I have seen posts from people asking how to place windows and doors in different places like cave entrances or slab walls. Here is the system I use to do it. I call it “Ghost slab Technique”
Save. Better “save” than sorry.
Craft the door or window you want to place.
Using the “slab tool” (free block placing tool) in the “design new building screen” place a slab wherever you want. Just place it. Don’t finish editing or build it.
With the “Place item tool” (hot key:P) place the door or window against that “ghost” slab. Do it right, you may not be able to correct the designation.
Once the door or window is in place go back to the slab and select it. You need to get the “Finish editing” button. But don’t click it yet.
Delete the slab with the eraser.
Now, Finish editing and start constructing the building.
The only element present in that building is the door or window you placed. A hearthling will get it and “build” it wherever you designated
Window:
You can place the doors or windows on pre-made holes of the appropriate size on slab walls, cave entrances or in the middle of the air if you so wish.
Remember, each door or window is a different “building”. You will need to “finish editing” and “confirm Build” for each of one them.
You can place this way more than doors and windows. Here is an example…
Lamp post
(Pity there is no goblin corpses…)
I hope this Little guide helps you with your constructions.
Have Fun.
Kyth.
Edit:
As of A15 you no longer need to do this with doors. Doors are now placeable like other furniture and do not need the ghost block anymore. Windows still need the use of this technique.
Edit:
With the recent changes to the eraser location in A17 the ghost building is automaticly de-selected when deleting it. To recover the build button you can either leave one slab somewhere and use it to get the Build button. Or, as @Roggah discovered. You can delete all slabs. Exit the building editor. Open it again. And then “click like mad” on the window ghost, while on pause, until the building design window comes back. Then click on the build button as usual @Roggah steps
Wow this is epic, I’ve been wanting to put doors on my slab builds forever! This is epic thank you for showing us! I now feel the need to make a slab city using this technique
Just discovered it tx to Crab answering Kekik’s post!
I guess this thread could be pinned somewhere for newcomers meanwhile we get inner walls and more flexible construction options.
Turns out I’m just really bad at remembering and following instructions. Now that I’ve managed to get it placed and finish building, though, they won’t build it. Might just be my world.
Also, the UI is bugged and doesn’t register clicks (or Esc) afterwards, and the fire pit has only had fire during the day. It’s probably just my world being buggy.
As of Alpha 15 build (543) I do not think the game will allow you to do this anymore. I noticed that on the version you used it had doors listed on “construction” and show up under the place furniture tool. They are no longer showing up under the place furniture list.
I just tested it on Build 543 and it still works like a charm.
You no longer need to do it with doors as they can now be placed like any other furniture.
Then I wonder what I am doing wrong. I was not able to get it to work. I place a slab block (without hitting finish or build) then went to furniture, doors, and windows and was not able to get any of them to place next to it, on it, or above. I made sure to have doors and windows in my inventory.
Ok, now I get it. you use the place tool, and place it from you inventory on the ghost wall. Sorry for trying to make it more complicated than what it was.
Yes, now I see the problem you had too. I use the place item tool (key: p) from the inventory. You were using the tool in the house building menu. I hope everything works fine from now on.
@Kythandra Thanks for the awesome guide. I have a construction related question in regards to your huge castle/city project (the name eludes me at the moment, even though it was incredibly impressive and breathtaking!)
In that game, you had some “rice paddy” farms that were submerged beneath a thin layer of water. How did you accomplish this without flooding the shallow pits created for the farms?
