volume button management ****help****

V3 help and support questions

volume button management ****help****

Postby billberet on Sun Apr 04, 2010 7:48 pm

Hey,
I need a favor from someone.

using the default skin, can someone make me a blank page with 3 sets of volume controls. each control set is VOL UP and VOL DOWN.
only one set of volume controls are visible at a time, i guess a toggle switch could activate which volume set is being used, or a next button, or something like that.

i have 3 tv's, and each tv has it's own volume, on my fios control page i do not want to have all 3 volume controls showing, i just want the volume controls that work for whatever TV i am in front of.

i know you could probably explain it, but i find i learn better when i reverse engineer something.
I would appreciate any help from anyone...

thanks again
-bb
billberet
 
Posts: 666
Joined: Mon Sep 29, 2008 9:26 pm
Location: NYC

Re: volume button management ****help****

Postby samsonlov on Mon Apr 05, 2010 8:51 am

Hi Bill,

If it's okay for the volume controls to be in different positions on the screen, I can make you a screen with "show/hide"events, - but if you want the buttons to all "occupy the same spot" you'll have a bit of a problem getting this to work on the "same page". Also, even with show/hide there can be problems with acidentally triggering an event when you "touch" a "hidden" button.

A workaround I have used for years with my touchscreen remote controls is to create separate pages for each room/source combination. One touch-screen (non-XLobby) remote I created for a client can be used to display any of 8 sources on any of 8 displays in the house.

So there are a total of 64 possible source/display combinations with an average of about 4 pages per device - over 260 pages! If you only want to control the volume in 3 rooms, and are only using XLobby to control a couple of sources, you'll only need 6 pages.

The best part is that at the top of each page (or even by a room-coordinated high WAF matching page background or a picture of the room) it is obvious what room the device is controlling, and if the control device travels from room to room you'll have to "choose" the room you want to control anyway, so that's a perfect time to "switch" the screen. On the other hand, If the only thing that changes on your page is which TV the slider is controlling, and you (or the wife) take(s) the controller into another room it could quickly become frustrating when tapping the vol control doesn't appear to be doing anything, while the person in the other room is freaking-out about the volume increasing to 100 :lol: I'm assuming (based on your notes) that this is a "mobile" XLobby device that travels from room to room.

If you can provide a little bit more information about your setup, or post a screenshot - or better, yet, post the .xml file of the page you are working-on, it will be much easier for me to offer some suggestions that you may find more helpful.

(A screenshot is helpful if your .xml file contains any buttons that call for images that are not in the default skin, since those won't be available unless you post those too),
:)
samsonlov
 
Posts: 220
Joined: Thu Sep 25, 2008 1:39 am
Location: Los Angeles, CA

Re: volume button management ****help****

Postby billberet on Mon Apr 05, 2010 3:54 pm

YES, i will do that tonight,
i will post the actual page, with the 3 volume controls.

to give a sum of my setup:
my server has a 4 vga split, so all the rooms are seeing the same page.
i have multiple cable boxes, and tv's so it could be any combination, you are correct, i would have alot of combinations to program and maintain. it would be easier to manage if i had one XL page per cable box, with volume options (depending on which tv)
currently i have it set up like this, so my cable STB control screen has 3 volume sets on it, and you click the set you want to change.

Thanks for the help on this. and you were also correct with the wifey statement and rasing my volume, lol
but i was playing xbox so i didn't mind the volume going up, hahahahaha
:)
billberet
 
Posts: 666
Joined: Mon Sep 29, 2008 9:26 pm
Location: NYC

Re: volume button management ****help****

Postby billberet on Mon Apr 05, 2010 4:02 pm

hey sam,

with regard to programming the buttons to maintain the same space on the page.
Could this work: i do it with webpages when i don't want users to highlight something on it.
i create a blank layer that blocks everything beneath it.

meaning when i show a volume control set, i also show a rectangle beneath it that covers the whole area where the volume set is residing. this blocks me from clicking on the other buttons beneath it. so at one time there are only 3 buttons that can be touched, volume up, volume down, and toggle. Could the toggle button also change the layer value, moving it to the top, so the blank rectangle will always block what is beneath it?

so when i build the page it would be like this

volume up1 / volume down1 / toggle 1
*********************rectangle 1 layer********************

volume up2 / volume down2 / toggle 2
*********************rectangle 2 layer********************

volume up3 / volume down3 / toggle 3
*********************rectangle 3 layer********************

so when i click toggle, volume one button would move to top along with the toggle and the rectangle layer.
just a thought
billberet
 
Posts: 666
Joined: Mon Sep 29, 2008 9:26 pm
Location: NYC

Re: volume button management ****help****

Postby samsonlov on Mon Apr 05, 2010 7:57 pm

AAARGHHH!!!
This "auto" Log-out is so stupid!!!
I was just posting a reply, and popped-over to Mantis to post there (where we are supposed to), and when I came back to the forum, I was logged-out with no notification!

