Rockbox Technical Forums

Support and General Use => User Interface and Voice => Topic started by: contractartist on April 09, 2008, 10:33:40 AM

Title: Rockbox with no gui
Post by: contractartist on April 09, 2008, 10:33:40 AM
For those who have sandisk versions e260, and have broken the LCD screen, and just want it to play music again.....I am sure there are other media players out there longing for someone to bring them a new "NON gui menu OS" please help!
Title: Re: Rockbox with no gui
Post by: MarcGuay on April 09, 2008, 10:39:56 AM
What are you saying/asking?
Title: Re: Rockbox with no gui
Post by: LambdaCalculus on April 09, 2008, 10:46:47 AM
I think he's asking for something Rockbox already does (http://www.rockbox.org/twiki/bin/view/Main/VoiceHowto).
Title: Re: Rockbox with no gui
Post by: contractartist on April 09, 2008, 11:04:22 AM
Ok,..... I want to know how to set up a config file so rockbox auto updates the database, and sets itself to play all tracks, with shuffle on, without the need for a menu system. As I want to install it on a sandisk sansa e260 that does not have a funtional LCD screen.
Title: Re: Rockbox with no gui
Post by: MarcGuay on April 09, 2008, 11:19:39 AM
When you install Rockbox for the first time the menus should be voiced.  Which would let you do what you want and more.
Title: Re: Rockbox with no gui
Post by: contractartist on April 09, 2008, 11:59:19 AM
I thank you both for your help. But this is not what I've been asking. I have a sandisk sansa e260 with a broken LCD screen, I only need music playback, from the very start, not lots of menu's to listen through to find the update database, and then to playback, I'm asking for help setting up a autorun config file, to bypass all but the (database update) and then play all/shuffle.
Title: Re: Rockbox with no gui
Post by: MarcGuay on April 09, 2008, 12:16:52 PM
You don't need the database to update as you won't be using it.  There are many easy ways to create a playlist of all the songs on your player, and simply leaving the shuffle option on will take care of that aspect.  Having a custom script run at boot time would require you to patch your own build, I do believe.
Title: Re: Rockbox with no gui
Post by: contractartist on April 09, 2008, 12:39:56 PM
any suggestions on where to start? Or how to add a script, what line in what file do you edit?
Title: Re: Rockbox with no gui
Post by: MarcGuay on April 09, 2008, 01:01:28 PM
I guess searching the manual for the actions you want it to perform would be a good place to start.  Then finding how those actions are triggered in the code.  Then finding out the where's and what's of the Rockbox bootup process, and calling those functions in there.  Just using logic here, by the way, I have no practical experience modifying the code in this way.

The other option is much simpler:  Learn the two seconds worth of navigation required to do this manually.  
Title: Re: Rockbox with no gui
Post by: Chronon on April 09, 2008, 01:50:53 PM
How about this idea:

1) Set your start screen to the file browser.  
2) Create a playlist of your music library and save it to the root of your player.
3) Hide all other files/folders in the root.
4) When you start up the playlist will be the only selectable file.

You shouldn't need the screen to do any of this.  The settings can be set with a .cfg file. The creation of the .cfg file and the other operations can be done from your computer.
Title: Re: Rockbox with no gui
Post by: MarcGuay on April 09, 2008, 01:59:29 PM
Or, perhaps even easier...

Have the start screen set to the database (I assume this is possible), so that when the player starts up you simply have to click into All Tracks and then click once more to create a playlist of all the files.  With database auto-update and random on this should do the trick pretty quickly.
Title: Re: Rockbox with no gui
Post by: Chronon on April 09, 2008, 02:04:55 PM
That method wins because you don't have to hide any folders/files.  Just make a .cfg file that sets all of those properties and you're set.
Title: Re: Rockbox with no gui
Post by: MarcGuay on April 09, 2008, 02:16:34 PM
I want to know how to set up a config file so...

