OziExplorer - Page 3

rodweb · 07-27-2008, 06:47 AM

Enough for one weekend, but is this what you want, (one more layer, turned off the map here layer, saved as .PNG, 1 minute!)

Rod

Bugger · 07-27-2008, 07:05 AM

Quote: Originally Posted by rodweb

Bugger,

It might take some time, but I'll perservere with Pshop and make buttons for the other two menus and share them. Then if you wrap a skin around them, I can modify the icons to suit the functions.

When I downloaded the Photoshop .PSD files for the brushed skin, I found they had different effects for the three different graphics required in different layers. Once I got my head round them, it was a matter of turning off different layers to create the three different graphics from the one file using save as.

So if the Map Here button now hides the menu, how do you get it back again? Do we need to do that if I make the buttons transparent? Have not tried to do that yet.

Rod

I have another menu which is a single button to expand the menu down again... ie up button for hide and down button for show

I can make the buttons transparent using skinbedder I think... it doesn't have the same effect though. I intended to be able to minimise the menu to give more visible map space. Expand it back out when you want to use the menu. Something like that... From my experience using Ozi in the vehice, once the map is running and you have zoomed to a lever, you tend to leave it running and just want to see as much as possible of the map.

rodweb · 07-27-2008, 04:59 PM

Justin, I have not used Ozie much in a vehicle. I have updated the buttons now. I think I got a nice consistent interface concept.

Here are the proposed menus. They are 61 x 400 pixels:

The interace has a maximum of 8 buttons of which 3 are reserved (top one and bottom two). The top one either:
Exits the program
Selects previous menu
Returns from a sub menu

The second last one is always hide. I am assuming that pressing it would open a blank tranparent PNG which has the whole region set to the return to previous function. That way, there would be no wasted screen and touching anywhere on the LHS of the screen will always bring back the current menu. After all, Skinbedder does not care what is showing on the screen region, it just responds to a click in the specified region.

The last button moves to the next menu and if on a sub menu would not exist unless there were more than one page of options.

The concept of the sub menu would allow you to say have one button to pull up a sub-menu with : Map Here, Map North, Map South, Map East, Map West.

I think this will be pretty Neat.

Transparency should only be a mouse click in Photoshop, but this probably won't be required with the ability to hide everything!

So if you like this, tell me what functions need to go on the second menu and I'll do up a set. PM me an email address and I'll sned you some stuff.

Cheers Rod

Bugger · 07-28-2008, 06:20 AM

Here's a quick demo of the new menu

rodweb · 07-28-2008, 06:41 AM

Justin

Looking good, I have just emailed you an updated complete skin with the new buttons.
Let me know your thoughts after you debug the menus.

Rod

millsy · 07-28-2008, 07:29 AM

Great work on this guys, sorry i cant be of any help except to offer encouragement

Bugger · 07-29-2008, 03:43 AM

Here's the latest

Thanks to Rodweb for the graphics

I've got to check out more details about skinbedder... I want to be able to scale the menu size relative to the display size to make it fit different screen resolutions.

rodweb · 07-29-2008, 04:06 AM

Justin,

I don't think you will need to scale the graphics to suit different size screens. The reason I say that is because the menu is always vertical and the common scren sizes are 640x480, 640x480 or 800x600. The top of the RR brushed metal skin is 50 pixels long. So if we don't make the menu graphics longer than 430 pixels and always embed them at the top left corner (Left1, Top 1) they will always fit on the screen without resizing.

If you have an 800 x 600 skin, there will be some blank screen below it, but I wonder if you could open two menus on startup. Just have a small bit of brushed metal to cover the last few pixels at the bottom of the screen on startup if you are using an 800x600 screen? eg. from pixel rows 481 to 600.

Bugger · 07-29-2008, 04:31 AM

Quote: Originally Posted by rodweb

If you have an 800 x 600 skin, there will be some blank screen below it, but I wonder if you could open two menus on startup. Just have a small bit of brushed metal to cover the last few pixels at the bottom of the screen on startup if you are using an 800x600 screen? eg. from pixel rows 481 to 600.

I like this idea... At least then the menu would look like it's meant to be there... Make this bit long enough to cover up to 1024x768 res. (ie 481 to 768 = 287 high)

Then again... I like having the status bar viewable as it shows gps status etc...

rodweb · 07-29-2008, 06:04 AM

Sounds lke the go then. I have sent you an email again and if we think we are both on the same track, I might publish our ideas of the interface up here so Millsy and HappyG or others can chime in with any feedback.

You'll still have the status bar vsible, just move the last piece of skin up to accommodate it, so the position starts at Pixel row (768-287- status bar height) and the main menu is on top.

Worst case, just ship two bits of skin and different versions of the main skin file for each screen resolution.

Rod

millsy · 07-29-2008, 07:45 AM

I probably dont use Ozi anywhere near to its full potential, mostly used for creating waypoints and tracks and general real time tracking, (actually still coming to grips with it ). I run it on a laptop at 1024x768 as standalone when off road and use it with my 7" built in screen at 800 x 600 with FI as a front end along with D6 or D7 if i can ever get it to embed properly in FI. as before the work you guys are doing is great and i could certainly test as far as my limited abilities allow

rodweb · 07-29-2008, 04:35 PM

Millsy, What Front end is FI?

The reason why we are using Skeinbedder is because it will embed. Skinbedder wraps up Ozie into a package that can be embedded.

In RR, if you embed Ozie without SB all the dialog boxe open behind the main screen so you can't OK them until you close RR. SB solves this for us. It should therefore work for you. All you would need to do is change the command that you use to load Ozi top open SkinBedder set up to call Ozie.

Rod

millsy · 07-30-2008, 12:22 AM

FI = Free ice =http://www.digital-car.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=9902

rodweb · 07-30-2008, 08:37 AM

Ok Guys, I think I have got something pretty cool starting to happen. To make sure that we don't have any wasted screen or big areas obscured by buttons, we start off with something like this:

Note the green arrow button in the top left hand corner.... If you press it, you get the menu:

You will notice there is a green button on the top is now pointing up. Pressing it will hide the menu and return the screen to the previous screen. The up and down arrows will cycle through menu screens.

In an earlier version I did up, I put a little blue embossed arrow indicator on the right of a button to sub menu to signify it would open a sub menu when pressed like this:

Sorry, I will put it back!

Pressing the second button from the top will open out a fly out horizontal sub-menu that looks like this:

If you change your mind, just press the green arrow and it will go away.

So when you press one of the buttons on the sub menu, the sub-menu will close before the function is executed. That will leave just the strip on the left hand side (which can be hidden by pressing the green up button) at any time.

SO for most of the time, you will just leave the little green buton on the screen until you need to fiddle with something. How cool is that!

millsy · 07-30-2008, 11:09 AM

Awesome

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