Get current Zone for a character

I'm working on a windows app that like, I presume, ACT parses the log files to gather real-time data. My problem is determining what zone the current active toon is in when my program starts. I know there is a way to do this, since ACT is able to.

If I start my program first, the start EQ2, it's easy. The log file gives me the zone. But, if I start EQ2 first, the my program, my program does not know the zone until I move my toon to a different zone and that action appears in the log file.

ACT just knows, regardless of whether EQ2 or ACT is started first..

Any ideas? Anyone? Beuller...? Beuller....?

 

As I wrote a plugin for ACT, I believe it tries to backtrack a little bit in the log to read the last zone entry log line. However, I've seen ACT goof up and not have the proper zone (you logged in your house but when you started playing again you didn't load ACT until you're deep in a zone). This is an issue for my loot tracking plugin, so I have to ignore data when my plugin has not directly parsed a zone log line.

A work around for this on my end is having the user(s) enable the location information in the loot and mob death log lines, so I can identify the zone immediately. I am unsure how this would help you though..

 

Thanks Dedith, I suspected ACT might read the log backwards to get the last zone, but I had hoped for a more reliable and simpler option.

I may also use 'macros' and have users enter a command targeted for my program. Maybe a combination of macros and reversing the log. Who knows! I might even finish this thing some day!

Next big challenge is detecting which log while is being used by EQ2. I do that now by checking the file size of all log files, and assuming that the log that file that's gotten larger is the one being used by EQ2. I'd like a better solution, but file system watcher doesn't appear to know a file has changed until after it's been closed, and not if it's being streamed too.

But, I do have a cunning plan..