vis deaktivating

[Tropics]

hi,
i am currently developing a visualisation plugin which does not display anything in qcd itself, it just passes the spectrum data to another app. but it deaktivates when minimizing the player or when a skin is used that doesn't have a vis window. i'm sure this behaviour is wanted by the designer(s), but that is not the behaviour i would want for this specific plugin. is there anything i could do or any way this will be implemented in a future version of the player/the sdk?

aloha, tropics

[plover]

Yes, this behavior is currently part of the interface for vis plugins. Also, as far as I am aware, there is no way to get resonator bank data other than through the vis interface. So the behavior you want would most likely require changes to the player, not just to the pdk. My guess is that the easiest way this could be implemented would be to add a second flavor of dll entry function.

But as I'm mostly just familiar with the vis API, someone else may know otherwise.

[Tropics]

thanks for your answer, that's what i thought. actually i thought about adding a flag if it should be deactivated or not, but another main function would be just as good.
so the plugin is done now, and is really nice i think. it is deaktivated when minimized, but it has to stay this way for now. it will be released on december 24 together with some other stuff, as it is not a "standalone plugin". i'll let you know then what it is and where you can get it.
i also thought about making other vis plugins - but i would make 3d opengl plugins then, and i would have the same problems then. i wouldn't know what to do with the given vis window, and the vis would deaktivate when it doesn't need to.

[Paul]

If you run the vis in the 'external vis window' it won't deactivate when the player minimizes.

[Tropics]

yes that's true but its not a solution to the problem. i don't have anything to display. so if someone minimizes the player to see the desktop, why would someone want to have an empty window floating around instead.
btw, the same problem also exists when someone is using a skin that does not have an internal vis area. though my plugin doesn't need such an area and also doesn't want it, the whole thing wouldn't work.

[Tropics]

the plugin is released!
it is part of the official samurize distribution and displays a spectrum analyser directly on the desktop. download: http://www.samurize.com

[Tropics]

so what's with this feature? i read every release note and hope it is listed there... ;)

i would really like to minimize qcd while having the samurize vis still visible :silly:

[Tropics]

ok i promise this is the last time i bring this up but ... it would really mean much to me if there would be a possibility to make this happen. i love having qcd in the tray only - but i would love to have the spectrum on my desktop too.
so whatever is needed, even if i have to dig into a whole new plugin type, i would do it. my plugin is extremely lightweight so it could also run the whole time in the background - like a generic plugin. it only needs access to spectrum bands and waveform data (although a smaller waveform frame of 512 bytes would be more than enough).

[plover]

Some random ideas:

Perhaps there's some way to force the external vis window to be both open and hidden. Maybe open it, make really small, and then position it behind the player or your other app or off screen; later, restore the previous settings when the plugin shuts down. Or perhaps there's a win32 function that will hide it from view without telling the player that it is inactive.

I suppose you would also have to intercept regular user requests to open and close the external vis so that they do something reasonable.

[Tropics]

thats indeed an interesting idea. moving the window to 30000;30000 or something like that should work - but i would have to remove the window from the taskbar too. on the other hand, such a solution is definately not nice for skins containing a vis area. in that case it is much better using that area to display a small logo (like it is done now).

[plover]

thats indeed an interesting idea. moving the window to 30000;30000 or something like that should work - but i would have to remove the window from the taskbar too. I don't think that the external visuals have a separate taskbar button anymore - at least not if the player is set to tray icon only.

on the other hand, such a solution is definately not nice for skins containing a vis area. in that case it is much better using that area to display a small logo (like it is done now). I'm not sure I understand. When the external vis window is open, the internal vis area always shows the skin background for the vis area. If you're not displaying anything in the vis area anyway, why should this be a problem?

[Tropics]

I don't think that the external visuals have a separate taskbar button anymore - at least not if the player is set to tray icon only.
They do. I wouldn't have thought of it, I tried it and saw the window in the taskbar.

I'm not sure I understand. When the external vis window is open, the internal vis area always shows the skin background for the vis area. If you're not displaying anything in the vis area anyway, why should this be a problem?
You're right, it's not a problem. I only thought that when the area is there, it should be used. Moreover, you can't use another visualization at the same time. It would be appropriate to show the user that a vis is already running.

[acozz]

Have you tried overriding QCD's minimize button to simply hide QCD and not minimize it? Then, somehow, find a way to restore it when using the taskbar button?

[romrom]

If you run the vis in the 'external vis window' it won't deactivate when the player minimizes.

Yes, of course but it's not a good idea. Samurize is there to have a beautifull desktop and information you need juste there and where you want

With Tropic's plugin, we can have the vis directly attached to the desktop (see mine attached) and we can also have buttons to start, stop QCD when its hidden.

It should be great if we do not have to hid manually the vis from QCD like I do :skull:

The vis is on the botton right corner

Thanks
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