So how did you figure out how to mod EQ2?
 

I'm asking because there has to be a better way then the one I'm using. EQ2_UI_Customization.doc provides some very basic info but no examples or walkthrus like you'd expect in any instruction manual. And the UIBuilder.exe tool is not something that you can just open and start using without any guidance. At least in my opinion. As a Computer Science major and professional programmer for a decade or so I'm no slouch when it comes to using development tools.

In doing my POI Finder mod I've been forced to reverse engineer what other modders have done from a pure XML standpoint. But I'd like to add features too and its hard when I don't have anything to show me what is possible or how things work together. How am I susposed to know what to do with all those obscure XML attributes? Are there any good online walkthrus or tutorials on how to mod the EQ2 UI? Are there better tools or more recent versions of EQ2Builder? I downloaded the 1.3 version from this site but that was apparently last updated in 05. Any advice you can provide would be appreciated.

My personal experience is all trial and error without documentation. I like to see what makes things tick, and in doing so, you learn alot more. There is no 1-2-3 thing to do, just alot of patience and time. Sometimes I tinker with the UIBuilder, then knowing what tags do what, I can hack/slash the XML files.

I did the same thing as Drakah...just loaded up the UI Builder one day and started tinkering. I first made a "sandbox" UI directory, since I didn't want to screw up any of the default files.

I think the only real way to learn you way around the UI files is by a lot of trial and error. Tinker, save, copy to your custom UI folder, login to EQ2...if it's broken, you camp out and dig into the file again. :) I almost never get my mods right on the first try, so all the logging in and out can be tedious.

(I never could figure out how to work the "Play" button on the UI Builder to test my mods offline without causing it to crash or freeze up. I'm not sure how other folks test their mods, so maybe I do everything the hard way, heh.)

Ah yes, patience and time. I knew I was missing something :p I guess there isn't really a better (simpler) way. Not exactly the answer I was looking for but I do appreciate the answers.

I did same.. Just dove right on in ya know. now im working on a complete graphical overhaul. :). its really quite fun. I'll be posting the results on here soon. gonna need some help with the Credits though since im incorporating TONS of features from other mods.

Well, it depends on what you're trying to figure out and how deep you want to get. The official documentation is pretty poor and nearly useless except for a few reference things. The best beginner guide is the one tonyis3l33t made a long time ago:
http://www.eq2interface.com/forums/showthread.php?t=858
The only thing I would change would be that I would only copy the eq2ui.xml file and not every default file.

After that I would start off with something very simple like changing the size of something or removing one thing, etc.

After that you have to start figuring things out. I really think we could use a wiki to organize all the information and help out UI modders but I don't know if anyone wants to step up and start one. The forums have a ton of information and doing a search usually gets what you want.

The way that I work, I only use the UIBuilder to see things visually and look at the xml structures. I just hate the way that it saves the files and saves dozens of files that you didn't edit. Every change I made is done with a text editor so I have better control of what the xml looks like. I use Notepad++ with the xml plugin that makes things much, much easier.

You said you're working on the POI Finder which connects to the eq2map. The eq2map is likely the most complicated mod around, since it uses so many xml files linked together. I would start out by dissecting some of the simpler single file mods.

Welp I started modding EQ2 when the doc file was all we had. There's actually a fair bit of useful info in that file, but several essential things are missing. Since then a good deal of the essentials have been added to the FAQ of this site.

Early authors did a great job sharing discoveries in the Dev forumns of this site. Most everything you might need to know has been posted somewhere in there. Off the top of my head, there are threads that cover conditionals, concatination, data sources, menus, lists, image editing, packlock and packprop, pathing across window branches, all slash commands, addressing inventory slots, namespaces, working with UIBuilder, etc.

I posted a list of helpful links at one point. You could prbly find it with search ;)