GUI

Overview

The GUI section allows you to configure settings that affect the Graphic User Interface (GUI)

The GUI Section

includes sub pages for:

• Language Settings
• Control settings
• Thumbnails (resolution)
• Screensaver
• File Menu
• On-Screen Display
• Skip steps

The main GUI Section is divided in two sections: Skin Selection and GUI Settings.

Skin Selection

• Skin Selection
  Choose between installed skins and change the look to your liking. A preview of the selected skin is shown in the window to the right. The selected skin will be used the next time MediaPortal is started.
  Note the version number:  Skins not compatbile with the current release will not pass the Skin Version Check and you will get a warning if you try to use them.
• More new and hot skins
  The link displays The Extensions > Skins Wiki page with general information on how to find all the latest skins.

You can also download new skins from the Skins Download page.

GUI Settings

• Allow remember last focused item on supported window/skin (Default: on)
  This setting when enabled will remember the last focused item in skin when entering/exiting a plugin e.g. if you had videos selected on the Basichome screen and then enter videos, when you exist videos it will be re-selected rather than the default item.
• Autosize window mode to skin (Default: on)
  Automatically sizes the window (if windowed mode is used) to the skin's designed size.
• Hide file extensions like .mp3, .avi, .mpg, ... (Default: on)
  Hides file extensions when showing file lists.
• Enable File existence cache (improves performance on some systems) (Default: off) (new in 1.2.0)
  This setting, when enabled, will store the existence of files on the video and music shares amongst others.  It can improve the performance of MediaPortal when navigating through these shares for a second time.
• Enable skin sound effects (Default: on)
  Enable sound effects that are built into skins, for example the swooshing when selecting a menu item.
• Show special mouse controls (scrollbars, etc.) (Default: off)
  Some pages show scrollbars etc, which only makes sense when you are using a mouse. If you are using a remote control, you can disable these controls.
• Home Screen (Default Classic and Basic prefer Classic)
  

  Select from four different options:

  • Classic and Basic, prefer Classic
  • Classic and Basic, prefer Basic Home ( this functions the same as the previous "Start with BasicHome Screen" option in 1.1.x
  • only Classic Home
  • only Basic Home

If you select one of the 'only' options, then the other Home screen will not be available even when you press the 'h' or home button while viewing the Home screen.

Changes in the latest release

The following table shows the changes that affect the user interface in the latest version of MediaPortal (final or test release), either within MediaPortal or in the Configuration tool(s). Select the links to view details of the changes. These changes are incorporated into this wiki page once the final stable version is released.

You may sort the table by any of the columns. Note: the Date column displays the date the UI Rellated Change wiki page was created.

 

Change	Date	Release
File Existence Cache setting	2011/11/05	beta
General Settings Restructure	2011/11/05	beta
Home Screen Options	2012/01/06	alpha
all