"Frequently Asked Questions" (FAQ) for Recap

This FAQ covers features introduced or significantly modified since version 3.32
For earlier features please see the file readme_332_FAQ.txt


__ FAQ: Healing __

Q: Do pure healers now show up during a raid?
A: Yes, healers now show up on the list of combatants as soon as they heal, not just when they give or receive damage.

Q: Is the calculation of overhealing more accurate?
A: Yes, the reporting of overhealing should be more accurate since Recap now checks health (for party and raid) at the beginning of a fight as well as at the end of a fight.


__ FAQ: Damage Per Second __

Q: Does Recap calculate DPS In (damage per second done to a combatant) and HPS (healing per second)?
A: Yes, separate durations are now kept for each combatant for damage done, damage received, and healing done.  DPS, DPS In, and HPS are calculated using the corresponding durations.  You can now see the raid's total DPS done to a boss in the "DPS In" column for that boss.

Q: Why does Recap show three Time columns?
A: The Time column is the duration for damage done.  The Time In column is the duration for damage received.  The Time Heal column is the duration for healing done.

Q: Why is the Recap DPS calculation especially good for groups and raids?
A: Because DPS classes are not penalized on the DPS calculation when they wait for the tank to gain aggro.  "Wait for 3 sunders"?  No problem.  Their DPS for the fight will be based on the time of the individual combatant's first and last attacks.  The DPS+ column will continue to show DPS based on the overall duration of damage done for the fight.

Q: What about combatants who only get healed?
A: Recap does not track combatants who neither do damage, receive damage, nor do healing.  A minor point, but this means that a combatant who gets healed prior to doing any of those three things will not have that healing recorded on their Incoming Details tab.


__ FAQ: Event Recording __

Q: Does Recap remember recent events?
A: Yes, there is now an options setting "Recent Data Mode" that remembers up to 2000 recent damaging or healing events.  Warning: Use of the Recent Data Mode can take a lot of memory, and can slow down Recap.  Note that Recap starts fresh every time you log in or reload your UI, so if you want to examine recent events then do so before logging out.

Q: How do I post the recent Incoming damage or healing events for a combatant?
A: If you shift+right-click on a combatant on the "All Fights" or "Last Fight" panel, then recent Incoming events for that combatant will be posted, either to a chat if you have a chat edit box open, or to your own console.  This feature allows you, for example, to check in detail the last moments of a boss or of a main tank.  Be restrained about posting to shared channels, as there will often be very many lines that will overfill the chat window (which shows only 128 lines).

Q: How do I post the recent Outgoing damage or healing events for a combatant?
A: If you control+right-click on a combatant on the "All Fights" or "Last Fight" panel, then recent Outgoing events for that combatant will be posted.  This feature allows you, for example, to check the spells and abilities used by a boss during the last stages of a fight.

Q: How do I post the recent Outgoing damage or healing events for a particular spell or ability for a combatant?
A: If you control+right-click on a spell or ability on the "Personal Details" panel for you or on the "Outgoing Details" tab for a combatant, then recent Outgoing events for that spell or ability for that combatant will be posted.  This feature allows you, for example, to see the time between uses of a spell or ability by a boss (examine the timestamps).  The timestamps show minutes, seconds, and tenths of a second.

Q: Can I annoy people by posting huge lists of recent events that fill up people's chat windows?
A: Unfortunately yes.  There is no easy way for Recap to decide which chat channels to exclude.  Recap will refuse to post recent events to the channels Yell, General, Trade, LocalDefense, WorldDefense, and GuildRecruitment (and corresponding French and German channels).

Q: How are critical and crushing blows indicated in the postings?
A: Critical blows are indicated by a single asterisk ('*'), and crushing blows by a double asterisk ('**').

