AltSystem/docs/5-build_skills.md

Feature: Build Skills tab

The second tab of the addon will follow these designs.

Acceptance Criteria

• This screen should show the same skills we use in the main screen, which come from the TRP profile
• The skills should be sorted by level
• The skill list should be scrollable, with the "Save" button pinned/sticky to the bottom

Editing skills

• The user should be able to edit the name, level, and numerical score of each skill
• Edits should not be saved until the user explicitly clicks the "Save" button

Skill Level and Value

• When a skill level is selected, the numerical score dropdown should update to only allow values within the skill level
  • Inept: 0
  • Novice: 1-5
  • Adept: 6-10
  • Expert: 11-19
  • Master: 20

Deleting skills

• Clicking the "Delete" button should remove the skill from the list

Adding Skills

• Clicking the "Add a Row" button should add a new skill row to the list
• Default values for the new skill should be:
  • Name: Skillname
  • Level: Novice
  • Value: 1

Saving Skills

• When clicking the "Save" button:
  • Newly added skills should be added to the TRP profile
  • Existing skills should be updated in the TRP profile
  • Skills that were deleted should also be removed from the TRP profile
• Icons should not be changed

References

• Refer to Data.lua for details on how we currently fetch the skills from TRP
• Refer to the TRP3 source code in case it's necessary here

---

Implementation Plan

1. Add a SaveSkills function to Data.lua

• Create AltSystem.Data:SaveSkills(editedSkills) that writes skills back to the TRP3 profile
• Access the TRP3 profile via TRP3_API.profile.getData("player/characteristics") to get the characteristics.PS (personality traits) array
• For each edited skill, update or insert entries in PS:
  • LT = skill name
  • RT = level keyword (e.g. "Novice", "Adept", etc.)
  • V2 = numeric value (0–20)
  • IC = preserve existing icon (do not change); for new skills, use a sensible default icon (e.g. "inv_misc_questionmark")
• Remove any PS entries that were deleted by the user
• After writing, call TRP3_API.dashboard.showCharacteristics() or fire the appropriate TRP3 event if needed to refresh TRP3's own UI
• Edge case: If the TRP3 API is unavailable, show a warning message and abort save

2. Extract skill-level constants into shared lookup tables in Data.lua

• The acceptance criteria defines value ranges per level (Inept: 0, Novice: 1–5, Adept: 6–10, Expert: 11–19, Master: 20)
• SKILL_KEYWORD_RANGES already exists but excludes Inept/Master min-max correctly for the Build tab's needs; extend or create a new table AltSystem.Data.SkillValueRanges that is accessible from UI.lua:

  { Inept = {min=0, max=0}, Novice = {min=1, max=5}, Adept = {min=6, max=10}, Expert = {min=11, max=19}, Master = {min=20, max=20} }
  

• Create AltSystem.Data.SkillLevelOrder — an ordered array {"Inept", "Novice", "Adept", "Expert", "Master"} for populating the level dropdown in display order
• Create a helper AltSystem.Data:GetDefaultValueForLevel(level) that returns the minimum value for that level (used when the user changes level to auto-set the value)

3. Add a function to read raw skills (with numeric values) from TRP3 in Data.lua

• Currently RefreshSkills() converts TRP3 traits into {name, level, modifier} — the Build tab needs the raw numeric value and the icon as well
• Create AltSystem.Data:GetEditableSkills() that returns an array of {name, level, value, icon} for each valid skill trait in the TRP3 profile (excluding Base Roll and Unskilled, which are system-generated entries)
• Sort the returned skills by level using AltSystem.Data.SkillLevelOrder ordering (Inept first, Master last) — matching the acceptance criteria "sorted by level"
• Reuse existing helpers FindSkillKeyword and ParseSkillLevel (promote them from local to module-level if needed, or call internally)

