External Assistant for Run8

Run8 Brake Quick Reference card
A simple Quick Reference card with a small amount of info on Run8's brakes you may find handy while using Run8.
(Found under the Documentation Menu)

Save Train Inspector
Now you can bring up a list of all the cars on your train and drag it to a second monitor!
The Save Train Inspector works by loading the most current "Auto Save Train.xml" file.
  (For best results, set your Auto Save Train interval to 2 minutes in run8.)
You can see all the destination tags in a nice list, which is color coded to show cars that aren't blocked together.
There's also a little chart of the weight distribution of your train.
Release 4 of EA4R8 adds:
  Double click a DLC item to open the relevant page at the Depot's Rolling Stock Database.
  Select multiple rows to select/deselect
Release 6 of EA4R8 adds:
  Additional info on train weight, length, copy to clipboard and print functionality.

Jump To Tile
Jump to any tile location within Run8!

Useful for server users who see a message on screen about a broken train at Tile X,Z.
This creates an "Extra Board" save file named "_JumpToTile: X,Z" which you can easily load with the F1 key in Run8.
(For those unfamiliar, the "ExtraBoard" files save/load a camera location, and can be loaded at any time, including server sessions!)

Chat History
If you use Run8 online, and occasionally need to step away, and want to confirm you didn't miss anything, this feature is for you.
(Note this works by looking at your run8.log file - it only shows messages received while you're connected to a Run8 server.)
Release 5 of EA4R8 added:
  Additional Chat filters such as "Today only"
  Select a different Font
Release 8 of EA4R8 improvements:
  Performance improvements! & bug fixes!
Note:
  Colors are customizable, see program install directory for instructions.

Quick Access to Depot Maps, courtesy of the DepotServer.com
The Depot is known for their legendary Route Maps, now you can pull them up quickly from the systray.

Quick Access to Run8 Documentation (user guides folder)
The Run8 Documentation folder has a wealth of PDF files, but the folder can be hard to hunt down in the middle of a session.
Now they are just a click away.

Auto Open Folders
Have you ever exported something from Run8 like the industry config, and then wondered where the heck it was?
Auto Open Folders will automagically open Windows File Explorer every time you export a file
(You can disable this feature by unchecking it in the menu)

Vernometer
Nicely Display your Vernometer stats at the click of a mouse
Run8 V3 stores key runtime stats in a file named Vernometer.xml
You can view the stats with this program at any time.

XML Config file Validator
Auto Check Run8's config files for simple XML errors.
New in release 11!
Run8 V3 has many user editable config files such as the TrainSymbolRoutings.xml or the UnitNumberDatabase.xml files.
XML files are delicate and all it takes is a misplaced character to break the file.
This tool will check the files for simple XML errors and let you know if it finds any.

Automatic Config file Backup
Creates daily zip files of your Run8 Config files.
New Routes Note:
This tool should automatically pick up new routes and regions.
Features:
+ Backs up Industry, Hump, AI spawning, and all your save files.
+ Great for server operators! Backup History lasts much longer than Run8's autosave rotation.
+ Great for advanced users who edit their industry/AI spawn config.
+ Great for insuring your config files are backed up before applying an update.
+ Keeps daily backups for 2 months.
+ Keeps monthly backups forever.
+ Uses windows task scheduler to run the backup job each day, and will auto run at startup if a day is missed.
- Does not backup the whole run8 folder.
- Does not backup Run8 Installers
- Not a substitute for a system backup.

Installation and Usage Tips

NOTE:
4/9/2023
Some users have experienced issues installing to the c:\program files\ directory
The installer for build 3 and later have been reconfigured to default the install to c:\EA4R8.
If you experience any trouble, please uninstall (via Windows "add/remove programs" functionality), then re-install the latest version.

Accessing the '8' icon in the windows system tray:
The program runs as a "Systray" icon - you can drag it directly to the tray for easy access.
If you're running Run8 full screen and your systray is hidden, just tap the "windows" key on your keyboard once to make it visible.

Auto Start:
You can have EA4R8 auto start every time Run8 starts! To do this, you'll need to launch Run8 one time as administrator so it can setup a Run8 category in windows Event logs.
Once this is done, go into EA4R8->Settings and check "Start/Exit External Assistant for Run8 automatically when Run8 starts/exits"

A word about Internet Safety...

Run8guides.com is the official home of External Assistant for Run8.

Do not use copies not downloaded directly from Run8guides.com.

The setup program has the following hashes:

build 12: (December 3rd 2023) (Adds link to new Depot Map for the Baldwin route in the SE region)
SHA256: 2faf210676a53119c269a36f49c65f2b2fed06bd589487e1f058b051ea438532
MD5: 5036a9c1766066b82bfb5911bd295e4f

build 11.1: (November 21th 2023) (Includes a fix for slow scrolling in the train inspector reported by Kyler)
SHA256: 11966a9b32cb86917300129d64c353a97acb16d4f37689a04715f16551ce66a3
MD5: e23c126979697683f74e874dc524d530

build 11: (November 20th 2023)
SHA256: b784db68ef9b000b1aa9e04dc575463cfb539b00fab7ff3470ea7084c1154995
MD5: d8ac71da6d88c62b2e19e4b0705edf48

build 10: (September 12th 2023) (Pitts map and signal links)
SHA256: cd6213b9a917f45363b245cddb029598339815ed2d5ba8ab0c7a5fc50bd5c7db
MD5: c15a101b1818b3453668ccb42450a101

These can be verified by uploading the installer to virustotal.com

This program does not need to be run as an administrator.

If you have any questions, you can find me on the Depot forums as "Jack8v3".
I am also on several run8 related discords as "basementjack".

This program is not affiliated with the Depot or with Run8 Studios.
Depot maps linked with permission.