rockbox/manual/advanced_topics/main.tex

\chapter{Advanced Topics}

\section{\label{ref:CustomisingUI}Customising the userinterface}
\subsection{\label{ref:GettingExtras}Getting Extras (Fonts, Languages)}
Rockbox supports custom fonts (for the Recorder and Ondio only) and a number of different languages. Rockbox comes with several fonts and languages already included. If new fonts have been created, then they will be found in the font package at \url{http://www.rockbox.org/daily.shtml}. The latest \fname{.lng} files are always included in the daily Rockbox builds.

\opt{HAVE_LCD_BITMAP}{
  \subsection{\label{ref:Loadingfonts}Loading Fonts}
  Rockbox can load fonts dynamically. Simply copy the \fname{.fnt} file to the 
  \dap\ and ``play'' them in the directory browser or select 
  \setting{General Settings $\rightarrow$ Fonts} from the Main Menu.
  If you want a font to be loaded automatically every time you start up,
  it must be located in the \fname{/.rockbox } folder and the filename
  must be at most 24 characters long.
  \warn{Advanced Users Only: Any BDF font file up to 16 pixels high should 
    be usable with Rockbox. To convert from \fname{.bdf} to \fname{.fnt}, use the \fname{convbdf} tool. This tool can be found in the \fname{tools} directory 
    of the Rockbox source code.}
}

\subsection{\label{ref:Loadinglanguages}Loading Languages}
Rockbox can load language files at runtime. Simply copy the \fname{.lng} file 
\emph{(do not use the .lang file)} to the \dap\ and ``play'' it in the 
Rockbox directory browser or select \setting{General Settings $\rightarrow$ 
Languages }from the Main Menu.

\note{If you want a language to be loaded automatically every time you start 
up, it must be located in the \fname{/.rockbox }folder and the filename must 
be a maximum of 24 characters long.}

If your language is not yet supported and you want to write your own language
file find the instructions on the Rockbox website:
\wikilink{HowtoUpdateLangfile}

\section{\label{ref:ConfiguringtheWPS}Configuring the WPS}

\subsection{WPS -- General Info}

\begin{description}
\item[Description: ] The WPS or While Playing Screen is the name used to describe 
the information displayed on the \daps\ screen whilst an audio track is
being played. The default WPS is a relatively simple screen displaying
Track name, Artist, Album etc. in the default font as a purely text based
layout. There are a number of WPS files included in Rockbox, and you can 
load one of these at anytime by selecting it\dots\\
\setting{General Settings $\rightarrow$ Display $\rightarrow$ Browse .wps files}\\
\opt{h1xx,h300}{There is a related option to browse \fname{.rwps} files for 
  \daps\ with LCD remote controls installed.  This will load a similar WPS 
  screen for the remote but with usually a simpler and more concise layout.}

\note{``Playing'' a \fname{.wps} from the file browser has the same effect.}

\item [File Location: ]Custom WPS files may be located anywhere on the drive. 
The only restriction is that they must end in \fname{.wps}. When you ``play''
a \fname{.wps} file, it will be used for future WPS screens, and if the 
``played'' \fname{.wps} file is located in the \fname{/.rockbox} folder, it 
will be remembered and used after reboot. The \fname{.wps} filename must be no 
more than 24 characters long for it to be remembered.
\end{description}

\subsection{\label{ref:CreateYourOwnWPS}WPS -- Build Your Own}
Quite simply, enter the WPS code in your favourite text editor, Notepad on
Windows works fine. When you save it, instead of saving it as a \fname{.txt} 
file, save it as a \fname{.wps} file. Example: Instead of \fname{Rockbox.txt}, 
save the file as \fname{Rockbox.wps}. To make sure non english characters 
display correctly in your WPS you must save the .wps file with UTF-8 character 
encoding. This can be done in most editors, for example Notepad in Windows 2000
or XP (but not in 9x/ME) can do this. See appendix \ref{ref:wps_tags} for all 
the tags that are available.

\begin{description}
  \item All characters not preceded by \% are displayed as typed.
  \item Lines beginning with \# are comments and will be ignored.
  \item Maximum file size used is 
      \opt{recorder,recorderv2fm,ondio,h1xx,h300,ipodcolor,ipodnano}{1600}
      \opt{player}{400} bytes.\\
      If you have a bigger WPS file, only the first part of it will be 
      loaded and used.
\end{description}

\subsubsection{Conditional Tags}

\begin{description}
\item[If/else: ]
Syntax: \%?xx{\textless}true{\textbar}false{\textgreater}\\

If the tag specified by ``xx'' has a value, the text between the ``{\textless}'' and the ``{\textbar}'' is displayed (the true part), else the text between the ``{\textbar}'' and the ``{\textgreater}'' is displayed (the false part).
The else part is optional, so the ``{\textbar}'' does not have to be specified if no else part is desired. The conditionals nest, so the text in the if and else part can contain all \% commands, including conditionals.

