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I believe its the newest build. And yes it's like the first one.
I wanted to change the submenus a bit, so I thought I'd post the process so maybe others can benefit. I'll be adding a 'Kids' item to video, and 'Now Playing' and 'Partymode' to music.

1) Open Mediastream_Redux/720p/Home.xml in your favorite text editor
2) First I want to add a "Kids" submenu item under videos. Search for id="9010" you should see this code:
Code:
<control type="grouplist" id="9010">
                    <posx>10</posx>
                    ...blah blah...
                    <control type="button" id="90101">
                        <include>ButtonHomeSubCommonValues</include>
                        <label>342</label>
                        <onclick>ActivateWindow(VideoLibrary,MovieTitles,return)</onclick>
                        <visible>Library.HasContent(Movies)</visible>
                    </control>
                    <control type="button" id="90102">
                        <include>ButtonHomeSubCommonValues</include>
                        <label>20343</label>
                        <onclick>ActivateWindow(VideoLibrary,TvShowTitles,return)</onclick>
                        <visible>Library.HasContent(TVShows)</visible>
                    </control>
                    <control type="button" id="90103">
                        <include>ButtonHomeSubCommonValues</include>
                        <label>20389</label>
                        <onclick>ActivateWindow(VideoLibrary,MusicVideoTitles,return)</onclick>
                        <visible>Library.HasContent(MusicVideos)</visible>
                    </control>
                    [i]<control type="button" id="90104">
                        <include>ButtonHomeSubCommonValues</include>
                        <label>744</label>
                        <onclick>ActivateWindow(VideoFiles)</onclick>
                    </control>[/i]
                    <control type="button" id="90105">
                        <include>ButtonHomeSubCommonValues</include>
                        <label>14022</label>
                        <onclick>ActivateWindow(VideoLibrary)</onclick>
                        <visible>Library.HasContent(Videos)</visible>
                    </control>
                    <control type="button" id="90106">
                        <include>ButtonHomeSubCommonValues</include>
                        <label>31007</label>
                        <onclick>ActivateWindow(VideoLibrary,Plugins)</onclick>
                    </control>
                </control>
You can tell what each item is by looking at what ActivateWindow does. This is fairly obvious once you get used to looking at it.

"Kids" will just be a file listing, so I'll start by copying everything inside & including the <control>...</control> for VideoFiles (italicized in the code snippet above), and pasting it under the TV Shows control.

Now, I need to change the id to one higher than higest in the list, so we'll set id="90107". Change the label from <label>744</label> to Kids, and finally change the ActivateWindow call to ActivateWindow(VideoFiles,Kids) [note that there is no space after the comma!].

This is what I'm left with (bolded areas shows my changes):
Code:
<control type="button" id="90102">
                        <include>ButtonHomeSubCommonValues</include>
                        <label>20343</label>
                        <onclick>ActivateWindow(VideoLibrary,TvShowTitles,return)</onclick>
                        <visible>Library.HasContent(TVShows)</visible>
                    </control>
                    [b]<control type="button" id="90107">
                        <include>ButtonHomeSubCommonValues</include>
                        <label>Kids</label>
                        <onclick>ActivateWindow(VideoFiles,Kids)</onclick>
                    </control>[/b]
                    <control type="button" id="90103">
                        <include>ButtonHomeSubCommonValues</include>
                        <label>20389</label>
                        <onclick>ActivateWindow(VideoLibrary,MusicVideoTitles,return)</onclick>
                        <visible>Library.HasContent(MusicVideos)</visible>
                    </control>
Next I'll change the Music subblade. I want to add an option to go to the Now Playing window if music is playing, and one to start Party Mode.

Adding the now playing window is basically the same as above. Music is the next grouplist (again I figured this out by looking that the ActivateWindow stuff) so just scroll down until you see it. I want it to be the top item so I'll just copy and paste the artists button on top of itself.

Again, first steps are changing the id to the next highest number & changing the label, in this case it will be id="90117" and <label>Now Playing</label>. The window name I want is musicplaylist. I only want to see this option if music is actualy playing, so we'll set visibility to Player.HasAudio

Party Mode is similar. I want this to be the last menu item, so I'll add it at the end. The id will be 90118, label "Party Mode", no conditonal visibility. It isn't activating a window, so we'll change onclick to the builtin PlayerControl(Partymode(music)).

