Author Topic: kArmTI - TI-Nspire emulator with skin  (Read 457003 times)

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Offline SpiroH

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kArmTI - TI-Nspire emulator with skin
« Reply #120 on: July 03, 2012, 09:23:46 am »
I'm back with some news:
About v26 (with assignable keys):
There are 2 Nspire-keys (important for number entry) you seem to have overlooked, the [EE] and the decimal point [.], both can't be assigned yet. Especially [.] would be logical to have on VK_PERIOD, and maybe [EE] on any other key, e.g. VK_OEM_2.
Also [flag] and [return] are not yet assignable, but they are not so important (I don't even know what [flag] is doing at all!?).
...
Franz
Yeah, I had already noticed that. Please check new attachment.
Btw:  'ret' - allows you to add a column/row to a matrix (you know that).
'flag' - is a national appeal: allows to to put accents on single letters, eg: à, U" (umlaut (not on my keyboard), usw)
Movie liker (made with kArmTI, with some help... for labels) :
 
Thanks, i'll get back asap. Going to work now.
SpiroH



Offline SpiroH

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kArmTI - TI-Nspire emulator with skin
« Reply #121 on: July 03, 2012, 07:12:10 pm »
Yep, 3 new keys - only the decimal point [.] is still missing.
VK_PERIOD doesn't exist! You probably meant VK_DECIMAL.

All the following keys are all mapped to the Numeric Pad (NP):
[ . ] ->VK_DECIMAL   ; [ / ] ->VK_DIVIDE  ;  [ * ]-> VK_MULTIPLY  ;   [ + ] ->VK_ADD     ;  [ - ]-> VK_SUBTRACT
    
I don't think the user should change any of them! For me, they make perfect sense together.  I know is not that convenient (not impossible!) on a netbook. But you always have the mouse/trackpad.
Oh well, sometimes "we can't have them all".

And if you really merge v26 and v27 then you can even remove the 5 keys PERIOD, COMMA, PLUS, MINUS and OEM_5, because these 5 keys are already working ok in v27.
If you mean that they become free (for assignment) then the answer is no! The keys become automatically "busy" and cannot be used for any other purpose.

v27: Unfortunately, in general, isn't that easy because the calculator also uses those keys (shift and ctrl). Somehow, we need to delay the interaction with the calculator (since the moment the user first presses the key).
Another problem are the 'dead keys'. Keys that only become visible when you press the next key, like 'umlaut' accent. So the implementation is somewhat awkward and the behaviour is bound to be always rather 'blurry'.
I may spend some more time on it, but i must admit that at this stage i'm not too hopeful about its success.

Bye for now,
SpiroH




Offline ParkerR

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kArmTI - TI-Nspire emulator with skin
« Reply #122 on: July 03, 2012, 11:21:47 pm »
I made a skin for kArmTI. I set both the skin and the emulator to touchpad. The emulator doesn't show it under the skins section. Skin attached.

Offline SpiroH

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kArmTI - TI-Nspire emulator with skin
« Reply #123 on: July 04, 2012, 06:13:02 am »
I made a skin for kArmTI. I set both the skin and the emulator to touchpad. The emulator doesn't show it under the skins section. Skin attached.
Hi ParkerR: You need to put the skin file: "Texas-Instrument-Ti-Nspire_CX_CAS" in the same directory! You've just missed it ;). Good first try, though. Btw: make a shorter 'skin-file-name'.

...Now if the user presses the Shift-key then the program should wait either until the next key is pressed or the Shift-key is released again. If no other key - ok, it's a simple Shift.
If another key is pressed (while the Shift-key is still hold down), then it should just check if this key is one of the special characters I've listed in my other posting (+-*/^=(),.) and in that case THIS key should be sent to the emulator (and Shift should be ignored completely). For all other keys just send 'shift' and the (other) 'key' to the emulator.
Yeah, unfortunately, i've tested most of your suggestions already. And as always, "it's easier said than done". Btw: in v26 there's no concept of  dead-key at all. Only raw (not 'cooked') codes are handled.
Anyway, I'll give it another go and will let you know how it went.


