CommandFusion: iPhone control with customizable interface

[CommandFusion]

I'd like to share a plugin for EventGhost that I have written for our iPhone / iPod Touch app, CF iViewer.
Originally iViewer was created for home automation control, but it is a very flexible app, so I thought why not create an EG plugin for it.

The main difference from any of the other iPhone solutions for EG is that iViewer allows you to fully customize the interface that shows up on the iPhone, using our CommandFusion guiDesigner software.
Grab a copy of guiDesigner (requires Windows and .NET 2.0) from our website for free (just need to create an account, no spam we promise!)

The iPhone app is available here:
CF iViewer in the App Store (opens in iTunes)

The plugin is available from our GoogleCode repo:
CommandFusion Plugin.zip = the plugin, just unzip to EG plugins folder.
example.gui.zip = an example guiDesigner project (zipped)
CommandFusionExample.xml = an example EventGhost config (setup to control Media Center, untested, but serves mainly as a starting point on how to use the plugin).

Basic Intro on how to use guiDesigner:
All GUI objects (buttons/sliders/gauges/text/etc) have the ability to be assigned one of three join types:
1. Digital Joins = 0 or 1, on or off, boolean values (used mainly by buttons to show active/inactive states)
2. Analog Joins = 0 - 65535 integer value. Used mainly by sliders/gauges. The value defines the state of the slider/gauge.
3. Serial Joins = any text value. Used mainly by text objects. Allows you to show any text value in the GUI.

So you create a button, give it a join, then when that button is pressed, it generates an event in EG that you can then use to perform your macros.
You can also change the GUI state by sending actions back to the iPhone via the plugin.

You can also create custom commands via the System Manager to send to ANY ethernet device, such as a GlobalCache unit for controlling your AV gear.

Heres how the example guiDesigner project looks:


To make the connection happen, you need to define the port number that the plugin will listen on in the plugin config screen:


Then you change the "Project Properties" in guiDesigner to point to the IP address of your machine running EventGhost, and the port number you chose.

Then to upload the GUI to your iPhone:
1. Start the 'Upload Service' in guiDesigner (via the File menu) after opening your guiDesigner project and saving any changes.
2. Go to the settings of iViewer on your iPhone (via the main iPhone settings app), and enter the GUI File URL as shown in the Upload Service window of guiDesigner.
3. Make sure you enable 'Reload GUI File'.
4. Launch iViewer - it will grab the GUI file from the guiDesigner Upload Service and cache it, then connect to your EventGhost setup, and you're ready to go.
5. Once you are happy with the GUI, go back to the iViewer settings and turn off 'Reload GUI File'. Now iViewer will use the cached GUI file on each load and you no longer need guiDesigner running.

The cost: FREE
guiDesigner is FREE, and iViewer is FREE, and the plugin is FREE, so you can set this all up without costing you a cent. The only limitation of this is that you are restricted to a single portrait and single landscape page. Page flips and subpages are a feature that must be unlocked by purchasing a license at our website. The app is VERY powerful in the home automation market, so licenses aren't cheap, but we are looking at releasing a version of the app at a much lower price point than our current licensing scheme, which is simplified for use with software such as EventGhost.

I will try and answer all questions via this thread, but we also have a great Google Group for support here:
http://groups.google.com/group/commandfusion

[CommandFusion]

I'm more than happy to help people get started, so any questions let me know.

You can also download a free GUI example from our website if you don't like the metallic look and prefer something less intense.
Or get your hands dirty in Photoshop, or create some simple buttons using something like this free online image generator: http://www.netdenizen.com/buttonmill/glassy.php

You really have full control over the GUI, customize it to look however you want!

Theres also some great (but not free) graphic templates available from places like:
http://www.guilink.com
http://www.c3-eu.com
http://www.ntdesignsonline.com
http://www.guifx.com
http://www.blackmancustoms.com

[Fiasco]

Where is the guidesigner available for download?

What is the cost for the fully functional software?

[CommandFusion]

Hi Fiasco,

You can grab a copy of guiDesigner from our website, www.commandfusion.com, on the downloads page.
You will need to create an account (quick and painless) before you can start the download.

Fully functional app (with page flips and subpage support) currently costs approx $129 USD (all charges are made in AUD via our systems). But as I mentioned in the first post, we are open to suggestions on how we can create a pricing structure for people using systems like EventGhost and don't need the full capabilities of the app.

[Fiasco]

One thing I'm certainly going to be going after with your app is Lutron Homeworks integration!

Can the interface content be dynamically created by querying a server (in this case, the lutron homeworks processor)?

[CommandFusion]

Unfortunately, no. Our GUI is created in guiDesigner only. There are ways to create dynamic lists, but that is something quite complex and usually left for systems like Crestron.

But with the power of Python scripts you certainly could create dynamic lists of rooms, etc. Check out the Developers Manual PDF download from our website downloads page for details on the List protocol.

You can however still send commands to Lutron directly from our app if you know the system details and protocol.

[Fiasco]

One other quick ?.

I'm setting up multiple media clients (each running eventghost) that are connected to various devices (TV, Stereo, DirecTV ect) w/ RS232 cables.

Can the iViewer interface talk to multiple eventghost clients?

With my current interface, I have a home screen that has the various rooms in the home. By selecting a room, the remote takes control over the devices in that room. Backing up to the homescreen and selecting a different room switches control to the devices in that room (so on and so forth)

[CommandFusion]

The current version only allows for one main 'ControlSystem'. The next release however (very close to being submitted to apple) has the ability to load multiple GUI files, each with their own system definition.
Then you navigate between files by simply calling a file via a button press.

However, we also support sending commands to any TCP or UDP system via our System Manager, and this supports many systems as once. These don't follow our built in protocol that the plugin uses, but it should work with the basic Network plugin. You define the system, then define the commands, then assign the commands to the buttons, all in guiDesigner. See our wiki for details on the two communication methods iViewer supports: http://www.commandfusion.com/wiki/index ... nal_System

[Fiasco]

Jarod,

I'm playing with it now. I haven't read any documentation... period. Created a basic GUI and uploaded it. It works.

This is flat out cool.

The future upgrades sound like just the ticket for the systems I build and I can see this possibly being my interface development tool for all our big ticket custom homes.

As if the ten/twelve hour crunch days I've been putting in wasn't enough, now I have to spend another 4 or 5 playing with my new toy. I look forward to offering input and suggestions after I master the interface.

[CommandFusion]

Excellent great to hear you got it all working. Looking forward to hearing any feature requests

[Fiasco]

What is the difference between CF IViewer and eController? (Both on the appstore and both seem to work the same).

I've been playing with this all night.... it's fantastic.

[CommandFusion]

You can download the GUI file from the Google Code Repo link above, which contains the guiDesigner project file for the one you see in the screenshot. Its just PNG buttons overlaid on top of an image.

eController is an OEM build of our app, its exactly the same in every way except the app icon/name/loading screen. This is used by a company in the USA to sell to their clients. It's also a few versions behind because they didn't need the new features just yet. This is an extra service we offer and doesn't come cheap, but email me off the forum if you are interested.

[Fiasco]

So far I am just blown away by this. I don't have access to page flips / subpages (I pm'd my phone ID) yet but I can see how powerfull this is going to be.

I've done up my DirecTV interface and your GUI development tool replaced 1100 lines of Ajax code I had previously written.

[Fiasco]

Jarrod,

How long do you think before the multi-GUI upgrade hits the appstore?

[CommandFusion]

Probably 2 to 3 weeks, depending on the approval speed. The current approval time is listed by Apple as:
"Based on the current volume of app submissions, 75% of applications are being approved within 14 days."

We should be submitting it today fingers crossed (just going through some final tests).