Roll20 Wiki

This is page listing common troubles (new) people encounter on Roll20 that aren't too obvious or clearly mentioned on the relevant [[Help Center]] or [[Main Page|Community Wiki]] pages, and where to learn more about them. The page is maintained by the community.

=Bug Report=
Roll20 have a web form for reporting bugs and contacting them for other issues: [https://roll20.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/requests/new Send A Request]

Check [[Bug Report]] for general advice.

=Browser=
'''Roll20 officially only supports Firefox & Chrome browsers''', so if you encounter a problem using other browsers, it's recommended to switch to either of these. And no, using any Chromium-based browser like Microsoft Edge is not the same thing as using Chrome. Roll20 often works really well on other browsers, but your mileage may vary.

==Plugins==
When you encounter problems with Roll20, you should always check if it's caused by some browser plugin you're using, by temporally disabling all and seeing if the problem  persists.

=Character Sheets=

==How to create a character==
Character can only be created inside a game by a Game Creator or someone promoted to a Game Master. To use a specific character sheet template, you need to have one assigned to the game. [[Adding Character Sheet]] covers how to do both. If you're looking for creating a custom character sheet template, check [[BCS|Building Character Sheets]].

If you have created a Character Sheet for someone and they don't see it, you have probably forgotten to change the "Seen By" and "Controlled by" settings for it.

==Import Character==
Importing & Exporting characters between games is done through the [https://app.roll20.net/vault/characters Character Vault].

When a character have been imported to a game, the GM must manually assign the sheet to the player for them to be able to see it. There is also some limitations to what games you can export to.

[[Character Vault|Guide to the Character Vault]]

==Separate Window==
* A number of problems with the character sheet can come from having it in a separate window, which among things disables drag-n-drop from the compendium and the Charactermancer. 
* [[Character_Sheet#Character_Sheet_in_a_separate_window|Restrictions when a sheet is in a separate window]]

==5E==
Over half of all games on Roll20 are D&D 5E, and basically everyone use the '''D&D5E by Roll20''' character sheet. It has an extensive documentation page: [[D&D5E by Roll20]].

It has a few known issues: [[D&D5E by Roll20#Known Issues]]
Forums: [https://app.roll20.net/forum/post/8033570/d-and-d-5th-edition-by-roll20-q1y2020 5E Sheet Bug Report Megathread]

==Pathfinder 2E==

* [[PF2E|Character Sheet Documentation]]
* [https://app.roll20.net/forum/post/8033560/pathfinder-second-edition-by-roll20-q1y2020 Bug Report Megathread]

=Compendium=
The {{compendium}} can be accessed both out-of-game as well as in-side the game from the {{compendium}}-page, if it is enabled in the Game's [[Game_Settings_Page#Compendium_Settings|Compendium Settings]].

In-game, your players don't see the {{compendium}} content you have, unless you have turned on [[Compendium Sharing]].

Players can access compendiums they own in any game that is using that game system's compendium, unless the GM have selectively changed which compendiums are available in that game through [[Game_Settings_Page#Compendium_Selection|Compendium Selection]].

GMs can select which compendiums can be seem in a game, blocking their own & player's access to the GM's compendiums if Compendium Sharing is active, but excluding compendiums also affects players access to compendiums they own themselves. (Eg. If the GM only owns "D&D 5E's Player Handbook" and "Xanatar's Guide to Everything", they can select to block any other compendiums to be used in that game. That would mean a player owning "Guide to Wildemount" couldn't access it in that game.

==Custom Compendium==
Creating & Editing Compendiums is a popular request, but not a feature that that Roll20 thinks the current tools for the system needs more work before it can even be considered to start working on a user-accessible version. No timeline have been give when it might eventually get done.

You can vote & follow the discussion on Custom compendiums in [https://app.roll20.net/forum/post/2940484/custom-compendium it's Suggestion Forum thread].

