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jonathan,
would it be possible to add the option for skinners to add a custom subdialog menu? i would also like to see the ability to add custom overlays. i realize it will take some time to develop, but these seem to be the two things that are really missing for skinners to be able to create really unique environments. this would allow us a lot of freedom for changing the way xbmc feels as well as the way it looks. maybe a few easter eggs and other little goodies could be added to our skins along the way.
btw, i can't remember when i have had this much fun playing with computers - i think it was when i was growing up and programming the commodore 64! thanks for working on such a great project and keep up the great work.
mark
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skinners already have access to custom windows and dialogs.
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i was already aware of the custom windows. i was not aware of the custum sub-dialogs. can you point me to an example? i also requested custom overlays, are those available as well?
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all dialogs are windows.
i have no idea what you are referring to as "custom overlays" but i assume they're just transparent windows.
in either case, it's all pipes! (obligatory seinfeld reference)
cheers,
jonathan
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perhaps an example. if these are already possible please excuse my ignorance. i have several ideas, but there are two in particular:
1. a weather overlay (perhaps transparent) that would function similar to the video or audio overlays in that it would be visible in all windows that allow an overlay. many things could be shown from the overlay including temp, current weather, weather graphics, and a small menu. this custom overlay could be activated from the home page with a defined key combo. the radar script written by alexpoet (or any script) could be run from the overlay.
2. a simple informative pop-up "box" that could be activated from any page. the "box" would not cover the entire current page. simple things could be placed inside like weather info, hardware info, date/time, etc. i see this as being a great way to use the new infotags and infoimages.
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both are currently possible, to some extent.
non-modal windows are not possible, but everything else is. so the popup box(es) will steal focus from the current window until they are exited. other than that, yes they can be activated on button press (whether that be a button embedded in the skin, or a controller/remote button). they'll only stay up until the user closes them - thus you can't get one to appear and stay there for all time, at least not currently.
cheers,
jonathan
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Nuka1195
Skilled Python Coder
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one way to do #2 is to use a control between 2-19 excluding the numbers you use for the scroller id's-100 then when a button gets focus it would show the id you used+100 so you could have weather.temperature pop up. if you set the controls focused texture to include a background, it would frame it. the only thing with this way is your limited to a few controls and you can only have one infotag per control.
also don't use id's 10-14.
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jonathan,
i searched the forums and could not find any information on custom sub-dialogs that you said were possible. is there some information or an example somewhere that you know of? any help to get me started on this is appreciated. :help:
you stated that "non-modal windows are not possible,..." does that mean that you can perform actions within windows, but can not have windows without actions? if that really is the case i think a non-modal window (stealing focus) would be a great addition. i also think that the ability to have a custom overlay (floating window that does not steal focus unless user prompted) would be nice. what are the chances of getting these included in future releases? :thumbsup:
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see pm1 - there is custom1.xml
make a new one (custom2.xml for instance) and do a similar thing. that's all there is to it. when activated, it will steal focus and accept + perform actions (depending on whatever controls you give it) - just like the current submenu + buttonmenus.
that's all there is to it, really.
i have no idea whether modeless (those that don't steal focus) will be added - it would require a deactivatewindow() method, and a bunch of code to make sure it's added to the modeless window list etc. etc. could be a nice project for a new developer.
cheers,
jonathan
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nuka1195 just figured it out. he looked through the source code and found that there were 4 window types defined (and they are case sensitive).
submenu
dialog
buttonmenu
the fourth has no name - just a default
i have not seen the submenu or dialog used in any of the xml files. the <type>buttonmenu</type> is used in the dialogbuttonmenu.xml.
the <type>submenu</type> works as a transparent window and keeps focus.
can anyone tell me how the <type>dialog</type> is supposed to work?
i think this is important information the skinners should know. is this listed anywhere else? maybe a sticky could be made?
thanks again to nuka1195! :kickass:
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there is no difference between the two except for the fact that using a submenu will handle the window close events without anything extra - looks like the normal dialog class doesn't have support for this (likely as it is also used for non-modal windows).
the difference between dialog + window is primarily in the way they are rendered (can have more than 1 dialog on top of a base window, vs only 1 window on screen at a time), and also they can be offset from the origin - thus you can position the window, and then have all coordinates relative to the top left of the window.
hope this helps.
cheers,
jonathan
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jonathan,
yes it helps a lot. thanks again for your help!
please give me an example or show me how. if you need an example of what i am doing, i would be more than happy to send you one. thanks in advance for your speedy responses and help!!!
