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Post by Carlos (Panels App Developer) on Mar 1, 2018 19:07:53 GMT
Panels
Welcome to Panels! The Panels app allows you to create/install custom panels to control your applications via your Android or iOS device. The panels you make are completely your own. Add your images, keybindings, background colors, etc. You can also export them and share them online.
Getting Started
Once you've downloaded the app and Windows host application (found at http://www.panelsapp.io), you'll see this window, informing you that the application is not connected yet to your iOS device. You'll also be given a IP Address and Port that can be used to connect your application wirelessly over your network. iOS Users: If you would rather connect over USB (which is significantly faster), you can instead just connect your device to your computer via USB. Once this is done, the Panels app status will change to "Connected", and you'll be ready to go. Android Users: Currently, only wireless network connection is supported. USB support for Android is in development. At this point, you'll probably want to start installing or making your own Panels. Be sure to check out the Featured Panels in the Manage Tab to install some pre-loaded panels. NOTE: If you're an Elite Dangerous player, this is where you'd find the pre-made, dynamic Elite Dangerous panel. So be sure to do this step to install that panel If you'd rather make your own P anel, head over to the Panel Creator instead. Once you have some Panels set up, and your device is connected, your panels will appear on your device whenever the associated program on your computer is in focus. Switch to Chrome? Your chrome panel will show up. Switch to Outlook? Your configured Outlook panel will show up.
Panel Creator
The Panel Creator is where you can make your own custom panels for whatever game or program you'd like to control from your tablet device. Simply click anywhere on the grid to pick a starting location for a button. Click another square to confirm the button size, and use the properties window on the right to set the details for the button.
From the properties window, you can set the background color, background image, button image, key bindings, button text, etc. You can also click the "Edit Panel Level Settings" button on the bottom left to set some higher level settings like Panel Background. Once you're done, click Save and give your panel a name.
Manage Panels
Once you're done with your panel, you'll be redirected to the Manage Panels window. You can also navigate to this window from the main menu. Here, you'll be able to edit any Key Bindings you've set, as well as update the associated program. Every Panel needs to be associated with a program. The Panel will show up on your tablet device once the program has focus on your machine. If you know the path to the executable you'd like to associate with the panel, you can simply add it in the text box. If you don't know it, then an easy way to find out is via the Task Manager.
Open the Task Manager, right click the program, and "Open File Location". This will show you the folder the executable is in. That's all you need to get started with Panels. If you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment on this forum, or email me directly at panelsapphelp@gmail.com.
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Post by drewnonstar on Mar 15, 2018 22:55:45 GMT
Is there a way to add delay between key presses? When I try to map stuff by "recording" I suspect it's executing the key combinations too quickly.
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Post by Carlos (Panels App Developer) on Mar 15, 2018 23:19:01 GMT
Is there a way to add delay between key presses? When I try to map stuff by "recording" I suspect it's executing the key combinations too quickly. There's, by default, already a small delay between key presses that the application introduces by default. I actually just recently added a way to add an arbitrarily large delay (which is why I haven't updated the docs yet. Sorry!) If you want to add a delay, basically record the key presses with the "Record" button. Now you should have a list of "key down" and "key up" events in your Binding text box. You can insert {PAUSE} commands in between those key events to introduce a pause. So let's say want to have a key binding that presses left, waits 5 seconds, and then presses "i" {LEFT down}{LEFT up}{PAUSE 5000}{i down}{i up} Where "PAUSE 5000" tells the Panels app to wait for 5000 milliseconds (or 5 seconds). That feature was deployed and so your desktop app should have that updated already. Let me know if you have any more questions :-)
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Post by drewnonstar on Mar 16, 2018 16:18:27 GMT
I'll give it a shot, thanks!
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Post by Jorki on Mar 25, 2018 10:31:19 GMT
I have a couple of questions:
1) I like the idea of being able to connect via usb but would the app also work via wifi when using a vpn on both ipad and PC?
2) Can you implement sliders and rotary controls as well as buttons?
3) Can the buttons be animated to provide feedback that they’ve been detected, e.g. play a click sound &/or some visual feedback?
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Post by Carlos (Panels App Developer) on Mar 25, 2018 18:46:18 GMT
I have a couple of questions: 1) I like the idea of being able to connect via usb but would the app also work via wifi when using a vpn on both ipad and PC? 2) Can you implement sliders and rotary controls as well as buttons? 3) Can the buttons be animated to provide feedback that they’ve been detected, e.g. play a click sound &/or some visual feedback? 1) If the iPad and PC are on the same VPN, then yes this will work. However the PC program might not give you the correct IP Address in this case. It'll probably give you the IP of the local network. If you can retrieve your ip on the VPN though, it will definitely work. 2) I've definitely been looking into how to best implement these things. There are a lot of use cases for these and so it's definitely something I'll be implementing, but I don't exactly have a plan yet. When I do, I'll update the roadmap :-) 3) The buttons should show a quick "pressed" animation that's really just a "darkening" of the button. I am working on adding a "pressed color" and "pressed image" to the editor to allow you to customize that. No ETA yet but I've already begun work
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Post by Jorki on Mar 28, 2018 11:46:14 GMT
I have a couple of questions: 1) I like the idea of being able to connect via usb but would the app also work via wifi when using a vpn on both ipad and PC? 2) Can you implement sliders and rotary controls as well as buttons? 3) Can the buttons be animated to provide feedback that they’ve been detected, e.g. play a click sound &/or some visual feedback? 1) If the iPad and PC are on the same VPN, then yes this will work. However the PC program might not give you the correct IP Address in this case. It'll probably give you the IP of the local network. If you can retrieve your ip on the VPN though, it will definitely work. 2) I've definitely been looking into how to best implement these things. There are a lot of use cases for these and so it's definitely something I'll be implementing, but I don't exactly have a plan yet. When I do, I'll update the roadmap :-) 3) The buttons should show a quick "pressed" animation that's really just a "darkening" of the button. I am working on adding a "pressed color" and "pressed image" to the editor to allow you to customize that. No ETA yet but I've already begun work Jorki: I think an additional audible feedback option would be really useful. In flightsims, Elite Dangerous, Star Citizen etc you can’t take your attention off the main screen for very long, so a quick glance at the panel to ensure you’re about to select the desired control then refocusing back on main screen to maintain situational awareness and getting an audible click or even voice report to confirm the correct control was indeed pressed would be ideal.
