Topic: MC Vista Sidebar Gadget v2.0 (Read 98373 times)

lynott · « **Reply #50 on:** October 24, 2008, 05:29:19 am »

Seems to work just perfect

However.... is it possible to reverse the action? Keep the small (details) display on top and show full cover on mouse over.

cncb · « **Reply #51 on:** October 25, 2008, 02:37:02 pm »

Quote from: lynott on October 24, 2008, 05:29:19 am

However.... is it possible to reverse the action? Keep the small (details) display on top and show full cover on mouse over.

Yes - if you only had requested that a few days earlier

. I will try to add it if there is a reason to do another update.

Doof · « **Reply #52 on:** October 25, 2008, 11:44:52 pm »

It just keeps getting better and better.

The full-size cover art is working now. And thanks for the additional hover mode.

The hover is a little flaky sometimes, though. Not sure if it's just me seeing it or not. Sometimes if I hover over it, it works great. Other times it doesn't seem to want to switch. Still other times, it switches on the hover just fine but then gets stuck when I stop hovering. If it's only me, I wouldn't worry about it too much.

mesue · « **Reply #53 on:** October 26, 2008, 11:03:30 am »

I just gave this gadget another look after several months not having it installed. Great improvements! Thanks for all your work on this!

On thing I noticed is that the "Tag Details" info sometimes extends beyond the viewable area where you can't see all the info. If the song is in a lot of playlists, for instance, the "Add to..." link is cut off. I would love to add lyrics here, but they're always going to be cut off. A scroll bar in this screen would be a good solution.

Edit: I remembered what used to bug me about this gadget... whenever it is running, MC does weird things with its focus. Like, if I want to edit something in MC, I have to click on the taskbar button first instead of just clicking anywhere in the MC window. Is there any way to get around this?

eba · « **Reply #54 on:** October 27, 2008, 01:46:52 pm »

Quote from: mesue on October 26, 2008, 11:03:30 am

Edit: I remembered what used to bug me about this gadget... whenever it is running, MC does weird things with its focus. Like, if I want to edit something in MC, I have to click on the taskbar button first instead of just clicking anywhere in the MC window. Is there any way to get around this?

It's the gadget that does this?

This has been driving me crazy for ages, thought it was just some weird thing on my computer...posted about it here http://yabb.jriver.com/interact/index.php?topic=46383 but didn't get anywhere.
Not sure I ever considered that it was the gadget responsible...will be sad to say goodbye to it if it is though

HTPC4ME · « **Reply #55 on:** October 27, 2008, 02:03:56 pm »

Eba is this similiar to what your talking about?

My jriver still locks up on me to where i have to close sidebar gadget then close and EXIT vista sidebar to get my right clicks and edit tags back...

Quote from: xtacbyme on October 09, 2008, 11:00:02 pm

hi cncb

out of curiosity.. are you using this with 13?

Have you noticed right click lock ups with it?

Since i've installed 13 the previous version and most recent i've noticed my right click locks up and i cant use it within 13.. and EVERYTIME it locks up and when i right click i notice sidebar flash on and off. And when i close jriver gadget, then the right click in 13 works as normal and always shows up.

Note.. i do NOT have 12 installed on the machine this happening on so i cant test it with 12.

mesue · « **Reply #56 on:** October 27, 2008, 02:09:16 pm »

It's most definitely the gadget. I had this problem when I used the gadget on my old system. Last spring, I upgraded my computer and went to Vista64, but I didn't reinstall the gadget until yesterday and the focus problem is back. You can probably verify by temporarily turning off the gadget.

I was hoping that there is something in the settings that could work around the issue, because I really enjoy the gadget but the focus thing is quite annoying.

HTPC4ME · « **Reply #57 on:** October 27, 2008, 02:11:00 pm »

pardon my ignorance.. but so i dont keep asking the same issue. is the issue i just described called focus?

thanks and sorry for not knowing the term

mesue · « **Reply #58 on:** October 27, 2008, 02:29:55 pm »

Quote from: xtacbyme on October 27, 2008, 02:11:00 pm

pardon my ignorance.. but so i dont keep asking the same issue. is the issue i just described called focus?

