Messages

41

Works in progress / Re: 1st 'Beta release' of the 'Mach Pink' screenset.

« on: May 04, 2006, 04:47:35 AM »

Dude,

You promised not too

42

Works in progress / Re: 3 Axis Simple Screen setup 1.0 (Also good for TouchScreens)

« on: May 04, 2006, 04:44:19 AM »

Another nice set and some great creativity.

Good stuff !

43

Screen designer tips and tutorials / Screen .Set Installer Script details

« on: May 04, 2006, 04:36:39 AM »

Hi,

Following a request and a bit of ear bashing from Benny here's a quick write up on how to create an installer using freely available software. The software is called Inno Setup and is available from :-

http://www.jrsoftware.org/isinfo.php

To make life easier I would recommend downloading the Quick Start Pack which is currently at version 5.1.6

The program has a wizard which does a decent job at putting the basics together but then it's a matter of selecting various functions to customize the install.

Once a script has been created it's easy to modify to reuse. The attached script is an example of an installer script in use with the MachPink screenset and should be a good start for people to use and with a few edits your up and running.

In summary I have a folder called BACKUP on my c: drive

Inside this folder is a folder called MACHTESTSCREENS

You can of course modify the script to look at other locations for the files.

Copy the .SET file you want to package up into C:\BACKUP and then put the graphic files into C:\MACHTESTSCREENS

For the text files that appear during the install you need to create three text files. I used .RTF format files. copy these into :-

LicenseFile=C:\backup\license.rtf
InfoBeforeFile=C:\backup\infobefore.rtf
InfoAfterFile=C:\backup\infoafter.rtf

Finally two .BMP graphics files for logo's are used. A large and small graphic.

WizardImageFile=C:\Backup\logo-lrg.BMP
WizardSmallImageFile=C:\Backup\logo-sml.BMP

Then a quick look at the Project / Setup Options / Appearance will let you select an icon for the installer and a few other tweaks.

To Install a font which we didn't do. Select Project / Install fonts and select a font. This will add a line to the script.


The script below shows it complete and simply reading through should show the areas to customise. i.e Web addresses, Set titles and names etc.



I hope this is useful for everyone who wants to distribute screensets etc.....

Cheers and good luck.

Feel free to ask any questions and I'll answer the ones I know the answer too


-------------

; Script generated by the Inno Setup Script Wizard.
; SEE THE DOCUMENTATION FOR DETAILS ON CREATING INNO SETUP SCRIPT FILES!

[Setup]
AppName=Mach3 Pink Screenset
AppVerName=Pink Screenset v1.0
AppPublisher=The InsomniaX
AppPublisherURL=www.cnc-builder.co.uk\insomniax
AppSupportURL=www.cnc-builder.co.uk\insomniax
AppUpdatesURL=www.cnc-builder.co.uk\insomniax
DefaultDirName=C:\Mach3\
DefaultGroupName=Mach3 Pink Screenset
LicenseFile=C:\backup\license.rtf
InfoBeforeFile=C:\backup\infobefore.rtf
InfoAfterFile=C:\backup\infoafter.rtf
OutputDir=C:\Output
OutputBaseFilename=setup
SetupIconFile=C:\Documents and Settings\Shaun\Desktop\logo\moon.ico
Compression=lzma
SolidCompression=true
ShowLanguageDialog=yes
WizardImageFile=C:\Backup\logo-lrg.BMP
WizardSmallImageFile=C:\Backup\logo-sml.BMP
WizardImageStretch=false
DirExistsWarning=no
UserInfoPage=false
InternalCompressLevel=ultra

[Languages]
Name: english; MessagesFile: compiler:Default.isl

[Files]
Source: ..\..\..\Backup\Machpink.set; DestDir: {app}; Flags: ignoreversion; Languages:
Source: ..\..\..\Backup\MachTestScreens\*; DestDir: {app}\bitmaps\MachTestScreens; Flags: ignoreversion recursesubdirs

createallsubdirs
; NOTE: Don't use "Flags: ignoreversion" on any shared system files

[INI]
Filename: {app}\Internet shortcut.url; Section: InternetShortcut; Key: URL; String: www.cnc-builder.co.uk\insomniax

[Icons]
Name: {group}\{cm:ProgramOnTheWeb,Mach Pink Screenset}; Filename: {app}\Internet shortcut.url
Name: {group}\{cm:UninstallProgram,Mach Pink Screenset}; Filename: {uninstallexe}

[UninstallDelete]
Type: files; Name: {app}\Internet shortcut.url

44

Mach Screens / Re: Screen simplified set

« on: May 03, 2006, 08:57:44 AM »

Hi Giordano,

My mother was actually born in Rome but I'm afraid my knowledge of Italian is non-existant 

What I would say is that I'm afraid the screensets recently produced are all guilty of not lending themselves to another language.

