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[CLOSED] Advanced Launcher - Applications Launcher Addon for XBMC - Printable Version

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+---- Thread: [CLOSED] Advanced Launcher - Applications Launcher Addon for XBMC (/showthread.php?tid=85724)

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- xmurrx - 2011-02-10

do you know how I could make such a .bat file? I know how to make really simple ones, that however I would have no idea how to do


- fr500 - 2011-02-10

Angelscry Wrote:Yes, same as for the Linux and MacOSX versions of XBMC.

Well i'd think in windows it's more important since...well big name games are for Windows but I checked and it does not use cpu while minimized so make it minimize and we'll be fine


- Angelscry - 2011-02-10

fr500 Wrote:Well i'd think in windows it's more important since...well big name games are for Windows but I checked and it does not use cpu while minimized so make it minimize and we'll be fine
Believe me: Removing the wait state option was not an easy decision to take. For windows version it is the System.ExecWait() and System.Exec() functions that are use to start applications instead of the os.system function for Linux and OSX. All those functions launch the command line to start the aplication/game/emulator. But System.ExecWait() add the possibiltiy to put XBMC into pause. The problem is that System.ExecWait() and System.Exec() do not support completely command line. For example, the bug with filenames containing coma into Windows is directly related to the use of System.ExecWait() and System.Exec(). So the dilemma is:
  • keep the actual wait state support under windows and have a partially supported command line (that will never be fixed).
  • remove the wait state support under windows and have a complete command line support. But we can still use scripts (.bat, .sh) that could put XBMC into pause (like scripts which allows to close or restart XBMC).
That was the idea of the version 1.1.0 : use a parallel script included into Advanced Launcher to control XBMC state... but it was not really flexible or compatible on all the systems. The more efficacy method is definitively to use external scripts/pre-launcher (.bat, .sh or .exe) dedicated to each applications (see my previous scripts for Boxee, PCSX2 or NeoGeoCDZ). Those scripts are less than 10 lines longs. But because they are dedicated to a specific application, they do EXACTLY what we want.

XBMC --> ALA --> Pre-Launcher script --> Applications

I think that will be the direction that will take Advanced Launcher into the next version:
  1. Make Advanced Launcher use PERFECTLY command lines under all the system (Win, Linux, OSX)
  2. and add pre-launcher scripts specific support for each application. This could be easily don by using the WIKI page. We just have to put the scripts content on the corresponding WIKI page.
I think it will be the more flexible and accurate solution. Users will be able to use/create/modify the pre-launcher as they wanted for their specific needs. And Advanced Launcher will not integrate any control options (like Wait state) that will bring bugs or restrictions to the user (like the .lnk support). I still actually open to any suggestion, idea how to improve the actual command line support and ALA/application controls and transitions.


- fr500 - 2011-02-10

Yes I think it's correct, I have my bat files sorted out anyway. I can contribute for PCSX2, steam games and BSNES so far.

In any case making games launch is the most important (commas, arguments, etc)


- ingeon - 2011-02-10

Angelscry Wrote:No... I will remove any tracking process an let users to it by themselves using their proper .bat, .sh or any other kind of scripts. Some people would surely call this as a regression of Advanced Launcher, but it will allows to have a real command line support under windows. I'm not sure that I will also keep .lnk support.

Will be sad to see .lnk support go.
However, what I did think about is have maybe to have an option to add say
Drive:\Games\PC/NES etc. folders and let it scan the folders recursively for .exe/.nes/etc. files and add them straight into ALA under the IBM Compatible/NES etc. roms.

It would actually be nice to have a 'Game scraper' like Ember-r or UMM that can index the games and images for ALA,
that scrapes the info from either of your scrape sources and then renames and indexes the games (if say the *.nes files does not match the Gamefa name),
to make life easier.


- john.doe - 2011-02-10

xmurrx Wrote:I am trying to launch boxee. When I try to, I get an error from boxee saying it cant find the correct skin version. I also tried launching a bat file to open boxee and I get the same error. If I open boxee outside of xbmc, it works fine. Is there any way to do this? I am on Windows 7 Ultimate x64.

Hello Xmurrx.
Have you tried to check the option of XBMC "use a window to full screen instead of the real full screen "
I had problems running my applications with the new version of Advanced Launcher.
this has all settled.


- Angelscry - 2011-02-10

fr500 Wrote:Yes I think it's correct, I have my bat files sorted out anyway. I can contribute for PCSX2, steam games and BSNES so far.
In any case making games launch is the most important (commas, arguments, etc)
Yes, starting applications correctly using their command line support is the more important. That's must be the first goal of Advanced Launcher.


- Angelscry - 2011-02-10

ingeon Wrote:Will be sad to see .lnk support go.
I'm not sure that I will remove it, because it is working actually correctly.

ingeon Wrote:It would actually be nice to have a 'Game scraper' like Ember-r or UMM that can index the games and images for ALA,
that scrapes the info from either of your scrape sources and then renames and indexes the games, to make life easier.
All the games are indexed with ALL their data into the launchers.xml file. You can actually edit this file manually using any kind of text editor (notepad, etc...). But someone (it will not be me), maybe could write an application like Ember-r or UMM to edit this file.Nod


- filigran - 2011-02-10

butchabay Wrote:Which skin are you using ? Could it be a font problem ?

I'm using my own skin, but the plots use tahoma, so no issues there. Smile


- fr500 - 2011-02-10

@Angelscry

Is there a way to send the path as an argument? I'm trying to switch my PCSX2 configurations by storing them in the same place as my roms, ej:


|
|
|------ROMS
|------|
|------|
|------|----PS2
|------|-----------|God of War.iso
|------|-----------|God of War
|------|------------------|configfile.ini
|------|-----------|Shadow of the Colossus.iso
|------|-----------|Shadow of the Colossus
|------|------------------|configfile.ini

Maybe %path% Big Grin?


- Angelscry - 2011-02-10

fr500 Wrote:@Angelscry

Is there a way to send the path as an argument? I'm trying to switch my PCSX2 configurations by storing them in the same place as my roms, ej:


|
|
|------ROMS
|------|
|------|
|------|----PS2
|------|-----------|God of War.iso
|------|-----------|God of War
|------|------------------|configfile.ini
|------|-----------|Shadow of the Colossus.iso
|------|-----------|Shadow of the Colossus
|------|------------------|configfile.ini

Maybe %path% Big Grin?
Yes it could be possible. Roms path or application path ? Hummm... maybe both will be useful... Nod I will try to add this for the next version


- fr500 - 2011-02-10

Danke both would be even better that way I could make a fully automated batch file that works for everyone Big Grin


- fr500 - 2011-02-10

Don't make it %path% since that is the same as the OS path variable, maybe rompath and apppath or something alike


- Angelscry - 2011-02-10

fr500 Wrote:Don't make it %path% since that is the same as the OS path variable, maybe rompath and apppath or something alike
Yes that's what I thought 2 new %rompath% and %apppath% command line parameters and I will try to see if I can force XBMC to start .bat files minimized or hided.


- therealjoeblow - 2011-02-10

I'm using this addon to index and launch eMagazines in .pdf format, in general it's working fine (ie, all of the .pdf files are found when scanning for new items, and SumatraPDF launches and loads the files just fine), BUT I'm having issues with thumbnails and fanart. Only the images for the 1st file are added, all of the others are not.

I have a directory structure like:

c:\library\magazines

In there I have

MagTitle.Year.Month.pdf
MagTitle.Year.Month_thumb.jpg
MagTitle.Year.Month_fanart.jpg

For testing purpose I have 4 .pdf's along with 4 thumbs and 4 fanart (12 files in total)

I've configured the script to find the thumbs and fanart in the same folder as the .pdf files (ie. c:\library\magazines) and like I said, only the first file gets the art, the rest are standard icons (keyboard in Transparency! skin)

I also tried to put \thumbs and \fanart subfolders for the images (and reconfigured the script to look there) and moved them there with no success.

I also tried removing the _thumb and _fanart from the image names when in those folders with no success.

Can someone point me in the right direction? I must be organizing my files fundamentally wrong.

Thanks
The REAL Joe