XWidgetSoft Forum

This is a simple media player Xwidget based on the old Steampunk Volume XWidget that will play your music and take up only a tiny amount of your desktop. It is a lovely piece of eye-candy as well as being useful on your desktop. An old trial widget that I never quite completed, knocked into minimal shape. It works. I was going to do a lot more but it'll have to suffice.

Due to the limitations of the Xwidget engine's media player core I decided to create a Yahoo widget using the same design. It is worthwhile noting the differences between the two widgets. The design on the Xwidget was significantly easier to accomplish given the graphical GUI and the use of the media player core. I was able to assign functionality to various parts of the widget without much coding at all. The documentation of the mediaplayer and its controls is sketchy to say the least but by divination and looking at other's widgets I was able to see how the media player core operates. It is a working widget but it is awkward for the user to operate as the media player core does not easily allow you to play a file immediately, instead you have to open the actual media player in order to play a playlist. Rather defeats the purpose. Adding a file to the playlist is easily achieved but the widget won't play it straight away.

Coding for the yahoo widget is much more tricky as there are no cores to interface into the Windows Media player, although there is complete and thorough documentation. You have to interface the widget via a COM object to the windows player OCX. You can then submit player commands to operate the player so you have complete control via code. Unfortunately you need to do everything by hand, things such as play/pause buttons changing and the widget reacting to the track duration all have to be controlled by timers, xml and javascript. The Yahoo widget took twice as long to create as the Xwidget version but the end result is better than the Xwidget version. The user can select the track to play, choose a complete folder to play and it will restart using the same default music folder. Some of the complexity is due to the use of the Windows Media player which is not a native player to the Yahoo widget engine. It has a complete API for itunes and it would have been much easier to create an itunes-controlling widget.

I'll add the yahoo widget here too (later when it is finished) so you can try it to see the difference, you can even also disassemble the widget and view the code to see how much more complex the Yahoo widget is. It will also help you realise what complexity is built into the Xwidget media player core.

The Yahoo version of the Xwidget Media player is almost complete but I have to say it was a lot more of a workload than the Xwidget version. The mediaplayer core in Xwidget does a lot of the heavy lifting for you so you can just create a widget in a short time. The Yahoo widget has all the API calls to the Windows Media Player, in fact it has a lot more than the Xwidget core provides but the coding to implement sliders &C all has to be done by hand. It is relatively simple enough to do but there is interaction between the various controls that needs to be considered and it requires thought and careful programming in javascript.

The end result is a working Konfabulator widget in javascript. It is still being tested and used on my desktop and I won't post it here until it is bug free. I will update the Xwidget version too in order to keep them in synch. The Konfabulator/Yahoo version will stand as a comparison as to how much extra complexity is required without the heavy-lifting being done by one of Tony's cores. It will also show how limited Tony's mediaplayer core is and how much more functionality is required, as Jim said the mediaplayer core in Xwidget is lacking functionality.

I have finished the Yahoo widget version of the steampunk Media Player.







You can find it here at Deviantart Art. It is worth opening up and looking into as it really shows the difference between javascript Yahoo widgets and Xwidget 'core' widgets.



My next task is to update the Xwidget version so it partially matches functionality. It is quite close as it is but a few subtle changes will be needed.

(Jim, please do not delete this post just because it is not specifically referring to an Xwidget. It is very pertinent to Xwidget as it shows the difference in complexity between Xwidget/Ywidgets - not just that, it is also an indicator of how much work needs to be done to Xwidget media player core to complete functionality - In addition I will also be testing the Xwidget version to see whether it can incorporate some of the COM embedding functionality to allow more functionality in the Xwidget version)

I have knocked the steampunk media player yahoo widget into shape having based it entirely on the Xwidget version.

You'll see it looks identical and is functionally equivalent except for a few important enhancements.

I have attached it here as a zipped-up .widget file for playing with the konfabulator/yahoo widget engine. It is named Steampunk MediaPlayer Ywidget.zip.

It can be disassembled from a widget to a folder and flatfiles using the widget converter here:

This will allow you to access the source code and images just as you would for Xwidgets. The source code is contained within the .js files. I have added one of the .js files in mediplayer.zip attached.