This is how the music submenu code looks now (bolded areas shows my changes)
Code:
<control type="grouplist" id="9011">
                    <posx>10</posx>
                    <posy>355</posy>
                    <width>240</width>
                    <height>550</height>
                    <onleft>9000</onleft>
                    <onright>9001</onright>
                    <onup>9011</onup>
                    <ondown>9011</ondown>
                    <itemgap>0</itemgap>
                    <visible>Container(9000).HasFocus(3)</visible>
                    [b]<control type="button" id="90117">
                        <include>ButtonHomeSubCommonValues</include>
                        <label>Now Playing</label>
                        <onclick>ActivateWindow(musicplaylist)</onclick>
                        <visible>Player.HasAudio</visible>
                    </control>[/b]
                    <control type="button" id="90111">
                        <include>ButtonHomeSubCommonValues</include>
                        <label>133</label>
                        <onclick>ActivateWindow(MusicLibrary,Artists,return)</onclick>
                        <visible>Library.HasContent(Music)</visible>
                    </control>
                    <control type="button" id="90112">
                        <include>ButtonHomeSubCommonValues</include>
                        <label>132</label>
                        <onclick>ActivateWindow(MusicLibrary,Albums,return)</onclick>
                        <visible>Library.HasContent(Music)</visible>
                    </control>
                    <control type="button" id="90113">
                        <include>ButtonHomeSubCommonValues</include>
                        <label>134</label>
                        <onclick>ActivateWindow(MusicLibrary,Songs,return)</onclick>
                        <visible>Library.HasContent(Music)</visible>
                    </control>
                    <control type="button" id="90114">
                        <include>ButtonHomeSubCommonValues</include>
                        <label>744</label>
                        <onclick>ActivateWindow(MusicFiles)</onclick>
                    </control>
                    <control type="button" id="90115">
                        <include>ButtonHomeSubCommonValues</include>
                        <label>14022</label>
                        <onclick>ActivateWindow(MusicLibrary)</onclick>
                        <visible>Library.HasContent(Music)</visible>
                    </control>
                    <control type="button" id="90116">
                        <include>ButtonHomeSubCommonValues</include>
                        <label>31007</label>
                        <onclick>ActivateWindow(MusicLibrary,Plugins)</onclick>
                    </control>
                    [b]<control type="button" id="90118">
                        <include>ButtonHomeSubCommonValues</include>
                        <label>Party Mode</label>
                        <onclick>Playercontrol(Partymode(music))</onclick>
                    </control>[/b]
                </control>

Hopefully this will help someone!
rwparris2 Wrote:Hopefully this will help someone!

rwparris2,
Thank You! Hopefully this will get me what I am looking for as far as submenu's go. Your example and tutorial is excellent. Thanks for taking time to post this.
@jarod
... uhmmm... every change is possibile since the skins are opensource... but I was wondering: what's the point in having the plot to pop up while you're watching the movie?
Moreover if you really need, pressing the "TAB" will bring you to the VideoLibrary screen where you can read the plot, and then press "tab" again to return to the movie view...
...
I think (only my opinion) that this (and other) skins are really becoming too complex: everybody is trying to put everything in every screen.
Before creating a skin it would be useful to write down some "use cases" like we do in Software Engineer, to identify how the user try to interact with the software, so what is expected from the skin.
budo Wrote:@jarod
... uhmmm... every change is possibile since the skins are opensource... but I was wondering: what's the point in having the plot to pop up while you're watching the movie?
Moreover if you really need, pressing the "TAB" will bring you to the VideoLibrary screen where you can read the plot, and then press "tab" again to return to the movie view....

What Jarod is trying to "mod" is ALREADY a feature of Redux. All he is trying to do is make the font larger, so it is easier to read (I suppose).

The point of having these features is to please people......not all people (that is why there are ump-teen different skins for XBMC)....but please the ones who want these features. And why would you want to exit from fullscreen, to a video in that lil bitty window in the library screen, just to get the Plot Info? Why not have it the in the OSD? Is it too complicated that way?

In fact.......Why question these things at all? Jezz wrote this for himself, and was kind enough to throw us a bone. I think we should just say "Thanks"....and use it if we like it. Change it if we want too. Or......use some other skin.


(Like PM3.5.................You liked that "plug"? Didn't you? ) Nod LOL
xbs08 Wrote:Just change the image in backgrounds folder.

Its only 226K 1280x720 - its the smallest size image in there... is reducing that going to make any oddsHuh
I don't know. That's just a workaround to have a lower res image.
Hi all, quick question, been doing the whole git hub and getting daily (almost) updates from aenima99x's github. A few updates ago, I lost the ability to show (more than one) movie added. (on the recently added script on the movies page)

Basically, the recently added works as far as the text goes, but now I only show one image (where the images show in the recently added) Used to show 4 of them.

