Introducing SimpleX, a simple UnleashX skin.

[si_kabayan]

After reading the UnleashX manual, I thought why not learn to create a skin?

And here it is; introducing SimpleX, a simple UnleashX skin.

This skin was created with CRT TV in mind, and not yet tried on LCD TV so don't know how the results.

Just clone its repo or download from its release page.

 

EDIT:

The Skin folder can be directly dropped into UnleashX's Skins folder.

But, the Config.xml need a bit of editing as it's uses E:\Applications and E:\Dashboards as its paths.

Adjust it to your ogxbox paths, which is usually E:\Apps and E:\Dash. A simple find and replace will do.

 

SimpleX_Applications_Dashboards.7z SimpleX_Apps_Dash.7z

Edited January 6 by si_kabayan

[amak79]

I will try it. Thanks.

3 hours ago, si_kabayan said:

But, the Config.xml need a bit of editing as it's uses E:\Applications and E:\Dashboards as its paths.

Adjust it to your ogxbox paths, which is usually E:\Apps and E:\Dash. A simple find and replace will do.

Couldn't you add additional <Path> elements for applications and dashboards so you don't need to release two versions?

<List Text="Applications" Sort="On" DelayLoad="True">
  <Path>E:\Apps</Path>
  <Path>F:\Apps</Path>
  <Path>G:\Apps</Path>
  <Path>E:\Applications</Path>
  <Path>F:\Applications</Path>
  <Path>G:\Applications</Path>
</List>

 

Edited January 6 by amak79

[KaosEngineer]

A skin doesn't modify UnleashX's config.xml file. It only sets how the information displayed by the dashboard looks to the user.  

 

It is up to the user to edit config.xml to set what directories are used to populate the menus and which items and their order are to be included in the menu.

[si_kabayan]

3 hours ago, amak79 said:

I will try it. Thanks.

Couldn't you add additional <Path> elements for applications and dashboards so you don't need to release two versions?

<List Text="Applications" Sort="On" DelayLoad="True">
  <Path>E:\Apps</Path>
  <Path>F:\Apps</Path>
  <Path>G:\Apps</Path>
  <Path>E:\Applications</Path>
  <Path>F:\Applications</Path>
  <Path>G:\Applications</Path>
</List>

 

It has a menu to reset UnleashX configuration by extract an archive contains default config and skin. Need an exact full path for this.

Edited January 7 by si_kabayan

[amak79]

57 minutes ago, KaosEngineer said:

A skin doesn't modify UnleashX's config.xml file. It only sets how the information displayed by the dashboard looks to the user.  

 

It is up to the user to edit config.xml to set what directories are used to populate the menus and which items and their order are to be included in the menu.

I understand that but the skin archive provides an Unleash Config.xml file when it really shouldn't. But since it does I thought it could be adapted so there doesn't need to be two versions.

Edited January 7 by amak79

[HDShadow]

The skin.xml is only able to modify things like how many main menu items are displayed at a time, text colour, text background, whether they rotate and, most importantly the positioning.

The actual main menu names, as KE ^^^ says, are all determined by the Config.xml not the skin.xml. However you can introduce additional text information as part of the Source skin.xml entries and/or, of course, graphics overlays.

Your skin can be used by any UnleashX user as is, they don't need to mess around with or replace their Config.xml. It just won't display exactly as in your demo because not all the items in the menu will be available, their customised names or in the same order.

There's nothing wrong with that modfied Config.xml with its inclusion of additional menu options and names it is just you don't need to use it.

Good work, I like the skin, particularly its relative simplicity.

If it was me I'd find a better way of displaying things like app icons rather than stretching them vertically just to fit the Xbox case dimensions.  I always use square icons as they work with all dashboards and if you want them to fit in a rectangular border it is simple just to add top and bottom borders or extensions to fill the rectangular space.       

Edited January 7 by HDShadow

[si_kabayan]

v0.2: Added Grid and SMPTE Color Bars skins to test or calibrate CRT's colors or geometry.