Q: What does a report of Incoming damage and healing look like?
A: Here is the last ten seconds of a boss fight, showing the damage that the group is doing to Kargath.
	Recap: ----  vvvv  ----
	08:32.2 Cyshaden (Melee) => Warchief Kargath Bladefist ( -130 )
	08:32.5 Pauladin (Greater Blessing of Sanctuary (Holy)) => Warchief Kargath Bladefist ( -49 )
	08:32.5 Pauladin (Holy Shield (Holy)) => Warchief Kargath Bladefist ( -172 )
	08:32.5 Pauladin (Damage Shield (Holy)) => Warchief Kargath Bladefist ( -27 )
	08:32.5 Pauladin (Damage Shield (Nature)) => Warchief Kargath Bladefist ( -26 )
	08:32.7 Pauladin (Melee) => Warchief Kargath Bladefist ( -123 )
	08:32.7 Pauladin (Melee) => Warchief Kargath Bladefist ( parry )
	08:32.9 Cyshaden (Ferocious Bite) => Warchief Kargath Bladefist ( -730 )
	08:33.2 Cyshaden (Melee) => Warchief Kargath Bladefist ( -280* )
	08:34.2 Pauladin (Holy Vengeance (Holy)) => Warchief Kargath Bladefist ( -190 )
	08:34.2 Cyshaden (Damage Shield (Holy)) => Warchief Kargath Bladefist ( -27 )
	08:34.9 Hawksy (Damage Shield (Holy)) => Warchief Kargath Bladefist ( -28 )
	08:35.5 Esthero (Frostbolt (Frost)) => Warchief Kargath Bladefist ( -1278 )
	08:36.2 Percs (Damage Shield (Nature)) => Warchief Kargath Bladefist ( -26 )
	08:36.5 Percs (Damage Shield (Nature)) => Warchief Kargath Bladefist ( -27 )
	08:37.1 Pauladin (Holy Vengeance (Holy)) => Warchief Kargath Bladefist ( -190 )
	08:37.4 Percs (Damage Shield (Nature)) => Warchief Kargath Bladefist ( -20 )
	08:38.2 Hawksy (Damage Shield (Holy)) => Warchief Kargath Bladefist ( -27 )
	08:38.2 Cyshaden (Damage Shield (Holy)) => Warchief Kargath Bladefist ( -28 )
	08:38.2 Percs (Damage Shield (Nature)) => Warchief Kargath Bladefist ( -26 )
	08:39.0 Hawksy (Damage Shield (Holy)) => Warchief Kargath Bladefist ( -28 )
	08:41.6 Cyshaden (Melee) => Warchief Kargath Bladefist ( -100 )
	08:41.7 Cyshaden (Mangle (Cat)) => Warchief Kargath Bladefist ( -499 )
	08:42.7 Cyshaden (Melee) => Warchief Kargath Bladefist ( -115 )
	08:42.9 Pauladin (Melee) => Warchief Kargath Bladefist ( -230* )
	08:43.4 Cyshaden (Mangle (Cat)) => Warchief Kargath Bladefist ( -500 )
	08:43.6 Esthero (Frostbolt (Frost)) => Warchief Kargath Bladefist ( -2547* )
	09:08.1 --------------------------------------------------
	Recap: ----  ^^^^  ----

Q: What does a report of Outgoing damage and healing look like?
A: Here is the last ten seconds of the same boss fight, showing the damage that Kargath is doing to the group.
	Recap: ----  vvvv  ----
	08:32.2 Warchief Kargath Bladefist (Sweeping Strikes) => Cyshaden ( -1084 )
	08:32.9 Warchief Kargath Bladefist (Sweeping Strikes) => Cyshaden ( -656 )
	08:33.6 Warchief Kargath Bladefist (Blade Dance) => Pauladin ( dodge )
	08:33.7 Warchief Kargath Bladefist (Blade Dance) => Cyshaden ( -1018 )
	08:34.2 Warchief Kargath Bladefist (Blade Dance) => Hawksy ( absorb )
	08:34.5 Warchief Kargath Bladefist (Blade Dance) => Hawksy ( -532 )
	08:35.8 Warchief Kargath Bladefist (Blade Dance) => Percs ( -966 )
	08:36.2 Warchief Kargath Bladefist (Blade Dance) => Hawksy ( miss )
	08:36.2 Warchief Kargath Bladefist (Blade Dance) => Percs ( -857 )
	08:37.0 Warchief Kargath Bladefist (Blade Dance) => Percs ( -895 )
	08:37.8 Warchief Kargath Bladefist (Blade Dance) => Hawksy ( -1114 )
	08:37.8 Warchief Kargath Bladefist (Blade Dance) => Cyshaden ( -1340 )
	08:37.8 Warchief Kargath Bladefist (Blade Dance) => Percs ( -949 )
	08:38.5 Warchief Kargath Bladefist (Blade Dance) => Hawksy ( -1250 )
	08:42.5 Warchief Kargath Bladefist (Melee) => Pauladin ( parry )
	09:08.1 --------------------------------------------------
	Recap: ----  ^^^^  ----

Q: How did you get those reports out of WoW and into this text file?
A: See the next section, "FAQ: Saving Reports".


