You can
read and set these values most easily by clicking on the SET links below (or
equivalently click on 'Set Options' after starting ToonTalk and then
'Advanced Options'). Alternatively, you may edit the toontalk.ini file to customize
ToonTalk. You'll find it in the ToonTalk
subdirectory of "My Documents". Earlier versions of ToonTalk stored it in your
Windows directory. You can find out which version of ToonTalk you have by looking at the
opening screen. Additional options are available for making a custom
installation disk.
SET
AbsoluteMouseMode.
If set to 1 then ToonTalk will
treat the mouse as a source of screen coordinates rather than
changes in screen position. Ideal for tablet PCs, stylus input
devices, and touch sensitive screens. More details
here.
SET
AskBeforeForeignBirdsLoadDLL.
If set to 0 then ToonTalk
will not put up a dialog asking if it is OK to load a DLL that
implements a foreign bird. Default is 1. Setting it to 0 is
recommended only if you are either sure that ToonTalk code you
load was not written with the intent of damaging your files or
that the only DLLs available are safe ones. Note that TTFile.dll
is not safe since it allows ToonTalk robots to read and write
files.
SETBackgroundsDir.
If this is set in the Directories
section of toontalk.ini then its value is where ToonTalk will
look for background images. If this is not set then ToonTalk
will look in the directory set by BuiltinPictureDir (if it has
been set).
SETBuiltinPictureDir.
If this is set in the Directories
section of toontalk.ini then its value is where ToonTalk will
look for all of its built-in graphics.
SETBuiltinPictureDirIf8Bit.
If this is set and you are
running ToonTalk with 256 colors then its value is where
ToonTalk will look for all of its built-in graphics (except for
the background images).
SETCityFileMax.
When you save your city (via the 'Save Everything' button),
ToonTalk will maintain the last CityFileMax saved city files if
this is set to a number greater than 0.
SET
ClippingDir.
If ClippingDir set then when
ToonTalk puts something on the clipboard it also puts a copy in
a file in ClippingDir with the users name (or if a city was put
on the clipboard the users name followed by "_city"). This
directory can be the desktop or a networked directory to
simplify sharing. Or it can be set to "a:" to make it easier to
give someone a floppy with a copy of clipboard encoding.
SETColorSelectionFeedback. If set to
1 then when something is selected in addition to wiggling its
color repeatedly changes a little.
SET
DefaultNumberDisplayBase. Can be set to a value between 2
and 36 inclusive. Numbers will be in this base unless explicitly
specified otherwise.
SETDefaultUser.
This feature is provided for a
classroom or museum where there is a desire to change the
initial notebook, layout, and/or city. Just customize these
things under a user name and then provide that user name here.
Click here for more information.
SET
DemoToonTalk32.
This entry should have the
name of a ToonTalk executable to be run when replaying a demo.
SETDesiredFullScreenBitsPerPixel.
If this is set to 8, 15, 16, 24,
or 32 in the Switches section of toontalk.ini then ToonTalk will
run with this color depth when in full-screen mode. Any other
value and ToonTalk will use the same color depth as Windows.
Note this works with all 32-bit versions of Windows except
Windows 95.
SETDigitsAfterDecimalPoint. When
ToonTalk creates a Java applet there isn't support for exact
unlimited arithmetic. You can specify how many digits of
accuracy is desired with this option.
SETDisplayAvailableSubtitlesInDemos.
If set to 1 and a demo includes subtitles then they are
displayed.
SET
DisplayTextRightToLeft.
Should be set to 1 only
for languages where text is displayed from right to left - e.g.
Hebrew and Arabic.
SETDontScrollOnFloor.
If set to 1, then the
entire floor is visible when you sit down and no
scrolling or panning occurs.
SET
DurationBeforeAutoHideTimeTravelButtons.
If this has a value
greater than zero, then the time travel buttons will
hide themselves after the specified number of
milliseconds if the mouse and keyboard are idle. The
buttons will automatically reappear if the mouse or
keyboard is used.
SETDustyUsedOncePerClick.
If set to 1 then Dusty
will only suck, erase, or spit one thing when turned on. You'll
need to turn him on repeatedly to work on many things.
SET
EumulateMouseForFullScreenTimeTravel. If set to 1 then
when running in full-screen mode and ToonTalk needs to display a
cursor for using the time travel button then ToonTalk does not
use the built-in Windows cursor. On some systems the built-in
cursor isn't always displayed.
SETExitWhenDemoEnds. If set to 0
then at the end of a demo the player is in control in the world
as it was at the end of the demo. Otherwise ToonTalk exits at
the end of a demo.
SET
FileSearchPath.
