Lua Globals Reference

table addon addons only all saved: userdata declaration: from source

__CORE_CHAT_WINDOW = {}

Persistent chat-window state: its layout version, frame position and size, and the buffer of announcements it has received. Being a saved variable it already holds the previous session's value when chatwindow.lua starts, which is why that file creates it with __CORE_CHAT_WINDOW = __CORE_CHAT_WINDOW or { ... } and migrates older layouts by the version field.

table addon addons only all saved: userdata declaration: from source

__CORE_DEBUGLOG_LOG = {}

The debug log's stored contents: its layout version, the version at which it was last cleared, and the entries themselves. Setting it to nil clears the log. debuglog.lua starts the last-clear version at 0.0 deliberately, so the log is cleared once on first use rather than needing that number maintained.

table addon addons only all saved: userdata declaration: from source

__CORE_DETAILMONITOR_MAPEDITOR = {}

Persistent map editor settings, kept across UI reloads and game starts. Being a saved variable it already holds the previous value when menu_mapeditor.lua runs, so that file creates it with the X = X or { ... } idiom rather than a plain assignment.

table addon addons only all saved: userdata declaration: from source

__CORE_DETAILMONITOR_MAPFILTER = {}

Persistent map filter settings, the ones kept across savegames. Keyed by filter name - layer_trade, layer_fight, trade_price_maxprice, think_alert and so on - plus a version field the menu migrates on load.

table addon addons only all saved: savegame declaration: from source

__CORE_DETAILMONITOR_MAPFILTER_SAVE = {}

Per-savegame map filter settings. Unlike __CORE_DETAILMONITOR_MAPFILTER this one travels with the save rather than the player profile. Holds the trade_storage_* toggles and a version field.

table addon addons only all saved: userdata declaration: from source

__CORE_DETAILMONITOR_SHIPBUILD = {}

Persistent ship configuration menu settings, kept across UI reloads and game starts. Being a saved variable it already holds the previous value when menu_ship_configuration.lua runs, so that file creates it with the X = X or { ... } idiom rather than a plain assignment.

table addon addons only all saved: userdata declaration: from source

__CORE_DETAILMONITOR_STATIONBUILD = {}

Persistent station build menu settings, kept across UI reloads and game starts. Being a saved variable it already holds the previous value when menu_station_configuration.lua runs, so that file creates it with the X = X or { ... } idiom rather than a plain assignment.

table addon addons only all saved: userdata declaration: from source

__CORE_DETAILMONITOR_USERQUESTION = {}

Persistent "do not ask again" answers for user questions. Carries a version field plus one entry per remembered answer; ego_gameoptions resets entries when the player clears them.

boolean addon addons only ≥ 9.00 saved: userdata declaration: from source

__CORE_GAMEOPTIONS_PRIVACYPOLICY = false

Whether the player has accepted the online privacy policy. Reset to false on logout.

table addon addons only all saved: userdata declaration: from source

__CORE_GAMEOPTIONS_RESTOREINFO = {}

Where the options menu was when it was last closed, so it can reopen there.

table addon addons only all saved: userdata declaration: from source

__CORE_GAMEOPTIONS_VENTURECONFIG = {}

Cached venture configuration flags, refreshed when the online client starts. Each field mirrors OnlineGetVentureConfig(key).

table addon addons only all saved: savegame declaration: from source

__CORE_HELPTEXT_DISPLAYEDHINTS = {}

Which hints the player has already been shown, so none is offered twice. It is a **savegame** variable rather than a userdata one - the record travels with the save, so a new game starts with the hints fresh. helptext.lua creates it with the X = X or { ... } idiom, because the engine has already restored it by the time that file runs.

table addon addons only all saved: savegame declaration: from source

__CORE_HELPTEXT_QUEUE = {}

Hints queued for display. Carries a version field the addon migrates.

table widget_fullscreen addons only all declaration: from source

__EGO_GLOBALS = {}

The registry of globals that SetEGOGlobals copies into a Lua environment. MakeGlobalAvailable(name) stores _G[name] here; AddGlobalAccess(name, impl) assigns _G[name] and then registers it. Adding a name here is what makes it reachable from the addons Lua environment - see SetEGOGlobals.

function widget_fullscreen addons only all signature: from source

ActivateEditBox(editBoxID, cursorPos, shiftStartPos)

Activates a specific edit box widget, allowing it to receive text input.

function widget_fullscreen addons only all signature: from source

ActivateSliderCellInput(sliderCell)

Activates the input field of a slider cell, typically for manual value entry.

