Enter / Play = Info View Menu (more like Boxee)?
#1
Lightbulb 
Hey guys,

For those of you that haven't used Boxee much, try it out. I think there are a lot of things it does exceptionally well in terms of user experience (Wife Acceptance Factor too Wink ). The more I use Boxee, the more I feel that XBMC's info menu seems like it's tacked on to the UI, rather than a core part of it.

I'd really like it if I could have a very minimal view (box cover and movie title) in my main Library view, then clicking Enter would pop-up the info menu (fanart, plot, rating, codec info, etc.) with the default selection being "play," so that a double-click would play the movie if I wanted to quickly skip past the info screen like I do in Boxee now. Ideally, this behavior could be toggled in Settings.

How (im)possible would it be to add such a feature? Would it be at the skin level or at the level of the XBMC code itself?

Thanks for thoughts/feedback!

NS

Current behavior (Boxee/XBMC)
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Proposed behavior
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Across the bottom would have: Play Trailer Cast Refresh Fanart Thumbnail
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#2
This has been discussed. It's certainly something we want to do, but to do it properly requires a redoing the keymapping system.

There is, however, a simple way that it could be done that would require an additional setting (something I'm loath to do, but needs must in some cases).

If you (or someone else) would like to do up a patch that just implements this, it probably wouldn't be all that hard. You'd do it similar to the way to how the queue/play on select toggle is done for music. I'd suggest simply toggling between play and info would be a good starting point.

I'm quite happy to provide pointers should someone wish to take this on.

Cheers,
Jonathan
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#3
Cool, thanks for the response! Unfortunately I'm not a coder, just mildly proficient with Photoshop. I'll be happy to help someone else (with testing, etc.) if I'm able to.

NS
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#4
jmarshall Wrote:If you (or someone else) would like to do up a patch that just implements this, it probably wouldn't be all that hard. You'd do it similar to the way to how the queue/play on select toggle is done for music. I'd suggest simply toggling between play and info would be a good starting point.

I'm quite happy to provide pointers should someone wish to take this on.

This sounds like a good starting point for diving into the XBMC source code for me. As soon as I get home today I'll try to setup a development environment (on Windows 7) for XBMC and will get back as soon as building works and I'll be ready to start working on this patch.

Does the guide from the Wiki about compiling XBMC on Windows also apply to Visual Studio 2010 or are there any special steps needed?
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#5
Not sure what changes are necessary for 2010 - I'm sure you can figure it out or will get some help here though Smile

Drop me a bell if you want any tips on where to pop this in.

Cheers,
Jonathan
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Do not e-mail XBMC-Team members directly asking for support. Read/follow the forum rules.
For troubleshooting and bug reporting please make sure you read this first.


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#6
Sounds like a good feature. What would you expect the correct behaviour would be if you press Play on the remote while the item is selected (ie not in Info view)? I would think then it should just play it, rather than going into Info, regardless of this setting?

Why would the kepmapping system need overhauling for this? Couldn't it do this now?
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#7
Nope, it can't be done at the moment, as "Select" means different things for files and folders - it does something on a file, yet enters a folder.

I think the best thing is to simply have a setting in the mean time until the keymapping system is suitable overhauled - it's way too complicated as it is now (and yet doesn't do simple things like this).

Cheers,
Jonathan
Always read the XBMC online-manual, FAQ and search the forum before posting.
Do not e-mail XBMC-Team members directly asking for support. Read/follow the forum rules.
For troubleshooting and bug reporting please make sure you read this first.


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#8
I approve of this. Smile

Just my two cents, obviously.
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#9
How easy/hard would it be to add an <onclick></onclick> action to lists (they currently only have left, right, up and down) that skinners could use to open this info window? If there's no <onclick></onclick> specified then it would play the video as normal.
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#10
Yep, <onclick> action in lists would be cool.

@ NotShorty
I like the minimal views 2.
Show me first the fanart and cover with some minimal info.
If I get interested, I hit the info button. Always worked great for me Smile
Enter is also a perfect button to open info screen.

You should try MiniMeedia Waffa!
(test version/addons)
pre merge
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#11
jmarshall Wrote:Not sure what changes are necessary for 2010 - I'm sure you can figure it out or will get some help here though Smile

Drop me a bell if you want any tips on where to pop this in.

Cheers,
Jonathan

OK it took me a while to figure out that I had to copy the compiled XBMC.exe into my XBMC folder to get it running but I got it working now (copying XBMC.exe into my XBMC folder during post-build) but I can't use the debugger yet but that won't stop me from hacking the code and recompiling it.

I would be grateful if you could point me to the source files where I can add new settings and the source which affects the Enter key behaviour. Thanks a lot in advance.
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Do not e-mail Team Kodi members directly asking for support. Read/follow the forum rules (wiki).
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#12
This would be a welcomed change. Among other things, the behavior would be familiar with my DirecTV DVR which my family is used to. It also means that people don't need to worry or know about the "info" button to see movie or video info.

Also, it would be nice if eventually this info window integrated the "Play/Resume" functionality, instead of it being a different window.
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#13
@Montellese: Just set XBMC_HOME in the environment variables of VS and you'll be able to debug just fine.

Your first step would be to throw a breakpoint in CGUIMediaWindow::OnMessage inside the GUI_MSG_CLICK handler and follow it through from there. From memory, there'll be some code detecting whether it's a view (m_viewControl.HasControl) and then OnClick() will be called. Things get a bit murky from then on I'm afraid, but follow it through and see where you end up. At some point instead of calling OnPlayMedia you want to call OnInfo() or thereabouts. Once you have that bit done and working everywhere, post your progress on trac and we can look at adding a setting.

I don't believe this should be done in the skin. Different skins doing different things when you click on something IMO is the wrong way to go - this is far more a user preference than an asthetic thing. It would be different if buttons were allowed in lists (eg for touchscreen or mouse, or some funny nav setup).

Cheers,
Jonathan
Always read the XBMC online-manual, FAQ and search the forum before posting.
Do not e-mail XBMC-Team members directly asking for support. Read/follow the forum rules.
For troubleshooting and bug reporting please make sure you read this first.


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#14
jmarshall Wrote:I don't believe this should be done in the skin. Different skins doing different things when you click on something IMO is the wrong way to go - this is far more a user preference than an asthetic thing. It would be different if buttons were allowed in lists (eg for touchscreen or mouse, or some funny nav setup).

I agree 100 percent. Some uniformity is definitely needed, especially with it being easier than ever to change skins with the new addon manager. If every skin was different, even seasoned users would have a helluva time remembering the quirks for each skin, not to mention new users.
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#15
migueld Wrote:Also, it would be nice if eventually this info window integrated the "Play/Resume" functionality, instead of it being a different window.

Agree. Didn't even think of that...

NS
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