SoM Helper Tool

[Holy_Diver]

[quote author=Holy Diver link=topic=673.msg8963#msg8963 date=1369161971]
It would be more useful though if it could be driven from the commandline. Then it could be an import/export tool. More ambitious projects might like to integrate with it.

Can you give an example of how this would be useful? Do you mean you want SoM Helper to accept command lines and then forward the commands to the appropriate tool (x2mdl etc), so that you don't have to run each tool separately?[/quote]

No. Basically a program would launch it with command line arguments to request that it import a file. Or in other words convert a file to a SOM file. Then it would pop up and present the end user with familiar options. This way the calling application just has to specify the input and output. It would be even better if the importer could communicate the output location, but that would require an API or interprocess communication. So instead you just agree where the SOM file will end up, most likely in a temporary folder.

[quote author=Holy Diver link=topic=673.msg8959#msg8959 date=1369100422]
BTW. Does the app let you control where the files are imported from and exported to? That seems like the biggest benefit the tool could possibly offer. It's not obvious that it does that from the screenshot.

You can choose where to save the PRT to. The MSM,MHM,MDO are saved at the location of the x file they are made from. My desire is for simplicity first. Since you can generate an MSM,MHM and MDO all in a singe run, I didn't want to add three questions asking "where to save file".

I did consider adding an "Install files?" button of some sort that would move MSM,MHM,MDO from where they were generated to SoM's folders, but I was a bit worried about people accidentally overwriting. I'm sure there are plenty of improvements that could be made, but I'll wait for feedback from users before making a to-do list.
[/quote]

Yeah there is no rush. But control of the inputs and outputs is really a must. It should be the chief feature. You don't have to ask questions, there can just be a details button or something.

Ideally these commandline tools would have output locations options of some kind. But in lieu of that its not a big deal to move things in and out of temporary folders. Make backups of files. That kind of thing. You don't want to accidentally overwrite anything. Even if the user is just doing the same thing repeatedly. Make them check a box to make them understand they are overwriting a file (edited: moving a file from two locations on the same disk is almost always a trivial operation)