Compiling 2DAs

In the "Dragon Age\tools\ResourceBuild\Processors" folder there is an executable named "ExcelProcessor.exe". This is the file that handles conversions of 2DAs from XLS to GDA format. Below are described 3 ways in which this file may be used.

Precautions

• Be sure your worksheets name is correct. IE follows the naming convention of M2DA's in which the prefix is defined.
• Be sure your worksheets name is separate from those already in use, unless you want to override one which is hardly the case.
• Close Excel or Openoffice ,otherwise the Excelprocessor cant process the files.

Converting

3 convenient Methods are listed.

Drag & Drop Method

1. Copy ExcelProcessor.exe and source .XLS files to a new directory (not explicitly neccessary, but advised)
2. Select source .XLS files and drag them onto ExcelProcessor.exe
3. Resulting .GDA files, will be located in the same directory as the source .XLS files.

Adding 2DA export to the Windows XP file explorer

Here's an easy way to add a context (ie, right-click) menu item that quickly converts new or updated Dragon Age Excel files into GDA format:

Setup:

1. Open Windows Explorer and click Tools | Folder Options.
2. In the File Types tab, select the XLS extension from the list and click the Advanced button.
3. Click the New button and put 'Binarize 2DA' in the Action field.
4. Paste the following in the Application field and click OK (update the drive and folder names to match your client): "C:\*DragonAgeInstallDir*\Dragon Age\tools\ResourceBuild\Processors\ExcelProcessor.exe" "%1" -outdir="C:\Documents and Settings\YOURNAME\My Documents\BioWare\Dragon Age\packages\core\override"
   1. For the Steam version, use the following: "C:\Program Files\Steam\steamapps\common\dragon age origins\tools\ResourceBuild\Processors\ExcelProcessor.exe" "%1" -outdir="C:\Documents and Settings\YOURNAME\My Documents\BioWare\Dragon Age\packages\core\override"

Note that paths with spaces in them can cause Windows trouble, if your paths have spaces in them remember to wrap them in quotation marks.

Usage:

1. Using Windows Explorer, navigate to your 2DA folder and select the Excel file(s) to process. Right click and select 'Binarize 2DA' from the context menu.
2. Confirm a corresponding GDA file is created in your override folder for each Excel file processed.

An example of how setting this up in Windows XP looks

Using a .BAT file

The following method may work better for you instead:

• Create two folders called C:\2DA\ and C:\2DA\Override\
• Copy ExcelProcessor.exe to C:\2DA\
• Copy the Excel spreadsheets containing the 2DA you want to use in the game to C:\2DA\
• Create a batch file with the following line in it (change "placeables.xls" to whatever Excel file you're working with):

C:\2DA\ExcelProcessor.exe placeables.xls -outdir=C:\2DA\override\

• Run your batch file
• Find the GDA file in the C:\2DA\Override\ directory.

Afterwards

Place the GDA(s) into the game's override directory. Which one, is determined the following:

When it should be included into a custom Module, copy them into:

My Documents\BioWare\Dragon Age\AddIns\yourmodulename\module\override\

• This is a cleaner solution, when packaging up the Module ,the files will be all in one place.

• Note: "My Documents" is different to each OS Version and OS language. "yourmodulename" is created with your custom Module.

For all other cases, when not making a Module copy them into:

*DragonAgeInstalldir*\packages\core\override\

• Note: *DragonAgeInstalldir* is the Installation Directory you have chosen.

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You will need to restart the Toolset, or Game for the changes to take effect.