194 lines
9.1 KiB
HTML
194 lines
9.1 KiB
HTML
<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN">
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<html>
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<head>
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<title>Preferences</title>
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<link href="style.css" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css">
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</head>
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<body background="images/back.gif">
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<!--START-->
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<h1>Preferences</h1>
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Under the <b>Preferences</b> menu item in the <b>File</b> menu you can set a
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number of preferences that will be maintained between runs of <i>Game Maker</i>.
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The following preferences can be set:
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<h3>General tab</h3>
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<p>
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<img src="images/form_preferences_general.jpg">
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</p>
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<ul>
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<li><b>Show recently edited games in the file menu.</b>
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If checked the eight most recently edited games are shown under the
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recent files in the file menu.</li>
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<li><b>Load last opened file on startup.</b>
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If checked when you start <i>Game Maker</i> the most recently opened file
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is opened automatically.</li>
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<li><b>Keep backup copies of files.</b>
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If checked the program saves a backup copy of your game with
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the extension gb0-gb9. You can open these games in <i>Game Maker</i>.
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You are strongly advised to use at least one backup copy for your work!</li>
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<li><b>Maximum number of backups.</b>
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Here you can indicate how many (1-9) different backup copies
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should be remembered by the program.</li>
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<li><b>Show progress while loading and saving files.</b>
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If checked, when load or save a file a progress indicator is shown.</li>
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<li><b>At startup check for, and remove old temporary files.</b>
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<I>Game Maker</I> and games created with it, create temporary files.
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Normally these are automatically removed but sometimes, for example
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when games crash, they are left behind. If this option is checked,
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<I>Game Maker</I> checks whether such files exist and removes them at startup.</li>
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<li><b>Don't show the website in the main window.</b>
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When checked the image and link to the website on the main window are not shown.</li>
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<li><b>Hide the designer and wait while the game is running.</b>
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When checked the game making program is hidden while you are testing a game.</li>
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<li><b>Run games in secure mode.</b>
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If checked, any game created with <i>Game Maker</i> that runs on your
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machine will not be allowed to execute external programs or change
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or delete files at a place different from the game location.
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(This is a safeguard against Trojan horses although success is not
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guaranteed.) Checking this means that games that utilizes external
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files etc. won't be running correctly.
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The setting only works while <i>Game Maker</i> is running.
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So if you run the game independently of <i>Game Maker</i>, for
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example as an executable stand-alone, it is NOT
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run in secure mode.</li>
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<li><b>Show news on startup.</b> Whether to show the <i>Game Maker</i> news
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once a day when the program is started. (Cannot be changed in the Lite Edition.)</li>
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<li><b>Show news in default brower.</b> Whether to show the <i>Game Maker</i> news
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in your default Internet browser, rather than in the program itself.
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(Cannot be changed in the Lite Edition.)</li>
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</ul>
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<h3>Forms tab</h3>
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<p>
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<img src="images/form_preferences_forms.jpg">
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</p>
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<ul>
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<li><b>Show the origin in the sprite image.</b>
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If checked, in the sprite properties form, in the sprite image, the origin
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for the sprite is indicated.</li>
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<li><b>In object properties, show hints for actions.</b>
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If checked, in the object properties form, when you hold your mouse
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over one of the actions, a description is shown.</li>
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<li><b>When closing, remove instances outside the room.</b>
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If checked, the program warns you when there are instances or tiles
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outside a room and lets you remove them.</li>
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<li><b>Remember room settings when closing the form.</b>
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If checked, a number of room settings, like whether to show the grid,
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whether to delete underlying objects, etc. are remembered when you
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edit the same room later.</li>
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</ul>
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<h3>Scripts and code tab</h3>
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<p>
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<img src="images/form_preferences_scripts.jpg">
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</p>
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<p>
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These settings relate to the built-in script and code editor.
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Most of these settings are explained in detail in the page on <A HREF="214_00_scripts.html">Scripts</A>.
