: Tampa, FL

Re: Plo's Message Manager

Post by Azhrei »

plothos wrote:Pretty soon MT will be free, but DMs will be sponsored and you'll have to pay extra to play in ad-free games. LOL.
Oh-noz! Not that!

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Guy Dude
Giant
Posts: 124
Joined: Thu Apr 09, 2009 4:10 pm

Re: Plo's Message Manager

Post by Guy Dude »

rwg wrote:For a silly example of what you can do with HTML try this:

Title player sees: <img src="http://www.fast-trackit.co.za/images/questionmark.png" />
Message text: Todays <font color='blue'><b>Blue Light Special</b></font>&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp <img src="http://images.ibsrv.net/ibsrv/res/src:w ... pecial.jpg" height="50" width="50" /><hr><br>For every <b>$5</b> you donate using <u>PayPal</u> to the GM you get a <font color='red'>PlotPoint</font> blessing<b>!!! </b><br></ul><li>Limited time offer so act now.</li> </ul><i><SPAN STYLE="background-color: #ffffcc">For quantity orders please contact one of our friendly sales associates. </span> <font size='-2'><br>Equal opportunity employer. </i>

Note that you can have images in the body and the link sent to the player.
I was also using images, but I couldnt figure out how to shrink them to the desired size using percentages. Wiki mentioned using a %%, but that didnt work either.

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