[CharredChar]

Wintermute, I want to thank you so much for all of your work. I came across AEL because I wanted to just be able to launch external programs/batch files for stuff like loading Chrome to Youtube (instead of using the plugin) and going right into a Stream from Moonlight. It has worked great! Except one little issue... Power Saving modes! I normally set my HTPC to shut down after 10 minutes of being idle, this also really helps if someone manages to accidentally turn it on (via remote, usually) but since I've been using AEL I have not been able to do so. If I use Window's built in power options there have been many times where it won't consider itself idle because Kodi is running and not shut down. If I use Kodi's power options it'll think it is idle when AEL has a program running and force a shut down even if I have Youtube in Chrome running!

I downloaded the 0.9.10-alpha from your GitHub page in hopes the screensaver option will fix this, it did not. Is there anything else I need to do to fix it or did I just miss something I should have done?

Thanks!

[funky44]

It's going to depend on what games you are looking for. IIRC, the Wii U can play all Wii games, so you have that going for you. There's a lot of virtual console stuff, so you can play old NES games that way, for example.

However, I'm at the point where I'm getting rid of consoles and doubling down on PC emulation. So personally, I'd look at PC emulation options and simply by used copies of the games on EBay if you're looking to be ethically above board.

[Wymiatacz87]

Hello,

I've searched the forum and unfortunately didn't find any answer..

Is it possible to disable type of laucher tag in the launcher name?
For example orange tag "(Std)"? It looks ugly and I don't want to show it in the name of the launcher.

[Wintermute0110]

Hello,

I've searched the forum and unfortunately didn't find any answer..

Is it possible to disable type of laucher tag in the launcher name?
For example orange tag "(Std)"? It looks ugly and I don't want to show it in the name of the launcher.

Yes, it's possible. Open AEL addon settings, go to the display tab, look for option "Display tags" or something like that (I'm talking from memory sorry). If you don't find the option I will have a look further.

[teedo42]

Peace,

I receive an error notification after startup of Kodi. The error began after I shut the PC down for a couple of weeks. I use AEL to launch windows websites and apps not roms. The first app or website that I launch opens behind Kodi now. If I press the enter or the OK button, the focus returns to the launched app. Once I close the first one, AEL returns to normal. All apps launch correctly after that. If I close Kodi, I have to repeat the process.

Kodi 18.8, AEL 9.9, Titan Mod 18.1, Windows 10.

Thanks for any help

[Wintermute0110]

Peace,

I receive an error notification after startup of Kodi. The error began after I shut the PC down for a couple of weeks. I use AEL to launch windows websites and apps not roms. The first app or website that I launch opens behind Kodi now. If I press the enter or the OK button, the focus returns to the launched app. Once I close the first one, AEL returns to normal. All apps launch correctly after that. If I close Kodi, I have to repeat the process.

Kodi 18.8, AEL 9.9, Titan Mod 18.1, Windows 10.

Thanks for any help

That sound like a Mandelbrot bug Users from time to time report problems like yours but the cause is unknown. In certain cases there is a cause like Windows/Linux not running a window manager, however that doesn't seem to be your case. Do you remember if Windows was updated, or the graphic drivers? I am sorry but this problem seems very difficult to track. Maybe a Kodi reinstallation will help.

[zborus]

Hello i've one question. where should I put the files launcher xml? each emulator have separate file xml?

[wize7one]

Has anyone successfully configured this to run on the Shield Tv?

Sorry if this has been a redundant question just trying to figure out some errors.

[Jachin99]

I did a quick search and I could not find a good answer to my issue. 
Apparently, due to some change in the android storage permission setup, the AEL can't be used when storing ROMs and scraper data on an SD-Card due to write permission restrictions.
Does anybody know of a good solution to this issue? I did a debug log and there it was obvious that the issue I was experiencing was due to write permission that was not correct.

