How do you align your inventory and bank bags in your UI? Are they all clumped up in the default layout? Are they neatly aligned side by side and fill up your main window when you open them all up? Or do you use a different method to view and/or find things in your inventory, like use 'find item' and figured out some magic system to not have to rummage through dozens of 40 slot bags looking for a needle in a haystack? Ha-ha. I typically play on TLP's, but I've started to collect some larger bags and I soon plan on riding one of these TLP's all the way to live, so... I have really begun to wonder how all of you veterans deal with bag organization? My UI is default but I arrange it pretty meticulously but when it comes to bags, I either: put them all in the corner and stack them up, to keep them out of the way, or align them side by side horizontally and vertically, both inventory and bank bags, and have no room to see anything else, I can't even read chat when all the bags are open. omg send halp pls thx
Full disclosure: I use a custom UI (AYA). Screen resolution is whatever 1080p is (1920x1080). I have, since they got rid of the old original UI (2002?) reset my keys to have "b" open all bags. I never bother opening just one bag. I now have bags with sizes 32 (2), 38, 40 (3), and 42 (4). So, not talking small bags here. I have it set to open them all in three columns, with 3, 3, and 4 bags in each column. The first two columns have the bags set to display 5 items across, and the last column has 6 items across in those bags, so the whole thing is roughly a rectangle. This area doesn't come anywhere close to covering a large portion of the screen, and I can see all chat windows, hotbars, and the EQ world in front of me. The bags cover my spell bar, extar window, merc window, the socials/abilities/whatever window, and the window which shows current quest steps (whatever it's called ). AYA also has a "big bank" window, which shows all 24 bags open at once. When in the bank, I can see all those and all 10 of my open bags. No problem. Smallest bank bags are 32 slots. The only bags I have to manually open are the shared bank bags. For organization, I use the first bag to keep everything I always want to carry with me, and which are very rarely ever moved out of there. Food/drink, spell requirements (bone chips, peridots, etc), clickies. The next two bags are 32 slot TS bags, and are mostly emptied out when I start a session, so any TS mats I loot got right into there. The next two bags are mostly empty, and are my "working" bags while I'm out. Non-TS loot, quest items, things I'll want to sell, etc. The last 5 bags just keep a mix of all kinds of other things. Bank bags are used for broad categories of items, but since they all open at once, it's pretty easy to see where everything is, if I can't remember off the top of my head where things are at.
As I play on only 1280*1024, containers are not unproblematic. When I do open the inventory bags, about 80% of the screen is covered with bags. I do arrange them side by side in vertical columns. Two horizontal rows can overlay when the bags are large. I can open all inventory bags with one key.
Find item is a great tool, I also place 3-4 tradeskill bags in the first slots, then a collection bag, then standard bags, that way my stuff auto sorts.
This is the most logical approach for those adventuring. My bags go in order from largest to smallest, leaving one bag slot for incidentals. FWIW, I have stopped organizing the contents of my bank bags. I simply use the auto deposit bank button and the Find button.
Generally, 2 columns to a bag, but will need to go to 3 if they get any bigger. When doing combines, will arrange the bag to make components easy to grab. As for bag, biggest bags I can have on main with handme downs to a chain of Alts. Pitty the one with handmade backpacks (not even colored). Toss the no-drop bags in a bank bag (for no reason). Bags of bags for everyone. Countless bags with less than 8 slots destroyed (even with weight reduction). Food/Drink/Equipment back up front, so I don't eat/drink my loot/forages. Then TS bags, Empty bags for loot. (Need another collectable only bag). Ending with a bag of TS tools. Really need to blow out my bank bags and eliminate the clutter.
This is what I do. Inventory for me was always a pita. I believe the best approach is so called KIM (Kizant's Inventory Management) which basically means delete useless sh** and keep your inventory slots empty . Can I do it ? Nope.
Have deleted bags under 30 (dozens and dozens). My inventory has the collections and TS mat containers at top, then two overflow bags, then two open slots (for quest containers, and for contingency bags if I need. Final 4 are dedicated to TS trophies, clickies, expendable mats (potions, modern expansion armor ores, distillers, pearls, peridot, etc), augs I'd potentially swap in/out, long term quest items (epics etc), and maybe some vanity ornaments. I haven't settled on any set bag spots when they're opened. Seems like there are lots of UI bugs that make that extra challenging right now, too. Like the trade windows and any question menus popping up behind everthing.
Here are the correct rules to follow. 1. You need a bag for food/drink, potions, and items in your bandolier. This bag should be just large enough for what you want to always carry and it's always full. It has to be first. 2. Next in your inventory you want a trade skill bag to collect the handful of TS items you may actually want to use or sell. 3. Next is a good sized bag for collecting random drops you may want for alts or to sell. Quest items would go here as well. 4. Your last bag should be your bag for clickies. It should be a bag that is fairly large as you probably have a bunch. 5. Your second to last bag should also be a large bag although it should be empty most the time. This is where you temporarily store sets of items you know you may have for a while. Like if it's a quest that your slowly doing over weeks/months and just want to keep those items together. 6. The rest of your bags should be empty 99.9% of the time. There's no need to carry all large bags here because they should be empty 99.9% of the time. 7. NEVER EVER mix boxes and bags. They do not go together at all. 8. Try to minimize the number of colors involved so that your inventory isn't too annoying to look at. 9. If your main item bag fills up and items spill over you need to sell them, give them away, store them in dragons hoard, or delete them within 12 hours. Here's a good example:
