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[RELEASE] Launcher - application launcher plugin for Linux, Mac, Windows, and Xbox
#61
@leo2

So I downloaded the latest version from SVN and ran into trouble on the xbox:

  1. zsnexbox emulator ROMs failed to start
  2. selecting a thumbnail from the Yahoo! search causes xbox to lock up
I was able to get the ROMs to play by editing the launchers.xml file and removing the quotations " " from the <filename> entries. I don't know if those are needed for it to work in Windows.

In regards to the thumbnail search crashing the xbox, here is a link to my log file: http://pastebin.com/m7f0866fc
Starting on line #392 is when I searched for the first thumbnail, I canceled out before selecting a thumbnail (no crash) and then navigated to a ROM and tried to apply a thumbnail to it around line #576 and that is when it locked up. I noticed a few memory leaks in the log, which I haven't seen before.

Finally, I had a feature request... I was wondering if it would be possible to search for thumbnails for the Emulators/ROMs when you first add them in case you already have the box art. I tried putting the thumbnails inside the ROMs folder, inside the Thumbnail folder, and even tried different naming conventions. It seems that the only way to get thumbnails to show up is if you manually add them to the launchers.xml file.

Keep up the good work!

-Mic
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#62
rv 12 refuses to work on my gentoo, too.

regarding my problem to launch apps in fullscreen (probably as xbmc occupies
mouse/keyboard when it's in fullscreen(?)) i did a somewhat dirty
workaround (in rv 11) which fixes the issue:
at the place where launcher executes the selected application in
launcher_plugin.py for linux (somewhere around line 170 and for emulators/roms at about 200)
i added the line
os.system("%s" % ('display -delay 1 /path/to/1x1.jpg &'))

which lets imagemagicks "display" show a 1x1 sized jpg for 1 sec
and forces xbmc to go into window mode.
the selected app launches in fullscreen then, as it should.

i tried with
wmctrl -x -r xbmc.bin.xbmc.bin -b toggle,fullscreen
before, which wasn't able to do this,
as it only works when xbmc is already in window mode.
ugly, but works for me.
maybe it helps someone else.
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#63
I am using the plugin in Windows XP. I use the Aeon skin, and I don't understand how do I add a thumbnail and a wallpaper to the games/programs, manually.
Can someone please help? Where do I put them? What format/extension?

Update: Ok, so I somehow managed to get it working putting a .jpg and .tbn file in the userdata\Thumbnails\Programs folder.
But what about the custom wallpapers? (The so-called -fanart.jpg in Aeon)
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#64
@frank and @elspero
Quote:any way of linking launcher to the games,app menu
Maybe this will help you, maybe not.

Quote:But what about the custom wallpapers? (The so-called -fanart.jpg in Aeon)
After doing these changes all of my background wallpapers (fanart) magically work.

Here is how I got Launcher working with the Aeon skin and linked it to the navigation button "Arcade" on the home screen.

NOTE: I had to make edits to the .xml files that are part of the Aeon skin because they seemed to have typos/missing information. I also run into a problem every now and then where the skin locks up when trying to execute the Launcher from the home menu. I will keep working on this, but for now this should get you going in the right direction.

There are three files within the Aeon skin folder we need to check:
  1. Reset.xml
  2. Homescrollers.xml
  3. Customization.xml
We also need to add the Launcher as a source, so lets start by editing sources.xml located in the UserData directory. At the very top of the file at line #2 I have my <programs> sources, make sure you have an entry for Arcade (It might be case sensitive).
Code:
<programs>
        <default></default>
        <source>
            <name>D:</name>
            <path>D:\</path>
        </source>
        <source>
            <name>C:</name>
            <path>C:\</path>
        </source>
    <source>
            <name>Arcade</name>
            <path>plugin://programs/Launcher/</path>
        </source>
    </programs>
Open up Reset.xml and edit the two sections "resetsettings" and "keepusersettings". I'm not sure what this does, but I think I needed to add a line of code to each section to get the skin to refresh my changes. Make sure the "resetsettings" section has a line that looks like this in it:
Code:
<onclick>Skin.SetString(arcadepath,Arcade)</onclick>
and that the "keepusersettings" has a line that looks like this somewhere in it:
Code:
<onclick>Skin.SetString(arcadepath,Arcade)</onclick>

Now lets check Customization.xml and make sure it has an entry for the Arcade button and source location. Depending on which version of Aeon you have, these variables jump around a bit and some were missing entirely. What I have is an entry for the button on line #283 that looks like this:
Code:
    <control type="radiobutton" id="207">
        <include>customsettingsbutton</include>
        <label>Arcade (Emulation)</label>
        <onclick>Skin.ToggleSetting(arcade)</onclick>
        <selected>Skin.HasSetting(arcade)</selected>
    </control>
and an entry for the source location on line #354 that looks like this:
Code:
    <control type="button" id="309">
        <include>customsettingsbutton</include>
        <label>Set Arcade Target (Current: $INFO[Skin.String(arcadepath)])</label>
        <onclick>Skin.SetString(arcadepath)</onclick>
    </control>
After making these edits to the customization.xml navigate to that section within the Aeon skin on XBMC, it's called AEON ----> Home Shortcuts and make sure the radio next to Arcade (Emulation) is checked. Also verify that the target for the source is set to Arcade.

