Unofficial Secret Extra v5-6 UI Features

[Opus4]

[thread=12520]hidden features[/thread]

Placeholder for future post updates: The latest changes for the malore menus can be found here: [post=234550]Hidden feature changes in v6.2.6[/post] & in further update posts. And a new test version can be downloaded here: [post=258102]Test version 6.3.6.0b; January 10, 2008[/post].
The latest test version can be downloaded here: [post=351156]Test version 6.5.13.8a; April 6, 2009[/post].


There are some 'secret' extras in the default SageTV3.STV (beta v3.0.7 and later, including v4.0) and the default SageTV3.XML (v4.1, 5.0, and later). The features are listed below.


For SageTV version 7, see: Unofficial Secret Extra v7 UI Features


IMPORTANT
Since these extra features are not supported by SageTV's technical support, there are a few points to remember:

• If you run into a problem with any of the extras, do not submit a bug report or contact tech support about any unofficial feature. It will just discourage allowing additional secret features from being added... or mentioned. You can mention a problem in this thread.
  
  
• Before submitting a bug report, make sure you have disabled the extra features and tested again. This is intended to make sure the problem is with SageTV's supported feature set rather than some sort of add-on.
  
  
• While requests to change these extras can be posted in this thread, there is no guarantee that a request will be acted upon or even acknowledged. They are only modified as spare time allows, depending on what the author finds useful.
  
  
• Finally: do not submit a bug report regarding any of the extras. If we keep things real quiet, the folks at SageTV won't even know these features exist and we can keep them in the STV!

HOW TO ENABLE THE EXTRAS
Enabling or disabling the extras is real simple... go to System Information and enter four digits in a row:

5309

You will notice that a small dot appears in the upper left corner. That dot indicates that the extras have been enabled. To disable the extras, enter 5309 again. (System Information is accessible from Setup -> Help -> System Information, or just use the Info command while on the Main Menu.)


THE UNOFFICAL FEATURE SET
The extra features are configured at Setup -> Detailed Setup -> Customize, then scroll down until you see the section titled Unsupported Extras. You can set:

• SageTV Recordings Style - select from the default menu or malore's custom 2-pane menu.
  
  
• Recording Schedule Style - select from the default interleaved, by day, & parallel styles, or malore's custom 2-pane menu.
  
  
• Enable malore's Custom Menus - Yes/No; if Yes, malore's "Custom Menus" will be available at Schedule Recordings -> Extra: Custom Menus.
  
  
• Malore Menu Options - Select "Configure" to set some options for malore's menus when the Options command is used while an airing is highlighted. Note that only malore's menus are available, his other features, such as ComSkip support, were not added.
  1. Configure Watched & Partial Bars - enable or disable these bars to show how much of a show you have watched or how much of a show has been partially recorded. Note: If these bars are enabled, they will also be used on the standard menus.
  2. Action After Selecting Airing - choose what happens when you use the Select command on an airing in the list: Smart, which chooses an action appropriate for the current menu; Display Options, which opens the options dialog for the airing; or Do Nothing: selecting the airing does nothing.
  3. Malore Menu Font Size - sets the font size for the custom menus.
  4. Set Movie Channels - sets the movie channels for the custom Upcoming Movies menu.
  5. You can also choose whether to show the XML file options and Commercial Detection options in the pop-up Options menu in the malore menus. Remember: this is only the _option_ for commercial detection; ComSkip is not included.
  6. Custom Additional Airings - If enabled, the malore custom menus will be used when additional airings are viewed.
  7. Additional Display Options - allows configuring the following additional options:
     • Icon and Alternate View Bars - Choose whether to use the Icon and/or Alternate View left/top bars.
     • Upper Info Area Style - Choose whether the menu's upper area displays the airing information using malore's style or the standard style used by the default menus.
  
  
• Menu Header Disk Space Bar Options - Choose Configure to enable/disable the disk space bar above the title for every menu and to configure some options for that bar.
  
  
• Program Guide marks First Runs - Choose whether to show a small dot of the same color as the First Run marker's background on the left-hand side of all First Run show entries in the Program Guide grid.
  
  
• Program Guide marks HDTV - Choose whether to show a small dot of the same color as the HDTV marker's background on the left-hand side of all HDTV show entries in the Program Guide grid.
  
  
• Set Background Image - Choose "Select" to browse for your choice of image to use as the background for every menu. (Uses the ui/background_image property; changed to ui/BackgroundImage for v6.2.)
  