When ToonTalk is looking for a
file (e.g. a user's BMP file for a picture or WAV file for a
sound), it looks in the Users subdirectory of ToonTalk (unless
overridden by UserFiles). If it can't
find a file there, it will search the directories listed in the
FileSearchPath. FileSearchPath is a list of directories
separated by commas. Each directory can be a full file path
(e.g. c:\toontalk\pictures), a URL (e.g. http://www.toontalk.com/temp),
or a relative path where * stands for the Users\<user name>
directory so for a user named Sue with ToonTalk installed in the
default location will be c:\program files\animated
programs\toontalk\users\sue. For example, "*\..\..\extra_sounds"
specifies a user defined directory named "extra_sounds" that is
a direct subdirectory of the main ToonTalk directory.
SET
FixedFont.
This can be set to the name of a
font that should be used for text which is displayed with a
fixed width font.
SET
GenerateLogs.
This generates files named
log<number>.dmo on the ToonTalk users directory which can be
replayed. Good for reproducing problems. You can reach these
files from "My Documents" to "ToonTalk" to the folder with the
user's name. The value is the number of logs kept. Also used for
time travel. If negative old logs are not deleted.
SET
GoodSizesAreAFixedPercentageOfScreen.
If set to 1 then Marty,
your hand, Tooly, and other tools will have the same relative
size compared to the screen (or window) regardless of the screen
resolution. Good for collaborating and giving demos but does use
up quite a bit of screen real estate.
SET
IncludeMediaInTimeTravelArchives.
If set to 1 then ToonTalk
includes the media needed to run time travel archives saved on
this machine on other machines. Enabling this slows down time
travel recording a little and can make the time travel archives
much larger than otherwise.
SETJoystickDeadZone.
This feature works only if you
have
a joystick or game controller connected to your computer. A
joystick sometimes is not being touched but tells the computer
that it has moved a little bit. This feature tells ToonTalk how
small movements should be to be ignored. The value goes from 0
to 10,000.
SET
KeepAllTimeTravelSegments.
If this has a non-zero
value then time travel archives are never trimmed despite the
setting of
GenerateLogs. A value greater than is 0 is
wasteful of disk space. For trouble-shooting and for keeping
complete records of a session (e.g. when doing educational
research) then a value of 1 is useful. Note that if a user
creates new time line branches by pressing the record button
during time travel then the new time travel archive will not
include files that would normally have been deleted. Note that
if you want to ensure that all time lines are available for
analysis then set
MaximumNumberOfTimeLines to a large number.
SET
KeepSavingScreenShots. If set
to 1 in the Switches section then if you press control-F11 to
generate screen shots, ToonTalk will continue to generate screen
shots until you exit. Useful for generating a video from a demo.
SETLeftAndRightMouseButtonsDownMeansEscape.
This should be set to 1, if you want to press the equivalent of
the Escape key by clicking on the left and right mouse button at
the same time.
SETMakeCurrentExeDefault.
If set to 1 then when you
run a ToonTalk executable it automatically becomes the default
version. If set to 0 it is not. If set to 2 then the user is
queried each time a version of ToonTalk is run that is different
from the default.
SETMartyAppearsOnlyIfCalled.
If set to 1 then when Marty wants to say something an icon
appears and lasts
MartyHasSomethingToSayDisplayDuration seconds before going
away and forgetting what it was he wanted to say. If
before the icon disappears one presses the F1 key then Marty
will say then what he currently says when triggered by an event.
SET
MaximumItemsInDusty.
Everything Dusty sucks up can
be spit out again. This can be wasteful, especially if you
frequently save your city and continue in the next session. If
this is set to n then Dusty can only spit out the last n items
sucked up. The others are destroyed for good and their resources
freed.
SETMaximumNumberOfHoles. Boxes, when
they have very many holes (over a thousand), start to slow down
ToonTalk. Use this option to override the default of 65,535
maximum holes to a box.
SET
MaximumNumberOfTimeLines.
If you enable
time travel and attempt to alter the past the
previous time line is saved. This controls the number of
previous versions kept.
SETMaximumPauseDurationDueToTimeTravel.
If
time travel causes pauses longer than this value in
milliseconds, then time travel segments are doubled in
length. If the time travel overhead is large then this
repeated doubling will make time travel overhead very
rare. But then it will be hard to move back a little bit
in time.
SETMediaDir.
If set in the Directories section to a file path then ToonTalk
will keep all user picture and sound files in a subdirectory
named Media. The default is Shared Documents (and if that is not
accessible then \My Documents\ToonTalk\Shared Documents is
used).
SET
MillisecondsPumpyUsedPerClick.
If set to a value greater
than 0, then Pumpy will work for that many milliseconds and then
turn himself off. Values between 500 to 1000 make Pumpy easier
to control.
SETMinimumTimeSample.
This controls how
accurate the millisecond timer is. The default value is
1. If, for example, it is set to 10 then the timer has
10 millisecond accuracy. On a few systems this may speed
up ToonTalk. If set to 0 or a negative value, leaves the
system default set by Microsoft Windows. Note that you
should set this to 0 to run on an Apple Macintosh
running VirtualPC.
