Revision Difference
Editable_Entities#549007
<cat>Dev.Lua</cat>
Making an entity editable is a lot easier than you would think. To edit an entity in realtime in sandbox mode (or your own gamemode if you have it enabled), you simply hold C (context menu) and right click on the entity. A submenu appears, and choosing properties will show a window like the one below.
<image src="entity_editor_example.jpg" alt="center"/>
# Mark it as editable
The first thing to do is to mark it as editable.
```
ENT.Editable = true
```
Simple enough?
# Data Tables
The rest of the magic happens in <page text="ENT:SetupDataTables">ENTITY:SetupDataTables</page> - where you're hopefully already defining your network variables for you entity. It probably looks something like this right now.
```
function ENT:SetupDataTables()
self:NetworkVar( "Float", 0, "FogStart" )
self:NetworkVar( "Float", 1, "FogEnd" )
self:NetworkVar( "Float", 2, "Density" )
self:NetworkVar( "Vector", 0, "FogColor" )
end
```
So all you need to do is add options to the end of each of these.
```
function ENT:SetupDataTables()
self:NetworkVar( "Float", 0, "FogStart", { KeyName = "fogstart", Edit = { type = "Float", order = 1, min = 0, max = 1000000 } } )
self:NetworkVar( "Float", 1, "FogEnd", { KeyName = "fogend", Edit = { type = "Float", order = 2, min = 0, max = 1000000 } } )
self:NetworkVar( "Float", 2, "Density", { KeyName = "density", Edit = { type = "Float", order = 3, min = 0, max = 1 } } )
self:NetworkVar( "Vector", 0, "FogColor", { KeyName = "fogcolor", Edit = { type = "VectorColor", order = 4 } } )
end
```
This might seem a bit complicated, but it's simple really.
We have a table with:
## KeyName
This defines the key-value name of this variable. This is the standard way in Source to handle networked entity variables, and is required for editing to work. As a bonus, it will also allow map-makers to create maps containing your entity and set these variables directly from Hammer I/O.
## Edit
This is a subtable describing how to edit this variable. The actual contents of this table differs with each type of variable, and are described below.
# Types
These variables are shared between all "edit types":
* `title` - a string - the title to show to the left of the control. If unset it will default to the control name. This must be unique to each item.
* `order` - a number - will display the lowest orders first.
* `category` - a string - controls are grouped by category (defaults to `Main`)
* `category` - a string - controls are grouped by category (defaults to `General`)
* `readonly` - a boolean initializing the contents as read only value, which can be copied, but not modified.
## Generic
A simple text box.
* `waitforenter` - boolean, whether the value should be updated in real-time as the user types, or only when they press enter. (default: `false`)
## Boolean
This type is a simple checkbox. There's no other settings in here apart from the shared values.
## Float
This provides the client with a number slider.
* `min` - The minimum value (defaults to `0`)
* `max` - The maximum value (defaults to `1`)
## Int
Identical to **Float** but only lets you choose integers.
## VectorColor
This provides the client with a color selector - which is represented by a Vector. Each color component's range is between 0-1.
## Combo
This is a ComboBox.
* `text` - the default selection. (default: `Select...`)
* `values` - a key/value table of available options in the ComboBox. Keys are the identifier string, values are the associated actual values. Required.
# Advanced
The property editors are modular, and are defined in `lua/vgui/` - each starting with `prop_*`.
Creating your own should be quite simple by looking at these files.