creating STVi

[matrix35]

hi guys, I've been trying to make an STVi. It makes the Main Menu more MCE/MP like for SageMC. Now I've exported the Main Menu and it imports fine except for one problem where it doesn't erase the previous Main Menu. I've looked at nielm's imports and tried to remove the MainMenu using the STVimported hook but it doesn't seem to remove the MainMenu. can anyone help?

I've attached my stvi with this post.

TIA

[MeInMaui]

It probably isn't a very good idea to erase the original main menu. The better approach would be to move your animation code into the existing main menu. If you completely replace it, you will have to duplicate all of its functionality and also update your import every time there is a change to the original main menu in future SageMC updates. Just my .02

Aloha,
Mike

[matrix35]

well i'm new to this. and i did consider this. but i don't know how. even if i just leave the animation code how will i tell it to go into the Main Menu widget? can you show me how?

TIA Mike.

[MeInMaui]

Dirk's import utilities include functions to move imported widget chains to specified locations in the STV. Look in that thread for instructions. It is complicated, but Dirk's utilities help simplify the process. HTH

Aloha,
Mike

[nielm]

The only one of my imports that works with the main menu is the dynamic menus which replace it... Rather than erase the original main menu, they rename it to 'main menu-original', and add an item in the BeforeMenuLoad to link back to the dynamic menus.

The reason for this is that the original main menu is referenced in various places in the STV, and I was too lazy to replace all of these references. Keeping the original also allows me to use it as a fall-back option if something goes wrong when loading the menu definition file.

[GKusnick]

As Niel said, you generally don't want to delete existing menus completely, but rather just forward them to your new menus using the BeforeMenuLoad hook. There are several examples of this kind of forwarding in the standard STV (the old V5 Music Jukebox menu, any of the SHORTCUTS menus).

My Studio Tools include an STVI exporter that generates the appropriate STVImported code automatically. The included Javadocs give step-by-step instructions for creating an STVI from a modified STV.

[matrix35]

alrighty greg, i'll give your tools a try. thx