View source for Keyvalue

{{lang|Keyvalue}}
{{distinguish|KeyValues|desc1=the file format}}

A ''Keyvalue'' is an instruction used to modify the variables in game code.

== Hammer & Keyvalues ==
Every type of entity has a number of keyvalues which can be changed from the [[HammerObjectPropertiesDialog|Object Properties]] dialog. The '''key''' is selected on the left side of column and its '''value''' is adjusted on the right side. Colloquially, the keys are frequently referred to simply as "'''KVs'''", with the values redundantly referred to as "the value of the KV".

== Syntax ==

Traditionally, keyvalues which start with an underscore ({{code|_}}) are reserved for map [[compiler]] usage, although this is not always the case. While {{quake|2}} refuses (on an engine level) to load KVs that started with an underscore, Valve's engines remove this restriction, with {{hl1|2}}'s game code using the {{mono|_light}} KV in {{ent|light_environment|engine=goldsrc}} to control what color [[MDL (GoldSrc)|MDLs]] are when lit by the sun.

== See also ==
* [[KeyValues class]] (programming)


[[Category:Glossary]][[Category:Level Design]]