dfhack/docs/guides/quickfort-user-guide.rst

.. _quickfort-blueprint-guide:
.. _quickfort-user-guide:
.. _quickfort-alias-guide:

Quickfort blueprint creation guide
==================================

`Quickfort <quickfort>` is a DFHack tool that helps you build fortresses from
"blueprint" .csv and .xlsx files. Many applications exist to edit these files,
such as MS Excel and `Google Sheets <https://sheets.new>`__. Most layout and
building-oriented DF actions are supported through the use of multiple files or
spreadsheets, each describing a different phase of DF construction: designating
digging, defining zones, placing stockpiles, and building.

The original idea came from :wiki:`Valdemar's <User:Valdemar>` auto-designation
macro. Joel Thornton reimplemented the core logic in Python and extended its
functionality with `Quickfort 2.0 <https://github.com/joelpt/quickfort>`__. This
DFHack-native implementation, called "DFHack Quickfort" or just "quickfort",
builds upon Quickfort 2.0's formats and features, preserving compatibility with
existing blueprints (where possible -- DF itself has changed since then). In
contrast with the earlier quickfort implementations, which interacted with DF
by simulating keyboard input, DFHack Quickfort calls lower-level API functions
to designate tiles and configure buildings. This allows for nearly
instantaneous blueprint application, error checking and recovery, and many other
advanced features.

This guide focuses on DFHack Quickfort's capabilities and blueprint syntax, and
teaches players how to understand and create blueprint files. Some of the text
was originally written by Joel Thornton, reused here with his permission.

If you are just looking to apply existing blueprints to your fort, check out
`gui/quickfort` (or `quickfort` for the commandline version). There are many
ready-to-use blueprints available in the `quickfort-library-guide` distributed
with DFHack.

Before you become an expert at writing blueprints, though, you should know that
the easiest way to make a quickfort blueprint is to build your plan "for real"
in Dwarf Fortress and then export that section of your map using
`gui/blueprint`. You can apply those blueprints as-is in your next fort, or you
can fine-tune them with additional features from this guide.

See the `Links`_ section for more information and online resources.

.. contents:: Table of Contents
   :local:
   :depth: 2

Feature summary
---------------

- General

    - Blueprint modes for all phases of fort design
    - Read blueprints from .csv or multi-worksheet .xlsx files
    - Near-instant application, even for very large and complex blueprints
    - Blueprints can span multiple z-levels
    - Easy sharing of blueprints with multi-blueprint files
    - Scripted application of sequences of blueprints
    - Undo applied blueprints
    - Rotate blueprints or flip them around
    - Automatic cropping of blueprints that extend off the map
    - Generate manager orders for items required by a blueprint
    - Includes a library of ready-to-use blueprints
    - Blueprint debugging

- Dig mode

    - Supports all types of designations, including dumping/forbidding items and
      setting traffic settings
    - Supports setting dig priorities
    - Supports applying dig blueprints in marker mode
    - Handles carving arbitrarily complex minecart tracks, including tracks that
      cross other tracks

- Zone and place modes

    - Define zones and stockpiles of any shape, not just rectangles
    - Configurable numbers of bins, barrels and wheelbarrows assigned to created
      stockpiles
    - Automatic splitting of stockpiles that exceed maximum dimension limits
    - Create and attach locations to zones
    - Full control over stockpile configuration based on the `stockpiles`
      settings library
    - Configurable zone/location settings, such as the pit/pond toggle or
      hospital supply quantities

-  Build mode

    - Integrated with DFHack `buildingplan`: you can place buildings before
      manufacturing building materials and you can use the `buildingplan` UI
      for setting materials and quality preferences
    - Designate entire constructions in mid-air without having to wait for each
      tile to become supported
    - Automatic expansion of building footprints to their minimum dimensions, so
      only the center tile of a multi-tile building needs to be recorded in the
      blueprint
    - Tile occupancy and validity checking so, for example, buildings that
      cannot be placed on a target tile will be skipped instead of causing
      errors and interrupting the blueprint. Blueprints that are only partially
      applied for any reason (e.g. you need to dig out some more tiles) can be
      safely reapplied to build the remaining buildings.
    - Relaxed rules for farm plot and road placement: you can still place the
      building even if an invalid tile (e.g. stone tiles for farm plots) splits
      the designated area into two disconnected parts
    - Intelligent boundary detection for adjacent buildings of the same type
      (e.g. a 6x6 block of ``wj`` cells will be correctly split into 4 jeweler's
      workshops)
    - Set building properties (such as a name)
    - Can attach and configure track stops as part of hauling routes

Introduction to blueprints
--------------------------

We recommend using a spreadsheet editor such as Excel, `Google
Sheets <https://sheets.new>`__, or `LibreOffice <https://www.libreoffice.org>`__
to edit blueprint files, but any text editor will do.

The format of Quickfort-compatible blueprint files is straightforward. The first
line (or upper-left cell) of the spreadsheet should look like this::

    #dig

The keyword ``dig`` tells Quickfort we are going to be specifying designations.
The following "mode" keywords are understood:

==============  ===========
Blueprint mode  Description
==============  ===========
dig             Designations (digging, traffic, dumping, etc.)
build           Constructions, buildings, and furniture
place           Stockpiles
zone            Activity zones
==============  ===========

If no modeline appears in the first cell, Quickfort assumes that it's looking at
a ``#dig`` blueprint.

There are also other modes that don't directly correspond to Dwarf Fortress
design operations, but we'll talk about those `later <quickfort-other-modes>`.

If you like, you may enter a comment after the mode keyword. This comment will
appear in the output of ``quickfort list`` or in the dialog window when running
`gui/quickfort`. You can use this space for explanations, attribution, etc.::

    #dig grand dining room

Below this line, begin entering keys in each spreadsheet cell that represent
what you want designated in the corresponding game map tile. For example, we
could dig out a 4x4 room like so (spaces are used as column separators here for
readability, but a real .csv file would have commas)::

    #dig
    d d d d #
    d d d d #
    d d d d #
    d d d d #
    # # # # #

The letter ``d`` here stands for "dig". The character sequences in these
blueprints are based on the old (pre-v50) keyboard shortcuts for the various DF
menus. Please see the `quickfort_guide_appendix` below for a full reference.

Note the :kbd:`#` symbols at the right end of each row and below the last row.
These are completely optional, but can be helpful to make the row and column
positions clear.

Once the dwarves have that dug out, let's zone it as a bedroom::

    #zone
    b b b b #
    b b b b #
    b b b b #
    b b b b #
    # # # # #

This looks very similar to the ``#dig`` blueprint above, but with ``b``\s
instead of ``d``\s. The ``b``\s mark the area for a ``b``\edroom zone just like
the ``#dig`` blueprint marked the area for digging. It's important to wait
until after the area is completely dug out before applying further blueprints
since zones can't be applied to hidden tiles and furniture can't be built in
undug walls.

Now, let's add some walls and furniture::

    #build
    Cw Cw Cw Cw #
    Cw b  h  Cw #
    Cw       Cw #
    Cw Cw    Cw #
    #  #  #  #  #

The :kbd:`C`:kbd:`w` cells represent the constructed walls, leaving space for a
door that we might want to add later. Quickfort uses `buildingplan` for
managing buildings, so the walls will be built out of whatever matches the
current buildingplan filter set for walls. Also note my generosity -- in
addition to the bed (:kbd:`b`) I've built a container (:kbd:`h`) for this lucky
dwarf.

Finally, let's place a booze stockpile in the 2 unoccupied tiles in the room::

    #place personal booze stockpile
    ` ` ` ` #
    ` ~ ~ ` #
    ` f f{name="bedroom booze"}:=booze
    ` `   ` #
    # # # # #

This illustration may be a little hard to understand. The two :kbd:`f`
characters are in row 3, columns 2 and 3. All the other cells are empty. QF
considers both :kbd:`\`` (backtick -- the character under the tilde) and
:kbd:`~` (tilde) characters within cells to be empty cells; this can help with
multilayer or fortress-wide blueprint layouts as "chalk lines".

QF is smart enough to recognize this as a 2x1 food stockpile, and creates it as
such rather than as two 1x1 food stockpiles. Quickfort treats any connected
region of identical designations as a single entity. The tiles can be connected
orthogonally or diagonally, just as long as they are touching. You can also
treat disconnected segments as belonging to the same stockpile, but we'll get
into `Label syntax`_ later.

Now what's all that business attached to the second ``f``? The part between the
curly brackets specifies properties, in this case the name that we want to give
the stockpile. The remaining part, from the colon (``:``) onward, applies the
``booze`` preset from the `stockpiles` library. That will configure the
stockpile to accept only booze. You can use presets (along with other options
that we'll go over later) to configure stockpiles however you want, directly
from the ``#place`` blueprint.

And that's it! You now have a series of blueprints that you can "stamp" across your fort to quickly build new bedrooms.

Area expansion syntax
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In Quickfort, the following blueprints are equivalent::

    #dig a 3x3 area
    d d d #
    d d d #
    d d d #
    # # # #

    #dig the same area with d(3x3) specified in row 1, col 1
    d(3x3)#
    ` ` ` #
    ` ` ` #
    # # # #

The second example uses Quickfort's "area expansion syntax", which takes the
form::

    text(WxH)

Note that area expansion syntax can only specify rectangular areas. If you want
to create extent-based structures (e.g. farm plots or stockpiles) in different
shapes, use the first format above. For example::

    #place A single L shaped food stockpile
    f f ` ` #
    f f ` ` #
    f f f f #
    f f f f #
    # # # # #

Area expansion syntax also sets boundaries, which can be useful if you want
adjacent, but separate, stockpiles of the same type::

    #place Two touching but separate food stockpiles
    f(2x2)  #
    ~ ~ ` ` #
    f(4x2)  #
    ~ ~ ~ ~ #
    # # # # #

As mentioned previously, :kbd:`~` characters are ignored as comment characters
and can be used for visualizing the blueprint layout. This blueprint can be
equivalently written as::

    #place Two touching but separate food stockpiles
    f(2x2)  #
    ~ ~ ` ` #
    f f f f #
    f f f f #
    # # # # #

since the area expansion syntax of the upper stockpile prevents it from
combining with the lower, freeform syntax stockpile.

