Show to Players?

Quick and easy question Using the API, is there a way to use the Show to Players function of a handout? Detailed description My group plays face-to-face, and we don't use the chat functions at all. But occasionally I want some text to pop up, and Handouts would be an easy way to do it. But I want to make them pop up using the API rather than click on the button. I've spent almost an hour looking, but my Google-fu has failed me yet again. Any suggestions?

No. You can change a handout's visibility to the players, but you can't force it to pop up.

The closest you can get is passing them a button (link) to open it: sendChat('','/w '+who+'&lt;a style="color: #0645AD; text-decoration: underline;" href="<a href="http://journal.roll20.net/handout/'+handout.id+'&quot;&gt;'+handout.get('name')+'&lt;/a" rel="nofollow">http://journal.roll20.net/handout/'+handout.id+'"&gt;'+handout.get('name')+'&lt;/a</a>&gt;');

Well that was the quick and easy way to do what I wanted. But as with another request I had, even though the function already exists, for some odd reason we cannot access it via the API. Odd. How about using a Text object? Could I create one on the Token layer at the location I wanted, with the text I want, and then delete it? Looking at the Wiki it seems possible. Just takes more coding. Anything I'm missing before I start trying that method? Thanks for the responses. PS: Sorry, Aaron, but we don't use the chat window in our games. That's not an option and the reason I wanted to use a Handout as a popup.

No worries. :) You definitely can create text on the VTT in that manner. You would likely want to create a box behind it with a uniform background to make it readable. Stephen S. wrote a script awhile back that made speech bubbles in much the same way. If avoiding digging in the journal during the game is what you're after, you might consider putting a graphic with the text on the VTT, then pop it up for all to see with shift-Z .

It's not digging around in the journal I'm trying to avoid. It's to make combats easier. In 5e D&D there is a Concentration mechanic. I'm writing a script to pop up a reminder when someone is concentrating. I'd like to include the DC as well, hence why I need something that can be dynamically generated. In a nutshell, the logic works like this: If PC takes damage If PC is Concentrating (has Overdrive status icon) Pop up text (somehow) saying "Make a DC xx Concentration check" where xx is the DC of the check (10 or 1/2 the damage taken, whichever is higher). It's not very complex. I figured a handout was the easiest method, if I could make it pop up using the API (albeit being pretty clunky). Now I'll have to look into creating a text field and moving it and also moving a dark background to make it more visible. It's a lot more work for someone who still only knows enough about the language to be dangerous. Edit: I have other ideas for pop-up text as well. That's just the first one I had started work on.