Co-building is a feature for when several people split up the work on the same map. Divide areas of responsibility with region locks, leave feedback with comment pins, and see who changed what in the change history. It works with files, without a server. All data is saved together in the world file (.npworld).
| What | Where |
|---|
| Co-building panel | Window menu › Co-building (bottom area) |
| Lock the selection | Edit › Lock selection (co-building) |
| Place a comment pin | Edit › Place comment pin (click · Esc to cancel) |
- Type your name in the Me field of the Co-building panel. This name is used for lock ownership and the history.
- Select the area you are responsible for in the viewport.
- On the Lock tab, enter a lock name (for example “plaza fountain”) and a note, then click Lock selection.
- A blue box (your lock) appears in the viewport.
- Save the world and give it to others via a shared folder, Git, etc.
- For files others saved separately, gather locks, pins and history with Merge from another file….
| Field · button | Meaning |
|---|
| Lock name · Note (optional) | The name and description that identify the lock. |
| Lock for everyone | Even you cannot change it. For protecting finished work. |
| Lock selection | Locks the currently selected box as your responsibility. |
| Unlock | Only the owner can unlock. |
| Force unlock | For operators, when the owner is unavailable. Recorded in the history. |
| Go to location | Moves the camera to the lock box (same as double-clicking in the list). |
| Enforce locks | When on, rejects edits to cells locked by others. |
| Color | Meaning |
|---|
| Blue | My lock |
| Red | Someone else’s lock |
| Purple | Locked for everyone |
- Locks block edits per cell. People other than the owner cannot change the cells and props inside the box.
- Undo and redo work regardless of locks.
- Type the content in the text field on the Comments tab (for example “make the window one block smaller”).
- Click Place pin and click in the world. Esc cancels.
| Field · button | Meaning |
|---|
| Open · Resolved · All | Filter the list |
| Search | Search by text |
| Reply | Adds a reply to the pin. Anyone can. |
| Resolve · Reopen | Changes the status. Anyone can. |
| Go to location | Moves the camera to the pin. |
| Delete | Only the author can delete. Usually use Resolve instead. |
| Show resolved pins | Resolved pins are also shown in the world. |
Each new edit (one undo step) is recorded as one row.
| Column | Contents |
|---|
| Time | When the edit was made (local time) |
| Who | The name in the Me field |
| What | The undo name (for example “build wall”) |
| Blocks | Number of changed cells (including those rejected by locks) |
- Turn on Mine only to see only your own entries.
- Save CSV writes a CSV that opens directly in Excel to
user://collab/.
- The history keeps up to the most recent 5000 rows. Undo and redo are not recorded.
When you pick an .npworld of the same world saved by someone else, its locks, pins and history are merged.
| Data | Merge rule |
|---|
| Locks | Combines both. If the same lock differs, yours is kept. |
| Pins | Combines both. For the same pin, the later-edited side is kept and the replies are merged. |
| History | Identical rows are kept once and merged in time order. |
Blocks are not merged. If two people save the same file, the blocks from the later save remain.
| Setting | Default | Meaning |
|---|
| Me | Computer user name | Lock owner · history name |
| Enforce locks | On | Rejects edits to cells locked by others |
| Show resolved pins | On | Also shows resolved pins |
| Mine only | Off | History filter |
| Key | Action |
|---|
| Esc | Cancel pin placement |
| Double-click in the list | Go to the lock or pin location |
The menu items Lock selection (co-building) and Place comment pin have no default keys. You can assign them in Tools › Shortcuts….
- This is currently stage 1, based on exchanging files. Real-time simultaneous editing through a server is not available yet.
- Locks are an agreement. They cannot stop someone who turns off Enforce locks or changes their name.
- Snapshot restores also skip locked cells (Markers, load budget and snapshots).
- Before splitting the work, have each person lock their area, save, and then share the file.