By "focus" I mean making the MC12 window active. When this gadget is installed, the MC12 window appears to be active, but certain things won't work as they should until you click on the taskbar button... like editing fields, right clicking, changing a rating, etc. Once you click the taskbar button, MC behaves normally until another window becomes active and MC loses focus again.

Your issue sounds different since you say it is locking up and that you have to exit the sidebar to resolve it.

HTPC4ME · « **Reply #59 on:** October 27, 2008, 02:35:06 pm »

i've never tried clicking on the taskbar, will see if that works... i just know to fix mine so icould right click edit tags, gt menus back. i figured out i had to close gadget.. then it would work a for abit then i would try editing a tag and no text would input but the sidebar would flash upon every keystroke. but once i went to taskbar exit sidebar then it would works flawlessly.

thanks for clearing that up for me. will be a good test for me when i run into the issue again.

cncb · « **Reply #60 on:** October 27, 2008, 05:05:11 pm »

Quote from: Doof on October 25, 2008, 11:44:52 pm

The hover is a little flaky sometimes, though. Not sure if it's just me seeing it or not. Sometimes if I hover over it, it works great. Other times it doesn't seem to want to switch. Still other times, it switches on the hover just fine but then gets stuck when I stop hovering. If it's only me, I wouldn't worry about it too much.

It seems to work pretty consistently for me. I have seen it not switch back to "full" a few times after I leave the gadget but this seems to be a rare occurrence and I just have to move the mouse over again to fix it.

cncb · « **Reply #61 on:** October 27, 2008, 05:10:30 pm »

I have noticed focus issues on a few occasions but it is not something I can consistently reproduce. The gadget is not in really control of this - it seems like it might be a side effect of using the SDK. Have you tried the new Option to not "Show MC On Connect" to see if it makes a difference? Try to not launch/show the MC UI from the gadget and see if it helps.

mesue · « **Reply #62 on:** October 27, 2008, 05:19:58 pm »

I have "show MC on connect" unchecked and "connect at startup" checked. Wasn't sure if the second option is required if I already run Media Server at startup.

It's consistent for me, but isn't always obvious until you try to edit something.

cncb · « **Reply #63 on:** October 27, 2008, 05:26:49 pm »

Quote from: mesue on October 27, 2008, 05:19:58 pm

I have "show MC on connect" unchecked and "connect at startup" checked. Wasn't sure if the second option is required if I already run Media Server at startup.

It's consistent for me, but isn't always obvious until you try to edit something.

"Connect at startup" just means that when the gadget starts up (i.e. the computer starts up) the gadget will automatically connect to MC instead of manually having to press the gadget "toolbar" button to do so.

What are you trying to edit? I can press buttons on the gadget with MC not in focus and then have no problems going to MC and editing a photo caption in the Tag window, for example.

mesue · « **Reply #64 on:** October 27, 2008, 06:05:53 pm »

Quote from: cncb on October 27, 2008, 05:26:49 pm

What are you trying to edit? I can press buttons on the gadget with MC not in focus and then have no problems going to MC and editing a photo caption in the Tag window, for example.

If I alt-tab to activate the window or click on the taskbar button, everything works fine. But try doing the following just by clicking on the window, and it doesn't work.

Some examples:
click on "stars" to change rating, either in the details grid, or in the now playing display.
click on a field in the tag action window and try to edit something.
click on a field in the details grid, then click again to make it editable, then try typing.
click on a song to select, then try to bring up the right click menu.

Without the gadget, I can do all of the above just by clicking on a visible part of the window to activate it.

cncb · « **Reply #65 on:** October 27, 2008, 07:05:07 pm »

Ok, here is the focus behavior I get with MC13 and the gadget. MC13 stays behind another open window if I just click an open area in MC like you said. However, I can bring MC to the front and "focused" by right-clicking the top title bar/toolbar or just by clicking on one of the top menus. Right-clicking on other areas that brings up a menu also gives MC focus but doesn't bring it to the front until I click on an open area to cancel the context menu. Hopefully this is what you are seeing as well and one of these is an acceptable workaround.

mesue · « **Reply #66 on:** October 27, 2008, 07:08:51 pm »

