Configuration

A shortcut to the xPLMCE Configure application is installed in your Program Menu under xPL\xPLMCE. Running the program produces the following dialog

You can choose whether to have xPLMCE report the playback current position in a media file. If this option is checked, a media.mptrnspt xPL message will be sent once per second while a media file is playing. If you do not require this information, it is best to uncheck the option to reduce the amount of message traffic.

Unused buttons on the xPL remote control can be assigned to send xPL messages, either directly or by producing a popup menu that can contain up to three buttons, with one xPL message assigned to each, as shown here.

To set this feature up, first click the "Add" button. You will be prompted to press the button you wish to use on the MCE remote control.

Note that most of the buttons on the remote control are already used to trigger activity in Media Center. Since there is no way to block Media Center from receiving these button presses, only unused buttons should be assigned. European users have an advantage here since there MCE remote contains additional buttons for teletext, including the four coloured buttons, which are not used by Media Center.

Once a button has been chosen, a dialog appears allowing you to edit the activities associated with it. This same dialog is also produced by selecting on an existing command and clicking the Properties button on the main Configure dialog.

Use the radio buttons to choose between using the remote control to trigger a popup menu or sending a single xPL message without any on-screen activity or other interruption. Once you have chosen the type of event to trigger, click the Edit button.

If a single message was chosen, a screen will appear allowing you to define the xPL message to be sent.

The screenshot shows the dialog as it might look when filled with a complete xPL message (in this case using the X10 schema to turn on a light). Details of all the xPL message schemas can be found on the xPL Wiki.

If the popup dialog was selected, a screen will appear with boxes where you can enter the labels for the buttons on the popup. Clicking on the associated Edit button will take you to the xPL message editor screen, where you can specify the xPL message that should be sent when that popup menu button is pressed.

When you have finished defining your configuration, clicking "Save and Exit" will save the configuration to a file called config.xml in the application's installation folder.

Next: Operation