How Difficult would it be to increase the "auto-log-out time!?!

I should have written my reply in notepad and pasted.

I've done this before, so as Baddabing has said before, "I must have had a big bowl of stupid for breakfast".

Anyway, now that I've finished my "rant of the day about the auto-log-out without notification"

Hey Bi,

Yes, I'll take a look when you upload the .xml file(s) and screenshot(s)

Here's the Mantis post I made this morning (#0000825).
Make it possible to use a button to call different events depending on some criteria.

I suggest that this can be accomplished in either of the following two ways:

1. By allowing button events to be enabled/disabled dynamically similar to button show/hide using buttonIDs - (But it should be a separate "EventID" since it is often desireable to have "hidden" buttons with working events.)
This way, several buttons (like volume controls) can be "stacked", and only only have the "enabled" button respond to a "press".
2. By allowing button events to be assigned to buttons dynamically.

Without this functionality, when the Xlobby server touchscreens are used to control volume for multiple TVs and Sources, far too many screens are needed.
In my case, I've got an install with about 30 TVs and projectors, and there are 8 sources in the media closet and a few "local" Bluray players. With only 2 control pages per device, 480 screens are required to accomplish descrete room/source volume control.

Suggestion A:
Make a set of events called "button events enable" and "button events disable" a variable that's tied to "buttonid" and that that can be modified dynamically just like "button show" and "button hide".

If you can create these events, then I can achieve full control from the server with 16 screens with 30 stacked volume control buttons on each screen.

Suggestion B:
Make it possible to assign an click enter and exit events to an element dynamically so that a "ButtonEventClickID" can be used to change the associated event.

For Example:
You could through a pop-up "set ButtonEventClickID" to "receiver 1 volume up",
"receiver 2 volume up".."receiver n volume up", and the same for the rest of the commands on a page, and this way, you'll have only one page that can control everything in the house.

I think that where it is desireable to have a "uniform" interface that is used for all rooms, like the DirecTV Page(s), dynamically changing event associated with the button may be the cleanest way to do this.

It would certainly be a lot easier to skin 2 pages where each TV and/or receiver's volume up, down, and mute, and power on and off button has 30 EventIds, than to skin 60 pages where each page has a single volume up, down, and mute, and power on and off button for the receiver/TV.

Doing it this way would require the following:
Make 5 buttons and program the 30 descrete events to them for a total of 150 "button events" plus the 50 or so DirecTV remote commands and favorite channels, and then paste the 5 "common" buttons to the second DirecTV page if there is one.

The way things are now, to get the same functionality, you need to do the following:
Make 5 buttons and program 1 descrete event to each of them for a total of 5 events plus the 50 or so DirecTV remote commands and favorite channels, and then paste the 5 "common" buttons to the second DirecTV page if there is one... And then do this whole process 30 more times. for a total of... ...wait for it... ...1,650 "button events"!!! Oh, and remember that if you put a button in the wrong spot, or if you want to change a favorite channel, or when you realize that the play and pause buttons need to be switched, - guess what, you'll have to fix it on 30 screens! - What a nightmare.

So if this isn't too much of a programing nightmare of its own, we'd love to see some kind of solution for dynamically changing button events either with "enable/disable events", or with "dynamically assignable events", or with whatever way you think of that would be the best solution for this.

Perhaps some combination of both methods can be used so that "sliders" and other "active" elements can also be "assigned"

Thanks.
:)


Samson
:)
P.S. If you use half of my name, I'll do the same. ("Bi") :lol:
samsonlov
 
Posts: 220
Joined: Thu Sep 25, 2008 1:39 am
Location: Los Angeles, CA

Re: volume button management ****help****

Postby billberet on Mon Apr 05, 2010 8:08 pm

HA,
Touche

I feel your pain with all the screens you have to maintain, and what you posted is exactly what is needed.
where only the active button would be 'pressed' in a stack of buttons.
i will post my screens tonight.
billberet
 
Posts: 666
Joined: Mon Sep 29, 2008 9:26 pm
Location: NYC

Re: volume button management ****help****

Postby samsonlov on Mon Apr 05, 2010 8:18 pm

Bill,

When I saw "Touche" at first glance I thought "Did he misspell touchy?"
Then I re-read it.
I guess I'm still working on that bowl. :lol:

If I'm up late, maybe I can get your screens done tonight.