4. Build the Build Skills tab UI (new file: BuildSkillsUI.lua)

• Create a new file to keep UI.lua manageable; register it in AltSystem.toc between UI.lua and Roll.lua
• Create AltSystem:CreateBuildSkillsContent(parentFrame) called from CreateMainFrame in UI.lua (replacing the placeholder)
• Layout structure:
  • Info text at top — two golden/yellow paragraphs explaining that skills come from TRP (matches mockup)
  • "Skill list" section header
  • Column headers: Name, Level, Value (bold golden text)
  • Scrollable skill list — a ScrollFrame containing dynamically created skill rows
  • "Add A Row" button — anchored below the last skill row, inside the scroll child
  • "Save Skills to TRP" button — pinned/sticky at the bottom of the tab, outside the scroll frame

5. Implement editable skill rows

• Each skill row is a frame containing:
  • Name: EditBox (text input) — pre-filled with current skill name
  • Level: DropdownButton (WowStyle1DropdownTemplate) — options: Inept, Novice, Adept, Expert, Master
  • Value: DropdownButton — options dynamically generated based on selected level (e.g. Novice → 1,2,3,4,5)
  • Delete button: A button with a trash-can icon/red texture that removes the row
• Store all row data in a local working copy array (editableSkills), not directly in AltSystem.Data.Skills
• When the level dropdown changes:
  • Update the value dropdown options to only show valid values for the new level
  • Auto-set the value to the minimum for that level (e.g. switching to Adept → value becomes 6)
• Row management:
  • CreateSkillRow(parent, index, skillData) — creates or recycles a row frame
  • RefreshSkillRows() — rebuilds/repositions all rows and updates scroll child height
  • Deleting a row removes it from editableSkills and calls RefreshSkillRows()

6. Implement "Add A Row" functionality

• Clicking "Add A Row" inserts a new entry into editableSkills:
  • { name = "Skillname", level = "Novice", value = 1, icon = "inv_misc_questionmark", isNew = true }
• Calls RefreshSkillRows() to render the new row
• The scroll frame should auto-scroll to show the new row

7. Implement "Save Skills to TRP" functionality

• On click, call AltSystem.Data:SaveSkills(editableSkills) which:
  1. Reads current characteristics.PS from TRP3
  2. Rebuilds the PS array: keeps non-skill traits untouched, updates/adds/removes skill traits based on editableSkills
  3. Writes the updated PS back to the TRP3 profile data
  4. Calls RefreshSkills() so the Use Skills tab dropdown reflects the changes immediately
• Show a confirmation message (print to chat or a brief on-screen text) on successful save
• Edge cases:
  • Empty skill list: allowed — just remove all skill traits from PS
  • Duplicate skill names: allowed (TRP3 doesn't enforce uniqueness)
  • Unsaved changes + tab switch: no confirmation dialog required (per spec, changes are just lost)

8. Wire up tab switching to populate Build Skills tab

• In SelectTab(2) (UI.lua), call AltSystem:RefreshBuildSkillsList() to reload skills from TRP3 into the working copy
• This ensures the Build tab always shows the latest TRP3 data when opened, and any unsaved edits are discarded on tab switch

9. Update AltSystem.toc

• Add BuildSkillsUI.lua to the file list (after UI.lua, before Roll.lua)

10. Testing checklist

• Build Skills tab shows skills from TRP3 profile, sorted by level
• Skill name is editable via text input
• Level dropdown shows all 5 levels; changing level updates value dropdown options and auto-selects minimum value
• Value dropdown only shows values valid for the current level
• Delete button removes the row immediately
• "Add A Row" adds a row with defaults (Skillname, Novice, 1)
• Skill list scrolls when rows exceed visible area
• "Save" button is always visible (pinned to bottom)
• Save writes correct data to TRP3 profile (LT, RT, V2, IC preserved)
• Save does not modify icons of existing skills
• After save, Use Skills tab dropdown reflects the updated skills
• Switching tabs discards unsaved changes and reloads from TRP3
• Works correctly with 0 skills (empty profile)
• Works correctly with many skills (20+) — scroll behavior