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[Tevish Szat]

It took me a while to really discover the manager.  It's hard to work with linked workshops, but overall great for ensuring things get done.  I can just say "hey, get me 100 serrated green glass discs" and they do.  No futzing with sand supply or the like.

[TruePikachu]

Generally, there are three types of nobles:
* User-useful ones (Broker/Manager/Bookkeeper (to an extent))
* Useless ones (Milita-related positions)
* Very useless ones (the ones you accidentially kill )

The Manager has only one flaw that I can find, that you can only order up to 30 at once. Any fixes? (I'm not counting the DFHack workflow function as a fix; I used that enough anyway)

[Imp]

I do not especially love the manager.

I almost never use my manager for work orders, though I do appoint one, primarily so I can control who works at specific workstations.  That function's quite important to me.

If I need 1-10 of an object, I can queue that through the workstation with very few keystrokes, if I need 11+ of an object I probably need a LOT more than 30... and setting up many sets of manager orders seems to take a lot of keystrokes for me.

So instead I usually place a single workstation order (or a single order on each workstation I want working) with repeat.

If I don't want my last X to be used for production, I first place a stockpile for X in some location, then forbid the items placed in it; forbid and forget, until that mood happens which calls for X, which I can then mercifully unforbid.  My repeat orders will use up all the unforbidden X if they can, and that's what I expect and understand will happen, go for it.

For me this is fast and easy, and combined with limiting the skill level or name of who can work at a station as well as possibly a well specified stockpile surrounding that station, gives me great control over what's being made and adequate control over how much of it is being made.

The very rare times I want 11+ of something, but not 'all that can be made', I have usually chosen to fill up my workstation with 10 jobs, then a bit later check and add more as needed.  Works for me, rapidly and easy.

The two changes that would encourage me to use my manager frequently would be either to set any number of repetitions through him, OR a set of 1-2 keystrokes that would allow me to tell him to repeat the exact previous order, as well as a way to either specify which of a type of workshop was allowed to receive those jobs, OR a way to exclude a specific workshop from receiving any of his tasks.

[Broseph Stalin]

Generally, there are three types of nobles:
* User-useful ones (Broker/Manager/Bookkeeper (to an extent))
* Useless ones (Milita-related positions)
* Very useless ones (the ones you accidentially kill )

The Manager has only one flaw that I can find, that you can only order up to 30 at once. Any fixes? (I'm not counting the DFHack workflow function as a fix; I used that enough anyway)

I just issue multiple concurrent work orders of 30.

[kaenneth]

I just want triggered orders.

if stock of [booze] [less than] [100] make [100] [booze]

if stock of [raw glass] [more than] [1000] make [100] [serrated glass disc]

etc.

[Gentlefish]

I like the manager. To get around the "Stick orders everywhere" I just take the workshops I dont want extra orders on (Usually glass smelters for sand collection and block-making mason workshops) I just order up ten "collect sand" or "make blocks" and suspend them. If I unsuspend one, it runs on repeat for as long as I want, or until I run out of blocks/bags.

[AutomataKittay]

How does the manager work with dedicated workshops? Some of my shops are dedicated to individual dwarves while others of the same type are for the general populace. I like my master craftsdwarves to have specific tasks; I would much rather have my legendary crafter building stuff that will stay in the fort than spamming trade goods and my master mason building doors rather than blocks.

Pretty well with some job cancellation if it's using linked stockpiles and material can't be confused ( like forge having invidual metal stockpiles or craftshop separated by wood, stone and bone ). Not very well if you're using same material between all of them ( like your mason example ). Though there're this work-around:

I like the manager. To get around the "Stick orders everywhere" I just take the workshops I dont want extra orders on (Usually glass smelters for sand collection and block-making mason workshops) I just order up ten "collect sand" or "make blocks" and suspend them. If I unsuspend one, it runs on repeat for as long as I want, or until I run out of blocks/bags.

Forbidding the shop's building material works too to stop manager from putting orders into them, and probably is a good idea if you have a cluster of workshops that you turns on and off. It's probably pretty ideal for block-churning shops, too.

[Fenrisson]

I wish you could exempt certain workshops from taking jobs from the manager in the Profile menu. I usually keep a forge reserved for copper bucklers and silver spiked balls, available for Dabbling to Adequate-skilled dwarves, to keep my mood bait from wasting my steel and adamantine; but if I temporarily run out of silver or copper, the manager starts queuing up my actual work orders there.

You can avoid this problem with stockpile dependencies - If the unskilled laborer workshops only have access to low grade material, they cannot accept the steel and gold jobs...

[TruePikachu]

I just want triggered orders.

if stock of [booze] [less than] [100] make [100] [booze]

if stock of [raw glass] [more than] [1000] make [100] [serrated glass disc]

etc.

That is exactly what DFHack's workflow function does; well, the first one. It maintains stock levels by ordering production if stock goes too low. For example, I usually have it maintain 90-120 booze and drink (it starts production when 90 or lower, suspends at 120).

[Snaake]

...(a change) that would encourage me to use my manager frequently would be a way to exclude a specific workshop from receiving any of his tasks.