__ FAQ: Saving Reports __

Q: Can I save all recent events to a file for later examination?
A: You can save your console chat (chat logging), including your posting of recent events and other Recap key+click reports, to WOWChatLog.txt (in the World of Warcraft/Logs folder) for examination after you log out.  Go to the Options / Reports panel and click the "Open" button.  When the button text changes to "Channel joined" logging will begin, and continue until you log out or click the "Close" button.  If the button text continue to read "Acquiring channel..." for a while, try clicking it a second time.  If the button text then changes to "Channel joined", proceed as before.  Otherwise press the "Close" button and try again.

Q: How can I copy Recap postings, including multi-line postings, for use outside WoW, without having to log out to get them?
A: You can send your posts of recent events and other Recap key+click reports to the Clipboard.  First, go to the Options / Reports panel and press either "Report Fights" or "Report Details" under Report to Clipboard.  The report will be created and selected in the Clipboard.  Second, delete the text.  This will leave your cursor in an empty Clipboard.  Leave the Clipboard open.  Third, post your report(s) using your usual key+click.  Because the Clipboard is open, Recap will append the post to the Clipboard.  You can append multiple posts.  Fourth, select the text in the Clipboard, copy it, and paste it outside WoW, perhaps into a text editor such as Notepad or TextEdit.
	__ Recap: Hawksy: Effect Totals __
	1. Smite: 20444 (35%)
	2. Holy Fire: 12883 (22%)
	3. Mind Blast: 10398 (18%)
	4. Shadow Word: Pain: 10368 (18%)
	5. Shadow Word: Death: 2578 (4%)
	6. Shoot: 972 (2%)

Q: Any limitations?
A: Key+click reports sent to the Clipboard ignore the setting of the "Report Format in HTML" option.  Posting recent events to the Clipboard can be slow.  The Clipboard can contain a maximum of 32000 characters.


__ FAQ: Last Fight Examination and Saving __

Q: Can I save the information for a single boss fight?
A: Yes, on the Options / Data Sets panel you can now save the Last Fight as well as All Fights.  This allows you to later load the data for a single fight for examination.

Q: Can I force the Last Fight information to stay around long enough to save?  Sometimes after a boss fight someone kills a toad or heals a friend, and this new 'fight' replaces the boss fight information before I have had a chance to examine it or save it.
A: Yes, Recap has a new feature to temporarily suspend the automatic updating of the Last Fight panel, and to hold one fight on view indefinitely.

Q: How does it work?
A: There is a new button on the Last Fight panel labelled "Hold".  The Hold button can be clicked before (or even during) the fight that you want to have held.  The button changes to "Waiting", and at the end of the fight the Last Fight panel will be held for you.  The button changes to "Resume".  When you have finished examining or saving the Last Fight, click the Resume button.  Recap will resume automatic updates to the Last Fight panel, and the button will change back to "Hold".

Q: Am I losing fight information while the Last Fight panel is being held?
A: No, Recap will continue to track fights in the background.  However, there is a drawback.  If more than one fight takes place while the Last Fight panel is being held, Recap will treat all fights that are tracked in the background as one long fight.  Durations will be longer than expected, and calculated "per second" values will be lower.

Q: What can I do to keep durations and per second values as accurate as possible?
A: If the Last Fight panel is being held, click Resume as soon as possible.  If the Last Fight is being held, then the Last Fight panel will pop up every time a fight ends, as a reminder, until you have clicked the Resume button.

Q: Why do I have to remember to click the Hold button before the fight, and to click the Resume button after I've examined or saved the data?
A: Because I haven't figured out, at least not yet, how to have Recap do it automatically in a way that would satisfy almost everyone.