\item[Enumerations: ]
Syntax: \%?xx{\textless}alt1{\textbar}alt2{\textbar}alt3{\textbar}...{\textbar}else{\textgreater}\\

For tags with multiple values, like Play status, the conditional can hold a list of alternatives, one for each value the tag can have.

Example: \%?mp{\textless}Stop{\textbar}Play{\textbar}Pause{\textbar}Ffwd{\textbar}Rew{\textgreater}\\

The last else part is optional, and will be displayed if the tag has no value. The WPS parser will always display the last part if the tag has no value, or if the list of alternatives is too short. 
\end{description}

\subsubsection{Next Song info}
You can display information about the next song -- the song that is
about to play after the one currently playing (unless you change the
plan).

If you use the upper--case versions of the
three tags: F, I and D, they will instead refer to the next song
instead of the current one. Example: \%Ig is the genre name used in the
next song and \%Ff is the mp3 frequency. 

\note{The next song information WILL NOT be available at all
times, but will most likely be available at the end of a song. We
suggest you use the conditional display tag a lot when displaying
information about the next song!}

\subsubsection{Alternating sublines}

It is possible to group items on each line into 2 or more groups or
``sublines''. Each subline will be displayed
in succession on the line for a specified time, alternating
continuously through each defined subline. 

Items on a line are broken into sublines with the semicolon
';' character. The display time for
each subline defaults to 2 seconds unless modified by using the
'\%t' tag to specify an alternate
time (in seconds and optional tenths of a second) for the subline to be
displayed. 

Subline related special characters and tags: 

;  : Split items on a line into separate sublines

\%t  : Set the subline display time. The
'\%t' is followed by either integer
seconds (\%t5), or seconds and tenths of a second (\%t3.5).

Each alternating subline can still be optionally scrolled while it is
being displayed, and scrollable formats can be displayed on the same
line with non{}-scrollable formats (such as track elapsed time) as long
as they are separated into different sublines.

Example subline definition:

\begin{example}
     %s%t4%ia;%s%it;%t3%pc %pr : Display id3 artist for 4 seconds,
                                 Display id3 title for 2 seconds,
                                 Display current and remaining track time
                                 for 3 seconds,
                                 repeat...
\end{example}

Conditionals can be used with sublines to display a different set and/or number of sublines on the line depending on the evaluation of the conditional.

Example subline with conditionals:

\begin{example}
    %?it{\textless}%t8%s%it{\textbar}%s%fn{\textgreater};%?ia{\textless}%t3%s%ia{\textbar}%t0{\textgreater}\\
\end{example}

The format above will do two different things depending if ID3 tags are present. If the ID3 artist and title are present:

Display id3 title for 8 seconds,\\

Display id3 artist for 3 seconds,\\

repeat...\\

If the ID3 artist and title are not present:\\

Display the filename continuously.\\

Note that by using a subline display time of 0 in one branch of a conditional,
a subline can be skipped (not displayed) when that condition is met. 


\subsubsection{Using Images}
You can have as many as 52 images in your WPS. There are various ways of 
displaying images:
\begin{enumerate}
  \item Load and always show the image, using the \%x tag
  \item Preload the image with \%xl and show it with \%xd. This way you can 
        have your images displayed conditionally.
  \opt{HAVE_LCD_COLOR}{
  \item Load an image and show as backdrop using the \%X tag. The image must be
        of the same exact dimensions as your display.
  }
\end{enumerate}

\optv{HAVE_LCD_COLOR}{
  Example on background image use:
  \begin{example}
    %X|background.bmp|\\
  \end{example}
  The image with filename \fname{background.bmp} is loaded and used in the WPS.
}

Example on bitmap preloading and use:
\begin{example}
    \%x|a|static\_icon.bmp|50|50|\\
    \%xl|b|rep\_off.bmp|16|64|\\
    \%xl|c|rep\_all.bmp|16|64|\\
    \%xl|d|rep\_one.bmp|16|64|\\
    \%xl|e|rep\_shuffle.bmp|16|64|\\
    \%?mm<%xdb|%xdc|%xdd|%xde>\\
\end{example}
Four images at the same x and y position are preloaded in the example. Which 
image to display is determined by the \%mm tag (the repeat mode).

