Shift functions, key moves, extenders, and other newb stuff

[Nos402]

OK, I've been absolutely immersed since about 5:00 yesterday trying to wrap my mind around this new JP-1 world. I've made some good progress but have built up many a question. I have a modified URC-6131 with JP-1 interface.

1. What is an "extender"? I noticed I see 6131 and 6131 extender in the KM spreadsheets.

2. What exactly are "Shift-functions"? I downloaded a KM spreadsheet for my Cyberhome DVD player (3 different ones in fact). and I found the key layout to be very non-intuitive which made me wonder if there was some reason the keys had been laid out like that. For example the next/previous track functions were never mapped to the next/previous track keys. In KM, I finally figured out how to assign functions to the keys I wanted and so I moved stuff all around to my liking. Now I'm curious if I have done this in the most memory efficient way because a lot of the functions show up as "key moves" in IR, but as far as I can tell, there is no other way to do it. I just assigned the functions I wanted to the buttons I wanted in KM.

I still have a lot of programming to do for other devices, and want to make sure I'm not using unnecessary memory. It's all very confusing, but I'm slowly getting the hang of more and more of it.

In fact I'm off to try and find a 8810w remote so I can use it to learn devices and functions codes from my devices that I can't seem to find anywhere in this vast net. Any help or resources are very appreciated. I've poured over all the FAQ's, posts, guides etc. that I can find. I think that's about all my brain can muster. More posts from me are forthcoming I'm sure.

[Mark Pierson]

1. What is an "extender"? I noticed I see 6131 and 6131 extender in the KM spreadsheets.

An extender "extends" the functionality of the remote. It bypasses many of the built-in restrictions, and offers numerous feature the default remote doesn't have. Take a look at the included readme files for a complete list.

The reason for the 2 versions of the 6131 in KM is that it's one of the few remotes that supports what we call "new style" key moves. The Extender allows the more traditional ones (in addition to all its other features).

2. What exactly are "Shift-functions"? I downloaded a KM spreadsheet for my Cyberhome DVD player (3 different ones in fact). and I found the key layout to be very non-intuitive which made me wonder if there was some reason the keys had been laid out like that. For example the next/previous track functions were never mapped to the next/previous track keys. In KM, I finally figured out how to assign functions to the keys I wanted and so I moved stuff all around to my liking. Now I'm curious if I have done this in the most memory efficient way because a lot of the functions show up as "key moves" in IR, but as far as I can tell, there is no other way to do it. I just assigned the functions I wanted to the buttons I wanted in KM.

For each given device mode, the remote uses a hard-coded key map of available buttons (JP1 cannot change the key map). On KM's Buttons sheet you'll see buttons preceded by "@". These are buttons that will create key moves because they're not part of the default map.

If you're looking at an existing upgrade file that somebody else did, the button layout may seem non-intuitive to you, but to them it made sense. Also, as you change the remote model, button assignments are likely to change slightly because of the key maps being different. The beauty of JP1 is that you can customize it to YOUR liking!

[Nos402]

The part that baffled me a bit, is that only 3 keys were preceded by @, but under the key moves tab in IR, there are 15 key moves. Many of these have "SHIFT-(key name)" under the "bound key" field in IR. All I did was go to the "buttons" tab in KM, and assign the functions I wanted to the keys I wanted under the "function" column. Everything under the "Shift-function" column is blank. I kind of understand it from reading the KM redme file, but haven't fully grasped it yet.

[Mark Pierson]

That baffles me, too, and seems to indicate something else may be wrong. Was this the first time that particular device upgrade was copied into IR? If not, then it's possible those key moves went in with a previous upgrade. IR has no mechanism to track the fact that key moves were combined in an upgrade, so if you later edit or delete that upgrade, the key moves remain intact.

Another question I have, since you said:

In KM, I finally figured out how to assign functions to the keys I wanted and so I moved stuff all around to my liking.

is what do you mean by "moved stuff all around"? In KM, you can't drag & drop (an Excel limitation), and for the most part, copy & paste won't work either (it'll really screw up the formulas in KM). You MUST use the in-cell drop-downs on the Buttons sheet to select functions to be assigned to buttons. Is that the procedure you used?

If you did use the in-cell drop-downs to set everything up, I'd be curious to see the saved upgrade file. If you's like, you can email it to me so I can take a look.

[Nos402]

Done! Just mailed it.

[Mark Pierson]

You're right.. there are only 3 key moves defined in that upgrade (on the PIP, Swap, and Move buttons). So the others that appear in IR were either part of a previous upgrade that was pasted in, or were setup manually.

If I change the Device Type in the upgrade to TV, then (due the to difference in the button maps - see the Layout sheet), then the upgrade contains 15 key moves. Did you possibly paste it in originally as a TV device and then later change it to DVD? If so, that accounts for the additional key moves.