Campaign Builder (Previously Reference Manual Builder)

The manual builder is an editor that will allow a content creator to provide a reference guide alongside their modules. This centralizes documentation that is otherwise scattered about notes or stories entries that can sometimes be quite difficult to find. Through the use of the manual builder, you’ll now be able to provide your audience with a structured, more easily readable document that can also include images loaded through assets to help with documenting the use of a given module.

Using the Campaign Builder

The feature was originally introduced with FGU 4.1.12 where it appeared in the Modules window, but in v4.5.0, has been moved to it’s own section under Books → Campaign button. When you click on the button, it will open an empty Book - Campaign panel, but it has the means to add some elements to it, turning it into an editor window.

Open

For comparison, if I load a module that I know has a Reference Manual... let's say the D&D Dragon of Icespire Peak module, you'll see what a populated campaign book looks like vs. what we see for the the editor.

Open

Books Window Navigation

Top Navigation

1. Drag Record Link - You can grab this icon and drag it onto the hot bar at the bottom for easy access, into the chat window, or anywhere else you can drag individual items.

2. Content Lock / Unlock - This locks or unlocks the contents of the campaign that you are editing, so that it is now read-only until you unlock the campaign again.

3. Minimize - This allows you to minimize the page to a small, round icon on the desktop.

4. Close - This will close the window. You can reopen it via the Books button in the sidebar, then clicking the Campaign button. This will return you to the campaign you were editing.

5. Collapse Index - This button will collapse the index on the left allowing the content pane to become the full size of the window.

6. New Chapter button - Created a new Chapter in the campaign, also allowing the subsequent creation of Subchapter and New Pages (illustrated in examples below).

Bottom Navigation

1. Expand All - This will expand every Chapter, Subchapter and page in the Campaign index panel so all are visible.

2. Collapse All - This will collapse down every entry, subentry and page in the Campaign index panel, showing only the Chapter and Subchapter names.

3. Search box - Search for words or phrases within the Campaign.

4. Previous Page - Display the previous page to the current one as listed in the Campaign index.

5. Next Page - Display the next page after the current one in the as listed in the Campaign index.

6. Window Resize Drag Handle - This allows you to easily resize the window freely in all directions.

Adding content to the manual

Adding content to the Campaign book is quite simple, and you’ll start by clicking on the “New Chapter” button. This will create two new elements, as well as add in a few more navigational and content creation options.

The two new elements are a chapter title entry point, and a new subchapter button. The chapter title field allows you to enter in alpha numeric text, so you can organize your chapters as you see fit. You can also decide whether to create a subchapter under the new chapter title, or continue on to create an entirely new chapter with the New Chapter button. For this example, we will continue on with subchapters and pages.

Underneath the new elements are two new buttons, one called “New Page”, which will create a new page entry point, and the “New Subchapter” button, that will create an additional subchapter entry point that can then take new pages.

To the right of the new elements, you’ll see up and down arrows, and the red circles with a vertical line through them. 

If you’ve ever had to remove an element from a character sheet, or other information panel within FGU, you’ll know that the red circle contains a deletion action, that you must click twice to completely remove an element.

In this case, the chapter deletion action will delete all items directly linked to the chapter, which will include subchapters and all pages linked to those subchapters.

The deletion will be restricted entirely to just that chapter and its linked elements, and will not remove any other chapters once confirmed for removal.

Additionally, as you edit the structure of the table of contents on the left, and fill in content for pages using the page panel on the right, the content is saved to disk as soon as a given change is made. This is also something that will survive a complete restart of the Fantasy Grounds Unity interface, and simply going back to the Campaign button in the Books window will re-open what you were working on.

Chapters and Chapter Titles

Of the new elements, two are indicated through a difference in coloration of the background of the text field.

The dark gray background represents your chapter titles, and can be considered the top most element of a given chapter. It is not readily apparent, but this is a text entry box, in that once you click somewhere in that dark field, it will provide you with a cursor to show you that text entry is possible.

For example, I’m going to enter the text, “Chapter 1” in this field, but it can be any sort of content description that will help you organize the content for the viewer in a way that makes sense.

Additionally, I’m also going to create a new chapter and call it Chapter 2, in preparation for a later demonstration.

A chapter can be shifted above or below another chapter via the use of the up and down arrows next to the deletion action button, giving you a quick way to shift the entire contents of a given chapter to earlier, or later locations in the manual as you adjust your organization of said manual

It should be noted that the Chapter element is not directly linked to page content, so if you only have a chapter element, don’t expect to be able to edit any content in the page panel until you’ve added a subchapter, and then a page to that subchapter.

Subchapters and Subchapter Titles

A subchapter is used to group pages in a specific order that you’d like to use to showcase the content of the manual to a viewer. 