If you go through the menus using the voice and set up all the options the way we've described (with the help of the manual, of course), the options will be written to the config file and loaded the next time you start up.  It's also possible to type them manually into a .cfg file, I just thought I'd provide a second option.  There's also a page in the wiki called MenuLayoutDiscussion or something like that which has the Rockbox menu structure written out almost in it's entirety, which could be useful.
Title: Re: Rockbox with no gui
Post by: Chronon on April 09, 2008, 02:30:26 PM
You'll find this wiki page helpful:
CustomConfigFile (http://www.rockbox.org/twiki/bin/view/Main/CustomConfigFile)
Title: Re: Rockbox with no gui
Post by: nls on April 09, 2008, 04:55:26 PM
I would go for.

1) setting up voice ui (real easy, just download a voicefile and copy to your player)

2) enable auto resume (Start screen: resume playback) and shuffle, repeat and whatever other options you like.

3) create a playlist of all your tracks (see manual or do it on a computer)

and it will resume playing that playlist when started.
Title: Re: Rockbox with no gui
Post by: MarcGuay on April 09, 2008, 05:41:00 PM
3) create a playlist of all your tracks (see manual or do it on a computer)

and it will resume playing that playlist when started.

With a Rockbox generated playlist, how would it react to having songs added and removed from the drive?  Wouldn't the playlist still have an entry for it, point to... nowhere?  And not contain new songs without updating it manually?
Title: Re: Rockbox with no gui
Post by: bascule on April 10, 2008, 05:11:05 AM
True, but if the OP wants the player to auto-resume a shuffled playlist of all tracks and for that playlist to automatically be updated when music is added/removed, then there is no easy way to do that.

This is because, although the database can auto-update on start, there is no config option that allows auto-resume of a database selection (such as 'All Tracks').

If this is what the OP wants, then the only practical way is using voice solely in order to navigate to the database and select 'All Tracks' when the player starts.

Or, I guess, every time music is added/removed, you would need to manually re-create the existing playlist of all tracks, keeping the name the same, so the auto-resume would pick up the new playlist. I'm not sure if this would screw up the playlist_control functionality, though...?
Title: Re: Rockbox with no gui
Post by: Chronon on April 10, 2008, 01:11:20 PM
This is because, although the database can auto-update on start, there is no config option that allows auto-resume of a database selection (such as 'All Tracks').

Sure, but couldn't you edit a custom tagnavi_custom.config so that the top database listing already applies a filter that generates all tracks?  Then if you have your start screen as the database you only need two keypresses to have your shuffled playlist back.  No uncertain navigation required.

I guess it's a decision over whether auto-resume is more important to the user or auto-update.
Title: Re: Rockbox with no gui
Post by: bascule on April 11, 2008, 03:38:02 AM
I guess it's a decision over whether auto-resume is more important to the user or auto-update.

Exactly right. I did think about the custom database option, but it appeared that auto-resume was the most important factor. Still, given that the OP hasn't been back on the forum since shortly after posting, we may never know...

I stand corrected.
Title: Re: Rockbox with no gui
Post by: contractartist on April 11, 2008, 08:34:44 AM
This is great! Thanks for your help...I did get it up and running with voice.....However I am still in want for a trimmed down version of rockbox, with less menus, and settings, just basic audio playback.......This would be good for those people who own music players without a funtioning or present LCD screen.......This would add new life to what would seam a dead device, or simplify playback for those who want a "no frills" custom firmware . So please tell me some .cfg options... I've already read the manual, now I'd like some info on how to set auto database update on start, and a default start directory......I did not see thease options in the PDF.....and thanks again!
Title: Re: Rockbox with no gui
Post by: MarcGuay on April 11, 2008, 08:51:43 AM
Search for "auto update" and "start screen".
Title: Re: Rockbox with no gui
Post by: Chronon on April 11, 2008, 12:18:55 PM
Also, did you check out the CustomConfigFile wiki page that I linked to on the first page?  That should have a complete list of the possible settings you can specify.
Title: Re: Rockbox with no gui
Post by: siber_cat314 on April 12, 2008, 04:16:59 PM
Although this seems to be resolved, I have an additional option, if you want to mess with the source.
If you define AUTOSTART in the compile, Rockbox will look for autostart.rock and run it at boot. If that plugin, say, searched the player for all audio tracks, put them into a playlist, and set that as the current playlist, then started playback, then Rockbox would do exactly what the original poster asked.