Editing simple properties

Simple properties are the core property type in Ambry. Nearly every object will have at least a few simple properties. Simple properties store their data in a string of 255 characters; this string can then be displayed in one of several different ways or be held to within a range of values. You can also set the value of a simple property to be the result of an expression.

Setting the display type

There are four display types available for simple properties string, number, boolean, and unit. When you change the display type of a simple property, it simply changes the way the data is displayed; the actual value of the property remains unchanged.

To change the display type of a simple property,

Double-click the property name in the Properties window. The Edit Simple Property window is displayed.
Set the display type using the Display as pop-up.

If you set the display type to Unit, you also have to specify which unit set Ambry will use when formatting the property's value for display. To specify the unit set for a simple property,

Open the Edit Simple Property window as shown above.
Set the unit set using the Units pop-up.

Once you have specified a display type, the value of the property is formatted according to the display type. However, if you edit the property's value, you will notice that the original value remains unchanged.

Setting restrictions

You can specify a range of values the property must remain within. To set a range of values,

Open the Edit Simple Property window as shown above.
Check the Restrict Values to Between checkbox to enable the restriction.
Enter values for the low end and/or the high end. If you leave either end out, there is no limit in that direction.

Values for the simple property will now be displayed between the given range. If a value is below the low end given, the low end value is displayed instead; if a value is above the high end given, the high end value is displayed. Note that the actual value remains unchanged.

If the display type for the simple property is set to Number, you can also specify that the value must be a whole number. To enable whole number conversion,

Open the Edit Simple Property window as shown above.
Check the Convert to Whole Numbers checkbox to enable the restriction.

Values for the simple property will now always be displayed in integral numbers. Any decimal part of the number will be truncated for display.

Editing pop-up items

Objects that are intended as parent objects often have a set of values for a property commonly used in the object's instances. Properties can have a pop-up menu of those values using the pop-up items behavior. To add a pop-up of common values to a simple property,

Open the Edit Simple Property window as shown above.
Check the Has Pop-up of Values checkbox to enable the behavior.
Click the Edit Values button. The Pop-up Values window is displayed.
Add any number of values by choosing Create Value from the Object menu and editing the value for each.
Close the Pop-up Values window.

In the Properties window, the simple property now has a pop-up menu containing common values for the property. To set the value of the simple property to one of the items in the pop-up menu,

Choose the appropriate item from the pop-up menu.

The value is changed.

Expression values

You can use expression values in simple properties to have properties whose values are based on the values of other properties. For example, you may have a "Current health" property that is the "Maximum health" property minus the "Damage taken" property. To set a property to be an expression,

Open the Edit Simple Property window as shown above.
Check the Value is an Expression checkbox to enable the behavior.
Enter Enter the expression in the text entry box. The expression can be any valid expression. To refer to the object the property is from, use the variable $self. See Expressions for more information on using expressions.

The value of the property is now set to the result of the expression. Note that you may not set the Name property to an expression value.

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