Offline ParkerR

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kArmTI - TI-Nspire emulator with skin
« Reply #124 on: July 05, 2012, 01:27:49 am »
I made a skin for kArmTI. I set both the skin and the emulator to touchpad. The emulator doesn't show it under the skins section. Skin attached.
Hi ParkerR: You need to put the skin file: "Texas-Instrument-Ti-Nspire_CX_CAS" in the same directory! You've just missed it ;). Good first try, though. Btw: make a shorter 'skin-file-name'.

Ok I renamed the image file to nspire.png and the skin file to nspire.skn. It still doesn't show up in the program.

Ok so I went back to Skin1.skn and Texas-Instrument-Ti-Nspire_CX_CAS.png. I set the skin name in the skin editor to Texas-Instrument-Ti-Nspire_CX_CAS and set the Texas-Instrument-Ti-Nspire_CX_CAS.png as all three button states. Still doesnt show up.

Edit: Uploaded the files.
« Last Edit: July 05, 2012, 10:26:38 am by ParkerR »

Offline DJ Omnimaga

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kArmTI - TI-Nspire emulator with skin
« Reply #125 on: July 05, 2012, 01:46:47 am »
Wow that animated gif maker is surely gonna be a good addition considering Calccapture produces absolutely horrible GIFs. How big are files, though?

Offline SpiroH

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kArmTI - TI-Nspire emulator with skin
« Reply #126 on: July 05, 2012, 09:55:40 am »
....Ok so I went back to Skin1.skn and Texas-Instrument-Ti-Nspire_CX_CAS.png. I set the skin name in the skin editor to Texas-Instrument-Ti-Nspire_CX_CAS and set the Texas-Instrument-Ti-Nspire_CX_CAS.png as all three button states. Still doesnt show up.
I dunno what exactly you're doing to have problems. I would suggest the following:
 1. I wrote a small skin tutorial you may check here: http://ourl.ca/9360;msg=253270  (3rd attachement)
 2. I've used your 'skin1.skn', added a picture of mine renamed to 'Texas-Instrument-Ti-Nspire_CX_CAS.png'
 3. Rearranged sligthly the positions of the LCD+buttons (so they fit inside the png i've used)
 4. Saved the file which i'm posting for you to test (renamed to ParkerR_Skin1.skn). Please check attachment.
 5. The skin named 'hyhyh' appears perfectly under:  Keypad->Skins... popup (at the bottom of the list).
 6. LBNL, for all that to happen, you need to:  a) Place both files: ParkerR_Skin1.skn + Texas-Instrument-Ti-Nspire_CX_CAS.png in the 'SKINS' directory;
 b)  Under Keypad menu: b1. Select the Touchpad keypad b2. Under Skins... select your skin 'hyhyh'.
BTW: i've used Skin editor version, v1.04 (also at the bottom of the post mentionned above). You can download it and open the skin i've prepared for you. Under 'View' there's even an option to preview your skin (Review: Ctrl+R).
Hope it helps.

..But you got it working already in v27! Despite a few glitches (which could certainly be fixed with a few refinements) your method is absolutely working! :)
Well, things are improving but they do require quiet some (more) work. Maybe we'll have some good news for you, shortly. Stay tuned.

Wow that animated gif maker is surely gonna be a good addition considering Calccapture produces absolutely horrible GIFs. How big are files, though?
Thanks 'boss' ;)! It depends on how big you want them to be. I did not (yet) add an automatic autocapture facility (easy to implement but awkward as far as the file size goes).
The gif quality is quiet good now with a new GIFQuantizer (not the windows' default horrible gif-encoder! but a custom version). I personnaly find the 'movie thing' very good to convey information to people, sparing on useless (noisy) wording.