Q: Is there some other way to keep data for a single boss fight?
A: Yes.  Click the Reset button on the All Fights panel before the fight begins.  At the end of the fight save All Fights (not Last Fight) on the Options / Data Sets panel.  The advantage is that you can save, and later inspect, all the data for that single boss fight without having to mess with the Hold / Resume button just described.  The drawback is that you cannot track All Fights information for the entire instance.


__ FAQ: Synchronization __

Q: Is synchronization required?
A: No.  Any Recap user may opt out of synchronization.  In fact, the default is to be opted out.  To participate in synchronization go to the new Options / Sync panel and turn on Enable Synchronization.

Q: What information is synchronized?
A: The numbers on the All Fights panel (Times, Damage Dealt, Maximum Hit, Damage Taken, Healing, OverHealing, and Deaths) are synchronized among all participating Recap users in the group (which means Battleground, Raid, or Party as appropriate).  At the end of every fight the leader of the synchronization will automatically broadcast their data about every combatant.  Members will in turn broadcast any larger numbers they have.

Q: What about the numbers on the Last Fight panel, and the Outgoing, Incoming, and Other Details for combatants?
A: These are not synchronized at the moment.

Q: How do I join a synchronization?
A: Once you have enabled synchronization, you will get an invitation (as a popup window) when someone starts a synchronization, or when the leader of an existing synchronization next broadcasts an update.  You can accept or decline that invitation.

Q: What happens when I join?
A: When you first join, your All Fights numbers will be Reset to zero.  Note that this Reset upon joining a synchronization ignores any 'locks' that you may have placed on combatants.  Your numbers will be updated at the next broadcast of an update (either at the end of the next fight, or when someone does a Manual Synchronization).

Q: How do I know if I'm in a synchronization?
A: There is a button next to the Recap status button that is blue when you are in a synchronization.  You can also see your synchronization details on the Options / Sync panel.  The blue button will blink while you are sending or receiving synchronization data.

Q: How do I start a synchronization?
A: Anyone running Recap can start a synchronization.  It is not restricted to the group leader.  If you start a synchronization, other players will see a popup window inviting them to join your synchronization.  If they happen to be in combat, that popup invitation window will be delayed until after they have left combat.  You will see messages on your console when players accept or decline your invitation.

Q: What happens if someone who is already in a synchronization declines my invitation?
A: They continue in their existing synchronization.  There can be multiple Recap synchronizations running within the group at the same time.  They are independent of each other.

Q: How do you manage that?
A: Each synchronization has a unique timestamp, along with a synchronization version number, the name of the leader of the synchronization, and the setting for the Merge Pets override.

Q: What's the deal about starting a synchronization with Merge Pets off, or with Merge Pets on?
A: Recap can't mix data from Merge Pets off and Merge Pets on.  The player starting the synchronization must choose which to use.  The synchronization choice is a temporary override, and when a player is no longer in a synchronization they will revert to using their own setting for Merge Pets.

Q: I just joined an existing synchronization, and all my numbers are zero.  How do I catch up?
A: If you can't wait for the next end of fight, when you will catch up automatically, ask the leader of the synchronization to do a Manual Synchronization.

Q: Why does it take so long after the end of a fight to completely synchronize?
A: The software (AceComm) used to handle the communication over Blizzard's hidden channels deliberately slows down all communications so that people don't get disconnected.  Blizzard deliberately disconnects anyone who sends too much information over a channel in a short time.  It can take a long time to complete a large synchronization.

Q: I joined a synchronization with Merge Pets off, but now I want to join a different synchronization with Merge Pets on.  How do I do that?
A: This is a bit trickier.  Recap does not allow you to directly choose which synchronization to join if there is more than one.  Turn off Enable Synchronization.  This will leave the synchronization that you don't want.  Wait until some time after the end of a fight, until the normal exchange of synchronization messages has died down.  Turn Enable Synchronization on again, and ask the leader of the synchronization that you want to join to do a Manual Synchronization.  If you do happen to get an invitation to the wrong synchronization, decline it and repeat the process.

Q: Can the leader of the synchronization Reset my copy of Recap?
A: No, not after the initial Reset that happened when you first accepted the invitation to join the synchronization.

Q: What if the leader wants to Reset everyone?
A: The leader must start a new synchronization.  The leader can do that from the Options / Sync panel, or by clicking the Reset All Fights button, or by using a hotkey (if set up).  Players who accept the invitation to join the new synchronization will have their All Fights numbers Reset to zero.  Players who decline the invitation will stay with the original synchronization.  The players who decline can still join the new synchronization later by turning Enable Synchronization off then on again.  They will automatically get an invitation to join on the next end of fight, or when the leader does a manual synchronization.

Q: What happens to those players who choose to stay in the old synchronization, if the leader of their synchronization has gone away to a new synchronization?
A: Any of the players in the old synchronization can become the leader, by clicking the Become Leader button (which includes a manual synchronization).

Q: What if the leader of a synchronization disconnects, or goes AFK, or isn't in a fight for whatever reason, or pauses their copy of Recap, or quits the group?
A: Anyone can take over the role of leader by clicking the Become Leader button.  If nobody notices that the old leader has gone missing, there will be no synchronization updates.  On the Options / Sync panel you can see how long it has been since the last synchronization update, but there is no automated detection of this situation, no automated warning, and no automated promotion of a member to leader.  You might also notice that the blue light, which normally blinks at the end of a fight to indicate that synchronization data is being sent or received, does not blink as usual at the end of a fight.

Q: I have a combatant in my All Fights display that nobody else has.  How can I get the other members of the synchronization to see that combatant?
A: With the permission of the current leader, click your Become Leader button, which will broadcast all of your combatants.  After a while have the former leader take over again by clicking their Become Leader button.

Q: Can I abuse the group members who are using Recap with synchronization enabled, by pressing one of the Start Synchronization buttons repeatedly?
A: Yes.  How the other members of the group deal with your barrage of popup invitation windows is up to them.

Q: Can I abuse the synchronization I'm in by pressing the Become Leader button unnecessarily?
A: Yes.  How the other members of the synchronization, and the former leader, deal with this is up to them.

Q: What might not work?
A: Apart from stuff that's simply broken, this design of synchronization tries to keep everything simple.  Accordingly there is no guarantee that everyone in a synchronization will receive and process every update message.  Also, if the gaps between fights are 'short' then not all Recap update activity will have a chance to complete before the next fight begins.  If you need to fix discrepancies so that everyone has exactly the same numbers, do one or more manual synchronizations during a longer gap between fights.

Q: Anything else I need to know?
A: When you are in synchronization nothing will happen (except a sound and a popup window) if you press Reset All Fights, Reset Last Fight, or Load Set; or Reset an individual combatant; or Pause Recap.  If you need to use these functions, turn off Enable Synchronization, do whatever you wish to do, then join the synchronization again as described above.  Oh, and one more thing -- during synchronization the popup menu choice to ignore a combatant does nothing, and if you had earlier ignored a combatant the only effect during synchronization will be to hide them on your display; their damage and healing will still be tracked and synchronized in the background.

Q: How can we keep track of All Fights for the entire instance, and also keep track of individual boss fights?
A: Select half of the raid to join a synchronization that will last for the entire instance.  The other half of the raid will begin a new synchronization before each individual boss fight, and at the end of that fight the synchronization leader will save All Fights (not Last Fight) on the Options / Data Sets panel.  The drawback is that people who are in the synchronization that will last for the entire instance will have to repeatedly decline the invitations to join the individual boss fight synchronizations.

Q: How do I know who is in the synchronization?
A: With version 3.68 there is a count displayed in the title bar of the main panel, and there is a new List Members button on the Options / Sync panel.  Caution: the count and the list may not be complete.  They include only those memmbers from whom you have seen a synchronization message, and may include people who have left the synchronization.  The  synchronization protocol has not been altered for version 3.68, so there are no commands to check who is active in the sync, and who is not in the sync.  For the same reason the realm is only available for the leader of the synchronization, so members with the same name from different realms will be counted as one member only.


__ FAQ: Pet Personal Details __

Q: When are you going to implement stable long-term Personal Details for hunter and warlock pets?
A: With version 3.67 this is now done properly.  Each of the player's pets has their own Personal Details, stored in the same way as the player's Personal Details.  These details will always appear on the player's Personal Details panel (regardless of the value of the merge pets option), with pet damage following player damage, and pet healing following player healing.  These details are not affected when you Reset All Fights.  They are reset when you Reset Personal Details, and can be reset individually.  The pet Personal Details are done only for the player; no personal details are available for other players, nor for the pets of other players.  It should also work for mage Water Elementals, though this has not been confirmed yet.  It also works (and this can be a mild nuisance) for pets such as temporary priest Mind Control victims, or Gan'arg mobs temporarily controlled by any player in Netherstorm.

