How to

Hook up and Instalation:

Take out the IRMAN device and connect it into one of the communication ports (9 prongs) found in the back of your computer. Notice to see if there is an labeling there as to which comm port that is (usually 1 or 2). Otherwise listing of comm ports can be found here: Control Panel System Device Manager. It is essential to know the comm port number inorder to icommunicate with the IRMAN.

Compile, Link and Initialization:

Several key points involved with compiling and linking. First, for those of you who do not know, or care to know, Visual Basic, I will give instructions on its general use. To open the PC Remote Control project, look for the pcremote.vbp file. This will bring up the whole workspace with all the proper files already loaded. To run the application either select Start (F5) in the Run menu file or press the play button highlighted in blue in the menu bar. The rest is pretty much self explanitory. If you desire to create an eecutable file, the option is available in the File menu item under Make PCRemote.exe.

Next, some things to deal with PC Remote Control more specifically. The program I have created uses some image files and has some hard coded paths that may need to be adjusted to run on a different computer in a different location. These paths are found in the module intitled HardcodedPaths.bas. Inside here you will be able to change the paths of certain programs my application controls (example C:\Program Files\Accessories\mspaint.exe). These paths need to point to the exes on your system so please adjustto proper areas or errors will occur. Also here are two bitmap files (go.bmp and stop.bmp) which are used by the application. These as well need to point to the location on your computer where these are stored or errors will occur.

Lastly, my program utilizes the Microsoft Speech Object Library (SDK 5.1). I found the compressed folder needed to install this on the G: drive at this location: G:\Z\bm\speechsdk51.exe. Simply copy that to your machine, unzip it and then run the setup.exe that comes with it. After this your computer should be able to use the speech commands I have implemented. I realize some might not have access to St. Norberts G: drive or even want speech for that matter so I have made a separate progect that has the speech item commented out.

Use and Hints on Operation:

1) Initialize the IRMAN. The setup window pops up when starting my appliation asking the user to select a comm port. Make sure to select the proper comm port you have plugged the IRMAN into. Once you are sure the IRMAN is in the right spot, select OK. If the application has problems communication with the IRMAN it will not proceed and will notify the user.

2) If setup was done properly you should be at the History window. At this point by simply pressing on a remote directed towards the IRMAN will display that buttons 6 byte signal in the History listbox. To initialize your remote select Initialize Remotes from the File menu item.

*The history window also has a Help menu item. Under help is an Instructions option which should also help you with usage of the application.

3) Initializing your remotes.

Adding A Remote

o The beginning step in initializing your remote is to add the remote name to the list of programmed remote controllers by clicking Add Remote.

o Remotes must have a unique name.

o Only 5 remotes can be stored at one time.

Learning Your Remote

o Select the function from the Functions tree and your remote from the Controllers tree that you would like the program to learn, then click the Learn button. When you are instructed to do so, press the appropriate button on your remote.

o If everything went properly the waiting prompt will disappear and the programmed button will be stored.

o If the button you pressed is already programmed, the button will not be stored and the program will inform you of the error.

o If for some reason you pressed the wrong button or the programmed button does not seem to be working properly, the button may be deleted by selecting it and clicking Delete Button and then you may attempt to relearn it.

o Up to 100 buttons maybe be programmed for a given remote.

Binding A Remote

o Select a button from a remote in the Controllers tree and the action in the Actions tree you would like the program to associate it with, then press the Bind button.

o If everything went properly the action will appear next to the button in the Controllers tree (e.g. Volume Up : Mouse Up). The given action will now be preformed any time this button is pressed during the execution mode (only main window showing).

o If you binded improperly the program will inform you and instruct you on what went wrong.

o A buttons action may be canceled by selecting that button in the Controllers tree and clicking Unbind.

o The buttons action may be changed by binding it again to a different action.

Deleting A Remote

o Simply select a remote from the Controllers tree and then click Delete Remote.

Deleting A Button

o Simply select a button from a remote in the Controllers tree and then click Delete Button.

*To begin using your programmed remote(s) simply click the OK button and you will be up and running.

4) If at any time assistance is needed in the Help menu option there is an Instructions option which steps the user through their desired task.

Exceptions:

1) System needs to be aware of where certain files and executables are located. The location of go.bmp and stop.bmp as mentioned before is hard coded, that needs to be correct for the system to run. Also paths to programmable executables need to be adjust for your system. I have tried to make several version of code available for this purpose, but if things go wrong this is where to look.

2) The Cycle Windows action is just a demo; it only works for a few windows to show an example of how this would work for all windows. To implement for all the windows would require a recursive search of all the open windows starting at the DesktopWindow. This would be a great extension (see presentation outline for details).

3) Several of the applications are programmed using keyboard shortcut. While this tends to get the job done it is far less robust then the SendMessage API calls used in communication with WinAmp and WinDVD. As a result the user needs to be careful of what windows are open before sending calls to these other applications. An ALT + F+ O might be a file open in one application, but if another application were to get these keys it could do something else.

4) The system has speech functions built in which require the previously mention Microsoft Speech SDK 5.1. If one can not install this use the program labeled PC Remote Control XP no Speech which has the speech code commented out.