This seems to be the easiest, or at least the simplest, way of implementing more control on where the manager is allowed to queue tasks. An extra option in a workshop's (q)uery menu, with manager orders allowed: yes/no. No cancellation spam.

I just want triggered orders.

if stock of [booze] [less than] [100] make [100] [booze]

if stock of [raw glass] [more than] [1000] make [100] [serrated glass disc]

etc.

That is exactly what DFHack's workflow function does; well, the first one. It maintains stock levels by ordering production if stock goes too low. For example, I usually have it maintain 90-120 booze and drink (it starts production when 90 or lower, suspends at 120).

And the second is available for cooking seeds via seedwatch. Sadly not for anything else though, AFAIK :/ Again, seems like it shouldn't be too big of a leap to combine the two functionalities.

[Button]

I wish you could exempt certain workshops from taking jobs from the manager in the Profile menu. I usually keep a forge reserved for copper bucklers and silver spiked balls, available for Dabbling to Adequate-skilled dwarves, to keep my mood bait from wasting my steel and adamantine; but if I temporarily run out of silver or copper, the manager starts queuing up my actual work orders there.

You can avoid this problem with stockpile dependencies - If the unskilled laborer workshops only have access to low grade material, they cannot accept the steel and gold jobs...

Yeeeaaah I'm not a huge fan of stockpile links except for use by minecarts. The last time I tried linking workshops to stockpiles I lost about 10 dwarves to infection because I was preparing to save nether-cap for a project (but didn't have any available yet). So I linked the carpenter's shop to the "all wood not nethercap" stockpile, so the wood furnace wouldn't make lye, so I couldn't make soap. Couldn't figure out what was wrong for ages, because I had set the link for the carpenter's shop, and when something's wrong with your wood furnace, the carpenter's shop isn't the most intuitive place to check...

[AutomataKittay]

I wish you could exempt certain workshops from taking jobs from the manager in the Profile menu. I usually keep a forge reserved for copper bucklers and silver spiked balls, available for Dabbling to Adequate-skilled dwarves, to keep my mood bait from wasting my steel and adamantine; but if I temporarily run out of silver or copper, the manager starts queuing up my actual work orders there.

You can avoid this problem with stockpile dependencies - If the unskilled laborer workshops only have access to low grade material, they cannot accept the steel and gold jobs...

Yeeeaaah I'm not a huge fan of stockpile links except for use by minecarts. The last time I tried linking workshops to stockpiles I lost about 10 dwarves to infection because I was preparing to save nether-cap for a project (but didn't have any available yet). So I linked the carpenter's shop to the "all wood not nethercap" stockpile, so the wood furnace wouldn't make lye, so I couldn't make soap. Couldn't figure out what was wrong for ages, because I had set the link for the carpenter's shop, and when something's wrong with your wood furnace, the carpenter's shop isn't the most intuitive place to check...

It does takes a bit of practice to check the stockpiles first to see their linkage, it can get a bit confusing if I've got a whole network of them even with that. I pretty much routinely link and unlink masonery and mechanic shops and get confused sometimes

[Larix]

The last time I tried linking workshops to stockpiles I lost about 10 dwarves to infection because I was preparing to save nether-cap for a project (but didn't have any available yet). So I linked the carpenter's shop to the "all wood not nethercap" stockpile, so the wood furnace wouldn't make lye, so I couldn't make soap.

I think there must've been something else wrong there - forbidden/unreachable workshop, other stockpile links to the workshop, dysfunctional profiles...

The 'give' link from the stockpile to the carpenter _only_ restricted the carpenter's workshop - a workshop with stockpile links will refuse to interact with un-linked stockpiles.

A stockpile with 'give' links to a workshop can still give material to unlinked workshops.
A stockpile with 'take' links will also take stuff from unlinked workshops/stockpiles, unless you specifically set 'only take from links'.

At least that's assuming you weren't playing with some mod that treats stockpile links differently (and in vanilla, the links are only shown when looking at the stockpile, not the workshop, although it's the workshop that is most strongly affected).

Stockpile links really need an interface improvement - not only is the display contrary to their actual logic (only workshops are restricted in their input/output routes, but the links are only displayed at the stockpiles), it's also tremendously unhelpful if you have, say, four magma smelters, two of which are linked to your main ore stockpile. The stockpile will now display the links
'Give to: magma smelter
Give to: magma smelter'
with no indication which of the two are linked and which aren't. If you are in doubt, you have to delete all links and place them anew.

[Button]

The last time I tried linking workshops to stockpiles I lost about 10 dwarves to infection because I was preparing to save nether-cap for a project (but didn't have any available yet). So I linked the carpenter's shop to the "all wood not nethercap" stockpile, so the wood furnace wouldn't make lye, so I couldn't make soap.

I think there must've been something else wrong there - forbidden/unreachable workshop, other stockpile links to the workshop, dysfunctional profiles...

I don't remember the exact circumstances, as this was some months ago. I know that I was unable to make soap, and removing a stockpile link in an unrelated workshop fixed it; but it might have had to do with the tallow or the lye or the ash rather than the wood. It wasn't profiles, as I only use those on forges.

I should probably just get over it .