﻿"Frequently Asked Questions" (FAQ) for Recap

This FAQ covers features introduced or significantly modified since version 3.32

For earlier features please see the file readme_332_FAQ.txt


__ FAQ: Healing __

Q: Do pure healers show up during a raid?
A: Yes, healers now show up on the list of combatants as soon as they heal, not just when they give or receive damage.

Q: Is the calculation of overhealing more accurate?
A: Yes, the reporting of overhealing should be more accurate since Recap now checks health (for party and raid) continually throughout a fight.


__ FAQ: Damage Per Second __

Q: Does Recap calculate DPS In (damage per second done to a combatant) and HPS (healing per second)?
A: Yes, separate durations are kept for each combatant for damage done, damage received, and healing done.  DPS, DPS In, and HPS are calculated using the corresponding durations.  You can see the raid's total DPS done to a boss in the "DPS In" column for that boss.

Q: Why does Recap show three Time columns?
A: The Time column is the duration for damage done.  The Time In column is the duration for damage received.  The Time Heal column is the duration for healing done.

Q: Why is the Recap DPS calculation especially good for groups and raids?
A: Because DPS classes are not penalized on the DPS calculation while they wait for the tank to gain aggro.  "Wait for 3 sunders"?  No problem.  Their DPS for the fight will be based on the time of the individual combatant's first and last attacks.  The DPS+ column will continue to show DPS based on the overall duration of damage done for the fight.

Q: What about combatants who only get healed?
A: Recap does not track combatants who neither do damage, receive damage, nor do healing.  A minor point, but this means that a combatant who gets healed prior to doing any of those three things will not have that healing recorded on their Incoming Details tab.


__ FAQ: Recent Event Recording __

Q: Does Recap remember recent events?
A: Yes, there is an options setting "Recent Data Mode" that remembers up to 10,000 recent damaging or healing events.  Warning: Use of the Recent Data Mode takes additional memory, and can slow down Recap.  Note that Recap starts the recent event storage fresh every time you log in or reload your UI, so if you want to examine recent events then do so before logging out.

Q: What use are recent events?
A: This feature allows you, for example, to check in detail the last moments of a boss or of a main tank.

Q: How do I examine the recent Incoming or Outgoing damage or healing events for a combatant?
A: Click the "Recent" button to the right of a combatant on the "All Fights" or "Last Fight" panel.  A popup panel will appear, with one tab for recent Incoming events and one tab for recent Outgoing events.  You can also double-click the row to bring up the recent events.

Q: What do the colours in these lists mean?
A: Pale green is for outgoing damage, bright green for outgoing crits or crushes.  Pale red is for incoming damage, bright red for incoming crits or crushes.  Pale blue is for heals, bright blue for crit heals.

Q: How do I post recent events to chat?
A: From the new recent events tabs you can post to chat in the usual way, using a shift+click on a row or on the header.  If you have a chat edit box open the post goes to that channel, otherwise to your own console.  Be restrained about posting to shared channels.  Bulk posting is limited to the most recent events by value of the "Report in Multiple Rows" slider.  You can post additional events by shift+clicking them individually.  If you are posting to your own console, the posted lines are colour-coded.

Q: How do I examine the recent Outgoing damage or healing events for a particular spell or ability for a combatant?
A: Click the "Recent" button to the right of a spell or ability (aka 'effect') on the "Personal Details" panel for you or on the "Outgoing Details" or "Incoming Details" tabs for a combatant.  The recent events for that combatant will be shown, filtered to show just that spell or ability.  This feature allows you, for example, to see the time between uses of a spell or ability by a boss (examine the timestamps).  The timestamps show hours, minutes, seconds, and tenths of a second.  On rows that have "Recent" buttons, you can also double-click the row to bring up the recent events.

Q: Can I annoy people by posting huge lists of recent events that fill up people's chat windows?
A: Unfortunately yes.  There is no easy way for Recap to decide which chat channels to exclude.  Recap will refuse to post recent events to the channels Yell, General, Trade, LocalDefense, WorldDefense, GuildRecruitment, and LookingForGroup (and corresponding French, German, and Chinese channels).

Q: How are critical and crushing blows indicated in the postings?
A: Critical blows are indicated by a single asterisk ('*'), and crushing blows by a double asterisk ('**').  They are also indicated by brighter colours.

Q: Can we see when one combatant killed another, and when one combatant died?
A: With Recap 4.00 kills and deaths are shown in the recent Incoming and Outgoing events.  Thes events are included in the order that Blizzard sends them, and sometimes the kill or death event precedes the event that does the fatal damage.

