Curse

The Guildless · Jul 30, 2011, 09:11 PM // 21:11

Hello folks!

Some of you might be launching Guild Wars through Steam so you can have access to your friends list or use the integrated web browser to read the wiki or whatnot – at least that’s what I use it for. I’ve recently been wondering if I could change the homepage of the Steam browser so it automatically loads up the wiki instead of having to type the URL every time. My researches showed that I would have to open up some .exe files with an hex editor and modify data. I’m not a fan of messing with .exes, so I searched a little more and came across something even better: being able to display links on the overlay so they act as bookmarks.

I’ve found my information here. Props to the users posting information about this method.

This method is quick and easy. Before attempting anything though, the usual warnings: make sure to make a backup copy of any file you modify. Also, use this at your own risk etc. etc. Don’t blame me if you blow your computer up or something – although if you do, please let me know because it would be pretty impressive.

Basically, you only need to modify one file. This file is called overlaydesktop.layout and is found in the following directory:
C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\resource\layout

First step:
Open the file with your favourite text editor. I use Notepad++ (free) but good old notepad also does the job.

Second step:
Observe the lines in the controls section. This is where you will add your bookmark(s). The correct syntax is:

Code:

BookmarkID {	controlname="URLLabel" labeltext="BookmarkName" urltext="http://your.url.com" style=sidemenu }

In the example above, I have added a link for the wiki as well as Argos-Soft’s estimator (see what’s in gray). Be creative! Once you added the links you want, proceed to the bottom of the file.

Third step:
You now need to add your bookmark in the string as seen here. You have to enter the BookmarkID you used and not the BookmarkName (see what I've highlighted in yellow). Feel free to change the order of stuff, or try and remove links you do not use.

Once you are done, (re)start Steam, launch your game, and enjoy!
See the result

I wrote that pretty fast so if I missed anything or something's not clear, just let me know!

Zodiak · Nov 20, 2011, 08:56 PM // 20:56

This works well, thank you.

I altered my copy slightly to look like this

I wanted to make frames for the links like the others but when I started getting in there. Creating new files, adding code, etc, it started getting into too much of a hassle.

What I did do though is create NULL fields that I added between BookmarkIDs to create grouping and spacing and to add more organisation.

I also edited the Y Axis so that I could lower the links I created towards the bottom to make them more easily accessible and I even added in an X Axis. I didnt like the "Right" alignment so I aligned everything using "Left" and used X to push it to the right side. I also increased the fontsize and the rollover size to match my resolution

I have copies of Guildwars outside of Steam. People ask why use Steam when your copy of Guildwars isn't from Steam. I added Guildwars to Steam as a Non-Steam game to let my Steam friends know that I am playing a game, which game and also so that I can keep my games organized. Steam Sales are sometimes insane and I tend to go a bit overboard. Keeps everything nice and together.

Code:

"resource/layout/overlaydesktop.layout"
{
    controls
    {
        BaseDesktopPanel
        { 
            controlname="EditablePanel"
        }        
        
        //GameGroupsButton { controlname="URLLabel" labeltext="#Overlay_Taskbar_GameGroups" style=sidemenu }    
        ChatRoomButton { controlname="URLLabel" labeltext="#Overlay_Taskbar_ChatRoom" style=sidemenu }    
        DLCButton {    controlname="URLLabel" labeltext="#Overlay_Taskbar_DLC" style=sidemenu }            
        GuideButton {    controlname="URLLabel" labeltext="#Overlay_Taskbar_Guide" style=sidemenu }            
        LegacyCDKeyButton {    controlname="URLLabel" labeltext="#Overlay_Taskbar_legacycdkey" style=sidemenu }        
        
