Basic Actions

Tabletop View

When you first join a game session as a player using FG, the first screen you see may be the character selection window. If you are a GM or after selecting a character, you will be on the FG tabletop.

image-20240815-213341.png
  1. Party Tabletop List: Portraits of active and inactive characters in this session. Players can create a token using a portrait by dragging from a portrait entry onto a map or token field. GMs can drag Player portraits directly to a map and that character will also be added to the Combat Tracker. Additionally, Players can add a character to the combat tracker by dragging onto the combat tracker window.
    Link: CoreRPG Party Sheet and Character List: Controlling One or More Characters

  2. Combat Tabletop List / Player Tabletop List Toggle: This button toggles between Player Tabletop Mode (as seen in 1) and Combat Tabletop Mode. You can see specifics about this feature following page:
    Link: Character List: Controlling One or More Characters

  3. Chat Window: Display chat messages and rolls for this session. Chat entry box on bottom is used to send chat messages between GM and players.
    Link: Using the Chat Window

  4. Campaign Data: Buttons to interact with campaign data, such as combat tracker, party sheet, PCs, NPCs, stories, etc. The Options button, Dice button, and Sound button are also in the Tool area.
    Link: The Fantasy Grounds VTT Sidebar | Sidebar Categories

  5. Modules: Button to view where module data can be loaded or unloaded for this campaign. Once loaded, module data will either be displayed in the modules window or available as tabs within then individual campaign data windows.
    Link: Using the Library and Activating Modules

  6. Assets Box: Contains tokens, maps, and images.
    Link: Using the Assets Window for Tokens, Portraits and Images

  7. Books: This opens all of the Books that are available in a campaign. This window also linked to the Campaign Builder (previously Reference Manual Builder). You can read more about this feature in the following page:
    Link: Campaign Builder (Books - Previously Reference Manual Builder)

  8. Sound Sets: This is where you will load and activate Sound Packs to use in your campaign. You can read more about Sounds in the following page:
    Link: Using Sound Links

  9. Dice: Set of dice that can be rolled in the chat window. The dice tower is an optional feature that can be used to make rolls which only the GM can see.
    Link: All Things Dice

  10. Modifier Stack: Set of modifiers to apply to the next dice roll.
    Link: Applying Modifiers to your Dice Rolls

  11. Hot Keys: Customizable buttons for common actions and reference material links.
    Link: Common Shortcuts & Hotkeys | Hotbar

  12. Identity List: A GM-only tabletop feature that allows the GM to speak as different characters.

  13. Languages: A list of available languages to use in chat. Characters with matching languages can read the message in the chat box. Those who don’t see an unreadable language.

Windows

  • Moving: Windows can typically be moved around the screen by simply left clicking on the window and dragging your mouse. Make sure that you are not clicking on a field within the window while dragging. Not all windows are moveable.

    FantasyGrounds_rQkzcsYI37-20240815-213656.gif
  • Sizing: Windows can sometimes be resized by holding the CONTROL key while left clicking within the window and dragging. Not all windows are resizable. In some rulesets, there is a resize icon in the lower right corner of the window to indicate that resizing is available. Many windows can also be resized by using the "grab-handles" on the right or bottom edges of the window as well as the bottom right corner.

  • Scrolling: If a window has more content than can be shown in the available space, it can be scrolled. Use the mouse wheel to scroll most windows up and down (except images in which the mouse wheel will zoom instead). Also, some windows can have scroll bars as well.

  • Open Help: Some windows have a “?” button in the upper-right corner to open the corresponding wiki article or help document pertaining to that window or feature.

  • Note: You may be presented with a box allowing FGU to open a URL to the linked page. Select Yes or Yes To All to open the corresponding help page.

  • Minimizing: Some windows have the ability to be minimized, which will collapse them to an icon on the desktop. Clicking the icon will reopen the window in its previous position.

  • Closing: In some rulesets, a Close button [ X ] will be visible in the upper-right corner of each window to allow the window to be closed. If the button does not exist, windows can be closed by using the right-click context menu.
    Also, some windows can be minimized to the tabletop as well using the right-click context menu.

Drag and Drop

  • Supported Objects: There are several objects within FG that can be dragged from their initial location and dropped on another location. Objects that can be dragged by default are: dice, numbers, text and window link boxes. Rulesets may create additional draggable objects.