function engine addons only all signature: confirmed

AddAmmo(componentID, wareID, amount, checkOnly, arg5)

Adds a specified amount of an ammo ware to a component (e.g., a ship or station).

function engine addons only all signature: confirmed

AddCargo(componentID, wareID, amount, arg4)

Adds a specified amount of a ware to a component's cargo bay.

function widget_fullscreen addons only all signature: from source

AddGlobalAccess(name, func)

Exposes a Lua function to the global scope, making it accessible by its string name.

function engine addons only all signature: confirmed

AddInventory(componentID, wareID, amount, arg4)

Adds a ware to an inventory. The first argument is the component that receives it, and nil means the player - which is what every vanilla call passes, whether crafting is depositing what it made or the SETA cheat is handing over inv_timewarp. Vanilla passes three arguments or four, so the last one is optional; what it selects is not identifiable from the call sites.

function engine addons only all signature: confirmed

AddKnownItem(category, itemID)

Unlocks a specific encyclopedia entry or other knowledge item for the player.

function engine addons only all signature: confirmed

AddLicence(factionID, licenceID, otherFactionID)

Grants a licence to a faction. The three arguments are the faction that receives it - "player" in the only vanilla call - the licence type, and the faction the licence is with.

function engine addons only all signature: confirmed

AddLogbookEntry(category, title, text, ...)

Writes an entry into the player's logbook under a category. Vanilla passes five arguments where the declaration names three plus a vararg tail, so the entry carries more than a title and a text - the help text menu logs a tip with nil for the text and a string in the fifth position.

function engine addons only all signature: confirmed probed: 8.00, 9.00

AddMoney(containerID, amount)

Credits or debits a **container's** account by amount, and returns the amount moved. A negative amount takes it back. No vanilla code calls it - the menus move money with TransferPlayerMoneyTo and TransferMoneyToPlayer, which name a counterparty. **It creates money rather than transferring it.** Across a +1000 / -1000 pair on the player HQ the station account went 330795062 -> 330796062 -> 330795062 while the player purse stayed at 23844772840 at all three readings. Nothing is debited on the other side, which makes this a cheat-grade call, not a trade primitive. **The player is not a container.** C.GetPlayerID() resolves to class player, IsComponentClass(player, "container") is false, and both AddMoney(player, ...) and GetAccountData(player, "money") answer Component '...' is not of class container. The player's own money is a separate mechanism, reached through GetPlayerMoney and TransferMoneyToPlayer. An entity is refused the same way, so a pilot or a station manager is not the argument either.

function engine addons only all signature: confirmed

AddTradeToShipQueue(tradeOfferID, shipID, amount, immediate, fromTrader)

Queues a trade offer on a ship. amount is always positive - the map menu negates its own signed amount before passing it - and immediate puts the trade at the front rather than the back. Vanilla passes four arguments from the map and five from the interact menu, so the last one is optional.

function engine all (addons + core) all signature: confirmed

AddUITriggeredEvent(menuName, eventName, ...)

Raises a UI event that the game and any listening Mission Director code can react to - the menu name, the event name, and optionally more values. Vanilla uses it to announce what the player is doing (AddUITriggeredEvent(menu.name, mode, "on")), and it is the usual way a mod tells MD that its own UI did something. It became available in the core Lua environment as well in 9.00.

function engine addons only all signature: confirmed probed: 8.00, 9.00

AddUnits(defensibleID, unitMacro, amount, unavailable)

Adds units to a defensible - amount of unitMacro, the drone and police ships its unit storage holds - or removes that many when amount is negative. Arity 4, returns nothing. MD's <add_units> and <remove_units> (common.xsd:20866) are the same operation from the script side, and their attributes name these arguments one for one. Argument 1 must be a **defensible** - the engine says so itself, answering Invalid argument #1 <defensible> (got cdata, expected component ID) to anything else, the player person included. **Argument 2 is a macro, never a category.** The MD action takes either a macro or a category plus mk; the Lua form has only the macro half, and "transport" is refused with the same Cannot find XML file component macro '...' in index 'index\macros' a nonsense string gets. A bad macro therefore names itself rather than failing silently. **It clamps at units.maxcount and fills partially rather than refusing.** Asked for 500 with 87 free, it added 87 and stopped; vanilla's hand-computed maxcount - count at story_paranid.xml:2885 is belt and braces rather than necessity. **unavailable puts the added units in the unavailable pool**, which C.GetNumUnavailableUnits reads back and MD states as units.count - availableunits.count. A negative amount removes from whichever pool the flag names, so the call undoes itself in each pool separately. **A non-unit macro is accepted as well and lands in its own storage** - a missile, torpedo or mine goes to missile or deployable storage, never to unit storage - **but how much is added still depends on the unit storage's free space.** At units.free 0 the call adds nothing whatever the macro is, so the free-space check gates the whole call before anything is routed. C.IsUnitMacroCompatible does not predict either behaviour: it answered false for all three consumable macros the engine then accepted. The units it adds are ships - libraries/loadoutrules.xml declares every <unit> macro as a ship_* macro. **Marines are not units and cannot be added from Lua at all**; mines and satellites are <deployable>, a separate enum reached through ammo storage.

