ID:1346351
 
Applies to:Dream Maker
Status: Open

Issue hasn't been assigned a status value.
Dream Maker isn't really built to support multi-monitor setups. Dream Maker doesn't have a built-in way to open multiple tabs in different windows and you can't open multiple instances of Dream Maker for the same project files.

How about addressing this? It's nice to have a bunch of tabs open, but it would be even nicer to have multiple tabs open or tabs open in different windows.
While they're at it, I wish tab order would be remembered... If I open a code file real quick to look at something, then close it, it takes me back to the last tab in the tab control instead of the tab I was looking at before opening the new code file (which is what it does in every other program). Sometimes this causes a break in mental concentration as I scramble to remember what code file I was working in just after looking up a code reference or a list of arguments for a function call.
Use Notepad++ with a custom language setup for DM syntax. You just type the key words you want into a properties window, it takes a minute or two.

Put the following into a new text document and save it as build.bat (you may have to adjust to your BYOND install)

@echo off
"C:\Program Files (x86)\BYOND\bin\dm.exe" %1
pause

Now create a shortcut calling build.bat with your .dme file as the first parameter and you can edit code and build outside of DreamMaker.

Notepad++'s find in files and regular expressions are also really handy.
In response to MagicMountain
If someone made it really easy to do everything you just said, I'd totally do it.

But then there's that weird non-auto-tab behavior that notepad likes to do that I really hate.
Here's my version of the DM language settings for Notepad++
        <UserLang name="byond" ext="dm">
<Settings>
<Global caseIgnored="no" />
<TreatAsSymbol comment="yes" commentLine="yes" />
<Prefix words1="no" words2="no" words3="no" words4="no" />
</Settings>
<KeywordLists>
<Keywords name="Delimiters">&quot;00&quot;00</Keywords>
<Keywords name="Folder+"></Keywords>
<Keywords name="Folder-"></Keywords>
<Keywords name="Operators">( ) { }</Keywords>
<Keywords name="Comment">1/* 2*/ 0//</Keywords>
<Keywords name="Words1">if in var else switch break del return for while do continue new true false null const set #define</Keywords>
<Keywords name="Words2">obj mob turf proc world client savefile list verb atom area src</Keywords>
<Keywords name="Words3"></Keywords>
<Keywords name="Words4"></Keywords>
</KeywordLists>
<Styles>
<WordsStyle name="DEFAULT" styleID="11" fgColor="000000" bgColor="FFFFFF" fontName="" fontStyle="0" />
<WordsStyle name="FOLDEROPEN" styleID="12" fgColor="0000FF" bgColor="FFFFFF" fontName="" fontStyle="0" />
<WordsStyle name="FOLDERCLOSE" styleID="13" fgColor="0000FF" bgColor="FFFFFF" fontName="" fontStyle="0" />
<WordsStyle name="KEYWORD1" styleID="5" fgColor="0000FF" bgColor="FFFFFF" fontName="" fontStyle="0" />
<WordsStyle name="KEYWORD2" styleID="6" fgColor="004080" bgColor="FFFFFF" fontName="" fontStyle="0" />
<WordsStyle name="KEYWORD3" styleID="7" fgColor="FF0080" bgColor="FFFFFF" fontName="" fontStyle="0" />
<WordsStyle name="KEYWORD4" styleID="8" fgColor="000000" bgColor="FFFFFF" fontName="" fontStyle="0" />
<WordsStyle name="COMMENT" styleID="1" fgColor="008000" bgColor="FFFFFF" fontName="" fontStyle="0" />
<WordsStyle name="COMMENT LINE" styleID="2" fgColor="008000" bgColor="FFFFFF" fontName="" fontStyle="0" />
<WordsStyle name="NUMBER" styleID="4" fgColor="000000" bgColor="FFFFFF" fontName="" fontStyle="0" />
<WordsStyle name="OPERATOR" styleID="10" fgColor="000000" bgColor="FFFFFF" fontName="" fontStyle="0" />
<WordsStyle name="DELIMINER1" styleID="14" fgColor="FF0000" bgColor="FFFFFF" fontName="" fontStyle="0" />
<WordsStyle name="DELIMINER2" styleID="15" fgColor="000000" bgColor="FFFFFF" fontName="" fontStyle="0" />
<WordsStyle name="DELIMINER3" styleID="16" fgColor="000000" bgColor="FFFFFF" fontName="" fontStyle="0" />
</Styles>
</UserLang>

It should be added to "%appdata%\Roaming\Notepad++\userDefineLang.xml" (or "%appdata%\Notepad++\userDefineLang.xml" depending on windows version)

It really shouldn't take more than a minute to do this, it's just editing a couple of files and making a shortcut. The only reason for the batch file is the pause statement for the "Press any key to continue" prompt to hold the window open until you read it. I did all this a while ago to get around the ui lockup during compile before 499.

I have all my BYOND stuff as a series of shortcuts on a taskbar toolbar so I can do everything I need with one click no matter how many windows are open. Open the project directory, open the .dme in DreamMaker for icons or mapping, open the code, build, various SVN functions, start/connect to a local dream daemon. Actually I have a whole lot of toolbars for different things that get hidden/shown a lot :v

A little time up front setting up your environment can save lots and lots of minutes and seconds over the life of a project, it more than pays off.