Problem with 6.4.3 and Dynamic Custom Menus

[pjpjpjpj]

HELP!

I did all of the safety steps (backed everything up, etc.), and I installed the new V6.4.3 beta. Fired it up, and everything worked fine.

Note however, that all of my previous "application packages" from 6.3.10... SageTV3-1.xml, SageTV3-2.xml, etc., all the way up to 3-9 (from previous customizations) were still in my STVs folder. I did not think this would matter, nor had I ever read anything about the implications of this.

I then attempted to install the Dynamic Custom Menus. I shut down Sage (yes, completely), unzipped all the files where they should go, and restarted it. I went to setup/detailed setup/advanced, and chose the stvi. It gave me the standard pop-up warning. But when I hit "ok" (or "continue" or whatever the button says), it pulled up an error message. Unfortunately, I did not get a screen shot and I can't seem to reproduce it. It was something about not being able to find "menu.xml". It gave me a few options (try again, continue, etc.). I tried the "try again" and it would not respond. I did the "continue" (or whatever it was) and it just took me back to the default STV. The customization does not work... there are no disk space and upcoming recordings bars, no graphics, and the right-click does not do anything except give the normal menu options. I noticed that the xml file that it was trying to run was 3-10... meaning that it saw the other 9 versions (none of which I had loaded yet in 6.4.3), and numbered the "new" one next... but it did not work.

I set the application package back to SageTV3.xml, then went into explorer and deleted all of the old STVis (don't know if I should have done this, but too late now ). Then I went back into Sage and tried to import the DCM STVi again (don't know if I should have done that either), and it created SageTV3-1.xml... but immediately went back to the default STV (no error message this time). Still not working.

Any thoughts about how to get it working?

[waltraud]

Hi,

did you check if there is a menu.xml file in your SageTV Directory? If its missing you can just copy one of the default ones to menu.xml They are in the SageTV directory and called default_menu_Vx_x.xml

[pjpjpjpj]

Originally Posted by waltraud

did you check if there is a menu.xml file in your SageTV Directory? If its missing you can just copy one of the default ones to menu.xml They are in the SageTV directory and called default_menu_Vx_x.xml

I have default_menu_V6_3.xml in my Sage folder. Here is what I am getting:

When I start Sage on the server, or start up an HD Extender (from Standy), I get the following:
---------------------------------------
Failed to load XML menu file
Menu file = C:/Program Files/SageTV/SageTV/menu.xml

Reload Menu File
Load Alternative Definition File
Fall Back To Standard Sage Menus

Errors:
Sage Menu definition file C:/Program Files/SageTV/SageTV/menu.xml does not exist.
---------------------------------------

(The three lines in the middle (reload, load, fall back) are choosable options. If I use "fall back", it goes to default SageTV3 and everything is fine. If I choose to reload or load an alternative, the following error appears:

---------------------------------------
XML parse error at line 2 col 77: Document root element "Module" must match DOCTYPE root "null".

XML Parse error at line 2 col 77: Document is invalid: no grammar found.

---------------------------------------

So:
1) Would it be best to start over, is is this fixable?
1a) If I uninstall, do I just copy in my sage.properties, wiz.bin and wiz.bak and overwrite the new one?

2) It looks (to my untrained eye) like it is looking for a file just calle "menu.xml", not "default_menu_V6_3.xml". Is this the problem?

Again, HELP!

[waltraud]

Originally Posted by pjpjpjpj

I
It looks (to my untrained eye) like it is looking for a file just calle "menu.xml", not "default_menu_V6_3.xml". Is this the problem?

The menu.xml file contains the menus for the plugin. Just create a copy of default_menu_V6_3.xml and rename it to menu.xml.

Edit: I am not sure but you might need to restart Sage and the SageTV Service after copying and renaming the file.

[pjpjpjpj]

Originally Posted by waltraud

Just create a copy of default_menu_V6_3.xml and rename it to menu.xml.

Edit: I am not sure but you might need to restart Sage and the SageTV Service after copying and renaming the file.

That did it (I did have to restart Sage). Thanks!

P.S. To all of those who have been telling me to install Custom Dynamic Menus... and especially to neilm, who created it.... THANK YOU, IT ROCKS. (and I recommend it to anyone who has not installed it)

[gplasky]

Gerry

[BobPhoenix]

I think you will find once you go dynamic menus you can't go back - TOO painful.

[pjpjpjpj]

Alright, one last little glitch...

My wife was watching a program on an HD Extender in the family room while I was in the basement on the server, getting the DCM working and changing around the menus to the way that I want them.

After I had everything set the way I wanted it, I went upstairs, she turned off the TV (and extender) and we went upstairs, and turned on the TV in the bedroom (another extender). That extender, which had been off the whole time, had the same menus that I had just created (in other words, everything was fine).

But this morning, when I came down and turned on the family room TV, the menus were still the default DCM menu, without any of my changes. I figure this had to be because that extender was on while I was making the changes. I tried a reboot of the extender, but that didn't do it.

So what can I do to make the extender find the menu setup that I made on the server? Surely I don't need to do it manually at that Extender (which would be a pain)....

[BobPhoenix]

Originally Posted by pjpjpjpj

Alright, one last little glitch...

My wife was watching a program on an HD Extender in the family room while I was in the basement on the server, getting the DCM working and changing around the menus to the way that I want them.

After I had everything set the way I wanted it, I went upstairs, she turned off the TV (and extender) and we went upstairs, and turned on the TV in the bedroom (another extender). That extender, which had been off the whole time, had the same menus that I had just created (in other words, everything was fine).