Area expansion syntax can also be used for buildings which have an adjustable
size, like bridges. The following blueprints are equivalent::

    #build a 4x2 bridge from row 1, col 1
    ga(4x2)  `  #
    `  `  `  `  #
    #  #  #  #  #

    #build a 4x2 bridge from row 1, col 1
    ga ga ga ga #
    ga ga ga ga #
    #  #  #  #  #

If it is convenient to do so, you can place the cell with the expansion syntax
in any corner of the resulting rectangle. Just use negative numbers to indicate
which direction the designation should expand in. For example, the previous
blueprint could also be written as::

    #build a 4x2 bridge from row 2, col 4
    `  `  `  `  #
    ga(4x-2) `  #
    #  #  #  #  #

Property syntax
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Many things you can designate with `quickfort` are configurable. All buildings,
stockpiles, and zones, for example, can be named. These configuration elements
are expressed as properties.

Properties are written between curly brackets (``{}``). There can be multiple
properties defined between those brackets, separated by spaces. Each property
has a name and a value, with an equal sign to connect them. If a property value
has a space within it, it should be surrounded by double quotes (``"``).

If you have defined the area of something over multiple spreadsheet cells, you
can specify properties in just one of those cells and they will apply to the
whole object. You can even split properties up among multiple cells if that is
more convenient. If you are using expansion syntax, the expansion part always
goes last.

Here's an example of a seed stockpile that is configured to take from a seed feeder stockpile::

    #place
    f{name=Seeds links_only=true}:=seeds(3x2)

    f
    f{name="Seeds feeder" give_to=Seeds}:=seeds
    f{containers=0}

Different modes and different types may have different properties that you can
configure. See the `quickfort_guide_appendix` for a full list.

Label syntax
~~~~~~~~~~~~

Labels are different from the ``name`` property. They are only used internally
by Quickfort to associate tiles with a particular zones or stockpiles. This is
useful for when you want to define two touching zones or stockpiles of the same
type(s), but you can't use expansion syntax because they are non-rectangular.
It is also useful for marking two *disconnected* regions as belonging to the
same zone or stockpile. Note that every tile in the zone or stockpile must be
marked with the same label::

    #place two touching stockpiles of the same type
    f/feed f/feed f/feed{name="Seeds feeder" containers=0}:=seeds
    f/feed f      f/feed
    f      f      f{name=Seeds links_only=true take_from="Seeds feeder"}:=seeds

    #zone one pasture in two disconnected regions
    n/slots n/slots n/slots

    n/slots{name="Pasture slots"}(3x1)

Automatic area expansion
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Buildings larger than 1x1, like workshops, can be represented in any of three
ways. You can designate just their center tile with empty cells around it to
leave room for the footprint, like this::

    #build a stonecutter workshop in row 2, col 2 that will occupy the 3x3 area
    ` `  ` #
    ` wm ` #
    ` `  ` #
    # #  # #

Or you can fill out the entire footprint like this::

    #build a stonecutter workshop
    wm wm wm #
    wm wm wm #
    wm wm wm #
    #  #  #  #

This format may be verbose for regular workshops, but it can be very helpful for
laying out structures like screw pump towers and waterwheels, whose "center
point" can be non-obvious.

Or you can use area expansion syntax::

    #build a stonecutter workshop
    wm(3x3)  #
    `  `  `  #
    `  `  `  #
    #  #  #  #

This style can be convenient for laying out multiple buildings of the same type.
If you are building a large-scale block factory, for example, this will create
20 stonecutter workshops all in a row::

    #build line of 20 stonecutter workshops
    wm(60x3)

Quickfort will intelligently break large areas of the same designation into
appropriately-sized chunks.

Multilevel blueprints
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Multilevel blueprints are accommodated by separating Z-levels of the blueprint
with ``#>`` (go down one z-level) or ``#<`` (go up one z-level) at the end of
each floor.

::

    #dig Stairs leading down to a small room below
    j  `  `  #
    `  `  `  #
    `  `  `  #
    #> #  #  #
    u  d  d  #
    d  d  d  #
    d  d  d  #
    #  #  #  #

The marker must appear in the first column of the row to be recognized, just
like a modeline.

You can go up or down multiple levels by adding a number after the ``<`` or
``>``. For example::

    #dig Two double-level quarries
    r(10x10)
    #>2
    r(10x10)

#dig mode
---------

``#dig`` blueprints are normally the first step in any design. They define the
boundaries and layouts for the blueprints for later stages of construction. Despite their name, ``#dig`` blueprints are for more than just digging. They also handle smoothing, carving, traffic designations, and marking items on the ground for dumping, forbidding, or other similar tags. See the full list of supported designations in the `#dig mode reference`_.

.. _quickfort-dig-priorities:

Dig priorities
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

DF designation priorities are supported in ``#dig`` blueprints. The full syntax
is ``[symbol][number][expansion]``, where if the ``symbol`` is not specified,
``d`` is assumed, and if ``number`` is not specified, ``4`` is assumed (the
default priority). So all of these blueprints are equivalent::

    #dig dig the interior of the room at high priority
    d  d  d  d  d  #
    d  d1 d1 d1 d  #
    d  d1 d1 d1 d  #
    d  d1 d1 d1 d  #
    d  d  d  d  d  #
    #  #  #  #  #  #

    #dig dig the interior of the room at high priority
    d  d  d  d  d  #
    d  d1(3x3)  d  #
    d  `  `  `  d  #
    d  `  `  `  d  #
    d  d  d  d  d  #
    #  #  #  #  #  #

    #dig dig the interior of the room at high priority
    4  4  4  4  4  #
    4  1  1  1  4  #
    4  1  1  1  4  #
    4  1  1  1  4  #
    4  4  4  4  4  #
    #  #  #  #  #  #

Marker mode
~~~~~~~~~~~

Marker mode is useful for when you want to plan out your digging, but you don't
want to dig everything just yet. In ``#dig`` mode, you can add a :kbd:`m` before
any other designation letter to indicate that the tile should be designated in
marker mode. For example, to dig out the perimeter of a room, but leave the
center of the room marked for digging later::

    #dig
    d  d  d  d d #
    d md md md d #
    d md md md d #
    d md md md d #
    d  d  d  d d #
    #  #  #  # # #

Then you can use DF's "Toggle Standard/Marking" icons (DF calls them
"blueprints", but hopefully that won't get too confusing in this context) to
convert the center tiles to regular designations at your leisure.

To apply an entire dig blueprint in marker mode, regardless of what the
blueprint itself says, you can set the global quickfort setting
``force_marker_mode`` to ``true`` before you apply the blueprint by running
``quickfort set force_marker_mode true``.

Note that the state of the in-game vanilla button that you use to draw
designations in either Standard or "Blueprint" mode does not have any effect on
`quickfort`.

Carved minecart tracks
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In the game, you carve a minecart track by specifying a beginning and ending
tile, and the game "adds" the designation to the tiles in between. You cannot
designate single tiles because DF needs a multi-tile track to figure out which
direction the track should go on each tile. For example to carve two track
segments that cross each other, you might use the cursor to designate a line of
three vertical tiles like this::

    ` start here ` #
    ` `          ` #
    ` end here   ` #
    # #          # #

Then to carve the cross, you'd do a horizontal segment::

    `          ` `        #
    start here ` end here #
    `          ` `        #
    #          # #        #

This will result in a carved track that would be equivalent to a constructed
track of the form::

    #build
    `      trackS    `      #
    trackE trackNSEW trackW #
    `      trackN    `      #
    #      #         #      #

Quickfort supports both styles of specification for carving tracks with ``#dig``
blueprints. You can use the "additive" style to carve tracks in segments or you
can use the ``track`` aliases to specify the track tile by tile. To designate
track segments, use area expansion syntax with a height or width of 1::

    #dig
    `      T(1x3) ` #
    T(3x1) `      ` #
    `      `      ` #
    #      #      # #

"But wait!", I can hear you say, "How do you designate a track corner that opens
to the South and East? You can't put both T(1xH) and T(Wx1) in the same cell!"
This is true, but you can specify both width and height greater than 1, and for
tracks, QF interprets it as an upper-left corner extending to the right W tiles
and down H tiles. For example, to carve a track in a closed ring, you'd write::

    #dig
    T(3x3) ` T(1x3) #
    `      ` `      #
    T(3x1) ` `      #
    #      # #      #

You can also use negative numbers in the expansion syntax to indicate corners
that are not upper-left corners. This blueprint will also carve a closed ring::

    #dig
    T(3x3) ` `        #
    `      ` `        #
    `      ` T(-3x-3) #
    #      # #        #

Or you could use the aliases to specify tile by tile::

    #dig
    trackSE trackEW trackSW #
    trackNS `       trackNS #
    trackNE trackEW trackNW #
    #       #       #       #

The aliases can also be used to designate a solid block of track. This is
especially useful for obliterating low-quality engravings so you can re-smooth
and re-engrave with higher quality. For example, you could use the following
sequence of blueprints to ensure a 10x10 floor area contains only masterwork
engravings::

    #dig smooth floor
    s(10x10)
    #dig engrave floor
    e(10x10)
    #dig erase low-quality engravings
    trackNSEW(10x10)

The tracks only remove low-quality engravings since quickfort won't designate
masterwork engravings for destruction (unless forced to by a commandline
parameter). You would run (and let your dwarves complete the jobs for) the
sequence of blueprints until no tiles are designated by the "erase" blueprint.

#zone mode
----------

Zones define how regions of your fort should be treated. They are also the
anchor point for "locations" like taverns and hospitals. Unlike stockpiles or
buildings, zones can overlap, which can lead to some interesting layouts. See
the full list of zone symbols in the `#zone mode reference`_.