Q: What does a report of Incoming damage and healing look like?
A: Here is the last ten seconds of a boss fight, showing the damage that the group is doing to Kargath.
	__ Recap (Merge pets off): Recent Incoming Event __
	Recap: 08:32.2 Cyshaden (Melee) ==> Warchief Kargath Bladefist ( -130 )
	Recap: 08:32.5 Pauladin (Greater Blessing of Sanctuary (Holy)) ==> Warchief Kargath Bladefist ( -49 )
	Recap: 08:32.5 Pauladin (Holy Shield (Holy)) ==> Warchief Kargath Bladefist ( -172 )
	Recap: 08:32.5 Pauladin (Damage Shield (Holy)) ==> Warchief Kargath Bladefist ( -27 )
	Recap: 08:32.5 Pauladin (Damage Shield (Nature)) ==> Warchief Kargath Bladefist ( -26 )
	Recap: 08:32.7 Pauladin (Melee) ==> Warchief Kargath Bladefist ( -123 )
	Recap: 08:32.7 Pauladin (Melee) ==> Warchief Kargath Bladefist ( parry )
	Recap: 08:32.9 Cyshaden (Ferocious Bite) ==> Warchief Kargath Bladefist ( -730 )
	Recap: 08:33.2 Cyshaden (Melee) ==> Warchief Kargath Bladefist ( -280* )
	Recap: 08:34.2 Pauladin (Holy Vengeance (Holy)) ==> Warchief Kargath Bladefist ( -190 )
	Recap: 08:34.2 Cyshaden (Damage Shield (Holy)) ==> Warchief Kargath Bladefist ( -27 )
	Recap: 08:34.9 Hawksy (Damage Shield (Holy)) ==> Warchief Kargath Bladefist ( -28 )
	Recap: 08:35.5 Esthero (Frostbolt (Frost)) ==> Warchief Kargath Bladefist ( -1278 )
	Recap: 08:36.2 Percs (Damage Shield (Nature)) ==> Warchief Kargath Bladefist ( -26 )
	Recap: 08:36.5 Percs (Damage Shield (Nature)) ==> Warchief Kargath Bladefist ( -27 )
	Recap: 08:37.1 Pauladin (Holy Vengeance (Holy)) ==> Warchief Kargath Bladefist ( -190 )
	Recap: 08:37.4 Percs (Damage Shield (Nature)) ==> Warchief Kargath Bladefist ( -20 )
	Recap: 08:38.2 Hawksy (Damage Shield (Holy)) ==> Warchief Kargath Bladefist ( -27 )
	Recap: 08:38.2 Cyshaden (Damage Shield (Holy)) ==> Warchief Kargath Bladefist ( -28 )
	Recap: 08:38.2 Percs (Damage Shield (Nature)) ==> Warchief Kargath Bladefist ( -26 )
	Recap: 08:39.0 Hawksy (Damage Shield (Holy)) ==> Warchief Kargath Bladefist ( -28 )
	Recap: 08:41.6 Cyshaden (Melee) ==> Warchief Kargath Bladefist ( -100 )
	Recap: 08:41.7 Cyshaden (Mangle (Cat)) ==> Warchief Kargath Bladefist ( -499 )
	Recap: 08:42.7 Cyshaden (Melee) ==> Warchief Kargath Bladefist ( -115 )
	Recap: 08:42.9 Pauladin (Melee) ==> Warchief Kargath Bladefist ( -230* )
	Recap: 08:43.4 Cyshaden (Mangle (Cat)) ==> Warchief Kargath Bladefist ( -500 )
	Recap: 08:43.6 Esthero (Frostbolt (Frost)) ==> Warchief Kargath Bladefist ( -2547* )
	Recap: 08:43.6 Esthero (killed) ==> Warchief Kargath Bladefist
	Recap: 08:43.7 Warchief Kargath Bladefist ( died )
	Recap: 09:08.1 --------------------------------------------------

Q: What does a report of Outgoing damage and healing look like?
A: Here is the last ten seconds of the same boss fight, showing the damage that Kargath is doing to the group.
	__ Recap (Merge pets off): Recent Outgoing Event __
	Recap: 08:32.2 Warchief Kargath Bladefist (Sweeping Strikes) ==> Cyshaden ( -1084 )
	Recap: 08:32.9 Warchief Kargath Bladefist (Sweeping Strikes) ==> Cyshaden ( -656 )
	Recap: 08:33.6 Warchief Kargath Bladefist (Blade Dance) ==> Pauladin ( dodge )
	Recap: 08:33.7 Warchief Kargath Bladefist (Blade Dance) ==> Cyshaden ( -1018 )
	Recap: 08:34.2 Warchief Kargath Bladefist (Blade Dance) ==> Hawksy ( absorb )
	Recap: 08:34.5 Warchief Kargath Bladefist (Blade Dance) ==> Hawksy ( -532 )
	Recap: 08:35.8 Warchief Kargath Bladefist (Blade Dance) ==> Percs ( -966 )
	Recap: 08:36.2 Warchief Kargath Bladefist (Blade Dance) ==> Hawksy ( miss )
	Recap: 08:36.2 Warchief Kargath Bladefist (Blade Dance) ==> Percs ( -857 )
	Recap: 08:37.0 Warchief Kargath Bladefist (Blade Dance) ==> Percs ( -895 )
	Recap: 08:37.8 Warchief Kargath Bladefist (Blade Dance) ==> Hawksy ( -1114 )
	Recap: 08:37.8 Warchief Kargath Bladefist (Blade Dance) ==> Cyshaden ( -1340 )
	Recap: 08:37.8 Warchief Kargath Bladefist (Blade Dance) ==> Percs ( -949 )
	Recap: 08:38.5 Warchief Kargath Bladefist (Blade Dance) ==> Hawksy ( -1250 )
	Recap: 08:42.5 Warchief Kargath Bladefist (Melee) ==> Pauladin ( parry )
	Recap: 09:08.1 --------------------------------------------------

Q: How did you get those reports out of WoW and into this text file?
A: See the next section, "FAQ: Saving Reports".  When posting recent events to the Clipboard the maximum number of lines posted is 500 (the most recent 500).

Q: How can I inspect other the recent events around the time of a particular recent event?
A: If you double-click a recent event then the Recent panel will change to present a Time Window, showing up to 100 other recent events both before and after the time of the clicked event.  You can use this feature, if you wish, to 'page' forwards and backwards through the entire Recent history.  If you use the double-click feature during combat you could end up with unexpected results if the Recent events buffer wraps around.

Q: Can I see recent dispels and breakage of crowd control?
A: Yes.  Dispels (which include deliberate and accidental breaking of crowd control) will appear among the Recent Events.

Q: Can I see just the recent dispels?
A: Yes.  If you hold the control key down when you click the Recent button for a combatant, then the recent events will be filtered to show just the recent dispels for that combatant.  You can get the same result if you hold the control key down while double-clicking the combatant's row.

Q: Can I see all recent dispels, not just those for one combatant at a time?
A: Yes.  If you hold the control key down while double-clicking the totals row on the main fight panel, the Recent Events popup panel will include all recent dispels.  If you double-click the totals row without holding down the control key you will see ALL recent events.  Caution: if you have a slow machine and have selected a high count for the number of recent events stored this could be slow.


