Several Basic Questions

[André Miller]

Hello, I was looking for a new front end for my games, so I bought a forever license to Launchbox. So far I love how versatile it is, I have been fiddling with it for a couple of hours. However, I do have a list of basic questions about both Launchbox. They are more just functionality questions then anything. I have pictures to help elaborate my particular questions too.

First off, when I use Launchbox as a front end for my Steam collection, clicking on the game doesn't bring the Steam install confirmation window to the forefront. I have to click off Launchbox or hit the task-view button and bring up the separate Steam window. I have gotten a game or two to just bring up the window naturally, but I don't know why those times it prioritized them.

Second, is there a way to alter the video player settings so that the black bars naturally on the top and bottom disappear? What ends up happening is certain trailers already have their own letterbox presentation but with lighter colors and it doubles up on the letterbox effect. I circled it in the attached screencap, but you may have to zoom in.

Next, when you have the details page on the right, can you format the text to your liking? I think the way the publisher/developer/release date details are presented feels cramped. I would like it to alter it so it is more of a list format. I circled it up top to show what I mean.

Another niggling detail for me is the symmetry of the box art/icons, is there any means of forcing them to appear at a uniform size? I circled Fallout 2, as it is much more squat than the others. A potential work around would be to use Steam Icons since they have a uniform size, but I have trouble converting the box art/icons from one form to another in bulk. I can turn them from front box art to clear logos, but there is no Steam Icons display option. And when I go edit the details of an individual game and change the image from a front box art to a Steam Icon, it refuses to alter. 

Also, is it possible to somehow lock or save the positioning of the side bar, library, and details bar? I configure the sizes to my liking, much like how they are in that picture, but exiting and entering Launchbox sets them back to a default positioning.

Finally, is it possible to set it so instead of a scrollbar, I get arrows that scrolls through my games in more of a page format? You know, like swiping through apps on a phone? As noted earlier, I am stickler for symmetry, so its nice on phones or other devices when you can swipe and neat uniform rows of blocks  or options appear in succession. 

Thanks for taking the time reading my questions, I hope they aren't too redundant. And if I have any more, should I just bump the thread?

[André Miller]

Bump? It's been a couple days, I was hoping for a response by now. 

[Lordmonkus]

Ill try and answer some of your questions but I certainly don't have all the answers for you because of things like I don't use videos or steam

So question one and two I don't have an answer at all for you.

Third question about details, I don't believe you can change it in non BigBox mode. In BigBox mode you could change it by modifying the theme files.

Fourth, you would have to look for another box art picture that matches the aspect ratio of the one you want. Boxarts are displayed in the aspect ratio of the image itself. Just look for a new one and overwrite the old one in the \images\"platform name"\boxart folder.

Fifth, much like the details that is part of the non BigBox mode and possibly editable in BigBox mode editing the theme.

 

[André Miller]

1 hour ago, lordmonkus said:

Ill try and answer some of your questions but I certainly don't have all the answers for you because of things like I don't use videos or steam

So question one and two I don't have an answer at all for you.

Third question about details, I don't believe you can change it in non BigBox mode. In BigBox mode you could change it by modifying the theme files.

Fourth, you would have to look for another box art picture that matches the aspect ratio of the one you want. Boxarts are displayed in the aspect ratio of the image itself. Just look for a new one and overwrite the old one in the \images\"platform name"\boxart folder.

Fifth, much like the details that is part of the non BigBox mode and possibly editable in BigBox mode editing the theme.

 

Thanks for the response. I am still working my way around Big Box mode, can you edit the properties of the default theme? I have used a couple of custom themes but they tend to only work with very specific presentation parameters. Only in this mode, with this library display type. So I would prefer to use the default theme for maximum compatibility. And when I say edit the theme, like can I go into the file from my desktop and alter it? 

[Lordmonkus]

Honestly I know nothing about theming, hell I don't even use a them, I just use the default theme.

[André Miller]

4 minutes ago, lordmonkus said:

Honestly I know nothing about theming, hell I don't even use a them, I just use the default theme.

Perhaps you can assist me with this then. I am having issues with changes sticking in the latest version of Big Box. My screen for browsing games looks like this: http://imgur.com/2LrADFE

I have fiddled with many settings for a couple hours over the weekend, but very little takes effect. Ideally I would like to make it so: the clear logo that shows up near the game details disappears, I can alter the details so that only the publisher/release date/developer appear. And that the black background is a video. I downloaded all the Steam trailers also when I imported my Steam library, but for the life of me can't figure out how to make a video play for it. Or even how to alter a lot of these things in general, the in-app settings can be cumbersome. Is there a means of altering it from the desktop with like a text or script editor?

And if I can't find the answers to my questions here, who can I send a support email to?

[Lordmonkus]

If you want to look into making and editing themes go into the Themes folder that is in your Launchbox folder, there you will find a "Documentation" PDF with all you should need on the subject. Like I said I don't know anything about theming at all, you could maybe message one of the theme makers here on the site.