EQTools 1.3 Copyright © 2001-2004 Serious Cybernetics

Programming by: C. Scott Davis

Documentation by: Danny Sosebee (1.0, 1.1) and C. Scott Davis (1.3)

 

SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS

In order to install and use EQTools you must have the following:

 

INSTALLATION

To install EQTools, extract the distribution archive EQTOOLS13.ZIP into a temporary folder using PKZIP, WINZIP, or any compatible unzip program. This will create all of the necessary files along with the Setup and Uninstall programs. To complete the installation, simply run the SETUP program provided and follow the directions. Installation is now complete. You can now safely delete the files from the temporary folder. It is suggested that you keep the original EQTOOLS13.ZIP archive for backup purposes.

Please Note - It is not necessary to install EQTools into your EverQuest folder! EQTools will search for your EverQuest files and will prompt you for the proper folder if they cannot be located for some reason. The default installation folder is C:\Program Files\EQTools.

To facilitate upgrades it is recommended that you place all of the EQTools modules and their associated files together in their own unique directory.

To uninstall the EQTools package, go to Start à Settings à Control Panel à Add/Remove Programs, select EQ Tools (Serious Cybernetics) from the pick list, and click [Add/Remove].

 

INTRODUCTION

EQTools is a modular toolkit designed to make life easier for EverQuest players. It currently consists of five modules:

Each of these modules will be discussed in detail. While the modules may all be used independently, it is much more convenient to use the global EQTools shell to control the entire EverQuest experience.

NOTE: Extensive use of fly-over help is used throughout the different modules of EQTools (Except for the EQTools module itself, where fly-over help isn’t needed). By moving the mouse cursor over any active (non-grayed-out) button, a small box will pop up with a basic description of that button’s function.

EQTOOLS (EverQuest Tools)

As stated previously, the EQTools module is basically a multiple-button launcher. When executed you will get a 4x3-button screen with the following buttons and hotkeys:

Any module that is not available (for whatever reason) will be grayed out and non-functional. Drop-down menus are also available for all programs and also gives you access to EQCU, the EverQuest CleanUp Utility (there is no button for EQSU for safety reasons).

One other item in the EverQuest drop-down menu is the Options menu item under the EverQuest tab. This pulls up an option screen where you may select the following:

EQSE (EverQuest Settings Editor)

The EQSE module allows you to directly control certain EverQuest settings without tedious editing of the EverQuest .INI file. The EQSE screen is split into two sections, Game Settings and Colors. You can also specify a Chat Channel to Auto Join here.

<Game Settings>

In the Game Settings section you may toggle 8 different settings in the game ON or OFF. If the associated box is checked, that setting is turned ON. If the associated box is not checked, that setting is turned OFF. To toggle the state of any particular setting, point the cursor at the associated box and left-click the mouse. Each setting also has an associated hotkey for keyboard access.

 

<Chat Channel>

<Colors>

In the Colors section you will see a box that contains sample text for each of the different types of text that EverQuest uses to communicate with the player. You will see samples for text used for when someone talks to you, when someone talks to a group, when you are hit by a creature, when a creature is hit by you, etc.

Simply double-click on the associated sample provided. This will pop up the Windows standard color control box, where you may pick a single color from the current palette, or click the Custom Colors button to define the specific color you wish to use.

At the bottom of the Settings Editor screen you will find the following buttons:

You can also save specific color configurations as a "schemes".

EQFM (EverQuest Friends Manager)

The EQFM module provides an easy way to access and alter any character’s ‘FRIENDS’ and ‘IGNORE’ lists. The screen is divided into three primary boxes. Please note that, once you make a change to either the Friends or Ignore boxes, the character name box is grayed out. You may not select another character until all of your changes are either cancelled or saved.

To begin working with your friends, first select a character by name using the drop-down selection box in the upper left corner of the screen. As soon as you do this, the Friends and Ignore boxes will be populated with the selected character’s current ‘friends’ and ‘ignores’ (if any).

<Friends box>

The following controls and hotkeys are available:

You may also right-click anywhere in the Friends box to pop up a mini-menu containing Add, Edit and Remove options for Friends.