function engine addons only all signature: confirmed

AdjustMultilineString(text)

Adjusts a multi-line string, likely for formatting or word wrapping.

function engine addons only all signature: confirmed probed: 8.00, 9.00

AIRangeUpdated(controllable, entity)

Tells a controllable's subordinates that their operational range setting has changed. The name is past tense and it is exact: this **notifies, it does not set**. It raises the object signal range_setting_updated on every subordinate of argument 1 and carries no value with it, so the range itself has to be in place before the call. The setting lives on the commander's control entity as the blackboard variable $config_subordinate_range, and **nothing in vanilla ever writes it** - twelve read sites in 9.00, no writer, in neither MD nor Lua. It is a modder's hook, and this function is the paired doorbell for it. A range is a **sector, cluster or zone**, or one of the keywords 'cluster', 'sector', 'zone' (aiscripts/order.mining.routine.xml:534-560) - never a number. **Measured, 8.00.** The subordinates are signalled and the object in argument 1 is not; a controllable with no subordinates is a silent no-op rather than an error; the raise is **synchronous**, so a listener has run before the call returns. param2 is **always null**, measured with $config_subordinate_range deliberately seeded on the commander entity. So for vanilla's two listeners - order.mining.routine.xml:99 and order.trade.routine.xml:127, both if @event.param2 then event.param2 else …commanderentity.$config_subordinate_range - a signal raised from Lua can only ever take the **else** branch. The if half is there for MD raisers, which do supply a param2. **Calling this on a live mining or trade subordinate sets its $range to null** whenever the commander entity's variable is unset, which is its shipped state. That is recoverable rather than destructive - the order's Ranges block logs range is null. attempting to recover. and falls back to jobmainsector, then sector - but set the variable first. Argument 2 must be class entity and is otherwise **inert**: a subordinate's control entity and the player entity both produce the same signalled set and the same null payload.

userdata engine all (addons + core) all usage: unverified

AKDataPort = nil

The Anark data port, the runtime's data-table interface. The getTable/getRow/getColumn/getValue/setValue family works against it. No vanilla code touches it.

userdata engine all (addons + core) all usage: unverified

AKGameplan = nil

The Anark gameplan object, the runtime's presentation state machine. fireGameplanEvent raises events on it. No vanilla code touches it.

function engine addons only all signature: confirmed probed: 8.00, 9.00

AttackEnemySettingChanged(defencenpcID)

Raises the object signal update config on a defence NPC entity. **That is the whole effect**, measured: the signal goes out on every call, carries no param2 or param3, and reaches the entity passed in and nothing else - not its assignedcontrolled, which was in the same listening group and never fired. **No vanilla script listens for update config**, so the only consumer is a mod's own event_object_signalled cue. A station's defence manager, fight.attack.object.station.xml, does listen on itself - for 'reset', which this call never raises. **Argument 1 is checked for the class entity and nothing narrower.** GetComponentData(obj, "defencenpc") is the documented source and its computer entity is accepted; so is an unrelated npc, silently. A controllable is refused with Component '<name>' is not of class entity and a C.GetPlayerID cdata with Invalid argument #1 <defencenpc> (got cdata, expected component ID) - the engine's own parameter name. Both refusals print while pcall returns OK. **Takes one argument, not two.** The raise is unaffected by the NPC blackboard variable $config_attackenemies that helper.lua reads to pick the displayed command text: calls with it absent and set to true were identical. Note GetControlEntity is the same entity as defencenpc on a station but the pilot on a ship, so it is not a substitute for the lookup.

function engine all (addons + core) all signature: unverified

calculateBoundingBox(element, ...)

