[Announce] Squeezelite-X

[SBFan]

Start minimized with delay

I have two questions:

I want Squeezelite-X to start minimized (just as the tray icon), it feels at bit overwhelming when it fills the entire screen, it is that possible?

Squeezelite-X is installed on my main PC and LMS on my server, and on each start i get an error that Squeezelite-X can't find LMS, because the server starts much slower than the main PC, so i have to wait for the server to load and click apply on settings in Squeezelite-X each time.

It it possible to set a delay on Squeezelite-X start or is there a better solution?

Sorry if these have allready been answered, i did search the thread, but did not find a mention of these issues :-)

[rgdawson]

It is a really neat piece of hardware.

Did you pull .24 for a while? My notebook updated to .24, a day later my desktop's MS Store couldn't find any updates (it was still .23). Today, the MS Store updated SLX to .24.

SLX still first renders the last not maximized window position first.

No, I didn't pull it or anything like that, so not sure what is going on there.

R Greg Dawson

[rgdawson]

I have two questions:

I want Squeezelite-X to start minimized (just as the tray icon), it feels at bit overwhelming when it fills the entire screen, it is that possible?

Squeezelite-X is installed on my main PC and LMS on my server, and on each start i get an error that Squeezelite-X can't find LMS, because the server starts much slower than the main PC, so i have to wait for the server to load and click apply on settings in Squeezelite-X each time.

It it possible to set a delay on Squeezelite-X start or is there a better solution?

Sorry if these have allready been answered, i did search the thread, but did not find a mention of these issues :-)

I suppose I could add an option to start minimized (or to the tray if running in background is enabled.

As for waiting for the server, are you saying that you are using SLX to wake the server and it just takes a while for the server to come online? If you enable "Wake Server" then SLX should know to keep trying until the server wakes up. SLX will still show "Server not responding" error until it does finally connect, though. I can figure something out, so please describe the scenario in more detail and I'll give it some thought. How are you waking the server? Do you have "Run in background"?

R Greg Dawson

[rgdawson]

It is a really neat piece of hardware.

The Surface Go is an incredible value. Normally $399, but Bet buy had an open box special, so I got it for $285.

SLX does have some issues with tablet mode and the touch interface I plan on working on. One, (in non tablet mode) you can't resize SLX via touch, you must have a mouse. That is due to the way I "took over" those functions in order to get the custom borders and Titlebar and I was not considering touch when I did that. I think I have a solution. Second, in tablet mode, Windows makes everything full screen. So the mini browser functionality does not work correctly and I should probably disable that if in tablet mode. There are some minor issues with button highlighting do to the fact that with touch, I cannot rely on mouse move messages to tell when the mouse enters/exits a control. And in tablet mode, the maximize/minimize button makes no sense, so should be hidden or disabled and same for Skin Presets in the custom menu. But that is all I have found so far.

R Greg Dawson

[dolodobendan]

The Surface Go is an incredible value. Normally $399, but Bet buy had an open box special, so I got it for $285.

Nice!

SLX does have some issues with tablet mode and the touch interface I plan on working on. One, (in non tablet mode) you can't resize SLX via touch, you must have a mouse. That is due to the way I "took over" those functions in order to get the custom borders and Titlebar and I was not considering touch when I did that. I think I have a solution.

Maybe we're talking about different things here, but I am able resize SLX using the touch display in non tablet mode.

Second, in tablet mode, Windows makes everything full screen.

I don't use the tablet mode very often. I just tried it, SLX' window was cut off at the bottom. I think I found a bug here:

Maximize SLX, minimize SLX to tray, switch to tablet mode, restore SLX (Window is cut off), turn off tablet mode, SLX' window stays cut off. Pressing F5 reloads and resizes the window correctly.

So the mini browser functionality does not work correctly and I should probably disable that if in tablet mode. There are some minor issues with button highlighting do to the fact that with touch, I cannot rely on mouse move messages to tell when the mouse enters/exits a control. And in tablet mode, the maximize/minimize button makes no sense, so should be hidden or disabled and same for Skin Presets in the custom menu. But that is all I have found so far.

Sounds reasonable.

The double rendering issue:

It's still there, but only if SLX is restored from tray AND SLX is not minimized to taskbar.

