11.7 Beta Testing

[neil9000]

4 minutes ago, kmoney said:

I must be confused then because I was under the assumption that the saving views per theme was the major advantage and top feature of saving settings per theme. I know for myself I don't hardly like to change themes that often because when I do I have to cycle through and change to my favorite views again which can be a timely process when cycling through numerous views on certain themes and vice versa when I go back to another theme. I know I would change themes way more often if the views were saved per theme for sure.

Agreed.

[Charco]

8 hours ago, kmoney said:

I must be confused then because I was under the assumption that the saving views per theme was the major advantage and top feature of saving settings per theme. I know for myself I don't hardly like to change themes that often because when I do I have to cycle through and change to my favorite views again which can be a timely process when cycling through numerous views on certain themes and vice versa when I go back to another theme. I know I would change themes way more often if the views were save per theme for sure.

Yeah, I thought this was what the feature was for, I don't change themes for the exact same reason.

[Jason Carr]

Welp, I wish that had come up a bit earlier, to be honest. I can certainly implement that (at least for when platform-specific views have not been set), but I don't think we'll be delaying the release for it, so it'll probably have to happen after the 11.7 release.

[neil9000]

4 minutes ago, Jason Carr said:

Welp, I wish that had come up a bit earlier, to be honest. I can certainly implement that (at least for when platform-specific views have not been set), but I don't think we'll be delaying the release for it, so it'll probably have to happen after the 11.7 release.

Personally i just assumed that was what was implied by per theme settings. Most other settings are the same across themes, with a few exceptions like some themes needing background videos on, and others off. The remembering which views you use with which themes was the main draw for me voting on that feature, as thats really the only settings that i would like saved.

[kmoney]

Same here, I assumed as well that the main reason was for per theme view settings being saved. I held off saying anything because I thought you were just putting in the base groundwork with the per theme settings being saved and once that was beta tested the main attraction would come later with the per theme views being saved.

[Jason Carr]

I'm gonna look into what it would take to get that implemented, and then I'll make a decision as to whether I can get it into the release for Monday.

[Jason Carr]

Beta 12 is out now with the following:

• When migrating media after changing a platform's name, empty folders from the old locations are now removed
• The same media migration process's progress bar now spans the whole window
• The Add/Edit Platform window's Image Type context menu now shows up no matter where you click in the box (instead of just on the text)
• Translation updates
• Theme-specific options for platform and games list views have been added now as well (but of course any platform-specific views will take precedence)

We still need as much testing as possible on the theme-specific options and the new Add/Edit Platform features specifically.

[ItchyRobot]

I would love to have a 'save settings' for each theme. That's assuming I am understanding you guys correctly. Like y'all mentioned, I too rarely change themes due to each theme looking best with different views. So i just get one theme set up and leave it since I hate going through and figuring out the views each time I change.

But, just to throw a curve ball out there... I have heard some Hyperspin vets say they don't switch to BigBox because it does not let you have a different theme for different platforms. I am not sure if that would play into your design/implementation; or if I really even understand them correctly since I don't mess with Hyperspin. I could care less about that though, but thought I would bring it up just in case it was something that others have on their wish list.

[Jason Carr]

Just now, ItchyRobot said:

I would love to have a 'save settings' for each theme. That's assuming I am understanding you guys correctly. Like y'all mentioned, I too rarely change themes due to each theme looking best with different views. So i just get one theme set up and leave it since I hate going through and figuring out the views each time I change.

"Save Settings" for each theme is basically what we just implemented: theme-specific options.

1 minute ago, ItchyRobot said:

But, just to throw a curve ball out there... I have heard some Hyperspin vets say they don't switch to BigBox because it does not let you have a different theme for different platforms. I am not sure if that would play into your design/implementation; or if I really even understand them correctly since I don't mess with Hyperspin. I could care less about that though, but thought I would bring it up just in case it was something that others have on their wish list.

Big Box does indeed let you have a different theme for different platforms. That feature has been a thing for a long time now.

[Retro808]

@Jason Carr A quick test on the new beta and I notice that changing the current theme in theme in the Global settings (so not the theme specific options) is not working correctly.

Example in Games View:

If you change the view type for Game List View in the menu it does not change it in the actual view. So lets say I currently have Vertical Wheel 1. If I change to Text List directly in the settings and then go to the games view it is still visually in Vertical 1. If I use my key to change the view live to Text View it does indeed change it.  However, go back into the settings and the listed setting still reflects Vertical 1 it does not now reflect Text List.

This also appears to be affecting platform views as well. Although in the settings if you change the platform view it doe change it. If you are in the live view and change the platform to a different view. The change does not get reflected in the settings.

Hope I explained that coherently.

I tested with Critical Zone, Chrome Metal, Unified Redux, Colorful Dark and Default.

 

[Jason Carr]

15 minutes ago, Retro808 said:

@Jason Carr A quick test on the new beta and I notice that changing the current theme in theme in the Global settings (so not the theme specific options) is not working correctly.

Example in Games View:

If you change the view type for Game List View in the menu it does not change it in the actual view. So lets say I currently have Vertical Wheel 1. If I change to Text List directly in the settings and then go to the games view it is still visually in Vertical 1. If I use my key to change the view live to Text View it does indeed change it.  However, go back into the settings and the listed setting still reflects Vertical 1 it does not now reflect Text List.

This also appears to be affecting platform views as well. Although in the settings if you change the platform view it doe change it. If you are in the live view and change the platform to a different view. The change does not get reflected in the settings.

Hope I explained that coherently.

I tested with Critical Zone, Chrome Metal, Unified Redux, Colorful Dark and Default.

