Program Installation
-
If you have a previous version of SkyCommander
installed, manually delete the file "cir.dll" from the \windows directory
on the device before proceeding to the next step.
-
Extract the files in the archive to a
temporary folder on the PC.
-
Connect the target device to the PC(via
serial, IR or network link).
-
Run "Setup.exe" from the temporary folder
on the PC. Select <Install>. If installation is successful, you
will notified and prompted to reset the device.
-
Reboot(warm reset) your device when prompted
to. The device will take longer than usual to reboot. Do not be alarmed.
Program Uninstallation
-
Manually delete the file "cir.dll" from
the \windows directory on the device before proceeding to the next step.
-
Extract the files in the original archive
to a temporary folder on the PC.
-
Connect the target device to the PC(via
serial, IR or network link).
-
Run "Setup.exe" from the temporary folder
on the PC. Select <Uninstall>.
-
Reboot(warm reset) your device.
-
Refer to the table below for the list
of files that should have been properly deleted. If they're still present,
manually delete them from their respective directories.
| Program File |
Location on WCE device |
| SkyCommander.exe (SkyCommander
executable) |
\windows |
| SkyDesigner.exe (SkyDesigner executable) |
\windows |
| SkyClass.dll (Supporting Dynamic
Link Library) |
\windows |
| cir.dll (Consumer IR driver) |
\windows |
| sc_play.bmp (Bitmap for PLAY mode
in SkyCommander) |
\windows |
| sc_learn.bmp (Bitmap for LEARN mode
in SkyCommander) |
\windows |
| sc_info.bmp (Bitmap for INFO mode
in SkyCommander) |
\windows |
| sd_edit.bmp (Bitmap for EDIT mode
in SkyDesigner) |
\windows |
| sd_move.bmp (Bitmap for MOVE mode
in SkyDesigner) |
\windows |
| sd_test.bmp (Bitmap for TEST mode
in SkyDesigner) |
\windows |
RCU Installation
-
Extract the RCU files to a temporary
folder on the PC.
-
Connect the target device to the PC(via
serial, IR or network link).
-
Copy the RCU files from the temporary
folder on the PC to the target device according to the table below.
RCU Uninstallation
-
Delete the RCU files from the target
device according to the table below.
| RCU File |
Location on WCE device |
| *.rcu (RCU configuration file) |
<Anywhere> |
| *.bmp (RCU bitmap files) |
<Anywhere>\bmp\ |
| *.rec (RCU button command files) |
<Anywhere>\rec\ |
| Method |
Description |
| Launch any RCUs by double-clicking
on the RCU configuration file(*.rcu). |
The RCU interface is the most intuitive
interface via which the user can control an appliance.
1. The RCU panel
The RCU panel contains remote control
command buttons over a background bitmap.
2. The SkyCommander panel
The SkyCommander panel always attach
itself to the right edge of the RCU panel. It allows the user to select
the different modes of operation:
Play Mode
In this mode, pressing any buttons
on the RCU panel will execute the remote control command corresponding
to the button. If the button does not have any remote control commands
assigned to it, a warning sound will be played to alert the user. To assign
a remote control command to a button, switch to Learn mode.
Learn Mode
In Learn mode, the user can assign
a remote control command to a button by clicking on the button to be assigned.
A dialog box will then pop up prompting the user for a few parameters that
affects the learning performance and behaviour:
a. Capture Length
The Capture Length specifies the
amount of remote command data(in milliseconds) to capture. The higher this
value, the larger the buffer size allocated to capture the remote command
data. This learning parameter is important because it determines whether
the complete remote command will be captured.
There is no single Capture Length
value that will work with all remotes, because different remotes implement
different protocols, and as such, have different lengths of remote command
data.
For example, the recommended Capture
Length setting for SONY remotes is as calculated:
Length of each remote command = 45
ms.
Length of pause period between commands
= 25 ms.
No of instances needed = 2.
Therefore,
Capture Length = Length of each command
x No of instances needed + Length of pause period between commands = 120
ms (rounded off).
P.S: If you
do not have the specifications of your remote, the best way(albeit the
most tedious) to get a reliable capture is through trial and error, i.e.
varying the Capture Length and Performance parameters until you get a good
capture.
b. Performance
The Performance slider enables the
user to select the accuracy at which the command data is being captured.
The higher the number, the higher the accuracy in which data is captured.
Consequently, the higher the accuracy, the larger the buffer size required
to capture the same length of command data. From experience, setting Performance
to 0 will be sufficient for most remotes.
c. Time Out
The Time Out slider allows the user
to specify the time out period(in seconds) after which the Learn process
for the particular command will be aborted if no command data has been
received during that period. If you are not sure what settings to use,
use the default settings.