Q: How do I prevent those temporary pets showing up in my Personal Details?
A: At the moment you can't.  You can get rid of those details one by one by right-clicking on each of them and selecting Reset from the popup menu.

Q: Any gotchas?
A: A couple.  If another player has a pet with the same name as your pet, Recap can't tell them apart.  Recap will include the other pet's information with your pet.  Similarly, if you have different pets with the same name, Recap will treat them as a single pet.


__ FAQ: Other Details: Casts Debuffs/Losses Buffs/Gains __

Q: Does Recap track events that neither damage nor heal?
A: Yes, with version 3.68 Recap can now track casts, debuffs/losses, and buffs/gains.  There is a new Other Details tab on the details popup panel.  Click the new "Sunder" icon that is between the "Book" icon and the "Sword" icon.  This is an option that is off by default.  See the "Other Data Mode" option on the Options / Settings tab to turn it on.  Like the Outgoing and Incoming Details, the Other Details are cleared when you Reset All Fights.

Q: What is included?
A: Virtually all Blizzard events (via ParserLib) that could be combat-related and that do not directly involve damage or healing.  This includes casts, debuffs/losses, and buffs/gains.  Recap uses the ParserLib event parsing without modification or second-guessing.  There is a partial overlap between the new messages (Blizzard 'cast', 'debuff', 'buff', and so on) and the messages already tracked by Recap ('hit', 'heal', and 'miss') -- so you will see some effects showing up in more than one place.

Q: What is not included?
A: Not tracked are failure (e.g. "Not enough mana" or "Out of range"), tradeskill, enchant, create, experience, reputation, honour, and feed pet (see ParserLib documentation for details on these events).

Q: There are entries for non-combat events such as Mining, Herb Gathering, and Summon Felsteed.  Why?
A: These are formatted by Blizzard like other 'cast', 'debuff', or 'buff' events.  ParserLib and Recap aren't going to second-guess Blizzard.  Recap is not going to get into the business of maintaining lists of excluded events (in multiple languages), so you'll have to put up with these non-combat events appearing on the Other Details tab.

Q: What about miss types?
A: Recap does not currently track the different kinds of miss (e.g. resist, immune, and so on) for effects on the Other Details tab.  They are all lumped into a single "Missed" number.

Q: There are a lot of items in that list of effects.  How can I make sense of them?
A: The first effects listed are outgoing spell casts (in green).  Second are debuffs; or losses such as mana drains (in red).  Third are buffs; or gains such as mana/rage/energy gains, extra attacks, and pet happiness (in blue).  Fourth are effects whose debuff / buff type is unknown (in white).  The losses and gains have an Attribute listed, such as mana.  Within each group the effects are sorted by the number of Hits.

Q: Why are there some effects (shown in white) for which Recap can't tell the debuff / buff type?
A: The 'cast' event sometimes lists a target for the effect, but gives no indication as to whether it is a debuff or a buff.  Recap does not attempt to figure out if they are debuffs or buffs, but simply tracks them separately (in white).

Q: Can Recap show how often a boss casts a particular debuff, and how long that debuff lasts?
A: Recap does its best.  Here's an example where it will work well.  A boss casts a particular debuff only on the main tank.  Recap tracks the interval between successive occurrences of the debuff on the main tank.  If there is a subsequent "fade" event for each debuff, Recap can track the duration of the debuff.  Sometimes the debuff is accompanied by a Blizzard combat message about the boss casting the debuff, and in that case Recap will also track the interval for the cast on the boss's Other Details tab.  However, only a small and seemingly random selection of debuffs are accompanied by a Blizzard casting combat message.  If there is no casting message, and if the boss scatters the debuff around, then the estimates of the interval between debuffs for individual combatants will be misleading.  If the debuff is always dispelled before it can fade, then Recap can not track its duration.  If a debuff lands during one fight, and the next debuff on that combatant lands during a subsequent fight, the estimated interval between debuffs will be too high.

