Possibility to switch the LCD display of the Spacemouse Enterprise on and off via function key

[Kirito563]

Hello together,

now that I have purchased a Spacemouse enterprise for home use and set everything up, I have noticed one thing: While I use the Spacemouse virtually all day at work, I use it only occasionally at home. This means that it sometimes lies unused on my desk for several hours and the LCD display is on all the time.

I know that there is the possibility to turn off the display in the LCD settings. Unfortunately this is a bit tedious, it would be easier to assign a LCD on/off macro to one of the function keys in my "Desktop" profile.

As far as I know, this functionality does not exist yet. If I am wrong here I am thankful for every hint. Otherwise, would it be possible to implement this function with the next driver update?

With kind regards,
Kirito563

[jwick]

That's a good idea.

To make some LCD control buttons available in the GUI you have to do some XML editing.
Add these Driver_LCD* lines toward the bottom or your <3DxWinCoreInstallDir>/Cfg/Explorer_Background.xml. There are two elements in there now. They will appear under the 3Dconnexion category.

Code: Select all

    <ButtonFlyouts>
      <Category Sort="false">
        <ID>UI_3Dx</ID>
        <Name>STR_UI_3DX</Name>
        <ButtonAction>
          <ID>Driver_Start_FileManager</ID>
        </ButtonAction>
        <ButtonAction>
          <ID>Driver_Start_Browser</ID>
        </ButtonAction>
        <ButtonAction>
          <ID>Driver_LCDToggle</ID>
        </ButtonAction>
        <ButtonAction>
          <ID>Driver_LCDDecrease</ID>
        </ButtonAction>
        <ButtonAction>
          <ID>Driver_LCDIncrease</ID>
        </ButtonAction>
      </Category>

Then you can assign them to buttons on your device while the "Desktop" cfg is in use (click on the windows background).

[Kirito563]

Hello Jwick,

Thank you for your help, it got it to work!

Here is a quick summary for other people with the same question:
For just turning the LCD on/off the easiest way is to go into the "Explorer_Background.xml" file and change the "<ID>" section for the function key one wants to use to "<ID>Driver_LCDToggle</ID>"

Is there a list of all the "<ID>Driver_xxx</ID>" commands somewhere? It would be interesting to learn about all the possibilities.

With kind regards,
Kirito563

[jwick]

Most everything that exists is in Base.xml. If they are in there, you can use them anywhere. Base.xml is the dictionary. You can use the "words" anywhere.

There are some others that aren't exposed (for testing - e.g., Crash).

There is a group of Bank editing ButtonActions that may not be listed anywhere. E.g., to temporarily assign all your buttons to something else (like LCD operations!) while holding down a button, then go back to your standard app-specific buttons when you release it (like a "cfg Shift key"). It's my favorite. But there's no GUI for it. You have to get good a XML editing.

Some of the ButtonActions in Base.xml aren't used much, so they may break over time.

[Kirito563]

Hallo jwick,

thank you very much for that hint

With kind regards,
Kirito563

[plc]

Hi, I am curious if anything change with the .xml file. I am trying to edit in order to bind one of the UI keys to the LCD toggle action. I have added the following elements to the Explorer_Background.xml. My .xml appears as follows, however when I attempt to assign from "Desktop," I don't see the options under 3dconnexion. I suspect I have something incorrect in the xml. I have tried rebooting after making the changes as well to no avail.

My .xml appears as follows:

Code: Select all

<UI>
    <ButtonFlyouts>
      <Category Sort="false">
        <ID>UI_Macros</ID>
        <Name>STR_UI_MACROS</Name>
        <ButtonAction><ID>Settings</ID></ButtonAction>
      </Category>
    </ButtonFlyouts>

    <ButtonFlyouts>
      <Category Sort="false">
        <ID>UI_3Dx</ID>
        <Name>STR_UI_3DX</Name>
        <ButtonAction>
          <ID>Driver_Start_FileManager</ID>
        </ButtonAction>
        <ButtonAction>
          <ID>Driver_Start_Browser</ID>
        </ButtonAction>
        <ButtonAction>
          <ID>Driver_LCDToggle</ID>
        </ButtonAction>
        <ButtonAction>
          <ID>Driver_LCDDecrease</ID>
        </ButtonAction>
        <ButtonAction>
          <ID>Driver_LCDIncrease</ID>
        </ButtonAction>
      </Category>
    </ButtonFlyouts>
  </UI>

[jwick]

I don't know where you are putting those entries...but, regardless, they are not correct.
There can only be one <ButtonFlyouts> section under <UI>.

[plc]

Hi jwick,

Thanks for the reply. I caught that last night, and made a correction so that there is only one <ButtonFlyouts> section under <UI>. I added these lines to the C:\Program Files\3Dconnexion\3DxWare\3DxWinCore\CfgExplorer_Background.xml.

