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LaunchBox Multi Monitor and BigBox +3rd monitor plugin 1.2.1

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JoeViking245
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LaunchBox Multi Monitor and BigBox +3rd monitor plugin

 

This plugin adds support for 2nd (and 3rd) monitors in LaunchBox to display game images while navigating your collections.  If you have LaunchBox version 13.1 or newer, Platform, Platform Category or Playlist images will be displayed when making a selection on the left navigation pane.

With BigBox, you already have use of a 2nd display (marquee monitor) for displaying images.  For those who have a pinball-cab (or a fancy desktop setup) with 3 displays, this plugin will allow you display an image on the 3rd monitor while navigating BigBox.

 

Some details:

-  The image displayed changes based on the Platform, Platform Category, Playlist or game you are viewing for both BigBox and LaunchBox.
-  To view Platform, Platform Category and Playlist images in LaunchBox, LaunchBox version 13.6 is required.  BigBox will work with any version.
-  When a game is launched, the image(s) will be hidden and then reappear after exiting the game. (default)
-  Optionally (new v1.1.0), you can select Keep image(s) visible during gameplay.
        The exception is Steam games that are launched via "steam://rungameid/xxxxxx". Their images will not stay visible nor reappear.
-  You set the default image type (i.e. Box-Front) to use for all games.  Or you can set individual image types to use on a per Platform basis (new v1.1.2).
 

 

Q&A:

  • Why would I want to display an image on a 3rd monitor?
    • Because you can.
  • What image would I put on a 3rd monitor?
    • That's entirely up to you.  You can choose from pretty much any image type in your collection.
  • Can it display a video on the 3rd (or 2nd-or-3rd in LB) monitor? 
    • No.
  • Can it show a pdf file on the extra monitor? 
    • No.
  • Can it display 3D models for boxes? 
    • Yes (new v 1.2.0)

 

Installing:

  • Download the plugin zip file.
  • Right-click the zip file, select Properties and check Unblock (if present). Click OK.

              image.jpeg.0e7d52ebbecc59be3d546c933007199d.jpeg

  • (With LaunchBox/BigBox not running,) Open the zip file and extract the included folder into your /LaunchBox/Plugins/ folder.

 

Setting up:

Start LaunchBox.

Click Tools, MultiMonitor Setup

image.thumb.png.a7db633af69cb36720bcd3d368dff900.png

 

Monitor Configuration:

  • Select which monitor # you want the images displayed on from the pull-down list.
  • Click Identify Displays to confirm which monitor corresponds with which monitor number.
  • Toggle On or Off to see images on the respective monitors.
  • (v1.1.0) If you wish to keep the images up during gameplay, check Keep image(s) visible during gameplay.
  • (v1.1.1) In LaunchBox, if images aren’t displaying correctly on you marquee monitor, check Stretch images to fill screen (LB 2nd only). This only works on LaunchBox 2nd monitor.

 

Image Selection:

  • Select the default image type you want displayed based on which View you're in.
    • Default Game Images:
      • BigBox 3rd Monitor and LaunchBox 2nd Monitor use the "Game View (BB 3rd/LB 2nd)" image.
      • LaunchBox 3rd monitor uses the "Game View (LB 3rd monitor)" image.
      • The image selection *Game Controls looks for game-specific images in your "/Images/platform_name/Arcade - Controls Information/" folder.
      • In LaunchBox, if LaunchBox 3rd Monitor is turned off and the Game View 2nd monitor image doesn’t exist, it will attempt to use the Game View 3rd monitor image.
      • In BigBox, if the Game View 2nd monitor image doesn’t exist, it will attempt to the Game View 3rd monitor image.
      • Set custom game image per Platform (new v1.1.2)
        • Pretty self-explanatory.
  • Click Save after you're done making changes.

 

Custom Folder:  (new v 1.2.0)

You can use a Custom Folder to search for game images.  This will search for game images in /your_Custom_Folder/game_platform/game.png
Select *Custom Folder as the Default Game Image, then click Set Custom Folder to set your folder.

Image* files can be named the same as:
    games' Title**
    ROM filename
    games' LaunchBox Database Id #
    games' Platform***

*Image file names with suffix -xx (i.e. myImage-01.png) are OK (aka. copy/paste from existing LaunchBox Images). However, the plugin will ONLY ever use one of the images if you have multiple.  i.e. myImage-01.png and myImage-02.png

**Game images using its Title must have invalid characters replace with _ (underscore).  See Invalid Characters below.
Most common is when the Title has a : (colon).

