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[Matt]

Overview
Media Center 19.0.50 adds the ability to set the size of the user interface in Standard View with the Noire skin.  This is similar to zooming in a web browser.

There are many cases where this could be helpful: high DPI displays, 4k, touch, old eyes, televisions, etc.

How to Use
You can set the size in the main menu under View > Size.  

The setting is only available when using a supported skin.  Currently the Noire (the default) is the only supported skin.

If you use a size other than 100%, it will be silently reverted to 100% if you load a skin that does not support sizing.

Screenshots
These images show the basic idea:
MC with 80% size
MC with 125% size

You can see that it looks like the entire program was zoomed in or out.  However, the text and cover art remain pixel-perfect sharp at all zoom settings.  

A skin can also provide higher resolution buttons, images, etc. so it looks better at zoom levels above 100%.  We're working on updating the default Noire skin.

Expectations / Limitations
This feature is useful now, but there will be dialogs that need tuning, skin items that need tuning, etc. for the next few months.

Skins need to be updated to support sizing, and to include high resolution assets.  We will focus only on the default skin Noire for v19.

The feature will eventually be used to improve the experience on a Mac retina screen (where we will effectively run at 200%, but look like an extra-sharp 100%).

[Matt]

reserved

[MrHaugen]

This looks pretty useful! For touch pads etc, it might be a viable option to use over theater view. And yes, the 4K TV's will probably need this.

[6233638]

Are there going to be changes to the skinning engine to help support this?
For example SVG support, or being able to draw gradients without using images? (like CSS3)

[Matt]

Are there going to be changes to the skinning engine to help support this?
For example SVG support, or being able to draw gradients without using images? (like CSS3)

From above:

A skin can also provide higher resolution buttons, images, etc. so it looks better at zoom levels above 100%.  We're working on updating the default Noire skin.

It may be a few weeks before the sharper version of Noire is ready.  We'll do the small icons and Action Window icons after that.

The images may be vector based as we make them, but the skinning engine will use them as PNG files.

[6233638]

From above:
It may be a few weeks before the sharper version of Noire is ready.  We'll do the small icons and Action Window icons after that.
The images may be vector based as we make them, but the skinning engine will use them as PNG files.

I see. I just thought it might be more forward thinking to use vector graphics and natively drawing gradients within the UI, rather than packing in multiple sizes of rasterized images (or simple using large ones) and having them scaled down.

[MrHaugen]

Perhaps that will be added later?

[MrC]

Wow.  The titlebar text of the Rename tool is HUGE.

[Matt]

Wow.  The titlebar text of the Rename tool is HUGE.

All text should scale equally.

If you're not seeing the text scale, go into Options > Tree & View and pick a font (even if it's the same).  There's a bug requiring this that will be fixed next build.

Some things may not resize nicely until a restart of the program (but hopefully not too many).

[MrC]

Ah, yes.  That's what you noticed last night.  Resolved.

[MrC]

It would be great if there can be a keyboard shortcut to increase/decrease the scaling, like Ctrl-plus, Ctrl-minus and of course Ctrl-mousewheel.

[kstuart]

Thanks for this, it is a very helpful feature !   

Two really good features this week.

[Matt]

As I mentioned above, we're working on updating the default skin Noire for better high DPI or high scale support.

Our plan is to provide nice looking artwork up to 4x, so that running at 200% size on a retina screen (which is also 200%) will look crisp.

It's a work in progress, but you can see a preview of the difference here:
Original at 200%
Updated at 200%

We're going to work on the small icons next.

[6233638]

This is looking a lot better now. Would it be possible to detect the OS that MC is running on and skin appropriately?
I appreciate the move to more native-style min/max/close buttons, but I'm running Windows 8, not Vista.

[audioriver]

Nice feature. Could you make it Zone-specific, to accommodate different displays?

