Atlas, a World of Warcraft instance map browser
Copyright 2005 - 2008 Dan Gilbert
Email me at loglow@gmail.com



Note: This readme file is just slightly out of date.
Expect a completely rewritten version in the very near future!



===============
= About Atlas =
===============

For some reason, Blizzard decided to include beautiful maps for every
area of Azeroth except instances. You can still see the area
surrounding you in the minimap when you're in an instance, but never
the overall layout of the entire dungeon. This is where Atlas comes
in. The core of Atlas is basically an image viewer. However, it's the
images that come with Atlas that make it worthwhile: a map for every
instance in the game. Furthermore, the maps are marked with the
locations of bosses and other points of interest. Atlas also includes
maps of battlegrounds, dungeon locations, flight points, and outdoor
raid bosses.

After installing Atlas, you'll notice a new icon on the minimap that
looks like part of a little globe (you can right-click the icon to
drag it around the minimap's frame). Click this icon to open up the
main Atlas window, which displays the maps and legend. You can
alternatively use the slash-command /atlas. The drop-downs at the top
of the window enable you to navigate between the maps. You can also
drag the Atlas window around the screen. Lock it in place with the
little lock button in the upper-right corner.

At the bottom of the legend is a small text-entry field as well as
Search and Reset buttons. Type part of a word or name in the box and
click the Search button, and the legend's entries are reduced to only
those that match your text. Note that the search is performed only on
the entries for the current map, not all the entries in the database.
While not so useful for instances with only a few entries like
Ragefire Chasm, the search comes in handy when there are a ton of
entries, like for Blackrock Depths or the AtlasMajorCities plug-in. If
you want to get the whole list back, just click Reset.



=================
= Configuration =
=================

Atlas has a few simple options, accessible from the Options button in
the upper-right corner of the main window, or with the slash-command
/atlas options. A few of the settings aren't very self-explanatory so
here's some more information about them. "Auto-Select Instance Map"
detects the instance that you're in when you open Atlas, and then
automatically switches to the appropriate map. This feature doesn't
work in instances that have more than one map, like Blackrock Spire,
Dire Maul, or many of the Outland instances. In this case, Atlas
remembers the last map you had open. "Right-Click for World Map" makes
the World Map open when you right-click anywhere on the Atlas window.
This is useful when you want to quickly switch from Atlas to the World
Map. "Clamp Window to Screen" makes it so that you can't drag the
Atlas window off the edge of the screen. The rest of the options are
pretty straightforward. The Reset Position button is useful if the
Atlas window ever gets dragged completely off-screen and you can't get
it back.



=================
= Atlas Plugins =
=================

Atlas has a built-in plugin system allowing for the easy addition of
map packs. In fact, Atlas ships with four of these plugins (for
battlegrounds, dungeon locations, flight points, and outdoor raid
bosses). If you're interested in making your own Atlas map pack, I
suggest you start with one of these four as a guide. You can contact
me or post on the Atlas forums if you need help, however I suggest you
do as much research as possible beforehand. Furthermore, there are
several Atlas plugins that do more than simply provide additional
maps. AtlasLoot provides a loot table for each boss, and AtlasQuest
displays the quests associated with each instance. Note that I don't
develop these plugins myself; they have their own project leads.



=====================
= Before Installing =
=====================

* Any previous versions of Atlas must be deleted prior to installation.
* Atlas plugins (AtlasLoot, AtlasQuest, etc.) designed for any version
of Atlas prior to this one must be deleted.
* Map packs supplied by Daviesh for Atlas 1.8.6 must be deleted prior
to installation (they're unnecessary now anyway).



==================
= How to Install =
==================

* Unzip the package into your World of Warcraft folder.
* Your zip software must preserve directory structures.
* If you're having trouble, please visit the Atlas FAQ:
* http://www.atlasmod.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?t=3



===============
= Integration =
===============

* Titan Panel
* myAddOns
* CTMod
* Cosmos



===========
= Website =
===========

http://www.atlasmod.com/



===========
= Contact =
===========

Name: Dan Gilbert
Email: loglow@gmail.com
AIM: dan5981



===========
= License =
===========

Atlas is released under the GNU General Public License (GPL).
For the full license text please see: gpl-v2-enUS.txt


