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Author Topic: Enhancement Request: Add [Elapsed Time] & [Remaining Time] to Taskbar Tooltip  (Read 592 times)

markf2748

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The special functions [Elapsed Time] and [Remaining Time] work nicely for customizing Player Bar text at the top of the MC window (apparently these are Player Bar Functions, not ordinary fields).

Request:  If possible, please make these two special functions available for customizing the Taskbar Tooltip popup message which appears when mouse hovers over the active MC icon in the Windows task bar. 
(output text set by expression in Options > General > Advanced > Taskbar Tooltip:)
Note:  If necessary, it would be acceptable to statically display their values at time of mouseover since the text display only lasts a few seconds anyway.

Example expression:
Code: [Select]
[Name] | [Artist] | [Album] 'right([date (year)],2)  ([Track #]//[Total Tracks]   [Duration])When included in this expression, the two requested functions display as string literal text instead of producing their desired output as in the Player Bar.

Reference:  The only documentation which I have found for these special Player Bar Functions is in this post:
https://yabb.jriver.com/interact/index.php/topic,125477.msg868339.html#msg868339

Correction:  [Time Remaining] --> [Remaining Time]
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markf2748

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The special functions [Elapsed Time] and [Remaining Time] work nicely for customizing Player Bar text at the top of the MC window (apparently these are Player Bar Functions, not ordinary fields
Finally found some clarification:  These are actually Player Bar variables, accessible through the customization window's drop down menus (upper left corner "triangle" of respective windows).  So what I am really asking for is that these same variables be accessible when editing the Taskbar Tooltip message, which currently happens in Options > General > Advanced > Taskbar Tooltip:.  i.e. bring up a Taskbar Tooltip edit window similar to Player Bar's Customize Display...

Use Case:  Quickly see more of the player state without opening the standard or mini-view windows.  This is particularly useful when the MC computer does double duty.  For example, MC playing music while doing software development or using other apps, and you do not want to interrupt that other work by changing screens.

Player Bar Customization Reference:
https://yabb.jriver.com/interact/index.php/topic,87791.msg601388.html#msg601388

FYI:
[Artist] and [Name] were added as a Windows Taskbar Tooltip in MC 25.0.79 (7/17/2019):
https://yabb.jriver.com/interact/index.php/topic,121465.msg839869.html#msg839869

Limited expressions were added to the Windows Taskbar Tooltip in 28.0.98 (1/6/2022):
https://yabb.jriver.com/interact/index.php/topic,131601.msg912465.html#msg912465
(the thread also requests additional features, so far not implemented).

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Matt

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The taskbar text is updated once each song.  So things like [Elapsed Time] couldn't work unless we replumbed a bit.
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Matt Ashland, JRiver Media Center

blgentry

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I think Mark is looking for mini-player functionality in the taskbar icon. 

Brian.
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markf2748

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I think Mark is looking for mini-player functionality in the taskbar icon. 

Brian.
Excellent observation - very well stated.  So how about this alternative (option?):  Do not use MC's current Taskbar Popup (a micro-sized version of the Mini-Player) and its Tooltip when mouse hovers over the MC Taskbar Icon.   Instead mouse hover over Taskbar icon brings up an active full-sized Mini-Player (with the user's preset width), but auto-positioned near bottom of screen, above the Taskbar.  Then have it auto-disappear when mouse moves away, just as the popup does now.  Seems to me that would be perfect, since it displays whatever text info I have customized into the Player Bar at a readable size (and colorized!) and gives quick complete control (with normal size buttons to boot).

Note:  I can mimic some of the desired behavior now by clicking on hovering over the MC Taskbar icon if I do the extra initial setup of selecting, sizing, and positioning Mini-View.  But I normally live inside Standard View and I want to keep it that way, not conflating with Mini-View.  Also, it requires two mouse clicks on the taskbar to get an activated Mini-View, one to activate and one to subsequently dismiss, rather than just flicking mouse motions.  Ideally it would behave more like the Mini-View that pops up in MC's Display View, i.e. an activated Mini-View appears and disappears wholly through mouse motion without any extra clicks - truly well done.

Confession - I have no idea if this is possible (that is, create the active Mini-View from just a hover) within the programming constraints of Windows taskbar icons.

The taskbar text is updated once each song.  So things like [Elapsed Time] couldn't work unless we replumbed a bit.
Thanks for the info.  As is, this is a disappointing limitation in terms of getting current information from the Tasbkar Popup.  It limits the usefulness of the "Temporary View" of the last MC view window, which appears when the hovering mouse moves off the Taskbar Popup's control area (i.e. moves above, or left/right of the control buttons).  More often than not, this "Temporary View" (whether Mini-View or Standard View, according to last MC view window) is seriously untruthful wrt current player state.  A big step forward would be to make the "Temporary View" stateful, while otherwise retaining the current Taskbar Popup's clever behavior.   Perhaps "replumbing" could fix this as well as add tooltip variables like [Elapsed Time].

8/15/2023 Edited for clarity.
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