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[EvilShindo]

is there a difference between the 720p and 16:9 version of PM3 than the regular one that comes with the weekly T3CH builds? because for some reason i have the T3CH builds one and it the menu bars and stuff don't look black, it looks grayish...

[slumberpod77]

hahaha. that question has nothing to do with this thread. also, i have no idea, i don't own an HD display and haven't looked at anything other than 4:3 and 16:9 cuz i'm poor

on the up side, i managed to make my own compile of XBMC from CVS, and the new build contains the patch which <onclick> tags to be filled with SkinSetting strings, which means that i can now finish up the button section finally just figured people here would wanna know. i HOPE to have a beta of this skin available for the next T3CH build, we'll see what time permits...

[slumberpod77]

ok, so we're all on the same page, the Home page of this skin will contain probably 10 buttons which are all basically the same. each button can be labeled with whatever text you want, and can be set up to do pretty much anything you want. i started working on the "Target" config control, and made a list of possible things you can set a Home button to do. here's the current list, let me know if something is either missing or really unneccessary:
-Programs
-Programs-Games
-Programs-Emulators
-Programs-Programs
Programs Settings
-Video
-Video-Movies
-Video-TV Shows
-Video (Genres)
-Video (Actors)
-Video (Years)
-Video (Titles)
-Video (Playlist)
-Video Settings
-Music
-Music (Playlist)
-Music (Library)
-Music Settings
-Pictures
-Pictures Settings
-Files
-Weather
-Weather Settings
-Scripts
-Shutdown Menu
-XLink Kai
-Settings
-System Info
-Network Settings
-Appearance Settings
-Profiles
-Reload Skin
-Restart
-Shutdown
-Dashboard
-Browse To XBE
-Browse To Script File
-Type In Your Own Target

[slumberpod77]

thats what the Browse To Script option is for, it'll let you pick any script...

[Heet]

Wow that in itself is killer.  Great job so far!


Why didnt anyone else think of this?  

[slumberpod77]

probably did, but didn't do it cuz it's a PITA.
speaking of that, i obviously didn't make it to the next T3CH release .
i have like 3 FRs pending which i need implemented before i can get stuff working properly
i have some other ideas on how to improve some stuff, and i have a day off of work, so i'll see what i can come up with while i wait

[slumberpod77]

latest version of My Programs: removed the labels for files & directories while in Icons & Big Icons views.
added display for currently selected item's name.
redid music overlay.
added backdrop selecter control.


-have config controls for all 10 buttons about 90% done, now totally useable
-added same kind of enlarged music overlay to home page.

after i upped the size of the icons & the music overlay stuff, i hadda up the <thumbsize> in AdvancedSettings.xml up from the default of 128, cuz they looked kindof crappy when displayed. i am using 256 and it looks much clearer

i am close to having it ready for a "find the bugs" beta release

[slumberpod77]

no no no. you fundamentally misunderstand how it's supposed to work.
the Browse To is one of the options in the button config. as in, you set up some button one time and thats it, you don't do it again unless you want to change that button for some reason...

of course, currently there is no function for Skin.SetScript or Skin.SetXBE. i have requested them, but who knows how long it'll be

[slumberpod77]

i don't really get what you are talking about TBH.

the way the skin works is you have a bunch of buttons on the home page.
each button has a config section, and among other things you set the "target" for that button.
this is actually setting a variable which fills in that button's <onclick> tag.
for the target options i made a button scroller. most of the options are basic, like this one is labeled My Programs and has this as its onclick:
Skin.SetString(Button1Target,ActivateWindow(MyPrograms))

this causes Button 1's onclick tag to be set to ActivateWindow(MyPrograms).

as discussed in the FR (after you posted), the Browse To Script option would instead act like the SetImage and SetPath functions, where the user is presented with a file browser and is asked to browse to the script they want associated with the button. assuming JMarshall does the SetFile function he talked about, the Browse To Script Button would have an onclick like this:
Skin.SetFile(Button1Target,*.py).

so say you want to use a script at Q:\scripts\some script.py with the first button. you could label it "Some Script", and then hit Browse To Script, pick the script and hit OK. this would make that button on the home page directly execute that script.

behind the scenes what would go on is the SetFile function would set Button 1's onclick to something like
XBMC.RunScript(Q:\scripts\some script.py)

does all that make sense?

