PluginQL -- A kX Addon

Russ

It is just some minor things.
There was an issue with load_settings not being called for system wide addons that I had mentioned previously. I worked around it by calling load_settings myself from one of the other functions, but I forget to change that when making it a per device addon, so that ended being called twice, and so it was trying to register the hotkeys twice (harmless), etc. Nothing that you would notice there. There were also some things related to keeping the addon settings and GUI settings in sync with each other. Just some little things here and there...

Russ

This is on hold for now, as I cannot be sure that it will function correctly for everyone/anyone. I removed the download links from my web site, and I would recommend that people who are already using it, to stop doing so (use the .reg file to remove it).

Thanks again to Maddogg6 for helping with testing...

-Russ

<edit>
BTW: This is only temporary (while I add some new features, fix some things, and finish testing, etc).
</edit>

Chester01

this plugin does not work with 3538L atleast for me...

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markyy

yeah, it doesn't work for 3538L. come on russ we need you!

Russ

Sorry guys, I have not had a chance to do any testing with it on 3538L as of yet, to see if it will work right on multi-card systems, etc. Additionally, I added some things, and changed some things around, and I am not done with that.

Russ

Just wanted to post some updated info:

So far, testing has been good with 3538L (thanks again to Maddogg6 for helping with that).

I am still testing, and adding some of the new features mentioned previously.

I will post an updated version once I have finished doing the above (I am re-writing much of it, so I can not say when it will be available).

Due to problems with the addon api in previous kX versions, the addon will not be availble for kx versions prior to 3538L.

-Russ

Russ

New version available.

Testing has been good thus far with 3538L, so I decided to release the addon in its current state (BTW: It is a System Wide addon again). It is not completely finished as of yet, but it is fully functional (for the most part). I added some new features and re-wrote some of the code, so I would like to be sure that there are no additional problems before finishing it (and I am still deciding on a few things).

Installation is the same as with previous versions (see the first post in this thread). The settings are not compatible with previous versions, so if you installed a previous version, please use the included .reg file to remove it and it's settings, before installing the new version.

New in this version:
Changed the addon menu around a bit.

All hotkeys that open a window, are now an open/close toggle. The way it works, is that it first looks to see if the window is open, and if it is, it closes the first instance of the window it finds, otherwise it opens up the window.

I added an optional OSD (On Screen Display) that displays the current mode and the currently selected device. The OSD is disabled by default, to enable it, choose "Enable OSD" from the addon's "OSD" submenu (checked means enabled, unchecked means disabled). The default position is the top left corner of the screen. By default, the OSD does not process mouse messages (mouse message are sent to window below the OSD (as if the OSD wasn't there at all)), so that it does not interfere with mouse operations in other windows. There is a menu option "Allow Move", that when enabled (it is disabled by default), makes the OSD respond to mouse messages, so that you may move the OSD (drag with left mouse button down), etc. Additionally, the OSD has a context menu that allows you to change some properties of the OSD (font, text color, background color, etc). The OSD resizes itself when you change the font (may not resize correctly with some font settings). The OSD is 50% transparent by default. You can change the level of tranparency using the mouse wheel (when the OSD has the focus (i.e. click on it once when "Allow Move" is enabled to give it the focus)). There is a "Reset Position" option from the menu that resets the postion of the OSD to the top left corner of the screen (in case it gets moved off screen and you cannot find it, etc). There are also two menu items (Settings and OSD Settings) that are not currently enabled. I plan on removing all settings from the plugin (so the plugin will then only be used for kX automation), and when I do so, the settings will be accessed from those menu items.

This should be considered a test release (so expect bugs), and should only be used with kX version 3538L. As usual, please post any comments or problems with the plugin or addon in this thread.

Thanks again to Maddogg6 for help with multi-card testing (and general testing).

The download link is in the first post of this thread.

-Russ

Maddogg6

Oh you slick puppy you - I didnt notice the changing transparency - schweeeeet!

I love it.... and it was a pleasure ....

Russ

BTW: With the addition the of the 'addon' option in the save_settings dialog in 3538L, you can now save different addon settings in different configurations. However, this will cause the Plugin's GUI to get out of sync with the actual settings be used (when loading a saved config file that includes addon info). This will not be an issue, once I move the settings out of the Plugin, but in the mean time, keep this in mind when loading a saved config (from file) that includes addon information (the saved settings will be used, but the Plugin's GUI will not show the correct settings).

I would recommend that you just do not check the 'addon' box (for now) when saving a config. When I move the settings out of the Plugin, I will need to save additional info, and thus may need to change some stuff around that may make the current settings incompatible, and thus would make your saved config file incompatible.

-Russ

Russ

I noticed a bug in the GUI code, related to the action for opening/closing a plugin's tweak window.

The plugin numbers are supposed to start at '1' (since there is no plugin number '0'), but in one part of the code, I accidentally added a '0' to the combo box (i.e. if you change the action for any key, from something other than 'plugin#', to the 'plugin#' action, the option combobox will show '0' instead of '1'). This will cause the plugin numbers to be off by one. This can be seen if you save the settings and close/reopen the plugin window (when you re-open the plugin window, it will show the correct plugin#).

