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Page Revision: 2009/10/02 21:54


Customizing My Movies 3

Introduction

This document gives you a basic instruction on user customization you can do in My Movies 3.

The configuration for the general apperance of My Movies 3 is placed in the Collection Management program, by choosing "Configure", "Options". If you however would like to customize the interface more than what can be choosed from these options, there is a an option to place user specific files in the directory:

"C:\ProgramData\My Movies\FileStorage\User Customization" ("C:\ProgramData" is a hidden directory).

Notice that all customization should be done on the server if you are running a multi-zone environment, and not on the individual clients. Should you be using Windows Home Server as your back-end server, the directory for customization will be placed in the directory:

"D:\My Movies\FileStorage\User Customization" (The directory may have to be created).

Genre, Category and Filter Images

By placing an image named with the name of the genre, category or filter, such as "Action.jpg" or "Action.png" within a folder named "Genres" for genres, "Categories" for categories and "Filters" or filters in the "User Customization" folder, this image will be displayed in the category list by default, such as:

"C:\ProgramData\My Movies\FileStorage\User Customization\Genres\Action.jpg" "C:\ProgramData\My Movies\FileStorage\User Customization\Categories\Kids.jpg"

or

"C:\ProgramData\My Movies\FileStorage\User Customization\Genres\Action.png" "C:\ProgramData\My Movies\FileStorage\User Customization\Categories\Kids.png"

The image can be in JPEG or PNG format, where the PNG format provides alpha transparency. The default size of the images is 200 x 200 pixels, and all other sizes will be resized to match this size.

The full list of Genres available within My Movies can be seen in the list added to the bottom of this document.

Genre, Category and Filter Backdrops

As an addition to the Genre, Category and Filter images, you can also place a backdrop for each item in the same folder as the images, with the name of the genre, category or filter, with an added "-Backdrop" label, such as "Action-Backdrop.jpg". Example:

"C:\ProgramData\My Movies\FileStorage\User Customization\Genres\Action-Backdrop.jpg" "C:\ProgramData\My Movies\FileStorage\User Customization\Categories\Kids-Backdrop.jpg"

The backdrops can be in JPEG format only, since large images in PNG format would have a very large file size. The backdrops must be in 1920x1080 or 1280x720 pixels resolution.

External Players

My Movies External Player feature holds configuration for many external players by default. The configuration for the default known players can be found in the directory:

"C:\Program Files\Binnerup Consult\My Movies for Windows Media Center\ExternalPlayers.xml" or "C:\Program Files (x86)\Binnerup Consult\My Movies for Windows Media Center\ExternalPlayers.xml"

This file should not be edited, since it will be replaced each time the program is updated.

Instead, create a copy of the "ExternalPlayers.xml" in the directory:

"C:\ProgramData\My Movies\FileStorage\User Customization\ExternalPlayers.xml"

If you are not familiar with editing XML files and their structures, you should not try to customize external players.

It is recommended that you remove the configuration for players that are already in the file, that you do not need to change settings for. By doing this, you ensure that the latest configuration for these players are always distributed with My Movies.

If a player is configured with the same name both in the user configuration XML file as well as the default XML file, the information in the user configuration XML file will be used.

You can create a new player by copying an "ExternalPlayer" element and change the various settings such as ProcessName, Parameters Location, and the type of media the player can play. It is very important that the ProcessName is set to the exact name of the executeable, as it is used to monitor when the player closes.

Upcoming Options

It is planned to allow more configuration for various items in the interface within this directory. You can always check for the latest options in our documentation section.

Genre List:

Accessories

Action Adult Adventure Animation Anime Classic Comedy Crime Documentary Drama Family Fantasy Film-Noir Foreign Horror Martial Arts Music Musical Mystery Romance Science-Fiction Short Special Interest Sports Suspense/Thriller Television War Western Other