:''(Personal Opinion/Prediction) Custom Compendiums won't be available until 2021'' [[User:1223200|1223200]] ([[User talk:1223200|talk]]) 13:13, 11 September 2020 (UTC)

=Dynamic Lighting=

==Updated DL vs Legacy DL==
The [[UDL|Updated Dynamic Lighting(UDL)]] is still in development, and still have some [https://app.roll20.net/forum/permalink/9072910/ Known Issues].

Bugs related to it or the Convert Lighting tool should be reported in the [https://app.roll20.net/forum/post/9072910/updated-dynamic-lighting-legacy-sunset-feedback-thread UDL Bug Report Megathread].

Many recommend to still use [[LDL|Legacy Dynamic Lighting(LDL)]] in your games, instead of switching to UDL yet. That being said, UDL already have better performance in some instances, and some groups have switched ower to use it. UDL has a disclaimer at the top mentioning it's still in development.

==Players see only black==
There are more than one possible reason why the players might not see anything:

1. '''They might not yet have [[Token|tokens]] on the current map''', which would grant them vision. If you have just changed the active map that the players see, this is likely whats going on. Drag-n-drop their tokens from the {{Journal}} to the right place on the map.

2. '''(LDL) The player-controlled tokens might not have the "Have Vision" checkbox selected.''' Open the [[Token|Token's settings]], check the box, and save it. 

3. '''The map might have no light-sources, and the characters don't see in the dark.''' If you don't have "Global Illumination" turned on, the map is dark by default, and only light sources and dark-vision enables sight on the map.


=Mobile/tablet=
==App==
Currently(August 22nd, 2020), the old mobile app was discontinued, and using Roll20 in the browser was enabled for all users.

A new mobile/tablet app is in development, and when released won't likely have all features that the desktop browser version does. 

==Tablet==
[https://roll20.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/360037774593-Table-on-Tablet Table on Tablet] - Help Center

Roll20 has made some work to make Roll20 work on tablets using the browser, and is generally a better idea than trying to us a mobile phone.

How well Roll20 works on a specific tablet is hard to know, so best bet it to just try it in the browser (Firefox & Chrome is recommended) and see how it goes. You can search the forums for discussions on this.

=Players=
Players in a game have a much more limited number of things they can do on Roll20 than a Game Master(GM)/Game's Creator. 

Here is a list of things players '''can't''' do in a game, which many new users or GM's thinks players can do.

1. Players can't create their own character sheet, or handouts. The GM must create and assign control of the character/handout to the player(s) for the player to be able to use it. (There exists an API called "Welcome Package" that can automatically do this for players when they join.)

2. Players can't update the image of the [[Journal#Avatar|Avatar]] or the [[Journal#Default_Token|Default Token]] for their Character. Only the GM can do this.

3. Players can't import from their [[Character Vault]] unless the GM have enabled this setting.

=Tokens=
Main page: [[Token]]
==Linking Tokens== 
Linking Tokens to Character Sheets isn't all to intuitive, but there is a guide for it: [[Linking Tokens to Journals]]. If tokens aren't linked to a character sheet, they don't share stats, nor can you quickly drag-n-drop tokens to the map from the {{Journal}}.   

=Tutorial=
The [https://app.roll20.net/editor/tutorial/ built-in Roll20 Tutorial] have several know bugs, such as the {{Art Library}} and {{Jukebox}} sections of it not working correctly.

If you use the tutorial, only use it for the things that work, and when encountering any problems, assume it's a bug( and not user error) and skip the section and go to the next part.

The general community advice is to instead create a real game to test Roll20's features in, and to see many of the Youtube tutorials available. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IoyQs0Cv4p0&list=PLxYefyArg-d1wRWRpTfQMW0cmh32mQTbx Roll20 Crash Course] and Keith Curtis' [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eLbmEAMN7g4 Starting from Scratch] are two recommendations.

