SheetMaker for Linux

[bunyip]

This thread covers the development of a Perl script bundle that provides a GUI interface making use of member 'jatimon's image rendering scripts and with expanded functionality. It is a work in progress and will continue to be expanded from user requests (where possible). It will also be shamelessly influenced by the features available in thumbgen's Windows program. 

Please feel free to download and give it a try, then provide feedback.

Users are also free to modify these scripts for their own needs, and to share any changes with other users.

Called 'SheetMaker For Linux' it currently provides the following features:

• manually build a list of movie files to be processed.
• generate the Moviesheets from the list interactively or in auto mode.
• options to create a Thumbgen TGMD file for each movie.
• ability to edit Moviesheets and Thumbnails from a TGMD file.
• option to 'Test' changes to Moviesheets and Thumbnails from a TGMD file without committing the changes.
• ability to manually add more Covers and Fanarts while editing a Moviesheet.
• uses the data from the TGMD file by default, otherwise gets data from TheMovieDB.org, and optionally IMDB.com or Moviemeter.nl (at this stage).
• generates TV series/episode sheets using resources from thetvdb.com
• supports many popular templates with modifications specific to sheetmaker

Screen Shots:

Documentation and Download. => http://www.bunyipawonga.org/sheetmaker

Current Releases:
GUI Version:  1.27.3 - 16th Jun 2013.
CLI Version:  1.0.5 - 16th Jun 2013.

Installation:

There are installation instructions in the program bundle, but basically you just uncompress the bundle to a chosen directory. In it you'll find a perl script called 'ModuleTest-gui' just run it first and it should tell you what necessary perl modules are missing from your system that you will need to install manually.

Once the modules are installed just run 'SheetMaker.pl'. On the first run you will need to click on 'Edit -> Settings' to set your preferred directories and options, then away you go.

And please come back here and let us know how it performs.

[bunyip]

Release 1.17 is now available:

Changes:

• Fixed problem with embedded quotes in movie filename.
• Added ability to parse directories with an option to recurse through sub dirs when creating processing list.
• Changed filters to ignore duplicates (i.e. trying to add the same file more than once) and ignore non-video files when creating processing list.
• Simplified control flow when calling rendering routines.
• Added dynamic processing status reporting.
• Updated documentation.

[bunyip]

Release 1.18 is now available: (Critical Bug Fix)

I'm having a closer look at the rendering code now and fixing any bugs or omissions.
While testing I also found a critical control bug in the 'Automatic' mode, which is fixed in this release.

Changes:
GUI Code:

• Fixed Auto mode where process status not reset when a movie file failed a web search, causing all following files to fail aswell. (Was not a problem in interactive mode).
  
• Made 'TAGLINE' editable.

Rendering Code:

• Fixed modifier TITLECASE to capitalise all words.
• Allow text modifiers on Title and Tagline instead of just Title.
• Fixed problem where 'Multiline=False' was not working.
• Fixed overflow of non-wrapped text.

[thumper42]

Hey Bunyip,

Thanks!! I have everything installed but i am in the middle of building a new system, so i haven't had a chance to really try it out! Will get back with you when i do and let you know how it goes....

Had a problem compiling one of the perl modules (perlmagick), only way i could get around it was to install it from the debian repository.

Take Care, Thumper42.

[bunyip]

Hi thumper42,

Thanks for trying this out, it's maturing nicely but I do need users to highlight any problems I may have missed.
Yes I had the same problem with perlmagick and I think jatimon did too. I'll have to alter the documentation to recommend installation using the distributor's package and not the CPAN module.

I'm still developing it further and will be adding new features shortly, such as a section to generate folder sheets using folder templates and ability to handle TV shows and episode sheets.

[DaChouffe]

Great program, lost all hope on thumbscanner.
But now i saw your program, and tested it for a bit. I'm really exited.
Keep up the good work. ill look if i can find some time to do some testing

[bunyip]

Thanks DaChouffe, it's good to get more feedback.

[skreeves]

Wow, cool program!  I'd like to see an option to grab the movie name from the name of the parent directory, since I organize mine in separate directories.  Also I use Dribbler's Template Mega Pack (specifically the NeatSheet_RedCurtain template) and the program can't find the right studio or certification graphics.  Thanks!

[bunyip]

Thanks skreeves, nice to know my efforts are appreciated.

Yeah, one of the problems we have with using these freely available templates is that they have been created on Windows systems. Windows as you may know is case-insensitive so it will always find a file regardless of the mix of upper and lowercase chars, and many of the templates are not true to case. Linux on the otherhand is case sensitive so it must have an exact match. Also the data read from the web sites like IMDB will not necessarily be a case match either.

I'm experimenting with various methods of case-insensitive file matching but so far have met with mixed results, but I will find a solution.

In the meantime I'm afraid you may have to manually rename some of the library files in your template set or rename the reference to the file in the template itself so that they match.

This is a high-priority fix so it won't be long.

As for using the directory name as the movie name - yeah that's on the to-do list, so since you've asked I'll escalate it.