NOTE: EQFM cannot validate entries as valid current EverQuest characters or that they are spelled correctly, however it will not allow either blank or duplicate entries.

 

<Ignore box>

In much the same way as the friends box works, the Ignore box allows you to control whom your character ‘Ignores’. If you are ignoring a character, you will never see anything that character says to you, no matter what it is. Just like in the friends box, the following options and hotkeys are available:

You may also right-click anywhere in the Ignored box to pop up a mini-menu containing Add, Edit and Remove options for Ignores.

NOTE: EQFM cannot validate entries as valid current EverQuest characters or that they are spelled correctly, however it will not allow either blank or duplicate entries.

 

<Import List box>

The Build function allows you to build lists of various characters encountered and import selected names into either the Friends or Ignore lists as you wish. It initially defaults to all of the current friends and ignores for the selected character. If you delete a character from either the Friends or Ignores box it is also placed in the Build box (if it’s not already there). When you click on the Build button you must select one of the following options:

Once you have selected an option click [OK] to begin the build process or [Cancel] to abort.

You may also right-click anywhere in the Import List box to pop up a mini-menu containing Import Friends and Import Ignores options.

If you wish to abort the build process you can click the [Stop] button (Hotkey = ESC) at any time. Once the Build process has been completed (or aborted), you can select any name or group of names from the Build box (using standard Windows shift-click or control-click marking) for importing into either the Friends box (by clicking the Friends [Import] button) or the Ignores box (by clicking the Ignores [Import] button)

Please note - If, after building a list, you select another character on a different server, the build box will be cleared. However, if you choose another character on the same server, the build box will not be cleared.

At the bottom of the screen you will find the following buttons:

 

 

EQLS (EverQuest Log Statician)

The EQLS module is a sophisticated log-file-parsing program. Instead of being a fixed string parser, EQLS searches for known ‘patterns’ of information, making it compatible with a wide range of data.

When you load EQLS, you will see a series of data tabs across the top of the screen, each giving access to a specific set of information. First, however, you must select a character and parse that character’s log file. EQLS can also rewrite your log file, making it both smaller and faster to read.

At the bottom left hand corner you will see a box with three options in it, specifying how EQLS will rewrite the log file to be scanned. Only one option may be selected (default = previous selection):

 

The [Options] button allows you to control the following parsing options:

Now it is time to select a log file from the drop down box to the right and click the [Process] button (Hotkey = P) to process that log file. A progress bar will appear at the bottom of the screen showing the scan progress, and the [Process] button changes to a [Stop] button. You may interrupt scanning at any time by clicking the [Stop] button (Hotkey = ESC). During the scan process, the box directly above the name of the log file will show information on the log file being processed as well as any errors or warnings discovered during processing.

Once the processing is complete there are multiple options available. The tabs across the top of the screen (or their associated hotkeys) will bring up separate information displays pertaining to the tab subjects. At the bottom right corner of the screen are two buttons marked [Sort by Text] (Hotkey = T) and [Sort By Value] (Hotkey = V). On any data screen where both text and values appear, you may click [Sort by Value] to re-sort the list by value (high to low), or click [Sort by Text] to resort the list by text (alphabetically low to high).

NOTE - EQLS attempts to sort tables in the most useful manner. In most cases, when a table containing multiple numeric values is sorted by value, the sort performed is actually based on the difference between the two values. For example, in the Factions screen the sort by value function produces a result that is sorted by Faction Increases less Faction Decreases. In the Combat screen the sort by value function produces a result that is sorted by Hits less Misses. The exceptions to this are the Loot and Vendors tables, where the results are sorted by the sum of the values.

Note for Factions, Mobs, Vendors and Items: If there are too many zones to fit in the field, EQLS will display an asterisk (*) in front of those zones listed and will show as many as possible. In such cases, you can click on any item to display the full Zone entry at the bottom of the information window.

In the lower right corner of the EQLS screen are two buttons:

 

TIPS FOR USING EQLS

To get the best results out of EQLS the following guidelines are recommended:

  1. Always make sure logging is ON. The best way to do this is to turn on EverQuest’s Autologging (see EQSE). Otherwise, you should issue a "/log on" command when starting every EverQuest session.

