How can I combine both guides?

[killerjim101]

I purchased the Horde guide about 5 months ago. Love it.
But now I've purchased the Alliance guide.

How do I get both guides to work in WOW so no matter what character I choose I'll always have the correct guide?

Please let me know so I can start the Alliance side ASAP.

[MrBlueMonkie]

You should be able to load both. However I would recommand that in the addon tab at the char screen, you uncheck the opposite guide.

If you are on a Horde char uncheck the Alliance and Alliance uncheck Horde but keep the viewer check. it should run just fine.

[cabby]

You don't actually need to uncheck the different things because with v2.0 there is only the guide viewer and the talent advisor that appear in the addons list. If you still have listings in the addons (at character select) for the individual guides then you are using the old v1.0 addon which is against the current addon policy and can possibly get you banned from the game.

As for the original question, the easiest way to ensure that you have both guides available to you is to go to your WoW/Interface/Addons/ZygorGuidesViewer/Guides directory. Inside this directory you should see 2 files, ZygorGuidesAlliance.lua and ZygorGuidesHorde.lua. If both of those .lua files are there then the viewer will automatically load the appropriate one for your faction.

[killerjim101]

Thanks... I figured someone had done this with Version 2.0.

This should be put into the install instructions for any new updates.
It would be helpful.

[rokku]

Thanks... I figured someone had done this with Version 2.0.

This should be put into the install instructions for any new updates.
It would be helpful.

I agree -- I did a bunch of searching to figure this out (Only AFTER sending off a panicked email to support of course!LOL)

[jlbutl]

Can someone explain the differences between v1.x and 2.x and what changed to make the new version of zygor legal? I have the new version so I am not worried, I was just wondering what changed to make the old version "out of compliance"...

[ZG Support 1]

Can someone explain the differences between v1.x and 2.x and what changed to make the new version of zygor legal? I have the new version so I am not worried, I was just wondering what changed to make the old version "out of compliance"...

The old version loaded in game as an addon. The new version does not.

[owensd]

The old version loaded in game as an addon. The new version does not.

But there are still issues with this version (I sent a PM with details about it). Basically, you have two version of the add-on code (not talking about the guides) - the only way to get the most recent add-on code is from the member area; that is a violation of the policy...

You need to provide a way to download the current viewer and the talent trainer add-ons without the guide to try to claim this add-on isn't in violation of the add-on policy.

[cabby]

There is a way to get the addons without going thru the members area. There is a trial version that people can download that contains the addons and the first 13 levels of the guides as a trial. Since there is no charge for the trial the guide viewer and talent advisor addons have a free distribution. The only charge was for the guide .lua files, which anyone can make to work with the guide viewer that you can get free with the trial version.

This particular topic has been covered more than once in different places. Please don't raise these concerns in the public until you've received responses to your PMs as you're spreading false information when you do so.

As to your quote that you're referring to two different addon codes, that quote was talking about the old v1.0 (which loaded each guide as an addon and is in violation of the current addon policy) and the new v2.0 (which loads only the viewer as an addon and anyone can create their own .lua files to work with the viewer making the addon compliant to the new addon policy) guides, so you were comparing apples to oranges and not one current version to another current version. You could consider the members area code as beta code and after they're sure the bugs have been fixed they change what's available in the trial version so that it's updated code there.

[owensd]

There is a way to get the addons without going thru the members area. There is a trial version that people can download that contains the addons and the first 13 levels of the guides as a trial. Since there is no charge for the trial the guide viewer and talent advisor addons have a free distribution. The only charge was for the guide .lua files, which anyone can make to work with the guide viewer that you can get free with the trial version.

This particular topic has been covered more than once in different places. Please don't raise these concerns in the public until you've received responses to your PMs as you're spreading false information when you do so.

As to your quote that you're referring to two different addon codes, that quote was talking about the old v1.0 (which loaded each guide as an addon and is in violation of the current addon policy) and the new v2.0 (which loads only the viewer as an addon and anyone can create their own .lua files to work with the viewer making the addon compliant to the new addon policy) guides, so you were comparing apples to oranges and not one current version to another current version. You could consider the members area code as beta code and after they're sure the bugs have been fixed they change what's available in the trial version so that it's updated code there.

The premise of the separation is not where the issue is, it's the implementation.

I tried to find some threads that talked about the issue and I guess I didn't find the right ones...

The following files are just some that are different:

• .\zygorguidesviewer\goal.lua
• .\zygorguidesviewer\options.lua
• .\zygorguidesviewer\parser.lua
• .\zygorguidesviewer\ver.lua

The defensive stance is that the add-on is separate from the guide - that is what makes it within policy. You can't charge beta access for the add-on because you can't charge for the add-on period.

My point is that in order to maintain that stance you must adhere to it. So... the add-on should be distributed separately from the guide. Yes, this causes some support issues as people will need to know where to put the guide files.

Also, the "trial" is their current weakest link in their stance. A trial, by definition means that there is a "premium" version. The way things are distributed now, you have a "trial" version and "premium" version of the add-on; that's clearly a violation.

If instead, you downloaded the add-on separately from the guide .lua files, you have a much stronger case that you are indeed not selling an add-on, but content for a freely (and same versioned) add-on, which is the "grey area" for the policy.

I like the guide, I think it's great and the add-on is wonderful. Just pointing out the places where I think the add-on is in violation of Blizzard's policy...

