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No Entry Selected - Append To End?

Started by runamuck, October 04, 2013, 03:00:08 AM

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runamuck

Hello All,

I am new to modding and trying to learn iLive's Reader Program. I'm starting with something simple called "Custom Loading Screen" that I found on the SimPeg4 site @ http://www.simpeg.com/forum/index.php?topic=6734.0. I am running Windows XP - SP3 with all the latest updates to SimCity 4 Deluxe, the BAT Tool and the Windows Operating System.

I have followed this article's instructions verbatim several times on both reader versions (0.9.3 and 1.4) but when I try and insert my "Image.png" file I get a message saying "No Entry Selected - Append To End?" Can someone tell me what this means? I am at this step in the article:

Now that you are in the .dat file, (This is optional, the mod will work just fine without this.; copy the two MAD files and) create a new, blank .dat file. (You Must make a new blank .dat file.)  (again, copying and pasting the two MAD files is totally optional .)Paste the two MAD files into the new .dat.  Now, right click in the open white area below your two MAD files, and find "Insert File and Compress".  Find your PNG file, and open it.

I find that using the "Insert File and Compress" option produces a file that makes no sense at all but using the "Insert File" option will insert my "Image.png" file. The Readers Main Window has the following information:

Entry          Compressed     Filesize          Location     Number        Type            Group            Instance
MAD File             N           16958760            96            0          0a8b0e70       00000001        00000001
MAD File             N            783316          16958856       1          0a8b0e70       00000001        00000002
PNG File              N            735722          17742172       2          856ddbac      00000000        00000000

Now, when I save my "CustomIntro.dat File" I get another message that says: "The index number 2 seems invalid" The file does save but does not work when placed in the plugins folder and I tried both (Desktop\My Documents\Simcity 4\Plugins and C:\Program Files\Maxis\Simcity 4 Deluxe\Plugins.

Anybody got any ideas? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. If I can't do something this simple with the Reader then I guess I'm in for a steep learning curve and a rough go of it with more complex things. Anyway, thanks to all.........Runamuck

memo

Regarding the "No Entry Selected" message, it merely means this: If you open a file that already contains entries/subfiles, you can specify the position in the list where you want to insert the new entries, by previously selecting an entry. The new entries will be inserted between the selected entry and its successor. Obviously, in an empty .dat-file, you cannot select any entry and, thus, new entries will be appended to the end of the file.

As for the "The index number 2 seems invalid" message, I've had this before as well, but I don't know exactly why. Usually, I always use "Insert and Compress", though. If I recall correctly, this problem occurs only at insertion of entries into empty files - though, not using copy and paste. My guess is that "Right Click > ReIndex" followed by "Right Click > Rebuild Directory File" might help. Otherwise, you could use an existing file that is not empty, insert your entries and remove the previously existing entries.

Good luck with learning the Reader. It is not that difficult, at all.

runamuck

Hello Memo,

Thank you for your reply. I have tried re-indexing and other things without any success. I copied the original SimCity Intro.dat file and removed the Maxis PNG image. I then created a custom image with Corel Photo-Paint and saved it as a PNG file. I added this new image to my custom image.dat file using the "Insert File" selection. I have even tried different image formats like jpeg and bmp with the same results. My new image does show up in the Reader but will not work when placed in the plugins folder. And then, there are these error messages along the way. If anyone would like to try this, make a copy of the Maxis Intro.dat file and retrieve the image I am using from my website @

https://sites.google.com/site/runamuckshooch/my-creations

If someone gets this to work, please let me know what you did and thanks to all for your help and suggestions..........................Runamuck

whatevermind

#3
I have not run into the "Index number..." error before, but two things stand out as being possible culprits here.

First, as memo said, you should always reindex and rebuild the directory after making changes to a file, and then save the file. I'd suggest doing these steps as often as you can. Reindexing and rebuilding the directory help keep the internal organization of the .dat file in order, which is important to the file working properly/not corrupting.

The second thing I notice is the TGI of your PNG file has both the GID and IID as 0x00000000 - it is possible that Reader is flagging these as invalid. If you're trying to replace a particular game default file, then you'll want to change your TGI to match that file. Anytime you change a TGI, you should reindex and rebuild the directory afterwards. And as always, save often.

runamuck

Hello whatevermind,

Your reply led me to getting this thing to work, thank you!!! This is the first time I have fooled around with the Reader and I was wondering about those TGI values for my image also. I matched those values to those in the original file and it worked. I've got a lot to learn about all this. I tried the "TGI Generator" feature and it came up with some values but I could not figure out how to insert them from the Generator. So, I opened the Editor and typed in the values. Thank you again for your help and keen eye.

Runamuck