        Guildwars {    controlname="URLLabel" labeltext="Guildwars.com" urltext="http://www.guildwars.com" style=sidemenu }
        Guildwars2 {    controlname="URLLabel" labeltext="Guildwars2.com" urltext="http://www.guildwars2.com" style=sidemenu }
        Null {    controlname="URLLabel" labeltext="" urltext="" style=sidemenu }
         GuildwarsWiki {    controlname="URLLabel"  labeltext="wiki.guildwars.com"  urltext="http://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/Main_Page" style=sidemenu }
         Guildwars2Wiki {    controlname="URLLabel"  labeltext="wiki.guildwars2.com"  urltext="http://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Main_Page" style=sidemenu }
        Null {    controlname="URLLabel" labeltext="" urltext="" style=sidemenu }        
         GuildwarsGuru {    controlname="URLLabel"  labeltext="GuildwarsGuru.com" urltext="http://www.guildwarsguru.com"  style=sidemenu }
        GuildwarsGuruForum {     controlname="URLLabel" labeltext="GuildwarsGuru.com/Forum"  urltext="http://www.guildwarsguru.com/forum" style=sidemenu }
        Null {    controlname="URLLabel" labeltext="" urltext="" style=sidemenu }
         Guildwars2Guru {    controlname="URLLabel"  labeltext="Guildwars2Guru.com" urltext="http://www.guildwars2guru.com"  style=sidemenu }
        Guildwars2GuruForum {     controlname="URLLabel" labeltext="Guildwars2Guru.com/Forum"  urltext="http://www.guildwars2guru.com/forum/" style=sidemenu }
        Null {    controlname="URLLabel" labeltext="" urltext="" style=sidemenu }        
        GwPvX {    controlname="URLLabel" labeltext="GwPvX.com" urltext="http://www.gwpvx.com/PvX_wiki" style=sidemenu }
        Null {    controlname="URLLabel" labeltext="" urltext="" style=sidemenu }
         ArgosSoft {    controlname="URLLabel"  labeltext="Argos-Soft.net/GwEstimator"  urltext="http://argos-soft.net/GwEstimator/" style=sidemenu }
        Null {    controlname="URLLabel" labeltext="" urltext="" style=sidemenu }
        Youtube {    controlname="URLLabel" labeltext="Youtube.com" urltext="http://www.youtube.com" style=sidemenu }
        Netflix {    controlname="URLLabel" labeltext="Netflix.com" urltext="http://www.netflix.com" style=sidemenu }
        //WebSiteButton { controlname="URLLabel" labeltext="#Overlay_Taskbar_WebSite" style=sidemenu }    
        //ForumsButton { controlname="URLLabel" labeltext="#Overlay_Taskbar_Forums" style=sidemenu }    
        //RecommendButton { controlname="URLLabel" labeltext="#Overlay_Taskbar_Recommend" style=sidemenu }    
        
        FriendsDetailPanel { controlname="COverlay_Details_Friends" style="detailsbox" }
        AchievementsDetailPanel { controlname="COverlay_Details_Achievements" style="detailsbox" }
        NewsDetailPanel { controlname="COverlay_Details_News" style="detailsbox" }
        ScreenshotsDetailPanel { controlname="COverlay_Details_Screenshots_Panel" style="detailsbox" }
    }
    
    colors
    {
    }
    
    styles
    {        
        sidemenu
        {
            font-size=16
            textcolor=texthover
        }
        
        sidemenu:hover
        {
            font-size=22
            textcolor=text
        }
    }
    
    layout
    {
        region { name=overlay width=1010 align=top-center margin-top=10 margin-bottom=10 }
        region     { name="left" region=overlay width=400 height=max margin-top=10 align=left }
        region     { name="mid" region=overlay width=400 height=max margin-top=2 align=top-center }
        region     { name="right" region=overlay width=400 height=max margin-top=10 align=right }
        region    { name="detailpanels" region=overlay align=bottom width=max height=360 margin-bottom=100 }
        region    { name="taskbar" region=overlay width="max" height=75 align=bottom }

        place { controls="LinksDetailPanel" region=links width=330 height=240 spacing=10 }

         place {  controls="GameGroupsButton,ChatRoomButton,DLCButton,GuideButton,LegacyCDKeyButton,Guildwars,Guildwars2,Null,GuildwarsWiki,Guildwars2Wiki,Null,GuildwarsGuru,GuildwarsGuruForum,Null,Guildwars2Guru,Guildwars2GuruForum,Null,GwPvX,Null,ArgosSoft,Null,Youtube,Netflix,WebSiteButton,ForumsButton,RecommendButton"  x=815 y=1690 align=left region=overlay dir=down spacing=12 }
         place {  controls="FriendsDetailPanel,NewsDetailPanel,AchievementsDetailPanel,ScreenshotsDetailPanel"  region=detailpanels width=330 height=240 spacing=10 }
    }
    
}

I am now looking for a new way of doing this... as I discovered after doing this that the links created will appear for any game you open.

I know steam uses seperate links and info for each game, there has to be a different way of doing this but at least its a step in the right direction

JupiterStarWarrior · Dec 18, 2011, 08:21 PM // 20:21

That's an interesting idea. But, going on the lines of "modifying" files, beware: Valve Anti-Cheat may not like it if used in VAC-secured games/servers.