STV Import: Toolbar for SageMC (v1.0a / June 11, 2007)

[Halstead]

So, after installing an additional 512 RAM and rebooting my server (the later probably had more to do with it), the toolbar works just fine on my Mac Placeshifter.

Go figure.

[MeInMaui]

Originally Posted by Halstead

So, after installing an additional 512 RAM and rebooting my server (the later probably had more to do with it), the toolbar works just fine on my Mac Placeshifter.

Go figure.

Woohoo!!!!

That's excellent news. Thanks!

Aloha,
Mike

[mdnttoker]

After importing this into SageMC 6.3.2c, I get the black screen of death. (on a "client" window while running the service)

Anybody else report this?

I looked through the logs, and couldn't see anything useful. Do you need anything?

Thanks,
Dan

[MeInMaui]

Originally Posted by mdnttoker

After importing this into SageMC 6.3.2c, I get the black screen of death. (on a "client" window while running the service)

Anybody else report this?

I looked through the logs, and couldn't see anything useful. Do you need anything?

Thanks,
Dan

What version of java are you running? The import requires at least v1.5 and SageTV v6.1.
Do you have any other plug-ins installed?
If you reboot the computer, do you still get the black screen?

Aloha,
Mike

[mdnttoker]

Originally Posted by MeInMaui

What version of java are you running? The import requires at least v1.5 and SageTV v6.1.
Do you have any other plug-ins installed?
If you reboot the computer, do you still get the black screen?

Aloha,
Mike

Running Java 1.6.01 and SageTV 6.1.9. Was running VMR, but since switching to overlay, the toolbar loads just fine. Don't know if that's what fixed it.

Never got a chance to try rebooting....

Thanks,
Dan

[MeInMaui]

This update adds some new buttons and other enhancements. Here are the release notes:

v0.2

- Added an Options Menu for the toolbar. It is accessible from the SageMC Options / Extras section or by pressing the options key while any button in the toolbar is focused
- Added shortcut button to jump to the Playlist Manager
- Added user configurable shortcut button (configure button in options menu)
- Added TV command button. (This toggles fullscreen video/video preview)
- Added Record button. (Initiates a manual recording while watching live tv)
- Added option to select alternate toolbar backgrounds from the options menu. (I have provided glassy backgrounds in blue, red, green, smoked and purple in addition to the original metallic background.)
- Adjusted layout and button sizes to (hopefully) improve aesthetics

Hope you like it!

Aloha,
Mike

P.S. Here are a couple of screen shots.


Original metallic background


Blue glass background


Smoked glass background

[MeInMaui]

Here's another minor update to the toolbar plugin. This version adds a minimal toolbar view.

The minimal view has a smaller footprint and eliminates the diskbar, calendar, and weather items from the toolbar. The background image is set independently of the fullsize toolbar. Both background settings are preserved.

You can switch between views in the Toolbar Options menu. The background selection option always refers to the currently selected view.

Hopefully someone might find this useful.

Aloha,
Mike

Here are a couple of screen shots:

[dflachbart]

Originally Posted by MeInMaui

Here another minor update to the toolbar plugin. This version adds a minimal toolbar view.

Mike, this looks great. I might even use it now myself on my dev client


Dirk

[mdnttoker]

Love the mini-bar. Used the original one mainly cause it was functional, but was a bit gaudy

I'm all over the reduced-footprint version!

Thanks,
Dan

[mickp]

Hi Mike,

I love the new minimalist mode. Excellent work.


Mick.

[MeInMaui]

Thanks guys,

Wait till you see the next release.

Aloha,
Mike

[Hector]

This is a really nice effort, thanks much for sharing your work. It makes MC usable for the most part, without mouse support its severely limited (I have a Harmony remote but nothing works better for fast screen nav than a mouse).

