vnum questions

So I'm not sure if this is in the right section but....
Could somebody please explain vnums in detail to me?

I have trouble understanding them.

I got the SMAUG server and area editor, so when I type

goto 5

it says theres nothing there, meaning I could make a room there, right?

So how would I do that? I go to area editor and try and make it but I have no idea what vnums I would set for it.

Vnums the spaces you'll use to assign rooms, mobs, and objects to an area. I've never used an area editor so I would have no idea how to instruct you there, but if you build on the mud itself then to create a new area you would first vassign self lowvnum hivnum. Note that just because you type goto <vnum> and it says it doesn't exist that doesn't mean it's not part of another area. Use the zones command to display a full list of areas that you have including the vnums associated with them so you can be sure the vnums you're trying to use aren't already in use.

Agreed. Each zone will have a vnum range (I would stay away from low ones which might have preassigned uses). So you might assign, say, 40000 to 41000 to a zone. Then make room 40000. Once it is made (and loaded into the server) you could go to it.