maemo.org - Talk - View Single Post - Questions about Powerlaunch. Head hurts.

	Karel Jansens	2008-06-30 , 22:54
	Posts: 3,220 \| Thanked: 326 times \| Joined on Oct 2005 @ "Almost there!" (Monte Christo, Count of)	#15

Originally Posted by austin

I'll assume you know how to edit config files and get around command line. There's no graphical configuration tool. Try this:
Code:
mkdir ~/.powerlaunch
cp /etc/powerlaunch/powerlaunch.conf ~/.powerlaunch
Now you can edit ~/.powerlaunch.conf as that's the main config file. The section at the top labeled [main] is the primary mode. You probably don't need most of the stuff in there but there's some examples in there such as creating menus or shortcut keys for things you may do often, like running ssh, running top, whatever.

In any case, here's a simple powerlaunch.conf file (you can just replace the entire file with this) and this will have short power key press go to softpoweroff, long power key release to turn it back on, and long power key press to show the menu (I assume that's what you want, unless you don't want the menu at all).
Code:
[main]
on_init = call common.init.main; inherit systemui.ui; call systemui.ui.layout
key_release_power = if $powerkey_short system.device.softpoweroff common.ui.show 
powerkey_long_release = softpoweron

Now, you see, that's the problem. It's just too darn complicated to accomplish simple stuff; all I want is to assign shortkeypress to softpoweroff and longkeypress to power menu (it used to be the other way around, but Maemo apparently also reocognizes mediumkeypress, which means that you have to do the "one mississipi" thing to get it right). In mce.ini, all I basically have to do is switch values in two entries in the file, but you expect me to freaking call things and inherit stuff! WTF?!

I don't want to have to learn yet another (pseudo-)programming language to just assign keypresses. Developers who might be interested in using the awesome superpowers of Powerlaunch probably don't care, but end users do. Trust me. Powerlaunch is not usable for a user with at best limited skills in editing text-based configuration files; your configuration files aren't that, they're scripts invoking pretty highlevel programming stuff.

It's most likely a fantastic program, but only a very select few are ever going to find that out; the rest of us are either going to be so overwhelmed that they give up or simply relinquish themselves to running the preconfigured stuff, which only accidentally will do what they want.

It's very nice that you bothered to precode it for me, but are you prepared to do this for every user who asks for it? Incidentally, I learned exactly nothing from your example; I know as much about the workings of Powerlaunch now as I did before. I admit I'm a pretty dim light when it comes to coding (actually, that's not correct: the light isn't even on), but I have a nagging feeling that in this I represent a pretty large chunk of the Itablet user base (bottom of that chunk, but still...).

Okay, sorry about the rant. It wasn't really meant that way, but my fingers often get the better of me. I'm sure Powerlaunch is a great program, it's just too rich for me...

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