SETMissingBuiltinPictureFileExtension.
If this is set then files with
this extension will be used if BackgroundsDir or
BuiltinPictureDir is set. Typical values are GIF, PNG, or JPG.
SETMissingBuiltinPictureFileExtensionIf8Bit.
If this is set and you are
running ToonTalk with 256 colors then files with this extension
will be used if BuiltinPictureDirIf8Bit, BuiltinPictureDir, or
BackgroundsDir is set. Typical values are GIF, PNG, or JPG.
SET
MissingPictureFileExtension.
If this is set then files
with this extension will be used to find pictures that were
loaded without any file extension. The default value is BMP.
Other typical values are GIF, PNG, or JPG.
SET
MovementSelectionFeedback.
This controls how objects
wiggle when selected. It describes the number of pixels
they move. If set to 0 they will not move.
SETNarrationFileSuffix.
The value currently must
be either SPK for US English narration, TAL for Swedish narration,
UKN for UK English, PTN for European Portuguese, BRN for
Brazilian Portuguese or JPN for Japanese. Defaults to
appropriate value of the current language. By using this
option you can have narration in a different language than the
demo and its subtitles.
SETNumberShrinkage.
If set to a value between 0.0 and 1.0 then it is used as the
amount that successive digits shrink when displaying shrinking
digit fractions or numbers whose value doesn't fit on the number
pad.
SET
NumberToTextConversionIsExact. If set to 1 then when a
number is dropped on an erased text pad the result is displayed
as an exact decimal if possible. This is important for tools
that convert ToonTalk data to strings for use by other programs
such as Excel.
SETPictureEditor.
If set it specifies the
program that will run when 'Edit Picture' is selected. E.g.,
setting PictureEditor to "mspaint.exe" makes sure that Microsoft
Paint is used. If not set then the program associated with the
PNG extension is launched.
SETPlayAvailableDemoSoundFiles.
If set to 1 then a demo includes narration or custom
sound effects then they are played.
SET
OldUserProgramsFolderName.
If set it provides the
subfolder name for old backed up programs. This folder is
created under the user's program directory. Default is "My Old
Programs".
SETOKToDisplayNumbersShrinkingAndGrowing.
If set to 1 then when a number can't be displayed
because there is too little room then the digits of the
number shrink and then grow to show the ends of the
number and to convey that there are many (tiny) digits
in between.
SETReincarnateToolsIfDestroyed. If set to 1 then
when a tool (Pumpy, Tooly, Dusty, Maggie, or Notey) is
destroyed (e.g. vacuuming up Pumpy and then the
MaximumItemsInDusty was reached), then a new fresh tool
is built.
SETRemoveUnneededThingsFromThoughtBubbles.
If set to 1 then when a robot is trained or the box in
its thought bubble is replaced then the box is
simplified. For example and erased box will no longer be
able to be restored by copying with Maggie in 'O' mode.
Keeps robots small for saving, loading, and copying.
SET
RobotDropLocationFollowsCamera.
If set to 0 then a robot
will drop things so that you can see them even if you have moved
around on the floor after giving the robot a box.
SETRunAfterSaving.
If set this program will
run after a ToonTalk object is saved using the 'Save It' button.
E.g., setting RunAfterSaving to "C:\Program
Files\WinZip\WINZIP32.EXE" will open the Zip archive in the
newly created TT file.
SET
RunOncePerCycleIfMatchBlankWithSensor.
If set to 1 then if a
robot matches an erased pad or picture in its thought
bubble with a sensor then the robot will only run once
during that cycle. This has long been the behavior when
matching non erased things with sensors and was once
true for erased things as well.
SETSaveInXML.
If set to 1 then when
items are placed on the clipboard or dropped on the main
notebook they are saved as
XML rather than ToonTalk's internal format. Requires
2.54 or Beta 36 or later. Default is 1. Note that after beta 40
or 3.00 cities cannot be saved in the old format. And the
setting of this switch is ignored if
time travel
is enabled. Setting this to 0 is only of use to bring things
saved in later versions of ToonTalk into older versions of
ToonTalk.
SET
SaveMediaInMainNotebook.
If this has a non-zero
value in the Switches section then main notebook will keep a copy of
the media files it references.
Good for transporting a user's files to another computer or
generating a DefaultUser with user
media files.
SET
SaveNestsAndBirdsAsLocal.
If this is set to 1, then birds
and nests are saved as if they were local breaking any network
connections. With this set to 1, one can save a bird without her
nest and when reconstructed she will build her own nest. Or you
can save a nest without a bird and it will be saved with an egg
in it.
SET
SecondaryFileSearchPath.
This has the same meaning as
the FileSearchPath but these directories are searched only if
the directories specified by the FileSearchPath fail to contain
the required files. This is particularly useful for
local INI files.