Cheers,



Offline ParkerR

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kArmTI - TI-Nspire emulator with skin
« Reply #127 on: July 05, 2012, 11:53:21 pm »
....Ok so I went back to Skin1.skn and Texas-Instrument-Ti-Nspire_CX_CAS.png. I set the skin name in the skin editor to Texas-Instrument-Ti-Nspire_CX_CAS and set the Texas-Instrument-Ti-Nspire_CX_CAS.png as all three button states. Still doesnt show up.
I dunno what exactly you're doing to have problems. I would suggest the following:
 1. I wrote a small skin tutorial you may check here: http://ourl.ca/9360;msg=253270  (3rd attachement)
 2. I've used your 'skin1.skn', added a picture of mine renamed to 'Texas-Instrument-Ti-Nspire_CX_CAS.png'
 3. Rearranged sligthly the positions of the LCD+buttons (so they fit inside the png i've used)
 4. Saved the file which i'm posting for you to test (renamed to ParkerR_Skin1.skn). Please check attachment.
 5. The skin named 'hyhyh' appears perfectly under:  Keypad->Skins... popup (at the bottom of the list).
 6. LBNL, for all that to happen, you need to:  a) Place both files: ParkerR_Skin1.skn + Texas-Instrument-Ti-Nspire_CX_CAS.png in the 'SKINS' directory;
 b)  Under Keypad menu: b1. Select the Touchpad keypad b2. Under Skins... select your skin 'hyhyh'.
BTW: i've used Skin editor version, v1.04 (also at the bottom of the post mentionned above). You can download it and open the skin i've prepared for you. Under 'View' there's even an option to preview your skin (Review: Ctrl+R).
Hope it helps.

I don't know if I completely missed it or what, but I didn't remember seeing a mention of having to put it in a folder named skins. Thank you so very much. :D

PS. Love the work that you are doing. Great job. :D I've kinda been following along XD http://i.minus.com/iUmr4Qf5Hw3MB.png
« Last Edit: July 06, 2012, 12:00:17 am by ParkerR »

Offline SpiroH

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kArmTI - TI-Nspire emulator with skin
« Reply #128 on: July 07, 2012, 06:30:09 pm »
I don't know if I completely missed it or what, but I didn't remember seeing a mention of having to put it in a folder named skins. Thank you so very much. :D
PS. Love the work that you are doing. Great job. :D I've kinda been following along XD http://i.minus.com/iUmr4Qf5Hw3MB.png
ParkerR: I'm glad you've managed. Thanks for the thumbs-up ;).

I've been busy trying to come up with a kArmTI_v26 derivative version that should be ready to use, independently of the national keyboard.
As a result, of a more general approach to the keyboard, i hope to have achieved the following:
   1. Independency of the national keyboard (as already said)
   (including automatic detection of the calculator required ascii symbols, which will be visible as read-only in the QuickKeys dialog)
   2. Be able to use all shift-symbols that appear on the top row (above the digits).
   3. Increase the number of available Freekeys for use to map to calculator keys.

That's what i'm posting today for testing. Expect some small glitches (I haven't noticed any so far but, i know, more testing is really necessary). Please check the attachment.
In case you have problems with your national keboard, please post a screenshot of the quickkeys, similar to the one shown here, so that i can try to sort out the potential issues.

As a minor enhancement, i've also added the facility to use the mouse middle-button to implement the 'shift function key'. For example, pressing the middle-button over the 'esc' key will translate to 'shift+esc'='Undo'. You can see that also in the non-skinned keypad.

SpiroH,

Edit: Updated the file attached. The previous one had an initial fill of QuickKeys nasty bug that went unnoticed. Sorry to the previous downloaders, please do it again.

Offline SpiroH

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kArmTI - TI-Nspire emulator with skin
« Reply #129 on: July 08, 2012, 05:23:10 am »
2 bugs I've found so far:
1) the SPACE key on the PC-keyboard doesn't work anymore (and I also don't see it in the list of assignable keys), so entering a 'space' is now only possible with the mouse (on the Nspire keyboard)
That's a silly omission i've already fixed!

2) the key '#' here on my German keyboard (which is VK_OEM_2 here) seems to be internally assigned to 'menu' ('END'-key has the same function), although it appears in the list of assignable keys. And even if I manually assign this VK_OEM_2 (key #) to any other Nspire key, it doesn't work: it still opens the 'menu'.
Can you please attach a screenshot of the QuickKeys dialog for your german keyboard? It will help me to investigate the causes.

...only for capital letters you have to press AND RELEASE the shift-key before the letter-key
I'll look into it.

Thanks,

Offline SpiroH

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kArmTI - TI-Nspire emulator with skin
« Reply #130 on: July 08, 2012, 05:25:03 pm »
Ok, here's the QuickKeys window for German keyboard (Nspire-TouchPad version /K4):
Here goes another take after having addressed all the issues you've mentioned plus a simpler double-click feature to assign/detach keys.
Hope i haven't introduced any other glitches and that it really works with your german keyboard and most importantly on your most favourite eeepc ;D.
btw: simultaenous cursor keys weren't working in the previous version. Fixed that too.
I guess i need to rest for sometime now (at least so i hope ;)). As usual, i'll be waiting for your most appreciated feedback.

