Import without auto-arrange

[eleid]

Hi! I have a not obvious issue.

Let's start with the initial story. We have really big dialogues in our database as you can see below. It's big but readable due to good positions of nodes. We can find what we need very easily. When I click "Arrange nodes" they change their positions to a complete mess so it's impossible to manage such a mixed dialogue.

Before auto arrange: https://i.imgur.com/z3oHM4G.png
After auto arrange: https://i.imgur.com/ZlnwbWd.png

Let's switch to the real issue: When I export the database to CSV in order to get translations and then I import (by import, I mean import and merge with the existing one overriding conflicting nodes) it again to the database I see that all nodes changed their positions to exactly the same positions like after "auto arrange" function. I assume that auto-arrange happens automatically during the import. The question is: How to get the original positions of nodes or how to recover them after the import?

Before import: https://i.imgur.com/2HXCG97.png
After import: https://i.imgur.com/E9CrKb2.png

I'm a programmer so if it is possible with doing some changes in the code, please tell me how to achieve that. I would like just to mention that the perfect solution should be compatible with updating Dialogue System to newer versions so changes in the Dialogue System source code are not welcomed but I can do that if it is the only way.

What solutions would you recommend here?

[Tony Li]

Hi,

Are you perhaps using a very old version of the Dialogue System?

The current version is 2.0.1.

In version 1.6.6.2, CSV import/export was updated to preserve node positions.

To check the version, use menu item Tools > Pixel Crushers > Dialogue System > Welcome Window. Or if it's an older version, use Window > Dialogue System > Help > Welcome Window.

If you're using 1.6.6.2 or higher, the DialogueEntries section of your CSV file should have a "canvasRect" column that will look something like this:



Those are the node positions.

Version 1.8.3 is available on the Pixel Crushers customer download site. If you need access, please PM me your Unity Asset Store invoice number.

If you upgrade to version 2.x, please note that upgrading from 1.x to 2.x requires a special step.

[eleid]

Yes, this is 1.6.6.3 version and I have this canvasRect field in my csv file. I will try update to 1.8.3, I hope it will work fine, I will notify you on this topic this week.

[eleid]

I've just updated Dialogue System to 1.8.3. I tried to export the database to CSV and then import the same CSV without modifying it. Unfortunately, the only change I can see is the fact that nodes were arranged horizontally. It does not help me, I would like to keep the same positions as I had before the export.

After the import in 1.8.3: https://i.imgur.com/M0usVJQ.png

Edit: I've also updated to 2.0.1 and I still have the same issue. All nodes are rearranged.

After the import to 2.0.1: https://i.imgur.com/Zv4Gy0q.png

[Tony Li]

Would it be possible for you to send an example CSV file that exhibits this problem to tony (at) pixelcrushers.com?

Are there any errors or warnings in the Console window?

Edit: What is your operating system's current language? Is it possible that your OS or spreadsheet application is incorrectly interpreting semicolons ( ; ) as delimiters in addition to commas ( , )?

[eleid]

Hi again! I'm sorry for a long time of waiting for my response. I finally found the issue. The problem is that (I'm not still sure why) but when I export my dialogue database it exports two columns called 'canvasRect' and one of them is empty while the second one is filled correctly. The quick fix for me is removing this additional column. It works for now but the case is strange.

[Tony Li]

In the next release (2.0.3), I'll make sure it only exports one canvasRect. Maybe your template is adding an extra canvasRect field, or something like that.