SET
SensorsChangeAtDropNotWhenBammed.
The Parts and Container
sensor are, beginning with 2.80 and Beta 39, updated
when Bammer hits them, not when a picture is dropped on
another picture. The old behavior can be obtained by
setting this to 1.
SET
ShowCrashDirectoryAfterCrashes.
If set to 1 then upon a crash
ToonTalk displays the directory where the crash report was
generated. This makes it easier to drag the file to an email
message so it is sent as an attachment.
SETShowDialogAfterSaving. If
set to 1 then after saving something with 'Save to File'
a dialog appears offering to open the folder. Often is
set to 0 if
RunAfterSaving is set.
SETSpeakAvailableDemoText.
If set to 0 then nothing is spoken even if a demo
specifies that narration should be spoken using a
text-to-speech engine.
SETSpeakToolButtons.
If set to 1 then whenever
you change the button on a tool (Pumpy, Dusty, or Maggie) to the
next value (by clicking on the button or pressing space while
pointing to the tool) you will hear a description of the new
state of the tool.
SET
SpokenLanguage.
ToonTalk can use one language for
speaking and another for everything else. The language needs to
be installed (i.e. one of the options on the language page
reached by clicking on 'Set Options'.)
SETSubtitlesSpeed.
Value is percentage of normal
speed. If greater than 100 subtitles will be faster. If value is
0 ToonTalk will not show subtitles for demos.
SET
SubtitlesSuffix.
The value currently must be either UST for American English subtitles, UKT for
British English subtitles, SET for Swedish subtitles, PTT
for European Portuguese, BRT for Brazilian Portuguese, or JPT
for Japanese. You can have subtitles
in a different language than the narration.
SET
ToonTalk32.
This entry should have the name
of a ToonTalk executable to be run in 'Free Play' and 'Play
Game'. This is normally reset by the installation of patch files
or when running a different ToonTalk executable.
SETToonTalkSourceHTML.
If set then is inserted
in the HTML page as the link to the ToonTalk source that is
generated when you
create a Java applet. This link can then be clicked on
within a browser to bring the saved object back into ToonTalk.
SET
TryToRecoverFromCrashes.
If set to 1 then the old
behavior upon crashing of asking the user if he or she wants to
continue anyway. If 0 will put up a dialog asking the user to
send a crash report. Note that if set to 1 while many crashes
are avoided strange things sometimes follow the recovery.
SET TurnOffJoystickAutoCenter.This feature only works if you
have a force feedback joystick. Autocenter uses the joystick
motors to simulate the springs in a standard joystick. Turning
it off makes the effects better but the joystick harder to
control.
SET
TTFileMax.
If set to 1 or greater
then when you click on 'Save it to a file' then the previous
ToonTalk file is copied to the "my old programs" folder before
proceeding. TTFileMax specifies how many old copies are kept. A
value of 0 turns off this feature.
SET
URLCacheDir.If URLCacheDir is set, then when
URLs are read they are cached in the specified directory. If
this isn't set then the system Internet file cache is used. This
has the advantage and disadvantage that files are automatically
deleted when old and space is needed.
SET
UseLocalIniFilesWhenLoading.
If set to 1 then the old
behavior of looking for
local ini files when loading a file is restored.
This feature was introduced for backwards compatibility. Later
enhancements have made this feature obsolete. To our knowledge
only the Playground Project used this feature so you may need to
enable it to load files from
www.ioe.ac.uk/playground.
SET
UserFiles.
If UserFiles is set, then
ToonTalk will look at the specified directory for user-specific
files. These include changes to notebooks, saved cities, and the
user customizations and profile. You can set this to a directory
on a local file server, if users move between machines on the
same local area network. Or it can be set to "a:" if the files
should be kept on a floppy - making it easier to move between
computers (say at home and at school).
SETUserProgramsFolderName.
If set it provides the
subfolder name for user programs. This folder is created under
the user's directory. Default is "My Programs".
SETUseThisIniFileFirst.
If set to the name
of an ini file, then when looking for the value of an option,
ToonTalk will use this file, and only if it has no value will it
look for a value in the default ini file. One common use of this
is when many computers are part of a local network. The ini file
can then be administered more easily by placing it on a shared
network drive.
SET
VariableFont.
This can be set to the name of a
font that should be used for text which is displayed with a
variable width font.
SETZipFiles.
If this Switch is set to
0 then the XML for cities, demos, and objects is saved
uncompressed.
SET[ButtonKeyboardEquivalents].
This allows you to define what joystick buttons 3 and
upward mean (and also the middle mouse button which is treated the same as joystick button
number 3). You can specify special keys by enclosing them with "<>". The
special keys available are <F1>, <F2>, ... <F12>, <Escape>, and
<space>. For example, the default values are