If you take the opportunity to have a look at the code you'll see how much more complex the yahoo widget version is with regard to the amount and complexity of the code. The Xwidget cores do all the heavy-lifting for you lucy Xwidgeteers.

Nevertheless, the yahoo widget version is unfortunately better than the widget due to the xwidget media player core lacking some key features.

This is version 2.0.0 RC of the Steampunk Media Player XWidget - updated.

It is now functionally identical to the Yahoo widget version. I have stripped out all Tony's Xwidget media player functionality and now it uses only ActiveX calls to select and play the tracks. if you look at the code within the two widgets it is almost exactly the same.



// fixed a bug preventing the autoplay selection from working
// fixed a bug with next/previous play not working after a restart with autoplay disabled

// tooltips for all items
// checks for valid folder before playing
// when saving a playlist, checks it is an XML file.
// default music folder should be C:\Users\Public\Music
// selecting a CD from the folder menu works from the menu too.
// unknown file types such as .flv - if Windows will not play the filetype then pop up an error message.

// allows dragging and dropping onto an existing playlist.
// utilises the fonts read from the registry.
// all prefs save successfully
// all prefs opened successfully
// play list text highlighted correctly
// loads of smaller bugfixes.
// refresh after shuffle
// fixed the lack of keypress capture
// drag drop onto the playlist areas
// drag drop onto the pipes
// "Page No." needs a background to be readable
// .MPG capitalised suffixes handled
// write a .xml playlist
// dragging three files to the playlist, it excludes the last file
// bug when selecting the beyond the first chunk not found
// all the prefs need to be read when the widget is opened
// xml write/read bug with path e:\music not setting correctly
// font issue resolved - now reads the fonts from the registry
// preference screens added

Having two widgets from two different engines using the same code base is exceedingly useful. When one receives an enhancement it can be easily applied to the other. Testing is the same and bug-fixing in one is equally applicable to the other.

The biggest benefit to me is the removal of Tony's poor quality media player core that was so limited in functionality. Working with the windows media player using ActiveX means that you have full control over your audio media. In comparison to Tony's crippled media player core you now have a fully working media player.

Great work! Thanks for sharing

_________________
...and remember: don't take life too seriously...
My profile on Deviantart: http://jimking.deviantart.com/

Just submitted 1.0.9 of the yahoo widget media player and RC 2.0 of the xwidget

Bugs fixed.

The conversion process for migrating from yahoo to xwidget is here:

Just submitted 1.0.10 of the yahoo widget media player and another release candidate for version 2.0 of the xwidget

// added a message when a root folder is selected.
// added a preference to allow the bottom tracklist buttons to be retained on screen.
// added deletion buttons
// changed red tap to a hints toggle
// added sounds for the chain pull and the keypresses
// bundle the Centurion SF light font with the widget
// added the extraction of the font and the menu option to install
// bug when cancelling after pressing the F to read an XML file - fixed

Just submitted another RC 1.0.10 of the yahoo widget media player and another release candidate for version 2.0 of the xwidget

// allow deletion of a track from the playlist via a pop up metal/red X when the mouse hovers over a track
// grouped the bottom keys, to correspond to the Xwidget changes that allow correct fade
// modify the drop position to take into account the page number
// added the ability to delete a track from the playlist
// fixed a bug with the zorder of the position slider

This is version 2.0.1 of the Steampunk Media Player XWidget - updated - please try it. This is now the final version so if it does not work for you please tell me! There were two remaining bugs, one with the menu failing to update and the other concerned saving the preferences in Win10. Win10 has a problem saving .INI files in the program's default folder if that folder is within one of the two program files folders. When UAC is enabled and switched to secure it prevents the .INI file that is used to store preference data from being written to. When the user makes a change that requires the preference file to be written, the write doesn't happen. As a solution, I have created a default .INI in the program's folder which it copies into the user's documents folder. It uses that version from that point onward.