One feature idea would be an option for the toolbar to be available (in view) all the time except for when watching something. Ideally but not 100% necessary would be to have have a limited view that didn't include volume or transport. The smaller this is the less obtrusive it would be when 'always on' (few small buttons upper corner?) but the real goal for me is to have the nav controls always available except when watching something.

Ideally mouse nav would be optional in the STV itself but this would be a decent workaround. For me the toolbar works really well but there isn't really any reason for the nav controls to be hidden except when watching something.

In any case, this is a really nice tool. Thanks again.

peace . . .

[MeInMaui]

Originally Posted by Hector

This is a really nice effort, thanks much for sharing your work. It makes MC usable for the most part, without mouse support its severely limited (I have a Harmony remote but nothing works better for fast screen nav than a mouse).

One feature idea would be an option for the toolbar to be available (in view) all the time except for when watching something. Ideally but not 100% necessary would be to have have a limited view that didn't include volume or transport. The smaller this is the less obtrusive it would be when 'always on' (few small buttons upper corner?) but the real goal for me is to have the nav controls always available except when watching something.

Ideally mouse nav would be optional in the STV itself but this would be a decent workaround. For me the toolbar works really well but there isn't really any reason for the nav controls to be hidden except when watching something.

In any case, this is a really nice tool. Thanks again.

peace . . .

Hi Hector,

Thank you very much for the comments and suggestions.

I just sent out the next version of this plugin for private testing last night. I'm really hoping to be able to release it this weekend. I think you and everyone else will like it. It will be able to do everything you suggest, but that's just scratching the surface.

Aloha,
Mike

[Hector]

Scratching the surface eh? Well that sure sounds interesting

I don’t have a keyboard on my box just a remote mouse so the navigational holes in MC are pretty glaring. How are people using the program guide for example? There are also some dead ends that you can’t get out of at all. OTOH its such a nice interface I’m really trying hard to figure out how to use it.

Originally Posted by MeInMaui

Hi Hector,

Thank you very much for the comments and suggestions.

I just sent out the next version of this plugin for private testing last night. I'm really hoping to be able to release it this weekend. I think you and everyone else will like it. It will be able to do everything you suggest, but that's just scratching the surface.

Aloha,
Mike

[MeInMaui]

Hi Guys,

This thread has been way too quiet, so it's time to mix things up a bit. This version of the toolbar import is a complete overhaul/redesign of the original concept. All of the feature of the previous version are still there, but that is just the beginning. Many thanks go to mkanet for providing great ideas and feedback as well as for suffering through testing about 20 revisions before I finally got it right.

You can download the toolbar import here.

Aloha,
Mike

From the download page:

At least SageTV v6.1.x, Java v1.6, and SageMC v6.3.3 are required

This import adds a toolbar to the top of the screen for SageMC, providing enhanced mouse support. The toolbar is normally hidden and will roll down when the mouse cursor is moved to the top of the screen. It will roll back up when you move the mouse away. In the Video OSD, the behavior is slightly different, requiring a mouse click at the top of the screen to activate the toolbar.

In the first release, the basic functionality includes the following commands: back, forward, home, sleep, fullscreen toggle, exit, transport controls, volume controls, mute, and direct access to the weather menu and calendar.

Version 1.0 of the toolbar import adds two user configurable toolbars (in addition to the Minimal and Fullsize configurations) and two user configurable fixed button layouts for placing buttons directly on menu screens. Different combinations of toolbar + fixed button layout can be selected for the Main Menu, Submenus, and the Media Player OSD. By default, the fixed button layouts are disabled in all screens and the Minimal toolbar configuration is enabled in all screens.

Editing of User Configurable Buttons

Buttons and button groups can be enabled/disabled from the toolbar options menu or by highlighting any button in the toolbar or fixed button layout to be edited and pressing the options key and then selecting Enable/Disable Buttons.

Any editable button/button group can be moved or rescaled by highlighting the button to be edited, pressing the options key, and then selecting Move/Scale Button. You can then use the arrow keys to move the button(s), the Pgup/Pgdn keys to rescale, and the stop key to restore the default size/location.

