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New MiDs cannot export

Snarky

By Snarky
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Bopper

Bopper

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Posted

The forums are run on Invision which only partially supports BBCode. It's always been a headache for the volunteer dev team to get "export to forums" to work without bugs, so the feature is being dropped. If you would like an alternative, try the Print to PDF option. It's now the closest thing to look like the old forum export.

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Snarky

Snarky

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  On 5/21/2023 at 5:14 PM, Bopper said:

The forums are run on Invision which only partially supports BBCode. It's always been a headache for the volunteer dev team to get "export to forums" to work without bugs, so the feature is being dropped. If you would like an alternative, try the Print to PDF option. It's now the closest thing to look like the old forum export.

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Have they tried volunteering better? 🙂

 

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Yomo Kimyata

Yomo Kimyata

Posted
Posted
  On 5/21/2023 at 5:14 PM, Bopper said:

The forums are run on Invision which only partially supports BBCode. It's always been a headache for the volunteer dev team to get "export to forums" to work without bugs, so the feature is being dropped. If you would like an alternative, try the Print to PDF option. It's now the closest thing to look like the old forum export.

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That's a drag.  If there were someone who was a volunteer for both Mids and HC, perhaps they could facilitate the communication process?  I love the volunteer work that people have done on both projects and it seems to me that a large majority of the Mids users are on HC?  And maybe the HC folks, who seem to be flexible on their forum software, could keep that in mind?  The Mids software seems to be made by very knowledgeable developers, but the export options are possibly far more flexible than the user base needs?  I dunno, just spitballing here.

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Who run Bartertown?

 

Bionic_Flea

Bionic_Flea

Posted
Posted (edited)

Well, with the Print to PDF I can do this:

 

  Reveal hidden contents

 

And this:

 

  Reveal hidden contents

 

Edited by Bionic_Flea
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Troo

Troo

Posted
Posted

What's the latest version of MIDs that does support export?

 

 

"Homecoming is not perfect but it is still better than the alternative.. at least so far" - Unknown  (Wise words Unknown!)

Si vis pacem, para bellum

Scarlet Shocker

Scarlet Shocker

Posted
Posted

I made a post regarding this some while back - I trried to find the relevant post but my search fu is fail.

 

It seems this isn't likely to be resolved in our lifetimes so we have to think of alternative options.

 

 

I neither know, nor care, what the difference between ignorance and apathy is

 
High_Beam

High_Beam

Posted
Posted

I use Mids for two things; building my own characters and integrating ideas from other builds into my characters.  For the first part, this impacts my character creation zero.  What @Bionic_Flea posted will get the job done for the second part.  See, I rarely imported a data chunk to see what someone was building but instead used the printout of the powers and what was selected (like the examples Flea showed).  I like the visual feel and when I am juggling power selection points or even powers themselves I use those.

 

The new link that you click and it executes Mids . . . I do not like and will not use.

 

 

Are the changes to the export function (and some font sizing issues) annoying?  Yes.  Is it a reason to toss the software,?  Hell no.  Its still an amazing tool that we are lucky to have at all and even if a dozen more features vanished, I would still use because it lets me make my hero.

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ZemX

ZemX

Posted
Posted
  On 5/22/2023 at 12:55 AM, Bionic_Flea said:

Well, with the Print to PDF I can do this

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The first one is nice and compact and tells you all the BBCode version does just without colors and formatting.  That plus a download link seems like it should suffice.

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Sanguinesun

Sanguinesun

Posted
Posted

Sadly, mids as is, is rather a shame.  Hopefully things will in some fashion on either end of things.   The pdf one suggested above is just a make do only sadly.

 

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InvaderStych

InvaderStych

Posted
Posted
  On 5/22/2023 at 2:16 AM, Troo said:

What's the latest version of MIDs that does support export?

 

 

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Looks like I can still export running v3.4.7 (Issue 27, Page 5) DB Version 2022.11.383.

 

I don't think that is the latest with the export feature intact, but I am not certain.

 

  On 5/21/2023 at 5:14 PM, Bopper said:

The forums are run on Invision which only partially supports BBCode. It's always been a headache for the volunteer dev team to get "export to forums" to work without bugs, so the feature is being dropped. If you would like an alternative, try the Print to PDF option. It's now the closest thing to look like the old forum export.

Expand  

 

Has it though? It isn't without issue, but it worked fine for me this entire time.

 

Can we at least retain the Data Chunk feature?  That was the most useful part, imo. Links often would not open for me in earlier versions of Mids during Homecoming, but the Data Chunks were flawless.

 

😞

 

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Clave Dark 5

Clave Dark 5

Posted
Posted

Will no one rid me of this troublesome version?!

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Bopper

Bopper

Posted
Posted
  On 5/24/2023 at 2:51 PM, InvaderStych said:

Can we at least retain the Data Chunk feature?

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No, with the modernization of the code/program, the method used to create those chunks are now obsolete.

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InvaderStych

InvaderStych

Posted
Posted

Hmm ... that is ... unfortunate ... but no stopping the forward march of time and tide or data and code or something and something else. 😄

You see a mousetrap? I see free cheese and a f$%^ing challenge.