I get your point about the "reverse-engeneering" approach.
I also like to work that way.

Samson
:)
samsonlov
 
Posts: 220
Joined: Thu Sep 25, 2008 1:39 am
Location: Los Angeles, CA

Re: volume button management ****help****

Postby billberet on Mon Apr 05, 2010 9:04 pm

Samsonlov (<-notice the full name)
hehehe
i tried to get the hyphen over the E but i couldn't find it.
:lol:

the page i will be sending you will have 3 volume controls on the left side,
these will be the ones i want to stack. one volume control for each TV. (volume up, volume down, mute).
each of the buttons have a local event linked to an IR command.
And since i am on the east coast, you will have 3 extra hours to work on it, lol J/K

I appreciate all your help on this!!!!!!!!!
thanks again
-bb
billberet
 
Posts: 666
Joined: Mon Sep 29, 2008 9:26 pm
Location: NYC

Re: volume button management ****help****

Postby billberet on Mon Apr 05, 2010 10:30 pm

billberet
 
Posts: 666
Joined: Mon Sep 29, 2008 9:26 pm
Location: NYC

Re: volume button management ****help****

Postby samsonlov on Tue Apr 06, 2010 6:00 am

Okay so I've taken a look at your page, and I'm putting something together for you, but it would be a lot better if you uploaded a "screenshot" of the page too. Since I don't know what the background or any of the buttons look like, it's hard to make the lay-out something that will complement your skin, but take a look at what I made using the "default" images, and hopefully it will make sense to you.

I'll have something in a bit...
samsonlov
 
Posts: 220
Joined: Thu Sep 25, 2008 1:39 am
Location: Los Angeles, CA

Re: volume button management ****help****

Postby billberet on Tue Apr 06, 2010 3:05 pm

oh, my bad, i thought you would be able to see it the page when you put it in a skin.

i will post them for you when i get home.
billberet
 
Posts: 666
Joined: Mon Sep 29, 2008 9:26 pm
Location: NYC

Re: volume button management ****help****

Postby samsonlov on Tue Apr 06, 2010 6:04 pm

Here's what I came up with using the "default" buttons - I would have posted this last night (ahem, very early this morning), but I was typing so furiously, that Dafna, came into the office to let me know I kept waking her up. Maybe I was angry with my keyboard for letting me create a whole series of screens with overlays and jumps back and forth, only to find that the events I requested in Mantis already exist :embarrassed:
(The "view more smilies" link on the forum appears to still be broken :shock: )

[edit]
Multiple Volume Controls.zip
(611.65 KiB) Downloaded 270 times
[/edit]


Fios volume not selected.JPG


Fios volume 1 selected.jpg


Fios volume 2 selected.jpg


Fios volume 3 selected.jpg


These are some of the command pairs that can be used to accomplish multiple buttons in one spot using "ButtonIDs":

xlobby>button colapse
xlobby>button expand

xlobby>button hide
xlobby>button show

xlobby>button disable
xlobby>button enable

If you play with these it should become clear how they work.

I hope this helps.

Samson
:)
Last edited by samsonlov on Tue Apr 06, 2010 8:04 pm, edited 3 times in total.
samsonlov
 
Posts: 220
Joined: Thu Sep 25, 2008 1:39 am
Location: Los Angeles, CA

Re: volume button management ****help****

Postby billberet on Tue Apr 06, 2010 7:02 pm

that is exactly how i wanted it, one control, with 3 options to choose which TV you are changing.
i will play with those events tonight.
thanks
:)

do you happen to have a page with these events so i can see the syntax you use.
or if you did it to my pages already, i could take a look at that.
8)

*** don't forget to delete your Mantis requests *** :shock:
billberet
 
Posts: 666
Joined: Mon Sep 29, 2008 9:26 pm
Location: NYC

Re: volume button management ****help****

Postby samsonlov on Tue Apr 06, 2010 8:01 pm

I forgot to post the zip file with my "tutorial".
See the "[edit]" in my previous post:
Have Fun.
:)
samsonlov
 
Posts: 220
Joined: Thu Sep 25, 2008 1:39 am
Location: Los Angeles, CA

Re: volume button management ****help****

Postby billberet on Tue Apr 06, 2010 9:00 pm

you da man
:)
next time your in NY, i'll buy you a drink.
lol
billberet
 
Posts: 666
Joined: Mon Sep 29, 2008 9:26 pm
Location: NYC

Next