Zone designation syntax
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A zone is declared with a symbol followed by optional properties::

    #zone a single tile garbage dump zone
    d

    #zone a single tile garbage dump zone named "The Dump"
    d{name="The Dump"}

    #zone interrogation room
    o{name=Interrogation assigned_unit=sheriff}

    #zone a small inactive pond zone
    p{name="Fill me" pond=true active=false}(3x3)

If you want multiple zones that have the same footprint, they can be declared
from the same cell::

    #zone pasture and training area
    n{name="Main pasture"}t{name="Pet training area"}(14x10)

or from different corners of the same rectangle::

    #zone pasture and training area
    n{name="Main pasture"}(10x2)
    t{name="Pet training area"}(10x-2)

and you can use this technique to achieve partial overlap, of course. The only configuration that can't be specified in a single blueprint is multiple non-rectangular zones that are partially overlapping. You will have to use multiple ``#zone`` blueprints to achieve that.

You can also use labels (see `Label syntax`_ above) to separate adjacent
non-rectangular zones that happen to be of the same type or to combine
disconnected regions into a single zone.

Locations, locations, locations
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hospitals, guildhalls, taverns, libraries, and temples are locations. You can
declare a location in the properties for a zone::

    #zone metalcrafter hall
    m{location=guildhall profession=metalcrafter}(7x7)

You can attach multiple zones to a single location by giving the location a
label (not a name -- you can name zones, but you can't directly name locations)
and then using that label for each of the zones you want to attach::

    #zone tavern and rented room
    b{location=tavern/bigpub name="Rent me"}(3x1)
    h{location=tavern/bigpub name="Central pub" allow=residents}(25x40)

Note that the label ("bigpub" in this case) will never appear in-game. It is only used in the context of the blueprint to identify a common location.

#place mode
-----------

``#place`` mode is dedicated to stockpiles, which are a major design element in any fortress.

Stockpile designation syntax
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Just like zones, stockpiles can have properties like names or lists of other stockpiles to take from. Unlike zones, stockpiles can have configuration specifiers for exactly what types of items to accept. The full syntax looks like this::

    types/label{properties}:configuration(expansion)

with every component other than the type being optional. You're already
familiar with `Property syntax`_, `Label syntax`_, and
`Area expansion syntax`_, so let's focus in on the remaining elements.

Stockpile types
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The type of stockpile corresponds to the category of items it accepts. Some types will cause the stockpile to accept bins or barrels. See the full list in the `#place mode reference`_.

It is very common to have stockpiles that accept multiple categories of items.
Although it is perfectly valid to declare a single-purpose stockpile,
`quickfort` also supports directly declaring all the categories at once. For
example, to declare a 20x10 stockpile that accepts both corpses and refuse, you
could write::

    #place refuse heap
    yr(20x10)

The order of the individual letters doesn't matter. If you want to configure the
stockpile from scratch, you can place unconfigured "custom" stockpiles with (:kbd:`c`).

.. _quickfort-place-containers:

Bins, barrels, and wheelbarrows
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Quickfort has global settings for default values for the number of bins,
barrels, and wheelbarrows assigned to stockpiles, but these numbers can be set
for individual stockpiles as well in the properties.

Individual properties for ``bins``, ``barrels``, and ``wheelbarrows`` are
supported. You can also set them all at once with the ``containers`` alias (it
usually just makes sense to set this to 0 when you don't want any containers of
any type). For example::

    #place a stone stockpile with 5 wheelbarrows
    s{wheelbarrows=5}(3x3)

    #place a bar, ammo, weapon, and armor stockpile with 20 bins
    bzpd{bins=20}(5x5)

    #place a weapon stockpile with no bins
    p{containers=0}(9x2)

That last one could have equivalently used ``bins=0``, but sometimes you just
don't want to have to think about which stockpile types take which type of
container.

If the specified number exceeds the number of available stockpile tiles, the
number of available tiles is used. For wheelbarrows, that limit is reduced by 1
to ensure there is at least one non-wheelbarrow tile available in the stockpile.
Otherwise no stone would ever be brought to the stockpile since all tiles would
be occupied by wheelbarrows!

Generating manager orders for a ``#place`` blueprint with explicitly set
container/wheelbarrow counts will enqueue manager orders for the specified
number of containers or wheelbarrows, even if that number exceeds the in-game
size of the stockpile. For example, the following blueprint will enqueue orders
for 10 rock pots, even though the stockpile only has 9 tiles::

    #place
    f{barrels=10}(3x3)

Stockpile configuration
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Quickfort uses the `stockpiles` plugin and `stockpiles-library` to configure
stockpile settings, and provides a syntax that is easy to write in a blueprint
yet still allows you to access the full power of the `stockpiles` command.

The syntax is::

    : <op> <preset_name> [/<filter>] [<op> <preset_name> [/<filter>]...]

``<op>`` is one of ``=``, ``-``, or ``+``, representing the three `stockpiles`
import modes: ``set``, ``disable``, or ``enable``, respectively. Note that if
you are using an ``=`` op, then it should go first in the list. Any ``=``
configuration segment will override anything that comes before it.

For example, a blueprint like::

    #place
    f:=booze(5x4)

would be equivalent to creating a 5x4 food stockpile in the UI, then selecting it and running this command::

    stockpiles import --mode=set booze

you can also add a slash (``/``) and a comma-separated list of filter strings
to customize the settings further::

    #place
    p{name="Metal weapons"}:-cat_weapons/other/(7x3)

Note that the "op" in this case lets us disable the matched preset, which in
this case is the "Other materials" types in the Weapons category. This
configuration is equivalent to the `stockpiles` command::

    stockpiles import --mode=disable cat_weapons --filter=other/

And we can chain multiple `stockpiles` commands together by adding another "op"
character and another preset::

    #place
    p{name="Steel weapons"}:-cat_weapons/mats/,other/+steelweapons(7x3)

which corresponds to running these two commands::

    stockpiles import --mode=disable cat_weapons --filter=mats/,other/
    stockpiles import --mode=enable steelweapons

With the combination of the library presets and custom filter strings, you can
configure any stockpile any way you like!

#build mode
-----------

``#build`` mode handles buildings, furniture (which are also "buildings"
according to DF), constructions (including constructed tracks), and hauling
routes.

Building designation syntax
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Other than names, most buildings do not have any extra properties. See the
`#build mode reference`_ for those that do.

The syntax otherwise looks just like stockpiles, except that it only makes
sense to have a single symbol to indicate what to build on that tile::

    symbol{properties}:configuration(expansion)

Here's an example of a simple 5x5 square of flooring::

    #build
    Cf(5x5)

or a named Jeweler's workshop that takes from specific stockpiles::

    #build
    wj{name="Encrusting center" take_from="Furniture,Gem storage"}

The ``:configuration`` part is only relevant for hauling routes, which we'll go
over in the next section.

Hauling route definitions
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hauling routes are defined by properties and configuration attached to track
stops. You can define a single-stop hauling route for a quantum stockpile as
easily as a multi-stop stone quarry transportation line. The stockpile-like
``:configuration`` part of the syntax controls which item types are considered
"desired" for the hauling route stop. If it's not specified, then all item
types are accepted. This is the most common case since most hauling route
contents are filtered by the stockpiles that the stops take from, but the
flexibility is there for when multiple stops take different items from the same
stockpile, or when a stop only wants a subset of items from a stockpile.

Here is a common setup for a quantum stone stockpile::

    #place
    s{name="Stone quantum" quantum=true} ~ s5{name="Stone feeder"}(3x3)
    #build
    ~ trackstopW{take_from="Stone feeder" route="Stone dumper"}

This sets up the quantum stockpile and the feeder stockpile in the ``#place``
blueprint, followed by the trackstop and the hauling route configuration in the
``#build`` blueprint. The ``route`` property is the name of the hauling route
to create (or attach to if it already exists). If you are applying a quantum
stockpile blueprint more than once in a fort, be sure to *avoid* defining the
``route`` property so that each application of the blueprint creates a unique
hauling route. Two quantum stockpiles on the same route will not function
properly (since one of the stops will be missing a minecart).

Let's look at a slightly more complicated setup where we sort the stone into
different output quantum stockpiles::

    #place
    s{name="Other stone quantum" quantum=true}    ~ s5e{name="Rock feeder"}(3x3)
    s{name="Ore/clay stone quantum" quantum=true} ~
    s{name="Gem quantum" quantum=true}            ~
    #build
    ~ trackstopW{take_from="Rock feeder" route="Other stone"}:=otherstone
    ~ trackstopW{take_from="Rock feeder" route="Ore/clay"}:=cat_stone-otherstone
    ~ trackstopW{take_from="Rock feeder" route="Gems"}:=cat_gems

You can see how we make use of the stockpile-style configuration syntax to
fine-tune the items desired by the hauling route stop.

Finally, let's make a series of stops on a common hauling route. There is
nothing particularly special about this example. If the ``route`` property
names an existing route, the stop will be added to that route::

    #dig
    trackE trackEW trackEW trackW
    #build
    trackstop{route="Tick tock"} ~ ~ trackstop{route="Tick tock"}

These two track stops (which do not dump their contents) simply exist on a
common route at the ends of a connected carved track.

