Can I start TouchControl Server minimized?

 

To start TouchControl Server in a minimized state, create a shortcut to the TouchControl Server executable with one of the following command line options:

 

To start minimized to the Windows taskbar:

"C:\Program Files\Touch App Technologies, LLC\TouchControl Server\TouchControl.exe" -min

 

To start minimized to the Windows system tray (hidden from taskbar):
"C:\Program Files\Touch App Technologies, LLC\TouchControl Server\TouchControl.exe" –mintray

 

 

What command-line options are available when starting the server?

 

-min (to start the server minimized to the taskbar)
-mintray (to start the server minimized to the system tray)
-nolisten (to start the server without listening on the server port)
-r "locationName - activityName" (to automatically launch a specific PC remote)

Command-line options can be supplied when starting the server with a shortcut, specifying the above parameters in the shortcut's "Target" field. For example:

"C:\Program Files\Touch App Technologies, LLC\TouchControl Server\TouchControl.exe" -min -nolisten

 

 

Does TouchControl Server have to be running to use TouchControl on my iOS device?

 

Not necessarily. It really depends on what you will be controlling with TouchControl. In general, a PC is needed to design and configure your remote layouts, and then to download that configuration to the iOS devices. For those purposes, the PC can reside either locally on the same LAN as the client devices, or in a remote location accessed over the internet. Please note that for the initial setup of TouchControl on your iOS device, the server must be accessible via WiFi on the local network.

 

After initial config download, if your configuration exclusively uses the EventTrigger, Global Cache', and/or HTTP Request buttons, TouchControl Server does NOT need to be running for TouchControl on your device to function on a normal basis. All of those buttons communicate directly with their configured devices/servers directly over the network. If you are using any of the PC-based features, including USB-UIRT, AutoHotKey, or mouse/keyboard control, then a PC running TouchControl Server would of course be needed to provide those features.

 

 

Can I access my TouchControl Server from the Internet?

 

Yes. As of version 5.2, you can enter a "3G" IP address or dynamic DNS hostname into the network settings in TouchControl on your device to access your TouchControl Server from the Internet. (NOTE: You must have WiFi access to your TouchControl Server for initial setup of the app on your device, but after that, you may access your server using a 3G signal, or WiFi at a public hotspot.)

 

To access your TouchControl Server, you will need to configure your cable/dsl modem and router to allow connectivity to your TouchControl Server IP address and designated ports via "port forwarding". I don't plan to go into how to do that here, as your networking equipment should include all the instructions you need to accomplish that.

 

The information that you'll need to know is:

 

1. The IP address of your TouchControl Server on your internal network - this is the address that you already have configured into TouchControl 
    

2. There are actually two or three ports used by TouchControl:
   The ports used by your TouchControl Server:
   * The main HTTP port that you have configured in TouchControl
   * The socket port used for button clicks & mouse/keyboard control
   * The port used by the EventGhost plugin (if you use EventGhost)
   These ports can be found in TouchControl Server by selecting Help -> Show Ports from the menu bar.
    

3. The external IP address of your cable/dsl modem as seen from the Internet. This can be found by opening a web browser and navigating to http://www.whatismyip.com.
   
   ...OR...
   
   A dynamic DNS service (e.g. DynDNS, Windows Home Server DDNS, etc.) hostname configured for your network. As of version 5.2, you may enter a hostname in TouchControl settings on your device (instead of an IP address) to access your server from the Internet.

 

With this information, you can set up the port forwarding required to allow TouchControl on your iPhone/iPad/iPod to connect to and work with your TouchControl Server from the Internet. 

 

Once you have that configured, you then need to add your external Internet IP address or DDNS hostname into the TouchControl network settings as your TouchControl Server 3G IP address/hostname, using whatever ports you opened up to the Internet through the port forwarding in your cable/dsl modem.

Please note that currently there is no additional security (i.e. password) built into TouchControl or TouchControl Server.

