Combining Patches


 
This tutorial is designed to talk you through the basic steps involved in
Combining two or more patches into a single file for use in your dream.

This is useful for when you want to use images from more then one patch,
Or to add new Images to your existing patch files.

Refer to the links to the left to quickly jump to a different section of the page if you are
Already familiar with different steps of patching.

 
-----  -----  -----

Preparing to Combine Patches
 
The first step for any form of combination, is to know what patches you want to take shapes from.

To do this you will want to open at least two (or more) FSH Editors in accordance to how many files you want to combine.
The easiest way to do this is by using the C-Tab on your furcadia client and then clicking Patch Editor the amount of times you want.

You can use more then two editors if you wish.
This can be quicker if your moving images from two or more patches to a new (or existing) file.

Note: If your adding items from another patch to an existing patch this guide still applies as normal.
The only real difference is that you may be more likely to have to enlarge your shape limit.
Refer to Adding More Shapes further down the tutorial for details on this.

See the screenshot below for a view of the C-Tab on a furcadia client.



You can also open the FSH Editor using your Start Menu,

Start Menu -> All Programs -> Furcadia -> Furcadia Tools -> Click Once on Furcadia FSH Editor
See the screenshot below for a visual reference.




Choosing your Files

With your FSH Editor(s) open you should now open the files you want to combine.
Leave one of the editors plank for your new shapes to be placed.

Note: If you are adding shapes to a new editor then you should open the existing file,
And the file you want to add these additional shapes from.

To open the files you want to use click on File and then Open locate the file you want to use.
Repeat this on a second Editor.

See the image below for a reference of the menu options.



In the sample, I want to use both a Tree and a Rainbow in a new file.
These two shapes are on different files so I have opened them both and found them on the files.

You can scroll through the shapes on the files using the Arrow Buttons on the editor.

See the image below as reference.


The single arrows move the shape a single step in either direction.
The double arrows move you all the way to the beginning/end of the shapes.

Remember you can have more then two FSH Editors open for moving shapes if you want.
Such cases for this may be that you want to use images from two (or more) different files.

Below is an image of an opened patch with a Tree to be copied over to a new file.

 

#Back To Top

Moving To A New File

• Method One
Select All, Copy / Paste

• Method Two
Area Select, Copy / Paste

There isn't that much difference between the two methods.
However if you only want to copy over a certain area of a patch to edit it afterwards;
Such as removing a pillow from the top of the box then the second method may be more useful.

Some people may even prefer the second method, the choice is your own however.
Use the links above to quickly move down to the two methods or just scroll normally.

Take note of the CTRL button on the keyboard.
Both these methods use this button in combination with another letter on the keyboard.
There are also different, longer methods to use instead. These are explained on the two sections however.

You can also refer to either of these two methods to delete a previous image on your new (or existing) files.
Use either of the two methods above to select the image to be removed and then simply press delete on your keyboard.

You can also remove a shape completely by pressing Ctrl+D or selecting Remove Shape from the Edit Menu.
Be warned that using this method when you have already placed images on your
Dream map can cause shapes after this to appear out of place or mixed up.


Method 1 - Select All

Now that you have opened the file where the shapes are that you want to use in another patch it is time to,
Find the image/shape you wish to copy. In the case of the Example Image a little above this is Shape 67.

Remember that little Ctrl button? Well now is the time to use it.
Press Ctrl and A together on your keyboard, this is "Select All".
What this does is selects all of the selected screen, Object and all.

You can also use the Edit menu at the top of the screen.

Click once on Edit to open a drop-down menu, On this menu you should notice the words Select All - Ctrl+A
This button has the same effect as Ctrl+A but can be use if pressing the keyboard buttons does not work.

The below image is a screenshot of menu at the top of the screen.


Whatever method you used; Button or Keyboard Shortcut you should now notice a
White outline around the entire drawing area in your editor.
That is how you know the image is selected correctly.

Below is a small screenshot of the white outline.

The next step is again, rather simple, press and hold Ctrl and press the C button on your keyboard.

Again you can also use the Edit menu if required. Copy - Ctrl+C is the area to look for.

I would suggest using either of these, two to three times to ensure the image is copied and ready to be Pasted somewhere else.

Note: If your copying to an existing file, use the arrow buttons to get to the end of the patch or a blank shape.
Refer to Adding More Shapes further down the tutorial if you need to add more shape space to the file.

When your ready, open the blank patch file, if this is completely blank, your first image should be Shape 0 / 19.
If this shape is in use then use the arrows to move along to the next available empty shape.

Similar to copying now press Ctrl+V on your keyboard, or use the Edit Menu to paste the copied image.
Your new shape should now appear in the empty spot. As in the image screenshot below.



If you are repeating this stage and have used Shape 19 / 19 then refer to Adding More Shapes
Further down in the tutorial for adding more shape space to your file.

If your new image has been successfully moved to your new file then, Congratulations.
You have now moved your first image from one shape to another.
Repeat this as required for however many images you are copying between patch files.

Remember however this is only the first stage in moving images between patches.
You also need to set all the settings for these new shapes as explained in...

Shape Settings

#Back To Top

Method 2 - Manual Area Selection

Now that you have opened the file where the shapes are that you want to use in another patch it is time to,
Find the image/shape you wish to copy. In the case of the Example Image a little above this is Shape 67.

This method is very similar to Method 1, however this uses a select-area method using the mouse.

To the left of the main image, you'll notice several little buttons - i.e pencil, rubber, hand, dropper.. etc
Click on the little box made of small lines. This is the Area Selection button, which can be very useful in some situations.