 Example:  Title = Disney-Pixar's Toy Story 2: Buzz Lightyear to the Rescue!
           image = Disney-Pixar_s Toy Story 2_ Buzz Lightyear to the Rescue!.png

***If a game specific image can't be found, the plugin will look for an image named after the games platform in the Custom Folder. NOT inside the platform folder.  i.e.  /your_Custom_Folder/game_platform.png
 

Invalid Characters below

Spoiler

<  (less than)
>  (greater than)
:  (colon)
"  (double quote)
/  (forward slash)
\  (backslash)
|  (vertical bar or pipe)
?  (question mark)
*  (asterisk)
'  (single quote) Not technically invalid (post-DOS), but consistent with LaunchBox character replacement

 

Other Notes:

LaunchBox:

Platform/Category/Playlist images will only be displayed if using LaunchBox version 13.6 or newer. 

BigBox:

Changes to image selections etc. can only be made in LaunchBox through Tools, MultiMonitor Setup.

General:

If after making changes in MultiMonitor Setup (AND clicking Save) images aren't displaying or there's some other plugin issue, try restarting LaunchBox.

Disclaimer:

This has only been tested on a 2-monitor setup. Neither of which were marquee monitors.    So.....  Good luck!  :D

 

As always, comments, suggestions and requests are welcomed and encouraged.

What's New in Version 1.2.1   See changelog

Released

v1.2.1 Hot Fix

Fixed:      Would not load without an existing Settings.xml file

 

v1.2.0

This is a culmination of the 1.1.5-betas (beta-1 through 6) wrapped up into an official release

New Option:      3D models now available for use as game images.  Requires LB 13.1 or newer.
Improvement:  Will auto adjust images for Portrait monitors
New Option:     Can use a Custom Folder to search for game images
Fixed:                  In BigBox, the image would disappear when entering Game Details

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JoeViking245
41 minutes ago, Sbaby said:

the ability to show the default images of the platforms when the plugin doesn't find the image of the specific rom

For BigBox, you can set what 'backup' image you want shown.  But don' recall off hand if Platform, Platform Category, Playlist are available in the 3rd monitor image dropdown.

Quote

In BigBox, if the Game View 2nd monitor image doesn’t exist, it will attempt to use the Game View 3rd monitor image.

 

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Sbaby

I cannot delete all the images, I want to keep them. 

Ideally for me would be to disable the function for bigbox, do you know if possible ?

 

 

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JoeViking245
33 minutes ago, Sbaby said:

Ideally for me would be to disable the function for bigbox, do you know if possible ?

Disable what function?  The ability to look for a backup image?  You can set the 3rd monitor image to same one as the 2nd. Or you can set it to an image type you know doesn't exist.  Cart-Back might be a good one.  (unless of course you actually have/use those)

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Sbaby

Sbaby 35

Posted (edited)

I want to disable the native function of bigbox, not your plugin

 

regarding rom names, I have done so many tests, your plugin is fine with game names in png format for all platforms.
Instead my pause menu does very strange things, for example for MS-DOS it only sees me ID numbers while for other platforms I can enter the rom name but not the game name, so I will always have to have duplicate images with different names to make both your plugin and the pause menu work with the same control images.

 

Regarding the default image display, is it possible to implement it? For example, if there is no single game image, I would like it to display the platform image (for the custom folder).

Edited by Sbaby
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JoeViking245
12 hours ago, Sbaby said:

I want to disable the native function of bigbox, not your plugin

To turn off the marquees screen in BigBox, go to the System menu, Options, General, set Marquee Screen to None.

 

13 hours ago, Sbaby said:

if there is no single game image, I would like it to display the platform image (for the custom folder).

Looking at Retro808's Game Controls Pause Theme (and the full screen version) folder structure, I've adopted this:

If the Default Game Image you chose is *Custom Folder, the plugin will look for an image in this order:

1)  Game Title                                i.e.  \LaunchBox\Images\Game Controls\Sony PlayStation\Alien Trilogy.jpg
2)  Game ROM name                   i.e.   \LaunchBox\Images\Game Controls\Sony PlayStation\Alien Trilogy (USA).jpg
3)  (new) Game Database ID #   i.e.  \LaunchBox\Images\Game Controls\Sony PlayStation\9850.jpg
4)  (new) Games Platform           i.e.  \LaunchBox\Images\Game Controls\Sony PlayStation.jpg

The platform image (4) will be searched for directly in the Custom Folder.  The other 3 will look in the games Platform subfolder.  The image file type can be any type.  i.e.  .jpg or.png

MultiMonitor2022 (v1.1.5 beta-6) .7z

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Sbaby

Sbaby 35

Posted (edited)