Computes the bounding box of a scene element. Sibling of calculateGlobalTransform. No vanilla code calls it; signature unverified.

function engine all (addons + core) all signature: unverified

calculateGlobalOpacity(element)

Returns a scene element's opacity with every ancestor's opacity folded in. No vanilla code calls it; signature unverified.

function engine all (addons + core) all signature: confirmed

calculateGlobalTransform(element, matrix)

Writes an element's global transform into a matrix you pass in - it fills the matrix rather than returning one. billboard.lua uses it on the render camera and then reads the translation out of _41, _42, _43 to find where the camera actually is.

function widget_fullscreen addons only all signature: from source

CallEventScripts(eventName, argument1)

Runs the handlers registered for a named event, with one argument. widget_fullscreen.lua calls it to dispatch an event to everything that registered through RegisterEvent.

function widget_fullscreen addons only all signature: from source

CallHotkeyScripts(action)

Runs the handlers registered for a hotkey action. No vanilla code calls it: the engine is what raises hotkeys, and menu code registers into it with SetScript("onHotkey", ...).

function widget_fullscreen addons only all signature: from source

CallTabScrollScripts(direction)

Runs the handlers registered for tab scrolling, in a direction. widget_fullscreen.lua calls it from its own left and right handlers, and menu code registers into it with Helper.setTabScrollCallback.

function widget_fullscreen addons only all signature: from source

CallUpdateScripts()

Calls all registered update scripts, typically on each frame.

function widget_fullscreen addons only all signature: from source

CallWidgetEventScripts(widgetID, eventName, ...)

Dispatches an event to a specific widget's registered event handlers.

function engine addons only all signature: confirmed probed: 8.00, 9.00

CanBeSubordinateOf(subordinateID, commanderID)

Answers whether **this kind of thing can command that kind of thing**. The argument order is proved by reversal rather than inferred: the same station and ship gave false as (station, ship) and true as (ship, station), and only the declared reading fits both, since a ship can be subordinate to a station and a station can be subordinate to nothing. Vanilla agrees twice - libraries/assignments.xml gives defence, mining, trade and supplyfleet a <station> element beside <ship>, and the MD analogue canuseassignment.{$assignment}.{$controllable} is a property *on the subordinate* taking the commander as its parameter. **It is a class-level compatibility test, not an assignability test, and a mod must not gate a UI action on it alone.** It ignores ownership - a scavenger-owned Manticore returned true against a player Erlking - and it ignores identity, returning true for a ship paired with itself. It looks at neither faction relations, distance nor current assignment. The MD canuseassignment takes an actual $assignment and is the stricter question.

function engine addons only all signature: confirmed probed: 8.00, 9.00

CancelConversation()

Cancels the running player conversation. No vanilla code calls it; the menus end a conversation by closing themselves, and UnsuspendConversation is what they do call around one. **It reports whether there was anything to cancel.** Every call measured was made with no conversation running and returned false, with the engine writing [ConversationManager::CancelConversation] There is no conversation beside it. The positive case has not been measured, so that true means "cancelled" is the reading the engine's own line implies rather than one taken.

function widget_fullscreen addons only all signature: from source

CancelEditBoxInput(editBoxID)

Cancels the current input action in an edit box, reverting any changes.

function engine addons only all signature: confirmed

CanTradeWith(tradeOfferID, shipID, amount, isMultiTrade)

Checks if a trade is possible between a trade offer and a ship.

function engine addons only all signature: confirmed

CanViewLiveData(componentID)

Checks if the player has the necessary access to view live data for a component (e.g., video feed from a station).

function engine addons only all signature: confirmed

CheckInputProfileRegression()

Checks for regressions or issues in the current input profile settings.

function engine addons only all signature: confirmed

CheckSuitableTransportType(componentID, wareID)

Checks if a component has a suitable transport type for a given ware (e.g., solid, liquid, container).

function engine addons only all signature: unverified

ClaimVentureRewards()

Claims the rewards of completed ventures. No vanilla code calls it - the map menu clears them with OnlineClearLogbookRewards instead.

function engine addons only all signature: confirmed

ClearContainerStockLimitOverride(containerID, wareID)

Clears a previously set stock limit override for a specific ware in a container.

function engine addons only all signature: confirmed

ClearContainerWarePriceOverride(containerID, wareID, isBuyOverride)

Clears a previously set ware price override for a specific ware in a container.

function engine all (addons + core) all signature: unverified

ClearErrors()

Clears the error log. No vanilla code calls it, though GetNumErrors and GetError read the same log.

function engine addons only all signature: confirmed

ClearLogbook(age, category)

Clears logbook entries of one category, or of every category when the category is nil. The first argument is an age and vanilla always passes 0, which clears them all regardless of when they were written.