__ FAQ: Saving Reports __

Q: Can I save all recent events to a file for later examination?
A: You can save your console chat (chat logging), including your posting of recent events and other Recap key+click reports, to WOWChatLog.txt (in the World of Warcraft/Logs folder) for examination after you log out.  Go to the Options / Reports panel and click the "Open" button.  When the button text changes to "Channel joined" logging will begin, and continue until you log out or click the "Close" button.  If the button text continues to read "Acquiring channel..." for a while, try clicking it a second time.  If the button text then changes to "Channel joined", proceed as before.  Otherwise press the "Close" button and try again.

Q: How can I copy Recap postings, including multi-line postings, for use outside WoW, without having to log out to get them?
A: You can send your posts of recent events and other Recap key+click reports to the Clipboard.  First, go to the Options / Reports panel and press either "Report Fights" or "Report Details" under Report to Clipboard.  The report will be created and selected in the Clipboard.  Second, delete the text.  This will leave your cursor in an empty Clipboard.  Leave the Clipboard open.  Third, post your report(s) using your usual key+click process.  Because the Clipboard is open, Recap will append the post to the Clipboard.  You can append multiple posts.  Fourth, select the text in the Clipboard, copy it, and paste it outside WoW, perhaps into a text editor such as Notepad or TextEdit.
	__ Recap: Hawksy: Effect Totals __
	1. Smite: 20444 (35%)
	2. Holy Fire: 12883 (22%)
	3. Mind Blast: 10398 (18%)
	4. Shadow Word: Pain: 10368 (18%)
	5. Shadow Word: Death: 2578 (4%)
	6. Shoot: 972 (2%)

Q: Any limitations?
A: Key+click reports sent to the Clipboard ignore the setting of the "Report Format in HTML" option, and will post in non-HTML format.  Posting recent events to the Clipboard can be slow.  The Clipboard can contain a maximum of 32000 characters, and the number of rows posted to the Clipboard is limited to 500 rows.


__ FAQ: Last Fight Examination and Saving __

Q: Can I save the information for a single boss fight?
A: Yes, on the Options / Data Sets panel you can save the Last Fight as well as All Fights.  This allows you to later load the data from a single fight for examination.  Details are saved for All Fights or Last Fight as appropriate.

Q: Can you just ignore short (trash) fights and not have them overwrite the Last Fight information?
A: Short fights (defined as no combatant dealing or taking damage for more than five seconds, or fights in which only healing takes place) will be otherwise fully tracked in the background, but will not replace the Last Fight information.  This means that someone killing a toad, falling off a cliff, or healing, will no longer overwrite the Last Fight.  The information will still be tracked as part of the All Fights data, just not treated as a new "Last Fight".

Q: What if a major new fight happens before I get a chance to save the Last Fight?
A: You have until just before the end of the new fight to save the Last Fight on the Options / Data Sets tab, or using a Key Binding for "Save Last Fight".  If you haven't saved it by then, you are out of luck.

Q: Does Recap support the timelines (multiple last fights) that some other combat analysis addons have?
A: Partially.  If you bind a key to "Save Last Fight" (see the WoW Key Bindings) then at the end of any significant fight you can simply hit that key and Recap will save the fight.  The details for the Last Fight are also saved.  You can save as many last fights as you wish.  You can later load one of those last fights (see the Options / Data Sets tab) to examine it.  Caution, when you *Load* one of those fights it will overwrite your current All Fights data, so if you want to keep your current data then be sure to save it first.


__ FAQ: Synchronization __

Q: Is synchronization required?
A: No.  Any Recap user may opt out of synchronization.  In fact, the default is to be opted out.  To participate in synchronization go to the new Options / Sync panel and turn on Enable Synchronization.  When this option is off, Recap ignores all synchronization.

Q: What information is synchronized?
A: The numbers on the All Fights panel (Times, Damage Dealt, Maximum Hit, Damage Taken, Healing, OverHealing, and Deaths) are synchronized among all participating Recap users in the group (which means Battleground, Raid, or Party as appropriate).  At the end of every fight the leader of the synchronization will automatically broadcast their data about every combatant.  Members will in turn broadcast any larger numbers they have.

Q: What about the numbers on the Last Fight panel, and the Outgoing, Incoming, and Other Details for combatants?
A: These are not synchronized at the moment.

Q: Is synchronization still useful since patch 2.4?
A: Synchronization is less important than it used to be.  With patch 2.4 Blizzard greatly increased the combat log range to include "everything that you can see" (whatever that means exactly, since it clearly includes many events that take place out of your line of sight).  As a result, unless your group is widely spread out, almost every copy of Recap in the group will now see the same damaging and healing events and will get the same All Fights numbers.  As a result the need for synchronization is much lower.

Q: How do I join a synchronization?
A: Once you have enabled synchronization, you will get an invitation (as a popup window) when someone starts a synchronization, or when the leader of an existing synchronization next broadcasts an update.  You can accept or decline that invitation.

Q: What happens when I join?
A: When you first join, your All Fights and Last Fight numbers will be Reset to zero.  Note that this Reset upon joining a synchronization ignores any 'locks' that you may have placed on combatants.  Your numbers will be updated at the next broadcast of an update (either at the end of the next fight, or when someone does a Manual Synchronization).

Q: How do I know if I'm in a synchronization?
A: There is a button next to the Recap status button that is blue when you are in a synchronization.  You can also see your synchronization details on the Options / Sync panel.  The blue button will blink while you are sending or receiving synchronization data.

Q: How do I start a synchronization?
A: Anyone running Recap can start a synchronization.  It is not restricted to the group leader.  If you start a synchronization, other players will see a popup window inviting them to join your synchronization.  If they happen to be in combat, that popup invitation window will be delayed until after they have left combat.  You will see messages on your console when players accept or decline your invitation.

Q: What happens if someone who is already in a synchronization declines my invitation?
A: They continue in their existing synchronization.  There can be multiple Recap synchronizations running within the group at the same time.  They are independent of each other.

Q: How do you manage that?
A: Each synchronization has a unique timestamp, along with a synchronization version number, the name of the leader of the synchronization, and the setting for the Merge Pets override.

Q: What's the deal about starting a synchronization with Merge Pets off, or with Merge Pets on?
A: Recap can't mix data from Merge Pets off and Merge Pets on.  The player starting the synchronization must choose which to use.  The synchronization choice is a temporary override, and when a player is no longer in a synchronization they will revert to using their own setting for Merge Pets.

