IDEA: Movie Mode

[app103]

Whenever my daughter and I watch movies on my PC (or I am playing a fullscreen game), I end up having to first close a bunch of applications I normally have running, because they either make sounds or have popup alerts that distract us and spoil our enjoyment of the movie.

It would be nice if I had utility that I could supply a list of the full paths to all the programs that interfere, that may or may not be running. It would go down the list and check if those apps are running; and if they are, add them to a relaunch list before closing them. Then when I am finished watching my movie, it could relaunch all the apps for me...but only the ones on the relaunch list. This way nothing that wasn't running before would end up getting launched, and I could provide a more extensive list of applications that interfere.

NOTE: At least one of the applications I need to close has to be relaunched with command line parameters.

[JavaJones]

Would it not be easier to have something that mutes all apps but the foreground one (movie player) and is "always on top"? Seems that might also be fairly easy to code and more generally useful.

- Oshyan

[app103]

No, because it's not only sound that causes distractions. Popup alerts and other activities also cause distractions.

This would be fairly easy to code as I described it, and normally it would be the kind of thing I'd make myself, but I am just not in the right frame of mind to be able to do it.

[mouser]

I would be willing to add such a feature to Process Tamer.

[JavaJones]

Yeah, I figured the "always on top" bit would take care of the pop-ups. But fair enough. I guess a better way to say it is *I'd* find a more general version to be useful. But I don't want to hijack your request thread.

- Oshyan

[Target]

could any of the offending apps suffer data loss on being closed?

[app103]

could any of the offending apps suffer data loss on being closed?

-Target (December 09, 2010, 11:21 PM)

No.

[superboyac]

Just to be sure, before it relaunches the programs, it should check to make sure the programs are not already running.  You may have closed a program without realizing you just minimized it to the tray, or there was some dialog that you had to click on before closing.

[lanux128]

i have a script to do this before launching a game but the apps to be closed/relaunched are manually added to the list. that's why there is a "pre" and "post" button. i'll clean up the code a bit and post it if you're interested.

[SleepingWolf]

You could check out EndItAll by PC Magazine at pcmag.com

[app103]

You could check out EndItAll by PC Magazine at pcmag.com

-SleepingWolf (February 07, 2011, 10:54 AM)

Thanks for the suggestion but...

Here are the 2 key points to what I want:

• I do not want to have to select a bunch of things to kill each and every time.
• I need it to be able to restart everything it kills later on.

EndItAll can not do that and neither can its successor, TaskPower 2.

[4wd]

Annoyed with constant popup requesters from people who want to be your Facebook friend?
Find that the latest Nigerian Prince has interrupted your movie watching by offering you a once in a lifetime offer to get wealthy?
Do dings, bells, chimes and buzzes make you miss that once in a million Call of Duty: Black Ops headshot?
Constantly find yourself openning the door for salesmen?  (Sorry, got carried away   )

Well, your prayers are answered!^*

Try ***Movie-ize***, (catchy name, huh).

Comes with a money back guarantee!^**

Instructions:
1) Put it anywhere
2) Run it
3) Marvel at the Tray icon
3) Select Preferences to edit the ini file, it's pretty self-explanatory: one line per program, full path required, increment the key number as you go, (ie. Program11, Program12, etc).  It throws Skype in as an example entry.

I should note that all it does is close the process, if the process pops up a requester asking for confirmation, it won't get it from this program.

EDIT: Crap!  Didn't see the command line parameter bit  
I'll have a look at that.  Can you send me an example command line for it?

Removed, see post below.


^* Maybe
^** Disclaimer: All waranties void if this software proves useful or not.  Liability also not accepted for damage to eyesight through increased movie watching or DVT from failing to move from chair.  Warranty also considered to be void if it's used on a system it wasn't designed for, ie. mine.

[app103]

Can you send me an example command line for it?

-4wd (February 07, 2011, 04:50 PM)

This is the parameters for launching the particular version of xchat that I run, that sets the settings folder somewhere other than the default location on my system drive:

-d "E:\Programs Installed\xchat-pu70\settings"

[4wd]

Thanks, got an idea how to go about it - other than that, is it suitable for intended purpose?

eg. The method it uses to kill programs tends to leave their icons in the SysTray until you wander your mouse over them, is this a problem?

