WPS alternate display technique using album art

[MrMEC]

I'm posting a topic about this because I don't know how much the cover art query (%?C) is being used yet in WPS's, and from what I've seen it doesn't appear to have caught on much yet.  This conditional allows for WPS's using the cover art patch to feature a different display if art is not present - eliminating the need for the typical "blank CD" image to fill up the unused space.  I'm using this all the time now when creating my themes.  

Here's the latest, called Satin, which features an almost completely different layout when no cover art is present:



This is available in the X5 Wiki, along with several others I've done using the technique.  I'd like to see more WPS makers on all targets using this technique for more creative future WPS's!

http://www.rockbox.org/twiki/bin/view/Main/WpsIaudioX5#MarkColeman

[madsic]

If that is an option it's definitely better than inclduing the image in the background.

And gee, those are som nice icons - whoever made those certainly deserves some credit...  [cough cough]  

[MrMEC]

Check the Wiki, I gave you proper credit there (and even linked to your WPS).  But thanks again!

Hopefully others will start making WPS's this way, it's pretty cool to essentially have two different themes in one.

[madsic]

I'm sorry, so you did

[MrMEC]

So...no other comments about this?  Is everyone just absorbing the info about the cover query and leaving to make their own WPS's?  

Has anyone else used this technique yet?  Any examples?

[Yotto]

This technique is fairly common in the iPod 5G (video) WPS Wiki.
When I have time, my next try is going to be to alternatively have a border around the album art, or no album art=no border.

[MrMEC]

I'll have to look more closely at the 5G skins as I hadn't noticed the technique in use.

Actually a border can be done pretty easily (I've even tried it already).  The only problem is when there's no album art, if you have text that displays over where the border images are positioned there's a noticable gap.  I just threw in a red border on the right of the album art in my simulator for this example:

Looks fine with album art:



But when there's no album art, the invisible image shows a gap over the text:



This can be avoided when using scrolling margins to avoid overlapping the text over the border, but you lose the use of the entire line.  I'm sure there's a way to still make it look good creatively, but I haven't racked my brain trying to do so.  

[Yotto]

That's what I was talking about (Though I want 4 bitmaps, to have a border on all 4 sides of the art).  I don't understand why it's a problem as other bitmaps don't do the same thing.  There has to be a way to have it not do that.  I thought it was generic to al bitmaps, but I found a way around it with the volume bitmaps that doesn't work with the Album Art bitmaps.

[Massa]

Nice technic

But be careful and don't use the %C tag inside of conditionals - it'll behave strange if you do  !

[fatherfork]

The only problem is when there's no album art, if you have text that displays over where the border images are positioned there's a noticable gap.

I tried this with my Applebox 5G wps. I submitted a bug report a couple of weeks ago.

the bug report: http://www.rockbox.org/tracker/task/5793

and the thread: http://forums.rockbox.org/index.php?topic=5749.msg44531#msg44531

Steven