Q: I just joined an existing synchronization, and all my numbers are zero.  How do I catch up?
A: If you can't wait for the next end of fight, when you will catch up automatically, then ask the leader of the synchronization to do a Manual Synchronization.

Q: Why does it take so long after the end of a fight to completely synchronize?
A: The software (AceComm) used to handle the communication over Blizzard's hidden channels deliberately slows down all communications so that people don't get disconnected.  Blizzard deliberately disconnects anyone who sends too much information over a channel in a short time.  It can take a long time to complete a large synchronization.

Q: I joined a synchronization with Merge Pets off, but now I want to join a different synchronization with Merge Pets on.  How do I do that?
A: This is a bit trickier.  Recap does not allow you to directly choose which synchronization to join if there is more than one.  Turn off Enable Synchronization.  This will leave the synchronization that you don't want.  Wait until some time after the end of a fight, until the normal exchange of synchronization messages has died down.  Turn Enable Synchronization on again, and ask the leader of the synchronization that you want to join to do a Manual Synchronization.  If you get a synchronization invitation from them, accept it.  If you do happen to get an invitation to the wrong synchronization, decline it and repeat the process.

Q: Can the leader of the synchronization Reset my copy of Recap?
A: No, not after the initial Reset that happened when you first accepted the invitation to join the synchronization.

Q: What if the leader wants to Reset everyone?
A: The leader must start a new synchronization.  The leader can do that from the Options / Sync panel, or by clicking the Reset All Fights button, or by using a hotkey (if one has been bound).  Players who accept the invitation to join the new synchronization will have their All Fights numbers Reset to zero.  Players who decline the invitation will stay with the original synchronization.  The players who decline can still join the new synchronization later by turning Enable Synchronization off, then on again.  They will automatically get an invitation to join on the next end of fight, or when the leader does a manual synchronization.

Q: What happens to those players who choose to stay in the old synchronization, if the leader of their synchronization has gone away to a new synchronization?
A: Any of the players in the old synchronization can become the leader, by clicking the Become Leader button (which includes a manual synchronization).

Q: What if the leader of a synchronization disconnects, or goes AFK, or isn't in a fight for whatever reason, or pauses their copy of Recap, or quits the group?
A: Anyone can take over the role of leader by clicking the Become Leader button.  If nobody notices that the old leader has gone missing, there will be no synchronization updates.  On the Options / Sync panel you can see how long it has been since the last synchronization update, but there is no automated detection of this situation, no automated warning, and no automated promotion of a member to leader.  You might also notice that the blue light, which normally blinks at the end of a fight to indicate that synchronization data is being sent or received, does not blink as usual at the end of a fight.

Q: I have a combatant in my All Fights display that nobody else has.  How can I get the other members of the synchronization to see that combatant?
A: With the permission of the current leader, click your Become Leader button, which will broadcast all of your combatants.  After a while have the former leader take over again by clicking their Become Leader button.

Q: Can I abuse the group members who are using Recap with synchronization enabled, by pressing one of the Start Synchronization buttons repeatedly?
A: Yes.  How the other members of the group deal with your barrage of popup invitation windows is up to them.

Q: Can I abuse the synchronization I'm in by pressing the Become Leader button unnecessarily?
A: Yes.  How the other members of the synchronization, and the former leader, deal with this is up to them.

Q: What might not work as expected?
A: This design of synchronization tries to keep everything simple and lightweight.  Accordingly there is no guarantee that everyone in a synchronization will receive and process every update message.  Also, if the gaps between fights are too short then not all Recap update activity will have a chance to complete before the next fight begins.  If you need to fix discrepancies so that everyone has the same numbers, do one or more manual synchronizations during a longer gap between fights.
A: If the synchronization leader gets out of range of a fight, or relogs, or disconnects, then synchronization members might track additional combatants that the synchronization leader will not see and which will not be included in the sychronization.  A member who has seen the missing combatants can add them to the synchronization by temporarily becoming leader and doing a manual synchronization, as described above.
A: The All Fights main panel is not updated live to reflect incoming synchronization data.  There is a new timer that will update the panel a while after the last synchronization data has been exchanged.  The live DPS and HPS numbers that are displayed when the main panel is minimized, and the live numbers that are sent to plugins, are not updated to reflect synchronization updates.

Q: Anything else I need to know?
A: When you are in synchronization nothing will happen (except a sound and a popup window) if you press Reset All Fights, Reset Last Fight, or Load Data Set; or Reset an individual combatant; or Pause Recap.  For the leader of a synchronization the Reset All Fights button will start a new synchronization.  If you need to use these blocked functions, turn off Enable Synchronization, do whatever you wish to do, then join the synchronization again as described above.  Oh, and one more thing -- during synchronization the popup menu choice to ignore a combatant does nothing, and if you had earlier ignored a combatant the only effect during synchronization will be to hide them on your display; their damage and healing will still be tracked and synchronized in the background.

Q: How can we keep track of All Fights for the entire instance, and also keep track of individual boss fights?
A: Select half of the raid to join a synchronization that will last for the entire instance.  The other half of the raid will begin a new synchronization before each individual boss fight, and at the end of that fight the synchronization leader will save All Fights (not Last Fight) on the Options / Data Sets panel.  The drawback is that people who are in the synchronization that will last for the entire instance will have to repeatedly decline the invitations to join the individual boss fight synchronizations.

Q: How do I know who is in the synchronization?
A: There is a count displayed in the title bar of the main panel, and there is a List Members button on the Options / Sync panel.  The count (M+N) shows the number of members who have been heard from within the past ten seconds (M), possibly followed by the number who have not and who may have left the synchronization, the group, or the game (+N).  Similarly the list shows those who have been heard from within the past ten seconds, followed by those who have not.  There is a new "Remove Inactive Members" button to remove inactive players members from the list.  Every member of the synchronization broadcasts a message every five seconds to show that they are still active.