function engine addons only all signature: confirmed probed: 8.00, 9.00

ClearTradeQueue(shipID)

Clears a ship's queued trades: every entry of the queue GetTradeShipData reports, which is the only view of it Lua has. Returns nothing. No vanilla code calls it; the map menu removes trades one at a time instead. **The queue is empty by the next line.** Measured on a player L trader carrying two queued trades, the count read 0 immediately after the call - so a caller can clear and re-read in the same frame. The community reference warns the clear is not instantaneous, especially with a trade already in progress; that is untested rather than contradicted here, since a trade the ship has already begun is not the same thing as the queue behind it. Only a ship has been tested. The community reference types the argument containerID, which would take a station as well, and nothing here confirms or denies that.

function engine addons only all signature: confirmed

ClipLine(x0, y0, x1, y1, xmin, ymin, xmax, ymax)

Clips a line to a rectangle and returns the clipped endpoints. It returns nothing when the line falls entirely outside, which is what widget_fullscreen.lua tests for - if not x0 then - rather than clamping the coordinates itself.

function engine all (addons + core) all signature: confirmed

clone(master, name)

Clones an Anark scene element under a new name and returns the copy. It is how core HUD code builds a repeated element: one master in the presentation, then a clone per item - "button2", "missilelockclone3" - each named so it can be found again.

function widget_fullscreen addons only all signature: from source

CloseDropDownOptions(dropdownID)

Closes an open dropdown's option list. helper.lua reaches the dropdown widget with GetCellContent first, so what it takes is the widget, not a table position.

function engine addons only all signature: confirmed

CloseFrame(frameID, hasPlayerControls, startAnimation, useMiniWidgetSystem, keepHUDVisible, keepCrosshairVisible, showTickerPermanently, blurBackground, usePanelMode)

Closes one frame of the current view. The eight flags after the frame repeat what the view was created with - player controls, animation, mini widget system, HUD, crosshair, ticker, blur, panel mode - because closing a frame re-evaluates all of them for what stays on screen.

function engine all (addons + core) all signature: confirmed

CloseMenusUponMouseClick()

Closes any open menus, as a click outside them would. The core target system calls it when the player clicks in space to pick a target, so selecting something out there also dismisses what was on screen.

table widget_fullscreen all (addons + core) all declaration: from source

Color = {}

The global colour lookup table. Filled from the game's colour definitions and registered with MakeGlobalAvailable. Index it by colour name - Color["text_warning"] - for a { r, g, b, a, glow } table. An unknown name logs a DebugError with a traceback and returns magenta, so a typo shows up on screen instead of erroring.

table widget_fullscreen addons only all declaration: from source

ColorText = {}

The global lookup of colour codes for use inside formatted text. Registered with MakeGlobalAvailable. Index it by colour name to get the escape prefix to concatenate in front of the text; an unknown name logs a DebugError with a traceback and returns an empty string. Available in the addons Lua environment only.

function engine addons only all signature: confirmed probed: 8.00, 9.00

CompareJumpRoute(numgates, numjumps, othernumgates, othernumjumps)

Reports whether the first route is **strictly shorter** than the second. Takes four plain numbers, not two routes: the gate transitions and jumps of one route, then of the other, which is exactly the pair FindJumpRoute returns for each. No game object is involved. The comparison is strict. **Equal routes return false**, so this is a < and not a <=, and it cannot be used to test two routes for being the same - which is what this row claimed until it was measured, because every call ever made compared a route with its own reverse and false was the only answer it could give. **A jump counts for less than a gate transition.** One jump against one gate returns true, one gate against one jump returns false, and the same asymmetry holds at two of each - so the two halves are not simply added together. An empty route beats any non-empty one, and two empty routes return false like any other tie.

table widget_fullscreen addons only all declaration: from source

config = {}

The widget system's configuration table. Created as "config = config or {}" and then filled with the sizing, colour and animation constants the widget system draws with (config.nativePresentationWidth, config.flowchart, config.statusbar, ...). Several core and addon files declare their own file-scope config table of the same name, which shadows this one.

function widget_fullscreen addons only all signature: from source

ConfirmEditBoxInput(editBoxID)

Confirms the input in an edit box, triggering its 'onConfirmed' event.

function engine addons only all signature: confirmed

ConvertIDTo64Bit(id)

Converts a game object or ID to its 64-bit integer representation. This is often required for passing IDs to C-level engine functions.