Thanks in advance.
BTW awesome work on this project to all involved!
Dougie085 Wrote:So it shouldn't be in a folder called Mediastream_Redux? All the internal files should be in the root skins folder?

Make sure there is a skin.XML in your mediastream folder. That solved it for me everytime. Just copy one from a working skin or from github
FourTwentySmilz Wrote:What Jarod is trying to "mod" is ALREADY a feature of Redux. All he is trying to do is make the font larger, so it is easier to read (I suppose).

The point of having these features is to please people......not all people (that is why there are ump-teen different skins for XBMC)....but please the ones who want these features. And why would you want to exit from fullscreen, to a video in that lil bitty window in the library screen, just to get the Plot Info? Why not have it the in the OSD? Is it too complicated that way?

In fact.......Why question these things at all? Jezz wrote this for himself, and was kind enough to throw us a bone. I think we should just say "Thanks"....and use it if we like it. Change it if we want too. Or......use some other skin.


(Like PM3.5.................You liked that "plug"? Didn't you? ) Nod LOL

Thanks. I just want to make the font in that area larger so It is easier to read form the couch. Will I use it often, probably not. I was able to enlarge the other font sin the skin to what I need, but I cant find where to set that one up. It is just a personal thing, like the submenus. I want specific shortcuts to files to make the skin family friendly. And I enjoy customizing it to my liking.
I am no skinner though so xml is hard to wrap around but I am finding my way and making changes I need. And that is the fun part of it for me. I spend more time here on this forum, tinkering with skins, organizing my media (fanart, boxart, etc) than I do watching tv or movies lol.
FourTwentySmilz Wrote:What Jarod is trying to "mod" is ALREADY a feature of Redux. All he is trying to do is make the font larger, so it is easier to read (I suppose).
Oops, I didn't noticed it was already there...
Quote:And why would you want to exit from fullscreen, to a video in that lil bitty window in the library screen, just to get the Plot Info? Why not have it the in the OSD? Is it too complicated that way?
In fact I would never do this! It was an example about how to accomplish the same task pressing fewer buttons! But, again, it's useless to read the plot in the OSD, it's useless to read the plot during the movie (OSD or not) or to see the cover in the OSD... I really can't find a reason for this. But, this is my opinion. Can I express it?
Quote:In fact.......Why question these things at all? Jezz wrote this for himself, and was kind enough to throw us a bone. I think we should just say "Thanks"....and use it if we like it. Change it if we want too. Or......use some other skin.
Well... please don't get angry Oo I was not flaming jarod... I was only giving my opinion about how complex the skins are becoming. I thought the feature was added by him. I was wrong, I apologize. But really I started from here (the plot) as an example to talk in general about how many MOD have been made that are in my opinion "useless"... "why question these things"? just to share my opinion with others, which is the purpose of a Forum.
Perhaps I should do my MOD too, and remove that "media info" stuff so there's no need to apply another MOD to increse the font size Wink ... since I agree with the Gnome Team motto "Less is More".
Look budo.....

I wasn't giving you attitude, and if the voice you hear in your lil head sounded angry when you read my comment......Sorry.

Second........How can you make a well formed opinion, if you don't know what you are talking about? You openly admitted you had no clue that this feature was an original part of this skin. Your "Opinion" was wrong, cause your "Opinion" was that Jarod was adding useless visuals/options to the skin. He wasn't. So take your "Opinion" to JezzX......those features were his idea.

Third......You are right about this part though.>>>> "Forums are a place to voice ones opinions."
BUT REMEMBER!!!
Opinions are like Asses............Some are great, and some just stink! Your opinion may be right for you, but if you take the time to look at things from the other persons perspective (and know what your talking about), you might just see their point too.

Fourth...... The reason people want these kinds of features is because not everyone has a cool-ass Media Center like XBMC. When my In-Laws come over and one dares to ask...."What ya watching?"......instead of explaining 45 minutes of the movie, I can pop up that Movie info (in the OSD, of course.....so we can still see the Movie) and let them read about the film for themselves. Plus they get a good look at the Movie Poster, so they know what to look for at their local video chain, or on Amazon, Ebay, or any other online store.

......and lastly......