After you've selected the desired
learning parameters, place your remote controller about 5 cm from the IR
port on the H/PC. Click the <Learn> button on the Learn dialog and press
the corresponding remote controller button that you wish to learn, before
the timeout period. If the learn process is successful, i.e. a signal is
captured, the H/PC will produce a beep sound. If the learn process timed
out or failed due to some other reasons, an exclamation sound will be produced
instead.
Info Mode
When in this mode, pressing on the
RCU background or button will reveal the properties associated with it.
You can also invoke SkyDesigner to make any modifications to the RCU design
by selecting the <Design RCU> option when you click on the RCU background. |
| Create button command
files by double-clicking on SkyCommander.exe. |
This method allows the user to learn
and playback button commands without creating
a customized RCU for a specific appliance. Use the Learn dialog to
learn and save the button commands for an appliance's remote controller
into a common directory on the WCE device. Then use Windows Explorer to
navigate to that directory. You can then playback each button command by
double-clicking on its corresponding *.rec file. |
| Playback any existing button command
by double-clicking on its *.rec file. |
Direct playback of button
commands without going through the RCU interface. |
| Create new or open existing RCUs
by double-clicking on SkyDesigner.exe. |
SkyDesigner allows you to create
or modify customized versions of your own RCU.
To modify an existing RCU, select
an existing .rcu file in the <Open> dialog box after starting
SkyDesigner. To create a new RCU, browse to the appropriate directory in
the <Open> dialog and type in the name of the RCU that you wish to create
in the current selected directory.
1. The RCU panel
The RCU panel contains remote control
command buttons over a background bitmap.
2. The SkyDesigner panel
The SkyDesigner panel, like the SkyCommander
panel, always attach itself to the right edge of the RCU panel. It allows
the user to select the different modes of operation:
Edit Mode
In Edit mode, pressing any buttons
on the RCU panel allow the user to modify the attributes related to the
button as well as to delete it. Clicking on the background will cause a
popup menu to show, allowing the user to modify the properties associated
with the RCU, add a new button to the RCU, save the current settings and
display some credits regarding SkyDesigner.
Move Mode
Switching to Move mode enables the
user to arrange the buttons in the RCU according to his liking. Use the
stylus to click on the button to be moved, and move it by either dragging
it with the stylus, or have finer control over its location by using the
arrow keys to move it one pixel at a time. The selected buttonwill
have a small window attached to it displaying its current location with
respect to the top-left corner of the RCU.
Test Mode
This mode is to allow the user to
test that the button bitmaps show up correctly when pressed.
|
-
Store and launch RCUs from external storage
(eg. ATA cards). Copy your RCUs to the Storage Card and run it from there,
thereby saving storage RAM on your device.
-
Create shortcuts to different RCUs and
place the shortcuts in a single folder(or the WCE device desktop) so that
multiple RCUs can be conveniently launched from a single location.
-
Execute button commands directly by double-clicking
on the .rec files. Launch the main program file(SkyCommander.exe) directly
and use the SkyCommander Learn dialog to learn and save the button commands
into .rec files. Save the button commands into a common folder and open
that folder using Explorer. Playback any button command by double-clicking
on its corresponding .rec file.
If you have problems getting
SkyCommander to work on your WCE device, follow the trouble shooting procedure
below:
-
The program files have been copied to
the proper directories on the WCE device.
-
You have warm reset the WCE device after
running
Setup.exe from the PC.
-
You are running SkyCommander on a supported
platform.
If you are unable to
get RCUs to work properly, follow the trouble shooting procedure below:
-
You have copied all the required RCU
files to the WCE device in the correct directory
structure.
-
Check that the RCU configuration file(can
be opened with any text editor, including Pocket Word) is of the correct
format.
-
Ensure that all bitmaps must not be more
than 256 colors, i.e. must be 8 bits-per-pixel and below. For best results,
use the standard Windows palette for your bitmaps.
-
Bitmaps should not be RLE-encoded.
If you are unable to
control an appliance after successfully learning a command, follow the
trouble shooting procedure below:
-
Vary the Capture Length and Performance
parameters on the Learn dialog during the learning process.
-
Press and release the remote control
button immediately when learning to prevent multiple instances of the same
command from being captured.
Sequence
-
Create a new folder(hereon called the
RCU folder) anywhere on your device to store the necesssary files for a
RCU. For example, create a folder called <My TV> (without the brackets)
in the "My Handheld PC" folder.
-
Open the newly created RCU folder.