  • Chat Window: Most objects can be dropped on the chat window to display the dropped object to the chat channel, or to make a dice roll.

  • Hot Keys: Objects can also be dropped on hot keys for quick access to commonly used objects (i.e. windows, dice).

Context Menus

  • When in doubt, try right-clicking on a tabletop object to bring up a context menu of options relevant to that window or data field.

Lists

Newer rulesets have buttons which allow for faster editing of lists. To activate list editing via the buttons, click the Edit button (brown with slash).

  • Creating a List Item: Right-click on the list and select Create Item option. (or click Add button (green with plus) while Edit button is active.)

  • Deleting a List Item: Right-click on the list item, and choose Delete Item option. (or click Delete button (red with minus) while Edit button is active.)

  • Scrolling: If a list has more content than can be shown in the available space, it can be scrolled. Use the mouse wheel or scroll bar to scroll lists up and down.

Text Fields

  • Text Entry: Left click on an editable text field to set the keyboard focus to that field. Any text typed while an editable text field has the focus will be recorded in the field. Not all text fields are editable. If a text field is editable, you will see a flashing cursor when the field has the keyboard focus. Also, if editable, any text fields with a full border will have a darker edge and will highlight on hover or when it has keyboard focus.

  • Text Selection: Some text fields support text selection. Text can be selected either by dragging the mouse within the text, or by holding the SHIFT key while using the arrow keys when the text field has the focus.

  • Scrolling: Text fields can be scrolled just like windows.

  • Drag and Drop: By default, any text dropped on a text field will overwrite the original text. All other data types will be ignored. Rulesets can customize this behavior.

Shortcut Keys

Shortcut

Action

Shortcut

Action

CTRL+A

Select all text

CTRL+C

Copy selected text to the clipboard.

CTRL+J

Join paragraph containing cursor with the following line.

CTRL+V

Paste text on the clipboard into the control.

CTRL+X

Copy selected text to the clipboard, and delete the selection.

CTRL+Z

Undo last change.

Number Fields

  • Number Entry: Left click on an editable number field to set the keyboard focus to that field. Any text typed while an editable number field has the focus will be recorded in the field. Not all number fields are editable. If a number field is editable, the field will usually have a thicker border and the field will highlight when hovering over or when it has keyboard focus.

  • Quick Edit: Use the mouse wheel while hovering over a number field to quickly change the value in the field. In the 3.5E and 4E rulesets, you must hold the CONTROL key while using the mouse wheel to quick edit.

  • Drag and Drop: By default, any numbers dropped on a number field will overwrite the original number. All other data types will be ignored. Rulesets can customize this behavior for specific fields, such as adding the numbers together instead of replacing the original (which is indicated by a small plus in the lower right of the number field highlight border).

  • Drag Negation: If you are dragging a number, then holding the CONTROL key will negate the number being dragged.

  • Reset: Press Backspace or Delete to reset number field.

  • Dice Icon: Some rulesets show a small dice icon on PC sheet number field that can be rolled by dragging or double-clicking.

  • Temporary Modifiers: Some rulesets show a small plus icon in the upper right corner of a PC sheet number field that can be adjusted by using the mouse wheel or dropping a number. This feature is usually reserved for total fields that are not directly editable.

Button Fields

In addition to appearing as actual buttons, button fields can be customized to look like other types of fields. If you see a text field that is not directly editable, but which highlights on hover; click on the field to cycle through the available options for that field (i.e. Options).

Dice Fields

  • Drag and Drop: By default, any dice dropped on a dice field will add the dropped dice to the dice already in the field. All other data types will be ignored. Rulesets can customize this behavior for specific fields.

  • Clear Dice: To clear all the dice in a dice field, right-click on the dice field to bring up the radial menu, and select the Clear Dice menu option.

Formatted Text Fields

Formatted Text fields are used for story entries, reference manual text, and other areas where paragraphs of text would be appropriate. They support some basic styling capabilities and some automatic recognition of a filtered list of markup code and HTML tags. See the Advanced Clean Up Text section below for more details.

