VASL Map Online Problem/Suggestion Form

Maxwelk1

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Not to change the subject, but.....
I am looking for what I think is a specific type of draggable overlay, which is a large overlay which depicts a number of hexes, only. A number of people use these, as they are handy for offboard movement, but I can't find them anywhere. HELP!
 

Maxwelk1

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Not to change the subject, but.....
I am looking for what I think is a specific type of draggable overlay, which is a large overlay which depicts a number of hexes, only. A number of people use these, as they are handy for offboard movement, but I can't find them anywhere. HELP!
No problem (well, not anymore) I found them. Apparently all I had to do was ask, and then answer my own question.
 

jrv

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I have the same problem when I try to place "classic" overlay Hd2 over "classic" overlay X19. This is a two-hex Hedgerow overlay with position "1" on the open end of the hedgerow depiction.. I placed overlay X19 on board 6, with position "1" on N4 and position "2" on N5. When I attempted to place Hd2 with position "1" (the open side) on N5 and position "2" on M6, the overlay displaced to N6 and M6. Strangely enough, when I reversed the overlay and placed position "1" on M6 and position "2" the closed end), the overlay dropped right into place on M6 (1) and N5 (2). The Draggable overly Hd2 worked just fine.
I opened vasl 6.4.4, vassal 3.2.17, selected board 00, added (classic) overlay x19 to n4/n5 then overlay Hd2 to n5/m6. This is the result. I have put the draggable overlays to the left of the classic ones to verify that the "1" and "2" are situated correctly. I am unable to reproduce what you report. If you repeat the steps I performed do you get a different result?

8063

JR
 

Maxwelk1

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I opened vasl 6.4.4, vassal 3.2.17, selected board 00, added (classic) overlay x19 to n4/n5 then overlay Hd2 to n5/m6. This is the result. I have put the draggable overlays to the left of the classic ones to verify that the "1" and "2" are situated correctly. I am unable to reproduce what you report. If you repeat the steps I performed do you get a different result?

View attachment 8063

JR
JR, you got exactly what I got - WHEN I TRIED TO PLACE Hd2 "CLASSIC" IN N5/M6!

My desired placement was N5/M6, but VASL displaced the overlay to N6/M7. What I'm trying to do is cover over the side of the cathedral (position 2) and the cemetery in M6.

Note to the interested - when I flipped Hd2 around so the "open" end of the hedgerow was in M6, the overlay placed fine, but it was backward to where I wanted it to be.

I so wish I knew how to take snapshots of my setup. It becomes much easier to communicate this with more pictures and less verbiage.
 

dlazov

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There is a screen shot tool right in Vasl, save as png and post. There is a lot of screen shot software in most O/S
 

Maxwelk1

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There is a screen shot tool right in Vasl, save as png and post. There is a lot of screen shot software in most O/S
So, let's try this --
If I can get this png to you, it will show what happened when I attempted to place Hd2 in N5/M6.
 

dlazov

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Try cutting down the file size, instead of the whole board just try a small file. If that won’t work you may have to something like imgur https://m.imgur.com/ but that is more complicated in sense.
 

jrv

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JR, you got exactly what I got - WHEN I TRIED TO PLACE Hd2 "CLASSIC" IN N5/M6!

My desired placement was N5/M6, but VASL displaced the overlay to N6/M7. What I'm trying to do is cover over the side of the cathedral (position 2) and the cemetery in M6.

Note to the interested - when I flipped Hd2 around so the "open" end of the hedgerow was in M6, the overlay placed fine, but it was backward to where I wanted it to be.

I so wish I knew how to take snapshots of my setup. It becomes much easier to communicate this with more pictures and less verbiage.
Sorry. I got turned around. I thought it was in the right hexes. The problem has nothing to do with the X19 overlay. Bring up board 00. Place Hd2 in n5/m6 (or any pair of hexes in that orientation, e.g. p6/q6). Hd 2 will appear in n6/m7 (or one hex below any pair of hexes you choose). That should be a relatively simple fix. In the meanwhile, just put it one number less when using that orientation. I have submitted a bug: https://github.com/vasl-developers/vasl/issues/546.

JR
 
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Maxwelk1

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So, let's try this --
If I can get this png to you, it will show what happened when I attempted to place Hd2 in N5/M6.
So, let's try this --
If I can get this png to you, it will show what happened when I attempted to place Hd2 in N5/M6.
Sorry. I got turned around. I thought it was in the right hexes. The problem has nothing to do with the X19 overlay. Bring up board 00. Place Hd2 in n5/m6 (or any pair of hexes in that orientation, e.g. p6/q6). Hd 2 will appear in n6/m7 (or one hex below any pair of hexes you choose). That should be a relatively simple fix. In the meanwhile, just put it one number less when using that orientation. I have submitted a bug: https://github.com/vasl-developers/vasl/issues/546.

JR
Oh, yeah! That one works! I followed your suggestion and placed Hd2 over N4/M5. It worked like a charm.