Q: Why isn't synchronization defaulted to be on?
A: My philosophy is to have significant new features of Recap defaulted off.  This includes synchronization.  I realise that this adds one additional step for Recap users who wish to use synchronization.

Q: Why isn't synchronization restricted to raid leaders and assistants?  Why can't a synchronization leader force a Reset for everyone in the synchronization?
A: My philosophy is that every individual needs to be able to retain direct personal control over their use of synchronization.

Q: Why does Recap not turn synchronization on and off automatically?
A: My notion of 'automatic' might not match other people's notions of automatic.  If you are not in a group then having synchronization turned on costs almost nothing.  If you are in a group and nobody else happens to be in your synchronization, then the cost of keeping your synchronization active is very low.  Leaving your synchronization active allows anyone who joins the group later to join your synchronization, and to catch up on "the story so far", without you having to do anything.

Q: Can I get detailed messages in the main title bar saying things like "Now receiving sync data from Hawksy"?
A: I'm still thinking about that.  I can see that it could be informative for some people, and annoying for other people.

Q: Does Recap synchronize the total fight duration so that the DPS+ column (aka "DPS vs All") will say the same thing for all members of the synchronization?
A: Yes, though this is tricky and there are a several ways for Recap to get out of synchronization on the total fight duration, putting the DPS+ column out of synchronization as well.

Q: Can Recap synchronize with SWStats, DamageMeters, or Recount?
A: No.  I have no plans at the moment to sync Recap with other combat analysis addons.  I can't see how the benefits would repay the increase in resource usage, and the increase in program size and complexity.  See also the earlier answer about the change to combat log range that came with patch 2.4.


__ FAQ: Pet Personal Details __

Q: Can I see long-term Personal Details for hunter and warlock pets?
A: Each of the player's pets has their own Personal Details, stored in the same way as the player's Personal Details.  These details will always appear on the player's Personal Details panel (regardless of the value of the merge pets option), with pet damage following player damage, and pet healing following player healing.  These details are not affected when you Reset All Fights.  They are reset when you Reset Personal Details, and can be reset individually.  The pet Personal Details are done only for the player; no personal details are available for other players, nor for the pets of other players.  The pet Personal Details are also shown (and this can be a mild nuisance) for pets such as temporary priest Mind Control victims, or (for example) Gan'arg mobs temporarily controlled by any player in Netherstorm.

Q: How do I prevent those temporary pets showing up in my Personal Details?
A: At the moment you can't.  You can get rid of those details one by one by right-clicking on each of them and selecting Reset from the popup menu.


__ FAQ: Other Details: Casts Debuffs/Losses Buffs/Gains __

Q: Does Recap track events that neither damage nor heal?
A: Yes, Recap can track casts, debuffs/losses, and buffs/gains.  There is an Other Details tab on the details popup panel.  Click the new "Sunder" icon that is between the "Book" icon and the "Sword" icon.  This is an option that is off by default.  See the "Other Data Mode" option on the Options / Settings tab to turn it on.  Like the Outgoing and Incoming Details, the Other Details are cleared when you Reset All Fights.

Q: What is included as an Other event?
A: Virtually all Blizzard events that could be combat-related and that do not directly involve damage or healing.  This includes casts, debuffs/losses, and buffs/gains.  With WoW patch 2.4 Recap reads the combat events directly.  There is a partial overlap between the new messages (Blizzard 'cast', 'debuff', 'buff', and so on) and the messages already tracked by Recap ('hit', 'heal', and 'miss') -- so you will see some effects showing up in more than one place.  With WoW patch 2.4 Recap tracks stolen buffs or debuffs.

Q: What is not included?
A: Not tracked are failure (e.g. "Not enough mana" or "Out of range"), tradeskill, enchant, create, experience, reputation, and honour.  Recap does not currently track the start of spell casts, nor the failure of spell casts.

Q: There are entries for non-combat events such as Mining, Herb Gathering, and Summon Felsteed.  Why?
A: These are formatted by Blizzard like other 'cast', 'debuff', or 'buff' events.  Recap isn't going to second-guess Blizzard.  Recap is not going to get into the business of maintaining lists of excluded events (in multiple languages), so you'll have to put up with these non-combat events appearing on the Other Details tab.

Q: What about miss types?
A: Recap does not currently track the different kinds of miss (e.g. resist, immune, and so on) for effects on the Other Details tab.  They are all lumped into a single "Misses" number.

Q: There are a lot of items in that list of effects.  How can I make sense of them?
A: The first effects listed are outgoing spell casts (in green).  Second are debuffs; or losses such as mana drains (in red).  Third are buffs; or gains such as mana/rage/energy gains, extra attacks, and pet happiness (in blue).  Fourth are effects whose debuff / buff type is unknown (in white).  The losses and gains have an Attribute listed, such as Mana.  Within each group the effects are sorted by the number of Hits.

Q: Why are there some effects (shown in white) for which Recap can't tell the debuff / buff type?
A: The 'cast' event sometimes lists a target for the effect, but gives no indication as to whether it is a debuff or a buff.  Recap does not attempt to figure out if they are debuffs or buffs, but simply tracks them separately (in white).  In addition, Recap now includes effects which Dispel or Interrupt in this miscellaneous (white) category.

Q: Can Recap show how often a boss casts a particular debuff, and how long that debuff lasts?
A: Recap does its best.  Here's an example where it will work well.  A boss casts a particular debuff only on the main tank.  Recap tracks the interval between successive occurrences of the debuff on the main tank.  If there is a subsequent "fade" event for each debuff, Recap can track the duration of the debuff.  Sometimes the debuff is accompanied by a Blizzard combat message about the boss casting the debuff, and in that case Recap will also track the interval for the cast on the boss's Other Details tab.  However, only a small and seemingly random selection of debuffs are accompanied by a Blizzard casting combat message.  If there is no casting message, or if the boss scatters the debuff around, then the estimates of the interval between debuffs for individual combatants will be misleading.  If the debuff is always dispelled before it can fade, then Recap can not track its duration.  If a debuff lands during one fight, and the next debuff on that combatant lands during a subsequent fight, the estimated interval between debuffs will be too high.

