Originally posted by: credenza
can anyone help me out here? i've read up on the help on the website, and read through this forum so far but i am still just clueless.
Start by downloading the generic COM driver from the IRAssistant site, then configure it as follows.
Port speed - 9600
Byte size - 8
Parity - none
Stop bits - 1
DTR control - enabled
RTS control - enabled
Xon/Xoff - on
Read interval timeout - 1 ms
Then configure IRAssistant.
Skip first commands - 0
Variation - 1
Button press delay - 300 ms
Button sequence delay - 600 ms
Number of samples in learn - 1
None of the other options checked, cursor acceleration slider located at the A in the word Acceleration.
You're ready to start creating groups and macros.
Click on Edit, then Add Button Group. Give it a name, then click the New button where it says "Macro to run when button group is activated". This brings up yet another dialogue, and again you're going to give it a name. Something like "Launch <name of program you're setting this up for>" would be wise, since you're going to make this macro launch a program. When you have a name for it, click on the + next to Files, in the left side of the dialogue, and double-click on Launch file..., then, in the new dialogue window that comes up, click on the ... button next to the "File name and path" box and locate the program you want. If the program needs any command line options, there's a place to add them in this dialogue window, in the Parameters box.
DO NOT check "Deactivate IRAssistant when application is launched". DO ensure that "Allow only one instance running at a time" is checked.
Click OK when you have the program you want, and you should be back at the macro creation dialogue (the one with the +'s on the left). Make sure "In a sequence, no repeat" and "Current foreground window" are the selected options, and there's a command titled "LAUNCH: | : <drive letter>:\Blah\Blah.exe" in the right window where the Add, Delete, arrow up and arrow down buttons are.
Click OK.
Congratulations, you've just created a button group and the macro that will automatically launch the program you want when you hit a button on the remote. Now you need to create macros for each command you want to send to the program.
Let's say you want to control Winamp. To do that, you need to create a macro for each of the hotkeys Winamp uses for its keyboard control. Click on Edit, then Add Group Macro.
You're back in the macro creation dialogue. Click on the + next to Keys, on the left, and either select one of the pre-defined hotkeys, if your version of Winamp uses any of those, or scroll down to "Custom key/text..." and double-click on that. Select your keyboard key simply by typing it once, WITHOUT USING SHIFT, and click OK. Back in the macro creation dialogue, make sure "Current foreground window" and "In a sequence, repeat allowed" are selected, and click OK.
Do that for each hotkey you need. For Winamp, for instance, you need to do it once for each of the 5 playback controls, plus if you want to toggle Repeat, Shuffle, Winamp-internal volume, or anything else, you create new macros for each other thing you want.
Create all the groups and macros you want/need. When you're done, it's time to teach IRAssistant which remote buttons you want to use for everything. Take a good look at your remote now. Decide what buttons you want to do what WITHIN SPECIFIC PROGRAMS, because once a single button is set to a BUTTON GROUP, it can't be used for a MACRO. You CAN select multiple button presses or multiple buttons when you're teaching IRAssistant, but it can be frustrating, and it's just easier to use a single button.
For my own configuration, I'm currently using the number pad to launch programs, and all the other buttons to control those programs. If you do that, you lose the functionality of the number pad as numbers, but it will allow you to launch 10 seperate programs and still be able to control them.
When you've decided what buttons you want to use for the groups, click on the group you want to slave to a button (group, not one of the macros inside the group), then click on Learn, then New Item...
IRAssistant brings up a small dialogue with the title of the group or macro you've selected, and asks you to press the button you want to assign to that group or macro. You have the option of selecting more than 1 button press or button at the bottom of the window, so if you're going with multi-presses/buttons, go to that option and increase it to 2, 3, or 4.
For single-button control, just press the button on the remote. For multi-press/button control, press the buttons, or a single button more than once. It's that simple. When you've selected your button or buttons, it automatically exits that window.
Each group will need a button, and each macro within a group will need a button. Again, you CANNOT use a button for a macro if you've already assigned it to a group. If you assign the 1 to the Winamp group, you can't use the 1 for ANYTHING ELSE. IRAssistant will refuse. You could use 11 for a group, but not a macro, because every time you press the 1 the first time, it'd just re-launch the program if you had the group set to a single button press. So you have to reserve some of the buttons for use WITHIN groups, like the blue playback buttons at the top of the remote. Assign those buttons to the macros in each group, using the Learn/New Item... command. You should also select a button in each group to close the program, instead of having to get up to do it manually. Just create a macro, select the F4 Key, and check the Alt box in the macro creation dialogue, then click Add.
And that's it. IRAssistant is now configured and usable. Park your keister on the other side of the room and enjoy the clickey goodness. When you want to launch a new program, press the group button you assigned to it. When you want to switch to a different program, press the button assigned to it. I press 1 to launch WinTV2000, then I press 3 to launch Winamp. If I want to switch back to WinTV2000 and use the remote in that again, I just press 1 again.
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