5 hours ago, JoeViking245 said:

To turn off the marquees screen in BigBox, go to the System menu, Options, General, set Marquee Screen to None.

ok thank you, now I removed it. I ask you if possible to replace it with an image of your plugin, exactly like you do for launchbox

 

5 hours ago, JoeViking245 said:

1)  Game Title                                i.e.  \LaunchBox\Images\Game Controls\Sony PlayStation\Alien Trilogy.jpg
2)  Game ROM name                   i.e.   \LaunchBox\Images\Game Controls\Sony PlayStation\Alien Trilogy (USA).jpg
 

Pause menu : not work 👆

 

5 hours ago, JoeViking245 said:

3)  (new) Game Database ID #   i.e.  \LaunchBox\Images\Game Controls\Sony PlayStation\9850.jpg
4)  (new) Games Platform           i.e.  \LaunchBox\Images\Game Controls\Sony PlayStation.jpg

 

 Pause menu :  work 👆

 

5 hours ago, JoeViking245 said:

1)  Game Title                                i.e.  \LaunchBox\Images\Game Controls\Sony PlayStation\Alien Trilogy.jpg
2)  Game ROM name                   i.e.   \LaunchBox\Images\Game Controls\Sony PlayStation\Alien Trilogy (USA).jpg
3)  (new) Game Database ID #   i.e.  \LaunchBox\Images\Game Controls\Sony PlayStation\9850.jpg
4)  (new) Games Platform           i.e.  \LaunchBox\Images\Game Controls\Sony PlayStation.jpg

Multimonitor plugin : work 👆☺️

 

@Retro808

Pause Menu : I have tried both png and jpg with no differences, with the multimonitor plugin everything works correctly while on the other hand in the pause menu everything works correctly only if I use the images in format 3) and 4) . This compulsorily causes me to have double images with different names and I don't like it very much, could you help me ?

Important note : names of the roms work for arcade games only... for consoles I have to compulsorily use id number names

Edited by Sbaby
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JoeViking245
1 hour ago, Sbaby said:

Pause Menu : I have tried both png and jpg with no differences, with the multimonitor plugin everything works correctly while on the other hand in the pause menu everything works correctly only if I use the images in format 3) and 4) . This compulsorily causes me to have double images with different names and I don't like it very much

Why do you need double images?  Images named as per #3 and #4 above works in both the Pause Menu and with MultiMonitor.

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Sbaby

Sbaby 35

Posted (edited)

46 minutes ago, JoeViking245 said:

Why do you need double images?  Images named as per #3 and #4 above works in both the Pause Menu and with MultiMonitor.

you are right but in order to have a unique image for individual games I have to have all the images named with the id number, so I continue as I have always done. I keep all my images of the controls for the individual games with NUMBER-ID.PNG

Edited by Sbaby
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JoeViking245
25 minutes ago, Sbaby said:

you are right but in order to have a unique image for individual games I have to have all the images named with the id number, so I continue as I have always done. I keep all my images of the controls for the individual games with NUMBER-ID.PNG

I was under the impression you had all those that way already because of the Pause Menu.  That's pretty much why I added that option in there for you.

 

2 hours ago, Sbaby said:

ok thank you, now I removed it. I ask you if possible to replace it with an image of your plugin, exactly like you do for launchbox

(sorry, missed this part)  No. Well, it is possible, I'm sure.  But it'd be like reinventing the wheel.  If you want a different image used in BigBox's marquee screen, change the Marquee Priorities to have the image type you want on the top of the list.  Or the only one in the list if you don't want a fallback.

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Sbaby
37 minutes ago, JoeViking245 said:

I was under the impression you had all those that way already because of the Pause Menu.  That's pretty much why I added that option in there for you.

exactly ! I am at 80% image formation for arcade games (roms-names) and 70% for ms-dos games (id-names) . Now I know how to continue, thank you very much 😍

 

41 minutes ago, JoeViking245 said:

(sorry, missed this part)  No. Well, it is possible, I'm sure.  But it'd be like reinventing the wheel.  If you want a different image used in BigBox's marquee screen, change the Marquee Priorities to have the image type you want on the top of the list.  Or the only one in the list if you don't want a fallback.

my problem is that I have to have a compromise by minimizing LB/BB when I start some emulators otherwise I have various problems. That image for the monitor uses the same window name as LB/BB so it minimizes, I'll have to find a way to have it stay up just for that screen, or alternatively I won't use it, I think bigbox only uses it on the couch in front of the TV, so one screen only. The important thing is that the 3 screens work well for me with LB thanks to your plugin, for when I am at the desk station 🙏

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