Ok. Going to tackle this in two parts. First part will be editing your file; second part will be creating a .bat file.
Part 1 - Closing windows outside the game.
Step 1 - Finding the file. Go to your horizons directory and open your prefs folder. Now open the folder for the character having the issues. Open UIPersonal.def in a Notepad/Wordpad-type texting editing program. Make a backup of the file, if you feel it's needed.
Step 2 - See if the window already has a closed state. The windows most people will want to check for are:- VaultWindow
- EquipmentWindow
Search for either of these terms. If they come up in a line that looks like:- UI_LAST_WINDOW EquipmentWindow
It exists in a closed state. However, if it says:- UI_OPEN_WINDOW EquipmentWindow
It exists in an open state.
I've seen them exist in both states at once before. When that happens, it appears that even if you close the window at log out, it's open when you log in again.
Step 3a - Dealing with two existing states. If the window exists in both spots, just delete the OPEN version. Be sure to delete everything in the brackets after it.
Code:
(Delete all of this)
UI_OPEN_WINDOW EquipmentWindow
{
float Alpha = 0.9
float BorderAlpha = 1
bool BorderOn = true
bool Locked = false
bool Minimized = false
float MinimizeSaveX = 291
float MinimizeSaveY = 127
float NormalHeight = 365
float NormalWidth = 219
float SizedH = 365
float SizedW = 219
bool TitleOn = true
int Version = 2
float X = 127
float Y = 100
}
Step 3b - Dealing with only the OPEN state. If it only exists in the OPEN state, move the entire bit (see above example) into the "Last Saved info for each window type" section (this part may not be necessary). Then change OPEN to LAST.
Step 4 - Lather, rinse, repeat. Repeat for each window that needs closing.
Step 5 - Saving. If you aren't planning on recopying this every time you log into the game, just save and close. If you want to copy it repeatedly, you can save it as a different name in the same directory. Also remember that this is only good for one character. You'll have to edit other characters' files if you want to change their settings.
Things of interest:
1. You can open almost any window listed here once you know its full name. Just type /window windowname.
Code:
Example:
/window equipmentwindow
2. I'm not certain, but I believe you can reset windows by removing them from both the LAST and OPEN states. So if a window has vanished and you can't find it, just edit this file.
Part 2 - Creating .BAT files.
An example of the batch file I use to copy prefs and launch the game is shown at the end of the steps. Also note: there may be better ways of doing this. I don't have a need to write .bats often.
Step 1 - New files. Start a new document in a program like Notepad or Wordpad.
Step 2 - Know your paths. Open a windows explorer window pointing to the directory both your files are located in. You can copy the location of the file (but not the file name) from here to save on typing.
Step 3 - Copy. The first line in your file should read 'copy "FileLocation1" "FileLocation2" /Y' where FL1 is the file you want and FL2 is your destination. The switch "/Y" tells the .bat file to overwrite the file in the second location, if one exists.
Code:
Example:
copy "D:\Misc Stuff\Kala's Windows.def" "D:\Program Files\Tulga Games\Horizons\prefs\chaos_Kala\UIPersonal.def" /Y
Step 4 - Switch to the Horizons directory. This line should read "cd PathToHorizons" where PTH is the full directory path. This lets your system know what directory to be in when/if you need to switch drives. The next line should be "DriveName:" This will switch drives and is not necessary if you only have one drive, for instance.
Step 5 - Run Horizons. This line should say "horizonslauncher" if you run the launcher. If you skip the launcher, then it should just say "horizons". If you run HZ by launching your browser first, then you'll need to go back to step 4 and change the path to your desktop or wherever that file is located and put that filename here for step 5. Please note that if you try to skip the launcher using this method, there are additional things you need to do, otherwise it WILL NOT WORK. For instructions on how to do this, go here.
Step 6 - Save. Save it someplace where you can find it and remember to use it.
This is an example of what I use to log Zuraneve into the game.
Code:
copy "D:\Program Files\Tulga Games\Horizons\prefs\ClientPrefs_Launch_Zur.def" "D:\Program Files\Tulga Games\Horizons\prefs\ClientPrefs_Launch.def" /Y
cd D:\Program Files\Tulga Games\Horizons
d:
horizons
I hope this helps.
(And no, it doesn't say Artifact Entertainment in my file path. I couldn't find my CD when I was setting up this computer. )