You should do your own "MOD".....Remove anything you see fit to strip. Post Pics of it, and release it to the rest of us. So we can form our own mis-informed "opinions" about your work. After all I did say "I think we should just say "Thanks"....and use it if we like it. Change it if we want too." Right? ( I did say that....yep,yep....sure did). I mean, after all "Less is More".........(But if that motto is so true, why are we not all clammering to buy property in Third World Countries?)

Sorry if this comes off harsh, but I wanted you to know the difference between the me being informative and the me just being a plain ol' @sshole.


420.......Still Smiling!

Other things I could say about that motto.......

1 - "Less is More".........(How many women have ever said that to a guy?)
2 - "Less is More".........(Tell that to the homeless)
3 - "Less is More".........(Sounds like a Jenny Craig ad)
4 - "Less is More".........(I need to remember that when they pass the collection plate at church)
5 - "Less is More".........(The IRS would never say that)

I'm gonna stop at 5, okay?............Cause "Less is More". Right?
FourTwentySmilz Wrote:Look budo.....

I wasn't giving you attitude, and if the voice you hear in your lil head sounded angry when you read my comment......Sorry.
Sure, even this new post is not so "polite" from my point of view... I don't know if it's because English is not my first language, but finally it's taking me off this thread...
Quote:Second........How can you make a well formed opinion, if you don't know what you are talking about? You openly admitted you had no clue that this feature was an original part of this skin. Your "Opinion" was wrong, cause your "Opinion" was that Jarod was adding useless visuals/options to the skin. He wasn't. So take your "Opinion" to JezzX......those features were his idea.
Yes, I noticed the cover in the OSD and I didn't remember that even the plot was there if you give focus to that "media info". This doesn't mean that I don't know what I'm talking about. I was not flaming Jarod (and I've already apologized for this) but was just saying my opinion: for me the plot there clutter the screen and is useless. Ok, it's in the "original" skin, not in jarod mod. That's not the point. The point is that (for me, I repeat again, it's my opinion) it's useless. And I've seen many of such things in other MOD, expecially in "Aeon", not in "redux" to say the truth...
Quote:Your opinion may be right for you, but if you take the time to look at things from the other persons perspective (and know what your talking about), you might just see their point too.
Yes, yes I know... in fact I underlined many times (even if this eventually didn't reach you) that this was my opinion, so my point of view. But the "usability" in software and GUI design has some principles... basically it's part of my work... so I just realized that some of these principals are not "always" (or at all?) respected...
Quote:"What ya watching?"......instead of explaining 45 minutes of the movie, I can pop up that Movie info (in the OSD, of course.....so we can still see the Movie) and let them read about the film for themselves. Plus they get a good look at the Movie Poster, so they know what to look for at their local video chain, or on Amazon, Ebay, or any other online store.
Now... don't pretend we can believe such a "use case"!!! And if you really answer to "what are you watching" just pressing "i" going to "media info" and say "just read this" then your're really unpolite. And again... if you want to be such unpolite do it with fewer clicks: press "TAB" and don't tell me that you're going to keep watching the movie while the big black semi-transparent boxes are on screen!!! Laugh really....
.. just think... how many times have you ever read the plot from there? how many times have you ever read the plot of a movie in XBMC for the first time? you know the plot because you already went to the Cinema, or read before buying the movie, or searched it in Torrents or eMule (ops no, this thing can't be done Laugh)
Quote:You should do your own "MOD".....Remove anything you see fit to strip. Post Pics of it, and release it to the rest of us. So we can form our own mis-informed "opinions" about your work.
HAHA... you're really pissed about this, and I don't know why. Really I just expressed my opinion, and it's not a misinformed one. I didn't remember it was ALREADY there, but this doesn't change my opinion that it's useless!
However... really I'm already studying skinning to change "Redux" especially in that OSD stuff!

About the "less is more"... I'm not going at all to answer to your incredibly... how can I say... "ignorant" and vaguely "ironic" arguments you wrote. Obviously that motto is not applied to homeless or girlfriends (or your brain Wink), but to software usability! and is related to the fact that cluttering a user interface with too functions and too much information is a worse and not better design pattern. So for the user "having less" (information) is "having more" because usability increases over the more frequent "use cases"... it's the "minimalistic" approach... but perhaps this is not the place where to discuss about this, since, I've understood, your mind is not opened to such arguments and obviously you fill pissed for my opinion. I'm sorry about that.
I like to see the plot when watching a movie without leaving the screen.

Just my two cents...
Me too Smile

It's the same with most EPGs, so I would've thought it would be a common feature in most skins. Redux's plot window is bigger than most aswell, so it can cope with the lengthy plots provided on IMDB without too much scrolling.
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