Q: Why does Recap limit the tracking of debuff and buff intervals and durations to 130 seconds?
A: To avoid an excessive number of bad estimates, such as those caused by tracking across different fights.  Most debuffs and buffs for which interval and duration data are interesting will occur as transient effects during individual fights.  The 130 second limit is intended to maximise the usefulness of the data for this purpose.  Recap keeps only the count of the number of intervals or durations sampled, and the total of all intervals or durations, so the average interval or duration calculated is the arithmetic mean (nothing fancy like calculating the median or removing outliers).

Q: Can Recap show dispelling?
A: For a buff or debuff Recap tracks dispelling.  The details for the buff or debuff shows the number of times the buff or debuff was dispelled as "Dispels".  The dispel event is logged as a recent event if the Recent Event Mode is enabled (see the Recent Event Recording section above).

Q: Can Recap show who broke my sheep?
A: Recap tracks this information.  Recap counts the number of times that an effect dispelled a buff or debuff (as white details on the Other Details tab of the combatant who used the effect), and counts the number of times that a buff or debuff is dispelled (as a detail for the buff or debuff on the Other Details tab of the combatant who had the buff or debuff).  Both deliberate and accidental dispels are counted.  In addition, the dispel event is also tracked as a recent event if the Recent Event Mode option is enabled.

Q: Can Recap show who interrupted my spell cast?
A: With version 4.00 Recap tracks some of this information.  The actual combat log event shows which effect interrupts which spell cast, but this is an extra level of linkage that Recap is not currently set up to track.  Instead Recap counts the number of times that an effect interrupts a spell cast (as white details on the Other Details tab of the combatant who used the effect); and the number of times that a spell cast was interrupted (as white details on the Other Details tab of the combatant who was interrupted).

Q: Can Recap show spell stealing?
A: With version 4.00 Recap tracks spell stealing similarly to the way that it tracks dispels.  The details for the buff or debuff shows the number of times the buff or debuff was stolen as "Steals".  Spell stealing is not tracked among the recent events.

Q: Are there any anomalies?
A: Zillions.  I could write a book.

Q: Give me some examples of anomalies.
A-1: If you happen to go out of Blizzard's combat message distribution range at any time, you will miss events, which could distort measurements.

A-2: In some cases an effect may show up as both a cast and as a debuff or buff, so in effect it is being tracked more than once.  Recap does not attempt to reconcile these.

A-3: Sometimes an effect that does damage (on the Incoming or Outgoing tab) will also appear as a debuff with the same name on the Other Details tab.  Recap does not attempt to reconcile these.

A-4: Not all messages are delivered by Blizzard to all combatants.  For example, a priest does not see messages for their own casts of "Shackle Undead", but does see messages about other priests casting the spell!  Also, at longer shackle ranges the priest no longer receives the usual target shackle debuff messages!  Also, when the shackle is broken the message from Blizzard is that the debuff fades (as if it had expired), so for shackle the duration measurement is actual duration (for other debuffs and buffs the fade message appears only when the effect runs out normally or on one of the resistance checks).  There are undoubtedly many other examples of inconsistent Blizzard messages.

Q: Can I see estimated intervals and durations for effects that do cause damage or healing and that don't happen to appear on the Other Details tab?
A: On the Outgoing and Incoming Details tabs Recap tracks intervals for damaging and healing effects.  Durations are not tracked since there are no associated 'fade' (e.g. SPELL_AURA_REMOVED) events.

Q: Can I see recent cast, debuff/loss, and buff/gain events listed with Recent Events?
A: Not at the moment.

Q: Any other notes?
A-1: For SPELL_DRAIN and SPELL_PERIODIC_DRAIN events there is an 'extraAmount' that I don't understand and that has been zero in testing so far.

A-2: There are SPELL_DURABILITY_DAMAGE and SPELL_DURABILITY_DAMAGE_ALL events, but Recap hasn't seen one in testing so far.

A-3: Recap is currently ignoring SPELL_CAST_START, SPELL_CAST_FAILED, SPELL_DISPEL_FAILED, UNIT_DESTROYED, ENCHANT_APPLIED, and ENCHANT_REMOVED events.


__ FAQ: Crushing and Glancing Blows ___

Q: Does Recap track crushing blows?
A: Yes, Recap tracks crushing blows (very similar to critical blows) for Incoming and Outgoing Details; and in Recent Event data postings.

Q: Does Recap track glancing blows?
A: Yes, Recap tracks glancing blows (in a similar manner to critical and crushing blows) for Incoming and Outgoing Details; and on the Personal Details panel.


__ FAQ: Partial Effects ___

Q: What about events that are partially blocked, absorbed, or resisted?
A: The primary event is already tracked by Recap in the usual way.  The information that the event was partially blocked, absorbed, or resisted is tracked separately.

Q: Does Recap track partial blocks?
A: Yes, Recap tracks partial blocks, separately from complete blocks.  To get the total number of blocks, add the number of complete blocks plus the number of partial blocks.  The total and average amount of damage blocked by a partial block is also shown.  This information can be found on the Outgoing and Incoming Details tabs.

Q: Does Recap track partial absorbs and resists?
A: Yes, the number of partial absorbs and the number of partial resists can be found on the Outgoing and Incoming Details tabs.  The total and average amount of damage partially absorbed or partially resisted is also shown.  These numbers do not include complete absorbs and complete resists.  The partial resists are broken down into the three levels of partial resistance used by Blizzard -- resisting 25% of the damage, resisting 50% of the damage, and resisting 75% of the damage.

Q: What about a hit that is, say, partially resisted and also partially absorbed?
A: Recap will count partial effects under all of the partial headings that apply.  So in this case, the single event will be counted as both a partial resist and also as a partial absorb.  Similarly for other combinations of partial effects.


__ FAQ: Resistance ___

Q: Can Recap tell me how effective my Fire Resist gear is?
A: Recap gives you an estimate on the Outgoing and Incoming Details tabs of the total amount of damage resisted, with a percentage as a proportion of the estimated total damage that could have been resisted.  Use this with the totals described in the next section for each school of damage.

