Theme not appearing in 'now playing'

[AronA]

Hi,
I've got a problem with every theme except cabbiev2 !
The themes are installed properly, but when i select one, the menus are perfect, well colored, aso. But when i play a song, it's horrible. No background picture, no album art, everything is like in ms-dos

I've seen somewhere that the problem was coming from the theme, uncompatible with this version of rockbox... but i can't figure out how to update it !
Here is an example of a theme's code :

#Theme Name: Slick - LetItBlue
#By Johannes Voggenthaler (Johannes.Voggenthaler@naturalbornyoers.com; Zinc Alloy on forum and IRC)
#Platform: 220x176 color (Iriver h3xx, Ipod color, Ipod photo)
#Version: 8
#Licensed CC-BY-SA 3.0
#Photo: "Let It Blue" by Iuri Fernandes; http://flickr.com/photos/iurifernandes/; licensed CC-BY 2.0
#Last updated: Aug 19 2009
%wd
%X(wpsbd.bmp)0%|0%|
%xl(A,playbackstatus.bmp,0,0,3)
%xl(B,battery.bmp,0,0,4)
%xl(C,stars.bmp,0,0,10)
%xl(D,repeat.bmp,0,0,4)
%xl(E,shuffle.bmp,0,0)
%xl(F,hold.bmp,0,0)
%Cl(0,0,75,75,c,c)
%pb(21,120,179,16,progressbar.bmp)
# Playback Status Viewport
%V(9,3,12,12,1)%Vf(ffffff)%Vb(000000)
%?mp<||%xd(Aa)|%xd(Ab)|%xd(Ac)>
# Time Viewport
%V(70,3,80,16,1)%Vf(ffffff)%Vb(000000)
%ac%ck:%cM %cp
#Battery Status Viewport
%V(194,5,16,7,1)%Vf(ffffff)%Vb(000000)
%?bl<||%xd(Bd)|%xd(Bc)|%xd(Bb)|%xd(Ba)>
#Album Art Viewport
%V(21,35,75,75,1)%Vf(ffffff)%Vb(000000)
%Cd
#Song Info Viewport
%V(103,35,96,48,1)%Vf(ffffff)%Vb(000000)
%s%al%?it<%it|%fn>
%s%al%?ia<%ia|%?d(2)<%d(2)|%(root%)>>
%s%al%?id<%id|%?d(1)<%d(1)|%(root%)>>
%s%al%iy
#Stars Viewport
%V(103,84,57,10,1)%Vf(ffffff)%Vb(000000)
%?rr<|%xd(Ca)|%xd(Cb)|%xd(Cc)|%xd(Cd)|%xd(Ce)|%xd(Cf)|%xd(Cg)|%xd(Ch)|%xd(Ci)|%xd(Cj)>
#Next Track Viewport
%V(103,96,96,22,1)%Vf(ffffff)%Vb(000000)
%s%alNext: %?It<%It|%Fn>
#Playback Time & Track Nr. Viewport
%V(15,140,190,15,1)%Vf(ffffff)%Vb(000000)
%al%pc%ac%pp of %pe%ar%pt
#Volume Viewport
%V(28,162,50,13,1)%Vf(ffffff)%Vb(000000)
%pvdB
#Repeat Mode Viewport
%V(162,160,19,16,1)%Vf(ffffff)%Vb(000000)
%?mm<|%xd(Da)|%xd(Db)|%xd(Dc)|%xd(Dd)>
#Shuffle Mode Viewport
%V(186,160,12,16,1)%Vf(ffffff)%Vb(000000)
%?ps<%xd(E)|>
#Hold Status Viewport
%V(204,160,9,16,1)%Vf(ffffff)%Vb(000000)
%?mh<%xd(F)|>

thank you for your help !

[CrowdAds]

[Rufus Burrus]

Okay, I'm no expert.

But it seems a recent Rockbox update totally changed the way themes work.

My advice is to re-download any themes you want to work with a current build of Rockbox (from http://themes.rockbox.org/index.php?target=sansafuze) and re-install the ones you want.

There might be additional issues, as I said, it looks like there was a massive theme upgrade and/or overhaul (depending on how you look at it, I guess) in Rockbox.

[dfkt]

This is actually the updated code syntax and it should work on newer builds. Are you running an older build of the firmware, maybe? One that still uses the old WPS syntax?

But yes, download a current firmware build and re-download the theme, and it should work.