Toolbars

The Minimal and Fullsize toolbar configurations are still available. The Minimal toolbar is now the default.
There are now two additional custom toolbar configurations labeled MyBar 1 and MyBar 2. These two configurations are user editable.

Fixed Buttons

There are now two user editable configurations (Layout 1 and Layout 2) for placing fixed buttons and button groups on screen. Separate Back, Fullscreen/Windowed, and Sleep icons are available in the fixed button layouts in addition to all of the buttons available in the toolbars.

Other

This import also adds functionality to the record and conflict icons. The record icon takes you to the Schedule menu and the conflict icon takes you to the conflict management menu when clicked. There is also now an option to disable the invisible navigation spots in SageMC to prevent conflicts if buttons are placed over the spot (upper left corner of the menu).

Note: There is currently a limitation when using the stop popup screen for video playback. One option is to press stop a second time. This is currently not possible using only the mouse.

Installation

Unzip the contents of the download into your SageTV directory. Then start Sage and import Toolbar_Import.xml (in the STVs\SageTV3\ folder) into SageMC.

For use with the Google Calendar plugin:

Install the Google Calendar STVi first. (Very important! The calendar menu must exist for the Toobar to properly link to it.)
Install the Toolbar as per above.
Go to the Extras section of the SageMC Options menu and enable 'Toolbar Calendar Icon Selectable'
Also in the Extras section, go to the Calendar Options and disable the Navbar.

Version History

v0.1
Initial Release

v0.2

- Added an Options Menu for the toolbar. It is accessible from the SageMC Options / Extras section or by pressing the options key while any button in the toolbar is focused
- Added shortcut button to jump to the Playlist Manager
- Added user configurable shortcut button (configure button in options menu)
- Added TV command button. (This toggles fullscreen video/video preview)
- Added Record button. (Initiates a manual recording while watching live tv)
- Added option to select alternate toolbar backgrounds from the options menu. (I have provided glassy backgrounds in blue, red, green, smoked and purple in addition to the original metallic background.)
- Adjusted layout and button sizes to (hopefully) improve aesthetics

v 0.2b

- Added minimal toolbar view. This view has a smaller footprint and eliminates the diskbar, calendar, and weather items. The background image is set independently of the fullsize toolbar. Both background settings are preserved.

v 1.0

- Complete redesign. (See description above)

[Hector]

Pretty cool. In the spirit of Sage, this is VERY configurable. Placement and resizing of buttons is impressive.

One gotcha was that when I installed it many if not all buttons and button groups defaulted to on/enabled. So the first view was buttons on top of buttons (i.e. transport and transport1) all across the top of the screen and then the toolbar would come down over that. Once I realized I just needed to turn a lot of buttons off it started to make sense.

I’ve only used the new version for about an hour about here are few thoughts.

- The OSD button thing would be pretty cool if they would click on/off without the time and overhead of drawing the bar coming down each time. The current bar is nice looking but it’s a little heavy to do each time you want to FF/REW etc. Default STV is a great example of a fast appearing light set of transport of buttons at a click. A function over form option 

- Ungrouping of some button groups. Would like to remove min/sleep from max/close because sleep is a catastrophe for a mouse only user on an HDTV overscanned screen (windows taskbar/icon tray is unreachable off the screen so no way to ‘wake up’). Also would like to add permanent custom button to menus without the overhead (screen real estate) of the other two in that group. Esp a single custom button.

- Ability to assign commands to custom buttons.

- A typo bug I think - MainMenu ConfigToolbar config->MyBar2 ‘volume controls’ appear twice instead of volume OSD

Again thanks. Huge update! Its really nice to have navigation on the screen again. And you can put it right where you want it, heh.

Peace . . .