-
Create a new folder(hereon called the
BITMAP folder) beneath the RCU folder and name it <bmp>(without the
brackets). This is where all the bitmaps for the new RCU should be stored.
Note that the BITMAP folder must take the name <bmp>.
-
Create a new folder(hereon called the
REC folder) beneath the RCU folder and name it <rec>(without the brackets).
This is where all the command data for the new RCU will be stored. Note
that the REC folder must take the name <rec>.
-
Copy the required bitmaps for the new
RCU to the BITMAP directory.
-
Use any text editor to create the configuration
file for the RCU. The RCU configuration file must have the extension ".rcu"
and must be placed in the RCU folder. The configuration file is used by
the application to determine which bitmaps to be used for the background
and buttons of the RCU, and also to specify other configurable characteristics
of the RCU. Refer to the Section <RCU Configuration
File Format> for the format of the RCU configuration file.
-
Refer to the sample RCUs included with
this archive for more information.
Notes
-
All bitmaps must be 256 colours and below,
i.e. 1bpp, 2bpp, 4bpp and 8bpp only.
-
Include the standard Windows palette
in the bitmaps for best results.
-
RLE-encoded bitmaps are not supported.
-
Make sure the REC folder has been created
even though there are no .rec files present.
-
Each .rec file created will be named
according to the name of the button. For example, for button <Play>,
its corresponding .rec file will be automatically stored as "Play.rec"
in the REC folder.
| RCU
Configuration File Format |
Format
The following describes the format of
the RCU configuration file as used by SkyCommander:
===<Start of File> (do not include
this line)
<X
buttons in RCU>, <Filename of RCU Background bitmap>;
<Name
of Button1>, <Filename of Button-Unpushed bitmap>,
<Filename of Button-Pushed bitmap>, <Horizontal
X position>, <Vertical Y position>, <AutoRepeat
Enable>, <AutoRepeat Start>, <AutoRepeat
Interval>;
<Name
of Button2>, <Filename of Button-Unpushed bitmap>,
<Filename of Button-Pushed bitmap>, <Horizontal
X position>, <Vertical Y position>, <AutoRepeat
Enable>, <AutoRepeat Start>, <AutoRepeat
Interval>;
.
.
.
<Name
of ButtonX>, <Filename of Button-Unpushed bitmap>,
<Filename of Button-Pushed bitmap>, <Horizontal
X position>, <Vertical Y position>, <AutoRepeat
Enable>, <AutoRepeat Start>, <AutoRepeat
Interval>;
===<End of File> (do not include
this line)
1. <X buttons in RCU>
The total number of buttons in the
RCU. This number cannot exceed 255.
2. <Filename of RCU Background
bitmap>
The filename of the bitmap used for
the background of the RCU. The specified
bitmap file must reside in the BITMAP(explained
in the Section <Creating Your Own RCU>)
folder. Do not specify the full path
of the bitmap but only the name and
extension, for example: <background.bmp>.
3. <Name of ButtonX>
The name to be assigned to the corresponding
button.
4. <Filename of Button-Unpushed
bitmap>
The filename of the bitmap used to
represent the "Unpushed" state of the button.
The specified bitmap file must reside
in the BITMAP(explained in the Section
<Creating Your
Own RCU>)folder. Do not specify the full path of the bitmap but only
the name and extension, for example:
<next channel - unpushed.bmp>
5. <Filename of Button-Pushed
bitmap>
The filename of the bitmap used to
represent the "Pushed" state of the button.
The specified bitmap file must reside
in the BITMAP(explained in the Section
<Creating Your
Own RCU>)folder. Do not specify the full path of the bitmap but only
the name and extension, for example:
<next channel - pushed.bmp>
6. <Horizontal X position>
The horizontal position(left to right),
in terms of pixels, of the top left corner
of the button relative the top left
corner of the background bitmap.
7. <Vertical Y position>
The vertical position(top to bottom),
in terms of pixels, of the top left corner
of the button relative the top left
corner of the background bitmap.
8. <AutoRepeat Enable>
To enable/disable AutoRepeat feature
for the button.
0 - disable AutoRepeat
1 - enable AutoRepeat
9. <AutoRepeat Start>
The initial delay in milliseconds
on pressing a button before AutoRepeat is activated.
10. <AutoRepeat Interval>
The delay in milliseconds between
repeating the button command while the button is
being pressed.
Notes
-
Make sure that each line is terminated
by a semicolon<;> followed by a newline<Enter> character.
-
Make sure that there is a comma<,>
between each field.
-
All fields should be entered without
the <> brackets.
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