[AronA]

the problem is that i have a fuze V2, and the only firmware build that seems to work is this one : http://sansa-fuze.jimdo.com/app/down...ansafuzev2.zip (version r26514 specific for fuze V2 it seems) and the original firmware is the 02.02.26
so, i guess don't have other choices as long as it's a V2...

[dfkt]

No idea what that weird build is, but it's ancient and doesn't support the new theme syntax. Official builds are of course available for the Fuze v2: http://build.rockbox.org/ It's even already supported via Rockbox Utility, fully automatic install: http://www.rockbox.org/wiki/RockboxUtility

[AronA]

so...
i installed everything as said in the tutorials for the installation of rockbox for fuze v2.
But same problem
i just found one theme working, the cabbie v2 enhanced...
I don't know where the problem comes from, is there someone having a fuze v2 who installed successfully rockbox ?

[skip252]

Are you saying the themes that come with the current build aren't working? Cabbie V2 enhanced seems to come from the oldsite. Themes downloaded from the site linked to by RufusBurrus along with the current build are working fine here.

I would post more exact information as to what build version you are using that doesn't work with the themes from the current theme site. The more that's known about your setup the more likely you are to get help.

[Malik]

I'm having the same problem. I was using the standard black-and-white rockbox_default wps, but without peak meters and a few other slight modifications.

%?it<%?in<%in. |>%it|%fn>
%?ia<%ia|%?d2<%d2|(root)>>
%?id<%id|%?d1<%d1|(root)>> %?iy<(%iy)|>
%fbkBit %?fv<avg|> %?fc<MP3|AIFF|WAV|VORBIS|FLAC|WAVPACK|AAC|NSF|SPEEX|SPC|APE|WMA|Unknown>
%al%pc/%pt%ar[%pp/%pe]
%pb

I found this page, but the instruction isn't so clear (I'm not so good with these things). Has the CustomWPS page been updated to reflect the changes? Thanks.

[marc2003]

i've corrected it...

%?it<%?in<%in. |>%it|%fn>
%?ia<%ia|%?d(2)<%d(2)|%(root%)>>
%?id<%id|%?d(1)<%d(1)|%(root%)>> %?iy<%(%iy%)|>
%fbkBit %?fv<avg|> %?fc<MP3|AIFF|WAV|VORBIS|FLAC|WAVPACK|AAC|NSF|SPEEX|SPC|APE|WMA|Unknown>
%al%pc/%pt%ar[%pp/%pe]
%pb

the codec display is broken though (well it is in the sim - i don't have a fuze). when i play AAC it says WMA. and when i tried MP3, it says WAV.

[Malik]

Thanks! It works fine now.

The codec display was my fault. While I was messing around with the WPS, I erased the file types I never use; didn't know it would affect anything. Actually, there is a "MP1|MP2|" before the MP3...My Vorbis files were displaying as WavPacks.

[lestatar]

FWIW, I am new to RB on v2 Fuze and have zero issues with the following themes, all d/l from the RB wiki theme site. All work and display perfectly for me on RB v26906-100618.

- Cabbie Enhanced
- FuzeRock+
- rayboradio_fuze_v2
- BlacknBlue_Glass
- retroTape_v1.0

CabbieEnhanced wins for me....I like BlacknBlue Glass alot but the albumArt pic is a bit smaller than on CabbieEnhanced...

hth,
-lestatar

[big g 94]

I had this problem and I just rolled back to 3.6, thereby losing the USB functionality I posted about earlier. To me, the USB functionality is less an issue than having every theme loaded in the player crash. I went to the Rockbox forum and what they're saying about this comes across as gobbledegook, and if somebody points out that it sounds like gobbledegook he gets flamed to a crisp. I absolutely love the software, but one should not have to write software code as a prerequisite to using it. I'll keep tabs on their forum and when they get the installation utility fixed to where it will download themes that will work, I'll upgrade again, but for now I'm sticking to 3.6. I just want a DAP that will play a bunch of different file types and has a few more bells and whistles than the stock Fuze. I'm not interested in taking on a project.

[saratoga]

Originally Posted by big g 94

I went to the Rockbox forum and what they're saying about this comes across as gobbledegook, and if somebody points out that it sounds like gobbledegook he gets flamed to a crisp. I absolutely love the software, but one should not have to write software code as a prerequisite to using it.

You're complaining that writing code for your own themes requires you to know things? No offense, but thats dumb. Theming is hard work and if you're not interested in doing work, you should leave it to other people and just get themes from the themesite or just stick to the default.