Q: Why does Recap limit the tracking of debuff and buff intervals and durations to 120 seconds?
A: To avoid an excessive number of bad estimates, such as those caused by tracking across different fights, or by tracking across a combatant's computer reboot (which discombobulates the timer).  Most debuffs and buffs for which interval and duration data are interesting will occur as transient effects during individual fights.  The 120 second limit is intended to maximise the usefulness of the data for this purpose.  Recap keeps only the count of the number of intervals or durations sampled, and the total of all intervals or durations, so the average interval or duration calculated is the arithmetic mean (nothing fancy like calculating the median or removing outliers).  The 120 second limit may be modified in the future if it is too high or too low.

Q: Are there any anomalies?
A: Zillions.  I could write a book.  This is a first cut at tracking Other Details, so there may be adjustments necessary in future versions.

Q: Give me some examples of anomalies.
A-1: If you are interested in how often one of your weapon procs occurs, and if you don't wait for 120 seconds between individual combats, then the estimated interval between weapon procs could include measurements taken across different fights, and would in consequence be too high.

A-2: If you happen to go out of Blizzard's combat message distribution range at any time, you will miss events, which could distort measurements.

A-3: Recap can not distinguish among mobs with the same name, so if for example you are fighting several Skeletal Flayers at the same time then the separate effects will be intermingled.  Intervals and durations will necessarily be inaccurate.

A-4: In some cases an effect may show up as both a cast and as a debuff or buff, so in effect it is being tracked more than once.  Recap does not attempt to reconcile these.

A-5: Sometimes an effect that does damage (on the Incoming or Outgoing tab) will also appear as a debuff with the same name on the Other Details tab.  Recap does not attempt to reconcile these.

A-6: Not all messages are delivered by Blizzard to all combatants.  For example, a priest does not see messages for their own casts of "Shackle Undead", but does see messages about other priests casting the spell!  Also, at longer shackle ranges the priest no longer receives the usual target shackle debuff messages (regardless of the event range setting)!  Also, when the shackle is broken the message from Blizzard is that the debuff fades (as if it had expired), so for shackle the duration measurement is actual duration (for other debuffs and buffs the fade message appears only when the effect runs out normally or on one of the resistance checks).  There are undoubtedly many other examples of inconsistent Blizzard messages.

Q: Can I see estimated intervals and durations for effects that do cause damage or healing and that don't happen to appear on the Other Details tab?
A: On the Outgoing and Incoming Details tabs Recap tracks intervals for damaging and healing effects.  Durations are not tracked since there are no associated 'fade' events.

Q: Can I see recent cast, debuff/loss, and buff/gain events listed with other Recent Events?
A: Not at the moment.


__ FAQ: Miscellaneous ___

Q: Why doesn't Recap credit damage and healing to me for my shaman totems?  For my snake traps?
A: Blizzard's combat messages (e.g. "<totem>'s <effect> hits <victim> for <damage>") give no indication as to who owns the totem (nor for many other items), and so Recap cannot credit the damage or healing to anyone.  Similarly the effects of buffs such as Thorns or Improved Leader of the Pack are mis-attributed by the Blizzard combat messages to the person carrying those buffs rather than to the caster.

Q: What additional information is available from ParserLib that Recap is not yet tracking?
A: Recap does nothing with the isGlancing, isSplit, amountAbsorb, amountBlock, amountResist, and amountVulnerable information.

Q: Does this mean that Recap's count of shield blocks does not include partial blocks?
A: Correct, at the moment Recap's count of blocks will be too low if any blows were partially blocked rather than completely blocked.

Q: Does Recap track crushing blows?
A: Yes, Recap now tracks crushing blows (very similar to critical blows) for Incoming and Outgoing Details; and in Recent Event data postings.

Q: Why are the number of deaths recorded for my priest too high.
A: Blizzard sometimes gives a "You die" message when your priest first dies, and a second "You die" message when your priest's Spirit of Redemption wears off.  But not always, so you can't simply divide the number of deaths by two to get the right number.  In general for any combatant the count of deaths is inaccurate since Blizzard's death messages are unreliable (which suggests that other Blizzard combat messages might also be unreliable).

Q: Does Recap track self-inflicted damage?
A: Yes, Recap now tracks effects like "You suffer 87 Fire damage from your Hellfire".

