Larry
New member
- Jul 4, 2013
- 204
- 0
Hello All!
This is a little something I've cooked up for myself and decided to share after some thought:
BackGlass For You is a VERY simple little app I cooked up for myself in C#. I use it in TPA to switch static backglass images onto my second monitor from "within" TPA.
What it is: A toolbar like app with opacity controls that sits quietly (lower right main screen in my case) to allow you to easily load images of the TPA machine backglasses onto your/my second monitor using the mouse.
What it does: Open a window on the second monitor with an admittedly horrible quality backglass image atm. Some are okay, some not so much...
What it doesn't: Anything else... this isn't some crazy phishing junk, I'd post the source code if it wasn't split into 43 .cs files atm
Quick and Dirty Install Guide:
Download from dropbox link below
Extract Entire Contents To Result in DriveLetter:\BG4U
Run Setup-Program should auto-run on install
Click OK to warning message
Click C button top right in toolbar
Enter desired values - Click Save
Close and Re-Launch via BG4U icon or start menu (Larry folder)
Ensure TPA is set to "Window" or "Fullscreen Window" mode
Use <- & -> to change back glass images + to show and - to hide image
Use X to hide tool
Play fun TPA games
Click anywhere on toolbar then mouse hover to restore visibility
Enjoy!
How it works: Download the .zip from here:
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/7mmpfzy67jv7twi/0eb36A2yDS
Extract contents (I had it setup in C:/BG4U as the folder in case it needs to be there during install)
Run setup, choose Install and Yes to any warnings, this will check and update the .net 4.5 framework and windows installer 4.5 which is used to give it a nice icon, start menu position, and make it un-installable easily via standard control panel. All I can say is I promise it's safe and I've used it for about a week now to hammer out the code with no ill effects but USE AT YOUR OWN RISK!!
Once it's installed, just run via the BG4U icon to launch.
The program will appear as a small grey toolbar with 10 buttons:
Upper Row: Back Glass Controls
<- & -> switch BG images - Alphabetical order to match table browser, all tables included. I will add new tables and better images as time goes by, I got some pretty bad hand crops off the internet for some, sorry I'm working on it but again, this is mainly something I put together purely for my own amusement, it's done "by hand" at this point but really goes pretty fast.
+ Show BG Image
- Hide BG Image
(Swap buttons effective whether image is shown or not)
Bottom Row: Opacity Controls
/\ \/ Raise and Lower Default Opacity
When the tool is launched, it will be about 20% Opacity until mouse hovered over at which point it goes up to 40% This will let you launch TPA, then select your BG in game if you'd like while keeping the tool visible. Once you've moused over it the first time, it will always resume it's set opacity, which can be adjusted using the "up & down" buttons, 10% is the minimum opacity using these buttons
X Hide Toolbar: This will actually set the opacity of the toolbar to .01% so although it's "hidden" the tool is in fact still running "on top" of TPA. Once you've selected your BG image and wish to begin playing, you can click the X to hide the tool until your ready to use it again. To restore the tool to it's default opacity, just click anywhere on it {somewhere within the area of the hidden tool, the buttons will also still be operative so I try to click the "title bar" but the worst that can happen is you'll switch the BG by accident} to return focus to the toolbar window, then mouse hover anywhere over it for about a half second, it will then go back to the "default opacity" of either 40% or what you've adjusted it to using the \/ & /\ buttons.
I've tried other methods to auto-hide and restore, but keep getting flaky exceptions from windows about null sender objects so I set it up like this for now until I can work around the issues. I'm now so used to clicking on it I almost don't even care it's so easy, but do intend to fix it at some point when I figure out how.
O Set toolbar to default of 100% opacity: This just makes it easier to see when it's in "visible mode". Instead of hiding the toolbar when not in use with X, you can use the \/ arrow to reduce opacity then quickly restore it with O. I prefer the hide and click method, but decided to give myself a quick option.
The last button on the bottom row right is just a placeholder I've used to workaround some issues with bring to front and the phantom sender problem, all it does is make the toolbar the active focus, it kind of pushes itself atm, does nothing, and may disappear when I work out my mistakes.
Enjoy, good luck and anyone who enjoys this and happens to have access to better images, I'm all for that, hook me up!