  
• One Touch Filtering & Searching - Choose Configure to set the options for Quick Filtering and One Touch Searching. (See below for details.)
  
  
• Date Display Style - Choose whether the date display contains the full Date + Time, or just the Day name + time.
  
  
• Default Favorite Settings - Define default settings to be used when creating a new Favorite.
  
  
• Default Manual Recording Settings - Define default settings to be used when creating a new Manual Recording.
  
  
• Single Thumbnails can Overlap Titles - This affects muti column displays where thumbnails are shown for individual media items. Normally, these thumbnails can overlap the title area of the button, behind the text. This option can be used to prevent thumbnails from extending into the title display area.

New for Version 6:

• All search screens that show immediate results (such as Search by Title) now have an option to Search using One Touch Numeric Text Input. Thanks to an idea and sample code from nielm, you can use NTE on these screens with the results list showing everything that the NTE characters could possibly match. The search field will show the text found in the first result and the NTE hint line will show the first few possible matches for the input so far.
  
  Example: To search for "The", you just have to enter '843' instead of '84433'.
  
  This can be enabled/disabled via the Options menu on the search screens where it is available. (Remember: search screens such as Search All Fields do not show immediate results & thus do not have this feature.)
  
  
  
• The Music, Photos, and Imported Videos menus have "Extra" options available via the pop-up Options menu. Among the possible choices:
  • Quick Filter with One Touch Numeric Text Input - When viewing a long list of items, start entering the name of an item via letters or numbers. The list will be filtered to show only the items containing the text entered. (Normal setting: jump to the next item that starts with the number/letter entered.)
  • Search using One Touch Numeric Text Input - As described above, searches find all items that NTE input could spell.
  
  
  
• Updated the disk space bar code with Niel's changes for more accurate space estimates for upcoming recordings. For digital recordings, there is a setting for the Mbps value to use for space estimates. It can also now display space estimates in hours, in addition to gigabytes, or automatically alternate between GB & hrs.
  
  
  
• Added views for Partial Recordings. To view all the partial recordings, click on the disk space bar at the top of a menu, then click on the text describing how many partial recordings there are (hidden hot-spot for a mouse click), or simply go to the Schedule Recordings menu to select "Extra: View Partial Recordings".
  
  Your current SageTV Recordings Style menu will be used to list the partial recordings. Make that selection in Detailed Setup -> Customize. The partial recordings can be grouped & sorted like any other set of recordings.
  
  In Detailed Setup -> Customize -> Malore Menu Options, if you enable Watched & Partial Bars, a red & green bar to indicate what section(s) of each show are recorded will be shown on top of each airing listed in any menu listing recordings or just on the Partial Recordings menu.
  
  
• Added items to the pop-up video or group options menu:
  • When viewing Partial Recordings, the pop-up video options menu includes an option to delete all eligible partials. Some partials, such as currently recording shows, are not deleted.
  • Added total file size to the video & group of videos pop-up option dialogs.

New or Updated for Version 6.2:

• The malore menus now display an Alternate Views bar above the airings list. The number of alternate views can be configured for a menu by using the Options command. Each alternate view can be named and have separate settings for grouping, filtering, and sorting styles. Use the Smooth FF/REW and FF2/REW2 commands to easily switch between the alternate views.
  
  
• The malore menus have an icon bar to the left of the airings list. Check the Malore Menu Options for turning the Icon Bar & Alternate Views Bar on or off separately.
  
  
• The malore menus can also:
  1. use double-height rows for the right pane or both panes
  2. configure the Episode List Style
  3. filter by multiple categories
  4. use only a single view style instead of a minimum of 2
  5. configure the right hand episode listing style
  6. use the standard style for the upper info area
  7. ... and so on.
  
  
• Extended the custom malore Premieres, Finales, & Specials menu to have options to show various types of premieres, finales, and other specials.
  
  
• Added an option to display Day-Date-Time instead of shorter Day-Time in the menu header & OSD

New or Updated for Version 6.3:

• Added Default Favorite and Manual Recording Settings, in Detailed Setup -> Customize. Use these options define certain default settings to be used when creating a new Favorite or Manual Recording, such as padding times and recording quality.
  
  
• In Detailed Setup -> Customize, choose whether Single Thumbnails can Overlap Titles. This affects muti column displays where thumbnails are shown for individual media items. Normally, these thumbnails can overlap the title area of the button, behind the text. This option can be used to prevent thumbnails from extending into the title display area.

New or Updated for Version 6.4:

• Added icon bar links between the malore & standard Recording Schedule menus for easy access to both.
  