But this morning, when I came down and turned on the family room TV, the menus were still the default DCM menu, without any of my changes. I figure this had to be because that extender was on while I was making the changes. I tried a reboot of the extender, but that didn't do it.

So what can I do to make the extender find the menu setup that I made on the server? Surely I don't need to do it manually at that Extender (which would be a pain)....

I would try to load the menu you created it sounds like your living room extender is pointing at the default menu rather than the one you created. Just bring up the dynamic menu options and load the (menu.xml probably) file you created. I actually have a separate menu for my extenders and my server since I don't need a full screen option on the extenders. So my menu files are "living room.xml" and "bedroom.xml" rather than the default "menu.xml".

[waltraud]

Originally Posted by pjpjpjpj

Alright, one last little glitch...
But this morning, when I came down and turned on the family room TV, the menus were still the default DCM menu, without any of my changes. I figure this had to be because that extender was on while I was making the changes. I tried a reboot of the extender, but that didn't do it.

So what can I do to make the extender find the menu setup that I made on the server? Surely I don't need to do it manually at that Extender (which would be a pain)....

Did you save the changes you made on the server?

[pjpjpjpj]

Originally Posted by waltraud

Did you save the changes you made on the server?

Yeah, I was good about that. And I know they were all saved because they showed up on the bedroom Extender when I turned it on afterwards (see my above post again).

Originally Posted by BobPhoenix

I would try to load the menu you created it sounds like your living room extender is pointing at the default menu rather than the one you created. Just bring up the dynamic menu options and load the (menu.xml probably) file you created.

So within the Sage setup/detailed setup/advanced, where I am on SageTV3-9.xml, this does "not really matter", I need to load "menu.xml" within the CDM menu? I was pretty sure that "menu.xml" was what I needed to be "looking at", but I didn't realize you could load it separately within CDM and I sure didn't want to manually try to point Sage at that (within setup/detailed setup/advanced) because I figured it would then ignore all of my other imported STVis.

If that is the case (that "setup/detailed setup/advanced" remains at SageTV3-x" but the CDM menu looks at something separate), then that will probably solve it. I'm at work now so I will try it when I get home this evening.

[BobPhoenix]

Originally Posted by pjpjpjpj

So within the Sage setup/detailed setup/advanced, where I am on SageTV3-9.xml, this does "not really matter", I need to load "menu.xml" within the CDM menu? I was pretty sure that "menu.xml" was what I needed to be "looking at", but I didn't realize you could load it separately within CDM and I sure didn't want to manually try to point Sage at that (within setup/detailed setup/advanced) because I figured it would then ignore all of my other imported STVis.

If that is the case (that "setup/detailed setup/advanced" remains at SageTV3-x" but the CDM menu looks at something separate), then that will probably solve it. I'm at work now so I will try it when I get home this evening.

Not sure I follow this so incase MY post wasn't clear I will add some more info:

There is a property entry that gets created when loading the dynamic menus that points to the menu xml file (USUALLY "menu.xml") and since each extender gets it's own property file you can end up with a separate menu entry for each extender - you don't HAVE to make them use different menus it is just a feature. What I was guessing was that you may have the livingroom extender pointing at the default dynamic menu xml file instead of "menu.xml" like your other extenders.

FYI: This is purely a guess because unless I didn't save the menu file I've never seen this behaviour. Also the dynamic menu xml file is totally independant of the STV xml file. DON'T try to use the "menu.xml" file as your STV that won't work at all.

[pjpjpjpj]

Originally Posted by BobPhoenix

Not sure I follow this so incase MY post wasn't clear I will add some more info:

There is a property entry that gets created when loading the dynamic menus that points to the menu xml file (USUALLY "menu.xml") and since each extender gets it's own property file you can end up with a separate menu entry for each extender - you don't HAVE to make them use different menus it is just a feature. What I was guessing was that you may have the livingroom extender pointing at the default dynamic menu xml file instead of "menu.xml" like your other extenders.

FYI: This is purely a guess because unless I didn't save the menu file I've never seen this behaviour. Also the dynamic menu xml file is totally independant of the STV xml file. DON'T try to use the "menu.xml" file as your STV that won't work at all.

Sorry for the confusion on my part but I think your last paragraph "FYI" (whether you knew it or not ) confirms what I was trying to say... that I will leave the SageTV3-9.xml alone (within setup/detailed setup/advanced), and go into the DCM menu and "load" the "menu.xml" file there.

BTW, does this mean that there will have been a separate xml file created by my extender that has different settings and a different name than the "menu.xml" (and thus I could delete it once I get the extender menu straight)? Or is the "arrangement of the menu" data, so to speak, of the Extender just saved within the Extender's properties file? Just curious.

[CollinR]

You can have as many menu files as you want, you can create one per extender if you like. Whichever is named menu.xml will be default so I make that one the most limited in functionality (no setup/config menu access).

[BobPhoenix]

Originally Posted by pjpjpjpj

BTW, does this mean that there will have been a separate xml file created by my extender that has different settings and a different name than the "menu.xml" (and thus I could delete it once I get the extender menu straight)?

Not unless you created a separate file for each.

Or is the "arrangement of the menu" data, so to speak, of the Extender just saved within the Extender's properties file?

The layout of the menus is contained in the "menu.xml" file. The properties file just contains a pointer to the "menu.xml" file but not much else.

[pjpjpjpj]

Fixed.

Thanks, guys.