[big g 94]

Originally Posted by saratoga

You're complaining that writing code for your own themes requires you to know things? No offense, but thats dumb. Theming is hard work and if you're not interested in doing work, you should leave it to other people and just get themes from the themesite or just stick to the default.

OK, my post came out wrong ... let me try again.

I think the Rockbox forums contain a wealth of information, but there seems to be a presupposition there, to the point where I have been so intimidated that I never have posted a direct question there, that you need to be fluent in computer speak to even be dealing with Rockbox. I'm not computer ignorant, as far as dealing with them, maintaining them, dealing with software, etc., but I wouldn't know code if it came up and sat down in my lap, and I have no real desire to. What I was talking about was that it seems based on what I saw at their forums that the fixes for this specific issue ... I'm not talking about writing my own themes, just making the existing ones including the defaults (which is all I've ever used) work under the current build ... involve a knowledge of writing code that the average Joe out there, even in the year 2010, does not possess and realistically should not be expected to possess. I am quite grateful to the Rockbox developers for what they have given us, without any compensation. However, I'll wager that in the real world, the vast majority of people who are using Rockbox are like me, not computer/code literate to that degree and with concerns about user friendliness when things like this happen.

[saratoga]

Originally Posted by big g 94

What I was talking about was that it seems based on what I saw at their forums that the fixes for this specific issue ... I'm not talking about writing my own themes, just making the existing ones including the defaults (which is all I've ever used) work under the current build

The defaults should always work. If they don't, file a bug report and it'll probably be fixed (or the broken theme removed if its simply old and unmaintained) very quickly.

This only applies if you're using custom themes, and it really only matters if you're editing themes. If you just want to install a theme, click on the theme site and download it.

Originally Posted by big g 94

However, I'll wager that in the real world, the vast majority of people who are using Rockbox are like me, not computer/code literate to that degree and with concerns about user friendliness when things like this happen.

The vast majority of people don't make themes, so it doesn't matter that the theme code they don't know about changes to a different theme code that they still don't know about.

[big g 94]

Originally Posted by saratoga

The defaults should always work. If they don't, file a bug report and it'll probably be fixed (or the broken theme removed if its simply old and unmaintained) very quickly.

But they ain't working, they stopped when I upgraded to the current build to get USB functionality. On the "now playing" window, I get what the OP described. And there's a thread on the Rockbox forums there where they're saying they basically "broke" everything connected with themes, deliberately, including the defaults, in the name of progress to make things better (and, as one poster admitted, to force people to upgrade). Or at least that's the way I read it. And as I said, the fixes for this specific issue, I'm not talking about writing themes, I'm talking about fixing the themes that were broken by this upgrade, include going in and doing code revisions.

What I'll do is wait and continue to monitor the forums and when this issue is fixed so that what I do when I install stuff through the Rockbox download utility makes stuff works as it's supposed to without any hassle, I'll re-upgrade.

[funman]

default themes work fine with current build, there's no issue.

Settings -> Themes -> List -> Select cabbiev2, done. you're using the default theme.

If a custom theme doesn't work as intended, complain to the theme author and point him to the theme code redesign.

[big g 94]

Originally Posted by funman

default themes work fine with current build, there's no issue.

Settings -> Themes -> List -> Select cabbiev2, done. you're using the default theme.

If a custom theme doesn't work as intended, complain to the theme author and point him to the theme code redesign.

OK, thanks very much, you told me how to do it in English and it worked. I updated back to the current build, chose cabbiev2 and got my default theme back, and now having updated again I have the USB functionality as well. I don't know what happened before, I may very well have screwed something up myself, that absolutely is a possibility. I just checked the Rockbox forum when I had the issue and was not happy with what I found there (that place still intimidates me), and thought I'd try here as well to see what I might could do to fix the problem. I don't have to worry about custom themes because I'm not interested, I had never visited the themes page until today and I looked at some of those things and I didn't see a one I wanted on my player and as I said I have no interest in creating one. I think a Rockboxed Fuze is the best digital audio player on the planet but to me that's all it is, a DAP, and my primary concern is how well it plays audio, nothing more or less. If the default goes away again, I now know how to get it back. Anyway, thanks again!

[saratoga]

Originally Posted by big g 94

OK, thanks very much, you told me how to do it in English and it worked.

So basically, you were running a custom theme that broke when you undated, and not the default theme. If you want to keep using it, you can probably just download it from the theme site unless its very old and abandoned (in which case you may be out of luck).