Rollup/RolldownzMUD provides many special features that enhance the user interface or that allow you to customize the user interface to your preference. In general, if you find something about the zMUD user interface annoying, there is usually a way to change it.
On the caption bar of most zMUD windows are some new buttons. In addition to the standard Minimize, Maximize, and Close buttons, many windows also have Rollup/Rolldown and Stay-On-Top buttons. MUD Output windows and the main zMUD menu window also have a partial maximize button.
Rollup/Rolldown
These buttons collapse the window so that just the window caption is shown (Rollup), or expands the window back to its normal size (Rolldown).
Stay On Top
When this button is clicked, the window is set to stay on top of other windows. This function is a toggle. When the Stay On Top function is active, the button appears depressed. Note that there are bugs in Windows when dealing with multiple StayOnTop windows.
Partial expand
When the + button is clicked, the MUD output window expands to fill the entire without covering the main zMUD menu window. When the - button is clicked, the window returns to its previous size and location. This button is similar to the standard Windows Maximize button, but the Windows Maximize button will cause the MUD window to cover the menu window.
When this button is used on the main zMUD menu window, the + button causes the menu window to move to the top of the screen and to expand to the full width of the screen. If the common command line is visible, it is moved to the bottom of the screen.
All of these functions are also available via the System menu (Ctrl-Space) in the upper left corner of the window.
The Layout menu is used to select several window tiling options. These options can be used to control how multiple windows are layered on the screen. You can select Auto Tiling which keeps the tiling option you select in effect at all times, or Quick Tiling which changes the size and position of windows but then unlocks them so you can adjust them yourself.
To switch between windows on the screen, click on the desired window, or select it from the Windows menu. Also, you can display a Window Tab bar beneath the toolbar in the main zMUD menu window (by default), or along with the common command line described below. You can also switch between windows using the Ctrl-Tab or Ctrl-N keys. To change the name of a window, use the #NAME command.
If you prefer having icons for your windows in the Windows Task Bar, you can turn these options on in the Windows Preferences page. Or, if you prefer fewer icons, turn these options off.
Many zMUD windows contain toolbars at the top just beneath the menu bar. The buttons on these toolbars normally consist of both an icon and a text label. You can customize these toolbars by right-clicking on them and deciding whether you want text labels, icons, or both.
By default, each new MUD window has its own command line at the bottom of the window. This allows each window to maintain a separate command history as well. If you prefer having a common command line for all of your MUD windows with a common command history, right-click your MUD window to bring up the Window Options menu and turn off the Show Command Line option. This removes the command line within the window and activates the command command line.
Child windows created with the #WINDOW or #CAPTURE commands normally do not have a command line or status bar associated with them, but you can turn these on by right-clicking the window. To save the settings of a child window, save them to a file with the same name as the window. For example, if the window is named "Tells", save the settings to the file Tells.mud. This allows you to customize colors, fonts, and window options for your child windows and have them restored the next time you use that window.
The status bar displayed at the bottom of a MUD window can be turned on and off via the right-click Windows option menu as well. Or you can turn off the MUD Output window itself using the option in the Window option menu.
zMUD supports mice such as the Intellimouse that have a wheel on them. This wheel can be used to scroll the main MUD window or the Editor window. In addition, whenever you are using a numeric input control, the mouse wheel can be used to increment and decrement the value of the number.
Windows in zMUD can be "docked" together into a single panel which can then be moved and resized as a single window. For example, it is useful to dock your child windows from the #CAPTURE command to the top of your current MUD window where you can always see them. Others like to dock the mapper window to the right side of the MUD window so that it is always visible.
Windows can be docked side-by-side (either vertically, or horizontally), or can be docked on top of each other, creating a window-tab for each window that overlaps.
To prevent windows from docking as they are being moved, hold down the CTRL key. You can also turn on an option in your Preferences that will require you to hold down the ALT key to dock windows instead of having windows docking automatically.
In addition to the MUD character windows and their child "capture" windows, the other windows that can be docked are: Settings Editor, Mapper, Database, and Status Window.
An arrangement of windows on your screen is called a layout. Once you have arranged and docked your windows the way you want them, you can save this layout using the Save Layout command in the Layout menu.
If only a single MUD character is open, the layout file is stored with that character and will be used the next time you load the character. To prevent a character from loading with it's saved layout, Edit the character, go to the Files tab, and turn off the Use Layout option.
If more than one MUD character is open when the layout is saved, a special Layout icon is added to your character list. This icon will work just like a normal MUD character, but when you click Connect or Offline, the layout of windows will be restored. If you click Connect, all of the MUD characters saved in the layout will be connected to. This is how you can open multiple characters on the same or different MUDs at the same time.
Note that only one layout can be active at a time. If you try to load another character layout while a layout is already active, the current layout will be closed.
 |