  
• Can group recordings by Favorite (malore menus).

New or Updated for Version 6.6:

• Wrap-around scrolling is configurable (malore menus).
  
  
• The double height row & auto-double row settings are now per-view instead of per-menu (malore menus).
  
  
• Added Detailed Setup -> Customize option for "Use Enhanced Recording Deletion Confirmation Dialog"; controls whether the malore deletion confirmation dialog is used everywhere or only when in a malore menu.
  
  
• Added Detailed Setup -> Customize option for "Program Guide marks non-Zap2it Channels". When enabled, channels with non-Zap2it station IDs are marked with a red dot in the Program Guide. The option is not available when using an EPG plugin.

Misc Additional note(s):

• The text on this line was changed from what it was previously, but it still has no real meaning. It is just a place holder for future use.

Don't forget: go to System Information and enter 5309 to disable the extras to test a problem before submitting a bug report about the supported features.

- Andy

[aperry]

Very nice, thanks for the info Andy!

Of course, you know we're all going to go into the System Info area and try other codes to see if they do anything too, right?

I wonder if 867 does anything? Since the start of the number must be that given the song "867-5309 (Jenny)"...

[Hector]

5309 eh? Hopefully it's not Jeff's bankcard PIN #

Originally Posted by Opus4

Enabling or disabling the extras is real simple... go to System Information and enter four digits in a row:

5309

[Opus4]

Originally Posted by aperry

Of course, you know we're all going to go into the System Info area and try other codes to see if they do anything too, right?

I'll save you some time... at this time, the other codes are: *none*. Trust me; I wouldn't lie to you.

Edit: I'll let the full secret out -- all the code does is provide an easy way to toggle the enable_extras property.

Originally Posted by Hector

5309 eh? Hopefully it's not Jeff's bankcard PIN #

Um, so do you think the PIN or this code should be changed? Oh wait - sorry, your guess is a few minutes too late, it appears.

- Andy

[insomniac]

up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, B, A, B, Select, start, unlocks 100 free version updates

Just what I heard...

[aperry]

Does that only work during a blue moon?

[ikarus79m]

I love it. this is cool thank you!

[Hector]

Shazbot! Foiled again.

Originally Posted by opus4

Um, so do you think the PIN or this code should be changed? Oh wait - sorry, your guess is a few minutes too late, it appears.

We've probably already gotten 100 free updates, heh.

Originally Posted by insomniac

up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, B, A, B, Select, start, unlocks 100 free version updates

Just what I heard...

[ikarus79m]

actually... i would have one suggestion if time allows. Maybe we could place the status display bar somewhere else. It kinda looks ot of place just on top there.

Is it maybe better to put it in the bottom somewhere? I don't know... what do you think?

[Opus4]

The disk space bar functions as designed in the only space available for a bar like that -- it is the same as what was in the MalDude2 STV.

- Andy

[Karen0302]

Does this only work with 3.0.7? Cause I sure can't get it to work with 3.0.5.

Karen

[Opus4]

Yes beta v3.0.7 & later, only. I forgot to mention that, so I added it to the first post.

- Andy

[robertmcox]

I observe that the watched bars don't function on the "default" recordings menu...bummer. Do you think we could add this for the next "beta, unofficial, secret"?

[Ian Norman]

aperry
Maybe Jeff knows Tommy Tutone
Glad you mentioned it. I had forgotten that song.
I guess many of the Forum Members were rather young in 1981.



Cheers

[Opus4]

Originally Posted by Ian Norman

Maybe Jeff knows Tommy Tutone

I doubt it, but I think he did understand that feature's reference when it was mentioned to him.

- Andy

[mightyt]

Originally Posted by Opus4

I doubt it, but I think he did understand that feature's reference when it was mentioned to him.

- Andy

Can the #1 post be add to this ...

http://forums.sagetv.com/forums/show...06&postcount=1

At some point it will surely get buried ...

T.

[Humanzee]

Note, The text on the disk status secret feature is way too small to read on the 10 foot away user interface.

[Kanati]

wouldn't it be better to use malore's stv instead of features that aren't supported since it appears the bulk of the "extras" are really just malore/maldude features?

[ErsatzTom]

Dude, nobody is trying to convince you to use these features.

t

[Opus4]

Kanati: If anybody could, I knew you would be able to find the hidden negative! Thanks for keeping my faith in you.

------

On the bright side, I think I'll take this time to publicly thank malore for help recently with some of the internal modifications to his menu to keep it functioning quite well in the latest beta & for the latest feature extensions for it.

- Andy