.. _quickfort-modeline:

Modeline markers
----------------

The modeline has some additional optional components that we haven't talked
about yet. You can:

- give a blueprint a label by adding a ``label()`` marker
- set a cursor offset and/or cursor placement hint by adding a ``start()``
  marker
- hide a blueprint from being listed with a ``hidden()`` marker
- register a message to be displayed after the blueprint is successfully
  applied with a ``message()`` marker

The full modeline syntax, when all optional elements are specified, is::

    #mode label(mylabel) start(X;Y;startcomment) hidden() message(mymessage) comment

Note that all elements are optional except for the initial ``#mode`` (though, as
mentioned in the first section, if a modeline doesn't appear at all in the first
cell of a spreadsheet, the blueprint is interpreted as a ``#dig`` blueprint with
no optional markers). Here are a few examples of modelines with optional
elements before we discuss them in more detail::

    #dig start(3; 3; Center tile of a 5-tile square) Regular blueprint comment
    #build label(noblebedroom) No explicit 'start()' so cursor is in upper left
    #meta label(digwholefort) start(center of stairs on surface)
    #dig label(dig_dining) hidden() called by the digwholefort meta blueprint
    #zone label(pastures) message(remember to assign animals to the pastures)

.. _quickfort-label:

Blueprint labels
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Labels are displayed in the blueprint selection dialog and the output of
``quickfort list`` and are used for addressing specific blueprints when there
are multiple blueprints in a single file or spreadsheet sheet (see
`Packaging a set of blueprints`_ below). If a blueprint has no label, the label
becomes the ordinal of the blueprint's position in the file or sheet. For
example, the label of the first blueprint will be "1" if it is not otherwise
set, the label of the second blueprint will be "2" if it is not otherwise set,
etc. Labels that are explicitly defined must start with a letter to ensure the
auto-generated labels don't conflict with user-defined labels.

.. _quickfort-start:

Start positions
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Start positions specify a cursor offset for a particular blueprint, simplifying
the task of blueprint alignment. This is very helpful for blueprints that are
based on a central staircase, but it comes in handy whenever a blueprint has an
obvious "center". For example::

    #build start(2;2;center of workshop) label(stonew) a stonecutter workshop
    wm wm wm #
    wm wm wm #
    wm wm wm #
    #  #  #  #

will build the workshop *centered* on the cursor, not down and to the right of
the cursor.

The two numbers specify the column and row (or 1-based X and Y offset) where the
cursor is expected to be when you apply the blueprint. Position ``1;1`` is the
top left cell. The optional comment will show up in the blueprint listings and
should contain information about where to position the cursor. If the start
position is ``1;1``, you can omit the numbers and just add a comment describing
where to put the cursor. This is also useful for meta blueprints that don't
actually care where the cursor is, but that refer to other blueprints that have
fully-specified ``start()`` markers. For example, a meta blueprint that refers to the ``stonew`` blueprint above could look like this::

    #meta start(center of workshop) a stonecutter workshop
    /stonew

You can use semicolons, commas, or spaces to separate the elements of the
``start()`` marker, whichever you prefer.

.. _quickfort-hidden:

Hiding blueprints
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A blueprint with a ``hidden()`` marker won't appear in the blueprint listings
unless hidden blueprints are specifically requested. The primary reason for
hiding a blueprint (rather than, say, deleting it or moving it out of the
``blueprints/`` folder) is if a blueprint is intended to be run as part of a
larger sequence managed by a `meta blueprint <quickfort-meta>`.

.. _quickfort-message:

Messages
~~~~~~~~

A blueprint with a ``message()`` marker will display a message after the
blueprint is applied. This is useful for reminding players to take manual steps
that cannot be automated, like assigning minecarts to a route, or listing the
next step in a series of blueprints. For long or multi-part messages, you can
embed newlines::

    "#meta label(surface1) message(This would be a good time to start digging the industry level.
    Once the area is clear, continue with /surface2.) clear the embark site and set up pastures"

The quotes surrounding the cell text are only necessary if you are writing a
.csv file by hand. Spreadsheet applications will surround multi-line text with
quotes automatically when they save/export the file.

.. _quickfort-other-modes:

Other blueprint modes
---------------------

There are a few additional blueprint modes that become useful when you are
sharing your blueprints with others or managing complex blueprint sets. Instead
of mapping tile positions to map modifications like the basic modes do, these
"blueprints" have specialized, higher-level uses:

==============  ===========
Blueprint mode  Description
==============  ===========
notes           Display long messages, such as help text or blueprint
                walkthroughs
ignore          Hide a section of your spreadsheet from quickfort, useful for
                scratch space or personal notes
meta            Script sequences of blueprints together, transform them, and/or
                repeat them across multiple z-levels
==============  ===========

.. _quickfort-notes:

#notes mode
~~~~~~~~~~~

Sometimes you just want to record some information about your blueprints, such
as when to apply them, what preparations you need to make, or what the
blueprints contain. The `message() <quickfort-message>` modeline marker is
useful for small, single-line messages, but a ``#notes`` blueprint is more
convenient for long messages or messages that span many lines. The lines in a
``#notes`` blueprint are output as if they were contained within one large
multi-line ``message()`` marker. For example, the following (empty) ``#meta``
blueprint::

    "#meta label(help) message(This is the help text for the blueprint set
    contained in this file.

    First, make sure that you embark in...) blueprint set walkthrough"

could more naturally be written as a ``#notes`` blueprint::

    #notes label(help) blueprint set walkthrough
    This is the help text for the blueprint set
    contained in this file

    First, make sure that you embark in...

The ``#meta`` blueprint is all squashed into a single spreadsheet cell, using
embedded newlines. Each line of the ``#notes`` "blueprint", however, is in a
separate cell, allowing for much easier viewing and editing.

#ignore mode
~~~~~~~~~~~~

If you don't want some data to be visible to quickfort at all, use an
``#ignore`` blueprint. All lines until the next modeline in the file or sheet
will be completely ignored. This can be useful for personal notes, scratch
space, or temporarily "commented out" blueprints.

.. _quickfort-meta:

#meta mode
~~~~~~~~~~

``#meta`` blueprints are blueprints that control how other blueprints are
applied. For example, meta blueprints can bundle a group of other blueprints so
that they can be run with a single command. They can also encode logic, like
rotating the blueprint or duplicating it across a specified number of z-levels.

Scripting blueprints together
`````````````````````````````

A common scenario where meta blueprints are useful is when you have several
phases to link together. For example you might:

1.  Apply a dig blueprint to designate dig areas
#.  Wait for miners to dig
#.  **Apply another dig blueprint** to designate traffic costs
#.  **Apply a zone blueprint** to designate zones
#.  **Apply a place buildprint** to designate and configure stockpiles
#.  **Apply a build buildprint** to designate buildings

Those last four "apply"s might as well get done in one command instead of four.
A ``#meta`` blueprint can help with that. A meta blueprint refers to
other blueprints in the same file by their label (see the `Modeline markers`_
section) in the same format used by the `quickfort` command:
``<sheet name>/<label>``, or just ``/<label>`` for blueprints in .csv files or
blueprints in the same spreadsheet sheet as the ``#meta`` blueprint that
references them.

A few examples might make this clearer. Say you have a .csv file with blueprints
that prepare bedrooms for your dwarves::

    #dig label(bed1) dig out the rooms
    ...
    #zone label(bed2) declare bedroom zones
    ...
    #place label(bed3) add food stockpiles
    ...
    #build label(bed4) build the furniture
    ...

Note how I've given them all labels so we can address them safely. If I hadn't
given them labels, they would receive default labels of "1", "2", "3", etc, but
those labels would change if I ever add more blueprints at the top. This is not
a problem if we're just running the blueprints individually from
`gui/quickfort` or the ``quickfort list`` command, but meta blueprints need a
label name that isn't going to change over time.

So let's add a meta blueprint to this file that will combine the last three
blueprints into one::

    "#meta label(bed234) combines zone, place, and build blueprints"
    /bed2
    /bed3
    /bed4

Now your sequence is shortened to:

1.  Run /bed1 to designate dig areas
#.  Wait for miners to dig
#.  **Run /bed234 meta buildprint** to declare zones, place stockpiles, and build furniture

You can use meta blueprints to lay out your fortress at a larger scale as well.
The ``#<`` and ``#>`` notation is valid in meta blueprints, so you can, for
example, store the dig blueprints for all the levels of your fortress in
different sheets in a spreadsheet, and then use a meta blueprint to designate
your entire fortress for digging at once. For example, say you have a .xlsx
spreadsheet with the following layout:

=============  ========
Sheet name     Contents
=============  ========
dig_farming    one #dig blueprint, no label
dig_industry   one #dig blueprint, no label
dig_dining     four #dig blueprints, with labels "main", "basement",
               "waterway", and "cistern"
dig_guildhall  one #dig blueprint, no label
dig_suites     one #dig blueprint, no label
dig_bedrooms   one #dig blueprint, no label
=============  ========

We can add a sheet named "dig_all" with the following contents (we're expecting
a big fort, so we're digging 5 levels of bedrooms)::

    #meta label(dig_it) dig the whole fortress
    dig_farming/1
    #>
    dig_industry/1
    #>
    dig_dining/main
    #>
    dig_dining/basement
    #>
    dig_dining/waterway
    #>
    dig_dining/cistern
    #>
    dig_guildhall/1
    #>
    dig_suites/1
    #>
    dig_bedrooms/1 repeat(down 5)

Note that for blueprints without an explicit label, we still need to address
them by their auto-generated numeric label.

It's worth repeating that ``#meta`` blueprints can only refer to blueprints that
are defined in the same file. This means that all blueprints that a meta
blueprint needs to run must be in sheets within the same .xlsx spreadsheet or
concatenated into the same .csv file.

You can then hide the blueprints that you now manage with the meta blueprint
from the blueprint selection lists by adding a ``hidden()`` marker to their
modelines. That way, the blueprint lists won't be cluttered by blueprints that
you don't need to run directly. If you ever *do* need to access the meta-managed
blueprints individually, you can still see them by toggling the "Hidden" setting in the `gui/quickfort` load dialog or with ``quickfort list --hidden``.

Meta markers
````````````

In meta blueprints, you can tag referenced blueprints with markers to modify how
they are applied. These markers are similar to `Modeline markers`_, but are only
usable in meta blueprints. Here's a quick list of examples, with more details
below:

===================  ===========
Example              Description
===================  ===========
repeat(down 10)      Repeats a blueprint down z-levels 10 times
shift(0 10)          Adds 10 to the y coordinate of each blueprint tile
transform(cw flipv)  Rotates a blueprint clockwise and then flips it vertically
===================  ===========

**Repeating blueprints**

Syntax: repeat(<direction>[, ]<number>)

The direction can be ``up`` or ``down``, and the repetition works even for
blueprints that are themselves multi-level. For example::

    #meta label(2beds) dig 2 levels of bedrooms
    dig_bedrooms/1 repeat(down 2)

    #meta label(6beds) dig 6 levels of bedrooms
    /2beds repeat(down 3)

You can use ``<`` and ``>`` for short, instead of ``up`` and ``down``. The comma
or space between the direction and the number is optional as well. The following
lines are all equivalent::

    /2beds repeat(down 3)
    /2beds repeat(down, 3)
    /2beds repeat(>3)

**Shifting blueprints**

Syntax: shift(<x shift>[[,] <y shift>])

The values can be positive or negative. Negative values for x shift to the left,
positive to the right. Negative values for y shift up, positive down. Note the
semantics for the y axis are opposite compared to regular graphs on paper. This
is because the y coordinates in the DF game map start a 0 at the top and
increase as they go down.

