Trainz/Content Manager Tips

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Trainz Asset Maintenance and Creation

Content Manager skills tutorials for Trainz
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Introduction edit

Running Content Manager can sometimes be frustrating given the kludgy nature of the user interface. The worst problems occur after downloading a route which suddenly bequeaths a variety of faulty content items, with some of that missing other dependencies, and so instead of playing, you have to track what is going on. Perhaps you do as I do and keep a log file or spreadsheet of downloads.

Adding kuids to a list edit

 
 • 1) Keep 'just fixed' asset Woodchips 2BayOp... by setting up an OR (2nd) 'Asset KUID' field with the Woodchips gondola's kuid.
 • 2) Then commit the asset. 3) This asset then showed the 'Faulty Dependency Puzzle' piece, so got this view by examining the assets dependencies (RMBHdrag etc)
 • 4) The faulty dependencies are not in the just downloaded list, but are present, or might be (very, very, most commonly... On the DLS so you need them listed in the main view for a drag N drop into the Download Helper pane).
 • 5) So continue the second kuid list with the missing or faulty kuids so you can deal with all that now.

Adding kuids to a Search list you want to keep static requires a trick--a double use of a kuid list.

Consider this common scenario
  1. Assume you keep a log file of downloads by version, or put that up in a spreadsheet
  2. Assume the aftermath of a download—you want the main view list captured and put into a text file anyway, so do that or paste them into an Open Office (Calc) spreadsheet.
  3. Assume further, the download was a route, and the dependencies, all of them new to you ran to the hundreds.
  4. You've got 8-12 new faulty assets, scattered through that big list in the main view
  5. and further, you run more than one Trainz, so you need to track fixed assets so you can output CDP's for the one's you fix.
    (Elsewhere in AM&C you were advised, if your ISP speed is high enough to separately download assets instead of copying or exporting cdp files across versions. We repeat that advice here!--Fabartus)
  6. If you are just focused on faulty assets, your initial list is too long and unweildy, so after selecting the download by 'View in Main List' you set an auxiliary filter Faulty+True, so now you can see just the errors.

Notes and Footnotes edit