Switching GUI skins

[Mr.C]

Just wanted to know if it's possible to switch between different uLe skins quickly. For example, I got five different skins saved on my pendrive and I get bored by one so I want to quickly switch to another. Maybe there is a function that makes it possible to have for like five skins "prepared" for switching maybe?

[vsub]

Just make a copy of your LAUNCHELF.CNF,rename it to LAUNCHELF1.CNF for skin 2 LAUNCHELF2.CNF for skin 3 and so on.Place all the files in the same directory as the LAUNCHELF.CNF(including the images if they are pointed to be located there)but before that edit those two lines in every LAUNCHELF?.CNF different skin file
SKIN_FILE =
GUI_SKIN_FILE =
to point to another skin and gui files,after that copy all the edited LAUNCHELF?.CNF files and to where LAUNCHELF.CNF is,go to File Manager=>MISC=>Configure=>Startup=>Number of CNF'=>select the number of LAUNCHELF?.CNF's that you made including the LAUNCHELF.CNF=>Return=>Ok and now you can change the skins using the left and right buttons

[Mr.C]

Sound really cool. Just asking so I'll be on the safe side. I should copy the original cnf file from my memory card where the FMCB is lokated to my pendrive and copy it to my computer? Is there a speciall utility for editing cnf? I have read a little about this but I'm not sure.

[vsub]

Sound really cool. Just asking so I'll be on the safe side. I should copy the original cnf file from my memory card where the FMCB is lokated to my pendrive and copy it to my computer? Is there a speciall utility for editing cnf? I have read a little about this but I'm not sure.

This is just a text file but with cnf extension...just open Notepad and drag-drop the file

[Four1Fool]

Just make a copy of your LAUNCHELF.CNF,rename it to LAUNCHELF1.CNF for skin 2 LAUNCHELF2.CNF for skin 3 and so on.Place all the files in the same directory as the LAUNCHELF.CNF(including the images if they are pointed to be located there)but before that edit those two lines in every LAUNCHELF?.CNF different skin file
SKIN_FILE =
GUI_SKIN_FILE =
to point to another skin and gui files,after that copy all the edited LAUNCHELF?.CNF files and to where LAUNCHELF.CNF is,go to File Manager=>MISC=>Configure=>Startup=>Number of CNF'=>select the number of LAUNCHELF?.CNF's that you made including the LAUNCHELF.CNF=>Return=>Ok and now you can change the skins using the left and right buttons

Thanks vsub,

Some other Qs:

How does this work with different media? For example. My uLE launches as BOOT.ELF from the OSDSys in FMCB. If I launch the uLE on mass0, which is BOOT.ELF, does it know to jump from BOOT.ELF on mass0 to LAUNCHELF1.CNF on mass0 ? So far I've tried what you said but without success unelss I have everything on mc0. I don't want to put a bunch of jpgs or extra LAUNCHELF.CNF fiels onto my MC.

My MC boots to FMCB, is my setup wrong? When I look at FMCB configurator it states the paths for uLE are mass0:/BOOT.ELF and mc?:/BOOT.ELF. Where in uLE does it give paths for the CNF files?

Also, what is the option in uLE: Load skin CNF or Save skin CNF to file for? I made a new file on mass0, called SKIN1.CNF and used that Save skin to CNF option so I can bust it open and check it out.

[walidahmadi]

Thanks vsub,

Some other Qs:

How does this work with different media? For example. My uLE launches as BOOT.ELF from the OSDSys in FMCB. If I launch the uLE on mass0, which is BOOT.ELF, does it know to jump from BOOT.ELF on mass0 to LAUNCHELF1.CNF on mass0 ? So far I've tried what you said but without success unelss I have everything on mc0. I don't want to put a bunch of jpgs or extra LAUNCHELF.CNF fiels onto my MC.

My MC boots to FMCB, is my setup wrong? When I look at FMCB configurator it states the paths for uLE are mass0:/BOOT.ELF and mc?:/BOOT.ELF. Where in uLE does it give paths for the CNF files?

Also, what is the option in uLE: Load skin CNF or Save skin CNF to file for? I made a new file on mass0, called SKIN1.CNF and used that Save skin to CNF option so I can bust it open and check it out.

You need to point them to know it is in mass

SKIN_FILE =
GUI_SKIN_FILE =

you need to put the address of the skins there

If the skins are in mass then point it to there

[vsub]

I think dlanor will give you better answer on that since I don't use multiple CNF's(in fact I've never tried this,I'm just telling you what I've read somewhere about this and by looking at the LAUNCHELF.CNF I can understand how this works)

The LAUNCHELF?.CNF's on your mass has higher priority than those on your mc.If you want to use your ule on your mc but to have multiple CNF's for different skins and your skin files files to be on your mass,just point the images in every cnf.When you're loading ule from your mc but have inserted your USB device and have LAUNCHELF?.CNF's in it,it will load them,not this on your mc but for the next one...I don't know.

I may be wrong about all this since I've never tried it and I don't like to explain something that I didn't tried first.

