Thread: iDrive 2.20 Release

OK,

After a whole lot of cursing, I was finally able to get everything working. I ended up re-copying the entire iDrive skin file and then adding my modified skin files since I couldn't figure out the label issue. And I was able figure out the Vista "quirks" as well (Vista is a serious PITA when working with RR , which many of you already know!!!). I spent more time fighting Vista then actual skinning/embedding !!!

Dashcommand embeds like I want and the buttons I added to open Dashcommand work like I want (a shining example of how the RR FAQ and Skin editing tools really do work ). Now I have two other items to work on that I did not really see how to do in the FAQs:

1. Getting rid of the standard Windows File tool bar at the top of the Dashcommand window (i.e. File, Edit, etc.).

2. Assigning buttons in the skin, to perform functions in Dashcommand, like what is done for Iguidance, IE, and other programs.

I won't be able to look at that stuff for a while (at work, etc) but any insight on how to tackle those items, especially #2, would be definitely helpful.

Well firstly well done for fighting your way to where you are.

I have now removed Vista from my laptop (Had it dual boot) so I can't do any testing on that from at the moment.

Now for your two questions.

Both really depend on DashCommand itself and 1. whether it has a function to allow the removal of the File tool bar, and 2. where it will accept key commands.

1. I'm not sure about.

2. If it can accept keyboard commands then you can use sendkey to send a series of keystokes for each button.


OH and a side note, becareful about using SkinEditors with the iDrive skin, some of the older ones removed some of my special lines.

Originally Posted by Enforcer

Well firstly well done for fighting your way to where you are.

I have now removed Vista from my laptop (Had it dual boot) so I can't do any testing on that from at the moment.

Now for your two questions.

Both really depend on DashCommand itself and 1. whether it has a function to allow the removal of the File tool bar, and 2. where it will accept key commands.

1. I'm not sure about.

2. If it can accept keyboard commands then you can use sendkey to send a series of keystokes for each button.


OH and a side note, becareful about using SkinEditors with the iDrive skin, some of the older ones removed some of my special lines.

Well, I think using buttons in the skin to control DashCommand functions should work based on the DashCommand information provided here. After reading the RR FAQ here and here I am thinking that using the Extension Plugin Interface is the best way to go, especially since I don't have any programming experience (at least not since college so many years ago ). It is difficult for me to make the connection between what was said in the RR FAQs and the DashCommand info since I have not had a chance to look at an example of extension plugin code yet. That is where I was hoping to find a similar example that can point me in the right direction. But my lack of RR/Skin programming experience pretty much has me at ground zero.

As far as removing the file tool bar, I figured that could be done in the same way the file tool bar is removed from Internet Explorer and other common programs that embed inside RR. But I have not found any example code to go off of yet (just started looking for it now that I have the basic embedding done).

I am using the skin editor that came with the latest RR version. As far as I can tell, it did not remove anything it wasn't supposed to. But once I had a basic understanding of the codes to do what I wanted, I was able to make some code changes directly using Notpad. But I like how the editors allow you to visualize what you are doing (and that helped quite a bit too).

Let me know what you think based on the programming info provided by DashCommand. The nice thing is that you can still run it completely without being connected to the car, which is not the norm for most OBD II software. Oh yeah, and where can I find a tutorial on the use of sendkey commands?

Actually if you are using vista you may have issues with sendkey. hmm.

The Command lines you linked to are only for when is starts, they won't control anything once dashcommand is running.

Not sure an extension plugin will help here (unless you are very good at programming in VB, C (x) or AutoIT)

Originally Posted by Enforcer

Actually if you are using vista you may have issues with sendkey. hmm.

The Command lines you linked to are only for when is starts, they won't control anything once dashcommand is running.

Not sure an extension plugin will help here (unless you are very good at programming in VB, C (x) or AutoIT)

I am only using Vista on my programming machine (laptop). My car is running XP Pro, but I still need to test it in the car (but I don't see why what I have done so far won't work). I have not done anything with visual basic. But if the extension plugin code is as simple as the RR FAQ makes it seem, I might have a shot at making something work .

How did you make the buttons work with iGuidance or Internet Explorer? Can't the same technique be used here for DashCommand?

Depends on whether DashCommand has keys set up for the command buttons like IE and iGuidance.

Ok, I am still figuring out how to do this button stuff, but in the mean time, here are a few pics of what I was able to do so far. Nothing too big, but it is a step towards my goal: integrating some basic OBDII functionality using DashCommand.

Now redesign the background to match the idrive background

Originally Posted by Enforcer

Now redesign the background to match the idrive background

In stages man, stages . Although I know what parameters I wand to display, I am still looking for some "creative inspiration" on how to make it look since I have very little . Their website had some nice examples, but none that fit the BMW IMO.