I need some help positioning chat windows

[broodax]

I have a couple of goals for chat frames:

-I play on multiple machines, so I'd like to disable server-side config saving if possible (chatter claims to do this)
-I want to manually edit whatever lua or config is necessary to get exact placement
-I need all the standard functionality of an addon like Prat or Chatter, i.e. edit box placement, removal of buttons, ability to move window to the edge of the screen, etc.

But I have some issues:

-My chat-cache does not behave at all like expected. Sometimes the game saves no information to it at all when I logout and exit the game. Sometimes the game loads the config, but sometimes it seems to reset to the server-side config.
-Chatter sometimes completely forgets the previous config and reverts.
-The addon Een's Chat saver (... exact name not remembered) would allow me to continue using server side positioning, and just load a config each time. This is clunky, however, I'm not sure if it would play nice with Chatter/Prat, and I don't know the syntax of its saved variables, so I'm not sure how to edit them manually.

Anyone who's had success with this type of issue?

I've tried setting synchronizeSettings - which I suppose might help the specific issue, but A) Isn't really an option because I don't want to manage macros and bindings on multiple machines, and B) doesn't solve my more important problem - that I want to be able to manually adjust things - when I tried this the game didn't even save anything in chat-cache for me to change.

[Phanx]

Originally Posted by broodax I'd like to disable server-side config saving if possible

It is not possible to disable the sync only for chat frame settings. It's an all-or-nothing option.

However, it's also not necessary to disable the sync for chat frame settings, since your addon can freely move, resize, or do anything else to the chat frame regardless of the client's settings.

Originally Posted by broodax I want to manually edit whatever lua or config is necessary to get exact placement

What part of this do you need help with?

Originally Posted by broodax I need all the standard functionality of an addon like Prat or Chatter, i.e. edit box placement, removal of buttons, ability to move window to the edge of the screen, etc.

Okay, so what's the problem with continuing to use whichever of those addons you're using that has the features you want?

Generally, if you're using addon A that does X, but you want features X and Y, you can continue using addon A and install addon B alongside it. You don't need to stop using A, and go write a new addon that does both X and Y.

Originally Posted by broodax My chat-cache does not behave at all like expected.

If you're using an addon to manage the chat frame's position, size, and other settings then it does not matter what (if anything) is in chat-cache.txt.

Originally Posted by broodax Chatter sometimes completely forgets the previous config and reverts.

This sounds like there is something wrong with your WoW installation or your hard disk. Addon settings don't just vanish, unless the saved variables file is missing or corrupted.

Also, if you're only seeing this issue when you log onto a new character, check the addon's profile system if it has one. Some addons are -- annoyingly -- set to use separate profiles for every character by default, instead of a shared profile for all your characters.

Originally Posted by broodax Een's Chat saver ... I'm not sure if it would play nice with Chatter/Prat

Why don't you just try it and find out? It's not like an addon conflict is going to erase your hard disk or something. If the addons don't work together, just disable one of them and you're back to normal.

[broodax]

Originally Posted by Phanx It is not possible to disable the sync only for chat frame settings. It's an all-or-nothing option. However, it's also not necessary to disable the sync for chat frame settings, since your addon can freely move, resize, or do anything else to the chat frame regardless of the client's settings.

The two seem to interfere with eachother. I know you say that they shouldn't, but they do.

Okay, so what's the problem with continuing to use whichever of those addons you're using that has the features you want?

Well, Chatter doesn't save its settings all of the time, and Prat doesn't offer disabling of server side syncing.

This sounds like there is something wrong with your WoW installation or your hard disk. Addon settings don't just vanish, unless the saved variables file is missing or corrupted.

There's nothing wrong with my installation, it's clean. This is actually a problem that was documented in Chatter a year or two ago, and it was reported fixed. I'm not sure if it's a recurrence of that problem with a recent patch, another addon interfering, or something else.

Why don't you just try it and find out? It's not like an addon conflict is going to erase your hard disk or something. If the addons don't work together, just disable one of them and you're back to normal.

I have tried it, and a combination of Een and Chatter appear to be working, since Een does actually save positions (although it doesn't automatically load them as it claims, and I occasionally have to use a slash command to force it - and it's a pain since I'll need to ), and Chatter does the other things I need, together they seem to work.

[Phanx]

The only way the client's chat settings can interfere with an addon's chat settings is if the addon is applying its settings too early in the loading process, before the client has applied its own settings. Wait for the PLAYER_LOGIN event, then apply your custom settings and hook the functions/methods you need (eg. if the user drags the chat frame you need to know so you can save the new position).

Originally Posted by broodax Chatter doesn't save its settings all of the time ... This is actually a problem that was documented in Chatter a year or two ago, and it was reported fixed. I'm not sure if it's a recurrence of that problem with a recent patch, another addon interfering, or something else.

Well, Chatter's author basically abandoned it years ago, and updates these days are provided by the community, so it doesn't surprise me at all to hear that something so basic as saving settings is buggy. On the bright side, there are plenty of other chat mods you can use. If you don't like Prat, try BasicChatMods, ChipperChat, or PhanxChat.