Bopper

Bopper

Posted
Posted
  On 5/26/2023 at 7:07 PM, InvaderStych said:

Hmm ... that is ... unfortunate ... but no stopping the forward march of time and tide or data and code or something and something else. 😄

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Keep in mind, the new .mbd file format is a JSON file. You can open it up in anything that reads JSON (like Firefox). It will be a bit hefty...but all the info you could want from an export will be there. Here's an example of what it looked like when I open a file in firefox. You'll be able to see every power when it was selected. Every slot in that power, including the slotted IO, what level the slot was unlocked, and if there are any boosts to the IO. Also can see if the power is toggled on and if a proc is toggled on.

 

image.thumb.png.99560897b1fbc7ed4d527ce5ec0f35cb.png

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Bionic_Flea

Bionic_Flea

Posted
Posted
  On 5/26/2023 at 7:33 PM, Bopper said:

It will be a bit hefty...but all the info you could want from an export will be there. Here's an example of what it looked like when I open a file in firefox.

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Yeah, that's great for coders who can look at that and see it as if it was a screen shot of a Mids Build.  But to me that looks like gibberish.

 

Honestly, the PDF versions aren't too bad.  They could be even better with some additional formatting and colorizing. 

 

Please don't take me the wrong way.  I REALLY appreciate what everyone and anyone who has worked on the various hero builders have done.  I do.  But as a long time user, being able to look at and share builds on the forums was one of the joys.  This new version sucked a little bit of the joy out of it.

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InvaderStych

InvaderStych

Posted
Posted (edited)
  On 5/26/2023 at 7:33 PM, Bopper said:

Keep in mind, the new .mbd file format is a JSON file. You can open it up in anything that reads JSON (like Firefox). It will be a bit hefty...

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That is readable and all since JSON is fairly human-friendly.

 

Can I import that into MIDs though?  That was sort of my point.  Data Chunks were the most reliable way to share a build in such a manner that someone else could open it in MIDs on their own.

 

Maybe I am jumping the gun here; can MIDs import from either the JSON or PDF?  Reading a build is all well and good, but for providing feedback/alternatives importing it to the program is desirable.

 

Without an ability to import a posted build I'd have to re-create it manually from a PDF/forum post, then make changes and send it back to the person asking for assistance, and vice-verse.

 

Edit: Also, thanks for the info/replies. Just realized that I should probably be asking this stuff on the MIDs Discord. 🤣

 

Double-Edit. Ok, I had a lapse of smart there for a moment, blame it on the coffee not having kicked in.  That's just a saved .mbd file opened in another application, which means the solution to build sharing for direct import is just bouncing the .mbd back and forth I suppose.

Edited by InvaderStych

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Bionic_Flea

Bionic_Flea

Posted
Posted (edited)
  On 5/27/2023 at 1:30 PM, InvaderStych said:

Can I import that into MIDs though?

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You can still import to Mids by clicking the link under the box that the new export function creates as a paste.  This is the same build as the one in the hidden contents I posted above:

 

eiDNz9xhSea.png
View This Build In MRB

^^^Click on this thing here!^^^

 

 

Edited by Bionic_Flea
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InvaderStych

InvaderStych

Posted
Posted
  On 5/27/2023 at 2:37 PM, Bionic_Flea said:

View This Build In MRB

^^^Click on this thing here!^^^

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Thanks. I'll give that a try when I update.

 

Historically links have not been reliable for me in previous versions. I don't know if it is a Firefox quirk or what, but I would try to open posted links and end up with a blank slate in MIDs.

 

🤷‍♂️

You see a mousetrap? I see free cheese and a f$%^ing challenge.

Scarlet Shocker

Scarlet Shocker

Posted
Posted
  On 5/27/2023 at 12:51 PM, Bionic_Flea said:

 

Please don't take me the wrong way.  I REALLY appreciate what everyone and anyone who has worked on the various hero builders have done.  I do.  But as a long time user, being able to look at and share builds on the forums was one of the joys.  This new version sucked a little bit of the joy out of it.

Expand  

 

110% THIS!

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I neither know, nor care, what the difference between ignorance and apathy is

 
tidge

tidge

Posted
Posted

It has been years since I even tried to use (let alone install) MIDS, so what follows is not an attempt to bad-mouth a software tool that I don't use... it is a short explanation of why I can't bring myself to use it.

 

I didn't like that MIDS seemed (to me) to need (virtually) a metric ton's worth of extra software packages (along the lines of, but possibly not exclusive to, the .NET framework plus whatever the under-the-hood mechanism is used for database actions) and internet connectivity (this could have been illusory!) in order to work. The last time I went to try an install, the various system changes I was asked to make felt like I was being asked to host a month-long visit from the royal court. (The analogy is meant to convey the feelings of "no other software install has ever asked for that", at least since my days of subscribing to the Microsoft Developer Network)

 

I appreciate that the tool is maintained and that so many people find value in it! I can tell from discussions of builds using MIDS that there are a LOT of powerful options within it to help players understand the effects of all the powers, bonuses, game settings, etc. I simply can't help but wonder if there isn't a way to refactor and/or repackage the tool so that it offers more of a stand-alone solution?

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