**Transforming blueprints**

Syntax: transform(<transformation>[[,] <transformation>...])

Applies a geometric transformation to the blueprint. The supported
transformations are:

:rotcw or cw:   Rotates the blueprint 90 degrees clockwise.
:rotccw or ccw: Rotates the blueprint 90 degrees counterclockwise.
:fliph:         Flips the blueprint horizontally (left edge becomes right edge).
:flipv:         Flips the blueprint vertically (top edge becomes bottom edge).

If you specify more than one transformation, they will be applied in the order
they appear in.

If you use both ``shift()`` and ``transform()`` markers on the same blueprint,
shifting is applied after all transformations are complete. If you want shifting
to be applied before the transformations, or in between transformations, you can
use nested meta blueprints. For example, the following blueprint will shift the
``/hallway`` blueprint to the right by 20 units and then rotate it clockwise::

    #meta label(shift_right) hidden()
    /hallway shift(20)
    #meta label(rotate_after_shift)
    /shift_right transform(cw)

Transforming build blueprints will also change the properties of buildings that
care about direction. For example, a bridge that opens to the North, rotated
clockwise, will open to the East when applied to the map.

.. _quickfort-packaging:

Packaging a set of blueprints
-----------------------------

A complete specification for a section of your fortress may contain 4 or more
separate blueprints, one for each "phase" of construction (dig, zone, place,
build).

To manage all the separate blueprints, it is often convenient to keep related
blueprints in a single file. For .xlsx spreadsheets, you can keep each blueprint
in a separate sheet. Online spreadsheet applications like `Google
Sheets <https://sheets.new>`__ make it easy to work with multiple related
blueprints, and, as a bonus, they retain any formatting you've set, like column
sizes and coloring.

For both .csv files and .xlsx spreadsheets you can also add as many blueprints
as you want in a single file or sheet. Just add a modeline in the first column
to indicate the start of a new blueprint. Instead of multiple .csv files, you
can concatenate them into one single file. This is especially useful when you
are sharing your blueprints with others. A single file is much easier to manage
than a directory of files.

For example, you can write multiple blueprints in one file like this::

    #dig label(bed1)
    d d d d #
    d d d d #
    d d d d #
    d d d d #
    # # # # #
    #zone label(bed2)
    b(4x4)  #
            #
            #
            #
    # # # # #
    #place label(bed3)
            #
    f(2x2)  #
            #
           #
     # # # # #
    #build label(bed4)
    b   f h #
            #
            #
    t c     #
    # # # # #

Of course, you could still choose to keep your blueprints in separate files and
just give related blueprints similar names::

    bedroom.1.dig.csv
    bedroom.2.zone.csv
    bedroom.3.place.csv
    bedroom.4.build.csv

The naming and organization is completely up to you.

Buildingplan integration
------------------------

`buildingplan` is a DFHack plugin that keeps building construction jobs in a
suspended state until the materials required for the job are available. This
prevents a building designation from being canceled when a dwarf picks up the
job but can't find the materials. `quickfort` uses `buildingplan` to manage
construction.

This means that `buildingplan's filters <buildingplan>` will be used for each
building type. For example, you can use the buildingplan UI to set the type of
stone you want your walls made out of. Or you can specify that all
buildingplan-managed chairs and tables must be of Masterful quality. The current
filter settings are saved with planned buildings when the ``#build`` blueprint
is run. You can set the filters the way you want for one blueprint, run the
blueprint, and then freely change the filters again for the next blueprint,
even if the first set of buildings haven't been built yet.

Note that buildings are still constructed immediately if you already have the
materials. However, with buildingplan you now have the freedom to apply
``#build`` blueprints before you manufacture the resources. The construction
jobs will be fulfilled whenever the materials become available.

Since it can be difficult to figure out exactly what source materials you need
for a ``#build`` blueprint, quickfort can autogenerate manager orders for
everything that a blueprint requires. See `Generating manager orders`_ for more
details on this. You can apply a blueprint, then the planned buildings will be
built as your dwarves fulfill the orders.

Generating manager orders
-------------------------

Quickfort can generate manager orders to make sure you have the proper items in
stock for a ``#build`` blueprint.

Many items can be manufactured from different source materials. Orders will
always choose rock when it can, then wood, then cloth, then iron. You can always
remove orders that don't make sense for your fort and manually enqueue a similar
order more to your liking. For example, if you want silk ropes instead of cloth
ropes, make a new manager order for an appropriate quantity of silk ropes, and
then remove the generated cloth rope order.

Anything that requires generic building materials (workshops, constructions,
etc.) will result in an order for a rock block. One "Make rock blocks" job
produces four blocks per boulder, so the number of jobs ordered will be the
number of blocks you need divided by four (rounded up). You might end up with a
few extra blocks, but not too many.

If you want your constructions to be in a consistent color, be sure to choose a
rock type for all of your 'Make rock blocks' orders in the manager orders
screen. You might also want to set the rock type for other non-block orders
to something different if you fear running out of the type of rock that you want
to use for blocks. You should also set the `buildingplan` material filter for
construction building types to that type of rock as well so other blocks you
might have lying around aren't used.

Extra Manager Orders
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In ``#build`` blueprints, there are a few building types that will generate
extra manager orders for related materials:

- Track stops will generate an order for a minecart
- Traction benches will generate orders for a table, mechanism, and rope
- Levers will generate an order for an extra two mechanisms for connecting the
  lever to a target
- Cage traps will generate an order for a cage


Stockpiles in ``#place`` blueprints that `specify wheelbarrow or container
counts <quickfort-place-containers>` will generate orders for the appropriate
number of bins, pots, or wheelbarrows.

Tips and tricks
---------------

- After digging out an area, you may wish to smooth and/or engrave the area
  before starting the build phase, as dwarves may be unable to access walls or
  floors that are behind/under built objects.

- If you are designating more than one level for digging at a time, you can
  make your miners more efficient by using marker mode on all levels but one.
  This prevents your miners from digging out a few tiles on one level, then
  running down/up the stairs to do a few tiles on an adjacent level. With only
  one level "live" and all other levels in marker mode, your miners can
  concentrate on one level at a time. You just have to remember to "unmark" a
  new level when your miners are done with their current one. Alternately, if
  you have a chokepoint between levels (e.g. a central staircase), you can set
  the chokepoint to be dug at a lower priority than all the other tiles on the
  level. This will ensure your miners complete digging out a level before
  continuing on to the next.

- As of DF 0.34.x, it is no longer possible to build doors at the same time
  that you build adjacent walls. Doors must now be built *after* adjacent
  walls are constructed. This does not affect the more common case where walls
  exist as a side-effect of having dug-out a room in a ``#dig`` blueprint, but
  if you are building your own walls, be aware that walls must be built before
  you run the blueprint to designate attached doors.

- Quickfort is a very powerful tool. See the `case study <dreamfort-case-study>`
  below for more ideas on how to build awesome blueprints!

Caveats and limitations
-----------------------

- Weapon traps and upright spear/spike traps can currently only be built with a
  single weapon.

- Pressure plates can be built, but they cannot be usefully configured yet.

- Building instruments is not yet supported.

- DFHack Quickfort is a large project, and there are bound to be bugs! If you
  run into any, please report them at the :issue:`DFHack issue tracker <>` so
  they can be addressed.

.. _dreamfort-case-study:

Dreamfort case study: a practical guide to advanced blueprint design
--------------------------------------------------------------------

While syntax definitions and toy examples will certainly get you started with
your blueprints, it may not be clear how all the quickfort features fit together
or what the best practices are, especially for large and complex blueprint sets.
This section walks through the "Dreamfort" blueprints found in the `DFHack
blueprint library <dreamfort>`, highlighting design choices and showcasing
practical techniques that can help you create better blueprints. Note that this
is not a guide for how to design the best *fort* (there is plenty about that
:wiki:`on the wiki <Design strategies>`). This is essentially an extended tips
and tricks section focused on how to make usable and useful quickfort blueprints
that will save you time and energy.

Almost every quickfort feature is used somewhere in Dreamfort, so the blueprints
are very useful as reference examples. You can copy the Dreamfort blueprints and
use them as starting points for your own, or just refer to them when you create
something similar.

In this case study, we'll start by discussing the high level organization of the
Dreamfort blueprint set. Then we'll walk through the spreadsheets for each of
the fort levels in turn, calling out feature usage examples and explaining the
parts that might not be obvious just from looking at them.

If you haven't built Dreamfort before, maybe try an embark in a relatively flat
area and take it for a spin! It will help put the following sections in
context. There is also a pre-built Dreamfort available for download on
:dffd:`dffd <15434>` if you just want an interactive reference.

Dreamfort organization and packaging
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Dreamfort blueprints are distributed with DFHack as
:source:`one large .csv file <data/blueprints/dreamfort.csv>`, but
editing in that format would be frustrating. Instead, the blueprints are
edited `online as Google drive spreadsheets
<https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1dsmvnzbOKsyFS3DCj0F8ibSnMhVHEjdV>`__.
Either the .csv file or the .xlsx files can be read and applied by quickfort,
but it made more sense to distribute the blueprints as a .csv so players would
only have to remember one filename. Also, .csv files are text-based, which works
more naturally with the DFHack source control system. We use the
`xlsx2csv <https://github.com/dilshod/xlsx2csv>`__ utility to do the conversion
from .xlsx to .csv format.