Q: Does Recap track environmental damage?
A: Yes, as of version 3.68 environmental damage (such as fire, falling, lava, and slime) is tracked.  The effect is called "Environment" and the types of damage are listed as the element.

Q: Why are there fewer healing ticks than damage ticks for some dual damage/heal effect?
A: When a hit or tick from a dual damage/heal effect kills the target, Blizzard chooses to award no healing rather than to calculate an appropriate partial healing.

Q: When I have the "End Fight If Idle" option turned off, sometimes Recap's green light comes on and does not go off.  Why?
A: A fight in which you don't personally enter combat mode will start, but has no way of ending if this option is turned off.

Q: Does Recap show breakdowns of both Incoming and Outgoing misses?
A: Yes, on the Incoming Details and Outgoing Details tabs of the popup panel.  There are ten types of miss (absorb, block, deflect, dodge, evade, immune, miss, parry, resist, and reflect).  All ten types may occur for non-Melee effects (which include both spells and physical attacks other than Melee).  Nine of the ten (not reflect) may happen for Melee.  On both tabs misses are broken down for each effect.  There is not currently a breakdown of the different types of miss for Other Details.

Q: Can I bind hotkeys for resetting Fights and Personal Details?
A: Yes, check the "Key Bindings" on the Blizzard Main Menu.

Q: Can I keep information for some combatants, and Reset all the rest?
A: Yes.  If you right-click a combatant's name on the All Fights panel, the popup menu will include a "Lock" choice.  If a combatant is locked then they will not be affected by an ordinary Reset All Fights.  Note that joining a synchronization will do a reset that ignores any character locks.  Alternatively, the right-click popup menu allows you to Reset an individual combatant.

Q: Can I show information for just my party?
A: Yes, there is an options setting "Only Party Combatants" that will show information only for your party and their pets.  Note: Recap continues to track everything in the background.

Q: Can I show information for just me and my pets?
A: Yes, there is an options setting "Only Player Combatant" that will show information only for you and your pets.  Note: Recap continues to track everything in the background.

Q: Is there anything I can do to improve data tracking instead of using Recap's synchronization?
A: Yes, try the "Maximum Combat Event Range" option.  Using the maximum range means that Recap will receive combat events from an area about ten times larger than usual.  This should be enough to record everything during fights in instances.  It won't be enough in a battleground, nor for folks who get out of range (for example, by releasing after death).  It could slow Recap down.  Because this option sets some World of Warcraft global values it might conflict with other addons.

Q: What is the Minimize on Escape option?
A: I wanted a consistent method of dismissing windows.  I use the Escape key (esc) for this purpose.  I wanted the Recap main panel to minimize when I hit the Escape key.  Having this option turned on will also minimize the Recap main panel in a number of other situations.

Q: What is the Remind on Joining or Leaving Group option?
A: If this option is turned on, Recap pops up a little reminder window whenever you first join a group, and when you leave a group.  The original suggestion was for an option to automatically Reset whenever you join a group, but I thought that was limited and inflexible, and could lead to an undesirable explosion of different "do X on joining a group" options.  So Recap simply puts up a reminder.  The action that you then take is up to you.

Q: Can I see the total elapsed time that the group spent fighting, rather than the sum of individual times?
A: Yes, with 3.68 this is now available as "Group Fight Time" on the tooltip that pops up when you mouse over the Total line of the All Fights panel or the Last Fight panel.  This number is calculated by each copy of Recap independently, is not sent during synchronization, and so may differ among group members.

Q: Can I see the total DPS from the group rather than the average DPS?
A: Yes, with 3.68 this is now available as "Group DPS" on the tooltip that pops up when you mouse over the Total line of the All Fights panel or the Last Fight panel.  Note that this total can be misleading.  If you complete an instance without replacing anyone (even a pet) then it will be accurate, but if a warlock uses more than one minion, and if you replace people during the run, this number will count the extra minions and the replacements.  For example, if everyone in the group is replaced once, then this number would be about twice as large as it should be.  Use this total DPS number cautiously.

Q: What's the most obscure feature of Recap?
A: Perhaps the four extra columns available on the "Outgoing Details" and "Incoming Details" tabs, because you can only see one column at a time.  Right-click on the column header to get a menu to select one of the other columns.