I am running an Android tv box with Android 9 on it and kodi 18.4
Some more details: Amlogic X96Max_V311R_P with Android 9.0.0 API level 28, kernel: Linux ARM 32-bit version 4.9.113

test:
2019-11-20 22:05:26.206 T:8773  NOTICE: -----------------------------------------------------------------------

2019-11-20 22:05:26.206 T:8773  NOTICE: Starting Kodi (18.4 Git:20190831-3ade758ceb). Platform: Android ARM 32-bit

2019-11-20 22:05:26.206 T:8773  NOTICE: Using Release Kodi x32 build

2019-11-20 22:05:26.206 T:8773  NOTICE: Kodi compiled 2019-09-01 by Clang 7.0.2 (https://android.googlesource.com/toolchain/clang 003100370607242ddd5815e4a043907ea9004281) (https://android.googlesource.com/toolchain/llvm 1d739ffb0366421d383e04ff80ec2ee591315116) for Android ARM 32-bit API level 21 (API level 21)

2019-11-20 22:05:26.206 T:8773  NOTICE: Running on Amlogic X96Max_V311R_P with Android 9.0.0 API level 28, kernel: Linux ARM 32-bit version 4.9.113

2019-11-20 22:05:26.206 T:8773  NOTICE: FFmpeg version/source: 4.0.4-Kodi

2019-11-20 22:05:26.207 T:8773  NOTICE: Host CPU: ARMv7 Processor rev 4 (v7l), 4 cores available

......

2019-11-20 22:37:39.651 T:10345   ERROR: AEL INFO : _command_add_new_launcher() New launcher (launcher_type = 3)

2019-11-20 22:38:15.789 T:10345   ERROR: AEL VERB : fs_get_ROMs_basename() roms_base_noext "roms_root_category_p_92abb3"

2019-11-20 22:38:15.789 T:10345   ERROR: AEL VERB : assets_init_asset_dir() asset_path "/storage/0000-0000/Roms/NES/assets-nes/"

2019-11-20 22:38:15.789 T:10345   ERROR: AEL DEBUG: assets_parse_asset_dir() Creating dir "/storage/0000-0000/Roms/NES/assets-nes/fanarts"

2019-11-20 22:38:15.790 T:10345   ERROR: AEL ERROR: SingleInstance::__exit__() Unhandled excepcion in protected code

2019-11-20 22:38:15.790 T:10345   ERROR: AEL DEBUG: SingleInstance::__exit__() Releasing lock

2019-11-20 22:38:15.819 T:10345   ERROR: EXCEPTION Thrown (PythonToCppException) : -->Python callback/script returned the following error<--

                                             - NOTE: IGNORING THIS CAN LEAD TO MEMORY LEAKS!

                                            Error Type: <type 'exceptions.OSError'>

                                            Error Contents: [Errno 13] Permission denied: '/storage/0000-0000/Roms/NES/assets-nes/fanarts'

                                            Traceback (most recent call last):

                                              File "/storage/emulated/0/Android/data/org.xbmc.kodi/files/.kodi/addons/plugin.program.advanced.emulator.launcher/addon.py", line 37, in <module>

                                                main.Main().run_plugin()

                                              File "/storage/emulated/0/Android/data/org.xbmc.kodi/files/.kodi/addons/plugin.program.advanced.emulator.launcher/resources/main.py", line 308, in run_plugin

                                                self.run_protected(command, args)

                                              File "/storage/emulated/0/Android/data/org.xbmc.kodi/files/.kodi/addons/plugin.program.advanced.emulator.launcher/resources/main.py", line 400, in run_protected

                                                self._command_add_new_launcher(VCATEGORY_ADDONROOT_ID)

                                              File "/storage/emulated/0/Android/data/org.xbmc.kodi/files/.kodi/addons/plugin.program.advanced.emulator.launcher/resources/main.py", line 1213, in _command_add_new_launcher

                                                assets_init_asset_dir(assets_path_FName, launcherdata)

                                              File "/storage/emulated/0/Android/data/org.xbmc.kodi/files/.kodi/addons/plugin.program.advanced.emulator.launcher/resources/assets.py", line 122, in assets_init_asset_dir

                                                assets_parse_asset_dir(launcher, assets_path_FName, 'path_fanart', 'fanarts')

                                              File "/storage/emulated/0/Android/data/org.xbmc.kodi/files/.kodi/addons/plugin.program.advanced.emulator.launcher/resources/assets.py", line 143, in assets_parse_asset_dir

                                                subPath.makedirs()

                                              File "/storage/emulated/0/Android/data/org.xbmc.kodi/files/.kodi/addons/plugin.program.advanced.emulator.launcher/resources/utils.py", line 879, in makedirs

                                                os.makedirs(self.path)

                                              File "/home/jenkins/workspace/Android-ARM-Leia/tools/depends/xbmc-depends/arm-linux-androideabi-21-release/lib/python2.7/os.py", line 157, in makedirs

                                            OSError: [Errno 13] Permission denied: '/storage/0000-0000/Roms/NES/assets-nes/fanarts'

                                            -->End of Python script error report<--

Okay, yes write permissions on non-rooted Androids are always annoying in this context. So is there a different folder on the system somewhere where you actually do have write access?