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Here we just give a short overview:
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<ul>
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<li><b>Group undo operations</b> When grouped multiple actions (like typing a whole line) becomes
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one operation for undo.</li>
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<li><b>Number of undo</b> You can change this number but in general this should be fine.</li>
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<li><b>Automatic indentation</b> When set Enter and Backspace keys cleverly deal with indents.</li>
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<li><b>Indent amount</b> How much to indent with each tab.</li>
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<li><b>Smart tabs</b> When set tabs go to the position below the first non-empty space in the previous line.</li>
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<li><b>Allow cursor beyond end of line</b> When checked you can place the cursor at any position in the editor screen,
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also beyond the end of line. If unchecked this is not possible. This also changes the behavior
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of the left and right arrow keys.</li>
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<li><b>Show auto-completion options</b> When set help is given on which functions and variables start with the
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letters you are typing.</li>
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<li><b>Dealy (msec)</b> The delay in milliseconds before the help is shown. Set e.g. to 0 for immediate.</li>
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<li><b>Show function argument help</b> When set, when typing function arguments, in the statusbar help about
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this is provided.</li>
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<li><b>Show find string</b> When set, whenever typing in a find string, all locations are shown in the code.</li>
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<li><b>Show line numbers</b> Whether the editor should display the line numbers.</li>
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<li><b>Show matching brackets</b> Whether the editor should indicate matching open en close brackets.</li>
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<li><b>Show code snippets with F2</b> When set, pressing F2 will bring up a number of useful code snippets.</li>
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<li><b>Check code while typing</b> When set the code is constantly checked and errors reported.</li>
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<li><b>Use color coding</b> Whether to use color coding in the editor.</li>
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<li><b>Colors</b> Here you can set the colors used for color coding. You can also reset the default colors.</li>
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<li><b>Font</b> Here you can select the font for the editor. Note that only fixed pitch fonts are shown. Also
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note that only the font and the size are used.</li>
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</ul>
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<h3>Editors</h3>
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<p>
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<img src="images/form_preferences_editors.jpg">
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</p>
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<p>
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Here you can choose whether to use the built-in code editor (highly recommended) or
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an external editor. In the case of an external editor, the script text is saved as
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a .txt file and the editor is called with this file as an argument. After editing it
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you should save the file and close the editor such that <i>Game Maker</i> can read the
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file back in.
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</p>
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<p>
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Also you can choose whether to use the built-in image editor (highly recommended) or
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an external editor. In the case of an external editor, the image is saved as
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a .png file and the editor is called with this file as an argument. After editing it
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you should save the file and close the editor such that <i>Game Maker</i> can read the
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file back in.
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</p>
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<p>
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Finally you can indicate the different external editors for the sound files you want to use.
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<i>Game Maker</i> does not contain internal sound editors. There are three possible editors
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handling .wav, .mid and .mp3 files. In the case of an external editor, the sound is saved as
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a .wav, .mid, or .mp3 file and the corresponding editor is called with this file as an argument.
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After editing it
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you should save the file and close the editor such that <i>Game Maker</i> can read the
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file back in.
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</p>
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<h3>Other Settings</h3>
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<p>
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It is also possible to change the location of the temp files that <i>Game Maker</i> creates
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to e.g. store the game that is tested. This location cannot be changed from the Preferences but
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is changes by creating a file <tt>tempdir.txt</tt> in the folder where <i>Game Maker</i> is located.
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In this file there should be one line containing the location of the folder in which the temp files
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are creates, for example <tt>C:\GMTEMP</tt>. Note that the name must include the complete path
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and should <b>not</b> end with a backslash. Each time <i>Game Maker</i> is run a unique temporary folder is
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created within this location. So things will work out fine, even when multiple instances of <i>Game Maker</i>
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use the same location. (Note that the games themselves also create a temp folder for their files. Again,
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this can be changed by creating a file <tt>tempdir.txt</tt> and placing it in the folder where the game
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executable is located.)</p>
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<p>
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Secondly, it is possible to change the image <i>Game Maker</i> is using for the background of its main form.
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To this end place an image file <tt>back.bmp</tt> in the folder where <i>Game Maker</i> is located.
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</p>
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<!--END-->
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</body>
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</html>
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<!-- KEYWORDS
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preferences
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backups
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secure mode
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sprite origin
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code settings
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editor settings
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external code editor
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external image editor
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sound editor
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external sound editor
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temp files
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location temp files
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temporary files
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--> |