.. topic:: Tip

    Include a ``#notes`` section with information about how to use your
    blueprint.

Each spreadsheet has a "help" sheet with a ``#notes`` blueprint that displays a
walkthrough and other useful details. This is the first sheet in each
spreadsheet so it will be selected by default if the user doesn't specify a
label name. For example, just running ``quickfort run
library/dreamfort.csv`` will display Dreamfort's `introduction text
<https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/15TDBebP8rBNvsFbezb9xuKPmGWNzv7j4XZWq1AsfCio>`__.

Do not neglect writing the help text! Not only will it give others a chance to
use your blueprints appropriately, but the help you write will remind *you* what
you were thinking when you wrote the blueprint in the first place.

The surface_ level: how to manage complexity
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

.. _surface: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/17HfnCJY4WDPlLdiLuUNc0gwyf6BiSdayndjvFYXzS7c

.. image:: https://drive.google.com/uc?export=download&id=1dlu3nmwQszav-ZaTx-ac28wrcaYBQc_t
  :alt: Annotated screenshot of the dreamfort surface level
  :target: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1dlu3nmwQszav-ZaTx-ac28wrcaYBQc_t
  :align: center

For smaller blueprints, packaging and usability are not really that important -
just write it, run it, and you're done. However, as your blueprints become
larger and more detailed, there are some best practices that can help you deal
with the added complexity. Dreamfort's surface level is many steps long since
there are trees to be cleared, holes to be dug, flooring to be laid, and
bridges to be linked to control levers, and each step requires the previous
step to be completely finished before it can begin. Therefore, a lot of thought
went into minimizing the toil associated with applying so many blueprints.

.. topic:: Tip

    Use meta blueprints to script blueprint sequences and reduce the number of
    quickfort commands you have to run.

The single most effective way to make your blueprint sets easier to use is to
group them with `meta blueprints <quickfort-meta>`. For the Dreamfort set of
blueprints, each logical "step" generally takes more than one blueprint. For
example, with ``#meta`` blueprints, setting up pastures with a ``#zone``
blueprint, placing starting stockpiles with a ``#place`` blueprint, and building
starting workshops with a ``#build`` blueprint can all be done with a single
command. Bundling blueprints with ``#meta`` blueprints reduced the number of
steps in Dreamfort from 100 to about 25, and it also made it much clearer to
see which blueprints can be applied at once without unpausing the game. Check
out dreamfort_surface's "`meta
<https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/17HfnCJY4WDPlLdiLuUNc0gwyf6BiSdayndjvFYXzS7c/edit#gid=972927200>`__"
sheet to see how much meta blueprints can simplify your life.

You can define `as many blueprints as you want <quickfort-packaging>` on one
sheet, but this is especially useful when writing meta blueprints. It's like
having a bird's eye view of your entire plan in one sheet.

.. topic:: Tip

    Keep the blueprint list uncluttered by using ``hidden()`` markers.

If a blueprint is bundled into a meta blueprint, it does not need to appear in
the `gui/quickfort` blueprint load dialog or ``quickfort list`` output since
you won't be running it directly. Add a `hidden() marker <quickfort-hidden>` to
those blueprints to keep the list output tidy. You can still access hidden
blueprints by toggling the "Hidden" setting in `gui/quickfort` or by passing the
``--hidden`` option to ``quickfort list`` if you need to, for example to
reapply a partially completed ``#build`` blueprint, but now they won’t clutter
up the normal blueprint list.

.. topic:: Tip

    Name your blueprints with a common prefix so you can find them easily.

This goes for both the file name and the `modeline label() <quickfort-label>`.
Searching and filtering is implemented for both `gui/quickfort` and the
``quickfort list`` command. If you give related blueprints a common prefix, it
makes it easy to set the filters to display just the blueprints that you're
interested in. If you have a lot of blueprints, this can save you a lot of
time. Dreamfort uses the level name as a prefix for the labels, like
"surface1", "surface2", "farming1", etc. So if I’m in the middle of applying
the surface blueprints, I’d set the filter to ``dreamfort surface`` to just
display the relevant blueprints.

.. topic:: Tip

    Add descriptive comments that remind you what the blueprint contains.

If you've been away from Dwarf Fortress for a while, it's easy to forget what
your blueprints actually do. Make use of `modeline comments
<quickfort-modeline>` so your descriptions are visible in the blueprint list.
If you use meta blueprints, all your comments can be conveniently edited on one
sheet, like in surface's meta sheet.

.. topic:: Tip

    Use ``message()`` markers to remind yourself what to do next.

`Messages <quickfort-message>` are displayed after a blueprint is applied. Good
things to include in messages are:

* The name of the next blueprint to apply and when to run it
* Whether orders should be generated for the current or an upcoming step
* Any actions that you have to perform manually after running the blueprint,
  like assigning minecarts to hauling routes or pasturing animals in
  newly-created zones

These things are just too easy to forget. Adding a ``message()`` can save you
from time-wasting mistakes. Note that ``message()`` markers can still appear on
the ``hidden()`` blueprints, and they'll still get shown when the blueprint is
run via a ``#meta`` blueprint. For an example of this, check out the `zones
sheet <https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/17HfnCJY4WDPlLdiLuUNc0gwyf6BiSdayndjvFYXzS7c/edit#gid=1226136256>`__
where the pastures are defined.

The farming_ level: fun with stockpiles
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

.. _farming: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1RZ67upSpQx7hX-AkqiFXVJl8o5GGdDX1WDOJNz-wOiA

.. image:: https://drive.google.com/uc?export=download&id=1vDaedLcgoexUdKREUz75ZXQi0ZSdwWwj
  :alt: Annotated screenshot of the dreamfort farming level
  :target: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1vDaedLcgoexUdKREUz75ZXQi0ZSdwWwj
  :align: center

It is usually convenient to store closely associated blueprints in the same
spreadsheet. The farming level is very closely tied to the surface because the
miasma vents dug on the surface have to perfectly line up with where rottables
can accumulate on the farming level. However, surface is a separate z-level
and, more importantly, already has many many blueprints of its own. Farming is
therefore split into a separate file.

.. topic:: Tip

    Automate stockpile chains with the ``take_from`` and ``give_to`` properties.

The farming level starts doing interesting things with stockpiles in its
``#place`` blueprints. Note the `careful customization
<https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1RZ67upSpQx7hX-AkqiFXVJl8o5GGdDX1WDOJNz-wOiA/edit#gid=1174337781>`__
of the food stockpiles and the stockpile chains set up with the ``take_from``
and ``give_to`` properties. For example, the "Seeds" stockpile is set to
``link_only=true`` and the "Seeds feeder" stockpile has ``containers=0`` and
``give_to=Seeds``. This minimizes container churn for the common task of seed
recovery. When finding the named stockpiles to link, quickfort will search the
other stockpiles created in the same blueprint first. If no stockpiles by that
name are found, then existing stockpiles/workshops are searched. This is how
many of the stockpiles on this level are configured to take from the starter
stockpiles on the surface.

.. topic:: Tip

    Quantum stockpiles are super easy to define, if you want to use them.

Hauling routes are notoriously fiddly to set up by hand, but they can be easily
automated with blueprints. Check out the Southern area of the ``#place`` and
``#build`` blueprints for how the quantum refuse dump is configured with simple
``take_from`` and ``route`` properties attached to the track stop.

The industry_ level: advanced linking
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

.. _industry: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/16nzXGrznQmtkrmQv7FeKsVYnv8SSA7eBl1M-97NmuQk

.. image:: https://drive.google.com/uc?export=download&id=1c8YTHxTgJY5tUII-BOWdLhmDFAHwIOEs
  :alt: Annotated screenshot of the dreamfort industry level
  :target: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1c8YTHxTgJY5tUII-BOWdLhmDFAHwIOEs
  :align: center

The industry level is densely packed and has more intracate stockpile and
hauling route configuration.

.. topic:: Tip

    Name things.

In order to be a target for a stockpile or workshop link, the stockpile or
building must have a name. That's not the only reason you should give things
names, though. The game is just much easier to play when stockpiles and key
buildings have descriptive names. Which lever controls the bridge named "Right
outer gate"? You can click on that bridge, click on "show linked buildings",
zoom to the lever, and click on the lever. Or you can scan your mouse over the
levers and click on the lever with the same name as the target bridge. You can
always edit names in-game, but blueprints are a great way to automate this task.

.. topic:: Tip

    You can give to or take from multiple sources.

Some of the feeder stockpiles on this level are split up so that no one item
type can fill the whole pile. The track stops that drive the quantum stockpiles
have to take from all of them at once. When specifying multiple link targets
that have spaces in their names, remember to surround the whole list with
quotes. For example::

    #build
    trackstopW{name="Goods/wood dumper" take_from="Wood feeder,Goods feeder,Furniture feeder" route="Goods/wood quantum"}

The services_ level: handling multi-level dig blueprints
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

.. _services: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1xu8vNKGlGDN9L3MVB4qp2Ytef9oAWvuET6RkuZXmCaE

.. image:: https://drive.google.com/uc?export=download&id=1RQMy_zYQWM5GN7-zjn6LoLWmnrJjkxPM
  :alt: Annotated screenshot of the dreamfort services level
  :target: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1RQMy_zYQWM5GN7-zjn6LoLWmnrJjkxPM
  :align: center

Services is a multi-level blueprint that includes a well cistern beneath the
main level. Unwanted ramps caused by channeling are an annoyance, but we can
avoid getting a ramp at the bottom of the cistern with careful use of `dig
priorities <quickfort-dig-priorities>`.

.. topic:: Tip

    Use dig priorities to control ramp creation.

