KM-CODEX

A few years back I added Yahoo Maps to my Koolmoves and Flex based forums (myBBS and FlexBBS) and users could pick their location on earth at registration and it was also used for the “who is online” panel to show who was online at any given time. It was a Yahoo Staff Pick back then and hugely popular with my users but I removed it from later forums builds and versions because the Yahoo Map API was AS2 based and I was migrating to AS3 and figured I would revisit the ability once the API’s went AS3. I always wanted to use a Google map instead of Yahoo but at the time the Google Map API was not as useful to me (in the context of what I was doing) as Yahoo’s was. This is no longer the case and the Google Map AS3 API is pretty slick and has my gears already spinning to add the maps back to my KM-CODEX Desktop app. Long story short, expect to see this added to the next build of “Power Windows”.

YaYa v.4 is available now. This version adds some UI alterations and a bevy of behind the scenes additions. Users of previous versions will have their library databases altered inline to add a new “genre” field. Users can now filter their libraries to target exactly what they are looking for by selecting multiple criteria to hone in on what they want. Filtering now supports title, bookmarks and genre’s. You can view the entire library without filtering with a click of a button and there are 83 genre’s to choose from for assignment to any video you please.

Also added this version is a “Hide Controls” checkbox which will do just as it suggests and hide the Accordion controls and make the video player full window. In combination with the stretch on/off control you should get any video to layout like you want.

Initial Load Screen

The New Library Tool Box Expanded – Assigning A Genre To A Video

Search Panel Additions

Preparing To Download To Library

Library Download In Progress

Video Player Stretched – About To Take Snapshot

Snapshot Viewer – Preparing To Remove One Picture

The New “Hide Controls” Mode – The Entire Application Window Becomes The Video Space

I released "YaYa" (Yet Another YouTube App) 1/25/10 to the Adobe Showcase.

YaYa lets you search for YouTube videos and download them to be added to a local library. Your library supports favorites and title searching to create customized playlists selected from your favorites. YaYa can simultaneously download videos to be directly added to your library. YaYa supports drag and drop of FLV’s right to your library too. You can take screenshots of your videos as they play and export them as JPG or PNG files right to your YaYa folder in your documents directory. You do not need an internet connection to view your local library but of course it’s needed to search YouTube and add videos to your library.

This app expands on in-R-tube in some very significant ways. Mainly the library is now database driven (SQLite) so it allows me to do things like allow library searching and bookmarking. You can bookmark videos in your library and then only show your bookmarks to create a custom playlist. You can title search your library to create a playlist as well. The screenshot ability has also been improved upon and you can preview all screenshots and remove any unwanted screenshots before exporting them. You can export screenshots as JPG or PNG. Another upgrade is the multiple OS support. in-R-tube was Windows only but YaYa is for Windows, Linux or MacOS thanks to Adobe AIR. Instead of single video downloads, you can now download multiple videos at once to be inserted directly to your library.

Tonight I’m adding to it a bit. I’m adding the ability to shuffle the playlist, adding support for “genre’s” and tweaking the library search to allow searching by multiple criteria if desired (like search for all bookmarked videos with genre of rap). When that is added the version will be updated from v.3 to v.4

I’m releasing a second version of my KM-CODEX Desktop app today.

The newest version (Power Windows) now supports Video Objects. Users can insert a video object (remotely hosted FLV path) into any post and set it’s size and alignment. Like all other objects, the video object can be re-edited at anytime (all users can edit their own posts) or removed completely from the list of objects that define that post. It’s hierarchy in the post can also be adjusted (like all other objects) by simply dragging it in the Object Outline and dropping it where you want it placed.  If the stored path to the FLV is valid, other users can download any video posted. If for some reason the path is not valid (either on purpose or because the hosted server is down) the user attempting to download it is informed that the video is no longer available.

What I am trying to do is get users to add or obtain videos that interest them, be they video tutorials or any other type of video. Since all valid videos ever posted in the desktop app are ones that can be downloaded, they can be shared and hopefully spread around to whoever has need of them.

Only the Power Windows version supports video. If you feel like taking part and have videos worth posting, myself and all users would appreciate anything you can submit.

Nearly all my website content will be migrated into this desktop app in 2010 (for instance all my downloads are inside there now) and it is an ongoing effort.

You can find Power Windows in my sidebar. It’s free, has no advertisements and is offered in good faith. These apps are also available from the Adobe Showcase and if you do not have the Adobe AIR runtime installed, the desktop forum installers in my sidebar (and at Adobe) will install it for you.

Screenshots follow:

Some people are confusing registering to download as meaning register here at my WordPress blog. To download you have to register in my Desktop forum after you install it using the install link in my sidebar. Once you install it you are immediately logged in as a “Guest” and the downloads will be hidden.

Here is a screenshot of the lower right of the forum where the “Refresh Forum” button is. The download button would be to the left of that if you log in as a registered member of the forum. As a “Guest” it is hidden.

To register, click the “User Account” button in the lower left of the forum like so:

This will open up the User Account panel where users can register, login, email their password, change their password or log out of the forum. When users log out they are logged back in as “Guests”. You want to register so in the upper left section of the User Account panel is the “Register” section shown below:

Fill in the required fields and click the “Register New” button. The board will attempt to register you. IF you choose a username already in use the board will inform you so you can try again. If the registration was successful it will email you a password and inform you in the forum like so:

Check your email for the message it sends you. Copy the password from your email and login to the board using the login section on the upper right of the “User Account” panel.

After you log in with your registered account the board will enable all things available as a member (especially the download button) and set your permission level to member so you can post and reply to threads. If you don’t like your assigned password you can change it in “User Accounts” now as well. Now that you are logged in as a member the download button is visible (little arrow icon):

Click that little arrow and the File Download panel slides in. All files have download button next to them and icon indicators to tell you what platform(s) were used to make them. Click the screenshot below to see the download panel picture larger.

Hope that clears up any confusion on registering. Have fun, drop me a post now and then and enjoy the downloads!