Q: Why is it an estimate?
A: Recap does not know how much damage each completely resisted effect would have caused.  Recap calculates the average gross damage per effect landed, and uses that an estimate of the damage that each completely resisted effect would have caused.  Recap then estimates the total resistable damage attempted, and calculates an estimate of the percentage of resistable damage actually resisted.  The estimate assumes that individual ticks of a DoT are never completely resisted.

Q: How do you work out the Estimated Total Resisted for element subtotals and damage totals?
A: Estimating resistance directly from the amounts shown for the subtotals and totals would not give a correct answer.  Instead, for each individual effect Recap calculates the estimated damage resisted, and the estimated total resistable damage, and stores these two values.  The second value is a hidden column.  The resistance percentage is calculated when displaying.  The two values are accumulated for the subtotals and totals, and subtotal and total percentages are calculated from those accumulated values when displaying.


__ FAQ: Subtotals, Totals, and Grand Totals ___

Q: Can I see the total elapsed time that the group spent fighting, rather than the sum of individual times?
A: Yes, this is available as "Group Fight Time" on the tooltip that pops up when you mouse over the Total line of the All Fights panel or the Last Fight panel.  This number is calculated by each copy of Recap independently, is not sent during synchronization, and so may differ among group members.

Q: Can I see the total DPS from the group rather than the average DPS?
A: Yes, this is available as "Group DPS" on the tooltip that pops up when you mouse over the Total line of the All Fights panel or the Last Fight panel.  Note that this total can be misleading.  If you complete an instance without replacing anyone (even a pet) then it will be accurate, but if a warlock uses more than one minion, and if you replace people during the run, this number will count the extra minions and the replacement people.  For example, if everyone in the group is replaced once, then this number would be about twice as large as it should be.  Use this total DPS number cautiously.

Q: Can I see the total of all the various Fire damage effects done to a combatant, or done by a combatant?
A: Yes, Recap includes subtotals, by element (Fire is one of the elements), at the end of the Outgoing and Incoming Details tabs for a combatant.  Also included are an entry that totals over all types of damage, and an entry that totals over all healing.

Q: There is an entry labelled "Subtotal: Other" with just a few misses listed.  What is that?
A: For misses, the Blizzard combat messages do not include an element.  If the miss happens before the combatant has caused damage with the effect, the element for the miss is unknown, which Recap will track as "Other" when accumulating subtotals and totals.

Q: Can I see the grand total of all Melee damage done to all combatants in the group (the green combatants), or done by all combatants in the group?
A: Yes, Recap creates a grand total over all combatants in the group of all information on the Outgoing, Incoming, and Other Details tabs.  To show the panel with these details, left-click on the green Total button on the total row.

Q: Can I see the grand total of all Fire damage done to all combatants in the group, or done by all combatants in the group?
A: Yes, Recap the combination of the subtotals by element, and the grand total just mentioned, makes available a grand total of all Fire damage over all combatants in the group.  For example, to see the grand total of Fire damage done by the combatants in the group, bring up the grand total popup panel as described in the previous answer, select the Outgoing Details tab of the popup panel, and scroll down to the "Subtotal: Fire" row.

Q: Can I see the same thing for all combatants not in the group (the white combatants)?
A: Yes, Recap creates similar grand totals over all combatants not in the group.  To show the panel with these details, left-click on the white Total button on the total row.

Q: Why don't the totals on the Outgoing and Incoming Details tabs match the numbers on the All Fights panel when I'm in a synchronization?
A: The detailed data are not synchronized, and are based only on the events seen by your own character.


__ FAQ: Target of Outgoing damage and healing, Source of Incoming damage and healing ___

Q: Can Recap track which combatants damaged which targets, and which combatants healed which targets?
A: Yes, Recap has an option to track who damaged which target, and who healed which target, with the amount.  The default is off.  The option (see Options / Settings) is called "Matrix Data Mode".  The information can be found on two new tabs on the popup panel, called "Target of Outgoing Details" and "Source of Incoming Details".

Q: What healing amounts are shown?
A: These tabs show the estimated actual healing (healing attempted minus estimated overhealing).  These match the healing numbers shown on the "All Fights" and "Last Fight" panels.


__ FAQ: Healing from priest Prayer of Mending and similar healing spells ___

Q: Can Recap correctly assign the healing from a Prayer of Healing to the priest who cast the spell originally?
A: Yes, with version 4.09 Recap now keeps track of each Prayer of Healing and makes its best effort to assign the heals to the priest who cast the spell.  If a heal happens that hasn't been tracked, then it will be assigned at random to one of the priests who has cast a Prayer of Mending in the current fight.  If that doesn't work the heal will be assigned to the combatant being healed.  There are many anomalies, and Recap cannot guarantee that every heal from every Prayer of Mending will be assigned to the correct priest.  Recap may do less well in battlegrounds if some allies are not in the raid group.

Q: What about similar healing spells?
A: Recap now makes its best effort to assign the heals for druid Lifebloom, shaman Earth Shield, druid Improved Leader of the Pack, and paladin Judgement of Light.

Q: How does this work when synchronization is active?
A: Because each copy of Recap might make slightly different assignments for these heals there can be a slight overstatement of total healing numbers on the All Fights panel.


__ FAQ: Miscellaneous ___

Q: Why doesn't Recap credit damage and healing to me for my shaman totems?  For my snake traps?
A: With patch 2.4 most shaman totems are now properly credited to the shaman, though the Greater Fire Elemental is not (this may be fixed with patch 2.4.3).  Some hunter traps are now properly credited to the hunter, although snake traps are not.
A: Some of Blizzard's combat messages give no indication as to who owns the item, and so Recap cannot credit the damage or healing to anyone.  Similarly the effects of buffs such as Thorns are attributed by the Blizzard combat messages to the person carrying those buffs rather than to the original caster.  There are many other anomalies -- for example Blizzard combat messages do not mention any damage to the warlock when a warlock casts "Life Tap".  The combat log event changes with patch 2.4 do not fix these anomalies.