We can `ensure <https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1xu8vNKGlGDN9L3MVB4qp2Ytef9oAWvuET6RkuZXmCaE/edit#gid=1706912296>`__
the bottom level is carved out before the layer above is channeled by assigning
the channel designations lower priorities (the ``h5``\s in the lower layers --
scroll down on the blueprint spreadsheet). This works here because there is
only a single column of higher-priority stairs for a dwarf to dig down to get
below the lower-priority channels. If the dig area has multiple tiles exposed,
it is harder to control dig order since a second dwarf may not have access to
any higher-priority tiles and may start digging the lower-priority designations
prematurely.

An alternative is to have a follow-up blueprint that removes any undesired
ramps. We did this on the
`surface <https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/17HfnCJY4WDPlLdiLuUNc0gwyf6BiSdayndjvFYXzS7c/edit#gid=1790750180>`__
and
`farming <https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1RZ67upSpQx7hX-AkqiFXVJl8o5GGdDX1WDOJNz-wOiA/edit#gid=436537058>`__
levels with the miasma vents since it would be too complicated to synchronize
simultaneous digging of the two layers.

The guildhall_ level: avoiding smoothing issues
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

.. _guildhall: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1DltZIHkw7zpNiQdSvXLcHdbwdttPwl35pVpBUYy90TA

.. image:: https://drive.google.com/uc?export=download&id=1mt66QOkfBqFLtw6AJKU6GNYmhB72XSJG
  :alt: Annotated screenshot of the dreamfort guildhall level
  :target: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1mt66QOkfBqFLtw6AJKU6GNYmhB72XSJG
  :align: center

The goal of this level is to provide rooms for ``locations`` like guildhalls,
libraries, and temples. The value of these rooms is very important, so we are
likely to smooth and engrave everything. To smooth or engrave a wall tile, a
dwarf has to be adjacent to it, and since some furniture, like statues, block
dwarves from entering a tile, where you put them affects what you can access.

.. topic:: Tip

    Don't put statues in corners unless you want to smooth everything first.

In the guildhall level, the statues are placed so as not to block any wall
corners. This gives the player freedom for choosing when to smooth. If a statue
blocks a corner, or if a line of statues blocks a wall segment, it forces the
player to smooth before building the statues. Otherwise they have to bother with
temporarily removing statues to smooth the walls behind them.

The suites_ level: balance of flexibility
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

.. _suites: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1pZ5mnYzzYLSni-LA3rfHZ6dFX8n7rTW088iBwsCI7N4

.. image:: https://drive.google.com/uc?export=download&id=16XRb1w5zFoyVq2LBMx_aCwOyjFq7GULc
  :alt: Annotated screenshot of the dreamfort noble suites
  :target: https://drive.google.com/file/d/16XRb1w5zFoyVq2LBMx_aCwOyjFq7GULc
  :align: center

In designing this level, we needed to choose between two approaches:

1. Create rooms with specific, pre-determined purposes, laying out furniture
   and zoning with appropriate types
#. Lay out each room the same so each can serve any purpose

Each has pros and cons. The first option reduces more toil by pre-creating the
zones. If we go this route, we can also auto-assign the rooms to the various
roles (if they exist when the blueprint is run). Each room can be customized
for its intended purpose: offices can look like offices, bedrooms could look
like bedrooms, and so on. However, if the needs of the fort don't correspond to
the pre-determined layouts, or if the needs of the fort *change* significantly,
then the blueprint can become more of a hinderance than a help.

As you can see from the screenshot, we went with option 2. The ability to
re-zone arbitrarily to meet changing noble needs was too great of a benefit to
ignore. The downside, of course, is that you have to zone and assign your own
rooms. However, as soon as you gain a barony or a duchy, you'd be doing that
anyway with option 1.

With option 2, if you need a "better" bedroom, you'd just expand the zone to
cover the neighboring "unit". Satisfying the monarch is also simple: plop down
a new suites level and assign each block of 4 rooms to one zone. four units for
the bedroom, four for the office, four for the dining hall, and four for the
tomb. Smooth and engrave and you're done. Of course, more asthetic-minded
players are always free to design custom areas too. These blueprints are
designed to be functional more than beautiful.

The beds_ and crypt_ levels: copy and paste and repeat
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

.. _beds: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1pZ5mnYzzYLSni-LA3rfHZ6dFX8n7rTW088iBwsCI7N4

.. _crypt: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1yTr48EFgXIoswhzL2RXpzUBvY8Sa-XKEacf6zXriZvM

.. image:: https://drive.google.com/uc?export=download&id=16-NXlodLIQjeZUMSmsWRafeytwU2dXQo
  :alt: Annotated screenshot of the dreamfort apartments
  :target: https://drive.google.com/file/d/16-NXlodLIQjeZUMSmsWRafeytwU2dXQo
  :align: center

.. image:: https://drive.google.com/uc?export=download&id=16iT_ho7BIRPD_eofuxdlVQ4FunR1Li23
  :alt: Annotated screenshot of the dreamfort crypt
  :target: https://drive.google.com/file/d/16iT_ho7BIRPD_eofuxdlVQ4FunR1Li23
  :align: center

The apartments and crypt blueprints are straightforward, other than the sheer
number of zones. Copy-paste in Google Sheets was used heavily here. The only
fancy bit is the meta blueprint that digs the stack of apartment levels, which
brings us to our final tip:

.. topic:: Tip

    Use meta blueprints to lay out repeated adjacent levels.

We couldn't use this technique for the entire fortress since there is often an
aquifer between the farming and industry levels, and we can't know beforehand
how many z-levels we need to skip. We can, however, automate the digging of
everything from the industry level down, including designating all apartment
levels at once. See the
`#meta <https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/15TDBebP8rBNvsFbezb9xuKPmGWNzv7j4XZWq1AsfCio/edit#gid=284974597>`__
blueprint in the `Dreamfort help spreadsheet
<https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/15TDBebP8rBNvsFbezb9xuKPmGWNzv7j4XZWq1AsfCio>`__
for how it uses a ``repeat()`` marker for the ``/apartments1`` blueprint to
apply it to three z-levels at once.

That's it! I hope this guide was useful to you. Please leave feedback on the
forums or on the DFHack Discord server if you have ideas on how this guide (or
the dreamfort blueprints themselves) can be improved!

Links
-----

**Quickfort links:**

- `Quickfort command reference <quickfort>`
- `blueprint-library-guide`
- :forums:`Quickfort forum thread <176889>`
- :issue:`DFHack issue tracker <>`
- :source:`Blueprint library source <data/blueprints>`
- :source-scripts:`Quickfort source code <internal/quickfort>`

**Related tools:**

- DFHack's `blueprint plugin <blueprint>` can generate blueprints from actual
  DF maps.
- DFHack's `buildingplan plugin <buildingplan>` sets material and quality
  constraints for quickfort-placed buildings.
- `Python Quickfort <http://joelpt.net/quickfort>`__ is the previous,
  Python-based implementation that DFHack's quickfort script was inspired by.

.. _quickfort_guide_appendix:

Appendix: Symbols and properties
--------------------------------

#dig mode reference
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

=============  =======
Symbol         Meaning
=============  =======
``d``          dig (mine out walls but leave the floors)
``h``          channel (empty tile with a ramp in the z-level below)
``u``          up stair
``j``          down stair
``i``          up/down stair
``r``          ramp (produces empty tile in the z-level above)
``z``          remove up stairs/ramps
``t``          chop trees
``p``          gather plants
``s``          smooth walls or floors
``e``          engrave smoothed walls or floors
``F``          carve fortification
``T``          carve track
``v``          toggle whether engraving details are visible
``M``          toggle marker (called "blueprints" by the DF interface)
``n``          remove construction
``x``          remove designation
``bc``         claim items on this tile
``bf``         forbid items on this tile
``bm``         melt items on this tile
``bM``         remove melt flag from items on this tile
``bd``         dump items on this tile
``bD``         remove dump flag from items on this tile
``bh``         hide items on this tile
``bH``         unhide items on this tile
``oh``         set high traffic
``on``         set normal traffic
``ol``         set low traffic
``or``         set restricted traffic
``trackN``     carve track that extends to the north
``trackS``     carve track that extends to the south
``trackE``     carve track that extends to the east
``trackW``     carve track that extends to the west
``trackNS``    carve track that extends to the north and south
``trackEW``    carve track that extends to the east and west
``trackNE``    carve track that extends to the north and east (corner)
``trackNW``    carve track that extends to the north and west (corner)
``trackSE``    carve track that extends to the south and east (corner)
``trackSW``    carve track that extends to the south and west (corner)
``trackNSE``   carve track that extends to the north, south, and east (tee)
``trackNSW``   carve track that extends to the north, south, and west (tee)
``trackNEW``   carve track that extends to the north, east, and west (tee)
``trackSEW``   carve track that extends to the south, east, and west (tee)
``trackNSEW``  carve track that extends in all directions (cross)
=============  =======

You can carve a track over an existing natural ramp to allow a minecart to
safely traverse z-levels. You can write  ``trackramp<dir>`` instead of
``track<dir>`` (e.g. ``trackrampSW``) for clarity in blueprints where this is
the intention. The actual designation produced by ``track<dir>`` and
``trackramp<dir>`` is identical.