function engine addons only all signature: confirmed

ConvertIntegerString(number, useGroupingSeparator, padZeros, forceSign, allowFloat, useShortScale)

Formats a number into a localized string with various options.

function engine addons only all signature: confirmed

ConvertMissionLevelString(difficulty)

Converts a mission difficulty level into a localized display string and a mouseover tooltip.

function engine addons only all signature: confirmed

ConvertMoneyString(money, showSign, useGrouping, accuracy, colorize, ignoreSign)

Formats an amount as money in the player's language, and is what every price in the UI goes through. Vanilla's usual call is ConvertMoneyString(value, false, true, 0, true) - no forced sign, thousands separators, no decimals, coloured - followed by ReadText(1001, 101) for the currency name, which this call does not add.

function engine addons only all signature: confirmed

ConvertStringTo64Bit(idString)

Converts a string representation of an ID into a 64-bit integer ID. This is often used when an ID has been converted to a string and needs to be passed back to an engine function.

function engine addons only all signature: confirmed

ConvertStringToLuaID(idString)

Converts a string representation of an ID into a Lua-usable object ID. This is primarily used when setting parameters for ship orders.

function engine addons only all signature: confirmed

ConvertTimeString(time, format, separators, precision)

Formats a time in seconds into a string, using the format specifiers below. The default format is %T, which takes the time format from the TextDB and shows days only past one day. Vanilla calls it 63 times and never passes more than two arguments, so separators and precision are marked optional: their names and meanings are documented, but whether the engine accepts them is unverified here. Specifiers: %s all seconds, %S seconds 00-59, %m all minutes, %M minutes 00-59, %h all hours, %H hours 00-23, %d all days, %T the TextDB time format, %% a literal percent sign. %s, %S and %T also take a precision override written as %.#, with # from 1 to 9 - %.3T, for example. separators turns on thousand separators and applies only to %s, %m, %h and %d. precision is the number of fractional digits for %s, %S and %T, defaulting to 0; -1 selects automatic display and cannot be combined with separators. A %.# in the format string overrides it.

function engine addons only all signature: confirmed

CopyDefaultOrderParamsForPlanning(component)

Copies the default order parameters for a component to be used in the planning map. This likely prepares an object's default command (e.g., "Attack") with its parameters for modification in the UI.

function addon addons only all signature: from source

createAxisPropertyInfo(axisproperty)

Converts a graph axis property into the descriptor the engine expects. Internal to the helper; it is a global only because it is declared at file scope. offset, grid, color, gridcolor, glowfactor and unittext.

function engine addons only all signature: confirmed

CreateBoxText(text, properties)

Creates a text element within a colored box, often used for headers or distinct labels in tables.

function engine addons only all signature: confirmed

CreateButton(properties)

Builds a button widget and returns its descriptor. One table carries everything - icon, colours, size, mouse-over text and the click handler. Menu code normally goes through Helper.createButton, but the help text menu builds one directly and keeps the descriptor to release later.

function engine addons only all signature: confirmed

CreateCheckBox(checked, properties)

Builds a checkbox widget and returns its descriptor. helper.lua, the only vanilla caller, passes a single descriptor table carrying the state and the properties together; menu code reaches it through Helper.createCheckBox.

function engine addons only all signature: confirmed

CreateCutsceneDescriptor(cutsceneKey, refObjects)

Creates a descriptor table for a cutscene, specifying the cutscene to play and any required reference objects. The resulting descriptor is used to play in-engine cutscenes.

function engine addons only all signature: confirmed

CreateDropDown(options, properties)

Builds a dropdown widget and returns its descriptor. helper.lua, the only vanilla caller, passes a single descriptor table holding the options and the properties together; menu code goes through Helper.createDropDown.

function engine addons only all signature: confirmed

CreateEditBox(properties)

Builds an edit box widget and returns its descriptor. The single descriptor table carries the default text, whether the text is hidden, and the changed and confirmed handlers; menu code goes through Helper.createEditBox.

function engine addons only all signature: confirmed

CreateFlowchart(descriptor)

Builds a flowchart widget and returns its descriptor. The single descriptor table carries everything - nodes, edges and layout; Helper.createFlowchart assembles it, and no menu calls this directly.

function engine addons only all signature: confirmed

CreateFlowchartEdge(descriptor)

Builds one edge of a flowchart - the connector between two nodes - and returns its descriptor. As with the rest of the flowchart family, the single descriptor table carries everything and helper.lua assembles it.

function engine addons only all signature: confirmed

CreateFlowchartNode(descriptor)