[dlanor]

Thanks vsub,

Some other Qs:

How does this work with different media? For example. My uLE launches as BOOT.ELF from the OSDSys in FMCB. If I launch the uLE on mass0, which is BOOT.ELF, does it know to jump from BOOT.ELF on mass0 to LAUNCHELF1.CNF on mass0 ? So far I've tried what you said but without success unelss I have everything on mc0. I don't want to put a bunch of jpgs or extra LAUNCHELF.CNF fiels onto my MC.

By default uLE will search for LAUNCHELF?.CNF files in up to three different locations. The first check is inside the same folder where the uLE elf was started. The second and third checks are made inside the SYS-CONF folders of each memory card, and if uLE was started from a memory card, then that is the card whose SYS-CONF will be checked first.

This type of file searching proved so useful that I decided to extend its use to other files than the CNF files too, some uLE versions back. So in the current versions it is possible to make uLE search for configured JPG pictures and device drivers etc by the same methods. But you need to tell uLE to do this by selecting the file in a special manner. This is done by using the same configuration commands in the config menus as usual, but when you are to confirm your choice of a highlighted file in the browser you press the 'Square' button instead of the usual one ('Circle' or 'Cross' depending on CNF). When you do this the resulting path will become "uLE:/somefilename.ext" regardless of what the true path of the file "somefilename.ext" is.

There are two main ways of using this feature.

1: Make a uLE folder containing all that you need, and use the uLE:/ path selection described above for all configurable items. This will allow this setup to be portable, simply by copying the folder with all its contents to whatever media you want. This is also an excellent way to create separate fully independent setups.

2: Store all your configurable items in SYS-CONF on a memory card always inserted in your PS2, and use the uLE:/ path selection described above for all those configurable items. This will allow this setup to be semi-portable, working well on any media as long as the memory card you prepared is always present (in either slot). The main advantage of this method is economical, as many different setups can share the same configurable files in the SYS-CONF folder.

It is also possible to mix and match the above methods, using some files local to the uLE launch folder while others intended for global use are stored in the SYS-CONF folder. I normally do this by keeping LAUNCHELF?.CNF files local to each specific uLE folder, though they share the same JPG collection for skin use in the SYS-CONF folder. But in either case I always select those files by the uLE:/ path method described above.

It is only for files that are NOT stored in either the same folder as uLE or in an mc:/SYS-CONF/ folder that you need to use device-specific paths.

My MC boots to FMCB, is my setup wrong? When I look at FMCB configurator it states the paths for uLE are mass0:/BOOT.ELF and mc?:/BOOT.ELF. Where in uLE does it give paths for the CNF files?

Without seeing your FREEMCB.CNF file we can't say if anything is wrong with it, but by default FMCB will show its own menu if you boot without any disc in tray. If that menu contains an entry for uLaunchELF, then this means that the setup is rather healthy, as FMCB always verifies the existence of ELF files before showing them in the menu.

But if you want to make FMCB boot directly into uLE on startup, just as a modchip would boot uLE through Dev1 methods, then you need to use the FMCB configurator to set up the "Configure E1 launch keys..." entry named "Auto" so as to link it to the uLE BOOT.ELF file. This is done in a way very similar to how you configure launch keys in uLE (because the configurator has borrowed some uLE code).

Also, what is the option in uLE: Load skin CNF or Save skin CNF to file for? I made a new file on mass0, called SKIN1.CNF and used that Save skin to CNF option so I can bust it open and check it out.

Those commands are mainly intended to make life easier for uLE skin designers. There are many different configuration settings that interact in creating the visual experience, and in distributing skins it is necessary to ensure a useful result for the end user.

As one very simple example: It is no good to just load a background picture if that happens to be dominated by the same colour used for normal text. That would make all normal messages and browser screens invisible...! The commands to load and save special skin CNFs gather all the graphically related configuration variables and either save them to a skin CNF file, or load them from such a file. The content of those skin files is identical to parts of a full LAUNCHELF.CNF file, but limited to the variables related to skin usage.

Best regards: dlanor

[dlanor]

I think dlanor will give you better answer on that since I don't use multiple CNF's(in fact I've never tried this,I'm just telling you what I've read somewhere about this and by looking at the LAUNCHELF.CNF I can understand how this works)

The LAUNCHELF?.CNF's on your mass has higher priority than those on your mc.If you want to use your ule on your mc but to have multiple CNF's for different skins and your skin files files to be on your mass,just point the images in every cnf.When you're loading ule from your mc but have inserted your USB device and have LAUNCHELF?.CNF's in it,it will load them,not this on your mc but for the next one...I don't know.

I may be wrong about all this since I've never tried it and I don't like to explain something that I didn't tried first.

Wise opinion that last , since you are partly wrong about the above facts.
The prioritization of mass: ahead of mc?: that you describe is used by FMCB, not uLE.

uLE has an entirely different prioritization, as follows:

1: Search in same folder as uLE itself
2: Search in SYS-CONF of either same MC as uLE started from, or mc0: if uLE was non-MC
3: Search in SYS-CONF of MC uLE was not started from, or mc1 if uLE was non-MC

A USB drive will never be scanned automatically unless uLE was launched from such a drive, in which case it will be searched but only in the same folder as uLE was launched from.

Best regards: dlanor