#zone mode reference
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

======  =================  ==========
Symbol  Type               Properties
======  =================  ==========
``m``   meeting area
``b``   bedroom
``h``   dining hall
``n``   pen/pasture
``p``   pit/pond           ``pond``: if set to ``true``, then the zone is a pond
``w``   water source
``j``   dungeon
``f``   fishing
``s``   sand
``o``   office
``D``   dormitory
``B``   barracks
``a``   archery range      ``shoot_from``: can be any of: ``west``, ``left``,
                           ``east``, ``right``, ``north``, ``top``, ``south``,
                           or ``bottom``. defaults to ``west``.
``d``   garbage dump
``t``   animal training
``T``   tomb               ``pets``: if set to ``true`` then pets are allowed.
                           ``citizens``: if set to ``false`` then citizens are
                           not allowed.
``g``   gather/pick fruit  ``pick_trees``, ``pick_shrubs``, ``gather_fallen``:
                           all are set to ``true`` by default. set to ``false``
                           to disable.
``c``   clay
======  =================  ==========

In addition to the type-specific properties listed above, all zones support the
following properties:

=================  ===========
Property           Description
=================  ===========
``name``           the name of the zone
``active``         if set to ``false`` then the zone is deactivated
``assigned_unit``  if set to the name of a noble position (like ``manager`` or
                   ``bookkeeper`` or ``sheriff``) then the zone will be
                   assigned to the unit appointed to the indicated noble
                   position (if any). if the fort has progressed to the point
                   that the sheriff role has been replaced by the captain of
                   the guard, then ``assigned_unit=sheriff`` will be
                   interpreted as ``assigned_unit=captain_of_the_guard``.
``location``       the type of location to create and attach the zone to: one
                   of: ``hospital``, ``guildhall``, ``tavern``, ``library``, or
                   ``temple``. To attach multiple zones to the same location,
                   specify a label after the location type and use the same
                   label for all attached zones. For example:
                   ``location=tavern/mainpub``.
``allow``          (only if ``location`` is also set) sets the access
                   restriction for the attached location: one of: ``visitors``,
                   ``residents``, ``citizens``, or ``members``. defaults to
                   ``visitors``.
``profession``     (only if ``location=guildhall``) sets the profession of the
                   guildhall. See possilbe values with ``:lua @df.profession``.
                   For example: ``profession=metalsmith``.
``desired_*``      (only if the location is set to the relevant type) sets the
                   desired number of stocked items for the attached location.
                   See the table below for details.
=================  ===========

Here are the desired items that can be specified for each location type:

=============  ===========
Location type  Properties
=============  ===========
tavern         ``desired_goblets`` (defaults to ``10``),
               ``desired_instruments`` (defaults to ``5``)
hospital       ``desired_splints`` (defaults to ``5``), ``desired_thread``
               (defaults to ``5``), ``desired_cloth`` (defaults to ``5``),
               ``desired_crutches`` (defaults to ``5``), ``desired_powder``
               (defaults to ``5``), ``desired_buckets`` (defaults to ``2``),
               ``desired_soap`` (defaults to ``5``)
library        ``desired_paper`` (defaults to ``10``)
temple         ``desired_instruments`` (defaults to ``5``)
=============  ===========

#place mode reference
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The symbol or symbols used to declare a stockpile determine which item
categories are enabled by default as well as which stockpile containers (e.g.
bins/barrels/wheelbarrows) are assigned to the stockpile by default.

======  ===============  ==========
Symbol  Type             Containers
======  ===============  ==========
``a``   animal
``f``   food             barrels
``u``   furniture
``n``   coins            bins
``y``   corpses
``r``   refuse
``s``   stone            wheelbarrows
``w``   wood
``e``   gem              bins
``b``   bars and blocks  bins
``h``   cloth            bins
``l``   leather          bins
``z``   ammo             bins
``S``   sheets           bins
``g``   finished goods   bins
``p``   weapons          bins
``d``   armor            bins
``c``   custom
======  ===============  ==========

All stockpiles support the following properties:

================  ===========
Property          Description
================  ===========
``name``          the name of the stockpile
``take_from``     comma-separated list of names or building ids of stockpiles
                  or workshops that the stockpile takes from
``give_to``       comma-separated list of names or building ids of stockpiles
                  or workshops that the stockpile gives to
``links_only``    if set to ``true`` then the stockpile will only take from
                  links
``barrels``       the number of desired barrels
``bins``          the number of desired bins
``wheelbarrows``  the number of desired wheelbarrows
``containers``    sets the desired numbers for barrels, bins, and wheelbarrows.
                  this is most useful to set all desired container counts to 0.
``quantum``       if set to ``true``, then sets ``containers=0 links_only=true``
``automelt``      if set to ``true``, enables the corresponding `logistics`
                  feature
``autotrade``     if set to ``true``, enables the corresponding `logistics`
                  feature
``autodump``      if set to ``true``, enables the corresponding `logistics`
                  feature
``autotrain``     if set to ``true``, enables the corresponding `logistics`
                  feature
================  ===========

Note that specifying building IDs in ``take_from`` or ``give_to`` lists is
primarily useful when dynamically generating `quickfort` blueprints and
applying them via the API. You will not generally know the ID of a stockpile or
building when writing a blueprint by hand or when preparing a blueprint to
apply in a different fort.

#build mode reference
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In addition to the type-specific properties listed below, all building types
accept the ``name`` property.

Moreover, all workshops and furnaces accept the ``max_general_orders``
property, which sets the maximum number of general workorders that the building
can accept, and the ``take_from`` and ``give_to`` properties, which are
comma-separated lists of names or building ids (the same as the correponding
stockpile properties above).

================= ============================= ==========
Symbol            Type                          Properties
================= ============================= ==========
``a``             armor stand
``b``             bed
``c``             seat
``n``             burial receptacle
``d``             door
``x``             floodgate
``H``             floor hatch
``W``             wall grate
``G``             floor grate
``B``             vertical bars
``~b``            floor bars
``f``             cabinet
``h``             container
``r``             weapon rack
``s``             statue
``~s``            slab
``t``             table
``g``             bridge (retracting)
``gw``            bridge (raises to north)
``gd``            bridge (raises to east)
``gx``            bridge (raises to south)
``ga``            bridge (raises to west)
``l``             well
``y``             glass window
``Y``             gem window
``D``             trade depot
``Msu``           screw pump (pumps from north)
``Msk``           screw pump (pumps from east)
``Msm``           screw pump (pumps from south)
``Msh``           screw pump (pumps from west)
``Mw``            water wheel (vertical)
``Mws``           water wheel (horizontal)
``Mg``            gear assembly
``Mh``            horizontal axle (east-west)
``Mhs``           horizontal axle (north-south)
``Mv``            vertical axle
``rollerNS``      roller (pushes to south)      ``speed``: one of ``50000``,
                                                ``40000``, ``30000``,
                                                ``20000``, or ``10000``.
                                                defaults to ``50000``.
``rollerEW``      roller (pushes to west)       ``speed``
``rollerSN``      roller (pushes to north)      ``speed``
``rollerWE``      roller (pushes to east)       ``speed``
``S``             support
``m``             animal trap
``v``             restraint
``j``             cage
``A``             archery target
``R``             traction bench
``N``             nest box
``~h``            hive                          if ``do_install`` is set to
                                                ``true`` then a bee colony will
                                                be installed. if ``do_gather``
                                                is set to ``true`` then hive
                                                products will be gathered.
``~a``            offering place
``~c``            bookcase
``F``             display furniture
``p``             farm plot                     if ``seasonal_fertilize`` is
                                                set to ``true`` then the plots
                                                will be configured for seasonal
                                                fertilization
``o``             paved road
``O``             dirt road
``k``             vermin catcher
``we``            leather works
``wq``            quern
``wM``            millstone
``wo``            loom
``wk``            clothier
``wb``            bowyer
``wc``            carpenter
``wf``            metalsmith
``wv``            magma forge
``wj``            jeweler
``wm``            stoneworker
``wu``            butcher
``wn``            tanner
``wr``            craftsdwarf
``ws``            siege workshop
``wt``            mechanic
``wl``            still
``ww``            farmer
``wz``            kitchen
``wh``            fishery
``wy``            ashery
``wd``            dyer
``wS``            soap maker
``wp``            screw press
``ew``            wood furnace
``es``            smelter
``el``            magma smelter
``eg``            glass furnace
``ea``            magma glass furnace
``ek``            kiln
``en``            magma kiln
``ib``            ballista
``ic``            catapult
``Cw``            wall
``Cf``            floor
``Cr``            ramp
``Cu``            up stair
``Cd``            down stair
``Cx``            up/down stair
``CF``            fortification
``trackstop``     track stop (no dumping)       ``friction``: one of ``50000``,
                                                ``10000``, ``500``, ``50``, or
                                                ``10``. defaults to ``50000``.
                                                ``take_from``: create a hauling
                                                route stop on this track stop
                                                and make it take from the given
                                                comma-separated list of
                                                stockpile names or stockpile
                                                building ids. ``route``: add
                                                this route stop to the named
                                                route. if no route of this name
                                                exists, it will be created. If
                                                no route name is given, a new
                                                route is always created.
``trackstopN``    track stop (dump to north)    ``friction``, ``take_from``,
                                                ``route``
``trackstopS``    track stop (dump to south)    ``friction``, ``take_from``,
                                                ``route``
``trackstopE``    track stop (dump to east)     ``friction``, ``take_from``,
                                                ``route``
``trackstopW``    track stop (dump to west)     ``friction``, ``take_from``,
                                                ``route``
``Ts``            stone-fall trap
``Tw``            weapon trap
``Tl``            lever
``Tp``            pressure plate
``Tc``            cage trap
``TS``            upright spear/spike
``trackN``        track to the N
``trackS``        track to the S
``trackE``        track to the E
``trackW``        track to the W
``trackNS``       track to the N, S
``trackEW``       track to the E, W
``trackNE``       track corner to the N, E
``trackNW``       track corner to the N, W
``trackSE``       track corner to the S, E
``trackSW``       track corner to the S, W
``trackNSE``      track tee to the N, S, E
``trackNSW``      track tee to the N, S, W
``trackNEW``      track tee to the N, E, W
``trackSEW``      track tee to the S, E, W
``trackNSEW``     track cross
``trackrampN``    track ramp to the N
``trackrampS``    track ramp to the S
``trackrampE``    track ramp to the E
``trackrampW``    track ramp to the W
``trackrampNS``   track ramp to the N, S
``trackrampEW``   track ramp to the E, W
``trackrampNE``   track ramp corner to the N, E
``trackrampNW``   track ramp corner to the N, W
``trackrampSE``   track ramp corner to the S, E
``trackrampSW``   track ramp corner to the S, W
``trackrampNSE``  track ramp tee to the N, S, E
``trackrampNSW``  track ramp tee to the N, S, W
``trackrampNEW``  track ramp tee to the N, E, W
``trackrampSEW``  track ramp tee to the S, E, W
``trackrampNSEW`` track ramp cross
================= ============================= ==========