PS- I'm much more of a TPA nut than a programmer, so I hope this at least works for a few folks
This is a little something I've cooked up for myself and decided to share after some thought:
BackGlass For You is a VERY simple little app I cooked up for myself in C#. I use it in TPA to switch static backglass images onto my second monitor from "within" TPA.
What it is: A toolbar like app with opacity controls that sits quietly (lower right main screen in my case) to allow you to easily load images of the TPA machine backglasses onto your/my second monitor using the mouse.
What it does: Open a window on the second monitor with an admittedly horrible quality backglass image atm. Some are okay, some not so much...
What it doesn't: Anything else... this isn't some crazy phishing junk, I'd post the source code if it wasn't split into 43 .cs files atm
Quick and Dirty Install Guide:
Download from dropbox link below
Extract Entire Contents To Result in DriveLetter:\BG4U
Run Setup-Program should auto-run on install
Click OK to warning message
Click C button top right in toolbar
Enter desired values - Click Save
Close and Re-Launch via BG4U icon or start menu (Larry folder)
Ensure TPA is set to "Window" or "Fullscreen Window" mode
Use <- & -> to change back glass images + to show and - to hide image
Use X to hide tool
Play fun TPA games
Click anywhere on toolbar then mouse hover to restore visibility
Enjoy!
How it works: Download the .zip from here:
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/7mmpfzy67jv7twi/0eb36A2yDS
Extract contents (I had it setup in C:/BG4U as the folder in case it needs to be there during install)
Run setup, choose Install and Yes to any warnings, this will check and update the .net 4.5 framework and windows installer 4.5 which is used to give it a nice icon, start menu position, and make it un-installable easily via standard control panel. All I can say is I promise it's safe and I've used it for about a week now to hammer out the code with no ill effects but USE AT YOUR OWN RISK!!
Once it's installed, just run via the BG4U icon to launch.
The program will appear as a small grey toolbar with 10 buttons:
Upper Row: Back Glass Controls
<- & -> switch BG images - Alphabetical order to match table browser, all tables included. I will add new tables and better images as time goes by, I got some pretty bad hand crops off the internet for some, sorry I'm working on it but again, this is mainly something I put together purely for my own amusement, it's done "by hand" at this point but really goes pretty fast.
+ Show BG Image
- Hide BG Image
(Swap buttons effective whether image is shown or not)
Bottom Row: Opacity Controls
/\ \/ Raise and Lower Default Opacity
When the tool is launched, it will be about 20% Opacity until mouse hovered over at which point it goes up to 40% This will let you launch TPA, then select your BG in game if you'd like while keeping the tool visible. Once you've moused over it the first time, it will always resume it's set opacity, which can be adjusted using the "up & down" buttons, 10% is the minimum opacity using these buttons
X Hide Toolbar: This will actually set the opacity of the toolbar to .01% so although it's "hidden" the tool is in fact still running "on top" of TPA. Once you've selected your BG image and wish to begin playing, you can click the X to hide the tool until your ready to use it again. To restore the tool to it's default opacity, just click anywhere on it {somewhere within the area of the hidden tool, the buttons will also still be operative so I try to click the "title bar" but the worst that can happen is you'll switch the BG by accident} to return focus to the toolbar window, then mouse hover anywhere over it for about a half second, it will then go back to the "default opacity" of either 40% or what you've adjusted it to using the \/ & /\ buttons.
I've tried other methods to auto-hide and restore, but keep getting flaky exceptions from windows about null sender objects so I set it up like this for now until I can work around the issues. I'm now so used to clicking on it I almost don't even care it's so easy, but do intend to fix it at some point when I figure out how.
O Set toolbar to default of 100% opacity: This just makes it easier to see when it's in "visible mode". Instead of hiding the toolbar when not in use with X, you can use the \/ arrow to reduce opacity then quickly restore it with O. I prefer the hide and click method, but decided to give myself a quick option.
The last button on the bottom row right is just a placeholder I've used to workaround some issues with bring to front and the phantom sender problem, all it does is make the toolbar the active focus, it kind of pushes itself atm, does nothing, and may disappear when I work out my mistakes.
Enjoy, good luck and anyone who enjoys this and happens to have access to better images, I'm all for that, hook me up!
PS- I'm much more of a TPA nut than a programmer, so I hope this at least works for a few folks
Last edited:
