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DonationCoder.com Software => Coding Snacks => Post New Requests Here => Topic started by: pinkjimiphoton on March 19, 2007, 07:34 AM

Title: DONE: a self-scrolling, BPM adjustable html/notepad/text file gizmo
Post by: pinkjimiphoton on March 19, 2007, 07:34 AM
hey folks, i'm a musician, and like to do everything on my pc, including lyrics and arrangements for the stuff i write. 8)
i have windows xp, and usually just scroll down as i go ...no big deal if i'm singing (other than having to reach down and scroll the page lower) but when i'm playing an instrument, that can be a chore. >:(
i noticed that if i press and hold my mouse wheel, i can set it to slowly scroll the text files i use down, but it's really hard to get it at the right speed to sync with a song.
so i was thinking maybe one of you amazin' developer gurus philanthropists may be able to help me and all the rest of the musos out there by making this idea a reality... :-*
i need something that will alow me to set , by BPM (beats per Minute) the scrolling speed of text files...be they .htm/htm/, .txt or .doc, whatever....i mean like, maybe tap the spacebar to the beat, and the page starts scrolling at THAT SPEED. :tellme:
i hope i'm making sense...
is there anyway to make this a reality?
it seems (i hope) like a simple enough idea.
thanks for the time and consideration.
please feel free to get some of my music (free) here:
http://indiehitz.net/html/bands/56 (60 some- odd rock/blues/other songs of all varietys , and all done with open source software called AUDACITY!)
thanks again...
peace
jimi :Thmbsup:
Title: Re: a self-scrolling, BPM adjustable html/notepad/text file gizmo
Post by: Gothi[c] on March 19, 2007, 10:51 AM
Hi, Jimi!
Welcome to the site!

It's an interesting idea. Maybe I'll see what I can do if my time permits it, and if nobody else beats me to it. (Please don't let this keep anyone else from volunteering!)

I think the hardest part would be to fine-tune the scrolling to the BPM. (eg: how do you know how fast scrolling should be at a certain BPM rate?) Maybe this can be an adjustable variable setting or something.
Title: Re: a self-scrolling, BPM adjustable html/notepad/text file gizmo
Post by: mouser on March 19, 2007, 11:08 AM
maybe tap the spacebar to the beat, and the page starts scrolling at THAT SPEED

cool idea.
there should be some software out there for scrolling text display for people reading off cue cards, etc., for speeches and stuff.

but i love the idea of a simple text editor which would let you:
1) edit text files
2) change font to be as big as you want.
3) set scroll speed and have it scroll the text at that speed with hotkeys for easy adjustment of speeds.
Title: Re: a self-scrolling, BPM adjustable html/notepad/text file gizmo
Post by: nudone on March 19, 2007, 12:41 PM
maybe you could provide a way for the speed of the scroll to be controlled by something that's easy and quick to adjust - something variable too. perhaps something like the position of the cursor relative to the screen (up or down).

i'm just suggesting something like this as maybe it would be quick to adjust and therefore simple to adjust the speed. perhaps it would be too difficult to control. it's kind of daft but i was thinking maybe you could put the mouse on the floor and control the speed by moving the mouse with your foot - just up and down. then it's like a foot pedal - a bit.
Title: Re: a self-scrolling, BPM adjustable html/notepad/text file gizmo
Post by: Gothi[c] on March 19, 2007, 12:53 PM
The idea I was having is, the first time you record the scrolling speed by hitting the spacebar in a beat, the program will adjust accordingly, then you save it along with the recorded speed/beat data, and later you'd be able to play back with the variable speed(s) in the way you recorded it. When you're actually using it while playing an instrument you'd be playing back a pre-recorded scrollspeed.
Title: Re: a self-scrolling, BPM adjustable html/notepad/text file gizmo
Post by: pinkjimiphoton on March 19, 2007, 02:13 PM
The idea I was having is, the first time you record the scrolling speed by hitting the spacebar in a beat, the program will adjust accordingly, then you save it along with the recorded speed/beat data, and later you'd be able to play back with the variable speed(s) in the way you recorded it. When you're actually using it while playing an instrument you'd be playing back a pre-recorded scrollspeed.
wow...thanks for the great ideas, and so quick!!!!!!
i bet it would be something to do with just finding a new  way to interface with the scrolling feature already IN windows.
all are good ideas, the key is you CAN use the scroll feature already to do this, but it's a pain to get it right, ideally it would scroll like a teleprompter does.
getting the speed to scroll fast or slow isn;t so much of a prob as having it scroll at the right speed from jump street...when yer wrapped in wires, and are trying to remember to hit the big red record button at the right time after getting the scrolling started...whew!!
can make ya need more hands and an extra brain.
i like the foot idea, us guitar players love to stomp on things...
but it's actually harder than it may seem to get the speed RIGHT...that's why i was thinking maybe tap the space bar like analogx's most excellent tap tempo (freeware).
thanks for checking out this thread, and for the warm welcome!
peace
jimi
Title: Re: a self-scrolling, BPM adjustable html/notepad/text file gizmo
Post by: Gothi[c] on March 19, 2007, 03:53 PM
Making it scroll a variable amount at the tap of the spacebar would actually be way easyer to implement than a record/playback feature. Working on it ;)
Title: Re: a self-scrolling, BPM adjustable html/notepad/text file gizmo
Post by: pinkjimiphoton on March 19, 2007, 06:17 PM
you like, SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO rock!!!
=))
Title: Re: a self-scrolling, BPM adjustable html/notepad/text file gizmo
Post by: Gothi[c] on March 19, 2007, 06:44 PM
It's almost done, most of it works already, but i need to run to the grocery store now, i'll finish the rest of it when i get back, give me a few hours yet ;)
Title: Re: a self-scrolling, BPM adjustable html/notepad/text file gizmo
Post by: Gothi[c] on March 19, 2007, 10:41 PM
Ok, it's finished.


Windows download: here (http://www.linkerror.com/programs/BPMNotepad-1.0-win32-build20070319-.rar)
Linux binary + source code: here (http://www.linkerror.com/programs/bpmnotepad-1.0-source-build20070319.tar.bz2)


[edit]
There are newer versions available! Some people seem to be still downloading 1.0 from this thread. Please check other messages in this thread or visit http://linkerror.com/bpmnotepad.cgi?section=download to get the latest version. 
[/edit]

If you want it on another platform other than windows or linux, you'll have to recompile (makefiles for various platforms included, though it may need some editing)

The source is really a hack for the wxwidgets richedit sample, so the source is very crude, and in only one .cpp file.

I hope it does what you need it to do.

A screenshot:
[ You are not allowed to view attachments ]

Basics:

Note : The value in the speed text field is how many milliseconds it takes in between scrolling one line
PS: Currently the scrolling toggles (pause or scroll) with the spacebar button, if you'd like this to behave differently, where you have to continiously tap to scroll, i can implement it or add it as a setting/option later, i just figured that this method would be less intensive in the tapping, and thus maybe easyer.

I'll put up a website with documentation later.

I hope it helps!
Title: Re: a self-scrolling, BPM adjustable html/notepad/text file gizmo
Post by: pinkjimiphoton on March 20, 2007, 06:58 AM
Gothi(c),
it works absolutely perfectly right out of the box....i punched in the tempo of the most recent song i was working on, and hit the spacebar....bang!!
scrolling on temple.
works GREAT on text files...
but one little (hopeflly) niggle...
with HTML, it displays the HTML as a text file WITH formatting.
text file is great for the lyrics, but i was hoping to be able to use HTML formatting to make the lead sheets easier to follow....
is there any way to make it display HTML, or would it need to be amini browser at that point??
don;t get me wrong, i am very grateful, this is the shiznit!!
here's a couple screen shopts to show what i mean...
here's my latest in html:
(http://philandrews.com/jp/bpm1.jpg)

and here's a shot of the same file in the BPM editor:
(http://philandrews.com/jp/bpm2.jpg)


as you can see, with the hyper text fdormat, i can set it up so it's bone simple for my numb old skull...it's great for quasi-lead sheets that way....
but if too difficult to implement, no big deal...could always use a couple instances of the BPM notepad, one for lyrics, one for arangement i would imagine...

but that one niggle aside....
THIS THING ROCKS!!!
THANK YOU!!!!!!!!
;))))))))))))) <VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVbg>
Title: Re: a self-scrolling, BPM adjustable html/notepad/text file gizmo
Post by: pinkjimiphoton on March 20, 2007, 06:59 AM
sorry for my horrible typing...i meant tempo, not temple, among other things.
i need coffee!!
;)
Title: Re: a self-scrolling, BPM adjustable html/notepad/text file gizmo
Post by: Gothi[c] on March 20, 2007, 07:07 AM
I'm afraid i'll be able to do little about the html loading since the wxWidgets RichEdit control (currently) doesn't really support it (only saving). However, it will save and load perfectly fine in it's own .XML format. You can paste images of guitar tabs etc into the document (it should handle images just fine in xml, though i can't test at the moment) and add your lyrics under it. Click file->save as... and save it as an .xml document.
Then later you can load it and it "should" show up right. (Don't take my word on it, like i said i can't really test it at this point)
Title: Re: a self-scrolling, BPM adjustable html/notepad/text file gizmo
Post by: pinkjimiphoton on March 20, 2007, 07:22 AM
it could be because i don;t have MS office or something, but xml displays the same as html ddoes, just with more colourful formatting.
;)
it's ALL GOOD THO!!!
thanks!!
i will play with it later, see if i can getit to display graphic files .....
i'm pretty sure if i do it with plain text the way i did  with the html and do it a line at a time i should be good...
i just tried...simple fix!
i just gotta format the html, then copy it as plain text to the BPM notepad...
then the formatting stays intact...perfect!!
check it out:
(http://philandrews.com/jp/bpm3.jpg)
just exactly what i needed to do.
only two other possible niggles...
first, when you enter a number into the title field of the text bar, it starts scrolling immediately!
no big deal, really...
the only other request, and a gain a hopefully small one, is there any way to make it scroll slightly smoother??
if just the way it is now is the best it can get, i am more than satisfied tho...thanks brother.
 :Thmbsup: :Thmbsup: :Thmbsup: :Thmbsup: :Thmbsup:
five thumbs up form the pinkinator!!
Title: Re: a self-scrolling, BPM adjustable html/notepad/text file gizmo
Post by: Gothi[c] on March 20, 2007, 07:25 AM
I just tested it and indeed it works when you save/load as .XML.
All formatting, images and other html-ish elements are saved

While there is no Insert->Image menu, you can copy/paste images from your web browser or anywhere else, and it will save them correctly.

One little glitch i found: if you try to paste an image into an empty document, you have to hit <enter> (or insert another character) for it to show up in the document, other than that it works fine, here is a screenshot of my test, this document is an image pasted from a google images search on "guitar tabs" and i put some lyrics next to it (not really of that song ;)) saved the document as .XML, reloaded it, and it showed up just fine!

So if you want to be able to load html webpages, you could try pasting them into your document (and maybe make some minor adjustments) then save it as .xml, which you will be able to load correctly later.

[ You are not allowed to view attachments ]
Title: Re: a self-scrolling, BPM adjustable html/notepad/text file gizmo
Post by: pinkjimiphoton on March 20, 2007, 07:41 AM
just tried it as you suggested, worked perfect...i just have to get used to it, never worked with .XML before.
sometimes it will paste directly, sometimes i have to hit enter...seems if i copy from the edit  command in my irfanview's toolbar for instance, i can paste directly in...VERY handy!!
if copying from a web page, as long as i copy one pic at a time it seems to perform brilliantly...tho i have to hit enter then.
screen shot of me and the mrs. :
(http://philandrews.com/jp/bpm4.jpg)
this is freekin great, Gothi(c)....i believe you have made the MOTHER of all notepads!!!
thank you!!!
i'd give ya ten thumbs up, but i dunno if the gui would let me!
=))
Title: Re: a self-scrolling, BPM adjustable html/notepad/text file gizmo
Post by: Gothi[c] on March 20, 2007, 07:41 AM
it could be because i don;t have MS office or something, but xml displays the same as html ddoes, just with more colourful formatting.

That's very strange,... maybe try the procedures i described in my previous post, if that doesn't work i'm all out of ideas, maybe you have a different version of the richedit control.

Find the file C:\windows\system32\riched20.dll and right-click it, properties, version tab, and see what it sais under the version tab. I have it working with 5.30.23.1228

when you enter a number into the title field of the text bar, it starts scrolling immediately!
That would be a little bug, i forgot to do an extra check to see if it's in play state when changing the text. I can fix that easily in a next version :)

is there any way to make it scroll slightly smoother??
I probably won't be able to fix that without doing platform specific calls or without making my own richedit control (which would be alot of work) since the wxRichEditCtrl control only implements ScrollLines() and ScrollPages() and ScrollToIntoView(textpos),... meaning i can only make it scroll line by line, not pixel by pixel, with the existing available API. Maybe ii can put an #ifdef for windows builds and stick in an
SendMessage(Handle, WM_VSCROLL,ScrollEventType.SmallIncrement, 0)



Title: Re: a self-scrolling, BPM adjustable html/notepad/text file gizmo
Post by: Gothi[c] on March 20, 2007, 07:42 AM
just tried it as you suggested, worked perfect

oops, i posted while you already responded :) that's great!!
:D
Title: Re: a self-scrolling, BPM adjustable html/notepad/text file gizmo
Post by: pinkjimiphoton on March 20, 2007, 07:47 AM
LOL.....where i did it wrong was i tried to use it to OPEN an html. instead of just select all/copy/paste into the BPM...so when i saved it as .xml. it saved it with all the formatting tags visible...
as soon as i did it the other way, total success...
thanks, this thing rawks !!!
the smooth scrolling isn't crucial....if it happens, cool, but i don;t need it really...
if the start thing cvan be addressed, cool, if not, i'm so jazzed i don't care!!!
[;)))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))
wicked cool!!
Title: Re: a self-scrolling, BPM adjustable html/notepad/text file gizmo
Post by: mouser on March 20, 2007, 07:51 AM
congratulations gothic, it's wonderful too see work like this  :-* :-*

ps.all this talk makes me realize that this might actually make for a good firefox extension task..
Title: Re: a self-scrolling, BPM adjustable html/notepad/text file gizmo
Post by: pinkjimiphoton on March 20, 2007, 07:58 AM
yah, total kudos are in order!!!
i swear, this may just be the ULTIMATE notepad!!!
the possibilities go way beyond music...it would work for speeches, hands-free reading of anything...
now if we could only put it in a stomp box to turn on with a footswitch.....
like this:
http://philandrews.com/jp/talentboost.jpg

 :-* :-* :D
Title: Re: a self-scrolling, BPM adjustable html/notepad/text file gizmo
Post by: Gothi[c] on March 20, 2007, 08:11 AM
now if we could only put it in a stomp box to turn on with a footswitch.....

if you mail me a footswitch you don't use anymore, or even one that's broken, i can wire the switch to act as a space bar if you want, and ship it back to you  ;)
Title: Re: a self-scrolling, BPM adjustable html/notepad/text file gizmo
Post by: pinkjimiphoton on March 20, 2007, 08:18 AM
LMFAO!!
well, thanks bro, but that's really not necessary...
but then...how WOULD ya wire up a footswitch to a pc??
you've got my curiosity stoked....
do you need spst/spdt/dpst/dpdt switches?
momentary?
if so, off or on??
man...if i could frankenstein my marshall and my pc together....lol
i could have a computer with tubes!!!
wouldn't THAT be an original idea??
;) ;)
seriously, that would be neat...how would ya do it. if you don;t mind me asking??

Title: Re: a self-scrolling, BPM adjustable html/notepad/text file gizmo
Post by: Gothi[c] on March 20, 2007, 08:47 AM
well, like you said, part of the problem is that most foot pedals are toggle switches, you either toggle them on or off, and they stay that way, they usually aren't like pushbuttons, however some are.
If you can find one that acts like a push button, it'd be easy,

Open up a keyboard, take out the little flap with the chip on (it'd be better if you could find an old keyboard that doesn't have it's pcb printed on floppy plastic) with the keyboard wire attached to it,
follow the lines on the pcb to the spacebar to see how they are hooked up to the chip, reproduce it with some wires and hook it up to the switch, then if you have a hard pcb, saw off the rest of the keyboard pcb, or if you have a floppy pdb you could maybe get away with just hooking up the wires to the switch straight up to the space bar contacts, and rolling up the flap and sticking it in the pedal. However you might have some trouble soldering/connecting wires to a floppy pcb flap like that, which is why i'd just hook em straight up to the chip and examine the pcb to see if it needs adittional connections.

If the switch is the stay on-stay off type, you can make a logical circuit that monitors a change in the state, and outputs a pulse like a normal pushbutton everytime the state changes. I'd have to figure that out in circuitmaker (http://www.mitspcb.com/pphoto/analog.gif) first or something, then when i have my schematic get the needed IC's from radioshack, and build it on a little breadboard (http://tangentsoft.net/elec/bitmaps/iguana-breadboard.jpg), test it, if it works, cool, then solder it to one of those grid pcb things (http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2102843&cp=2032058.2032230.2032265&parentPage=family) that they have, which you can cut to size. If you're doing that you might as well put the keyboard chip on the little breadboard pcb too.

I'm not sure if I would mess with the poor marshall and hook it up to a transistor box like a PC :)
The nice sound from the marshall comes from it's tubes, keep it far far away from transistors ;)
Title: Re: a self-scrolling, BPM adjustable html/notepad/text file gizmo
Post by: Gothi[c] on March 20, 2007, 08:53 AM
ps.all this talk makes me realize that this might actually make for a good firefox extension task..

That's true, that is a very good idea
Title: Re: a self-scrolling, BPM adjustable html/notepad/text file gizmo
Post by: pinkjimiphoton on March 20, 2007, 09:07 AM
well, like you said, part of the problem is that most foot pedals are toggle switches, you either toggle them on or off, and they stay that way, they usually aren't like pushbuttons, however some are.
If you can find one that acts like a push button, it'd be easy,

Open up a keyboard, take out the little flap with the chip on (it'd be better if you could find an old keyboard that doesn't have it's pcb printed on floppy plastic) with the keyboard wire attached to it,
follow the lines on the pcb to the spacebar to see how they are hooked up to the chip, reproduce it with some wires and hook it up to the switch, then if you have a hard pcb, saw off the rest of the keyboard pcb, or if you have a floppy pdb you could maybe get away with just hooking up the wires to the switch straight up to the space bar contacts, and rolling up the flap and sticking it in the pedal. However you might have some trouble soldering/connecting wires to a floppy pcb flap like that, which is why i'd just hook em straight up to the chip and examine the pcb to see if it needs adittional connections.

If the switch is the stay on-stay off type, you can make a logical circuit that monitors a change in the state, and outputs a pulse like a normal pushbutton everytime the state changes. I'd have to figure that out in circuitmaker (http://www.mitspcb.com/pphoto/analog.gif) first or something, then when i have my schematic get the needed IC's from radioshack, and build it on a little breadboard (http://tangentsoft.net/elec/bitmaps/iguana-breadboard.jpg), test it, if it works, cool, then solder it to one of those grid pcb things (http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2102843&cp=2032058.2032230.2032265&parentPage=family) that they have, which you can cut to size. If you're doing that you might as well put the keyboard chip on the little breadboard pcb too.

I'm not sure if I would mess with the poor marshall and hook it up to a transistor box like a PC :)
The nice sound from the marshall comes from it's tubes, keep it far far away from transistors ;)


wow, actually, that's easier than i thought!!
so basically, all you'd need is an old keyboard and a normally open momentary push switch...
got those a-plenty!!
i'm too old-school to grok much modern electronics...i can find my way around thermionics fine ( i sold one of my hot rodded super reverbs to GC a couple years ago for an unbelievable amount of cash....2 10's, 60 watts, reverb/trem and cascaded chanels and an fx loop...yum)...but give me anything more solid state than a diode, and i'm lost, pardner!!!
;)

i love my marshall...tubes rule, but did ya know all modern marshalls use silicone diode clippers in several different stages to help create that distortion???
all ya gotta do is add a half-wave rectifier here and there, and you have instant fuzz.
thanks for the reply!!
how much do ya think it would cost to build something like that??
i bet you could make a bundle with it on ebay....
"Musicians!! want to scroll your charts at whatever tempo you desire, and start stop it with your foot?""
no-brainer bro!!
lol
Title: Re: a self-scrolling, BPM adjustable html/notepad/text file gizmo
Post by: Gothi[c] on March 20, 2007, 09:12 AM
you could probably make it for free/no cost if you can find people to give you their old keyboards and/or footswitches. I mean,... you can find that stuff in dumpsters :D It doesn't have to WORK. all you need it he keyboard chip, and the SWITCH in the pedal. you don't need any of the other electronics.
They probably sell the chips seperatly, but why bother? it probably will cost the same or even more than a $5 old keyboard from ebay ;)
Title: Re: a self-scrolling, BPM adjustable html/notepad/text file gizmo
Post by: pinkjimiphoton on March 20, 2007, 09:15 AM
heh heh...there's probably 200 of them in my boneyard at the moment!!
LOL....but then what do  ya do, just exchange kbrds??
excuse my ignorance, i am but an egg....
Title: Re: a self-scrolling, BPM adjustable html/notepad/text file gizmo
Post by: Gothi[c] on March 20, 2007, 09:18 AM
Yeah, you could hook it up as a regular keyboard.
Offcourse, you wouldn't have any of the other keys.
Alternatively you can make a whole set of pedals, one for each shortcut in the BPM program so you can do the preset speeds too ;)

[edit]
To pull that off, you'd only need one pedal with a chip and the other pedals would hook into eachother.
Eg:


COMPUTER
  |
  |--->PEDAL--->PEDAL--->PEDAL--->PEDAL...
[/edit]

[another edit]
OR! you could get a female keyboard connector and build it into the pedal, and bridge the wires to the keyboard wire that goes into the computer to it, that way you could do this:

COMPUTER
  |
  |
PEDAL----PEDAL----PEDAL
  |
KEYBOARD

The pedals would override the keys on the keyboard, and you'd still be able to use the keyboard as normal if you wanted to

[/another edit]
Title: Re: a self-scrolling, BPM adjustable html/notepad/text file gizmo
Post by: pinkjimiphoton on March 20, 2007, 06:58 PM
Yeah, you could hook it up as a regular keyboard.
Offcourse, you wouldn't have any of the other keys.
Alternatively you can make a whole set of pedals, one for each shortcut in the BPM program so you can do the preset speeds too ;)

[edit]
To pull that off, you'd only need one pedal with a chip and the other pedals would hook into eachother.
Eg:


COMPUTER
  |
  |--->PEDAL--->PEDAL--->PEDAL--->PEDAL...
[/edit]

[another edit]
OR! you could get a female keyboard connector and build it into the pedal, and bridge the wires to the keyboard wire that goes into the computer to it, that way you could do this:

COMPUTER
  |
  |
PEDAL----PEDAL----PEDAL
  |
KEYBOARD

The pedals would override the keys on the keyboard, and you'd still be able to use the keyboard as normal if you wanted to

[/another edit]

wow, cool!!!
so all you have to do is hook up the switches in series to the chip?
i could definitely do something like this!!
thanks!
dunno if i can get to it yet, soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo much stuff in progress.
but5 i believe i may have a new project to try...and the perfect pedal to use, an old stenographer pedal i modded with a couple extra footswitches.
Title: Re: a self-scrolling, BPM adjustable html/notepad/text file gizmo
Post by: Gothi[c] on March 20, 2007, 09:14 PM
so all you have to do is hook up the switches in series to the chip?
Yes, the switches go on the chip, but the female keyboard connector (in case you still want to connect a keyboard) would go in parallel with the pedals.
Title: Re: a self-scrolling, BPM adjustable html/notepad/text file gizmo
Post by: pinkjimiphoton on March 21, 2007, 06:30 AM
hmmmmmmmmmmm......but if the switches are in series, won't they all do the same thing??
and if it's an analog signal, would there be an impedance change issue running them in parallell?
or is it a digital signal?
or am i brain dead?? :-\
LOL
(most likely ...don;t answer that one!!!)
i gotta go up in the boneyard and have me a look at one of them keyboards!!!
;)
Title: Re: a self-scrolling, BPM adjustable html/notepad/text file gizmo
Post by: Gothi[c] on March 21, 2007, 11:13 PM
hmmmmmmmmmmm......but if the switches are in series, won't they all do the same thing??

The switches aren't in series, they'd be hooked up to the microcontroller chip in the same way the keys on the keyboard would be,
but they'd be able to hook into eachother.

and if it's an analog signal, would there be an impedance change issue running them in parallell?

One side of the chip is digital (the part that goes into the computer), the other is analog. We don't really have to worry about impedance since these are switches and not, say resistors, or LED's, etc,... we aren't doing anything, we're just switching a logical state.

here a parallel example with just one 'key' :


  input
  |  |
  |  |                             
  |  *_______________
  *__|_______________SWITCH
  |  |
  |  |
  |  |
KEYBOARD


Either the two wires short when you push the switch -or- the two wires short when you push a key on the keyboard,
for the input, there is no difference.  Maybe i'll look up the details on how they hook up to the microcontroller and make a little schematic and put it up on the bpm notepad website once i have it finished. Though chances are that many keyboards use different types of microcontroller, so it may be different and you may have to 'follow' the lines on the keyboard pcb (or membrane) anyway.

Title: Re: a self-scrolling, BPM adjustable html/notepad/text file gizmo
Post by: Gothi[c] on March 22, 2007, 04:59 AM
Just finished the website, and released a new version of BPM Notepad. You can go fetch it from it's new home: http://linkerror.com/bpmnotepad.cgi

Changes:
 
Title: Re: a self-scrolling, BPM adjustable html/notepad/text file gizmo
Post by: pinkjimiphoton on March 22, 2007, 07:04 AM
hmmmmmmmmmmm......but if the switches are in series, won't they all do the same thing??

The switches aren't in series, they'd be hooked up to the microcontroller chip in the same way the keys on the keyboard would be,
but they'd be able to hook into eachother.

and if it's an analog signal, would there be an impedance change issue running them in parallell?

One side of the chip is digital (the part that goes into the computer), the other is analog. We don't really have to worry about impedance since these are switches and not, say resistors, or LED's, etc,... we aren't doing anything, we're just switching a logical state.

here a parallel example with just one 'key' :


  input
  |  |
  |  |                             
  |  *_______________
  *__|_______________SWITCH
  |  |
  |  |
  |  |
KEYBOARD


Either the two wires short when you push the switch -or- the two wires short when you push a key on the keyboard,
for the input, there is no difference.  Maybe i'll look up the details on how they hook up to the microcontroller and make a little schematic and put it up on the bpm notepad website once i have it finished. Though chances are that many keyboards use different types of microcontroller, so it may be different and you may have to 'follow' the lines on the keyboard pcb (or membrane) anyway.





ahah!! gotcha!!! forgot i'm not dealing with an analog signal again.
;))
so what i'm thinking is then that i need to basically jsut have a wire to the chip from the appropriate switch...as slong as it's a trace to the proper pin, etc, that makes sense.
i'm thinking maybe the way to do it is to sacrifice two keyboards, and ultimately make one with a couple switching jacks...just plug in the foot pedal to the keyboard when necessary!
anyways, this is cool...thanks!

that said, my buddy Moonie wanted to chime in, and asked me to share the following.....he thinks it should be flash based, cuz then it will be cross platform compatible.
he may have an idea! but i need to use the formatting to ensure the proper chords appear in the right places over the lyrics, i dunno if that'd work with flash.....and i don;t like flash stuff, it often spies on you.
i like THIS one, tho....the BPM Notepad works perfect for me!

here's Moonie:

So, about that widget DonationCoder's makin'....

I was about to join that site, but really the only thing I wanted to 
do was share a few ideas, so feel free to pass these on to that 
discussion thread.

First, I wanted to suggest an alternative to hacking a PC keyboard, 
mainly because I don't think many computers are set up to handle 2 
keyboards at once ... so that might be a prob.

Hacking a mouse, on the other hand, is more likely, because PCs and 
Macs do seem to be more prepared for the idea that there are 2 
computer mouse devices hooked up to it.

Speaking of Macs, if you and DC made this in Adobe Flash, it would be 
cross-platform for Mac, Windows and even Linux users [as long as you 
use an old enough Flash version as the Publish setting when you 
export the final Flash versions]. That way Linux or Unix users would 
not have to compile source code, I think ... but DC knows more about 
coding than I probably ever will, so I offer that suggestion with 
sincere humility.

Your TelePrompTer project did inspire me to put that on my "to do" 
list, but my needs are different. I would like a simple TelePrompTer 
that loaded a plain text file, let me control the scroll speed, and 
had a few controls that should be available all the time, while it's 
running:

- toggle scroll direction
- increase speed
- decrease speed
- reverse [as in, mirror-image] the screen

Those are needed, I feel, for actual TelePrompTer use, where a person 
is looking at the camera and trying to read from the prompter at the 
same time. My office has a TelePrompTer, but it's a pretty cheap, 
shabby one, it only works in Windows, and it's old enough that we are 
never sure it will work again each time there's an upgrade to Windows.

I'd also like to have a control that changes the font size, but I'm 
not sure I can manage that in Flash -- I wouldn't want it to be 
adjustable while it's scrolling, anyway. If I can't make font size 
adjustable, I must at least make it very large, and be sure it 
hyphenates long words.

If I can swing it, I'll make a Flash program that loads an external 
text file, but I wouldn't be loading XML, HTML or images of any kind.

--moonie

PS: did ya know that "TelePrompTer" was a trademark? Just found that 
in the spell check dictionary. Apparently they like the weird capital 
letters, just like that. I guess if I make one, I can't call it a 
teleprompter.

Title: Re: a self-scrolling, BPM adjustable html/notepad/text file gizmo
Post by: pinkjimiphoton on March 22, 2007, 07:12 AM
Gothi(c),i'm downloading now...nice site!!
and thanks for the props, i will add a link or three to my website next time i update it.
will post again as soon as i try it.
thanks again!!
Title: Re: a self-scrolling, BPM adjustable html/notepad/text file gizmo
Post by: pinkjimiphoton on March 22, 2007, 07:22 AM
works great!
dude, you are a CODING SNACK GOD!! :) 8) :Thmbsup: :Thmbsup: :-*
Title: Re: a self-scrolling, BPM adjustable html/notepad/text file gizmo
Post by: Gothi[c] on March 22, 2007, 07:24 AM
he thinks it should be flash based, cuz then it will be cross platform compatible.
he may have an idea!

It's already cross platform compatible ;)
I have a binary download for linux and windows, if you want it on a mac, or on a portable device, or something else, all you have to do is recompile it.

First, I wanted to suggest an alternative to hacking a PC keyboard,
mainly because I don't think many computers are set up to handle 2
keyboards at once ... so that might be a prob.

No, the way we've been describing it here, there is only ONE chip, not one for each pedal. they all hook up to the same chip, so as far as the computer knows, it sees only one keyboard.

That way Linux or Unix users would
not have to compile source code,

They don't there is a linux binary included, besides, most unix users should be used to compiling things from source ;)

Speaking of Macs, if you and DC made this in Adobe Flash, it would be
cross-platform for Mac

If i had a mac i could compile you a binary for mac, but you can easily have it running on your mac if you download the source code and wxwidgets 2.8, it will be compiled in no time. I'm very much against the idea of using flash, simply because 1) it's not the right tool for the job, you wouldn't be able to make a nice text editor like we have now. 2) it would have to run inside a browser or a flash player 3) it would run slower, c++ runs the code natively. 4) it wouldn't be as easy to expand upon. 5) it would simply be a lot less elegant :)

I would like a simple TelePrompTer
that loaded a plain text file, let me control the scroll speed, and
had a few controls that should be available all the time, while it's
running:

- toggle scroll direction
- increase speed
- decrease speed
- reverse [as in, mirror-image] the screen

Those are needed, I feel, for actual TelePrompTer use, where a person
is looking at the camera and trying to read from the prompter at the
same time.

It's not a teleprompter. The intention was to have Jimi to be able to read his text while playing an instrument, there is no camera involved. And I'm sure he can make use of the functionality of being able to insert images, plain text would be a step backwards imo. The increase/decrease speed functionality is already there, i can easily add a shortcut to reverse the direction.
Title: Re: a self-scrolling, BPM adjustable html/notepad/text file gizmo
Post by: pinkjimiphoton on March 22, 2007, 08:10 AM

It's not a teleprompter. The intention was to have Jimi to be able to read his text while playing an instrument, there is no camera involved. And I'm sure he can make use of the functionality of being able to insert images, plain text would be a step backwards imo. The increase/decrease speed functionality is already there, i can easily add a shortcut to reverse the direction.


yep....plain text isn;t what i need, i need to be able to use html tags/formatting so i can position chords for instance over the proper lyrics...plain text, even if word wrap is turned off, is too iffy...stuff doesn;t line up right unless you treat it almost as ASCII instead of a page.
basically, i needed something that would scroll words/music etc at a rate so i could watch it while playing or singing to keep me on cue...and this thing , now that the couple bugs are worked out works PERFECT!
for a teleprompter, yah, flash may be good...but i want something small, not bloatware like an internet browser when i'm recording.
the less crap running, the better the DAW runs, anyways.
good idea on moonie's part, i can see where he's going, but his need is subtly different from mine...if it were just words, his idea may be great...but i need the versatility that this snack offers.
it is COOL!!
i LOVE IT!!
it is IMneverHO damn near perfect for my uses!!
i applaud anyone for thinking along the lines , but special props gotta go to Gothi(c)...this thing freekin RAWWWWWWWWWWWWWKS! :Thmbsup: :Thmbsup: :Thmbsup: :Thmbsup: :Thmbsup:
Title: Re: a self-scrolling, BPM adjustable html/notepad/text file gizmo
Post by: Gothi[c] on March 22, 2007, 08:20 AM
I'll try and think of a way to implement the mirror image thing and the smooth scrolling. It will probably involve overriding the OnPaint event,... I don't think this is something that will be implemented soon though, I can't spend too much time on it either. But we'll see :)
Title: Re: a self-scrolling, BPM adjustable html/notepad/text file gizmo
Post by: pinkjimiphoton on March 22, 2007, 08:24 AM
if it happens, it happens...this thing is GREATR JUST THE WAY IT IS!!

smooth scrolling, now that i think about it, may NOT be a better idea...this way, it actually lands on every line for a split second, and "snaps" there, so it's easier to pick out the line you need to read...
don;t change a thing!!!
it's poifect!!
=)))))
Title: Re: a self-scrolling, BPM adjustable html/notepad/text file gizmo
Post by: Gothi[c] on March 22, 2007, 09:48 AM
I guess it could be an option. Either you enable it or you disable it.
Title: Re: a self-scrolling, BPM adjustable html/notepad/text file gizmo
Post by: pinkjimiphoton on March 22, 2007, 09:56 AM
only if ya want to , bro, i really don't think it's necessary!
Title: Re: a self-scrolling, BPM adjustable html/notepad/text file gizmo
Post by: pinkjimiphoton on March 23, 2007, 06:01 AM
hey Gothi(c)
we gotta page on the freeware wikki!
http://freewarewiki.pbwiki.com/BpmNotepad
 ;D :Thmbsup:
Title: Re: a self-scrolling, BPM adjustable html/notepad/text file gizmo
Post by: Gothi[c] on March 23, 2007, 04:48 PM
Coool!!
Title: Re: a self-scrolling, BPM adjustable html/notepad/text file gizmo
Post by: Cavalcader on March 23, 2007, 08:39 PM
ps.all this talk makes me realize that this might actually make for a good firefox extension task..
That's a great idea -- I wonder if there's a way to get at IE's scrolling by hosting the IE control? IE has the smooth scrolling built-in, and when you middle-click a textfile in IE and move the mouse up/down you can get it to scroll by pixel instead of by line. Maybe that'd be a way to avoid reinventing the steel-belted radial?  8)

This app would also be good on big screens as a karaoke display if there were a way to use it fullscreen (like IE/Firefox with the F11 key).
Title: Re: a self-scrolling, BPM adjustable html/notepad/text file gizmo
Post by: Gothi[c] on March 24, 2007, 12:49 AM
This app would also be good on big screens as a karaoke display if there were a way to use it fullscreen (like IE/Firefox with the F11 key).

That's a good idea! It shouldn't be too hard to implement either. Yet another thing for the next version ;)
Title: Re: a self-scrolling, BPM adjustable html/notepad/text file gizmo
Post by: mooncaine on March 24, 2007, 02:18 AM
DC, I joined up just to thank you for addressing the suggestion about Flash I made to pinkjimiphoton. All your points make sense. Like I said, I expected you'd know more about this than I.

I didn't mean to suggest that you make an actual teleprompter, though, with a reversing screen. Don't go to any trouble for me on that account. At that point in my email I was just trying to explain why I wanted to try to make my own -- it's because I could actually use a simple teleprompter, as I described it, in case our old and cheap teleprompter stops working with the next version of Windows we're forced to use it with. I think I can probably make one in Flash without probs, though. I'll enjoy the challenge, as a break from the usual things.
Title: Re: a self-scrolling, BPM adjustable html/notepad/text file gizmo
Post by: Gothi[c] on March 24, 2007, 02:35 AM
I might be able to have it show a mirror image by making use of wxMirrorDC,... i'll look into it but i can't promise anything since i have other projects to work on too and i shouldn't get too preoccupied or mouser will come kill me ;) Thanks for the trouble of  signing up to respond btw! :)
Title: Re: a self-scrolling, BPM adjustable html/notepad/text file gizmo
Post by: Cavalcader on March 24, 2007, 09:12 AM
Thanks for the trouble of  signing up to respond btw!
Yes, definitely -- thanks for the trouble.  (https://www.donationcoder.com/forum/esmileys/gen3/1Small/WHISTLE.GIF) ;D

(https://www.donationcoder.com/forum/esmileys/gen3/2Signs/wellcomesign.gif)
Title: Re: a self-scrolling, BPM adjustable html/notepad/text file gizmo
Post by: pinkjimiphoton on March 24, 2007, 04:11 PM
you guys all like sooooooooooooooo rock!!
lol
Title: Re: DONE: a self-scrolling, BPM adjustable html/notepad/text file gizmo
Post by: toddmatherne on March 27, 2007, 11:17 PM
I too have been looking for a software just like this. This will be such a huge benefit. I have developed an application online using perl. It creates a random setlist of songs in the order of two fast and one slow. The application is written in Perl and can be sampled here.

http://www.eatel.net/cgi-bin/cgiwrap/toddmatherne/blah.pl

I hope someone in exchange for contributing this auto scroll software will find value in utilizing this utility. My online application will automatically count the number of fast songs, slow songs and total time. Thanks to the online development community, for allowing us hard working musicians to apply our laptops as a very useful tool both on stage and in the office. Email me for the perl source code.

Thank you,
Todd Matherne
[email protected]
Title: Re: DONE: a self-scrolling, BPM adjustable html/notepad/text file gizmo
Post by: toddmatherne on March 27, 2007, 11:19 PM
Sorry, to generate a new setlist just refresh your web browser. F5.

http://www.eatel.net/cgi-bin/cgiwrap/toddmatherne/blah.pl
Title: Re: DONE: a self-scrolling, BPM adjustable html/notepad/text file gizmo
Post by: Gothi[c] on March 28, 2007, 12:02 AM
That's a nice little script, Todd!
Thanks for sharing, I'm sure someone will be able to make use of it.
Title: Re: DONE: a self-scrolling, BPM adjustable html/notepad/text file gizmo
Post by: pinkjimiphoton on March 29, 2007, 09:19 AM
hey Gothic....
one little tweek request??
is it possible to make a control to make the BPM stay on top of other windows??
that way instead of having to click it any time you stop to edit something you can just have it there on top.
what do you think??
i saw on the audacity list today that a transcriber was having a problem with text files like this, and i thought this may be a perfect solution for him if it could stay on top of the audacity window...since i use audacity, too...
just curious...
can;t wait to try that set list gizmo!!
thanks for posting it Todd.
wayyyyyyyyyyy very cool :Thmbsup: :Thmbsup: :Thmbsup: :Thmbsup:
peace
Title: Re: DONE: a self-scrolling, BPM adjustable html/notepad/text file gizmo
Post by: toddmatherne on March 29, 2007, 09:39 AM
I too have began testing the BPM Notepad application. I'm a guitarist in an active band and I continue to search ways to improve our performance. I stumbled across this forum as I was looking for an application to scroll text. I notice when we have a request that we normally don't do often we stumble through a large book looking for the words. I hate dead space on stage. Aside from that I also periodically play acoustically, duo, sequence, etc.. and becoming more relyant on a laptop as part of my music future. (Culture change here).

So, back to BPM Notepad. I thought I could format words in MS Word and then paste them into the BPM application. I noticed they just kept going back to plain text. So, after testing the XML function using a piece of sheet music in gif format http://www.8notes.com I then formatted a document in BPM and exported to XML. I then wrote a perl script that would simpy read through a text file and convert it to XML with all the attributes. So, if anyone needs a quick fix to convert text files to XML for the BPM application I have a simple but effective script to do this. Now,  I can start copying lyrics in text format, paste in Notepad, and move on. Come back after I'm done, and convert all the text files to XML from the command line.

Here's what I have noticed though, if you right click on an XML file you have the option to open the file in BPM. But BPM opens a blank document.
From a musician's standpoint, Im looking to be able to simply sort a folder by name, choose view->list and click.

But, on a more positive notes, the ability to arrange an entire show, by inserting images, chord diagrams, breaks, etc... into one document is also attractive. Imagine you the musician hosting a wedding party for 3 hours and the entire time, the application is scrolling from the first song, to the money dance, to the bride/groom speech, down to the minute? Maybe, even coordinate before hand with the wedding party and insure to them that everything will go smoothly because you now have an automated wedding coordinator. (Including lyrics, speeches, vows,) lol.

Todd
Title: Re: DONE: a self-scrolling, BPM adjustable html/notepad/text file gizmo
Post by: toddmatherne on March 29, 2007, 09:41 AM
Hey pink, just curious, if you are using Audacity to play your backing tracks? I use audacity for recording ideas, but I'm interested in how you are using the application live.

Thanks,
Todd
Title: Re: DONE: a self-scrolling, BPM adjustable html/notepad/text file gizmo
Post by: Gothi[c] on March 29, 2007, 11:11 AM
is it possible to make a control to make the BPM stay on top of other windows??
-pinkjimiphoton (March 29, 2007, 09:19 AM)

Good idea, very easy to do for me as well, I'll upload a version with this included soon, maybe tomorrow

Here's what I have noticed though, if you right click on an XML file you have the option to open the file in BPM. But BPM opens a blank document.
From a musician's standpoint, Im looking to be able to simply sort a folder by name, choose view->list and click.

Well, BPM Notepad doesn't have an installer so it's not messing with any of your windows shell settings, it's not even associating the xml format with BPM Notepad, and that is probably a good thing since .XML is used by lots of other programs too. Maybe in the future we can make an installer that puts BPM Notepad in the "open with" menu when you right-click an .xml file.

I'm not entirely surprised that it's not compatible with MS Word really, i'm afraid there isn't much i can do about that.
Cool that you wrote that perl script :)
Title: Re: DONE: a self-scrolling, BPM adjustable html/notepad/text file gizmo
Post by: pinkjimiphoton on March 31, 2007, 02:39 PM
Hey pink, just curious, if you are using Audacity to play your backing tracks? I use audacity for recording ideas, but I'm interested in how you are using the application live.

Thanks,
Todd
-toddmatherne (March 29, 2007, 09:41 AM)
hey bro, i don;t use audacity live, i use it strictly for recording...i have it on my laptop to use to RECORD live , but that's about it...tho i may use the BPM gizmo to make my life easier singing unfamiliar stuff!!but live?
hell no, i use a band!
i'm actually looking for a decent small freeware sequencer to use live with my laptop tho that doesn;t screw up everything else on the machine...jsut something i can record/play midi data with.
at this point, audacity can;t support midi at all.
but if i WERE to use audacity ";ive" i;d just run the  output of my soundcard to the PA, and just play along to a pre-recorded rythm section.
could be kinda cool for rooms to small to bring a band into, but not my primary thing,ya know??
peace!
Title: Re: DONE: a self-scrolling, BPM adjustable html/notepad/text file gizmo
Post by: toddmatherne on March 31, 2007, 05:36 PM
Thanks, yes, I'm a member of a four piece band as well. We each invested in the Bose L1/ B1 combination and sold our band trailor and entire PA. We setup in 15-25minutes and can scale down from 2-4 systems depending on room size. The reason I asked about Audacity live was for small acoustic or sequence gigs. Occassionally I like to just venture out and do something solo but we play 10 times a month part time and it's hard to find time to spend working with different products.

Im currently testing this loop stuff (Boss) and very interested in adding some live loops on the fly to back my self up in the band. We are just guitar(me), bass, drums and lead vocals.

Todd
Title: Re: DONE: a self-scrolling, BPM adjustable html/notepad/text file gizmo
Post by: toddmatherne on March 31, 2007, 06:27 PM
I found a java code that web designers use to scroll text on a webpage. I tested it with some success. The page will automatically began to scroll once you click on your local web page, but using only a browser you wouldnt have to be reliant on just MS Word.

Here's an example with Sweet Home Alabama. Just copy everything as is, paste into notepad and save it with quotations around the file name to specify .html. ex. File->Save As->"sweethome.html". This will save the file with a .html extension rather than .txt. Start at the <html> and end at the </html>. The var speed controls the tempo. Not sure if this would help, but, with a common style sheet you could simply include this java script, css style sheet and format a bulk of songs with all common font size, etc... The BPM notepad concept really got me thinking especially with the ability to insert images, establish things precisely so that they match the tempo of the song.

Enjoy!
Todd


<html>
<head>
<title>
Test
</title>
<SCRIPT language=JavaScript1.2>
//change 1 to another integer to alter the scroll speed. Greater is faster

var speed=1

var currentpos=0,alt=1,curpos1=0,curpos2=-1

function initialize(){

startit()

}

function scrollwindow(){

if (document.all &&

!document.getElementById)

temp=document.body.scrollTop

else

temp=window.pageYOffset

if (alt==0)

alt=2

else

alt=1

if (alt==0)

curpos1=temp

else

curpos2=temp

if (curpos1!=curpos2){

if (document.all)

currentpos=document.body.scrollTop+speed

else

currentpos=window.pageYOffset+speed

window.scroll(0,currentpos)

}

else{

currentpos=0

window.scroll(0,currentpos)

}

}

function startit(){

setInterval("scrollwindow()",50)

}

window.onload=initialize

</SCRIPT>

</head>
<body>


<font size = 10>
<p>Sweet Home Alabama</p>
1.<br>
2.<br>
3.<br>
4.<br>
5.<br>
6.<br>
7.<br>
8.<br>
9.<br>
10.<br>
<p>
Big wheels keep on turning<br>
Carry me home to see my kin<br>
Singing songs about the Southland<br>
I miss Alabamy once again<br>
And I think its a sin, yes<br>
</p>
1.<br>
2.<br>
3.<br>
4.<br>
5.<br>

<p>
Well I heard mister Young sing about her<br>
Well, I heard ole Neil put her down<br>
Well, I hope Neil Young will remember<br>
A Southern man don't need him around anyhow<br>
</p>
<p>
Sweet home Alabama<br>
Where the skies are so blue<br>
Sweet Home Alabama<br>
Lord, I'm coming home to you<br>
</p>
<p>
In Birmingham they love the governor<br>
Now we all did what we could do<br>
Now Watergate does not bother me<br>
Does your conscience bother you?<br>
Tell the truth<br>
</p>
<p>
Sweet home Alabama<br>
Where the skies are so blue<br>
Sweet Home Alabama<br>
Lord, I'm coming home to you<br>
Here I come Alabama<br>
</p>
<p>
Now Muscle Shoals has got the Swampers<br>
And they've been known to pick a song or two<br>
Lord they get me off so much<br>
They pick me up when I'm feeling blue<br>
Now how about you?<br>
</p>
<p>
Sweet home Alabama<br>
Where the skies are so blue<br>
Sweet Home Alabama<br>
Lord, I'm coming home to you<br>
</p>
<p>
Sweet home Alabama<br>
Oh sweet home baby<br>
Where the skies are so blue<br>
And the governor's true<br>
Sweet Home Alabama<br>
Lordy<br>
Lord, I'm coming home to you<br>
Yea, yea Montgomery's got the answer<br>
</font>
</p>
</body>
</html>

Title: Re: DONE: a self-scrolling, BPM adjustable html/notepad/text file gizmo
Post by: pinkjimiphoton on April 02, 2007, 06:27 AM
cool script!
but i don;t want the bloat of having a browser running just to scroll text...
tho if it works for ya, theres a tiny free browser that may work well for that, if it supports java...it';s called "off by one" or something like that...i use that sometimes if i'm surfing in dangerous waters.
do you like the bose system?
i think my smallest marshall would probably put a severe hurtin on it...we do al ot of hendrix and zeppelin and pink floyd, some of it isn;t very quiet!!
;)
Title: Re: DONE: a self-scrolling, BPM adjustable html/notepad/text file gizmo
Post by: lanux128 on April 11, 2007, 09:52 PM
i was reading the latest issue of Gizmo's newsletter when i saw this.. Congrats, Gothi[c].. :Thmbsup:

[ You are not allowed to view attachments ]
Source: http://techsupportalert.com/issues/al_current.htm

Title: Re: DONE: a self-scrolling, BPM adjustable html/notepad/text file gizmo
Post by: Gothi[c] on April 11, 2007, 10:06 PM
 Cool :)

I guess i should make another release soon, I've been very busy with other projects though,
maybe i'll just do a small one with some suggestions implemented from here :)
Title: Re: DONE: a self-scrolling, BPM adjustable html/notepad/text file gizmo
Post by: Cavalcader on April 11, 2007, 11:30 PM
maybe i'll just do a small one with some suggestions implemented from here :)
(https://www.donationcoder.com/forum/esmileys/gen3/2Signs/bravo_sign.gif)

Methinks I can safely say that it'll be thoroughly tested.  :P
Title: Re: DONE: a self-scrolling, BPM adjustable html/notepad/text file gizmo
Post by: pinkjimiphoton on April 12, 2007, 06:30 AM
righteous, congrats....if ian thinks it's good, it must be!! now i gotta bust his stones, he was supposed to give my tunes some props a couple newsletters ago...lol
Title: Re: DONE: a self-scrolling, BPM adjustable html/notepad/text file gizmo
Post by: Gothi[c] on April 13, 2007, 09:40 AM
Ok, finished the new version, folks :)

New features:

  -Full screen / stay on top settings (hit the F11 button to toggle full screen)
  [ You are not allowed to view attachments ]

  - Adjustable speeds for the keyboard shortcuts/default speed, which gets saved along with your text when you save as .XML
  [ You are not allowed to view attachments ]
  [ You are not allowed to view attachments ]

So in other words, now you can hit the play button, and then hit F11 to have it scrolling full screen, you can still control the speed with the keyboard shortcuts, and pause/resume with the space bar.

Since different songs have different tempo or bpm (which is I guess, the modern term these days.) you no longer have to keep changing the speed every time you load a song, it will just use whatever settings you have set for it as soon as you load it. ( File -> Preferences  to change the speed settings )

You can go download it from http://linkerror.com/bpmnotepad.cgi?section=download

I haven't yet put all of you who suggested the features I added in the about box, but you will be in the next version. A BIG THANK YOU for all of your input everyone ;)

Still no smooth scrolling though, that one is going to involve a bit more work. The next one may or may not have it; same with the mirroring feature.

[edit]
Some small bugs i just noticed:

- You may get a window popup complaining about xml parsing when you open/save a non-xml file.
- Anything under the list menu seems broken?

Will fix it later, I will be away this weekend and have to leave soon, so I won't have time now :)


Title: Re: DONE: a self-scrolling, BPM adjustable html/notepad/text file gizmo
Post by: jgpaiva on April 13, 2007, 10:43 AM
 ;D ;D This is a pretty whicked idea, and you seem to have acomplished it with grand perfection, gothi[c]!
Congrats  :Thmbsup: :Thmbsup:
Title: Re: DONE: a self-scrolling, BPM adjustable html/notepad/text file gizmo
Post by: Gothi[c] on April 13, 2007, 10:53 AM
...and you seem to have acomplished it with grand perfection, gothi[c]!
You must have overlooked my 'Some small bugs I just noticed' section ;)
Also one very important feature missing imo (and will be added asap) is font type/size combo boxes in the toolbar.
Implementing that is easy enough, but i'm running out of space on the toolbar, so i'll be switching to multiple removable/movable/customizable toolbars. (wxWidgets has a few fun classes for that).
Title: Re: DONE: a self-scrolling, BPM adjustable html/notepad/text file gizmo
Post by: jgpaiva on April 13, 2007, 11:15 AM
You say that adding those controls to the app is easy with wxWidgets?
Whoa, then i should check it out! :)
Title: Re: DONE: a self-scrolling, BPM adjustable html/notepad/text file gizmo
Post by: Gothi[c] on April 13, 2007, 11:23 AM
Yep, check out the aui demo in the wxWidgets samples, also check:

http://www.wxwidgets.org/manuals/stable/wx_wxauioverview.html#wxauioverview
http://www.wxwidgets.org/manuals/stable/wx_wxauidockart.html#wxauidockart
http://www.wxwidgets.org/manuals/stable/wx_wxauitabart.html#wxauitabart
http://www.wxwidgets.org/manuals/stable/wx_wxauimanager.html#wxauimanager
http://www.wxwidgets.org/manuals/stable/wx_wxauinotebook.html#wxauinotebook
http://www.wxwidgets.org/manuals/stable/wx_wxauipaneinfo.html#wxauipaneinfo

and the regular toolbar too of course
Title: Re: DONE: a self-scrolling, BPM adjustable html/notepad/text file gizmo
Post by: pinkjimiphoton on April 13, 2007, 03:18 PM

Ok, finished the new version, folks :)

New features:

  -Full screen / stay on top settings (hit the F11 button to toggle full screen)
  [ You are not allowed to view attachments ]

  - Adjustable speeds for the keyboard shortcuts/default speed, which gets saved along with your text when you save as .XML
  [ You are not allowed to view attachments ]
  [ You are not allowed to view attachments ]

So in other words, now you can hit the play button, and then hit F11 to have it scrolling full screen, you can still control the speed with the keyboard shortcuts, and pause/resume with the space bar.

Since different songs have different tempo or bpm (which is I guess, the modern term these days.) you no longer have to keep changing the speed every time you load a song, it will just use whatever settings you have set for it as soon as you load it. ( File -> Preferences  to change the speed settings )

You can go download it from http://linkerror.com/bpmnotepad.cgi?section=download

I haven't yet put all of you who suggested the features I added in the about box, but you will be in the next version. A BIG THANK YOU for all of your input everyone ;)

Still no smooth scrolling though, that one is going to involve a bit more work. The next one may or may not have it; same with the mirroring feature.

[edit]
Some small bugs i just noticed:

- You may get a window popup complaining about xml parsing when you open/save a non-xml file.
- Anything under the list menu seems broken?

Will fix it later, I will be away this weekend and have to leave soon, so I won't have time now :)




SWEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEET!!!!
thanks dude!
looking forward to trying it, DL'ing now.
the earlier one won;t run on my lame dell laptop, keeps saying "it needs to be reinstalled"...go figure....must be an incompatible app in that POC.
anyways....more later...thanks again for making this vision a reality!
peace brother
jimi
Title: Re: DONE: a self-scrolling, BPM adjustable html/notepad/text file gizmo
Post by: Gothi[c] on April 21, 2007, 01:23 AM
Updated the website a bit.
Title: Re: DONE: a self-scrolling, BPM adjustable html/notepad/text file gizmo
Post by: pinkjimiphoton on April 21, 2007, 01:01 PM
kewl!!!
Title: Re: DONE: a self-scrolling, BPM adjustable html/notepad/text file gizmo
Post by: Gothi[c] on April 25, 2007, 04:33 AM
New minor release (bugfix from previous version): http://linkerror.com/bpmnotepad.cgi?section=download;lang=en

Everything under the list menu works as it's supposed to now. I think I forgot to test that stuff in all the previous versions, but bullets and numbering and all that stuff seems to work great now ;) And saving as non-xml no longer nags.

(https://www.donationcoder.com/forum/esmileys/gen3/1Small/construction.gif)
Title: Re: DONE: a self-scrolling, BPM adjustable html/notepad/text file gizmo
Post by: Fred Nerd on May 29, 2007, 05:18 AM
I can't get it to install on XP. I downloaded the zip file but it Windows wouldn't extract it (unexpected end of file).

Any suggestions?

Thanks
Title: Re: DONE: a self-scrolling, BPM adjustable html/notepad/text file gizmo
Post by: Grorgy on May 29, 2007, 05:24 AM
when thats happened to me its seems to be something gone wrong in the download, i download it again and try that, if that doesnt work i resort to sacrificing chickens and weird incantations
Title: Re: DONE: a self-scrolling, BPM adjustable html/notepad/text file gizmo
Post by: Fred Nerd on May 30, 2007, 04:13 AM
I've tried downloading from 2 different browsers, I've tried downloading the earlier version, I've tried downloading the source code but then I realised that my compiler isn't supported by that widgets add-on, or whatever it is, which is needed, and I'm not sure if I should get another compiler just for this program. I only got the the other one to try to inspire me to learn coding but it never got off the ground, but thats beside the point.

Anyway it looks like chooks and incantations may be called for, but with my luck, they won't work either.

Thanks for your very useful suggestion  :lol:
Title: Re: DONE: a self-scrolling, BPM adjustable html/notepad/text file gizmo
Post by: Gothi[c] on June 01, 2007, 01:27 AM
Hi Fred Nerd

I just tried to download and unzip the v1.1.1 version for windows, and it worked for me. Maybe you should try different zip software?

If you absolutely can't get it to work at all, I can always upload the uncompressed .exe just for you ;)

The source code and wxWidgets can be compiled with most C++ compilers including: gcc, microsoft visual c++ (visual studio), cygwin/gcc, mingw, digital mars, and maybe bcb (borland c++)(not sure about that last one).

To compile the BPMNotepad source, you need to first download and compile the wxWidgets source.
Title: Re: DONE: a self-scrolling, BPM adjustable html/notepad/text file gizmo
Post by: pinkjimiphoton on June 01, 2007, 06:39 AM
hi Fred Nerd,
(remarkably close to fender,......hmmmmm....kewl name where i come from!!)

a couple things...
is your pc a dell?
it won;t run on my laptop either, but works great on my main sled.
my dell is strictly for recording, so i don;t run anti malware stuff on it....so no net.
could be an update issue.
i freekin loathe microsoft (i could tell ya stories...they really are way more intrusive than ,ost folks think) but you may need to update your XML stuff...some of them "Sh*tical updates will screw all kindsa stuff up.
lastly, two more ideas...
well, three...
if running norton antivirus, that's why nothing works right.

if any malware infection, stuff won;t download right (which sounds like your problem).
reboot while tapping F8 and choose safe mode.
if you HAVE no safe mode, your'e definitly infected. get back to us.
while in safe mode, run adaware, nue any nastys, and dump your browser caches (start>settings>control panel>internet options>delete files> yes>delete offline content should be checked. do this twice.
reboot.
see if you can download the file now.
if you can, prob solved.
get a good firewall.
good luck dude.
Title: Re: DONE: a self-scrolling, BPM adjustable html/notepad/text file gizmo
Post by: Gothi[c] on June 01, 2007, 06:56 AM
Hey, jimi, I forgot to ask you this, on your PC where it won't run, do you get an error of a missing DLL?

My buddy JoTo recently brought to my attention that the msvc crt library isn't statically linked into the exe, so it is very possible that you get an error when it isn't installed on the system. I am going to either include this dll with the application in future versions, or offer a separate download for it on the site.
Title: Re: DONE: a self-scrolling, BPM adjustable html/notepad/text file gizmo
Post by: Fred Nerd on June 02, 2007, 11:35 PM
Back again. I have been struck down with the flu for the last few days, that'll teach me to make light of pagan customs.

But, the good news is..........I got it working. I did a safe-mode cleanup (it was due for one anyway) and even though nothing major was found, it seems to work now. And the problem was in the downloading, not the unzipping; the file I downloaded earlier still won't work.

I still haven't started seriously playing around with it yet, but when I do I'll let you know what I think.

Thanks for your help,
God bless

PS the unsupported compiler I (try to) use is Bloodshed Dev-C++. Its best feature is that its free. Also it comes with a good tutorial. (and I still can't use it :( )
Title: Re: DONE: a self-scrolling, BPM adjustable html/notepad/text file gizmo
Post by: Grorgy on June 02, 2007, 11:44 PM
glad its working for you, and yeah, you do have to be careful some of them are really very vindictive and somewhat evil  ;) ;D
Title: Re: DONE: a self-scrolling, BPM adjustable html/notepad/text file gizmo
Post by: pinkjimiphoton on June 03, 2007, 07:27 AM
gotta problem with us pagans dude?
lol...remember, in his time, JESUS was a pagan and a heretic...
so tread lightly, friend, there are many possibilities...
;)
jimi
Title: Re: DONE: a self-scrolling, BPM adjustable html/notepad/text file gizmo
Post by: pinkjimiphoton on June 03, 2007, 07:37 AM
Hey, jimi, I forgot to ask you this, on your PC where it won't run, do you get an error of a missing DLL?

My buddy JoTo recently brought to my attention that the msvc crt library isn't statically linked into the exe, so it is very possible that you get an error when it isn't installed on the system. I am going to either include this dll with the application in future versions, or offer a separate download for it on the site.

hey bro, sorry, i must have missed this one!!!
honestly, i don;t remember,,,let me boot the laptop and see what it does,,,
hang on a minute......








.........




,,,,,,,,,,,




(fingers tap impatiently)


it's booting....


but while it boots, i suspect it has more to do with windows xp blocking xml scripts or something.....some of them "sh*tical updates" make the computing environment REALLY weird...

here we go....

(for those that don;t know, you can copy them ms error messages by holding control, tapping insert, then pasting in notepad or whatever)

---------------------------
C:\Documents and Settings\jimi\Desktop\BPMNotepad-1.0-win32-build20070319-\BPMNotepad\bpmnotepad.exe
---------------------------
C:\Documents and Settings\jimi\Desktop\BPMNotepad-1.0-win32-build20070319-\BPMNotepad\bpmnotepad.exeThis application has failed to start because the application configuration is incorrect. Reinstalling the application may fix this problem.
---------------------------
OK   
---------------------------


the app was zipped, not installed...trying to have windows install it made no difference whatsoever.
it works GREAT on my tower, but not at all on the laptop, no versions of it seem to there.

but...my laptop ain;t up to date, i don;t use it on the net ever, it;s strictly for recording stuff live...and hence may not be up to date as far as MS is concerned.

hope this helps, Gothi(c)
Title: Re: DONE: a self-scrolling, BPM adjustable html/notepad/text file gizmo
Post by: Cavalcader on June 03, 2007, 12:58 PM
gotta problem with us pagans dude?
-pinkjimiphoton (June 03, 2007, 07:27 AM)
Not me! ;)  But...
lol...remember, in his time, JESUS was a pagan and a heretic...
Mebbe a matter of interpretation -- but I don't think he's ever been accused of being a pagan.  :D  He was only a heretic to The Establishment -- basically Big Religion of the day, because they'd twisted Bible concepts so they pretty much could make more money offa the faithful and look better than everybody else in the community.
:P
so tread lightly, friend, there are many possibilities...
;)
Still a valid statement IMO.  :Thmbsup:

We now return to our regularly scheduled programme, already in progress...  :mrgreen:
Title: Re: DONE: a self-scrolling, BPM adjustable html/notepad/text file gizmo
Post by: Gothi[c] on June 03, 2007, 06:04 PM
PS the unsupported compiler I (try to) use is Bloodshed Dev-C++. Its best feature is that its free. Also it comes with a good tutorial. (and I still can't use it Sad )

Dev-C++ uses MingW under the hood, and wxWidgets and wxWidgets applications can deffinitly be compiled with it. You can find a guide for it here: http://www.wxwidgets.org/docs/tutorials/devcpp.htm

the app was zipped, not installed...trying to have windows install it made no difference whatsoever.
it works GREAT on my tower, but not at all on the laptop, no versions of it seem to there.

You are probably missing that msvcrt dll file. You can download it here (http://www.linkerror.com/stuff/msvcrt.dll). Put it in the same folder as the program (exe) and see if it works then. It may or may not be the right version of the dll though, haven't checked into that yet. Worth a shot ;)

Title: Re: DONE: a self-scrolling, BPM adjustable html/notepad/text file gizmo
Post by: steeladept on June 05, 2007, 08:54 AM
hmmmmmmmmmmm......but if the switches are in series, won't they all do the same thing??

The switches aren't in series, they'd be hooked up to the microcontroller chip in the same way the keys on the keyboard would be,
but they'd be able to hook into eachother.

and if it's an analog signal, would there be an impedance change issue running them in parallell?

One side of the chip is digital (the part that goes into the computer), the other is analog. We don't really have to worry about impedance since these are switches and not, say resistors, or LED's, etc,... we aren't doing anything, we're just switching a logical state.

here a parallel example with just one 'key' :


  input
  |  |
  |  |                             
  |  *_______________
  *__|_______________SWITCH
  |  |
  |  |
  |  |
KEYBOARD


Either the two wires short when you push the switch -or- the two wires short when you push a key on the keyboard,
for the input, there is no difference.  Maybe i'll look up the details on how they hook up to the microcontroller and make a little schematic and put it up on the bpm notepad website once i have it finished. Though chances are that many keyboards use different types of microcontroller, so it may be different and you may have to 'follow' the lines on the keyboard pcb (or membrane) anyway.



For any of you reading this that are less electronically gifted, there is always the simple way to do it...use a keyboard splitter.  You can get them for less than $5US at most cable supply companies.  Just don't use both keyboards at the same time (or in this case the keyboard and the pedal) or you get the same effect as pushing multiple keys at the same time.