Those methods don't work in MC12, unfortunately. :-(

cncb · « **Reply #67 on:** October 27, 2008, 07:25:24 pm »

Quote from: mesue on October 27, 2008, 07:08:51 pm

Those methods don't work in MC12, unfortunately. :-(

Sorry. I can't test MC12 to see if I get the same behavior.

eba · « **Reply #68 on:** October 27, 2008, 07:39:24 pm »

One of the symptons I get is MC randomly seeming to lose focus, eg. when selecting something from a right click menu.
i.e. I'll select a song, right click, add to playing now, and suddenly Firefox appears in front, or whatever else I might be using that was previously behind MC. Sometimes this'll happen several times in a row. It's not consistent, therefore is always difficult to test.

And then, like Sue has explained, if nothing is there to appear above MC, it's just a case of MC refusing to take focus properly. Items can be selected, but, for example, the play links under albums don't appear, right click doesn't work, keyboard shortcuts don't work, etc. The only way to focus MC properly is to click the taskbar button.

I've had exactly the same problem with MC12 and 13 (I'm now on 13).

HTPC4ME · « **Reply #69 on:** October 27, 2008, 08:19:02 pm »

ok.. i can confirm your temp fix with this as well

was moving filesand taggin them.and then right click stopped on me, then i closed sidebar gadget and it worked for about a minute, then right click didnt work again so i exited sidebar then it worked for about 30 seconds, then right click stopped again, and i tried the clicking on taskbar. everytime i'd click on taskbar right click would work then once i tried right clicking again right click wouldnt work until i hit the taskbar again.

maybe this should be posted in 12 and 13 forum so others see it?

Berto · « **Reply #70 on:** November 02, 2008, 02:25:15 pm »

I downloaded MC.gadget.zip, renamed the file by deleting the zip-extension and double-clicked the remaining MC.gadget.
And then nothing happened. So no gadget.

cncb · « **Reply #71 on:** November 06, 2008, 12:36:34 pm »

Quote from: Berto on November 02, 2008, 02:25:15 pm

I downloaded MC.gadget.zip, renamed the file by deleting the zip-extension and double-clicked the remaining MC.gadget.
And then nothing happened. So no gadget.

I'm not sure why you would not see the install dialog. If you are using a non-US English locale/setup in Vista then I think you have to copy the content of the "en-US" subfolder to an appropriately named subfolder for your locale. This might have to be done in the zip file before installation?

Berto · « **Reply #72 on:** November 06, 2008, 12:42:45 pm »

Quote from: cncb on November 06, 2008, 12:36:34 pm

I'm not sure why you would not see the install dialog. If you are using a non-US English locale/setup in Vista then I think you have to copy the content of the "en-US" subfolder to an appropriately named subfolder for your locale. This might have to be done in the zip file before installation?

Sorry. I do see the installation dialog. I click install, the installation dialog disappears and then nothing happens. And there is no MC gadget in C:\Program Files\Windows Sidebar\Gadgets.

Update:
I renamed the folder en-US to nl-NL before installation and that did the trick. Thanks.

HTPC4ME · « **Reply #73 on:** November 07, 2008, 03:04:06 pm »

hi cncb.. and all with the focus issue... I posted thi elsewhere today after the update of 13.. and issue was still there, i rebooted machine and turned off the jriver gadget and i have been editing tags all day with no problems, and when ever i click on j river it goes on top of other windows.. so all j river issues were fixed when i didnt use the gadget.

Can anything be done about this cncb? I love this gadget and would love to use it.. but for now it just locks me up to much.. especially when editing tags etc.. see my thread from this morning....

Ty for everything!

http://yabb.jriver.com/interact/index.php?topic=49092.0

cncb · « **Reply #74 on:** November 07, 2008, 10:12:41 pm »

Quote from: xtacbyme on November 07, 2008, 03:04:06 pm

hi cncb.. and all with the focus issue... I posted thi elsewhere today after the update of 13.. and issue was still there, i rebooted machine and turned off the jriver gadget and i have been editing tags all day with no problems, and when ever i click on j river it goes on top of other windows.. so all j river issues were fixed when i didnt use the gadget.