[instigator]

Suggestion. Right now as it is, this new feature is welcomed but for skin developers (personally I think) that is not well thought out. Perhaps, as like some others do, a way to let developers add multiple image files for same control but used based on the actual size (ex. an image to use if size <80%, another between 80 and 120, and so on, always defined by the skin developer).
Right now as it is, for skin developers, is a serious pain in the ass.
Also maybe (hopefully) is time to add some new features for the delight of skin developers (icons per skin, ability to change boldness and size of fonts in almost all text controls, and the list can continue to grow...)

[instigator]

Just an example. This is a new skin I work tonight. At 100%

And at 150%

How do I supossed to do in order to make clean and well defined frames for rounded images?

[Matt]

How do I supossed to do in order to make clean and well defined frames for rounded images?

This is still in development.  You could look at Noire to see how we're doing it.

Feel free to start a thread if you have specific suggestions.

[bmoura]

I'll take a look at this.

Question: has there been work on a Metro/Windows 8.1 version of JRiver?  That's what I'm really after - a full touch version for my Yoga Pro 2.

[JimH]

There is no Metro version.

[New Vermaje]

Hello !

...and ability to set the size of cover art in standard wiev ?

Thanks

Jean-Marc

[6233638]

...and ability to set the size of cover art in standard wiev ?

There is a slider in the upper-right corner to adjust thumbnail size.

[New Vermaje]

To 6233638 who said : "There is a slider in the upper-right corner to adjust thumbnail size"

Ok but this tool is used for all types of images.  

I need a tool to adjust the size of the covers art in Standard View / Track Info / Noire  

Jean-Marc
 

[Matt]

The latest build updates the artwork in the program that will improve the experience when using the size feature:
http://yabb.jriver.com/interact/index.php?topic=85535.0

[forbigd]

Thanks for the new feature. Is there any way we can just make the scroll bars bigger? My fat fingered friends can't hit the scroll bar every time with their finger tip, If it was twice as wide, it would be a great help. I don't need the whole thing bigger, just the scroll bars. Is that a skin option? I can't figure it out if it is.

Don

[winniew]

Today I started to play with the new Standard View size-feature for my copy of "Noire" ("BlueNoire").
I changed the "List_Rating.png" to 180x64 px ( 4 x old size 45x16 px).
In the "main.xml" I changed the section <LIST>:

Code: [Select]

<LIST>:
..
<Entry Name="Rating" Bitmap="List_Rating_skaliert4_scratch2.png" NumberImages="3" Scale="4"/>
..
</LIST>

This changes the quality of the Rating-stars as expected.
But each time I change the view the Rating column gets resized!
Is it possible to change that behaviour (with some magic in the main.xml..)?

Thanks

WinnieW

[winniew]

Gentle bump

[6233638]

I don't think it should matter, but generally scale is used before the number of images.
In my skin, this code works just fine:

Code: [Select]

<Entry Name="Rating" Bitmap="List_Rating.png" Scale="4" NumberImages="3" />
For some reason, it appears to be resizing the column to twice the width that it should be with your skin. (I assume you are at 200% scale)

[winniew]

I don't think it should matter, but generally scale is used before the number of images.
In my skin, this code works just fine:

Code: [Select]

<Entry Name="Rating" Bitmap="List_Rating.png" Scale="4" NumberImages="3" />
For some reason, it appears to be resizing the column to twice the width that it should be with your skin. (I assume you are at 200% scale)

I just tried it with my old main.xml and the scaled List_Rating:
Now it's OK with all view-sizes, the resizing of the column is OK.

I must confess, that I didn't try it again since my last post in December 2013. Would not have expected a change.

Thank you 6233638!

[Matt]

Suggestion. Right now as it is, this new feature is welcomed but for skin developers (personally I think) that is not well thought out. Perhaps, as like some others do, a way to let developers add multiple image files for same control but used based on the actual size (ex. an image to use if size <80%, another between 80 and 120, and so on, always defined by the skin developer).
Right now as it is, for skin developers, is a serious pain in the ass.
Also maybe (hopefully) is time to add some new features for the delight of skin developers (icons per skin, ability to change boldness and size of fonts in almost all text controls, and the list can continue to grow...)

Thanks for the feedback.

Could you provide a little more detail on what you're describing?  I'm struggling to follow it completely.  Thanks.