[cabby]

The trial isn't for the viewer addon but for the guides. The viewer is included free with the guide trial.

I might have worded things a bit wrong when I made the beta comment. You've paid for the guides and only the guides (the ZygorGuidesAlliance.lua and ZygorGuidesHorde.lua files). I personally don't know how often the viewer that's bundled with the trial guides is updated, but the beta comment was more from a developers view. As we paying guide users find different bugs they make changes to the code and put it out for us so that we can see if the fixes work or if it creates new bugs. This would essentially be a 'beta test' of new versions of the viewer. Again, we've only paid for the guides and not the viewer, but we can be used as 'beta testers' as well. After bug fixes are set and working then they can bundle the updated viewer with the guide trial and it's still got it's free distribution. There are many addon authors that have people 'beta test' their changes before releasing addon updates to the public, this would be no different and by no means have we paid for the privilege to 'beta test' the viewer.

The trial version is only a trial of the guides, and by no means is it a trial of the addon. There are no limited addon functionality or anything along those lines in the trial version. The only thing that's limited are the guides, and they aren't the addon. The only addons available here are the guide viewer (which anyone can create their own guides to use with) and the talent advisor (which anyone can create their own talent spec to use with). Since there is no limitation to the viewer and since you aren't paying for the viewer, there is no violation of the addon policy.

I haven't really seen any grey areas with how Zygor has handled things and the addon policy. All addon authors are unrestricted in how they distribute their addons, as long as they're not charging for them and Zygor does not charge for the addon. That's pretty black and white to me.

[owensd]

The trial isn't for the viewer addon but for the guides. The viewer is included free with the guide trial.

Exactly! The trial version is for the guide, not the viewer. By grouping the guide and the viewer together in one package you make them one item and confuse the difference, but that is only part of the problem.

The real problem is that there are two different versions of the viewer itself (not the guide, but the actual viewer code). There is the version that comes with the trial and there is the version that comes with the paid for guide. While WoW loads the "Viewer" add-on, they are in-fact different viewers. I couldn't take the viewer from the trial and use the guide that I purchased the same day and have it work as the viewer code is different. Because the viewer code is different you've now created an add-on that you can only get buy purchasing the guide.

I might have worded things a bit wrong when I made the beta comment. You've paid for the guides and only the guides (the ZygorGuidesAlliance.lua and ZygorGuidesHorde.lua files). I personally don't know how often the viewer that's bundled with the trial guides is updated, but the beta comment was more from a developers view. As we paying guide users find different bugs they make changes to the code and put it out for us so that we can see if the fixes work or if it creates new bugs. This would essentially be a 'beta test' of new versions of the viewer. Again, we've only paid for the guides and not the viewer, but we can be used as 'beta testers' as well. After bug fixes are set and working then they can bundle the updated viewer with the guide trial and it's still got it's free distribution. There are many addon authors that have people 'beta test' their changes before releasing addon updates to the public, this would be no different and by no means have we paid for the privilege to 'beta test' the viewer.

If this was a 'select' group of individuals that was not the entire set of individuals that purchased the guide, your argument might make sense. But as it is, if you only provide updates to the viewer code to those that pay for the guide, then you have created two different versions of the add-on. There is the "free" version and there is the "paid" version. The viewer code must always be freely distributed.

The trial version is only a trial of the guides, and by no means is it a trial of the addon. There are no limited addon functionality or anything along those lines in the trial version. The only thing that's limited are the guides, and they aren't the addon. The only addons available here are the guide viewer (which anyone can create their own guides to use with) and the talent advisor (which anyone can create their own talent spec to use with). Since there is no limitation to the viewer and since you aren't paying for the viewer, there is no violation of the addon policy.

This is where you are incorrect. The viewer code has different features depending on if you are using the viewer that came with the trial or the viewer that comes with the guides.

If the viewer code was the same, then we would be in agreement.

I haven't really seen any grey areas with how Zygor has handled things and the addon policy. All addon authors are unrestricted in how they distribute their addons, as long as they're not charging for them and Zygor does not charge for the addon. That's pretty black and white to me.

On the surface it looks like they haven't (of course one can argue that the guide is a service for the add-on, but let's not go there and debate the merits of that because that's where I think it's a grey area and irrelevant to this discussion), but when you look at the code of the viewer you see that that is not the case. Now, is it Zygor's intention for it to be this way, most likely not. It could be simply because of the desire to flush out all of the bugs before updating the trial or the simple fact that the trial is working so why mess with it, but doing that is where I think it's clear that the add-on then violates the add-on policy.

I get the need to test the changes out, but the viewer code needs to be updated in the trial and the guide distribution simultaneously otherwise you end up with add-ons that are only available for a price.

I think the simple fix is to:
1. Provide the viewer as a separate download from the guides.
2. Provide the guides as downloadable separately.

There really is another issue... the .toc file says the license for the code is under the GPL...

## X-eMail: zygor@zygorguides.com
## X-Website: http://zygorguides.com/
## X-License: GPL

By bundling the guides with the viewer, Zygor is dangerously close to putting the guides under the GPL as well which means they must be distributed freely as well... I'm certain that is NOT what he wants. The solution I mentioned above fixes that issue as well.

[Zygor]

Our method currently works just fine. It may just be that the trial guides need to be updated. At any rate, this thread is now off topic. Thank you for your input. Closed.