Finally, you might need to edit Homescrollers.xml around line #110 I have an entry for the Arcade button that looks like this:
Code:
<item id="3">
    <label>ARCADE</label>
    <onclick>Skin.SetBool(programarcade)</onclick>
    <onclick>Skin.Reset(programapps)</onclick>
    <onclick>Skin.Reset(programgames)</onclick>
    <onclick>XBMC.ActivateWindow(MyPrograms)</onclick>
    <visible>Skin.HasSetting(arcade)</visible>
</item>

As a final note for getting the fanart to show up, make sure you have created a folder to put all of your various fanart images into. I created a folder called Backgroundswhich is located within UserData. I then created sub-folders within Backgrounds for each of my media sections: comics, games, movies, music, pictures, porn and tv.

Once you have those folders filled with your wallpapers/fanart navigate to the AEON ----> Backgrounds settings section within XBMC and set the folders for each of the sections listed. There should be a section for Arcade, but if there is not you can add it by editing Backgrounds.xml and adding this code:
Code:
<control type="multiimage">
    <posx>0</posx>
    <posy>0</posy>
    <width>1280</width>
    <height>720</height>
    <imagepath>-</imagepath>
    <timeperimage>20000</timeperimage>
    <fadetime>2000</fadetime>
    <randomize>true</randomize>
    <info>Skin.String(CustomArcadeFolder)</info>
    <visible>[Container(300).HasFocus(3) + Control.IsVisible(300)] + [!Player.HasMedia | !Skin.HasSetting(Visualisation) | !Skin.HasSetting(videohome)] + !Skin.HasSetting(CustomArcadeFolder)</visible>
    <visible>[!Control.IsVisible(301) + !Control.IsVisible(302)]</visible>
        <visible>!Control.IsVisible(87)</visible>
    <include>backgroundfade</include>
</control>

Hope that helps,
Mic
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#65
micster Wrote:@leo2

So I downloaded the latest version from SVN and ran into trouble on the xbox:

  1. zsnexbox emulator ROMs failed to start
  2. selecting a thumbnail from the Yahoo! search causes xbox to lock up
I was able to get the ROMs to play by editing the launchers.xml file and removing the quotations " " from the <filename> entries. I don't know if those are needed for it to work in Windows.

In regards to the thumbnail search crashing the xbox, here is a link to my log file: http://pastebin.com/m7f0866fc
Starting on line #392 is when I searched for the first thumbnail, I canceled out before selecting a thumbnail (no crash) and then navigated to a ROM and tried to apply a thumbnail to it around line #576 and that is when it locked up. I noticed a few memory leaks in the log, which I haven't seen before.

Finally, I had a feature request... I was wondering if it would be possible to search for thumbnails for the Emulators/ROMs when you first add them in case you already have the box art. I tried putting the thumbnails inside the ROMs folder, inside the Thumbnail folder, and even tried different naming conventions. It seems that the only way to get thumbnails to show up is if you manually add them to the launchers.xml file.

Keep up the good work!

-Mic

hi,
1. I known that thumb search is stuck for some images, don't know why. I didn't see any error messages in the log files - only a message "script stopped". I'm pretty sure it's a bug in the usock.read() function. don't know how to solve it.
2. There is not quotations in the latest version of Lanucher.
3. There is one simple conventions that the thumbs will show up without searching - you should create png or jpg file in the Thumbnails directory (use plugin settings to find out which directory is it) with the same name of the rom file. for example: if you have rom named aladdin.zip you should create a file named aladdin.jpg or aladdin.png in the Thumbnails folder. the plugin will search it there.
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#66
micster, can you send a screenshot of the integration of Launcher with Aeon?
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#67
@micster: Thanks, I'll try modifying those files.

I have another problem: the launcher doesn't launch roms who have spaces in the name.
I tried with zsnes for windows and snes9x for windows, both have the same problem.
If I try to launch a "D:\zsnesw\roms\Rom.smc" it works, with a "D:\zsnesw\roms\Rom Name.smc" it opens the emulator but the rom isn't executed.
The same thing happens with the GBA emulator, but this time it gives me an error message: "Unsupported file type: D:\VisualBoy\GBA\Rom", notice the "Rom Name.gba" has been truncated.
It is as if the " before and after the filename (with full path) is not used.