// added code to better handle the prefsFileName
// added read from default ini file in Xwidget folder
// added write to new ini file in user documents folder due to Win10 protection of the program files folders
// saves the chosen folders to the main menu

I still have a tiny bit more to do but it should work better now.

The Yahoo widget version provided here for reference and comparison, the code is more or less identical.

Version 1.0.13 of the Yahoo widget is available now, I am just converting the javascript code to the Xwidget and version 2.0.2 of the Xwidget will be the result.


The above image shows the yahoo widget and two copies of the Xwidget in operation as well as other Yahoo/Xwidget widgets.

The Yahoo widget is here:



The way I work is to implement the functionality I want using the dependable old Yahoo Widget engine as it supports 'standard' javascript out-of-the-box. Then I convert the Yahoo Widget code to Xwidget and discover the jscript/xwidget incompatibilities. This way I am less frustrated by Xwidget's incomplete documentation and suspect implementation of APIs from the command line. I have started doing this already.

Those incompatibilities include:

boolean values are inconsistent/buggy

There is a bug in Xwidgets that causes the evaluation of boolean conditional statements to process incorrectly. True or False are both ignored.

Foreach loops not recognised

Next we encounter problems in javascript with ForEach loops. Yahoo widgets allows the use of ForEach loops where a function can be performed on any element in an array and return a result. These loops are not valid under Xwidget and a runtime error is generated.

Xwidget has no implementation of the onMouseDrag event.

This makes it difficult to implement a slider of some sort in code. Xwidget has all the other events onMouseDown, onMouseEnter &c but onMouseDrag has not been implemented which is a strange omission.

The conversion process is documented here:


When I have updated the Xwidget to correspond the Yahoo widget functionality I will post the result here. It will be version 2.0.2.


The one on the right is the Xwidget.

I've updated the Steampunk Media Player XWidget to version 2.0.2 RC. You can only get it here for the moment:

At the moment it is just a release candidate, unfinished and it still has a bit of work required to bring it up to the same level as the Yahoo widget of the same name.

This is version 2.0.2 of the Steampunk Media Player XWidget - This is a release candidate for 2.0.2 - under development now.



TEST FOR ME PLEASE.

The changes to XWidget version bringing it line with the Yahoo widget, allowing internal drag and drops, videos playing in an external viewer, opens and saves standard XSPF playlists &c.

I still have a tiny bit more to do but it should work well enough.

-oOo-

// new switch to allow xpsf files to be saved top left red tap - implemented
// xml/ xpsf tooltips change on all relevant buttons
// capture ctrl keypress - done
// new U side button to open a URL
// add a rotating timer to the URL search after play
// change URL Search button to download and play
// add the enter key play after a valid URL entered
// two additional prefs functions - fade and resizing
// additional prefs functions - autoplay - added
// key fade functionality fixed by reverting to the timer method used in the YWE version
// additional prefs save and initialise for fade - added
// lighting the back of the page number - done
// resizing now corrected and enabled with a CTRL press as per the YWE version
// add search box - done - code for search to be completed
// function to save the last used music folder path - number 4
// add a tooltip to the clear playlist drop down
// after clearing the playlist - right clicking on the playlist only - partlyselectedtrack error 3517 in Xwidget only
// if the drag and drop point is the same the onMouseUp should clear the track-hover, the bug is the same on the YWE version
// key fade optimised to use less cpu
// dragging internally, seems to be working - but not downward drags
// ctrl+c + ctrl+v - working as expected
// test external dragging - single and multiple files good
// test external dragging - folders
// when opening a folder by dragging/dropping - alert that this will replace the current play list
// ctrl+x & ctrl+v - not allowing a paste afterward
// after clearing the playlist, right clicking causes repopulation of the same playlist. Xwidget engine bug.
// fixed the debugflg setting

I've re-uploaded the Yahoo and Xwidget latest versions in the posts above.

More incompatibilites include:

1. On a fileopen dialog box, xwidget responds with a "" and not null if cancelled.

2. if a string is undefined then a string.lowercase function will fail with an undefined object error, YWE is not so picky.

3. If you do a right click on an object that has the OnMouseDown event captured then both left mouse clicks and right mouse clicks mistakenly generate an event.