-edit-
forgot to actually post today's update

i was missing a function where it was possible to check skin string variables for a specific value. this function is still missing
anyways, i thought i had found an annoying way to get around this which involved setting & checking a ton of Boolean variables, but found that i simply have too many variables in use in the skin, so this method will not work . it was a really inefficient way to go anyways, and with  the feature in place i can do proper button target labels instead of an ugly text readout . wow, the config window .xml is up to 3767 lines of code!
aside from the behind the scenes crap, i have finished up the main music & videos windows, both settings windows, pictures, files, programs, music overlay, and home page windows.
i still need to do the music & video library windows and the scripts window, plus figure out how to make the submenu work in a way that makes sense with the skin. once i get that crap done and the variable crap gets sorted out, should be ready for a public beta. i am starting to get excited about it. it seems like i have been working on it forever.

just for fun, here is that config window XML if you're curious
its got the same stuff copied 10x for the 10 different buttons, just slight alterations to tag & variable numbers.
http://www.skinjob.n.../custom9000.xml

[B4tm4n]

Off Topic:

Can you log on to the XBMC forums ?
I`ve been getting an Ikonboard CGI Error page all morning,
just want to make sure its not just me and my computers
not playing up again.

Thanks in advance B4tm4n.

[slumberpod77]

haven't been able to get on, and the online manual just started acting up

[B4tm4n]

CODE

Query failed: delete from xbmc_referrers where time < date_sub(now(), interval '1' day) (Got error 30 from table handler)
Warning: Unknown(): open(/tmp/sess_70e593db77ae3f69a93a65119177d40b, O_RDWR) failed: Read-only file system (30) in Unknown on line 0

Warning: Unknown(): Failed to write session data (files). Please verify that the current setting of session.save_path is correct (/tmp) in Unknown on line 0

Cheers anyway.

[slumberpod77]

a new thing to ask for feedback from the community about: customized logo art.

basically as it stands right now, there is an optional logo graphic in the top center of the home window.
i have done the basic work on making that user-selectable.
so far, you just go to the config menu, turn on the Logo Display, and then click "Choose Logo". you can use any graphic you want for this purpose.
aside from being able to pick whatever graphic you want for display, it also has "big" mode, which is toggleable.

when turned on, the logo is 150x150 in size, whereas without it the logo is displayed as 75x75.

would you guys use this feature?

i started screwing around with it, and it takes only rudimentary graphics knowledge to grab something online, resize it properly, and cut it out so it's transparent.
once you have a logo graphic, you just FTP it to the Xbox and pick it in the menu, you DO NOT have to touch any code.

also, i am making the top and bottom bars independently toggle-able, meaning you can get rid of one or both as desired. i am also making it possible to replace their textures with whatever you want, same as the logo.

here is a work in progress shot:

i know, i need to do something about making the stuff read-able when there's nothing under it.
this shot is mostly just to illustrate what i mean about the logo stuff.

almost forgot, assuming i keep this feature (and i prolly will cuz its basically done), i will make some Photoshop templates to make it extra easy

[edwinmcdunlap]

Looks cool

how about a user-selectable home background feature?

Any idea when a release will be coming?

[slumberpod77]

i am not sure where it ended up in this thread, but that was like the first feature i built.
every one of the 11 main user buttons has its own customizable backdrop. they use the multiimage control, so each is a slideshow. you have a config menu so you can set where each button will get its images from. the backdrops are one of the biggest features of the skin.

as to when it'll be available, like i said earlier, i am waiting on at least 1 more feature request on the skin engine to make it all work properly. it depends on how long it takes for that to get implemented. my other little FRs were implemented like within a week, so i am hoping this one will be about as fast...