User

03.03.2010 15:50:02

I'd like to switch to the Virtual Mouse Behaviour from my own behaviour, but need a slightly different key mapping for the Virtual Mouse Behaviour. Don't want to change the key mapping for the Virtual Mouse Behavior in general, as this might break its usability in Finder or other behaviors.

Any idea, whether/how this can be accomplished? Duplicating the build-in Virtual Mouse Behaviour and changing the key mapping on the duplicate is not possible.

Thanks for any suggestions. 

User

03.03.2010 17:32:31

Thanks for asking.

You can actually build "empty" Behaviours and select the globally available actions (which includes actions from the Virtual Mouse) from other Behaviours at Behaviour Construction Kit > Behaviour Factory > [Your Behaviour] > Default mapping.

You can create such an "empty" Behaviour by pressing the plus button at BCK > Behaviour Factory, then unselect the top three checkboxes in the "Specification and Metadata" tab, so that the Behaviour isn't bound to a particular application. Then, enter a name, change the identifier to "com.peter.virtualmouseclone".

Because the cloned virtual mouse wouldn't be associated with any particular application, we'd need to make sure that Remote Buddy doesn't automatically switch to another Behaviour until before you explicitly tell it to stop controlling the cloned virtual mouse. Therefore, go to the Action Factory and create an action with this AppleScript snippet:

behaviourcore accessor "setActiveBehaviour" identifier "com.peter.virtualmouseclone" useActivationEventCode "activatedInFront" with stickyValue

(all in one line)

Then, jump back to the Behaviour Factory, go to the "Actions" tab and drag and drop the newly created action from the left list to the right.

Now, switch to the "Default mapping" tab. There, select the newly created action for "Events > On manual activation". Then select the actions you want to assign for the respective buttons.

Finally, use the gears button and select "Compile, test and permanently install scripted Behaviour".

Best regards, 
Felix Schwarz 

User

03.03.2010 17:41:36

Sorry, the AppleScript snippet of the action should be

tell application "Remote Buddy" to behaviourcore accessor "setSticky" with stickyValue

Best regards, 
Felix Schwarz 

User

15.03.2010 10:25:17

Thank you Felix.

Just for the record: I use the virtualmouseclone as a kind of laser pointer from within a slideshow app and need a reworked keyboard mapping from the standard Virtual Mouse Behaviour to play nicely together with the slideshow app.

Seems like both versions work !?!

But I still have one issue:

1.) I have mapped a short press on the MENU Button to activate/deactivate my virtualmouseclone from my parent behaviour (slideshow app), which works.

2.) With a long press of the MENU button I skip out of the virtualmouseclone and/or out of my parent behaviour as well, depending on whether the virtualmouseclone is currently activated or not, and then open the Remote Buddy Menu. Works as well.

3.) Then with a short press on the MENU Button, the Remote Buddy Menu closes. And with the next short press on the MENU Button, I would have expected the Remote Buddy Menu to open again. But the Remote Buddy Menu does not open, and instead my virtualmouseclone gets activated again, showing the mousespot !?!

4.) The next short press on the MENU Button deactivates my virtualmouseclone and from there on each short press on the MENU Button opens/closes the Remote Buddy Menu as expected.

The problem seems to be, that I cannot completely deactivate the virtualmouseclone manually in 2.).

I execute the following Behaviour Actions in 2.) with a long press of the MENU button, while virtualmouseclone is active:

Mousespot on/off 
Deactivate current behaviour (virtualmouseclone) 
Activate parent behaviour (slideshow app) 
Virtual key press: MENU (to quit running slideshow) 
Open Remote Buddy Menu

Does it need some AppleScript, to deactivate the stickyBit? I thought running Deactivate current behaviour would clear the bit.

A bit difficult to explain. I can sent you the behaviour, if you like, so you can see it yourself.

Peter

Last edited: 15.03.2010 10:57:26 

User

17.03.2010 16:12:46

Thanks for asking.

Phew. This sounds like a really complex setup. A few notes:

 
This is actually not needed. The action that follows it should last:

Active Behaviour used at this point: automatically chosen.

 
Regarding both in general: if you're using more than one action in a new action - and both aim into a different direction, it's better to do this via AppleScript.

Active Behaviour used at this point: your "parent behaviour".

 
Are you using an action from the Virtual Remote here? Or are you issuing a keystroke? Or using AppleScript to send a "Menu" button press to Remote Buddy?

What do you want to achieve with this action?

Please keep in mind that at this point, your "parent behaviour" is active and that - if you send a menu button code to Remote Buddy - the action that's mapped to the Menu button of your "parent behaviour" gets executed.

If the action mapped to the Menu button is to activate your virtualmouseclone Behaviour, than that's what will happen.

...

Regarding 3) 
What's the name of the Behaviour as displayed in the title of the Remote Buddy menu? And what does the topmost menu item read? "Activate Behaviour", "Hide menu" or "Deactivate Behaviour"?

Best regards, 
Felix Schwarz 

User

18.03.2010 16:53:43

Thanks Felix.

 
Well, I like complex setups. ;-)

 
I used Virtual Remote

 
Stop playing the slideshow and exiting the slideshow app.

 
Bingo! That's what happens. The "parent behaviour" was still active without the parent application running, showing the RemoteBuddy menu above the Desktop. I assumed, no behavior would be active at that time. And this activated the virtualmopusclone with a subsequent press of the Menu button.

Still a few questions:

How can I deactivate the "parent behaviour" other than switching to another behaviour? Running a couple of "deactivate active behaviour" didn't do the trick.

Is there a "no behaviour active state" in RemoteBuddy, aka I'd like to be in the same state as when I've just started RemoteBuddy?

After I've quit the slideshow, deactivated my slideshow behaviour (hopefully you tell me how) and opened the Remote Buddy menu, is there a way to navigate through the RemoteBuddy menu to the exact position, where I've opened the last slideshow file? This is the default, when I open the RemoteBuddy menu while my parent behaviour is still running, but I need to quit the parent behaviour as explained above, to prevent it to trigger the virtualmouseclone when pressing Menu.

If it can't be done this way with RemotBuddy, an alternative would be to trigger different events when pressing the Menu button within my "parent behaviour" depending on whether the parent app is running or not.

Thanks for any tips

Peter

Last edited: 18.03.2010 17:00:34 

User

18.03.2010 20:06:57

Felix,

don't waste your time with answering my question.

I'm heading for a different key mapping, that makes a more standard use of the Menu button.

Peter