[0.17.x] Save and Load Quickbar Layouts like blueprints

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MiniHerc
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[0.17.x] Save and Load Quickbar Layouts like blueprints

Post by MiniHerc »

Now that the quickbar is a shortcut list rather than another inventory (that can be favorited), I suggest that we be able to save and load layouts and carry over a quickbar layout between games, rather than needing to set it up again for each new game.

With 10 potential quickbars, that is a lot of options and it would be really cool to start a new game, click a button and have the same quickbar layout that I had in the previous game. I'm imagining having bars 1 and 2 for early game, 3 and 4 for midgame, 5 and 6 for late game, with 7 thru 0 for other stuff.

This would also be really handy for multiplayer, as I wouldn't need to manually set it all up again for every new multiplayer game I join.

An example of what I consider to be an early game quickbar layout. I'm thinking a couple small buttons to the left or right with save/load icons, and when you click on save or load, it pops up a dialog/browser box that lets you save the current layout or load a saved one.
Image

Edit: Additional detail, provided by TheBloke with merged topic.
TheBloke wrote: Thu Feb 28, 2019 12:47 am Idea: Allow users to preserve QuickBar settings between games, either with a "QuickBar preset library", or with an Export/Import String type system.

Rationale:

I really love the new Quickbar. It is fantastic, and I'm already busy setting up multiple bars for all the items I expect to need quickly.

But this raises a future annoyance: every time I start a new game I'm going to have to repeat this process, and that's going to be a bit tedious. And I will want to repeat it, because I'm already learning the hotkeys to select specific items on specific bars (another excellent feature!), so I'm going to want my QBs to be largely the same for every game.

I am hoping therefore that we can have some way of keeping the same QBs across multiple games, as we can with blueprints.

Some ideas:
  • Add Export String and Import String type icons somewhere on the Quickbar, so we can export and import just like BPs
  • And/Or, provide a QuickBar Library, allowing saving Quickbars in the same way as BPs. So when a QB is setup, one clicks an icon for "Export to QuickBar library". Ideally one could then give a name to this QB preset. Then when the next game is loaded, one opens the QuickBar Library, chooses the preset and clicks Import (with a warning that this will overwrite the current settings.) This has the great benefit that one could have multiple sets of presets, for example a Vanilla preset and a AngelBobs preset, etc.
  • Or, make "Quickbar Preset" a new special kind of Blueprint, allowing a QuickBar preset to be saved as a blueprint, into the Blueprint Library and any BP book.
I think this will be really helpful once people start properly customising their quickbars, and in fact the ability to preserve QBs across games will encourage them to do more customising.

As an example of the sort of customisation I'm doing - and will want to preserve - this is my current QuickBar setup (still WIP): Image
Last edited by MiniHerc on Thu Feb 28, 2019 2:35 pm, edited 3 times in total.
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Re: [0.17.1] Save and Load Quickbar Layouts like blueprints

Post by SGH »

I would also like this change.
Having to set up the quickbar again and again gets boring quickly.
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[0.17.x] Ability to save Quickbar filters between games, like BP library

Post by TheBloke »

Idea: Allow users to preserve QuickBar settings between games, either with a "QuickBar preset library", or with an Export/Import String type system.

Rationale:

I really love the new Quickbar. It is fantastic, and I'm already busy setting up multiple bars for all the items I expect to need quickly.

But this raises a future annoyance: every time I start a new game I'm going to have to repeat this process, and that's going to be a bit tedious. And I will want to repeat it, because I'm already learning the hotkeys to select specific items on specific bars (another excellent feature!), so I'm going to want my QBs to be largely the same for every game.

I am hoping therefore that we can have some way of keeping the same QBs across multiple games, as we can with blueprints.

Some ideas:
  • Add Export String and Import String type icons somewhere on the Quickbar, so we can export and import just like BPs
  • And/Or, provide a QuickBar Library, allowing saving Quickbars in the same way as BPs. So when a QB is setup, one clicks an icon for "Export to QuickBar library". Ideally one could then give a name to this QB preset. Then when the next game is loaded, one opens the QuickBar Library, chooses the preset and clicks Import (with a warning that this will overwrite the current settings.) This has the great benefit that one could have multiple sets of presets, for example a Vanilla preset and a AngelBobs preset, etc.
  • Or, make "Quickbar Preset" a new special kind of Blueprint, allowing a QuickBar preset to be saved as a blueprint, into the Blueprint Library and any BP book.
I think this will be really helpful once people start properly customising their quickbars, and in fact the ability to preserve QBs across games will encourage them to do more customising.

