Deck question

I found that I could use the decks to keep all my Monster stat blocks. Works great. However, to view them and input an attack, I have to choose a card (drag & drop) to the table. As soon as I do that, they are controllable by all players. Is there any way to have those cards not default to all players? I understand if I was playing any card game and actually using them as cards, I would want them to be seen by everyone. I do understand I could deal them to the GMs hand. The issue there is that when you select one, the rest of the screen grays out so I can't type at the same time I'm looking at them. Any thoughts?

Would dropping the card on the GM layer work for you? The players wouldn't be able to see or manipulate it by default.

You could drop them on the GM layer

The problem with the GM layer is that it makes things transparent so text is difficult to read. It's close, but not quite the best solution. I'll suggest a check box on the deck creation pop-up as to who gets control, much the same as a handout.

Perhaps I am not understanding the problem. Here is what I understand: 1) You want to use the cards but not show the players the cards. There is already a checkbox for this ("Show deck to players?"). 2) You want to be able to view and read the card. This can be accomplished using the zoom function. If the zoom function is causing a problem with typing I suggest using a second window to type in. 3) You want to be able to put the card on the table but have the players not see it. This is what the GM layer is for. Alternately, you can put it on the GM layer in a very large size and you may be able to read it that way.

2) You want to be able to view and read the card. This can be accomplished using the zoom function. If the zoom function is causing a problem with typing I suggest using a second window to type in. It doesn't appear that I can type while viewing a card. It blacks out the rest of the screen when viewing a card. If you know a way, I would be grateful to hear it. And as always, thank you Gauss for your input.

You can zoom in one window and type in another but it requires having two instances of Roll20 open at the same time. I think using a card on the GM layer that is jumbo sized would probably solve your problem. Please send me a join link so I can take a look at your cards.

Looking to do similar. I want to build 2 decks (one for spell stats [for GM and players] and one for monster stats [GM only]). I understand I can make the spell deck seen face up by players and make it so they can select whichever card they require (to match the spell they are casting to see game stats). I would make a monster deck only available to me (GM) so I could verify monster abilities when needed also. I haven't had a lot of chance to play with it yet. I realize it would be a lot of up-front work; but I think the long term payoff may be worth it. I am curious about keeping the cards in some sort of structured order. Is there a way to maintain a 'stacked deck' (ie alphabetical perhaps)? What happens to cards that are dealt out then recalled (if infinite cards available, do they return to original position or go to end of the deck)? Do I just be careful to never shuffle? Could an API possibly keep it organized? I just want it to be easily searchable so I can go straight to the card I want to grab and pull it.