However, a subchapter is unable to exist without it being contained in a Chapter, and it is unable to take subchapters as child elements, only pages. 

I’m going to update the first subchapters title to contain the text subchapter #1 for our demonstration, and then I’m going to add a second sub-chapter, and set its title to be subchapter #2.

As you can see, once the second sub-chapter was created, an additional “new page” button appeared, and the new subchapter was created below the “new page” button of the subchapter 1’s pages.

Using the up and down arrow keys, you can shift the location of a given subchapter and all of its linked pages within a given chapter, or to new chapters entirely, as long as one exists, providing a nice convenient way to move content about the manual as adjustments need to be made.

It should be noted here, that deleting a subchapter will only delete its linked pages, as well as the subchapter that was removed.

It should also be noted that a subchapter is what binds one or more pages to a given chapter, and it will shift around with that chapter if you choose to move the entire chapter to a different location.

Pages and Page Titles

A page is what will be used to actually store the content you intend for a given reader, and each page can contain multiple types of content as seen via the icons that you might have seen pop up in the page panel once a page title has been selected.

When you do select a page title, it can be edited much like a chapter or subchapter title, thus allowing you to name a given page for the reader's benefit.

As you add pages to a given subchapter, they will remain where they were created unless you choose to use the up and down arrow keys to change the order a page is displayed in, so don’t feel that you need to put content into pages in a specific order, as you can shift it around as needed.

Pages can also be shift out to other subchapters using the same up and down arrows, such that when a page that is at the top of its subchapter is shifted upwards, it will appear in the subchapter above it, while those that are moved past the last point of a chapter will be moved to the subchapter just below it, even if that subchapter is in another chapter entirely.

Once again, a page, when deleted, will delete the entire contents of a given page - which in this case we’ve not yet added any, and as the content is not backed up anywhere, you’ll want to be very careful about accidentally deleting a given page.

Adding Page Content

Once a page has been selected and/or created, new options will show up on the right that will allow you to edit the contents of that page. These elements are essentially wrappers for the content that you intend to put in your campaign, and they contain very specific kinds of content. There are also a couple other handy icons.

1. Page Handle - This allows you to click to open the page in it’s own window, or drag it to other windows to create links to the page, or to the chat box to show your players, or hot bar at the bottom for quicker access. There are lots of ways to use page handles to link the page elsewhere.

2. Text Block - This created a standard text block that spans the entire width of the window with no special formatting.

3. Dual Text Block - This created two standard text boxes, each in a column roughly half the width of the window.

4. Header Block - This created a header making it easier to denote sections within a single page.

5. Image Block - This allows you to create a formatted placeholder for an image. You will drag and drop an image onto the placeholder, then add additional text pertaining to the image.

6. Text Left / Image Right Block - This places a text block on the left and an image placeholder on the right.

7. Image Left / Text Right Block - This place an image placeholder on the left and a text block on the right.

8. Copy Record Content / Paste Record Content - Clicking the Copy Record Content button will copy everything in the page. It will then display a Paste Record Content button next to it which will, when clicked, paste everything that was just copied.

Page Handle:

If you single-click the Page Handle, it will open the page directly in its own window.

Top Page Navigation:

1. Drag Record Link - This allows you to click to open the page in it’s own window, or drag it to other windows to create links to the page, or to the chat box to show your players, or hot bar at the bottom for quicker access. There are lots of ways to use page handles to link the page elsewhere.

2. Unlocked / Locked Indicator - This button is toggleable and will denote whether a page is locked and cannot be edited, or unlocked and able to be edited.

3. Public / Not Shared Indicator - This button will toggle between visible to all or not shared.

4. Minimize - This allows you to minimize the page to a small, round icon on the desktop.

5. Close - This will close the window. You can reopen it via the Books button in the sidebar, then clicking the Campaign button. This will return you to the campaign you were editing.

6. Copy Record Content / Paste Record Content - Clicking the Copy Record Content button will copy everything in the page. It will then display a Paste Record Content button next to it which will, when clicked, paste everything that was just copied.

Bottom Page Navigation:

1. Previous Page - Display the previous page to the current one as listed in the Campaign index.

2. Open Story Book - This will open the main Campaign book that this page was opened from.

3. Next Page - Display the next page after the current one in the as listed in the Campaign index.

4. Window Resize Drag Handle - This allows you to easily resize the window freely in all directions.

Page Content Types

The Text Element

The text element is used to create one or more paragraphs that will run the full length of the page, essentially giving you a means to provide as much or as little detail as you might like to enter. 

There are no format controls within the element, and what you enter is what you will see once the manual has been exported, or the page has been locked.

This means it will include all spaces that you enter, as well as ensure any new lines that you’ve created will be retained, so you can space the content out as much as you like, or cram it all into one large paragraph - though that would be slightly less useful for your readers.

It should be noted that all text fields work as though you are editing a story page, and this means that you can change a font from a normal font to a bold or italicized font, or make use of different formatting options that you would otherwise use in a story.

This includes lists, tables, chat frames and all other sorts of options

All you have to do is right click within the text entry box to bring up the context menu that will give you the options, much like you would for a story page.

The Split Text Element

A split text element used to create a tabular split between two separate paragraphs or text entry boxes.

Using these split text elements, you’ll be able to create two columns of text, much like some printed D&D supplement manuals that have been published, are formatted. 

There are any number of uses for organizing text this way, but is there to provide you an alternative to simply dumping large paragraphs all over your manual, and give you another means to organize the content of your manual.

The Header Element

The header element is a great way to create content separation within the same page, as well as embolden the font to provide a nice title for someone to use for reference within the page. 

The content of the header is currently, at the time of this recording, only able to be displayed in centered alignment within the element, but that may be me not recalling the right keyboard combination to change alignment, or it's something that has not yet been implemented, or something that might not get implemented.

But this element is still a great way to sub-categorize the content of your manual within a given page, ensuring a decent level of organization and presentation capabilities.

The Image Element

The image element is something that you can use to add different kinds of image assets to the manual.

These can include tokens or images that you can drag in from the assets window, but will not accept portraits.

It's a great way to add visuals to the manual, breaking up the walls of text with some map, token or other form of image to help carry the information your trying to convey through the manual

To use an image element, simply add it to the page, then drag and drop an image from the assets window over the empty image element to link that asset to that element. 

It also accepts a caption that you can then use to add further context to the image, through the use of the text entry box just below the image element itself.

The Text Left/Image Right or Image Left/Text Right Elements

The last two elements are essentially the same thing, but organize your information slightly differently, in that they can place text alongside an image.

One will display the text on the left side, and an image on the right, while the second element will do the opposite, and display the image on the left, and the text on the right.

Adding an image works the exact same way as one would for the stand alone image element, but you’ll want to be somewhat careful here, as the size of the image will change how much space can be used to display the text.

The only way to reduce the space that image might use up, at the time of this recording, is through shrinking the size of the source image itself before it's loaded into the assets window.

However, this is still highly useful to provide a means to display these assets side by side, and break up the presentation of your manual to make it a little more interesting and possibly visually appealing.

Adjusting the background of a text field

If you’ve been paying attention, you might notice the little icon that is always present near the top left corner of the text entry box.

This is a field modification action that allows you to change the visual appearance of a given text field, and this applies to all elements that contain a text field.

The modification can affect both the borders of the field, and the coloration of the background, but they don’t always change both at the same time.

As an example, if I add the parchment modifier to this field, it converts that section of the text box to make it look like its bound parchment.

But if I change this header field, the sides remain unbound, and the borders for the top and bottom have changed, alongside the coloring of the background itself.

These options give you another means to change the appearance of your manual, and help provide an interesting display of the information you're trying to convey.

Moving all elements

Just like the contents of the left menu, it's also possible to shift the position of elements on a given page, so if you realize a little after you started adding content, that a header might help present the information better, you can add it, then move it to the desired location on the page. 

However any element that is a split element, such as the split text element, as well as the split text and image elements are moved as one, so both sides of the element are moved up or down when you adjust the element using the up and down arrows. This ensures that as you move those elements around, they stick together.

Another thing to note, is that an element can’t be shifted to a different page using this method, and you’ll need to create a new element in the target page, and copy/paste the text into that element. 

Images can not be moved this way, and instead you will simply need to drag the asset into the new image element on the new page.

Exporting The Campaign

Lastly, it's also possible to export the campaign as part of a module, and while we did not cover module development in this video, I can very quickly show you how to ensure your manual is included in an exported module at the time you're ready to complete that export.

Once again, you’ll want to access the modules information panel from the Library drop down category. 

You’ll see next to the builder button, the export button which once clicked will display the export information panel.

There are a large number of options that are beyond the scope of this video, there is only one location we need to focus on right now and that’s under the “Exported record Types” in the middle of the export panel.

If you scroll down to almost the bottom of the list, you’ll see there’s an entry for “Story”. This should be checked to ensure it's exported at the time your module is exported as a whole.

However, it is possible to simply create a module that contains nothing but this manual, and it's a great way to create a custom set of guidelines and rules for your groups that you edit through a master module, export it and load it into your various campaigns so it can be provided to players.

You’ll want to ensure you also select the “Player Module?” Option just above the “Exported record types” listing, to ensure players can load it on their side.