The original <UI> section reads as:

Code: Select all

<UI>
    <ButtonFlyouts>
      <Category Sort="false">
        <ID>UI_Macros</ID>
        <Name>STR_UI_MACROS</Name>
        <ButtonAction><ID>Settings</ID></ButtonAction>
      </Category>
    </ButtonFlyouts>
  </UI>

The updated <UI> section now reads as:

Code: Select all

<UI>
    <ButtonFlyouts>
      <Category Sort="false">
        <ID>UI_Macros</ID>
        <Name>STR_UI_MACROS</Name>
        <ButtonAction><ID>Settings</ID></ButtonAction>
      </Category>
      <Category Sort="false">
        <ID>UI_3Dx</ID>
        <Name>STR_UI_3DX</Name>
        <ButtonAction><ID>Driver_Start_FileManager</ID></ButtonAction>
        <ButtonAction><ID>Driver_Start_Browser</ID></ButtonAction>
        <ButtonAction><ID>Driver_LCDToggle</ID></ButtonAction>
        <ButtonAction><ID>Driver_LCDDecrease</ID></ButtonAction>
        <ButtonAction><ID>Driver_LCDIncrease</ID></ButtonAction>
      </Category>
    </ButtonFlyouts>
  </UI>

Thanks again.

[jwick]

You can also add them at the bottom of your %appdata%/.../Global.xml to see them everywhere.

[plc]

I tried to add them to the button of the C:\Users\<Username>\AppData\Roaming\3Dconnexion\3DxWare\Cfg\Global.xml as seen below, however I am not sure I should be adding the <UI> section. I am still not able to see them as selectable options in the button mapping under 3Dconnexion.

Code: Select all

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<Global Default="false" xmlns="" CfgFormatVersion="1.3" ThisFileVersion="">
  <CfgProperties>
    <ID>ID_Global_Cfg</ID>
    <Name>STR_GLOBALCFG</Name>
    <InheritsFromID>ID_Global_Cfg</InheritsFromID>
  </CfgProperties>
  <AuthorInfo>
    <DriverVersion>17.9.1.21132</DriverVersion>
    <LastChange>
      <Tool>3DxSmartUi</Tool>
      <Version>1.2.24269.21082</Version>
      <Date>2024:11:3:13:2:44:0:969</Date>
      <User>9DB00704-A9DF-4C2C-91BD-4C16BED93051</User>
    </LastChange>
    <Created>
      <Tool>3DxService.exe</Tool>
      <Version>17.9.1.21132</Version>
      <Date>2024:11:6:2:2:34:45:787</Date>
      <User>9DB00704-A9DF-4C2C-91BD-4C16BED93051</User>
    </Created>
  </AuthorInfo>
  <Settings>
    <InstallerAutoCheckForUpdates>true</InstallerAutoCheckForUpdates>
    <LogAppUsage>
      <Enabled>true</Enabled>
      <LastInstallerUserEnabled>false</LastInstallerUserEnabled>
      <UserEnabled>false</UserEnabled>
    </LogAppUsage>
    <LastAutoCheckForUpdates>13-11-2024</LastAutoCheckForUpdates>
  </Settings>
  <Devices>
    <Device>
      <ID>ID_ProductID_C633</ID>
      <Settings>
      </Settings>
    </Device>
  </Devices>
  <UI>
    <ButtonFlyouts>
      <Category Sort="false">
        <ID>UI_Macros</ID>
        <Name>STR_UI_MACROS</Name>
        <ButtonAction><ID>Settings</ID></ButtonAction>
      </Category>
      <Category Sort="false">
        <ID>UI_3Dx</ID>
        <Name>STR_UI_3DX</Name>
        <ButtonAction><ID>Driver_Start_FileManager</ID></ButtonAction>
        <ButtonAction><ID>Driver_Start_Browser</ID></ButtonAction>
        <ButtonAction><ID>Driver_LCDToggle</ID></ButtonAction>
        <ButtonAction><ID>Driver_LCDDecrease</ID></ButtonAction>
        <ButtonAction><ID>Driver_LCDIncrease</ID></ButtonAction>
      </Category>
    </ButtonFlyouts>
  </UI>
</Global>

3Dconnexion.png (99.71 KiB) Viewed 1696 times

[jwick]

That looks correct.
You probably need to restart 3DxSmartUI when making that change.
I'd restart 3DxService also. (Shift + RMB on the 3Dx systray icon).

[plc]

Interesting. Do you have any other suggestions? I restarted 3DxSmartUI and 3DxService and I am still not seeing the options under the 3dconnexion category. I also tried rebooting to no avail. Thanks.

[jwick]

PM/email your Global.xml file to me and I'll take a look.

[plc]

Jwick helped me figure it out offline!  I am posting the fix here for posterity.

In order to preserve the original Global.xml,  I made a copy of it named Global.xml and renamed the original to "Global - Original.xml".  I left both files in the %appdata%\3Dconnexion\3DxWare\Cfg\Global.xml directory.  I just removed the original from the directory, and everything is working fine.

[Ondra0080]

Hello,
turning the display off/on is a very good feature. How do I do it on macOS. I have searched for Explorer_Background.xml but can't find it anywhere.