SpellBook Abridged for WoW Classic

— Wrath of the Lich King Update Note —

As Blizzard added Spell ranks filtering in their interface this functionality were cleaned out from addon. Also started basic localization (Work in progress) and fixed spell AutoUpRank. 

— Burning Crusade Update Note —

I did some basic testing, and I didn’t find any errors for the current version of Spellbook Abridged in BCC.  The v2.6.4a update is just updating the TOC file so Burning Crusade knows it is up-to-date.

The v2.6.4a Beta option is the same mod, but the Spellbook is not locked out during combat.  The reason for the lockout in combat is due to taint mechanics not allowing certain updates during combat, which creates errors.

I have quit WoW.  I have no interest in returning to WoW for any reason.  Artscout375 will continue maintaining addon from now on.

— Prologue: Why did I make this addon?

This Addon is specifically for WoW Classic and Burning Crusade Classic.  This Addon is pointless for modern World of Warcraft.

I remember a long time ago, before “Wrath of the Lich King”.  I had a mage with several pages of the same few spells and all of the ranks.  The Fire spells tab took up like 6 pages, all for like 5 unique spells.  Vanilla WoW returned, and the struggle to search through the spellbook has returned.  If Classic continues into WotLK, this addon will become obsolete, once more.

Of what I remember, I think only 2 addons in total were made to alter the game’s spellbook in the ages of Vanilla and Burning Crusade, and the previous one didn’t stick around for long.  Out of the millions of players and thousands of addons made to improve quality of life, I am almost the only person ever who altered the spellbook for ease of sorting.  This really shows in how much Blizzard added to the UI in terms of functionality to assist 3rd party addons, almost nothing.

— What does this Addon Do?

  Rank Filter

This addon adds a “Rank Filter” to the spell book.  Selecting the “Rank Filter” check box, you can toggle between displaying the entire spellbook and displaying only the highest rank of spells.

  Auto Up-Rank Spells

I also added a basic Auto Up Rank function.  When you learn a new spell that is a higher rank than one you know, this function will replace the previous rank of the spell in your action bars with the newest rank of the spell.  For example, you just learned Fireball Rank 5.  All instances of Fireball Rank 4 in the action bars are replaced with Fireball Rank 5.  Fireball Ranks 1, 2, and 3 are not touched.

For this Auto Up Rank function, it doesn’t affect macros.  It only works when the spell is learned.  I went for something basic, as I was forgetting to update my older spells.  I considered that if the spell is a rank lower than the previous highest rank, it was put there on purpose.

  Relocate Toggle Buttons for Skinning Addons

If you don’t like where the “Rank Filter” and “Auto UpRank” buttons are located, you can drag each one around with “Control + Right Mouse Button”. 

If you want to reset their locations back, use the slash command “/sba” to reset location.

The state of these buttons are saved when WoW closes, so if you don’t like the Auto UpRank, you can disable it.

  Highlighting Stance Limited Spells Based on Current Stance

For Warriors and Druids (and consequentially Rogues), I added a feature to check if a spell requires a specific shapeshift form or stance and change the Spell Name’s color if you are in the form or stance.  This feature is only limited to spells that say they require a shapeshift form or stance in their tooltip.  Because I could not decide what colors to set for spells when your character is in the correct form or stance, I added a way to customize the color options.  These options are accessible through the “Options” tab in the Spellbook, added on the bottom.

• Normal: Standard Colors for spells that don’t specify a required form or stance in the tooltip
• In Form:  Colors for spells that require a form or stance and the character is in that form or stance
• Out of Form:  Colors for spells that require a form or stance and the character is not in that form or stance

By default, I have these options disabled.  Just check the box for the highlights you want in the options tab.  Also, all settings are saved per character.

— Limitations of the Addon

Due to the nature of how WoW’s UI prevents 3rd Party addons from automating too much of the game, it is difficult and convoluted to get this addon to work properly while in combat.  This addon modifies, not replaces, the native spellbook.  This decision was to minimize compatibility issues with other addons.  While in combat, the primary issue is that the pages could turn, but the spell buttons’ action functions do not update, and some errors would be generated.  WoW’s UI is very sensitive when it comes to changing action button functions while in combat.  The closest potential solution would be a nightmare for addon-to-addon compatibility.

To control the “in combat” issues, I have the addon lock out the spellbook while in combat.  This was the most logical solution that fits in line with standard practices of playing WoW. 

The 2.6.4a Beta version is the same version as 2.6.4 and 2.6.4A, with the exception that the combat lock out is removed.  This was due to special demand.

For highlight spell stances, this addon checks for stance limitations of each spell by parsing the spell description that appears in the tooltip for the key words.  If this function breaks, that means I have to rework the detection.  I will need to know what class and spell it is.  What this really means is if the spell limitations are described in the stance’s tooltip and not the spells, this addon won’t detect it.

Related addons:

Spell Book Search ElvUI_GlobalFadePersist BetterCastbar UpRank Classic Field Guide DefaultCleanUI Spell Book Search ElvUI_GlobalFadePersist