Q: Does Recap show breakdowns of both Incoming and Outgoing misses?
A: Yes, on the Incoming Details and Outgoing Details tabs of the popup panel.  There are ten types of miss (absorb, block, deflect, dodge, evade, immune, miss, parry, resist, and reflect).  All ten types may occur for non-Melee effects (which include both spells and physical attacks other than Melee).  Nine of the ten (not reflect) may happen for Melee.  On both tabs misses are broken down for each effect.  There is not currently a breakdown of the different types of miss for Other Details.

Q: Does Recap track minimum values for hits?
A: Yes, Recap tracks minimum values for glances, hits, crits, crushes, and ticks on the Outgoing and Ingoing Details tabs.  Minimum hits, crits, and ticks are tracked on the Personal Details panel.  A damage minimum is the actual amount that affected the target (referred to as the net minimum), a healing minimum is the amount that was cast (uncorrected for overhealing).

Q: Does Recap track environmental damage?
A: Yes, environmental damage (such as fire, falling, lava, and slime) is tracked.  The effect is called "Environment <type>".

Q: Why are the number of deaths recorded for my priest too high.
A: Blizzard sometimes gives a "You die" message when your priest first dies, and a second "You die" message when your priest's Spirit of Redemption wears off.  But not always, so you can't simply divide the number of deaths by two to get the right number.  In general for any combatant the count of deaths is inaccurate since Blizzard's death messages are unreliable.

Q: Does Recap track self-inflicted damage?
A: Yes, Recap tracks effects like "You suffer 87 Fire damage from your Hellfire".

Q: Why are there fewer healing ticks than damage ticks for some dual damage/heal effect?
A: When a hit or tick from a dual damage/heal effect kills the target, Blizzard chooses to award no healing rather than to calculate an appropriate partial healing.

Q: Can Recap exclude from outgoing damage and DPS calculations effects such as Shatter (from the Gruul fight) in which a combatant in the group damages other combatants in the group?
A: As of version 4.07 the outgoing component of such damage is ignored.  This avoids inflating the outgoing damage and DPS of a combatant with damage that doesn't contribute to the positive outcome of the encounter.  The incoming component and the matrix component will still be tracked.  Note that the outgoing component of self-damage, and of damage between pet and owner, were already being ignored.

Q: When I have the "End Fight If Idle" option turned off, sometimes Recap's green light comes on and does not go off.  Why?
A: A fight in which you don't personally enter combat mode will start, but Recap has no way of ending the fight if this option is turned off.  Well, there is a second secret timer that will end the fight if your Recap has been idle for ten minutes....

Q: Can I bind hotkeys for resetting Fights and Personal Details?
A: Yes, check the "Key Bindings" on the Blizzard Main Menu.

Q: Can I keep information for some combatants, and Reset all the rest?
A: Yes.  If you right-click a combatant's name on the All Fights panel, the popup menu will include a "Lock" choice.  If a combatant is locked then they will not be affected by an ordinary Reset All Fights.  Note that joining a synchronization will do a reset that ignores any character locks.  Alternatively, the right-click popup menu allows you to Reset an individual combatant.

Q: Can I show information for just my group?
A: Yes, there is an option (default off) called "Hide Other Combatants" that if turned on will hide combatants other than those in your group (with their pets).  Recap will hide allies who are not in your group, neutrals, and enemies.  Note: Recap continues to track everything in the background.  The group can be a party of five or a raid of forty (with their pets and temporarily controlled combatants).  The group includes former group members.  A group can also include (or exclude) selected combatants -- right-click on a combatant to add them to your Recap group (turn them green), or drop them from your Recap group (turn them white).

Q: Can I show information for just me and my pets?
A: Yes, there is the "Hide Other Combatants" option just mentioned, and an option (default off) called "Hide Group".  If both options are turned on Recap will hide all combatants except you and your pets.  Note: Recap continues to track everything in the background.

Q: Why does Recap continue to track all that information in the background when I don't want to see it?
A: That's how the original design of Recap did things.  It allow you to temporarily limit the display without any risk of missing data.

Q: What if I *really* don't want Recap to track that information in the background?
A: There is an option (default off) called "Store Only Displayed Combatants".  If you limit display by turning on "Hide Group" or "Hide Other Combatants" then the "Store Only Displayed Combatants" option will turn off the tracking of information for the hidden combatants.  Use with caution (see previous answer).  Note that enabling this option does not delete any existing hidden combatants, so if you want them to go away do a Reset as well.

Q: What is the Minimize on Escape option?
A: I wanted a consistent method of dismissing windows.  I use the Escape key (esc) for this purpose.  I wanted the Recap main panel to minimize when I hit the Escape key.  Having this option turned on will also minimize the Recap main panel in a number of other situations.

Q: What is the Remind on Joining or Leaving Group option?
A: If this option is turned on, Recap pops up a little reminder window whenever you first join a group, and when you leave a group.  The original suggestion was for an option to automatically Reset whenever you join a group, but I thought that was inflexible, and could lead to an undesirable explosion of different "do X on joining a group" options.  So Recap simply puts up a reminder.  The action that you then take is up to you.

Q: What is the Remind on Entering or Leaving Instance option?
A: If this option is turned on, Recap pops up a little reminder window whenever you first enter an instance or leave an instance.

Q: Are the "/recap" and "/recap centre" (or "/recap center") slash commands localized for non-English clients?
A: No, none of the slash commands are localized for non-English clients, and neither are the console messages issued by slash commands.

Q: Are there any other slash commands that I can use?
A: The command "/recap options" shows or hides the Options panel.  The command "/recap reset" does a Reset All Fights (for the leader of a synchronization it instead starts a new synchronization).  There are additional slash commands that few people are likely to need to use, and that change from time to time.  If you are desperately curious, check out the function Recap_SlashHandler in the Recap.lua code file.

Q: What's the most obscure feature of Recap?
A: Perhaps the four extra columns available on the "Outgoing Details" and "Incoming Details" tabs, because you can only see one column at a time.  Right-click on the column header to get a menu to display one of the other columns.
