Modules/Towns

The Modules/Towns screen is where you set up the places on your layout. Each module/town holds its own consignees, drop zones and equipment requests. ModuOps uses all of this to build trainlists for your trains.

Click Modules/Towns in the sidebar menu to open the screen.

The Modules/Towns screen

The screen has two parts.

On the left is the list of modules/towns in your layout, sorted by name. Each one shows its name, with the owner underneath if one is entered. Type in the Jump to module... box at the top to narrow the list to modules/towns whose name contains what you typed. It shows "No matches" if nothing does.

Below the search box are four buttons:

Button	What it does
New	Creates a new module/town.
Add	Adds one or more modules/towns from files. See Add modules/towns from files.
Export	Saves the selected module/town to a file you can share. See Export a module/town.
Del	Deletes the selected module/town. See Delete a module/town.

Click a module/town to select it. Until you do, the right side says "Select a module to view consignees and drop zones". If your layout has no modules yet, the list shows "No modules" and reminds you to click New.

On the right you see the selected module/town. Its name is shown at the top, with the owner below it if one is entered. Below that are four tabs: Info, Consignees, Drop Zones and Equipment. Info is the one that opens first. The other three show how many items they hold, for example Consignees (4).

Screenshot needed

Modules/Towns screen with a module selected and the Info tab showing.

Info tab

The Info tab holds the module/town's own details, and you edit them right there. There's no separate edit screen for an existing module/town. The New form uses the same fields.

Screenshot needed

The Info tab with its fields and the Save and Revert buttons.

Field	Description
Name (required)	The name of the module/town.
Short Name (required)	An abbreviated name. Used where space is tight, such as the timetable, string diagram and station order.
Owner (optional)	The owner of the module/town. It shows under the name in the list and at the top of the screen.
Size (optional)	A short description of the size of the module/town.
City (optional)	The city the module/town depicts.
State (optional)	The state the module/town depicts.
Description (optional)	A short description of the module/town.
Remarks (optional)	Notes for crews about operating this module/town. Remarks are printed on trainlists that have work here. See Formatting remarks.
Passing Track Length (optional)	The length of the module/town's passing track. Whole numbers only.

If Name or Short Name is blank, ModuOps won't save and shows "Name is required" or "Short name is required" under the field.

Under the fields are two buttons:

Button	What it does
Save	Keeps your changes and shows "Module saved" at the bottom of the screen.
Revert	Throws your changes away and puts back what was saved.

Both stay greyed out until you change something.

Changes on the Info tab stay put while you look at the other tabs, so you can check a consignee and come back to finish. If you click another module/town before saving, ModuOps asks "Module details have unsaved changes. Discard them and switch modules?" Click Stay to go back and save, or Discard to lose the changes and move on. Export is greyed out while there are unsaved changes, so the file always matches what's saved.

Formatting remarks

The Remarks box has a small toolbar:

• Bold and Italic buttons (or Ctrl+B / Ctrl+I, Cmd on a Mac).
• Insert checklist item adds [ ] for a tick box.
• Insert indent adds four spaces.
• Insert underline input adds a blank line (________________) for crews to write on.
• ½ Page shows the box at half-page width, so you can see how the text will wrap on a half-page trainlist. It's on by default. ModuOps remembers your choice, and it applies to every formatted text box.

Press Enter for a new line.

Consignees tab

Lists the businesses on this module/town that request equipment. Use the New, Edit and Delete buttons to manage them. Double-click a consignee to open it.

Column	Description
Name	The consignee name.
Req	How many equipment requests the consignee has.
Producers	How many of those requests are Producers. Shows a dash for none.
Consumers	How many of those requests are Consumers. Shows a dash for none.
Remarks	The consignee's remarks.

Hover over the Producers or Consumers heading for a short explanation. If no request in the layout uses that Flow Type yet, the tooltip also says how to start using it.

New and Edit open the consignee form, which has these fields:

Field	Description
Name (required)	The name of the consignee. ModuOps shows "Name is required" if it's blank.
Remarks (optional)	Notes a crew may need when working this consignee. Printed on the trainlist when the consignee gets work.