Now, if someone could explain to me what I'm doing wrong with PNG files, that would make my Sunday!

I am absolutely certain that the PNG feature is what you all are using to show examples of what you are talking about, so it can only mean that I am either leaving out a step somewhere, or ????
 

Michael R

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I am absolutely certain that the PNG feature is what you all are using to show examples of what you are talking about, so it can only mean that I am either leaving out a step somewhere, or ????
I believe GameSquad wants images to be less than 1 MB. Check the size of your PNG file. I am not sure if GameSquad can load a PNG file; if not, then convert it to JPG.
 

jrv

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I believe GameSquad wants images to be less than 1 MB. Check the size of your PNG file. I am not sure if GameSquad can load a PNG file; if not, then convert it to JPG.
gamesquad accepts .png, just not big files.

JR
 

Maxwelk1

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ran a PNG file with a 3 by 4 hex square which is supposedly in the file. Still no luck.

I used bd 00, with two overlays, X19 and Hd2. The file is STILL large.
 

jrv

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ran a PNG file with a 3 by 4 hex square which is supposedly in the file. Still no luck.

I used bd 00, with two overlays, X19 and Hd2. The file is STILL large.
The vasl png image is not a snapshot of what is visible on the screen. It prints out the entire map (and a border) whether the entire map is shown on the screen at the moment or not. You have to use another piece of software to get just a subset of the map. You can use windows to take a snapshot of one window, a screen snip tool (of which there are many), or you can manipulate the resulting full map image from vasl in another program. I use gimp to cut the image down to a reasonable area then save as .jpg. That usually produces a small image.

JR
 

Maxwelk1

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Try again...
….and, no. this is supposedly a 2-by-3 square which is supposedly in a PNG file, so I'm obviously doing SOMETHING wrong.

What I do...

First, I create a square that I wish to send to the Forum.
Then I take a VASLPNGfile.
Then I try to upload the PNG file to Gamesquad.

So where am I going wrong?
 

jrv

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Try again...
….and, no. this is supposedly a 2-by-3 square which is supposedly in a PNG file, so I'm obviously doing SOMETHING wrong.
Again, vasl saves an image of the entire map (plus border), whether or not it is visible to you.

JR
 

Maxwelk1

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Thanks, jrv, that does clear up something. So I'm stuck with the board no matter how much I crop it?

Let me try this

Oops! that one worked fine, but you lot are not supposed to see that!
What is "it"? vasl, when you save the image; gamesquad, when you try to upload the image; or something else?

JR
I didn't read this message correctly the first time I saw it.
First, I created a map using mapboard 00 with the overlays on it. OK, it doesn't matter how much I crop the board, PNG still saves the whole board. Hmmm...
That isn't stopping me - or you, either.

I wonder if the PNG file I'm sending is the right one.

Andy Hershey has a playtest group going, which is where that contraband PNG file came from. Of course, that one works just fine.

Also, I have some PNG files on my PC from a LONG time ago.

The "IT" occurs when I try to upload what I thought was the image, but it was probably some random something or other. I may need to message Andy or other members of his playtest cabal
 

jrv

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Thanks, jrv, that does clear up something. So I'm stuck with the board no matter how much I crop it?
vasl is not an image manipulation program. It has a limited ability to generate images. It does not generate an image of what you currently have displayed in your screen window. Its only capability is to generate a picture of the entire current map, including a border. The image it generates actually depends on the current screen magnification, but that is probably not helpful, as a smaller magnification means that the detail you want to show is much smaller. And you still get the border.

In order to get an edited image, including cropped, you will have to use another tool.

One possibility is to use a screen capture tool to scrape images off the display. I have used Snagit in the past. Windows has a built-in screen snipping tool: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/13776/windows-use-snipping-tool-to-capture-screenshots. I have never used it, but it sounds like it would work.

A second possibility is to take the output that vasl produces and manipulate it. This is what I do. I use gimp: https://www.gimp.org/downloads/. gimp is capable of doing this, but it is capable of doing a great deal. If that is the only thing you are using it for you will have a lot to figure out in order to do that one limited thing. There are other programs that are also capable of cropping, and are not as feature-rich as gimp. Whatever image viewer software you are using may be one of them.

There are web sites that will let you upload your original image, then crop and reduce their size. I have not tried any of those, but there is no reason they would not work too.

JR
 

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Try again...
….and, no. this is supposedly a 2-by-3 square which is supposedly in a PNG file, so I'm obviously doing SOMETHING wrong.

What I do...

First, I create a square that I wish to send to the Forum.
Then I take a VASLPNGfile.
Then I try to upload the PNG file to Gamesquad.

So where am I going wrong?
Once you've done the export of the entire map, find the file on your computer.
Right click on it and go to "Open With" and choose "Paint" , it should be on your computer as part of the windows install
In Paint go to "Select" and select a square around the area of the board you want and then choose "Crop"
Then "Save As" to save it with whatever name/format you want.
 
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