As an example of the sort of customisation I'm doing - and will want to preserve - this is my current QuickBar setup (still WIP): https://i.imgur.com/7ly84BAm.png
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Re: [0.17.x] Ability to save Quickbar filters between games, like BP library

Post by ahydra447 »

Definitely! Reprogramming up to 100 slots every time you start a new game will get annoying very quickly, even with Factorio's natural tendency to have long games.
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Re: [0.17.x] Ability to save Quickbar filters between games, like BP library

Post by MiniHerc »

Semi-duplicate of my topic over here: viewtopic.php?f=6&t=65549 :) You went into a lot more detail, though, and I think your title is better.
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Re: [0.17.x] Ability to save Quickbar filters between games, like BP library

Post by Sammy1Am »

This was THE first thought I had as soon as I tried the new quick bar. I love that I can set up so many specific bars, but I'm already annoyed that the next game I start (or next multiplayer server I join) I'm going to have to do it all over again. :P
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Re: [0.17.1] Save and Load Quickbar Layouts like blueprints

Post by Koub »

[Koub] Merged into older topic with same suggestion
Koub - Please consider English is not my native language.
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Re: [0.17.1] Save and Load Quickbar Layouts like blueprints

Post by hansjoachim »

Yes please get this feature! I think the chance of getting it will increase if somebody makes a mod first that gets popular
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Re: [0.17.1] Save and Load Quickbar Layouts like blueprints

Post by chronodekar »

Can we vote for this feature to be implemented?

Possible reddit thread of interest = https://www.reddit.com/r/factorio/comme ... ckbar_017/

-chronodekar
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Re: [0.17.1] Save and Load Quickbar Layouts like blueprints

Post by TheBloke »

Sorry I missed your existing thread, Ambaire!
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Re: [0.17.1] Save and Load Quickbar Layouts like blueprints

Post by MiniHerc »

TheBloke wrote: Thu Feb 28, 2019 1:37 pm Sorry I missed your existing thread, Ambaire!
It's cool. You made a much more detailed post. Would you prefer I change my thread title to what yours was?

@Koub I wish you'd merged mine into TheBloke's :P
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Re: [0.17.1] Save and Load Quickbar Layouts like blueprints

Post by TheBloke »

All the info is here from both of us, I think it's fine how it is. I can imagine the devs had already thought of it before us from their own games anyway :)
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Re: [0.17.1] Save and Load Quickbar Layouts like blueprints

Post by Koub »

Ambaire wrote: Thu Feb 28, 2019 1:56 pm @Koub I wish you'd merged mine into TheBloke's :P
When merging two topics, posts are sorted chronologically. The oldest OP becomes the new topic's OP, and so on :).
You should have been slower posting :p
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Re: [0.17.x] Save and Load Quickbar Layouts like blueprints

Post by saors »

A "Load Quickbar Settings from save" option might also be easier to implement?
It wouldn't require a new UI anyway. Just a save selector like you do for loading the map and it grabs/imports the quickbar settings from there
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Re: [0.17.x] Save and Load Quickbar Layouts like blueprints

Post by TheBloke »

saors wrote: Thu Feb 28, 2019 7:40 pm A "Load Quickbar Settings from save" option might also be easier to implement?
It wouldn't require a new UI anyway. Just a save selector like you do for loading the map and it grabs/imports the quickbar settings from there
Yeah good point. That'd certainly be good enough.

It'd be nice to have a proper library of them, but if it's a choice between Import from Save and nothing then of course that would be fine.
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Re: [0.17.x] Save and Load Quickbar Layouts like blueprints

Post by TheBloke »

Thinking about it more, I really do think a Quickbar Preset Library - or at least an Import/Export String option - would be seriously useful.

If that were available, I'm certain people would start sharing and discussing their preferred presets:
"Here's the quickbar preset I use for Seablock".
"Here's my preferred early game Quickbar.. and this is the one I switch to in late game"

Exactly the same as the way people share and discuss blueprints. True it's not as important as for blueprints, but all the same principles apply. It would be very useful I think - and add to the appeal of the Quickbar in general.
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Re: [0.17.x] Save and Load Quickbar Layouts like blueprints

Post by JD-Plays »

+1
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Re: [0.17.x] Save and Load Quickbar Layouts like blueprints

Post by TackleMcClean »

Yes most def this!
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Re: [0.17.x] Save and Load Quickbar Layouts like blueprints

Post by winkbrace »

+1

With great configuration comes great automation
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Re: [0.17.x] Save and Load Quickbar Layouts like blueprints

Post by samthecoy »

I agree. Especially with something like Bob's mods installed, setting up the quickbar can be a little tedious due to the number of possible items. That's fine, but I'd really rather only do it once, making small tweaks thereafter.
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