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[Windcrest77]

I understand that a custom hot key can specify a parameter along with the command number.

Is there a way I can define hot keys, so that in just one single keystroke it will do ALL of the following (by zone):

1) Plop the parameter value of lets say "Ella Fitzgerald" into the search box
2) Press the search button
3) Populate the grid with all the matching songs

OR

1) Open a specific Smartlist with a single button press that has the Smartlist entry defined as the parameter of the command

In other words a single hot key that does a specific search or opening of a smartlist. Either method will give me what I need.

Also can a similar command be executed against the Play Doctor search box to do the same?

I'm very close to getting a MIDI DJ controller to control JRiver by using the Bome MIDI-to-Keystroke translator program. Last step is I want to define some buttons on my controller surface to simply "open fast" a specific smartlist or search with a simple button tap. Or maybe even use a knob on the controller to cycle through maybe 20 smartlists as I crank the knob and I can stop turning the knob when the smarrtlist I want is loaded. (knobs in the controller can be encoded to send different commands based on the current position of the knob, Bome will decode/encode the MIDI to Keystrokes as you crank).

[blgentry]

Interesting question.  So you want to look at a playlist with a key press, but not do anything with it right?  I ask because there are core commands for "Play Playlist" and "Edit Smartlist".  But you don't want either one of those I don't think.

I guess you could do something like a macro, where you first call "edit this smartlist", and then press escape.

Maybe there's another way I'm not thinking of.  Come on MC DJs!  Drop some knowledge on us. 

Brian.

[marko]

Opening a specific location should be possible using the treepath option of the MC21.exe launcher. I'm not at home just now, so can't test how this would be entered into the xml file, but certainly worth a look. If no-one else has dug around with it, I'll have a look when I get back in a day or so.

-marko

[Windcrest77]

Yeah, I think using smart lists is the better approach than the search box, beast those are already known entities in the library that can be given a hot key property. Basically where you define the criteria of a smart list, in that maintenance dialog, if I could go ahead and assign that smart list to a keystroke. Then save the smart list. Now the system will load that smart list every time I hit that keystroke. So I could make a new smart list, then somewhere in that form I could have a drop down box of keystrokes that are still available and I could pick one that would load that smart list and only that smart list.

Then I just assign a button on my DJ controller to that keystroke to load that smart list.


Thanks

[marko]

Morning,

I've had a quick mess around with this and have had little joy getting an MC21.exe command to fire from the Resource.xml file.

I have what you want working by firing the command from the Windows 'Run' dialogue.
I have what you want working by setting a shortcut on the desktop that fires the same command, and setting a key combo in the shortcut properties.

The shortcut is the closest I got. Then I read this...

Then I just assign a button on my DJ controller to that keystroke to load that smart list.

If you can assign a button on your DJ controller to fire a keystroke combo, I'm thinking that surely you can assign the same button to launch a program?

If I am correct, then try setting your button to fire this:
MC21.exe /showtreepath "Playlists\Gizmo\01. Mellow\"

The 'tree path' to your desired smartlist goes inside the quotes. It's case sensitive, so make sure the case matches.
Does that work for you?

-marko

[Windcrest77]

Yes I could launch an exe, but that seems like overkill than just sending a keystroke to the exe that is already running and currently plying a song for the public. I was going to assign a list of hockey's to a rotary dials on the controller so I could either "dial" through a set of similar smart lists, and or, assign single buttons to load individual smart lists. Those lists would load to my headphone Zone playlist while the PA system playlist is still playing out the other Zone sound card.

Maybe a future enhancement will add a hot key property to the smart list add/change dialog screen? So each smart list can be assigned a hot key at that time.

[marko]

It's not sending the call to the running application, which is "Media Center 21.exe".

It calls up a small 541Kb file called MC21.exe that resides in the Windows\System32 folder. MC21.exe is a little helper application that can receive commands that are passed to the running application (or launch it if the main program is not running). The change in location within MC is virtually instantaneous. Try it from the Windows "run" tool to see how quick it is, with little or no impact.

These would more or less be a 'set and forget' thing for you, with one caveat:
When we all move to MC22, you would need to edit the strings in you launcher to change the MC21 to MC22.

Even if I could have gotten the command to fire from the resource file, you would have still needed to add a line for each smartlist location, so in that regard, there's not much lost in terms of work involved.

Your intended use for these sounds pretty cool. I would still be tempted to have a go at separate MC21.exe calls for your dials, just to see it working while you wait and see if your request gets any love...

Go on... you know you want to

[Windcrest77]

Thanks Marco,

I'll try the exe.

I think I'm going to add an enhancement request too, whereby a hot key combination can be assigned to a smartlist or playlist on the maintenance screen for those.

If I make the smartlists involved reasonable in size I think the rotary dial for scanning smartlists could work without too much lag also.

I'm using the Allen and Heath xOne K1 controller, putting 10 playlists on a dial would still be easy to dial in, and save 10 buttons.

Rick