Multishortcut plugin to execute programs from home menu!

[NLS]

This is a great new plugin that ALLOWS FOR (MULTIPLE) MENU ITEMS, EACH ONE CALLING THE EXECUTABLES YOU WANT! It's the one vital feature missing from MP!

IT CAN EVEN WORK WITH BATCH FILES OR LINK (shortcut) FILES, if you need to pass parameters! I even called an .scr file (screensaver)!

NOTE that this plugin is more of a hack, since it implements dynamic ID manipulation that is not normally supported from MP. It all comes as a temporary (?) solution until someone rewrites "Home" plugin to support calling external programs (like it should from version 0.0001).

Here are the instructions:

1) Unpack zip archive (duh!)...

2) Copy the file "DllFix.exe" to you MediaPortal\Plugins\Window directory.

3) For every button you want:

3.1) Copy file MultiShortcut.dll to MediaPortal\Plugins\Window directory.

3.2) Rename it the way you want it (just keep the .dll).

3.3) Repeat 3.1/3.2 for any extra buttons you want.

4) After you've copied all the DLLs you want, start DLLFix.exe. NOTICE: DLLFix needs to be run from a local drive and has to be in the same directory as the MultiShortcut DLLs (if you did 2 and 3 correctly, this is the case anyway).

5) Start MP configuration.

5.1) Find your plugins (under Window plugins - I prefer to name them MS-something.dll, so to keep them all together, but you can name them as you want, DLLFix will find them anyway).

5.2) Configure each one (the config form is self explanatory - remember you don't need quotes in the "exefile", and although it says "exefile" it really means full path along with the file, that doesn't need to be an exe)

5.3) Go to Home plugin and add the plugins you just created and configured, wherever you want.

6) Close MP configuration (wow! a complex step, I know)...

...that's it... go in MP and try things out!

The author didn't really want to make this plugin for himself or really maintain it. So if you find some major bug, report it in the thread, or find him in IRC (with the nickname you see in the plugin) and he MAY help you out (or me). Note again: that he doesn't really have any intention to maintain the plugin, just created a hack (that gets the job done) because I asked him to and found his soft spot.

(you will find the file in plugins/automation when it gets approved and I will edit this post to have the appropriate link)

[mzemina]

Is that what you are calling it? Multishortcut plugin? Just checking.

Mike

[NLS]

yes - not me, the author

[MrMartin]

Thanks for a great plugin!

I just started to use it to get a "Play DVD" buttom in home menu.
The script buttom is starting my external DVD player ZoomPlayer.
It actually works - but the problem is now that the program doesnt start ON TOP. I use "Mediaportal Always on top" because otherwise my MCE remote stops working from time to time.
So for now - i cant see Zoomplayer until i close MP

So now i wonder - how to start an application ON TOP / FOCUSED ?

Thanks in advance
Martin

[NLS]

this is not a problem related to the plugin - if you chose mp to stay on top, it will... so stop doing it and find some way to keep it on focus when needed (or make the remote talk to that window all the time - try girder)

[NLS]

Well in fact Tobias listened to your request and released a fix (go to the file section and get it), that I have not tested yet.

There is now a new flag, which if you set to true, it tries to minimize MP while the other program runs (and restores it after that).

Also there is a default caption "-unnamed-".

[MrMartin]

Originally Posted by NLS

Well in fact Tobias listened to your request and released a fix (go to the file section and get it), that I have not tested yet.

There is now a new flag, which if you set to true, it tries to minimize MP while the other program runs (and restores it after that).

Also there is a default caption "-unnamed-".

Wow! Thanks a lot man! Sounds great

I will test it out as soon as i get home today

Martin

EDIT: It works perfectly as i requested Really appretiate your effort! Thanks a lot again!

[NLS]

8)

[smnnekho]

really great stuff. love to use it for several stuff. mostly i use it for several web-stuff, eg my cinemas actual programm or the calling-list from my fritzbox via fullscreen browser with large fonts....

i know the author does not really intend to maintain the plugin and i#m okay with it as it is working fine anyway, but one feature would be cool:

if you determine a specific URL in the arguments field, would it be possible to add, lets say a %$% or sth similar as a variable for sth you can enter in MP? to be clear:

i set firefox as exefile, and in the arguments it set -fullscreen -URL "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%$%" and when i call it mp i can enter anything for "%$%" so that i have sth like the wikipedia plugin, just as a webbrowser though(-;... could be used with google and in fact with everything else..

would be great, just if it is not that much of work (cause in fact i have no idea of coding, the things that seem most easy are often very complicated (-; ]

[NLS]

pass a variable...

we'll see