SpiroH

Offline SpiroH

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kArmTI - TI-Nspire emulator with skin
« Reply #131 on: July 09, 2012, 08:57:43 am »
This time I have no good news, this new version v26_4 is seriously broken. :(

1) Now the 5 keys +-*(. don't work anymore although they did in the previous version.
2) The 'Del' key seems to break some more things, after having used this key
  a) the colored (green) rectangles aren't displayed anymore when pressing the cursor-keys (this already happened in v26_3), and
  b) the key '/' (Shift+7 here) now always gives a backslash '\' instead of a slash '/' (did not happen in v26_3).
3) Pressing Ctrl+Del to get the 'clear' function is even worse: the 'ctrl' state seems to be locked after this key-combination and no keys are working anymore, you have to press 'Del' once more to remove this 'ctrl' state again.
4) In a Graph window: When you press and hold the cursor-keys so that they auto-repeat, then after you released the key(s) they still make 1 or 2 bigger jumps in the last direction, especially for diagonal movements.
I'm sorry to hear that. These things only happen when we're developping something new, we have to be patient.
As to your remarks:
1) A special case
2) The 'del' key is yet another special case
3) Related to 2). Nothing new here!
4) I'm afraid we'll have to live with it. It's how the emulator works (and i gather also the calculator?). I can't do anything about it.

In general, that's the 'price to pay'. A small change may ripple through when you least expect (or just forgot about it).

Well, after these mentioned problems I gave up, this version is almost unusable.
I guess you've changed now the keyboard-handling so much that it got completely messed up.
This a bit a "too harsh remark" which i didn't like at all, because:
 a. the glitches were actually TOO simple to fix;
 b. the whole new keypad handling meant quite some long hours of hard-work
 c. the version is indeed usuable IMO (aside from the tiny bits)
 d. you didn't mention any of the added features.

So i don't get it, i'm sort of still getting used to it. As always, we can either wait for quite sometime (months?) for a tested release, or we carry on interacting with beta-releases.
I've update the file. You may test it IIF you want it, of course.

SpiroH


Offline SpiroH

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kArmTI - TI-Nspire emulator with skin
« Reply #132 on: July 09, 2012, 12:30:45 pm »
As you may have noticed already, this subject is full of special cases.

Just one more word on the cursor diagonal movement:
1. It is not possible to have a 'single' diagonal movement when using the keyboard keys, unless you wait until the second key is pressed. Not a solution!
2. With the mouse it is, though. The difference is that for the keyboard you need 2 keys presses whereas for the mouse a single click is enough (it is already encoded).
Still for the mouse only:
 a) for the touchpad i've improved the situation a bit (i hope) because its under my own control.
 b) for the clickpad i guess it already works fine and better, because it is natively supported by the emulator+ti-software.

I've updated the kArmTIv26_5 file in my previous post. Let's hope the glitches decrease exponentially with time ;).

Cheers,

Offline CompSystems

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kArmTI - TI-Nspire emulator with skin
« Reply #133 on: July 10, 2012, 07:52:05 am »
[REQUESTS]  

1: Please include support of KML  Keyboard Mapping Language, as Emu48 http://hp.giesselink.com/

Doc The KML 2.0 rev 15 language description
http://hp.giesselink.com/Emu48/KML20R16.ZIP

Example Code  :)
File: EmulatorCalcHP48GX Skin01.skn

[code]

Global
 Title  " EmulatorCalcHP48GX Skin#01"
 Author "CS"
 Hardware "Yorke"
 Model  "G"
 Rom    "ROMS/OS_hp48gx-versionR-ROMImage.rom"
 Bitmap "SkinCalcHP48gx-LCD200p.bmp"
 Debug  0
 Patch  "hp48gx.beep"<
« Last Edit: July 10, 2012, 10:35:30 pm by CompSystems »

Offline Levak

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kArmTI - TI-Nspire emulator with skin
« Reply #134 on: July 10, 2012, 09:05:32 am »
3 and 4 : It is a Color calculator (CX at least). You can't squeeze pixels or change the pixels color since it is not a monochrome calculator.
I do not get mad at people, I just want them to learn the way I learnt.
My website - TI-Planet - iNspired-Lua