Builds one node of a flowchart and returns its descriptor. As with the other widget constructors, the single descriptor table carries everything, and helper.lua assembles it.

function engine addons only all signature: confirmed

CreateFontString(text, properties)

Creates a font string descriptor for use in other UI elements.

function engine addons only all signature: confirmed

CreateFrame(children, layer, background, name, parent, width, height, x, y, properties, arg11)

Creates a UI frame widget, which is a container for other UI elements. (Legacy version) Note: Most code uses Helper.createFrameHandle() or CreateFrame2() instead.

function engine addons only all signature: confirmed

CreateFrame2(descriptor)

Builds a frame - the box a menu's tables and widgets live in - and returns its descriptor. One table carries the children, the layer, the size and the offset. Helper.createFrameHandle wraps it for menu code; the help text menu builds one directly.

function addon addons only all signature: from source

createFrameTexturePropertyInfo(textureproperty)

Converts a frame texture property into the descriptor the engine expects. Internal to the helper; it is a global only because it is declared at file scope. the rotation* fields and the initialScaleFactor/scaleDuration pair.

function engine addons only all signature: confirmed

CreateGraph(properties)

Builds a graph widget and returns its descriptor. The single descriptor table carries the data and the scaling; Helper.createGraph assembles it, and SelectGraphDataPoint selects a point on the finished widget.

function engine addons only all signature: confirmed

CreateIcon(icon, properties)

Builds an icon widget and returns its descriptor. helper.lua, the only vanilla caller, passes a single descriptor table that already carries the icon and its properties together.

function widget_fullscreen addons only ≥ 9.00 signature: from source

CreateInputBar(height, inputsLeft, inputsRight)

Puts up the input bar along the bottom of the screen, from a height and two lists of input descriptors, left and right. New in 9.00. helper.lua follows it with Helper.getWidgetSystemSizes, because the bar takes room away from the widget system. UpdateInputBar changes its contents, RemoveInputBar takes it down.

function engine addons only dep signature: confirmed deprecated: 3.00 Beta 6 probed: 8.00, 9.00

CreateInteractionDescriptor(interaction, payload)

Builds a **legacy** interaction descriptor and returns it as **userdata**. Deprecated since 3.00 Beta 6 in favour of CreateInteractionDescriptor2, and the deprecation is not cosmetic: the descriptor *type* changed, and **nothing in 8.00 consumes the old one**. Measured - RaisePlayerInteractionEvent, TargetMonitorInteractionShown2 and TargetMonitorInteractionHidden2 each refuse the userdata (invalid arguments, invalid parameters), and the only call that accepts it is ReleaseInteractionDescriptor. The function still allocates; what it allocates cannot be used for anything. Vanilla says the same in prose at ui/addons/ego_targetmonitor/targetmonitor.lua:1037 - the interactionDescriptor field was **dropped** rather than preserved. Both arguments are mandatory: the name alone answers Invalid number of arguments (1, expected 2). Argument 2 is **not validated** - a component id, a ConvertStringToLuaID userdata and a plain table were all accepted, each returning its own descriptor.

function engine addons only all signature: confirmed

CreateInteractionDescriptor2(interaction, component)

Creates a player interaction and returns its **id as a small integer**, not a descriptor object - measured, and the counterpart cdef says the same: void ReleaseInteractionDescriptor(int32_t id), ui/core/lua/monitors.lua:103. Ids are handed out in ascending order through a session and the engine calls them **notifications** internally: a raise against a freed one answers Cannot find notification with ID 'N'. Argument 1 is a name, and vanilla's own four - "object interaction", "platform interaction", "missionoffer interaction" and "encyclopedia interaction" - are just the names its four MD handlers listen for (md/conversations.xml:1789-1830). **The vocabulary is open**: a name nothing listens for is created and raised without complaint, which is how a mod adds its own interaction without touching a vanilla handler. Argument 2 is that handler's **payload**, not necessarily a component: three of vanilla's four pass a component or a mission id and the encyclopedia one passes a { library, component } table. It reaches MD as event.param2, **unresolved** - a component id arrives as a plain number that MD has to turn back into an object with component.{...}. The id is consumed by RaisePlayerInteractionEvent, TargetMonitorInteractionShown2 and TargetMonitorInteractionHidden2, and freed with C.ReleaseInteractionDescriptor.

function engine addons only all signature: confirmed

CreateObjectInPresentationCluster(object, clusterMacro)

Creates a copy of a game object within a special 3D rendering environment (a "presentation cluster") for UI display. Used for things like the encyclopedia and ship previews.