The gadget does not do anything special in terms of focus or interacting with MC - it just uses the SDK which seems to be causing problems on your PC. Sorry, I'm not sure why you are having the focus problems (I don't have that behavior).

HTPC4ME · « **Reply #75 on:** November 07, 2008, 10:20:11 pm »

so... im just stuck with out it?

JimH · « **Reply #76 on:** November 08, 2008, 06:47:03 am »

Are you using the same OS? Same settings? Current version?

HTPC4ME · « **Reply #77 on:** November 08, 2008, 09:41:53 am »

windows vista 32, 4 gigs ram, 512 nvidia card, amd athlon 64X2 dual core processor 6000+ 3.01Gz, jriver 13 verion 13.0.69 not sure what version gadget is there? the about i cannot find on it. i have he vista dream scenes turne off, and have als shut off objectdock bar.

settings please see pics

ty

HTPC4ME · « **Reply #78 on:** November 11, 2008, 12:51:59 pm »

Just An Update...today is tuesday and have used jriver consistantly. without the sidebar gadget since Friday.. and i have ediited tags, opened closed numerous times. and no focus loss... so it is Def a sidebar gadget issue

hoping this gets figured out sometime, really loved the gadget and will tough to live without.

mesue · « **Reply #79 on:** November 11, 2008, 01:40:15 pm »

I too have ditched the gadget once again due to this focus issue. It's handy, but not worth the frustration it causes when you need to edit in the main MC window.

JimH · « **Reply #80 on:** November 11, 2008, 01:42:11 pm »

Craig,
We'll try to help if we can. Let us know.

Jim

HTPC4ME · « **Reply #81 on:** November 11, 2008, 01:43:44 pm »

Not sure about others, but i know i WOULD pay for this gadget!

cncb · « **Reply #82 on:** November 11, 2008, 07:10:58 pm »

Can you try the test version of the gadget that I attached to this post? It will look like it is still trying to connect and not update the track information or play state but the control buttons will still work. See if you still have focus problems.

mesue · « **Reply #83 on:** November 11, 2008, 07:21:38 pm »

I don't have the focus problem with this version of the gadget.

Quote from: cncb on November 11, 2008, 07:10:58 pm

Can you try the test version of the gadget that I attached to this post? It will look like it is still trying to connect and not update the track information or play state but the control buttons will still work. See if you still have focus problems.

cncb · « **Reply #84 on:** November 13, 2008, 01:24:53 pm »

Quote from: mesue on November 11, 2008, 07:21:38 pm

I don't have the focus problem with this version of the gadget.

Thanks. Anyone else?

HTPC4ME · « **Reply #85 on:** November 13, 2008, 01:45:43 pm »

ive been doing alot of tagging and have had the sidebar gadget down since.. no lockups focus issues at all. ill be done tagging in a couple hours, will reboot, and then run for a day and try to tag with new version....

sorry for delay in reply.

eba · « **Reply #86 on:** November 13, 2008, 05:29:03 pm »

Quote from: cncb on November 13, 2008, 01:24:53 pm

Thanks. Anyone else?

I have been trying it and had no problems, although admittedly it has always been a somewhat intermittent problem on mine anyway.
Sorry, a bit lacking in testing time at the moment!

Thanks

HTPC4ME · « **Reply #87 on:** November 14, 2008, 04:59:25 pm »

tried this version of the gadget it says connecting, doesnt show track info or the popup to choose 5 stars etc.. controls do work and no focus issues.

ty for working on this!!!

Magic_Randy · « **Reply #88 on:** November 15, 2008, 09:04:59 am »

I just tried it for the first time. Very nice...

cncb · « **Reply #89 on:** November 16, 2008, 08:41:15 am »

Ok, those with the focus problems please go back to the regular gadget. Connect the gadget to MC but make sure you don't play anything in MC and see if you still have the focus problems.

mesue · « **Reply #90 on:** November 16, 2008, 11:56:47 am »

Quote from: cncb on November 16, 2008, 08:41:15 am

Ok, those with the focus problems please go back to the regular gadget. Connect the gadget to MC but make sure you don't play anything in MC and see if you still have the focus problems.

