iTunes Visualiser Options

doozer's picture

Hi all, newbie here with a question regarding QC and creating iTunes visualisers. I've had search and couldn't find anything on this topic so forgive me if I've made a bad... just hope someone can shed a little light on my problem. :)

I'm developing a QC visualiser for a forum community that requires the user to input their username so I can pull their correct avatar image from a http source. The problem however is I can't seem to find a way to enable the 'options' parameter in the 'itunes > view > visualisers' menu.

Screenshot

This is where the user would type their username into a string field.


If I load my composition as a screensaver then 'it's' options button does work. (Aside from the ugly audio input related inputs which I can't seem ti hide/mask when running here!)

Another screenshot

I would actually settle for my compostion to be run as a screensaver rather than an itunes visualiser except for the fact that I also want to use keyboard input to toggle through different settings etc. Obviously a screensaver simply quits as soon as you move the mouse or press a key so this doesn't seem like it's going to work for me.

Ive set the Protocol Conformance options to both Music Visualiser and Screensaver but I just can't seem to get that damn options parameter to be selectable in iTunes!

(Interestingly the only visualiser that I have installed that does enable the 'options' menu selection is the 'iTunes Classic Visualiser')

Only thing I can think for the moment is that I need to publish a special kind of input in Interface Builder or some other program I have no useful knowledge of whatsoever!

Anyway hope someone gets the gist of what I'm rambling about and can offer an insight of some kind! :)

Cheers, Matt

cybero's picture
Re: iTunes Visualiser Options

A] Different set of protocol settings that work AOK for screensaver but not AOK for an iTunes Visualizer.

B] Pleae do post the composition, the .qtz file for perusal, as sadly without that not much else is possible apart from my hazarding an educated guess.

C] I heartily recommend Mr Vogelbusch's handy iTunes plug in iVisualize, within which plugins folder I have placed many an iTunes visualization composition with considerable success and peer group approval. Check it out :-).

D] Having prompted you to go seek elsewhere and post up and run a dozen errands or so for yourself, I thought it only fair to post up a standard iTunes Music Visualizer produced from within my own copy of Quartz Composer - called Feather Light it will bear close examination and is free to use and alter and all the rest.You should place in your Library/Compositions folder, not your iTunes Visualize or plugins folder folder, if you already have one in which case, excuse the otherwise perfectly defensible dropping in of a link 3rd party fashion above. It will then appear.

E] No need to change the extension of the quartz composition to anything else, so longs as you have included and configured your protocols then your whatsoeveritscalled.qtz will work AOK when saved with screensaver protocols sorted prior to saving in your Library/Screensavers folder.

F] Finally, as always - Horse For Courses - or its all a matter of protocol. Do not save as screensaver protocol if music visualizer protocol required is. Discretion is the greater part of clean spaghetti coding. Have noodles of fun. Hope this helps ya.

:-)

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FeatherLight.qtz33.33 KB