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Post by sunsteal on Mar 30, 2018 14:39:52 GMT
Hi. I've purchased the ios app and downloaded the windows desktop manager. I've loaded the elite:dangerous 'profile' and connected my apple device by usb cable. It shows as connected on the desktop but then the ipad only shows 'waiting for configured program to be in focus'.
I'm not sure what this means or what I do.
I've logged into and started the game but nothing changes. I had expected the ipad to show the pre configured elite dangerous panels.
How do I proceed?
Thanks
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Post by Carlos (Panels App Developer) on Mar 30, 2018 15:02:45 GMT
Hi. I've purchased the ios app and downloaded the windows desktop manager. I've loaded the elite:dangerous 'profile' and connected my apple device by usb cable. It shows as connected on the desktop but then the ipad only shows 'waiting for configured program to be in focus'. I'm not sure what this means or what I do. I've logged into and started the game but nothing changes. I had expected the ipad to show the pre configured elite dangerous panels. How do I proceed? Thanks Hey there, Thanks for purchasing the app and sorry for the trouble you're having. I've run into a similar issue with a user who happened to have multiple versions of the Elite Dangerous game installed. In that case, the Panels desktop client was watching the wrong "install". Could this be your case as well? Do you happen to have Elite Dangerous installed on the C drive as well as some other SSD drive, perhaps? If that's the case, you can always change the "Install" that the panel is associated with via the Manage Panels section of the Desktop client. With the Elite Dangerous Panel selected, you should see the path of the associated program in the top text box. If this isn't your case, please let me know and I'll be happy to continue troubleshooting with you. Thanks!
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Post by sunsteal on Mar 30, 2018 15:13:20 GMT
Ah yes. I have the Steam version of Elite but have them both installed on a secondary internal drive; the D drive. I'll delete the desktop manager and (if I'm understanding you correctly) reinstal it and set it to the same place but on the D drive. Thanks for the quick reply. I'll update once done Edit: tried that but the installation doesn't give you the ability to change the install path. It goes straight to instal
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Post by Carlos (Panels App Developer) on Mar 30, 2018 15:16:55 GMT
Hey again,
Yeah that's definitely the issue, but you actually don't need to reinstall the desktop manager. In the "Manage Panels" section of the desktop manager (with the Elite Dangerous Panel selected) you should see a path to the install on your C drive at the top of the window. All you really need to do is change that path to the one on the D drive and you should be good to go :-)
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Post by sunsteal on Mar 30, 2018 15:17:58 GMT
Ah, right. Will look at that... Thanks
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dodge62
New Member
Posts: 2 Likes: 0
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Post by dodge62 on Apr 19, 2018 15:19:39 GMT
Hey again, Yeah that's definitely the issue, but you actually don't need to reinstall the desktop manager. In the "Manage Panels" section of the desktop manager (with the Elite Dangerous Panel selected) you should see a path to the install on your C drive at the top of the window. All you really need to do is change that path to the one on the D drive and you should be good to go :-) I'm having trouble with this too - two Elite Dangerous installations. But the path seems to point to the panels app, not the Elite Dangerous install. What am I doing wrong? Image here
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Post by Carlos (Panels App Developer) on Apr 19, 2018 15:25:13 GMT
Hey again, Yeah that's definitely the issue, but you actually don't need to reinstall the desktop manager. In the "Manage Panels" section of the desktop manager (with the Elite Dangerous Panel selected) you should see a path to the install on your C drive at the top of the window. All you really need to do is change that path to the one on the D drive and you should be good to go :-) I'm having trouble with this too - two Elite Dangerous installations. But the path seems to point to the panels app, not the Elite Dangerous install. What am I doing wrong? Image hereThat's very strange. I'm not sure how that could have happened, but that's definitely not the correct path. You should be able to fix this by simply adding the correct path to that text box. An easy way to get the correct path is to open Task Manager, right click on the Elite Dangerous executable, and select "Go to File Location". That should take you to the folder with the Elite Dangerous executable. I'll take a look today to see if I can reproduce the issue or see why this might have happened, but the above should solve your issue.
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dodge62
New Member
Posts: 2 Likes: 0
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Post by dodge62 on Apr 19, 2018 15:45:55 GMT
That worked, thanks. Now to see what it's capable of doing. Do I need to configure all the keypresses manually or does it take them from my control setup?
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