[ellweber]

Very nice and VERY configurable. But greed prevails! Is it possible to make the presence of the DiskBar optional on the User Configurable Toolbars? Also I am a little confused about the Shortcut button and have not been able to make it work. A little configuration clarification there would be helpful.

Thanks for all of your time and effort Mike.

Lynn

[Hector]

Shortcut button seems to call an internal screen (like dynamic menus does). I use mine to call the EGP (internal screen = guide).

It would be nice to be able to configure that whole group with screens and/commands.

I admit to being greedy too. This is a big step forward.

peace . . .

Originally Posted by ellweber

Very nice and VERY configurable. But greed prevails! Is it possible to make the presence of the DiskBar optional on the User Configurable Toolbars? Also I am a little confused about the Shortcut button and have not been able to make it work. A little configuration clarification there would be helpful.

Thanks for all of your time and effort Mike.

Lynn

[MeInMaui]

Originally Posted by Hector

One gotcha was that when I installed it many if not all buttons and button groups defaulted to on/enabled. So the first view was buttons on top of buttons (i.e. transport and transport1) all across the top of the screen and then the toolbar would come down over that. Once I realized I just needed to turn a lot of buttons off it started to make sense.

I'll look into this. All of the fixed buttons except back, sleep, and fullscreen should be disabled by default and the custom toolbars should start out in the minimal configuration.

I’ve only used the new version for about an hour about here are few thoughts.

- The OSD button thing would be pretty cool if they would click on/off without the time and overhead of drawing the bar coming down each time. The current bar is nice looking but it’s a little heavy to do each time you want to FF/REW etc. Default STV is a great example of a fast appearing light set of transport of buttons at a click. A function over form option 

I can look into offering an option to disable the toolbar animation. That should pop up the toolbar instantly. Would that work for you?

- Ungrouping of some button groups. Would like to remove min/sleep from max/close because sleep is a catastrophe for a mouse only user on an HDTV overscanned screen (windows taskbar/icon tray is unreachable off the screen so no way to ‘wake up’). Also would like to add permanent custom button to menus without the overhead (screen real estate) of the other two in that group. Esp a single custom button.

Separate sleep and fullscreen/windowed buttons are already available. I chose not to add a separate close button because it is already available on the main menu. I may reconsider this.

- Ability to assign commands to custom buttons.

This one might be tricky, but I like the idea.

- A typo bug I think - MainMenu ConfigToolbar config->MyBar2 ‘volume controls’ appear twice instead of volume OSD

Thanks. I'll fix that.

Originally Posted by ellweber

Very nice and VERY configurable. But greed prevails! Is it possible to make the presence of the DiskBar optional on the User Configurable Toolbars?

It was already supposed to be. I think I may have screwed something up there. I'll look into it.

Also I am a little confused about the Shortcut button and have not been able to make it work. A little configuration clarification there would be helpful.

Sorry about that. The instructions/description should improve over the next couple of weeks. There is so much going on in this plugin now, I didn't know where to start. Frankly, I got really tired of writing it up. I just wanted it released already.

Hector got it right in his post. The shortcut button allows you to configure an internal screen to jump to.

Originally Posted by Hector

It would be nice to be able to configure that whole group with screens and/commands.

I'll look into adding a separate button group for this. Would 3 buttons be sufficient, or do you need more?

Thanks for the feedback!

Aloha,
Mike

[MeInMaui]

Hi,

I fixed some bugs and added a few new features that should address many of the issues raised in the last few posts. A few of the feature requests will take a bit longer and did not make it into this version.

Aloha,
Mike

Release notes:

v 1.0a

- Misc. small bug fixes
- Added option to disable toolbar animation separately in the Main Menu, Submenus, and MediaPlayer OSD
- Added Diskbar to custom toolbars. (Because the diskbar does not gain focus, you must click on the diskbar to bring up its options menu for moving/rescaling.)
- Added standalone shortcut button. (This is the same button that is grouped with the playlist and TV buttons, just made available separately.)