CC3+ contains a huge amount of various commands and features. This series highlights a number of these. There won't be any special progression to this series, and the command will be selected from the entire range, from the simple basic commands, to more advanced features intended for the more advanced users. Feel free to use this topic to discuss the command presented.
This series is called the command of the week, but it could also explain a feature. The explanations will tend to explain the technical parts of the command, and is intended to highlight the basics (and complexities) of the command, and information about how to use it, but won't be a detailed tutorial. It is up to you to use it creatively in your maps.

Week 24 - Symbol Catalog Filters

In the previous installment of this series, I explained how the symbol catalog buttons doesn't load the symbol catalogs directly, but instead set appropriate filters, causing CC3+ to load the catalog matching the filter, or if there are multiple matches, show a list of the available symbol catalog settings. This week, we will look closer at these filters and how to use them.

The two filters

In CC3+ there are two separate filters in use, these are the master filter and the symbol catalog filter. Both of these are used in combination to filter the list of symbol catalog settings.

The Master Filter

The master filter indicate the style of symbols used, usually linked to the current map style. As long as the master filter is set correctly, only the symbol catalog settings matching the current map style will be listed. If you have ever experienced that the wrong style of symbols are loading when you click the various symbol catalog buttons, this means that the master filter is wrong.

There are are couple of ways to set the master filter:
- First of all, it is usually set to the appropriate value when you open the map (also when creating a new map). This is done via the SYMICONFLOAD command in the OnOpenMacro map note. Note that this command doesn't set the filter directly, rather it loads a list of master filters, and set the actual master filter to the first entry in this list. If this command is missing (especially true for very old maps), the filters will just be left at whatever they where set to before loading the map, usually leading the buttons to load the wrong catalogs.
- You can also set the master filter by hitting the Symbol Style Toggle [SYMICONFNEXT] button. This button toggles between all the master filters in the currently loaded master filter list. Note that you can also right click on this button to get a list of styles, but these are hardcoded into the menu files, and often not applicable to the currently loaded set.
- You can right click the symbol style toggle button and select the Master Filter Settings [SYMICONFOPT] option. This brings up the dialog showing the currently loaded list of master filters, and which of them is currently the active one. There are also buttons for loading different filter sets. Note that most map styles have their own complete filter set, with the appropriate filter for that style as the first filter, and additional styles that may be appropriate as other filters. Remember that the Symbol Style Toggle button will switch between each filter in this list.
- Click the Symbol Catalog Settings [SYMICONM] button, followed by Advanced >> in the dialog.

No matter how you change the master filter, it will stay at the new value until you reset it by performing one of the actions above.

The Catalog Settings Filter

The catalog settings filter specifies the catalog you wish to open. Valid values here depend on the map type you are using, for example overland type map use Borders, Coast, Mountains, Natural, Structures and Vegetation, while dungeon maps use Cave, Containers and Treasure, Debris, Elemental and Magic, Furniture, Geomorphs, Skirmish, Temple and Statues, Traps, Up and Down, Wall Features and Weapons. Note that these are the official names used by ProFantasy, and the values set by the symbol catalog buttons, so all styles should adhere to these when naming their symbol catalog settings. Do note that not all styles will always use all of these.

There are two main ways to set the catalog settings filter:
- Click any symbol catalog button.
- Click the Symbol Catalog Settings button (Advanced >> is optional). Here you can type in the exact filter you desire.

Effects of the filter

Immediately upon changing the filter, CC3+ will load the appropriate symbol catalog into the symbol catalog window. If more than one symbol catalog setting matches the filters, it will instead bring up the Select Catalog Settings dialog showing you all the catalog settings that matched the filters. If no catalog settings matched the filters, the Select Catalog Settings window will also show, but with an empty list. If the latter happens when you click a symbol catalog button, it usually indicates that the current style doesn't have a catalog of this type (or if it is supposed to, perhaps the master filter is not set correctly).

Wildcards

You can use the asterisk as a wildcard character in the filters. You don't need to use this at the beginning or end of the filters as they are automatically applied to any part of the catalog setting name, but it can be useful to replace the entire filter with an * to show all catalogs. For example, setting CC3 Color as the master filter and * as the catalog setting filter will list all catalogs in the Standard CC3 Overland Style, while if you set the master filter to * and the catalog setting filter to Furniture, you will list all furniture catalogs no matter of map style.

How are the filters applied?

The filters are applied to the symbol catalog setting name. While the standard set by CC3+ is that these settings start with the ID of the style (master filter) followed by the type of catalog (coast, structures, furniture, etc) then followed by a further (optional) identifier (to separate multiple catalogs of the same type), the filters are actually matched against any part of the string. They are also applied individually. This means that the master and catalog filters can be swapped, and the result will be the same (for example, it doesn't matter if the master filter is CC3 color and the catalog filter is Structures, OR if you use Structures as the master filter and CC3 Color as the catalog setting filter), but it is recommended that you follow the standards set by CC3+.