Staredit Network

{_StarEdit Helper_}

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{_What is it?_}

StarEdit Helper is a simple Visual Basic program that I made in my free time. It is designed to make many common tasks performed on this website (and making maps in general) much easier. It installs on your computer as a standalone EXE and takes control of Starcraft / Starcraft Brood War map files. The program displays a dialog when a map is opened, and shows a list of 1-click commands that perform tasks taking up to 1 minute to complete without the program. Hopefully it can make life easier for everyone.


{_Why did you make this?_}

For almost a full year I have sat in the shadows of the SEN member list, watching as people went about their business. I almost never post, I only watch. I watched Yoshi leave, IP step into his place. I've watched as Yoshi returned, and our average age declined. Part of the reason why I made this program is to give back to the community that I have silently been a part of for so long.

It basically happened when I was in the middle of a large-scale program I am currently working on in VB. I got a little bored, so I went to SEN to download some random map to play. I was dissapointed by the amount of time and steps that it took me just to play the map, and so I had the idea for StarEdit Helper. This small little program is extremely useful to me (I use it all the time now), and it's development was ment as a means of relief from my major project. I got my relief, and I got my program, and now I realized that this could benefit the community as a whole.


{_How does it work?_}

I won't get into the raw actions that this program performs, as the majority of the SEN population is either not even reading this section or would not even understand if I made it more in-depth. Therefore, I've spared you the technics of the program itself.

To put it's actions simply . . . When the program "installs" itself, it copies itself to the Program Files folder. It then "mind controls" the registry file association for ".scm" and ".scx". When a ".scm" or ".scx" file is opened, it opens in this program instead of SCXE or plain old StarEdit. It also asks the user for input about customizing the interface, which it also saves into the registry.

When the program launches, it presents the user with many different commands to perform on the map file, as is seen below.


{_What can it do?_}

The best part about the program is that it makes your life much easier.


When the program first loads, you are presented with this interface. Though it is fairly straight forward, I'm going to explain each item in detail here.
1. This puts a button in the map open dialog that allows you to launch Starcraft (the game itself) in a single click. This button DOES NOT automatically open the map for playing, as attempting such a thing is more work than I wanted to take on at the point that this was created.
2. This puts a button in the map open dialog that automatically opens the original StarEdit application and loads the map (this way you don't have to navigate to the map file and double click to open the editor.
3. This is basically the same as the previous button, but it adds a link to StarForge instead of StarEdit.
*Note: Buttons 2 & 3 can be dangerous because in order to open the map properly (the command line options of these programs is limited) it needs to perform API calls that take the command of your computer away from you, and MAY possibly cause crashes on some older systems.
4. This is THE MOST useful option in the entire program (in my opinion, anyway). It adds a button to the map open dialog, like the other options. When a map is opened from a place that is NOT in your Starcraft maps folder, a simple click of this button will copy the file there (no more having map files hanging around in the corners of your drive). If you were opening a map from the DLDB, for example, it would open StarEdit Helper and, with one click, would move the map out of your downloads folder / temporary internet files and put it into your Starcraft map directory.


This is the dialog that you are presented with when you open a map file (I had every option selected, so every button is visible). Notice that you can change the options at any time.


{_What still needs to be done?_}

Before the program is released, I will need testers to test it on systems other than my own. Note that the program is still in Beta, and therefore I'm not ruling out the possibility of a system crash. Also, it would be much easier and more efficient if my program did not have to "hack" the StarForge interface to load a map. If I could simply call StarForge with a command line option for automatically opening the map, not only would it be quicker and safer, but a lot of code could be removed. So, yes. If enough people use this program (and even if they don't), I would like to make an official suggestion to Heimdal to enable command line parameters for opening maps. Hopefully, the program can be debugged and completed for release to the general population shortly.


{_Are there any new versions planned?_}

At this point, no (with the exception of bug fixing for other systems). However, if the program becomes popular enough and enough suggestions are made, I may consider expanding the power of this now tiny application.


{_How may I beta test / give suggestions?_}

If you are interested in beta testing, PM me with your system specifications. You'll need to be a trusted member of SEN for me to consider. Note that not all who apply will be able to test.

If you want to suggest something, you can post it right here. If you want to flame and tell me why the program sucks and why I'm dumb, please do it through PMs so that you don't bother everybody else.


{_Conclusion_}

I look forward to any testing offers / suggestions. I just want to release this program to do my part to help the map editing community create high quality maps even faster.

Please let me know what you think!

~Tarh

P.S. I'm assuming that this belongs here, considering that it is a call for testers and it DOES have to do with StarEdit.exe

It's interesting, but Xtra Editor features something like this as well (but does not automatically open the map). I can activate this in most of the time 7 more clicks by pointing to the shortcuts in start menu. I think it should be a "feature" of a super program, but not the primary feature.