To create the visual effect of the MachBlue screen for example, the buttons are all created as individual graphics. A background is created in photoshop and panels created. The buttons are then sunk into the frame.

While this method creates an improved visual, no borders etc.... It really would be a nightmare to convert to another language. (Which is a shame).

What I would say is that if your handy with a graphics program, load the individual backgrounds and manually edit the text labels. It would be time consuming, but nothing's easy and would allow for other language designs.

Buona Fortuna !

45

Works in progress / Re: 1st 'Beta' release of the MachBlue Screenset

« on: May 03, 2006, 03:34:40 AM »

Francis,

Thanks for the comments. Please shout up if you find errors etc.

There is always a risk when doing things as a team that someone gets more credit than another. I'm the one who had spare time on my hands doing the screen designs and ended up doing the forum posts.

Mr Bean really was the workhorse behind the screens......

46

Works in progress / Re: An unfinished screen set - "Mach Blue"

« on: May 02, 2006, 06:38:53 PM »

Jeff,

We are certainly no experts in screen design but you raise a valid point. One thing for sure it's a time consuming job !

The problem I have is I only touch on what features Mach offers on my home CNC. It would really take an expert or someone really familar with the program to outline screens that are the optimum.

We have a few more projects on the horizon but enjoyed our late night sessions with the screen designs.

For now, the beta screens are available here :-

http://www.cnc-builder.co.uk/insomniax/

Another colour release today... MachBlue..... (I think this is how the thread actually started - I don't know how the silver got added......)

47

Works in progress / 1st 'Beta' release of the MachBlue Screenset

« on: May 02, 2006, 06:31:22 PM »

Art,

Thanks for the words of encouragement. We really didn't expect to see a mass of response but maybe the odd one !

But... The fact that your giving it a try dulls the pain

We mentioned earlier that the colour scheme is undecided. The silver scheme was easier to work with in Screen4 so that was posted first.

Beano has shifted his photo shop layers and curves and a bit of jiggery to make the next release. Simply titled MachBlue.

I had a peak over at the dark side (Yahoo forum) and noticed your post on the screen release and the comments on the background.

Hopefully this may be more suitable for some people. I actually prefer this one myself.

It's available for download at the same place.

http://www.cnc-builder.co.uk/insomniax/

Again any comments appreciated.

I must warn you all now that as much as I tried I couldn't fight off Beano's Mach Pink release so watch this space ........

Cheers

48

Works in progress / Re: 1st 'Beta' release of the MachSteelBlue Screenset

« on: May 02, 2006, 09:52:31 AM »

I feel deja vu here Benny...... Web master Beano advises over nearly 100 downloads including those here. Most of the referrals are from the zone.

Was it really THAT bad

49

Works in progress / 1st 'Beta' release of the MachSteelBlue Screenset

« on: April 30, 2006, 07:47:41 PM »

Hello,

The time has come to finally Beta release the screenset that Mr Bean and myself have developed over the last few weeks. 

It's in a new thread as we hope to capture as much feedback on this specific screenset in one place.

A few notes beforehand. This screenset follows the layout of the standard screen supplied with Mach3 as close as possible. The idea for this set was to provide a set that was hopefully cosmetically more pleasing for our own personal use and share this with fellow Mach users out there. It's not a radical leap into optimizing screen layout.

The screen is designed for 1024 * 768 resolution, however latest development releases of Mach3 have a Hi-Res feature that will allow this screen to be used at higher resolutions with a much higher clarity than previously was available in Mach3.

Its true to say that the way the set is constructed allows a lot of flexibility in colour schemes.. These may come next depending on the level of interest.

Please feel free to download the installer program. (Obviously we have tested this but backup any Mach folders first !)
The installer also includes an uninstaller so you can be assured any trace of the screenset is removed after evaluation.

This can be downloaded from :-

http://www.cnc-builder.co.uk/insomniax/

At this stage the hotkeys are still being worked through.

Bugs and feedback appreciated.

The InsomniaX

Santiniuk & Mr Bean

50

Works in progress / Re: An unfinished screen set - "Mach Blue"

« on: April 29, 2006, 10:28:35 PM »

At last.......

The final screen is complete and the full series should be complete.

The colour scheme is up for debate but for now the 'Beta' release will probably use the silver scheme posted in the later screens.

I'm tired, Mr Bean is tired so the full package won't be posted tonight. We will wrap this up tomorrow and post for comment / improvements / and any bugs.

I did have chance today to try the screen in my garage with a 1024 * 768 panel. It did look quite nifty

A special thanks to Beano

(Oh - watch this space for Beano's special limited edition Mach Pink screenset!)