Of course, if it is a problem I don't know what I'm going to do about FIXED

While I'm at it, when running programs from command line do you want the CLI window to be open/closed/optional ?

EDIT: Try this one.

Delete the old ini file, it'll create a new one with a couple of examples.
Main things to notice are:
1) Prefix DOS, (or CLI run programs), with the '>' character;
2) Match the parameters with the programs, ie. Param1 is for Program1, etc;

Oh, if it wasn't obvious in the first post, it can handle more than 10 programs - just keep incrementing the program and parameter number.

[app103]

The method it uses to kill programs tends to leave their icons in the SysTray until you wander your mouse over them, is this a problem?

-4wd (February 07, 2011, 06:38 PM)

Sounds good to me so far and the tray icons won't be a problem.

While I'm at it, when running programs from command line do you want the CLI window to be open/closed/optional ?

-4wd (February 07, 2011, 06:38 PM)

There is no extra CLI window when I launch XChat that way.

other than that, is it suitable for intended purpose?

-4wd (February 07, 2011, 06:38 PM)

Can't answer that yet, but I'll configure and test this later, when I am fully awake and not busy. (woke up to a ton of work in my inbox)

[4wd]

Sounds good to me so far and the tray icons won't be a problem.

-app103 (February 08, 2011, 01:02 AM)

I'm afraid I fixed that, so you'll have to download it again from above post 

I also gave it an obligatory random version number so I can keep up with myself.

There is no extra CLI window when I launch XChat that way.

Oh well, I've left in the option of leaving the output window open.

[app103]

The closing of everything works great.

The relaunching has an issue: nothing with command line parameters is being relaunched.

[4wd]

The relaunching has an issue: nothing with command line parameters is being relaunched.

-app103 (February 08, 2011, 09:42 AM)

Could you post or PM the ini file, (blank anything you don't want seen) ?

Ah, I think my handling of quotes was a little skewiff.

Try this one, it seems to work OK with the specific example you gave above - might need to rework it for more complicated quoting.

Have also removed the option to leave open the output CLI, (just to make the parameters in the ini file a little simpler), but if anyone wants it back, say something.

Code: AutoIt [Select]

1. ; Filename: Movie-ize.au3
2. #NoTrayIcon
3. #Region ;**** Directives created by AutoIt3Wrapper_GUI ****
4. #AutoIt3Wrapper_icon=popcorn-32x32.ico
5. #AutoIt3Wrapper_UseUpx=n
6. #AutoIt3Wrapper_UseX64=n
7. #AutoIt3Wrapper_Res_Icon_Add=popcorn-32x32.ico
8. #EndRegion ;**** Directives created by AutoIt3Wrapper_GUI ****
9.  
10. #include <_SysTray.au3>
11. #include <Process.au3>
12. #include '_OsVersionInfo.au3'
13.  
14. Global $inifile = 'Movie-ize.ini', $tempini = 'Movie-tmp.ini', $_state = False, $_term = False
15.  
16. ;--- Start Tray menu stuff
17. Opt("TrayMenuMode", 1)
18. Opt("TrayOnEventMode", 1)
19.  
20. $movieon = TrayCreateItem('Movie-ize',-1,-1,1)
21. TrayItemSetOnEvent(-1, '_movieOn')
22. $movieoff = TrayCreateItem('De-Movie-ize',-1,-1,1)
23. TrayItemSetOnEvent(-1, '_movieOff')
24. TrayCreateItem('')
25. $prefs = TrayCreateItem('Preferences',-1,-1,0)
26. TrayItemSetOnEvent(-1, '_prefs')
27. $about = TrayCreateItem('About',-1,-1,0)
28. TrayItemSetOnEvent(-1, '_about')
29. $exit = TrayCreateItem('Exit',-1,-1,0)
30. TrayItemSetOnEvent(-1,'_Exit')
31. TraySetIcon('Movie-ize.exe', 4)
32. TraySetToolTip("Get out the popcorn 'cause it's movie time!")
33. TrayItemSetState($movieoff, 129)
34. TrayItemSetState($movieon, 64)
35. TraySetState()
36. ;--- End Tray menu stuff
37.  
38. If Not FileExists($inifile) Then
39.         _CreateBaseIni()
40. EndIf
41. $kill = IniReadSection($inifile, 'Programs')
42. $kparam = IniReadSection($inifile, 'Parameters')
43.  
44. If $CmdLine[0] > 0 Then $_term = True
45. If $_term Then
46.         _RunAndExit()  ;--- If there's a CLI argument then Run and Exit
47. Else
48.         _Initialise()  ;--- Otherwise, check for Movie-tmp.ini and initialise to movieOn state
49. EndIf
50.  
51. While 1
52.         Sleep(1000)    ;--- Twiddle thumbs
53. WEnd
54.  
55.  
56. Func _Initialise()
57.         If FileExists($tempini) Then
58.                 $xterm = IniReadSection($tempini, 'Start')
59.                 For $i = 1 To $kill[0][0]
60.                         $kill[$i][0] = $xterm[$i][1]
61.                 Next
62.                 $_state = True
63.                 TrayItemSetState($movieon, 129)
64.                 TrayItemSetState($movieoff, 68)
65.                 TrayItemSetState($prefs, 128)
66.                 TraySetToolTip('System Movie-ized')
67.         EndIf
68. EndFunc
69.  
70. Func _Exit()  ;--- If not Run And Exit, checks to see if in MovieOn mode and asks user if they really want to exit
71.         If Not $_term Then
72.                 TrayItemSetState($exit, 4)
73.                 If $_state And (MsgBox(49, 'Movie-ize', 'System currently Movie-ized!' & @CRLF & 'Do you want to quit in this state?') = 2) Then Return
74.         EndIf
75.         Exit
76. EndFunc
77.  
78. Func _about()
79.         TrayItemSetState($about, 4)
80.         MsgBox(64, 'Movie-ize', 'Movie-ize v0.22')
81. EndFunc
82.  
83. Func _prefs()  ;--- Load the ini into users default editor and wait for exit, then re-read ini
84.         TrayItemSetState($prefs, 4)
85.         If Not $_state Then  ;--- If in MovieOn mode then killed program state will be lost if user edits ini....so don't! >:^(
86.                 ShellExecuteWait($inifile)
87.                 Sleep(1000)
88.                 $kill = IniReadSection($inifile, 'Programs')
89.                 $kparam = IniReadSection($inifile, 'Parameters')
90.         Else
91.                 MsgBox(48, 'Movie-ize', 'System currently Movie-ized,' & @CRLF & 'Preferences will be unavailable.')
92.         EndIf
93. EndFunc
94.  
95. Func _movieOn()  ;--- Cycles thru program array, if there's a process match it kills it and sets corresponding element to 1
96.         Local $i, $guineapig
97.         If Not $_term Then
98.                 TrayItemSetState($movieon, 129)
99.                 TrayItemSetState($movieoff, 64)
100.                 TrayItemSetState($prefs, 128)
101.         EndIf
102.         $_state = True
103.         For $i = 1 To $kill[0][0]
104.                 If $kill[$i][1] <> '' Then
105.                         $guineapig = StringMid($kill[$i][1], StringInStr($kill[$i][1], '\', 0, -1) + 1)
106.                         If ProcessExists($guineapig) Then
107.                                 ProcessClose($guineapig)
108.                                 $kill[$i][0] = 1
109.                         Else
110.                                 $kill[$i][0] = 0
111.                         EndIf
112.                 EndIf
113.         Next
114.         _RefreshSystemTray()
115.         If Not $_term Then TraySetToolTip('System Movie-ized')
116. EndFunc
117.  
118. Func _movieOff()  ;--- Cycles thru program array looking for 1 element, if found tries to restart the associated program
119.         Local $i, $exec, $wdir, $execcmd
120.         If Not $_term Then
121.                 TrayItemSetState($movieon, 64)
122.                 TrayItemSetState($movieoff, 129)
123.                 TrayItemSetState($prefs, 64)
124.         EndIf
125.         $_state = False
126.         For $i = 1 To $kill[0][0]
127.                 If $kill[$i][0] = 1 Then
128.                         If StringLeft($kill[$i][1], 1) = '>' Then
129.                                 $exec = StringMid($kill[$i][1], 2)
130.                                 $wdir = StringMid($kill[$i][1], 2, StringInStr($kill[$i][1], '\', 0, -1) - 2)
131.                                 $execcmd = '"' & $exec & '" ' & $kparam[$i][1]
132.                                 Run(@ComSpec & ' /c "' & $execcmd & '"', $wdir, @SW_HIDE)
133.                         Else
134.                                 Run($kill[$i][1])
135.                         EndIf
136.                         Sleep(500)
137.                 EndIf
138.         Next
139.         If Not $_term Then
140.                 TraySetToolTip("Get out the popcorn 'cause it's movie time!")
141.                 FileDelete($tempini)
142.         EndIf
143. EndFunc
144.  
145. Func _CreateBaseIni()  ;--- Creates a basic ini file first time it's run
146.         Local $i
147.         IniWrite($inifile, 'Programs', 'Program1', 'C:\Program Files\Skype\skype.exe')
148.         IniWrite($inifile, 'Programs', 'Program2', '>C:\Program Files\xchat\xchat.exe')
149.         IniWrite($inifile, 'Parameters', 'Param1', '')
150.         IniWrite($inifile, 'Parameters', 'Param2', '-d "E:\Programs Installed\xchat-pu70\settings"')
151. EndFunc
152.  
153. Func _TempIni()  ;--- For Run And Exit, writes a temporary ini file with initial program states, (QaD)
154.         Local $i
155.         For $i = 1 To $kill[0][0]
156.                 IniWrite($tempini, 'Start', 'Start' & $i, $kill[$i][0])
157.                 IniWrite($tempini, 'Programs', 'Program' & $i, $kill[$i][1])
158.                 IniWrite($tempini, 'Parameters', 'Param' & $i, $kparam[$i][1])
159.         Next
160. EndFunc
161.  
162. Func _RunAndExit()  ;--- If the temporary ini exists, assumes already run once and refills array with correct values before calling _movieOff
163.         Local $i        ;--- otherwise call _movieOn then _TempIni to write list of killed programs
164.         If FileExists($tempini) Then
165.                 $xterm = IniReadSection($tempini, 'Start')
166.                 $kill = IniReadSection($inifile, 'Programs')
167.                 $kparam = IniReadSection($inifile, 'Parameters')
168.                 For $i = 1 To $xterm[0][0]
169.                         $kill[$i][0] = $xterm[$i][1]
170.                 Next
171.                 _movieOff()
172.                 FileDelete($tempini)
173.         Else
174.                 _movieOn()
175.                 _TempIni()
176.         EndIf
177.         _Exit()
178. EndFunc
179.  
180. Func _RefreshSystemTray()  ;--- The magic that clears the SysTray of dead icons courtesy of a UDF by Tuape & Erik Pilsits
181.         $count = _SysTrayIconCount()
182.         For $i = $count - 1 To 0 Step -1
183.                 $handle = _SysTrayIconHandle($i)
184.                 $visible = _SysTrayIconVisible($i)
185.                 $pid = WinGetProcess($handle)
186.                 $name = _ProcessGetName($pid)
187.                 $title = WinGetTitle($handle)
188.                 $tooltip = _SysTrayIconTooltip($i)
189.                 If $pid = -1 Then _SysTrayIconRemove($i)
190.         Next
191.  
192.         If _OsVersionTest($VER_GREATER_EQUAL, 6, 1) Then
193.                 $countwin7 = _SysTrayIconCount(2)
194.                 For $i = $countwin7 - 1 To 0 Step -1
195.                         $handle = _SysTrayIconHandle($i, 2)
196.                         $visible = _SysTrayIconVisible($i, 2)
197.                         $pid = WinGetProcess($handle)
198.                         $name = _ProcessGetName($pid)
199.                         $title = WinGetTitle($handle)
200.                         $tooltip = _SysTrayIconTooltip($i, 2)
201.                         If $pid = -1 Then _SysTrayIconRemove($i, 2)
202.                 Next
203.         EndIf
204. EndFunc

UPDATE: v0.22 - Cleaned up some stupid typos, removed some stuff that I forgot.
                        - Now sets the tray menu items to disabled/enabled so you don't call things twice, (why didn't I think of that before?).
                        - Added ability to run and exit, just call it with a command line argument (writes a temp ini when it kills programs, deletes it after relaunching them).
                        - Added some comments to source, ('cause mouser told me I should).

[app103]

Thank you! That works. 

[4wd]

Thanks April, source added to post above.