When I read this, MC was already playing and the gadget was in my sidebar but not connected (I disabled it from connecting on startup several days ago). When I read your message, I stopped MC and connected the gadget but did not start playing anything. No focus problem, switching back and forth to MC and editing. So then I started playing music again in MC and left the gadget connected. Still no focus issues.

Hope that gives you something useful to nip this in the bud.

cncb · « **Reply #91 on:** November 16, 2008, 12:16:39 pm »

Quote from: mesue on November 16, 2008, 11:56:47 am

When I read this, MC was already playing and the gadget was in my sidebar but not connected (I disabled it from connecting on startup several days ago). When I read your message, I stopped MC and connected the gadget but did not start playing anything. No focus problem, switching back and forth to MC and editing. So then I started playing music again in MC and left the gadget connected. Still no focus issues.

So you only have focus issues when you connect the gadget and MC is already playing something? Or is it due to the MC program being already open and running (instead of the gadget launching/starting MC)?

mesue · « **Reply #92 on:** November 16, 2008, 02:06:13 pm »

I think it is this:

Quote from: cncb on November 16, 2008, 12:16:39 pm

Or is it due to the MC program being already open and running (instead of the gadget launching/starting MC)?

Here is how I am able to replicate the problem:

Close MC window and exit via media server tray icon.
Make sure no MC task is running via task manager and gadget is showing "not connected."
Connect gadget.
Wait until gadget shows stopped.
Start playing via play button on gadget.
Show Media Center via Tray Icon.
Focus problem occurs.

As far as I can tell, if MC is started *before* the gadget connects, then everything is okay--I have not extensively tested this, but I think that's the issue. I also tried it using the same steps as above, but starting playback in the MC window instead of in the gadget and it did the same thing (focus problem).

I normally run media server at startup, but I am using WinPatrol to do a delayed start. So when I had "connect at startup" enabled in the gadget, it was launching the MC process before my delayed startup process could run and I would have the focus problem.

Now that I changed the gadget to not connect on startup, it allows media server to start the MC process on its own, and then connecting the gadget to an already running MC does not trigger the problem.

Maybe an option in the gadget for "Connect when MC is running" would be better than having the gadget launch MC?

This is all with MC12, by the way.

cncb · « **Reply #93 on:** November 16, 2008, 09:26:31 pm »

If it turns out to be solved by having MC open before connecting the gadget then this should be pretty easy to fix. Please everyone do some more testing to see if this is indeed the case.

Edit: This may be it. When I connect the gadget and MC is not running I get the minor focus weirdness where I have to right-click MC to bring it to the front when it is behind another window. If I connect when MC is already running a normal, single click focuses MC and brings it to the front. I hope this solves it for everyone else as I know how to fix this easily.

cncb · « **Reply #94 on:** November 18, 2008, 03:20:08 pm »

I posted an update that makes sure MC is running before the gadget connects. I hope this resolves the focus issues everyone is having.

eba · « **Reply #95 on:** November 18, 2008, 04:49:05 pm »

Thank You!

HTPC4ME · « **Reply #96 on:** November 19, 2008, 07:30:12 pm »

WORKS AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

TY TY TY TY!!

mesue · « **Reply #97 on:** November 19, 2008, 08:09:37 pm »

Thanks! Also noticed the scroll bar in the tag details... much appreciated!

cncb · « **Reply #98 on:** November 20, 2008, 11:12:42 pm »

I'm glad it seems to be working for all of you now.

BullishDad · « **Reply #99 on:** November 25, 2008, 06:54:03 pm »

I would like to try this, but I can't seem to install it. I've been using a Google Sidebar. Does that have to be replaced with the Vista Sidebar?

From the opening post, I've downloaded MC.gadget.zip. This shows as a compressed folder call MC.gadget. I've renamed this, but it stays as a zipped folder. Then, I've double clicked and files are extracted. I've tried double clicking on what's been extracted, but nothing runs an install program.

I realize this is probably basic stuff to people familiar with using a sidebar, but I need help to get this going. Thanks.

INTERACT FORUM

Author Topic: MC Vista Sidebar Gadget v2.0 (Read 98373 times)