I don't know python, so I can't properly debug to understand what's going on.
Any suggestion?
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#68
elspero Wrote:@micster: Thanks, I'll try modifying those files.

I have another problem: the launcher doesn't launch roms who have spaces in the name.
I tried with zsnes for windows and snes9x for windows, both have the same problem.
If I try to launch a "D:\zsnesw\roms\Rom.smc" it works, with a "D:\zsnesw\roms\Rom Name.smc" it opens the emulator but the rom isn't executed.
The same thing happens with the GBA emulator, but this time it gives me an error message: "Unsupported file type: D:\VisualBoy\GBA\Rom", notice the "Rom Name.gba" has been truncated.
It is as if the " before and after the filename (with full path) is not used.

I don't know python, so I can't properly debug to understand what's going on.
Any suggestion?

I tried to System.Exec in many variations but none of them worked.
I guess you'll have to use filenames without spaces.
perhaps someone from XBMC guys will be able to fix System.Exec to support quotations to separate arguments.
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#69
@micster: well, all those lines were already present in my Aeon installation, I added just the sources and activated the Arcade button from the Aeon menu.
But... the fanart is not showing, it shows only the wallpapers I put in the "Arcade Backgrounds" folder I created. Probably I'm trying to do something not supported by the skin, I'll search in other forum sections. Thanks


@leo2: So it is a known bug? Well, I guess I'll rename the files then. Thanks
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#70
Quote:1. I known that thumb search is stuck for some images, don't know why. I didn't see any error messages in the log files - only a message "script stopped". I'm pretty sure it's a bug in the usock.read() function. don't know how to solve it.
I know we have already talked about this, but the recent changes seem to be worse on the xbox. Last month when I would search for thumbnails, only some would not work and they would not lock the xbox, they would just fail to get written and saved. Now it seems that every image from the Yahoo! search is effected and now if I choose one, the xbox locks up with the "saving progress" dialog box up.

Perhaps it's just my xbox that has gotten worse. I noticed a bunch of memory leaks in my logs that didn't use to be there (those are bad right?) and I'm thinking that might be why the xbox is freezing up.

I understand if this problem is going to have to wait. Personally I already have all of the thumbnails and being able to manually set them in the .xml file is nice. I'm still having trouble getting the thumbnails to show up automatically. They are named the same as the ROMs with a .png extension. After putting them all in the thumbnail folder before I scan for ROMs, I now get blank/missing thumbnail images where as before I was getting the default icon for my skin.

If I edit Launchers.xml by hand and specify the path to the thumbnails within the <thumb> field (which are all blank to start with) then it shows up. Are the <thumb> fields inside Launchers.xml suppose to be blank? I'm currently investigating how to get them to write the paths like the <filename> field does.

-Mic
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#71
Quote:2. There is not quotations in the latest version of Lanucher.
I noticed that the individual Launcher items work, like the link for my zsnexbox emulator and it has no quotes within Launcher.xml but the individual ROMs fail to launch. Editing the following code seems to solve the problem.

Line #433 of launcher_plugin.py
Code:
romdata["filename"] = '"' + fullname + '"'
to this
Code:
romdata["filename"] = fullname
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#72
I am unable to get svn rev 12 to launch anything. I can use ver 1.01 to work fine. any ideas why?
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#73
Quote:micster, can you send a screenshot of the integration of Launcher with Aeon?
Sure, I was planning on creating a video once I got everything dialed in. The background images actually rotate and they are not all Halo images, I just used those because they match. I'm still having trouble getting Aeon to execute Launcher everytime. Sometimes it just hangs and never launches. I think this is a problem with the way I'm linking to Launcher from the Homescroller in Aeon.

Home Page
Image

Launcher after clicking "Arcade" above
Image

My Super NES Emulator with ROMs
Image

-Mic
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#74
Quote:I am unable to get svn rev 12 to launch anything. I can use ver 1.01 to work fine. any ideas why?
  1. What platform are you using (Linux, Windows, Xbox)?
  2. Does Launcher run at all? Can you load a program or emulator?
  3. Is it just ROMs that won't launch?

-Mic
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#75
i am using windows xp sp3

launcher does run as it is supposed to until it is time to launch something the launcher popup window opens and then closes then it does nothing. however it doesn't freeze up

it wont launch anything whether it be a standalone prog or an emu with rom.
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[RELEASE] Launcher - application launcher plugin for Linux, Mac, Windows, and Xbox7