It's a good idea to watch more recent Roll20 guides/videos from 2020 or 2019, rather than some older( but still popular) ones like Take20's [https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL4ihyL-PTq4N5DRmy72zCqD1eQhnqaCTp Roll20 Master Series] from 2017. It's still fairly oaky, but several things can be done more easily & better, and Roll20 have tons of new features that's been added since the guide's creation.

=Popular Feature requests=
Roll20 have a Suggestions Forum, where people can vote & comment on suggestions, and Roll20 gives occasional updates on them, along with categorizing them so it's more clear what status they have.

Check the threads for situation updates by Roll20 Staff, this page isn't always up-to-date.

* [https://app.roll20.net/forum/category/385189/?orderby=popular Suggestions by Popularity]

Some notable Suggestions:

'''[https://app.roll20.net/forum/post/1241955/foreground-map-layer Foreground Map Layer]''' 1000 votes

Roll20 is working toward finishing [[UDL]] and sunsetting Legacy DL before starting to work on new features like this. 

'''[[#Custom Compendium|Custom Compendium]]''' 687 votes

Lots to do before Roll20 can start making it available to users.

'''[https://app.roll20.net/forum/post/1618045/a-better-way-to-organize-pages A better way to organize pages]''' 672 votes

'''[https://app.roll20.net/forum/post/6835578/dark-mode-roll20-so-bright Dark Mode]''' 634 votes

[https://app.roll20.net/forum/permalink/8753974/ Dev comment, May 2020]:

:''"We're still rolling out incremental updates to pages, and as we implement Text Chat and Page Menu updates as mentioned in the Pro Mapping thread, we'll be closer to achieving this option."''

'''[https://app.roll20.net/forum/post/1242655/dynamic-lighting-one-sided-dynamic-lighting One Sided Dynamic Lighting]''' 600 votes

[https://app.roll20.net/forum/permalink/8753960/ Dev response, May 2020]:

:''"We've been releasing to Updated Dynamic Lighting at a steady clip, along with upgrades to infrastructure. Progress on this particular issue will come after Updated Dynamic Lighting is at feature parity with the Legacy system."''

'''[https://app.roll20.net/forum/post/1242365/print-character-sheets Print Character Sheets]''' 513 votes

[https://app.roll20.net/forum/permalink/8928942/ Dev Response, July 2020]:
:''"The work required to the character sheet system has been identified and is being documented for estimation. The next step will be to schedule that work."''

'''[https://app.roll20.net/forum/post/1245795/duplicating-page-should-copy-whole-page-including-all-layers Duplicating Page should copy whole page including all layers]''' 508 votes, Queued

It's on the Developer Calendar as of May 2020.

'''[https://app.roll20.net/forum/post/1241899/hover-to-see-token-name-and-bars#post-9084299 Hover to see token name and bars]''' 463 votes, Not Now

Seems low priority to Roll20

'''[https://app.roll20.net/forum/post/4664065/map-pins-linked-to-handouts Map Pins linked to Handouts]''' 427 votes, Blocked

[https://app.roll20.net/forum/permalink/8110273/ Dev Response, Feb 2020]:

:''"We have been focused on Dynamic Lighting along with the upgrades to infrastructure I mentioned in my last post. Work on this feature hasn't been scheduled."''


'''[https://app.roll20.net/forum/post/1619233/allow-the-gm-to-delete-a-line-in-the-chat-text Allow the GM to delete a line in the chat text]''' 381 votes, Researching

Dev Response July 2020:

:''"Yes, this was mentioned in the last Community Roundtable, and in the Pro Forum post. This feature will be part of several enhancements to the Text Chat functionality."''

'''[https://app.roll20.net/forum/post/1878391/folders-in-addition-to-tags-for-all-resource-management Folders in addition to Tags for ALL Resource Management]''' 359 votes, researching

=See Also=
* [https://roll20.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/360037771353-Roll20-Support-FAQ Roll20 Support FAQ] -Roll20 Official Help Center
* [https://roll20.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/360037255314-Subscription-FAQ Subscription FAQ] -Roll20 Official Help Center
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[[Category:Guides]]