In other words: It works fine as long as SLX is restored from the taskbar (it doesn't matter if this is done by clicking on the minimized SLX on the taskbar or by clicking the tray symbol). If it's restored from the tray (no SLX on the taskbar), SLX shows the same behavior as before and renders the old window size first, then maximized window.

[dolodobendan]

No, I didn't pull it or anything like that, so not sure what is going on there.

Weird. Maybe they had to balance server traffic.

I want Squeezelite-X to start minimized (just as the tray icon), it feels at bit overwhelming when it fills the entire screen, it is that possible?

Maybe it's because I use the MS Store version, but that's exactly what SLX does on all my machines. I have "Run in Background" (SLX setting) and "Squeezelite-X Startup task" (that's in Apps and features / Squeezelite-X / Advanced Options) enabled.

[rgdawson]

Nice!

Maybe we're talking about different things here, but I am able resize SLX using the touch display in non tablet mode.

I guess you are right, I tried again and I could, but it is harder than it should be, especially with Material Skin, you have to get lucky where you touch with your finger, there is very little margin on the right side in material skin due to the potential scrollbar and the way I handled it inside the client area instead of outside the client area. I did figure out today how to have the resize area be outside the client area while still being able to render the border properly in my own color, so it should be better. I'm not there yet, as the Window style flag combinations that work currently (in development) cause the window to maximize full screen and hide the taskbar, so I still have some work to do in development. The Windows hoops I have had to jump through just to have my own custom buttons in the title bar, and my own border color (instead of the accent color), you would not believe. It has been one of the hardest parts of the whole program. (My development platform, Delphi/Pascal, is still not fully caught up to Windows 10 Universal Windows Platform).

I don't use the tablet mode very often. I just tried it, SLX' window was cut off at the bottom. I think I found a bug here:

Maximize SLX, minimize SLX to tray, switch to tablet mode, restore SLX (Window is cut off), turn off tablet mode, SLX' window stays cut off. Pressing F5 reloads and resizes the window correctly.

Yep, I saw that too and I'm not surprised. I didn't code things with tablet view in mind. Before I got the Surface Go, I didn't even know about it. My regular monitors are not touch capable so the option does not show up. And tablet mode resizes windows in ways I do not detect and does not emit all the messages I expect. At the moment, I'm not even capable of detecting when the PC is in tablet mode. I might have to write a DLL in another language to expose those interfaces as my current language/compiler does not expose the interfaces I need to detect this yet.

The double rendering issue:

It's still there, but only if SLX is restored from tray AND SLX is not minimized to taskbar.

In other words: It works fine as long as SLX is restored from the taskbar (it doesn't matter if this is done by clicking on the minimized SLX on the taskbar or by clicking the tray symbol). If it's restored from the tray (no SLX on the taskbar), SLX shows the same behavior as before and renders the old window size first, then maximized window.

Yes, I know about this. This is different code and I have not addressed this part of the code yet, but I intend to. Its related to code that handles the case where the monitors may have been moved, resized, unplugged in between "hide" and "show" when clicking on the tray icon (and maybe me taking a shortcut when I wrote it).

Thanks, everyone, for the continued support and kindness. I didn't really appreciate what I was getting myself into when I plopped Squeezelite-X out there. It is a responsibility I have to make it perfect. I thought maybe 50 people would be using it. I'm at well over 7000 from the store and I have no idea how many using the legacy installer. And still 300+ more new people still acquire it from the store every month...and they write reviews...and my name is on it. What was I thinking, haha. Everyone has been very kind and supportive, and I really appreciate that.

R Greg Dawson

[SBFan]

I suppose I could add an option to start minimized (or to the tray if running in background is enabled.

As for waiting for the server, are you saying that you are using SLX to wake the server and it just takes a while for the server to come online? If you enable "Wake Server" then SLX should know to keep trying until the server wakes up. SLX will still show "Server not responding" error until it does finally connect, though. I can figure something out, so please describe the scenario in more detail and I'll give it some thought. How are you waking the server? Do you have "Run in background"?

R Greg Dawson

Would be nice with an option for starting minimized or to the tray

No, the server (whs 2011) is waked by a program called Lights-Out (installed on the main PC (Win 10 Pro) and on the server), and yes it takes a while for the server to come online, while the main PC starts in 15 seconds.

When the server have come online i have to click several times on the "Apply" button in SLX options for the error message to go away, it doesn't do it by itself, and "Wake Server" is turned on (See screendumb).