  2. If you are playing in /anon or /roleplay mode, you should turn it off and issue a "/who" command for your character in order to log your character’s info (class, level, etc.). Once that info has been logged, you can turn /anon or /roleplay back on.

  3. You should periodically issue "/who all GUILD" and "/who all friends" commands if you want EQLS to maintain a list of your guild members and friends.

  4. If you talk/group/trade with someone and you want to log their character information issue a "/who" or "/who all" command for their name, or target them and issue a "/whotarget" command.

  5. If EQLS is unable to determine your Bind Point (for example, you had logging off the last time you were Bound), you should issue a "/charinfo" command to log your current Bind Point.

  6. You should periodically issue a "/played" command (ideally just before logging off) so that EQLS can track your character’s play times.

  7. If you have filtering enabled for combat items such as "my misses", "others misses", "others hits, "atkr missing me", etc., those items will not be logged and EQLS will not be able to track them.

 

 

EQPV (EverQuest Picture Viewer)

The EQPV module allows you to list, preview, and manage the screen shots in your EverQuest folder. When loaded, it will scan your EverQuest directory and display a scrolling list of your screen shots in the Picture box to the left. At this point you have the following buttons and options available:

 

 

EQCU (EverQuest CleanUp Utility) [USE WITH CAUTION]

The EQCU module can only be accessed from the drop-down menus in EQTools (or directly from the EQTools folder). This was done for safety purposes. EQCU is a clean-up utility designed to allow you to explore your EverQuest folder and delete old files that are no longer useful to you.

WARNING - EQCU has no way of knowing if a character actually exists or not! If you delete files belonging to an active character you may erase important statistical or game information! This will not cause the character to become unplayable, but may cause you to have to reset preferences or start all over collecting statistical data.

The EQCU screen consists of the following controls and boxes:

To use EQCU, select a character from the drop down pick list at the top of the screen. EQCU will display all files associated with that character. When you select a file, EQCU displays vital information about that file to the right, whether or not it is ‘safe’ to delete the file, and the possible consequences of deleting the file if the character still exists.

At the bottom of the screen are two buttons:

You may also right-click on the file selection list to pop up a small menu with one or two options:

 

When you opt to delete a file using this program, EQCU will display a Warning, a Caution, or an Information box concerning the action, depending on the potential severity involved in deleting the file.

WARNING – Deleting files is a critical operation. Files deleted in this manner may not be recoverable!

To exit EQCU, click the [Exit] button (Hotkey = X) in the lower right hand corner of the EQCU screen.

 

 

REGISTRATION AND SUPPORT

EQTools, EQSE, EQFM, EQLS, EQPV and EQCU, along with their documentation and associated files, are distributed under the Shareware concept. The software is 100% fully functional in its distribution state, and there is no time limit or other such nonsense to worry about. You may continue to use EQTools for as long as you wish, and may distribute the archive to others so long as all of the original files are included in their original, unmodified form.

For $10 you can register one copy of the EQTools 1.3 package for use on one computer. Registration of EQTools gives you the benefit of supporting good shareware. It also gives you the right to email support, as well as the right to make suggestions if you see something you think would be a good change or addition. Suggestions and constructive criticism are always gladly accepted. To register, print and fill out the text registration form (REGISTER.TXT) and send it along with the registration fee to:

C. Scott Davis

807 Galloway Ct

Cornelia, GA 30531

Email eqtools@seriouscybernetics.net

Web Page http://eqtools.seriouscybernetics.net/

Make all checks or money orders payable to C. Scott Davis. US Funds only - and please do not send cash!

You can also now register EQTools by making a donation (of any amount) via PayPal. See http://eqtools.seriouscybernetics.net/Register.html for more information.

SPECIAL OFFER: For a registration fee of $20, you can receive a complete installable version of the EQTools 1.3 package on a custom burned CD-ROM along with a printed copy of this manual. This offer is available for mail-in registrations of $20 (or more) only.

PS: Even if you don’t register EQTools, if you use it for any length of time please send me an email letting me know what you think of it (and what version you are using).

 

 

 

 

CREDITS

The following individuals have played a part in the creation, debugging, and completion of the EQTools project.