Just a little background on my setup, I have a Nvidia Shield and all my media (roms and images) are on a server/pc. I mounted the shares through Android (Shield) which gives the Emulators access to the roms through normal paths like /storage/remote_share/mygames/.. etc. But this only gives you read access, not write which you need for scraping in AEL.
Kodi however, has also connected the share but through it's own smb protocol. Through Kodi you will have write access (if properly configured) over a path like 'smb://server/remote_share/mygames/'. So when creating the launcher I configure my assetpaths through the Kodi smb shares and for the Rom path I use the android path.

Although this is a solution for network shares, you might want to look in a similar way for a solution on the local machine. See if you can find a folder trough the Kodi filesystem/explorer where you have write access and use that as the assets folder for your launcher. For Rom folders you only need read access.

I'm trying to solve this same issue, and coming up short because no matter how I do this, AEL can't find any roms.  I believe I have added my games folder as a SMB network location.  I used the kodi file manager, and added a source like this SMB://MyGameFiles.  I use that as my game source but AEL still can't find roms.  Would there be any advantage to sharing that folder of NFS rather than SMB?  Is there some other solution?  I'm using a shield TV pro.

[Zastava]

Hi.  

Maybe this is an odd question or I'm missing something obvious. How to remove a game from AEL favorites?
To add them it's easy. Just open context menu and click add game to AEL favorites. But doing that again on same game only overwrites/keeps it as favorite the same.

Using kodi default favorites on the context menu behaves as expected. Click once to add game. Click again to remove. I prefer AEL to use it as a widget in home menu and looking nicer but for now I'm missing that option to remove the games from AEL favorites.

Many thanks in advance for the help!

[Wintermute0110]

Hello i've one question. where should I put the files launcher xml? each emulator have separate file xml?

Hi, you must place the XML files and assets in a filesystem locally accessed by Kodi, not on a remote filesystem.

If you are using Linux: put the files in a local directory or make sure the remote filesystem is mounted.

If you are using Windows: put the files in a local partition (C:, D:, whatever) or mount the remote windows share so the remote share has a drive unit.

Note that Kodi can access files in remote filesystems using a lot of protocols (Samba (Windows network), FTP, SSH, NFS, etc.) but not AEL.

You can place one or several launcher configurations on a single XML file. However, I recommend you use a different XML file for each launcher and use a single XML file with all the configuration for backups. You have plenty of examples in the AEL Asset Library.

[Wintermute0110]

Has anyone successfully configured this to run on the Shield Tv?

Sorry if this has been a redundant question just trying to figure out some errors.

@chrisism uses AEL on a Shield. Yes, AEL works on Android but the configurations are somewhat more complicated than Windows or Linux because the way Android works. Here in the forum you have many examples, use google with a search string like this (remove the quotes) to restrict the search to the Kodi forum: "AEL Android launcher site:forum.kodi.tv"

[Wintermute0110]

I did a quick search and I could not find a good answer to my issue. 
Apparently, due to some change in the android storage permission setup, the AEL can't be used when storing ROMs and scraper data on an SD-Card due to write permission restrictions.
Does anybody know of a good solution to this issue? I did a debug log and there it was obvious that the issue I was experiencing was due to write permission that was not correct.

I am running an Android tv box with Android 9 on it and kodi 18.4
Some more details: Amlogic X96Max_V311R_P with Android 9.0.0 API level 28, kernel: Linux ARM 32-bit version 4.9.113

Okay, yes write permissions on non-rooted Androids are always annoying in this context. So is there a different folder on the system somewhere where you actually do have write access?

Just a little background on my setup, I have a Nvidia Shield and all my media (roms and images) are on a server/pc. I mounted the shares through Android (Shield) which gives the Emulators access to the roms through normal paths like /storage/remote_share/mygames/.. etc. But this only gives you read access, not write which you need for scraping in AEL.
Kodi however, has also connected the share but through it's own smb protocol. Through Kodi you will have write access (if properly configured) over a path like 'smb://server/remote_share/mygames/'. So when creating the launcher I configure my assetpaths through the Kodi smb shares and for the Rom path I use the android path.