And yes, run in background is turned on.

[kidstypike]

For me, SLX starts maximized every morning at PC boot. Is this new/intended behavior? It never used to do this.

Perhaps there's a setting I've overlooked?

Thanks for your continuing development & support.

[dolodobendan]

For me, SLX starts maximized every morning at PC boot.

Hm, it really does. This is new.

[dolodobendan]

I guess you are right, I tried again and I could, but it is harder than it should be, especially with Material Skin, you have to get lucky where you touch with your finger, there is very little margin on the right side in material skin due to the potential scrollbar and the way I handled it inside the client area instead of outside the client area. I did figure out today how to have the resize area be outside the client area while still being able to render the border properly in my own color, so it should be better. I'm not there yet, as the Window style flag combinations that work currently (in development) cause the window to maximize full screen and hide the taskbar, so I still have some work to do in development. The Windows hoops I have had to jump through just to have my own custom buttons in the title bar, and my own border color (instead of the accent color), you would not believe. It has been one of the hardest parts of the whole program. (My development platform, Delphi/Pascal, is still not fully caught up to Windows 10 Universal Windows Platform).

It's always the little things.

Yep, I saw that too and I'm not surprised. I didn't code things with tablet view in mind. Before I got the Surface Go, I didn't even know about it. My regular monitors are not touch capable so the option does not show up. And tablet mode resizes windows in ways I do not detect and does not emit all the messages I expect. At the moment, I'm not even capable of detecting when the PC is in tablet mode. I might have to write a DLL in another language to expose those interfaces as my current language/compiler does not expose the interfaces I need to detect this yet.

My programming skills are more of a theoretical kind. And the plural here is very flattering. I started learning perl, though, as I want to try something in LMS. Not quite there yet.

Yes, I know about this. This is different code and I have not addressed this part of the code yet, but I intend to. Its related to code that handles the case where the monitors may have been moved, resized, unplugged in between "hide" and "show" when clicking on the tray icon (and maybe me taking a shortcut when I wrote it).

I guess code like that wasn't used in programs that restore somewhere beyond the screens' limit.

Thanks, everyone, for the continued support and kindness. I didn't really appreciate what I was getting myself into when I plopped Squeezelite-X out there. It is a responsibility I have to make it perfect. I thought maybe 50 people would be using it. I'm at well over 7000 from the store and I have no idea how many using the legacy installer. And still 300+ more new people still acquire it from the store every month...and they write reviews...and my name is on it. What was I thinking, haha. Everyone has been very kind and supportive, and I really appreciate that.

Thank you.

[rgdawson]

For me, SLX starts maximized every morning at PC boot. Is this new/intended behavior? It never used to do this.

Perhaps there's a setting I've overlooked?

Thanks for your continuing development & support.

No, you have not overlooked anything. The current version in the store indeed displays the app on startup, even when running in background. This is "new" behavior. I enabled that temporarily in development when I was testing some things and should have dchanged it back when I submitted to the store. In any case, the next version will include an option to "Start Minimized". If enabled, SLX will start minimized to tray (if background enabled) or to the task bar, otherwise.

R Greg Dawson

[bobertuk]

Recent issues with 2.4.24.0 and v2.4.25.0

Hi Greg,

I've found a couple of issues with the most recent versions of SqueezeLite-X on my system.

v2.4.24.0
The recent application speedup seems to have caused issues with how SqueezeLite-X synchronises with LMS. SqueezeLite-X now starts too quickly - it starts before LMS and causes LMS not to register the squeezelite player. The screen image in post #1072 by SBFan shows this error as "Logitech Media Server not found...". In this case after "Apply" is pressed, after a short delay the player is recognised but my system is headless so it causes me practical issues. I was using the MS Store version but now I've switched over to the Legacy version so that I can introduce a startup delay of 60 seconds before SqueezeLite-X starts - the delay solves this issue.

v2.4.25.0
The introduction of "Start Minimised" as an option causes the SqueezeLite-X process to terminate after a few seconds of starting. Disabling "Start Minimised" stops the process termination but obviously means that the SqueezeLite-X window remains open on screen.

Bob

[left channel]

No problems with .24 or .25 here. But my LMS is always running on a dedicated server, and I only start SLX manually, never in the background or minimized.

[left channel]

Typo alert: in the Multi-Room panel, "additinal".