Refer to the image below for a screenshot of the buttons in the FSH Editor.
The Area Select button is selected with a white background.



With this option selected click and hold in the Top Left at the grey area.
In this case, somewhere where the yellow X is on the image below.



While holding down the mouse button, drag your cursor down and across the screen until it covers either the whole image
or a small selection of the image you wish to copy, depending on what you plan to do with the image afterwards.

See the screenshot below for an example of a selected area.



The next step slightly easier. Press and hold Ctrl and press the C button on your keyboard.
Or alternatively, you can also use the Edit menu if required. Copy - Ctrl+C is the area to look for.

I would suggest using either of these, two to three times to ensure the image is copied and ready to be Pasted somewhere else.

Note: If your copying to an existing file, use the arrow buttons to get to the end of the patch or a blank shape.
Refer to Adding More Shapes further down the tutorial if you need to add more shape space to the file.

When your ready, open the blank patch file, if this is completely blank, your first image should be Shape 0 / 19.
If this shape is in use then use the arrows to move along to the next available empty shape.

Similar to copying now press Ctrl+V on your keyboard, or use the Edit Menu to paste the copied image.
Your new shape should now appear in the empty spot. As in the image screenshot below.

If you are repeating this stage and have used Shape 19 / 19 then refer to Adding More Shapes
Further down in the tutorial for adding more shape space to your file.

If your new image has been successfully moved to your new file then, Congratulations.
You have now moved your first image from one shape to another.
Repeat this as required for however many images you are copying between patch files.

Remember however this is only the first stage in moving images between patches.
You also need to set all the settings for these new shapes as explained in...

Shape Settings

#Back To Top

Adding More Shape Spaces

If you ever need to add additional Shape Space to your new or existing patch then,
 Press and hold Ctrl and press the C button on your keyboard.
Or alternatively, you can also use the Edit menu if required, Add Shapes... - Ctrl+T is the button to look for.

Which ever method used they will both bring up the same screen pictured below.



The default at first load-up is 5 shapes, but this value can be changed to whatever you wish.

Below this is also four options as to how the new shapes should be added.
Be careful when using these as they can mess up any items you have already placed on the map.

These four options are explained below as to what they do.

After current shape
* Adds extra shapes "after" the current shape, moving that shape and any others forward based on how many shapes are added
  So, if you used this option, and added shapes after shape 16, it would add shapes at 17, if you added 5 extra shapes
  you would create 5 new blank images starting at shape 17 to shape 22 - the original shape 17 would now be at shape 23,
  with the original shape 18, at shape 24. And so forth.

Before current shape
* Adds extra shapes "before" the current shape, moving that shape and any others forward based on how many shapes are added
So, if you used this option, and added shapes before shape 16, it would add shapes after 15, if you added 5 extra shapes
you would create 5 new blank images from shape 16 to shape 21 - the original shape 16 would now be at shape 22,
with the original shape 17, at shape 23. And so forth.

To the beginning
* Adds extra shapes to the very beginning (shape 0) - using this option, if you added 5 extra shapes, new blank images would
be added from shape 0 to shape 4, so the original shape 0 would be at shape 5, shape 1 at shape 6, and so on.

To the end
* Adds extra shapes to the very end of the patch - using this option, if the end of your patch was 25, and you added 5
  extra shapes, your shape-limit would now be 30.

#Back To Top

Shape Settings

Now that we have the image moved from one patch to another, now comes the important part - Shape Settings.

Shape Settings control the position of the item when placed in a dream.
They also control whether the item, floor or wall can be walked upon, picked up or automatically sat on when a furre moves onto them.
You can also control the position of a furre when they stand on the object.

Remember the little menu screen at the top of the FSH Editor?  If you don't recall, here it is.


This time, rather then Edit, We will be using View.

So, click View then the first option, which should say Shape Properties.
Or alternatively simply click Enter on your keyboard.

Be sure to open two (or more) screens, One from the Patch where the Image came from and another for The New Patch.

Feralness/Iteme.fsh        Blank Patch
                                          - Shape 67 properties                                                 - Shape 0 properties.

Notice that the Blank Patch has no properties set - This is where you come in to set the settings for this.

The first thing you'd want to do is take note of Position X  ,  Position Y in Basic Properties.
As we can see - those settings are -47   and   -94  where we would copy those two settings identically
from the Shape properties of 67 into 0 - from one file to another.

We would also enable FBJ properties and "tick off" / edit any properties if present, in this case there are none,
But there may be settings for later images so we enable FBJ Properties anyway.

Repeat these steps until your new patch has both Shapes & Shape Properties for each shape
Although, you can leave some objects blank if you wish.

The last step is to place the new file into your dream's patch folder set that folder for the dream to use and enjoy your new patch!
If you are uncertain of how to create folders or apply new patches to your dream then it would be advised to refer to the..
Installing Patches Tutorial

You can save your new file directly into your Dream's Patch Folder and Create a new folder by going to the top menu and selecting
File to bring down the small dropdown menu and then click Save As...

This brings up a new window allowing you to name the patch and where it should be saved.
Navigate around until you locate the Furcadia/Patches directory. If you have already created a new folder,
Double click on the folder to open it and then call your file iteme.

Note: If your shape is based on floors then call the file floore.

If you haven't already created a new folder then click the icon that looks like a folder with a star.
Don't forget to name your new folder. The name of the folder does not matter.

#Back To Top

Back Home

http://www.mysticallands.com/tutorials/


This page was created by mysticsentry, as a guide combine two or more patches - to create a single patch,
Furcadia is a multi-user online chat system that has multiple things to do, even try your hand at dreams and patching