\subsubsection{Example File}
\begin{example}
    \%s\%?in<\%in - >\%?it<\%it|\%fn> \%?ia<[\%ia\%?id<, \%id>]> 
    \%pb\%pc/\%pt
\end{example}
That is, ``tracknum -- title [artist, album]'', where most fields are only
displayed if available. Could also be rendered as ``filename'' or ``tracknum --
title [artist]''.

%\opt{HAVE_LCD_BITMAP}{
%  \begin{verbatim}
%    %s%?it<%?in<%in. |>%it|%fn>
%    %s%?ia<%ia|%?d2<%d2|(root)>>
%    %s%?id<%id|%?d1<%d1|(root)>> %?iy<(%iy)|>
%  
%    %al%pc/%pt%ar[%pp:%pe]
%    %fbkBit %?fv<avg|> %?iv<(id3v%iv)|(no id3)>
%    %pb
%    %pm
% % \end{verbatim}
%}

\section{\label{ref:SettingsFile}Making your own settings file}
A \fname{.cfg} file is used to load settings from a plain text file. A 
\fname{.cfg} file may reside anywhere on the hard disk. The only restriction is
that the filename must end in \fname{.cfg}

Hint: Use the \setting{Write .cfg file} feature (\setting{Main Menu$\rightarrow$
General Settings}) to save the current settings, then use a text editor to
customize the settings file. See appendix \ref{ref:config_file_options} 
for the full reference of available options.

\subsection{Format Rules}

\begin{itemize}
\item Format: \verb+setting: value+
\item Each setting must be on a separate line.
\item Lines starting with \# are ignored.
\end{itemize}

\subsection{Example File}
\begin{example}
    volume: 70
    bass: 11
    treble: 12
    balance: 0
    time format: 12hour
    volume display: numeric
    show files: supported
    wps: /.rockbox/car.wps
    lang: /.rockbox/afrikaans.lng
\end{example}

\section{\label{ref:PartISection1}Differences between binaries}
There are 3 different types of firmware binaries from Rockbox website: 
Current Version, Daily Builds and Bleeding Edge.

\begin{description}
\item[Current Version.] The current version is the latest stable version
developed by the Rockbox Team. It's free of known critical bugs.  It is
available from \url{http://www.rockbox.org/download/}.
\item[Daily Builds.] The Daily Build is a development version of Rockbox. It
supports all new features and patches developed since last stable version. It
may also contain bugs! This version is generated automatically every day 
and can be found at \url{http://www.rockbox.org/daily.shtml}.
\item[Bleeding Edge.] Bleeding edge builds are the same as the Daily build, 
but built from the latest development on each commit to the CVS repository.
These builds are for people who want to test the code that developers just
checked in.
\end{description}
\note{If you don't want to get undefined behaviour from your \dap\ you should
really stick to the Current Version. Development versions may have lots of
changes so they may behave completely different than described in this manual,
introduce new (and maybe annoying) bugs and similar. If you want to help the
project development you can try development builds and help by reporting bugs,
feature requests and so so. But be aware that using a development build may
eat also some more time.}


\section{\label{ref:FirmwareLoading}Firmware Loading}
\opt{player,recorder,recorderv2fm,ondio}{
  When your \dap\ powers on, it loads the Archos firmware in ROM, which
  automatically checks your Jukebox hard disk's root folder for a file named 
  \firmwarefilename. Note that Archos firmware can only read the first 
  ten characters of each filename in this process, so don't rename your old 
  firmware files with names like \firmwarefilename.\fname{old} and so on, 
  because it's possible that the \dap\ will load a file other than the one you 
  intended.
}

\section{\label{ref:using_rolo}Using ROLO (Rockbox loader)}
Rockbox is able to load and start another firmware file without rebooting. 
You just press PLAY on an%
\opt{recorder,recorderv2fm,ondio}{\fname{.ajz}}
\opt{player}{.mod}\opt{h1xx,h300}{\fname{.iriver}}
\opt{ipodnano,ipodvideo,ipodmini,ipod4g,ipodcolor}{\fname{.ipod}}%
-file. This can be used to test new firmware versions without deleting your
current version.

\opt{recorder,recorderv2fm,ondio}{\input{advanced_topics/archos-flashing.tex}}