Equipment requests are added on the consignee form once it's saved. See Consignees and Equipment Requests for details.

Drop Zones tab

Lists the sections of track on this module/town where equipment can be set out. Use the New, Edit, Clone and Delete buttons to manage them. Double-click a drop zone to open it.

Column	Description
Spot	The drop zone name.
Length	The drop zone length.
Direction	A, B or AB (A and B).
Active	Yes or No.

New, Edit and Clone open the drop zone form, which has these fields:

Field	Description
Drop Zone Name (required)	The name of the drop zone. ModuOps shows "Drop Zone Name is required" if it's blank.
Length (required)	How much track the drop zone has, in your layout's unit.
Zone Reference (optional)	A short code for the track, up to 10 characters.
Direction (optional)	A Only, B Only or A and B. New drop zones start as A Only.
Active (optional)	Checked by default. Uncheck to take the drop zone out of use.
Train Origin/Terminus (optional)	Check this for a yard, staging or interchange track where trains start or end.

See Drop Zones for details.

Equipment tab

A read-only summary of the equipment types this module/town uses. The list is built from the equipment requests of all its consignees. The Requests column shows how many requests use each type.

This is a quick way to see what rolling stock a module/town needs before an operating session. To change equipment types, use the Equipment Register.

Create a module/town

1. Click Modules/Towns in the sidebar menu.
2. Click New above the module/town list.
3. Fill in the fields (see the Info tab table). Name and Short Name are required. Everything else is optional.
4. Click Save.

You return to the Modules/Towns screen and the new module/town appears in the list. From then on you edit it on the Info tab.

Edit a module/town

1. Click the module/town in the list. The Info tab opens.
2. Change the fields you need.
3. Click Save. Click Revert instead to undo your changes.

ModuOps shows "Module saved" when it's done. If Name or Short Name is blank, it won't save and shows a message under the field.

Add modules/towns from files

Module/town files, such as those on the ModuOps Xchange, can be added to your layout. You can add several at once.

1. Click Modules/Towns in the sidebar menu.
2. Click Add.
3. In the file dialog, find the module/town file(s). Select one, or select several using your operating system's usual keys (Ctrl or Shift click, Cmd on a Mac).
4. Click Open.

Each module/town is added with its consignees, drop zones and equipment requests. A message at the bottom of the screen tells you what was added, for example how many consignees, drop zones and car requests came in.

A module/town that's already in your layout is not added again. The message lists any that were skipped, and if every file was a duplicate it says "All selected modules already exist". Equipment types are matched up too. If your layout already has an equipment type with the same class, description and length, the module uses it rather than making a copy, and the message tells you how many were reused. Anything new goes into your Equipment Register.

tip

After adding a module/town, check its drop zones and equipment requests. Imported equipment requests have no Flow Type set. See Equipment Requests.

Export a module/town

1. Click the module/town in the list. Save any changes on the Info tab first.
2. Click Export.
3. Choose where to save the file and click Save. It's a Module JSON (.json) file named after the module/town.

ModuOps shows "Exported to" and the file's location. The file holds the module/town with its consignees, drop zones and equipment requests, ready to share or add to another layout with Add.

Delete a module/town

1. Select a module/town in the list.
2. Click Del.
3. Click Delete in the confirmation box.

warning

Deleting a module/town also deletes all of its consignees, drop zones and equipment requests. Any trainlist lines for those requests are removed too. This cannot be undone.

Deleting a module/town does not change your trains. Check any train routes that used it. See Train Route.

Changes from version 5

• Remove is now Delete, with a clear warning about what is deleted.
• Deleting a module/town no longer removes unused equipment types or train route entries.
• Depicted city is now City. Short name is now Short Name.
• Add can add several module/town files at once, skips modules already in the layout, and reuses matching equipment types.
• The v5 Save button for saving a module/town to a file is now Export.
• New Equipment tab, and new Req, Producers and Consumers columns on the Consignees tab.
• Remarks now have a formatting toolbar. You no longer type <b></b> or <i></i> tags.
• An existing module/town is edited on the new Info tab, with Save and Revert buttons, instead of a separate screen with Done.
• A Jump to module... box filters the module/town list.