Although this is a solution for network shares, you might want to look in a similar way for a solution on the local machine. See if you can find a folder trough the Kodi filesystem/explorer where you have write access and use that as the assets folder for your launcher. For Rom folders you only need read access.

I'm trying to solve this same issue, and coming up short because no matter how I do this, AEL can't find any roms.  I believe I have added my games folder as a SMB network location.  I used the kodi file manager, and added a source like this SMB://MyGameFiles.  I use that as my game source but AEL still can't find roms.  Would there be any advantage to sharing that folder of NFS rather than SMB?  Is there some other solution?  I'm using a shield TV pro.

The problem is that Kodi can access files in remote filesystems. However, AEL (and most emulators launched) require that the remote filesystems are mounted so they look like local filesystems. @chrisism uses some kind of trick to work around this issue, he has told me many times but now I cannot remember. @chrisism can you please help?

[Wintermute0110]

Hi.  

Maybe this is an odd question or I'm missing something obvious. How to remove a game from AEL favorites?
To add them it's easy. Just open context menu and click add game to AEL favorites. But doing that again on same game only overwrites/keeps it as favorite the same.

Using kodi default favorites on the context menu behaves as expected. Click once to add game. Click again to remove. I prefer AEL to use it as a widget in home menu and looking nicer but for now I'm missing that option to remove the games from AEL favorites.

Many thanks in advance for the help!

AEL Favourites and Kodi Favourites are totally different things. To remove ROMs from AEL Favourites browse to the ROM you want to delete in AEL, open the context menu and there is an option Edit or Manage Favourite ROM, then "Delete ROM from AEL Favourites" (I'm writing from memory, the actual names may be slightly different but you get the idea).

[chrisism]

Okay, yes write permissions on non-rooted Androids are always annoying in this context. So is there a different folder on the system somewhere where you actually do have write access?

Just a little background on my setup, I have a Nvidia Shield and all my media (roms and images) are on a server/pc. I mounted the shares through Android (Shield) which gives the Emulators access to the roms through normal paths like /storage/remote_share/mygames/.. etc. But this only gives you read access, not write which you need for scraping in AEL.
Kodi however, has also connected the share but through it's own smb protocol. Through Kodi you will have write access (if properly configured) over a path like 'smb://server/remote_share/mygames/'. So when creating the launcher I configure my assetpaths through the Kodi smb shares and for the Rom path I use the android path.

Although this is a solution for network shares, you might want to look in a similar way for a solution on the local machine. See if you can find a folder trough the Kodi filesystem/explorer where you have write access and use that as the assets folder for your launcher. For Rom folders you only need read access.

I'm trying to solve this same issue, and coming up short because no matter how I do this, AEL can't find any roms.  I believe I have added my games folder as a SMB network location.  I used the kodi file manager, and added a source like this SMB://MyGameFiles.  I use that as my game source but AEL still can't find roms.  Would there be any advantage to sharing that folder of NFS rather than SMB?  Is there some other solution?  I'm using a shield TV pro.

The problem is that Kodi can access files in remote filesystems. However, AEL (and most emulators launched) require that the remote filesystems are mounted so they look like local filesystems. @chrisism uses some kind of trick to work around this issue, he has told me many times but now I cannot remember. @chrisism can you please help?

Well, since we are talking about the Shield which works for me, it should be something for @Jachin99 too. Lets have a go.
So first off, no, you don't need to use NFS. The default SMB share works perfectly fine. But, you need to access the shares in 2 different ways. One way is so through Kodi, the other way is through the Android filesystem.The kodi shares are the ones you already have and know, the Android shares should be mounted first.

Mounting shares on Nvidia Shield: https://www.androidcentral.com/how-mount...-shield-tv
Remember, you can use the exact same shares from the remote system. It´s only a different way of connecting.

Why 2 ways? Well the mounts are meeded so that other Android apps (like the emulators) can actually access the rom files, since they don't use the build-in filesystems from Kodi, but that from Android.
But the mounted shares are always readonly, so you still need the Kodi smb share so AEL can access and write all metadata (nfo's, covers etc).
When setting up your launcher, make sure that you use the Android mounted shares when setting the path to the ROM folder and use the Kodi SMB mappings when selecting the asset folders.

Good luck, let me know if it you get it to work.