This will be fixed in the next release.

Aside from the above, I am trying to think of a way to get rid of the combo-boxes from the GUI, since they can make the GUI updates slow.

i.e.
Under some circumstances, the code will have to add almost 3000 strings (between all the combo-boxes), which can be slow (a delay before the window is opened, etc), so I am trying to think of a better way to do it, that is still easy to use (unfortunatey, I am not coming up with a lot of ideas here). This is one of the reasons why I have not released the next update as of yet (and because I have not had much time to work on it lately).

-Russ

Russ

In addition to the bug posted in my previous message, I noticed that the last update, broke the ability to use kX Automation with the addon, so I decided to post another update now, to address those issues.

New is this version:
Settings moved out of the plugin. The plugin is now only needed if you want to use kX Automation with the addon. The settings are now accessed from the addon menu item: 'Settings' (it is also available as a hotkey option).

All settings take place immediatley now, there is no longer any need to save settings for the changes to take effect.

The settings window has a slider at the bottom that can be used to change the transparency of the settings window, however, this value is not currently saved, because I did not want you to have to delete your settings again, until the rest of the changes are completed (if possible).

The settings should also now save/restore correctly from a saved config file, although I would still hold off on saving any addon settings in a config file, unless it is the only thing you are saving (as again the settings may not be compatible with the final version.

The OSD Settings option has still not been implemeneted, as I am debating whether a seperate settings window is needed for that (since all the settings can be changed from the main menu and context menu, etc.).

To install as an update, just quit kX Mixer, and replace the .kxa and .kxl files with the new versions, and then re-start kX Mixer, otherwise follow the installation instructions in the first post of this thread.

Download link is in the first post of this thread.

-Russ

aspectus

Exciting technology Russ! No problems here with it, except the OSD, which seems to conflict violently with overlay mixer video playback on my Radeon, which pushes happily along through what is clearly some kiind of serious dispute going on. Just having the OSD, well, on-screen, and then flip tasks or change window focus and either the OSD and/or the overlay flicker/strobe/blank, perhaps even back and forth as if there aren't enough of something to go around. Hope that makes sense!

Maddogg6

@Russ:
It seems a A2 specific parameter ('SPDIF AC3 Decode' on/off switch) was not included in your addon - just FYI I guess...

Russ

@aspectus
I think that is normal behavior with layered windows, I do not know that there is anything that I can do about it. Try it with other layered windows (kX Remote, for example) and I think you will see the same behavior. The fact that the OSD is always on top, just makes it that much more noticeable. Move it to a part of the screen where there is no video, or just disable the OSD while the video is playing.

@Maddogg6
I did intentionally leave some of the hardware parameters out of the addon (mostly settings that I was unsure about at that time, and could not test because they did not apply to my card.) When I have the chance I will add them.

-Russ

aspectus

Russ, I did try the kX remote but it doesnt come up as transparent on my system, and cant actually think of anything else i have to test that. Also to clarify, just by having the OSD on, regardless of whether it is anywhere near any overlay video playing causes the video messings, usually ending after a moment in the video blanking out, to return to perfect playback the instant the OSD it turned off. Sometimes the OSD falls from being from ONTOP, fals back behind other windows, but still messed the video. The cool part is is that the whole deal doesnt seem to bother the system in any lingering way, everything just carries on as if I'm the only one who notices.

Totally doesnt matter though, I can't think of a reason to even having the OSD up unless some serious assignments are being made to the hotkeys.

Russ

I am not sure what the level of transparancy is for kX Remote (it is not much, if at all), but it is a layered window. You could also try the OSD Notifications window (or one of the other settings windows) as it is also a layered window (with noticeable transparency).

As for it messing up the video window, I have not seen this behavior myself, just flickering of the OSD when it is directly over the video. Is there some specific application that you are using that I can test? Does it do it when playing video's in Windows Media Player, etc?

I have noticed on occasion that it somehow loses it's 'always on top' status (has only happened one or twice for me), but when it did happen, I did not notice it right away, and thus do not know what caused it.

Thanks for the feedback

Maddogg6

Oh - hey no rush... Im sure you seen why I brought this up here...

PITmaster

Hi
I would like to try PluginQL for 3538k driver version. Where can I find it?

PITmaster

Russ

Sorry, due to bugs in the Addon API, in previous versions of kX, PluginQL is only available for 3538L.

Maddogg6

@Russ:

I just had a thought (Oh crap!! - I know..lol) - About the 'always on top' stuff...
I was wondering if there some way of specifying a priority - to determine what window will be on top when more than one is assigned to be 'always on top'.... In HTML - its called a 'Z-Index'.

I only bring this up, because it seems more random - but I'd *think* there would be a way to dictate the priority... ??
And I also thought maybe it might have something to do with how the case of the ATI - flickering stuff may be affected..
Which btw - is not the case with my NV card with recent NV drivers as well as the DH zeropoint drivers...

?? - just thinking aloud I guess.. ??