 

 

Where can I find more buttons?

 

http://www.dabuttonfactory.com
http://cooltext.com/Buttons
http://jirox.net/AsButtonGen
http://blog.guifx.com/category/downloads
http://www.ntdesignsonline.com/downloads.php

 

You are also welcome to post requests for buttons or offers of buttons in the forum on this site.

 

 

Why aren't the changes I just made in the server designer showing up on my iPhone?

 

See Troubleshooting.

 

 

Can I use high-res images with my retina iPhone or iPad?

 

Yes, you can add high-res background and button images to your activity layouts and have them render properly on the retina iPhone and iPad. TouchControl uses the same image file naming convention as iOS, so if you are adding a high-res background or button image, add "@2x" (for double-density images) or "@3x" (for triple-density images) to the end of the filename.

For example, a double-density high-res background image file would be named "mybackground@2x.png", and should be created at double the size that you want it to render at on the retina device. So if you are using full-screen layouts on your iPhone 5, for example, create mybackground@2x.png with a size of 640x1136 pixels. If you don't use full-screen, then create it at a size of 640x1008 pixels. The iPhone 6 Plus actually has a triple-density screen, so images should be created at three times the size of the screen, with @3x added to the file name (i.e. mybackground@3x.png).

The same goes for button images. A high-res button image would be named "mybutton@2x.png", and would, for example, have a size of 120x80 pixels if you wanted it to render at a comparable resolution of 60x40. Or name the button "mybutton@3x.png" with a size of 180x120 for use on an iPhone 6 Plus.

Just be aware that larger images require more resources on your device, so make sure that the image is "worthy" of the extra resolution. That is, a plain color background will look the same at single, double, or triple-density, so it doesn't make sense to use a high-density image in that case. Low-density images take less space, use less memory, and load faster than high-density images.

Of course you can create background images of any size. Using a background image that is larger than the device screen will result in a scrolling activity, for example. Also, using the "Scale to fit" feature will scale the activity up or down as needed to fill the entire screen (with no scrolling) regardless of the background image size.

For your reference, the following are the different background image sizes for the various iOS devices that should fit the screen perfectly, with no scrolling or scaling required, for both low and high-density, as well as standard and full-screen layouts (WxH).

iPhone (all retina):
Standard iPhone 4: 320x416
Standard iPhone 4 @2x: 640x832
Full-screen iPhone 4: 320x480
Full-screen iPhone 4 @2x: 640x960
Standard iPhone 5: 320x504
Standard iPhone 5 @2x: 640x1008
Full-screen iPhone 5: 320x568
Full-screen iPhone 5 @2x: 640x1136
Standard iPhone 6: 375x603
Standard iPhone 6 @2x: 750x1206
Full-screen iPhone 6: 375x667
Full-screen iPhone 6 @2x: 750x1334
Standard iPhone 6+: 414x672
Standard iPhone 6+ @3x: 1242x2016
Full-screen iPhone 6+: 414x736
Full-screen iPhone 6+ @3x: 1242x2208

iPad (full or mini):
Non-retina portrait standard: 768x960
Non-retina portrait full-screen: 768x1024
Non-retina landscape standard: 1024x704
Non-retina landscape full-screen: 1024x768
Retina portrait standard: 1536x1920
Retina portrait full-screen: 1536x2048
Retina landscape standard: 2048x1408
Retina landscape full-screen: 2048x1536

 

 

Can I control Windows Media Center?

 

Of course you can! You can use TouchControl to control Windows Media Center on your PC with no IR needed. All you need is the TouchControl iPhone/iPod/iPad app, the free TouchControl Server software, and the AutoHotKey in-app upgrade to drive Media Center with keyboard shortcuts. It's easy to set up and fun to use. See an example of a Media Center remote in TouchControl in the Sample Layouts on the Gallery page, and look for a downloadable package containing everything you need to get started on the Download page.