TableSmith Interface

The TableSmith main window consists of five main areas, each explained below.

Menu and Toolbar
At the top of the window is the menu and (at the top left side) the toolbar. Each button duplicates a commonly-used menu option. Each menu item is explained below:

• File
• Create New Table - Create a new table in the category you specify.
• Toggle Generator/Archives - Switches between the generator interface and the archives interface.
• Print - Print the results window.
• Export Results - If you wish to save the current batch of results, click this button. You will be prompted for a filename and location, and a file will be generated for you. This file will be in the format type you specified under "Preferences" (HTML, XML, or text).
• Preferences - Displays the Preferences dialog (discussed below).
• Exit - Exits TableSmith.
• Edit
• Edit Table - Allows you to edit the selected table (see TableSmith Basic File Format for more information).
• Copy Selected to Clipboard - Copies selected text from the results window to the Windows clipboard.
• Select All - Selects all text in the results window.
• Table
• Roll - Rolls on the selected table as many times as is displayed in the textbox left of the Dice button.
• Reload - If you create a new category folder, copy files into a category folder, or edit a Table file, and wish to use your changes immediately, you must first click the 'Reload' button. This tells TableSmith to re-read the Tables folder and update itself accordingly. Note that 'reloading' is done automatically each time the program starts up.
• Display Hidden Categories - Normally you don't see "hidden" categories (folders that start with "~"; see TableSmith Categories for more information). Selecting this menu option will allow you to see those categories and select tables from them.
• Break - Allows you to 'break', or halt, the execution of the current table. This may generate error messages from that run if the table is halted in the middle of a function, though this is not cause for concern.
• Help
• Help - Displays this help information.
• Add-Ons... - Displays information about any add-ons you may have installed.
• About... - Displays information about TableSmith.

Category and Table Lists
Below the toolbar you will find a drop-down list and a standard listbox, the first for Categories and the other for Tables. The Category list is used to select Table Categories. When a Category is selected, all the Tables in that Category will be loaded into the Table list. When a Table is selected in that list, it is the one that will be used when the "Roll" button is clicked.

Archives
TableSmith has an "Archives" feature, which allows you to easily store generated results for easy retrieval. To access the Archives, click the "Archives" button, found above the Category and Table Lists. You'll see a folder/file hierarchy, similar to Windows Explorer. The hierarchy works as you would expect it to: Folders may be opened or closed, revealing (or hiding) other folders as well as files. To view a file, simply select it. The stored results file will appear in the Results Window. Above the hierarchy are three buttons: The leftmost button may be used to create new folders. To use it, click on an existing folder, click the button, then type the new folder's name when prompted. The second button is used to copy generated results into the Archives. Click the folder where you want to copy the result window contents, click the copy button, and type in a filename when prompted. In the future, when you click on that file, it will appear in the Results Window. The rightmost button is for deletion. Select the file or folder you want to remove, then click the 'X'. Note that you will not be asked to confirm the deletion unless you are removing a folder that is not empty. You cannot delete the topmost "Archives" folder.

To return to the Category and Table Lists, click the button above the archives that says "Generate".

Results Window
The majority of the TableSmith interface is taken up by the Results Window. This is where the results from rolling on a Table are displayed. This window is similar to a Web browser, and will display items in HTML format, if specified.

Parameters
Some Tables use 'parameters', values that can be passed into them. A Table's parameters, and their current values, will be displayed in the lists in this area, beneath the Results Window (the "Show/Hide" button can be used to shrink this area and give the Results Window more room). To change the parameter values, click the "Change" button, and use the Parameters dialog to enter the values you wish to use (the Parameters window will start at the first parameter listed, unless you've chosen one in particular, in which case that will be the first parameter displayed).

Hyperlist
The lower left of the window constitutes the TableSmith's "Hyperlist". The purpose of the Hyperlist is to allow you easy access to Tables you use often (similar to how "Favorites" lists work elsewhere in Windows). Whereas the Tables in the Table listbox change based on the Category selected, the Tables listed in the Hyperlist remain the same.

To assign a Table to the Hyperlist, simply click 'Add' and the current Table will be appended to the list. To remove a Table, click the 'Remove' button when a Table is selected. Use 'Clear' to completely clear ths list. To run a Table in the list, just click on its name.

Preferences
You may set preferences governing how TableSmith acts in certain situations. Selecting "Preferences" from the "File" menu will display a dialog box listing these preferences. They are organized into three categories, and are detailed below:

Interface

• Use textured backgrounds - Check if you want to use the colorful backgrounds included with TableSmith; leave blank if you prefer the standard Windows background (not using textures may increase speed slightly on some machines).
• Recall window position (if not maximized) - Check if you want TableSmith to remember where you last positioned your window on the desktop the next time you run the program. Otherwise, TableSmith will start up in the center of your screen (regardless of your choice, if you exit TableSmith while it's maximized, it will start back up maximied).
• Re-select/re-run current table on a "reload" - If you leave this unchecked, TableSmith will reset itself to the state it is in at start-up when you click the "Reload" button or menu option. If you check this, it will reset itself as described, but then immediately select (and therefore run) the table you had selected before clicking Reload.

Folders

• Table Folder - Clicking the "..." button allows you to select the folder where your table files/categories are located. By default, they are in the "Tables" folder where you installed TableSmith (and will be set back to this if you click "Set to defaults"), but you may have the program look elsewhere if you wish.

Miscellaneous

• Table Editor - By default, TableSmith uses Windows Notepad for editting table files. If you have a different editor you'd like to use, you may select it here by clicking the "..." button (note: the editor you select must be an EXE file, and must be able to load a file given it as a parameter to function properly). Alternately, you may choose the "TableSmith Graphical Editor". The editor is a new feature being added to TableSmith and currently does not support all of TableSmith's table format features, but it can easily handle the more basic tables. At the moment, it is undocumented but available for anyone who wishes to give it a try.
• Display error message for non-existent group calls - Checking this option will tell TableSmith to display an error message if a group is called that it cannot find. Unchecking this will display, as text, whatever group call was made.
• Remove re-roll/notes links when exporting to HTML - Text that may be re-rolled, or that was generated with the "Notes" function, will appear as blue or green links in a Web browser when you open an exported HTML file. However, browsers outside of TableSmith won't understand what these links mean when you click on them. If you don't wish to have the links in your exported HTML files, check this option.
• Output Type - Select the type of output you want TableSmith to generate. By default this is HTML, but you may change to XML or text. Generate files will be displayed with the appropriate extension, and exported or archived in a like manner.