Wanted to let you (and anyone using the tool) know that with the latest version, an odd bug seems to have crept into the 2da editor.
I'm not sure about exactly what (if any) specific conditions cause it, but the behavior has been the following:
The final line of a 2da file when saved, changes all the data fields from whatever was there to bogus entries. In appearance.2da specifically, it fills the line with values of "C_Verkaal"
In heads.2da, it fills them with "N_GadonH"
As far as I can tell, it happens when you save the file, but I could be wrong. In order to work around it until it's fixed, what I do is create an additional row of data at the bottom of any file I edit, and fill the fields with **** or whatever. Once saved and re-opened, it fills them with the data indicated above, but at least it's an entry the game isn't using anyway, so it's a workaround that preserves the data I need.
*Edit*
There seem to be some other odd little bugs here and there related to loading and saving. For example.. Load up say heads.2da. Change a field and then save as - overwriting the same file. Then go to load, and try loading the same file again. When I do, I get a crash.. there were a few others as well, but I can't remember specifics. Sorry about that =(
*/edit*
Anyways.. wanted to put this somewhere visible to minimize any damage until you can figure out what happened :)
-Kitty
I believe the two errors have been fixed.
One was caused by me "exporting" 1 less row of data from the grid than actually existed, but only in the 2da native format; the XML exporter was OK, thus easy to find.
The other was caused by a quirk in the M$ grid that I have worked around. That grid is such a pain that M$ is releasing a new version!
The download site now contains the updated code, though the release version remains the same because of the way the version-generating code from M$ works (go figure!)
To paraphrase Mr. Gates on the subject of why viruses make Windows more secure....
"My code is better because you're finding bugs in it."