 

The complication of all of this is one reason why I was so hesitant to implement it. There are now three layers of settings for games list views, and two layers of settings for platforms list views. For games list views:

• Priority #1 is the platform specific theme and view settings (which will be ignored of course if they are not set)
• Priority #2 is the theme-specific view settings (which will be ignored if they are not set)
• Priority #3 is the global view settings. These are only used if the other two (above) are not set.

For platforms list views:

• Priority #1 is the theme-specific view settings (which will be ignored if they are not set)
• Priority #2 is the global view settings. These are only used if there are no theme-specific view settings.

I just did some testing and it does appear to be working properly to change the global games list view, but you have to keep in mind that any theme-specific or platform-specific views will override that setting.

[Retro808]

30 minutes ago, Jason Carr said:

I just did some testing and it does appear to be working properly to change the global games list view, but you have to keep in mind that any theme-specific or platform-specific views will override that setting.

Thanks Jason for checking on your end. All the themes I tested I do not have any theme specific settings for. So not sure why I am seeing what I described. 
 

I will test on a clean build and see if it happens. 

[Jason Carr]

Just now, Retro808 said:

Thanks Jason for checking on your end. All the themes I tested I do not have any theme specific settings for. So not sure why I am seeing what I described. 
 

I will test on a clean build and see if it happens. 

Thanks Retro. I did a bit more research. I think what's happening is that when you use the "Switch View" key mapping, it is by default now switching the view and setting the theme-specific setting to the new view. So from that point forward, it will be a theme-specific setting (and I can see how that could be confusing). You can reset that setting though by going to the theme-specific settings for that theme and selecting the option to reset all settings for that theme under the theme name section.

I'm up for hearing ideas to make this more straightforward to use. As it is, I realize that we're probably going to get people on the forums who are confused.

[The Mask]

Could not load type 'Meta.Vlc.Wpf.VlcPlayer' from assembly 'Unbroken.LaunchBox.Windows, Version=11.7.0.12, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=97d6238f04304129'.

App:     Big Box
Version: 11.7-beta-12
Type:    System.TypeLoadException
Site:    Void Dispose(Boolean)
Source:  Ao.Bigbox.Themer.v3_9_7

   at Ao.Bigbox.Utils.Media.MediaPlayer_VLC.Dispose(Boolean disposing)
   at Ao.Bigbox.Utils.Media.MediaPlayer_VLC.Finalize()

Recent Log:

   6:10:39 PM Exception

Still getting this for vlc under eatkinola's plugin.

[Jason Carr]

1 minute ago, The Mask said:

Could not load type 'Meta.Vlc.Wpf.VlcPlayer' from assembly 'Unbroken.LaunchBox.Windows, Version=11.7.0.12, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=97d6238f04304129'.

App:     Big Box
Version: 11.7-beta-12
Type:    System.TypeLoadException
Site:    Void Dispose(Boolean)
Source:  Ao.Bigbox.Themer.v3_9_7

   at Ao.Bigbox.Utils.Media.MediaPlayer_VLC.Dispose(Boolean disposing)
   at Ao.Bigbox.Utils.Media.MediaPlayer_VLC.Finalize()

Recent Log:

   6:10:39 PM Exception

Still getting this for vlc under eatkinola's plugin.

I could be mistaken, but that looks to be a rather old version. What theme are you running and have you looked for an update to the theme?

[Retro808]

31 minutes ago, Jason Carr said:

Thanks Retro. I did a bit more research. I think what's happening is that when you use the "Switch View" key mapping, it is by default now switching the view and setting the theme-specific setting to the new view. So from that point forward, it will be a theme-specific setting (and I can see how that could be confusing). You can reset that setting though by going to the theme-specific settings for that theme and selecting the option to reset all settings for that theme under the theme name section.

I'm up for hearing ideas to make this more straightforward to use. As it is, I realize that we're probably going to get people on the forums who are confused.

Ahhh. That was indeed it. Changing a theme's view in the settings menu did not generate a BigBoxSettingsOverride.xaml. Using a mapped key/button did generate it. So good to know.

 

[Jason Carr]

3 minutes ago, Retro808 said:

Ahhh. That was indeed it. Changing a theme's view in the settings menu did not generate a BigBoxSettingsOverride.xaml. Using a mapped key/button did generate it. So good to know.

 

BigBoxSettingsOverride.xml should be generated if you change any theme-specific setting. Is that not working properly for you?

[wallmachine]

I want to try these BigBox updates for themes but if I update I loose the functionally of certain plugins as they no longer work with newer BigBox and the plugin dev has been away since June.

See issue below from another user:

 

Edited October 23, 2020 by wallmachine

[kmoney]

I just did some testing for about 30 minutes or so and it is working really well. I have been through about 5 of my themes and set different views and it saved everything correctly even the themes like Unified where you need a different game view with the cd disc spinning vs the cart image on non disc games.  One thing I did also that made it easier was I unchecked in the global settings "Use a different view per platform" and only checked that box in the theme specific settings if I wanted that option in the particular theme. I have always used a hotkey to change views anyway and never changed them in the options menu so you can see in live time what view you are changing to. This new feature is an awesome addition and major time saver. I will be downloading more themes now and doing further testing over the weekend. Awesome job @Jason Carr

[Retro808]

14 minutes ago, Jason Carr said:

BigBoxSettingsOverride.xml should be generated if you change any theme-specific setting. Is that not working properly for you?

It does. I was just confirming what you posted.

However, that did catch me off guard that while in a theme if I made a change using mapped key/button it automatically made it theme specific. A prompt to apply to theme specific would be nice. I typically make changes with mapped keys and usually do this when helping in the forum so I will know to delete the xml file or just put the setting back before I close out BigBox. Now that I know though it is not that big an issue.