Version 8 Release Notes
Version 8.3
IMPORTANT: This will be the final version that will support iOS 7 or earlier. Please update your device(s) to continue to receive app updates and enhancements!
New sample activity to control Philips Hue lights
New sample activities are available on the Download page that allows you to control Philips Hue lights using TouchControl (includes activities for both iPhone and iPad). This activity supports automatic discovery of your Hue bridge, controlling multiple lights, setting light color and brightness, using your own images to create lighting scenes (or use the included default RGB image), creating scenes and saving to iCloud, finding and loading saved scenes, etc. Note that this activity makes extensive use of Javascript, and includes three external script files that you can find in Script Manager after you import the activities.
Enhanced Gesture Pad External Mousepad functionality
The Gesture Pad External Mousepad feature now includes the ability to detect precise touch/swipe positions within the pad. The following new script variables are now available to _mouseMoveButton and _mouseLeftButton in real time as you drag or tap your finger on the pad:
_mousePosX - the horizontal pixel position of your finger on the Gesture Pad Mousepad
_mousePosY - the vertical pixel position of your finger on the Gesture Pad Mousepad
_mouseStarted - swiping or tapping has started
_mouseEnded - swiping or tapping has ended
The new Hue sample activity on the Download page uses this feature. See the _mouseMoveButton and _mouseLeftButton buttons in that activity for examples.
New ImagePicker feature
Now you can select images from your iOS photo library on your device and display in TouchControl at runtime. Use the new "{imagepicker}" feature of Command buttons to display the iOS photo selection screen to select the image, and use feedback scripting to use the resulting image in your activity (set a button background to the image, for example). This feature is used in the Hue sample activity (above) to select images used for Hue scene control. See the Command button documentation for more information.
Bug fixes and general improvements
Version 8.2
New app icon and launch image
Option to enable the iPhone proximity sensor in iOS app to help save battery
Bug fixes and general improvements
Version 8.1.1
Determine network status via script
The following two script variables will allow you to determine the device's current network status (i.e. WiFi or WWAN) at any time:
_isWiFi (true if the device is currently connected to a WiFi network, otherwise false)
_isWWAN (true if the device is currently connected to a WAN/cellular network, otherwise false)
Usage:
if (_isWiFi) {
//do something here
}
Disable full-screen activity "go-back" swiping via script
Normally when using a TouchControl activity in full-screen mode, a swipe either from left-to-right, or from top-to-bottom on a blank spot on the activity background will perform the equivalent of a "go back" link, returning you to the previous activity or home screen. If this gesture interferes with the use of your activity, such as when using sliders, you can disable the swiping gesture for the given activity with the following script helper funciton:
_enableActivitySwipe(false);
You can re-enable swiping by calling the helper function and passing true as the parameter as well. Note that this only affects the activity during its life-cycle, so if you close and re-open the activity, you'll need to re-execute this helper function, likely in an auto-exec on load button.
Automatic bypass option
Interface definitions in Interface Manager in TouchControl Server include the ability to enable "bypass" mode, which effectively bypasses any network connection attempt when using the interface. This is useful for development and testing of activities when you may not be connected to the network where the interface host actually resides. However, this setting must be made at design time, so if you are in a location where you don't have access to your TC Server, but would like to bypass connections, this can become problematic. By enabling the "Auto-bypass" option within settings in TouchControl on your device, all connections will be bypassed if TouchControl detects that you have no network connectivity - i.e. if you are using a WiFi-only device and are not connected to a WiFi network, or if you have enabled Airplane Mode on your device. This setting is especially useful if you would like to be able to test activity interactions, or demo your TC config to others without needing to be connected to the controlled device or any network. The Auto-bypass option is found under the Tools section within TouchControl settings on your device, and the setting will automatically disable itself (re-enable connectivity) whenever TouchControl is restarted on your device.
Bug fixes
Version 8.1
New "MacroMessage" feature
When configuring a macro button, you can now enable the "MacroMessage" feature, which will display a Label button of your choosing over your layout while the macro is executing. This is useful for long-running macros during which you would like to display a message such as "Please wait...", or if you want to disable tapping on other buttons while the macro is executing (as the message displays over all other buttons on your activity). Please see the Macro button topic in Instructions for additional info.
WebRemote updates
When displaying activities that are configured to scale, you can now pinch-zoom in your browser to adjust the layout to your screen, rather than scrolling around to access buttons on a layout that otherwise may not all fit on the screen.
Dynamic UDP IP addressing
You may now use %dynamic% IP addressing in interfaces that use the UDP protocol.
HTTPS requests
Enable the "HTTPS" option in your HTTP Request buttons to use the HTTPS protocol for the button's request.
Bug fixes
Version 8
Custom transitions
Now when you link to activities, you can specify custom transition animations to show the new activities on the screen. Slide in from any direction, flip from any direction, curl up or down, zoom in, or dissolve (fade in). Custom transitions are defined within the Link buttons that link to the activity, and in addition to the type of transition, also allows setting the duration (speed) of the transition animation. Link buttons, therefore, have a new configuration panel where all link properties, including custom transitions, are set. Note that [go back] link buttons cannot have custom transitions, as exiting an activity simply reverses the transition used to link to the activity. Also, activities loaded from the home activities screen will use the default sliding transition. Look for more custom transitions in future releases!
Execute script from link buttons
In addition to custom transitions, link buttons now also have the ability to execute script immediately prior to executing the link (pre-script). This will simplify scenarios where you need to run script before linking and in the past were required to use a script button which ran some script and then executed the link using [#] script execution. Link script is also set on the new Link button config panel (see above).
External mousepads
Now Gesture Pad Mousepads can be configured to act as either "internal" or "external" mousepads. "Internal" mousepads (the default) perform as normal mousepads, controlling the mouse on your TouchControl Server PC, using internal commands that are not exposed. "External" mousepads, on the other hand, execute your buttons as your finger(s) move over the mousepad, gaining access to the X and Y coordinates of the mouse movements, as well as two finger scroll interactions, one- and two-finger taps, and pinch/zoom gestures. This would allow you to control your own devices (such as a new "smart" TV with cursor control) using natural mouse-like movements. Please see this page for more information on how to configure an external mousepad.
Designer grid improvements
There is now a setting in TouchControl Server settings-preferences to set the size of the designer grid when you have "Snap to grid" enabled (right-click on a blank spot on your activity background and select the option from the popup menu). The default is 10px, and can be set anywhere from 2px to 500px. When the grid is enabled, dragging buttons around with the mouse will cause them to snap to the closest grid coordinates. Also with this change, when the grid is enable, holding down the Alt key while moving buttons around your layout with the arrow keys will also cause them to snap to the closest grid coordinates as well. Moving with the arrow keys without the Alt key held will default to the one pixel move as always.
Bug fixes