[kraqh3d]

Nice patch but watch out for something. There were some instances where the current location would be on the stack. I think it was mostly in error cases. That's why this is in ::GoParentFolder():

Code:

// remove current directory if its on the stack
  if (m_history.GetParentPath() == m_vecItems.m_strPath)
      m_history.RemoveParentPath();

Now, these conditions may have been corrected, or not. But, putting this snippet code at the bottom of ::Update() should prevent this condition from ever happening.

[SleepyP]

hehe, should help make XBMC more accessible to n00bs

[spiff]

inconsistencies in the gui. me not like :/

this will make idiots believe that they HAVE to go to the root before they can leave the window.

[kraqh3d]

I disagree with you spiff. It's not inconsistent at all. I've always thought this was lacking. Intuitively back from the root listing should go the home window so you can switch media types. It just didnt really bother me much. This solidifies the media windows together. You can now go "back" from the root of videos, select music and continue to browse.

(Thinking about it, if the intent is to go to the home window, then dont use PreviousWindow(). The home window may not necessarily be the previous window.)

[Markeen]

kraqh3d : thx. I put my piece of code at the end of the GoParentFolder method. I couldn't figure out what the line you mentioned was for. I'll let a 'real' xbmc coder put it at the end of the Update method.

spiff : mmm I find the use of the 'back' button a nice shortcut but completely unintuitive when you're stuck in a home dir. Every newbs I give the gamepad to feel the same. And this 'back' button is so small you hardly notice it when you are not used to the xbox.
It is not a question of being an idiot or not... in most xbox apps/games the B button means 'back' except in xbmc where it means 'parent folder'. This little patch doesn't remove the 'back' = prevmenu but only removes this 'i am stuck feeling' when pressing B in a home dir. what do u think ?

[spiff]

i uphold my current view. we now have a button doing different things in different locations.

but, i won't press the issue. just don't except me personally to add the patch

[Markeen]

we now have a button doing different things in different locations

This is a coder point of view You are right with the patch the B button does PrevMenu AND ParentFolder which are two different things in terms of app.
BUT the user point of view is the opposite ! His/her reaction is : i am pressing B to go back until it doesn't work anymore and I have to press 'back'. I know it is not how it was designed but that's how most users think (i think ).

Basicaly it is much easier to explain xbmc saying 'A goes forward, B goes backward'.

[kraqh3d]

It definately needs some discussion before integration.

Today the different media windows are isolated from each other. This binds them together into a single virtual navigation tree, assuming of course that we are saying that the "ParentDir" action initiated from a root listing should go directly to the home window. Intituitively, it should work this way. It naturally doesnt because each media browsing window is a seperate entity. We dont have a super media browsing window that has the media types as the root listing. It's the home window.

However, I do see something a little "funny" with this. When the user uses the parentdir action to get to the home window, the previous window is now set to the media window that the user just left. This may be the confusing part.

[SleepyP]

i guess with this patch applied, the Back button becomes more like a web browser, where it jumps directly to the previous window in the stack. i was thinking about it more, and i think that "normal" people will like this better. i started installing XBMC for some friends, so i have been there to see people's initial reaction to XBMC many times now, and they're actually ALL confused by the Back button. some people don't even know that the XB controller has a Back button!

[pike]

I like the current concept (back)

[kraqh3d]

sleepyp, the back button has always jumped to the previous window.

the more i think about this, the more it makes sense to me. it really pulls the different media sections together.

** removed incorrect statement. there is a stack of windows but i think its more to allow multiple popups to be on top of each other.

[Markeen]

I'd like to say again that the patch doesn't break the current behaviour. It only adds functionnality to a button which was unused in this specific situation (home dir).
Personnally I use the 'back' button now that I am used to it. It is definetly faster to navigate this way. But it takes a little more time to understand the mechanism and an always working B button is much easier to understand for beginners.
Again with the patch I explain xbmc like this : "A for forward, B for back, and 'back' for home". How do you explain xbmc navigation in one sentence ?
What about an enable/disable option ? Or maybe a poll ?

[mistafro]

So am I going to have to add this patch everytime I upgrade or can it be added as a pref, seems simple enough to add as a pref and seems a lot of people would benefit from it.

Thanks for all your efforts on this!

[Freddo]

I've always thought xbmc ought to work like this patch, and that there was some kind of technical reason why it couldnt happen, I'm all for anything that makes xbmc friendlier, and I cant really see how the change affects you if you dont like it... dont use it, it's not like any functionality is removed.

so, whens it getting into cvs

[Gamester17]

inconsistencies in the gui. me not like :/

this will make idiots believe that they HAVE to go to the root before they can leave the window.

I agree with spiff on this / my 2 cents

PS! majority of users use DVD-remote