Oh - and I just wanted to point out that - if your plugin is active - and the OSD is dragged to the right side (I like mine on the top right, just so that a maximized window will still have the buttons shown) - and I change my display resolution - the osd gets 'shoved off the edge of the screen'.

Not sure if this was taken into account or not, its not really a big deal, as its right where it should be when I change back resolutions.

Piece,

Mark

Russ

The z-ordering for top level windows is not quite as configurable as it would be for child windows. The foreground window basically gets the priority, so if two windows are set to be top most, the active window would be the one at the top of the z-order.

As for the possibility of it going off of the screen when switching to a different screen resolution, that is the reason that I added the 'Reset Position' option (which moves it back to the top-left corner of the screen). I had considered having it try to re-align itself under such circumstances, but honestly it seemed to me that the extra work/code probably would not be worth it in this case.

As always, thanks for the input/feedback

Maddogg6

Doh - I guess you did take this into account... my bad. :S
Like I said - no biggy at all.. I <3 the OSD.

thomasabarnes

Hi Russ:

I've been away too long. I need to use this add on. I registered the pluginQL for 3538l and I see it in the Add Ons section of the kX Menu. I can even open up the PluginQL settings window, but when I use Ctrl Shift #1 nothing happens. MX8 is the #1 applet in my DSP, and I thought that's what should open up. Is Ctrl Shift # still the hot key combination for mode 1 of the add on? What am I doing wrong?


Good to be back

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Russ

Hi thomasabarnes, good to see you around here again

Make sure that "Enable Hotkeys" has a check mark next to it in the PluginQL addon menu.

Also, make sure that you use the number keys at the top of the keyboad (as opposed to those on the number pad).

-Russ

thomasabarnes

Thanks for the welcome back. hehe

Enable hot keys is checked and I'm using the number keys by the letters.

I'm stumpped! I don't know what's wrong. The pluginQL settings are set to default. 1) Plugin# on the left ; 1 on the right, 2) Plugin# on the left; 2 on the right, etc.

Do I need to change any of that?

Also to install the PluginQL add on, I just double clicked and 2 plugins registered. I tried to use the add on and nothing happened. I went and double clicked the addon againg, same thing happened. Didi I mess someting up.

I have a new machine AMD Atholon 4600+ Dual core with 2Gigs of ram. I hope it's not something in the new PC that's causing the add on not to work.

I'm stumped. I don't know how to register a kX plugin, so I think the PluginQL may not be registered, but since I read you stating that it's only needed for automation, I'm thinking registered or not shouldn't intefere with the add on working.

HELP!!

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May a song always touch you in a positive way.
Sonar 8.5.3 PE, Windows 7 Pro 64Bit, MOTU UltraLite MK3, 150 GB HDD, 250 GB HDD, 1 TB HDD 7200 rpm,
My Music Production: Top 40, Contemporary Christian, Pop/Rock, Decent Rap, Inspirationals, and Children Songs

Russ

Hmm...
To register both the plugin and the addon, just double-click on both files (PluginQL.kxa and PluginQL.kxl), and then restart kxmixer (needed for the addon). I am guessing that you did it right, since the addon is shown on the menu. Re-registering it should not cause any problems (and as you thought, the plugin is only need for automation).

As for the settings, you can change them however you want, but you should not need to do anything to make it work, other then use the correct hotkey combination.

i.e.
If MX8 is plugin [8] in the DSP, then CTRL-SHIFT-8 should open the tweak window for it (with the default settings).

Make sure that you are in the right mode (use the OSD or menu to confirm).

I cannot think of any reason why it would not work with your new system, unless those hotkeys are allready being used by another program.

BTW: You could also try using kX Automation with the plugin loaded, as that should work even if the hotkeys do not.

thomasabarnes

Thanks for the reply Russ:

I'm still an idiot. The addon is working. I was using Ctrl Start #. Geez!
There's a key that has Start written on it, and I wasn't looking close enough, thinking it said Shift. Doh

Begging your pardon.

__________________

May a song always touch you in a positive way.
Sonar 8.5.3 PE, Windows 7 Pro 64Bit, MOTU UltraLite MK3, 150 GB HDD, 250 GB HDD, 1 TB HDD 7200 rpm,
My Music Production: Top 40, Contemporary Christian, Pop/Rock, Decent Rap, Inspirationals, and Children Songs

Russ

Hehe, I am glad you were able to figure it out.

thomasabarnes

Hey Russ:

This really is a useful Add On, and the transparency feature of the Settings window is really nice!

Also the Add On revision that makes it not necessary to load or use the PluginQL plugin to adjust the ADD On setting is an enhanced and nice revision, in my opinion.

The KX Project has a truely useful rich feature set with the contributions that programmers and users like you make!

Thanks for your work Russ.

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May a song always touch you in a positive way.
Sonar 8.5.3 PE, Windows 7 Pro 64Bit, MOTU UltraLite MK3, 150 GB HDD, 250 GB HDD, 1 TB HDD 7200 rpm,
My Music Production: Top 40, Contemporary Christian, Pop/Rock, Decent Rap, Inspirationals, and Children Songs

Russ

Added 3539 version. Download link in first post of this thread.