  • Text Paragraph Types: There are 6 paragraph types supported by formatted text fields. To change the paragraph type of a block of text, you can right click and select the Paragraph Type menu option you want, or use the shortcut associated with each paragraph type. If no text is selected, the paragraph containing the typing cursor will be changed. They paragraph types are:

    • Body (CTRL+1)

    • Header (CTRL+2)

    • Story (CTRL+3)

    • List (CTRL+4)

    • Link List (CTRL+5)

    • Table (CTRL+6)

  • Formatting Text: Most text can also be formatted as bold, italic and underline by selecting the appropriate right-click menu option, or using the CTRL+B, CTRL+I and CTRL+U keys, respectively. Header and Story paragraph blocks can not include formatted text.

  • Add Speaker to Story Text: Right click on a story paragraph and select Assign Speaker option; or press CTRL+Tab while typing cursor on the story paragraph.

  • When copying from one widow to another, all formatting, images, links, etc. will be preserved and pasted as it was copied.

  • Other commands: See the table below. Also, most commands can also be accessed via right-click menu as well.

Shortcut Keys

Shortcut

Action

Shortcut

Action

CTRL+1

Change paragraph containing cursor into normal text block

CTRL+2

Change paragraph containing cursor into header text block

CTRL+3

Change paragraph containing cursor into chat frame text block

CTRL+4

Change paragraph containing cursor into list block

CTRL+5

Change paragraph containing cursor into link list block

CTRL+B

Bold selected text.

CTRL+I

Italicize selected text.

CTRL+U

Underline selected text.

CTRL+A

Select all text

CTRL+C

Copy selected text to the clipboard.

CTRL+J

Join paragraph containing cursor with the following line.

CTRL+V

Paste text on the clipboard into the control.

CTRL+X

Copy selected text to the clipboard, and delete the selection.

CTRL+Z

Undo last change.

CTRL+TAB

Insert new cell in table, or assign speaker to chat text.
Note: On macOS, the key combination may be FN+COMMAND+TAB

CTRL+PLUS

Increase column width of table cell by one.

CTRL+MINUS

Decrease column width of table cell by one.

Clean Up Text (Right-click Menu Option)

Clean Up Text will attempt to perform a series of basic text clean up for text that you may have imported from a PDF, a website, or from markup code used on previous Fantasy Grounds conversion projects.

Clean Up Characters

This step replaces troublesome Unicode characters with plain text equivalents.

  1. Angled quotes are replaced with straight single quotes

  2. Angled double quotes are replaced with straight double quotes

  3. Long dash and em/en dash are replaced with simple dash character

  4. Soft hyphens are removed

  5. non-breaking spaces are replaced with a single space

  6. Multiplication sign is replaced with an x

  7. Line feed is replaced with a carriage return

  8. CRLF replaced with a carriage return

Importing text from PDFs will treat each line as a new paragraph. Paragraphs are collapsed automatically so that any new line starting with a lowercase letter is assumed to be a continuation of the previous line.

HTML Text is Translated

If raw html tags are included in the formatted text field prior to using Clean Up Text, these will be translated into the equivalent version for FGU.

Tags Supported:

  1. h1 and h2 tags convert to h tags (header)

  2. h3, h4, and h5 tags are converted to bold text

  3. Table tags are supported with support for table, thead, caption, tbody, tr, td, th

  4. ul tags are converted to lists

  5. ol tags are converted to lists

  6. li tags are converted to list items

  7. p tags are stripped since they are redundant

PAR5E Tags are translated

These tags are documented separately but as they were only used by internal developers, this is beyond the scope of the wiki documentation. Clean Up Text reads and translates tables, lists, paragraphs, headers, and paragraph lead ins that are specified in the PAR5E format.

The table format used in PAR5E remains useful for quick entry of tables as it was succinct, yet flexible.

An example PAR5E table begins with a #ts; and ends with #te;. Each row is marked with a #tr; or #th; and each cell is delimited with a semi-colon.

prefix

Meaning

prefix

Meaning

#ts;

table start

#te;

table end

#th;{column1};{column2};

table header

#tr;{column1};{column2};

table row

#tr;{column1};4:{column2};

table row with column 2 spanning across 4 columns

Example:

#ts;
#th;Size;Space;Examples;
#tr;Tiny;2 to 3 feet.;Imp, sprite
#tr;Small;5 by 5 ft.;Giant rat, goblin
#tr;Medium;5 by 5 ft.;Orc, werewolf
#tr;Large;10 by 10 ft.;Hippogriff, ogre
#tr;Huge;15 by 15 ft.;Fire giant, treant
#tr;Gargantuan;20 by 20 ft. or larger;Kraken, purple worm
#te;