Advice Concerning Unintentionally Modified Records

[FXN55]

Here I go again with another query that may or not get answered, but I suppose I'm a masochist.

I like to browse through scripts in the CS, taking note on how they're built and sometimes copying portions or the script as a whole for my own purposes. Well, I found out a few mods ago that if you even touch the script field with the cursor, the CS will register that an edit has been made whether you changed anything or not. So, I began to be mindful of when this happens and if I've been dabbling with script records, I would use Edit->Undo or just close the CS without saving to avoid that Modified tag on the script record. However, two have slipped past me.

So, I have three questions:
1- Is this still the same case of 'over-aggressive touching' that was referenced and discussed in this thread?
2- I'm unclear exactly what constitutes a 'dirty record', so, is my mod now considered dirty?
3- If the answer is yes to the former question then, should I use the Revert Record option?

Of course, this could've all been avoided if I was a more proficient typer. But who doesn't love copy and pasting? It even sounds like fun, doesn't it? Like arts and crafts!

--Edit: 07.26.2023--
Are you guys just gonna leave me hanging? You could at least reply by saying, 'You're on your own, man', or something similar. 36 views and no replies ain't cool, fellas. Just sayin'.

[Cl3v3rP0tat0]

"Bad Touch"

I don't know anything about OpenMW's CS kit but in OldWind's it was rather easy to inadvertently shift, edit or copy/delete objects if you were working on a mod, any lag or freezes would make some mistakes even more likely. It's been about 15-17 years or so since I used the Construction Kit in Morrowind but "dirty mods" were an occupational hazard for reasons stated above. Obviously, if you don't "save" anything - browse in the CS all you like with impunity.

BUT from your post - it sounds like a bug - why would a record be flagged as modified if you never modified it? Is there an auto save or time date stamp getting recorded automatically?

[FXN55]

Is there an auto save or time date stamp getting recorded automatically?

I'm not even sure. There is no auto-save within the CS. As for a time/date stamp? No, idea. Where would I look for that?

[Cl3v3rP0tat0]

Since the last time I replied on this thread topic I started using OpenMW's CS to modify game files - I now see what you are referring to OP. If I just "look" at a script - it shows that I made a change - when I most certainly did not. This is kind of annoying because I want to be able to trust such warnings - not ignore them because they are erroneous.

[FXN55]

When you say 'look' at a script, do you mean simply opening the record? That hasn't been happening for me. The CS logs a modification when I activate the cursor in the script field without adding/deleting anything, and copying any text from the field will log a modification too. Just opening it does nothing.

It's still beta software, after all. No worries though. I'm having fun.

[Cl3v3rP0tat0]

Yea, right click to view but the menu choice is "edit" but it's only way to see the record detail - I notice there's sometimes "show" record and other times only "edit" - I'm not understanding why this seems inconsistent - I am very much a novice at modding so usually I am just "looking" to try to understand something. But, it's no problem I just discard changes when the program insists I made changes - which I'm pretty sure I did not.

I activate the cursor in the script field

That's what it's doing - is that conventional? Just clicking on a script field registers as an edit? Of course, that's what it is doing, I'd prefer it not be that sensitive though.

[FXN55]

That's what it's doing - is that conventional? Just clicking on a script field registers as an edit?

I'm no expert, barely more than a novice, but it seems to me that such sensitive behavior would not be conventional. And I just remembered that if you go to the menu bar-> Edit-> Undo, you can't undo the script edit. The last time I tried, I must have clicked Undo five or six times but the modification stuck. So, now we have the CS acting stubbornly as well.

Any devs willing to chime in? Is this conventional/intended CS behavior or should there be an issue opened on the tracker?

AnyOldName3? You out there? Any old dev... anyone?

[AnyOldName3]

I don't know about the CS. I'll send this to someone who might.

[Cl3v3rP0tat0]

It's just one of those things that makes a reality check harder...did I inadvertently and unknowingly change something...shall I disregard this warning, must I life in fear? aaaaiiiiieeeE!!!

I grow old. . . I grow old. . .
I shall wear the bottoms of my trousers rolled.

Shall I part my hair behind? Do I dare to eat a peach?

The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock
T. S. Eliot, 1919

[FXN55]

I don't know about the CS. I'll send this to someone who might.

Thanks, man.

It's just one of those things that makes a reality check harder...did I inadvertently and unknowingly change something...shall I disregard this warning, must I life in fear? aaaaiiiiieeeE!!!

Look at it this way: It keeps you keen, in our mutual old age status, that's important, and it builds character. For me, it reminds me to be mindful and always think three to four steps ahead when working in the CS.