function engine addons only all signature: confirmed

CreateOrder(controllable, orderDefinition, params, default, plannedDefault, priority, arg7, arg8, arg9, arg10)

Creates an order on a controllable and appends it to its queue.

function addon addons only all signature: from source

createOverlayPropertyInfo(widget)

Builds the help-overlay descriptor for a widget, or nil when it has no overlay text. Internal to the helper; it is a global only because it is declared at file scope.

function engine addons only all signature: confirmed

CreateRenderTarget(width, height, x, y, alpha, mouseOverText, helpOverlay, clear, startNoise, frameBorder)

Creates a render target widget, which is an area in the UI used to display 3D objects or scenes.

function engine addons only all signature: confirmed

CreateShieldHullBar(shield, hull, properties)

Builds the combined shield and hull bar and returns its descriptor. helper.lua, the only vanilla caller, passes a single descriptor table with the size filled in, so the separate shield and hull parameters here are the older shape.

function engine all (addons + core) all signature: confirmed

CreateSink(sinkName, numElements, elements)

Creates a data sink for the target element system, used to manage HUD target indicators.

function engine addons only all signature: confirmed

CreateSliderCell(properties)

Creates a slider cell widget, used for selecting a numerical value within a range.

function engine all (addons + core) all signature: confirmed

CreateSource(sourceName)

Creates a data source for the target element system, used to provide targetable objects.

function engine addons only all signature: confirmed

CreateStatusBar(properties)

Builds a status bar widget from a property table and returns its descriptor. helper.lua fills the size in and hands the whole descriptor over as the single argument; menu code reaches it through Helper.createStatusBar rather than directly.

function engine addons only all signature: confirmed

CreateTable(header, tableContent, columnWidths, columnWidthPercent, borderEnabled, tabOrder, skipTabChange, defaultInteractiveObject, numFixedRows, offsetX, offsetY, maxHeight, initialSelection, wraparound, highlightMode, multiselect, backgroundID, backgroundColor, helpOverlay, backgroundPadding, rowGroups, borderID)

Builds a table widget and returns its descriptor. Only the first two arguments are ever required - vanilla calls it with anything from 8 to all 22 - so everything from the column widths on has a default. Almost no mod needs it directly: Helper.createTable wraps it and is what menu code uses.

function engine all (addons + core) all signature: confirmed

CreateView(frameDescriptors, exclusiveInteractions, closeOnUnhandledClick, useMiniWidgetSystem, startAnimation, keepHUDVisible, keepCrosshairVisible, showTickerPermanently, blurBackground, usePanelMode)

Builds a view - the container every menu frame lives in - and returns its descriptor, which then goes to DisplayView. The nine flags after the frame descriptors decide how the view behaves while it is up: whether it takes interaction exclusively, closes on a click it does not handle, uses the mini widget system, animates in, keeps the HUD, the crosshair or the ticker visible, blurs what is behind it, and whether it is a panel. The view helper is the only vanilla caller and passes all ten.

function engine all (addons + core) all signature: unverified

DeactivateView(view)

Deactivates a view. No vanilla code calls it, so nothing here confirms what it takes or how it differs from HideView.

table addon addons only all declaration: from source

DebugConfig = {}

The debug library's configuration, kept global so it can be changed at runtime. enabled is switched on automatically when IsLuaDebugInputEnabled() reports true.

function engine all (addons + core) all signature: confirmed

DebugError(message)

Writes a message into the game's error log - the UI's own way of reporting a problem, and what the debug log menu reads back. It is the closest thing UI Lua has to a print that survives, and vanilla uses it for everything from a failed engine call to invalid saved data.

function engine all (addons + core) all signature: unverified

DebugProfileStart(profileName)

Opens a profiling timer under a name, to be closed with DebugProfileStop. No vanilla code calls either half.

function engine all (addons + core) all signature: unverified

DebugProfileStop(profileName)

Stops the profiling timer DebugProfileStart opened under that name. No vanilla code calls either half.

function engine addons only all signature: confirmed

DestroyPresentationCluster(cluster)

Destroys a presentation cluster and everything drawn in it. Menus that show a rendered object - the encyclopedia, the paint mod showcase - destroy their cluster on the way out, after stopping the cutscene and releasing its descriptor.

function engine all (addons + core) all signature: confirmed

DialogMenuHidden()

Tells the game that the dialog menu has gone, the counterpart of DialogMenuShown. The core dialog menu calls it while hiding itself, so whatever was waiting on the dialog can carry on.