By the way, to get the RedCurtain set to look right under Linux you may have to fiddle with the font sizes a bit, especially 'Title'.

[bunyip]

Release 1.19 now available:

I wanted to release this version now because it is a faster and more efficient version, and those trying out this program should find this one a bit better.

Changes:
GUI Code:

• Enable 'Reset' button to also reset GUI after an unknown processing crash.

Rendering Code:

• Made rendering much faster.
• Streamlined methods for searching for case-sensitive files (fixes 'file not found' issues).
• Eliminated the need for caching template data (improved memory usage).
• Fixed missing MEDIAFORMAT graphics.
• Changed 'resolution' handling to use height ranges so that a graphic will always be displayed, giving the viewer a general idea of whether the file is Low, Standard or High Def., rather than show a blank space.

A question for those who put their movie files in individual directories and want to use the directory name to identify the movie.
 - Do you name your file the same as the directory name or, if not, is there only one video file in each directory.
(When creating a moviesheet the program needs to get attributes from the file, so it must have a way of identifying which movie file to use.) 

[DaChouffe]

Speed is improved big time, nice improvement.

Would it be possible for you to add this to youre todo?

The possibility to create multiple sheets with variable naming schemes??
Thumbnail - $M\$N for the small Thumbnail (Cover)
Extra Thumbnail - folder for the big Thumbnail
Movie Information - Used by tvixie2playonhd to create gernes and to make rss files on the Playon!HD
Main Sheet - $M\$N$E_sheet - Main sheet for the Movie jukebox on the Playon!HD
Extra Sheet - Used in the browser screen of the Playon!HD

I'm using for each movie a different directory, the directories are named like the movie.

Thanks,

Keep on the good work.

[bunyip]

Thanks DaChouffe,

These options seem simple enough - consider them now on the list.
(I notice that Thumbgen has these options, so I'll do something similar to it.).

[DaChouffe]

This template is made by youre program


This template is made by ThumbGen


I saw in the layout some different s, for instance the time notification is a bit scrambled and wrote down differently, and the Directed by is scrambled. If i look at the names in your template editor, the names are written down correctly. With no strange characters.

Second, would it be possible to make an option for creating 16bit R5G6B5 bmp's. The POHD will render this format better in the moviewall.

And i saw some errors created by SheetScanner, i know that the "Can't find *.png" is caused by case sensitivity of linux. But i don't know what causes the other errors. Don't even know if that's important.

Code: [Select]

Use of uninitialized value in printf at ./SheetMaker.pl line 3022.
Use of uninitialized value $indent in length at ./SheetMaker.pl line 2085.
Use of uninitialized value $indent in length at ./SheetMaker.pl line 2085.
Use of uninitialized value $indent in length at ./SheetMaker.pl line 2085.
CRIT: I could not find /home/dachouffe/Downloads/Sheetmaker/Templates/test/Template_Mega_Pack_1.7/Common/studios/Illumination Entertainment.png
Use of uninitialized value $indent in length at ./SheetMaker.pl line 2085.
Use of uninitialized value $indent in length at ./SheetMaker.pl line 2085.
Exiting subroutine via next at ./SheetMaker.pl line 1710.
Use of uninitialized value in printf at ./SheetMaker.pl line 3022
If you are creating the options for multi filename in sheetscanner, maybe it's wise to turn on/off the sheets you wan't to create. Like Thumbscanner does.




I hope you can do something with my input 

Keep on the work..
 

[bunyip]

Hi DaChouffe,

Thanks for taking the time to give feedback, yes this is what I need from testers.

1. The template you are using here is in fact an 'xslt' template, unfortunately 'xslt' support is not yet implemented, but it's on the todo list.
XLST templates include embedded code that does some fancy formatting. My program however can only use the 'xml' copy of the template at this time, but the XML doesn't include the intelligence, so several elements like the movie time is not able to be rendered properly.
If you want to continue using this template in the meantime, you would need to modify the XML version of the template to explicitly define the formatting.

2. The mysterious '&#xD;&#xA;' string is an instruction in the XML template shown in the '<Directors Seperator' value. It's the encoded Windows CR/LF characters. I will need make a change in my program to convert these to the Linux equivalent. I'll make sure that this is included in the next release.

3. The code warnings you are getting in the log are not serious, they are just where the code is testing for values that are no longer defined or needed. I'll clean these up as I develop the code further.

4. The continuing 'unable to find files' error sadly is my fault - I neglected to remove some redundant code in release 1.19, this has been corrected in the next release, 1.20, which should be available in a day or two. (Although in your example I think you'll find that the file really doesn't exist).

5. I think the option to write images as 16bit BMP (and other forms) should be able to be implemented (I need to do a bit of testing first).

6. Options - yes I am including the ability to turn on/off any item, as well as applying different templates to each. I feel that there are too many screens and options in Thumbgen, I'm trying to keep this  simpler and easier to use, by grouping several options in one.

[DaChouffe]

@bunyip

Looks promising. I'm looking forward to you're new version.
The only thing i have with my version of Sheetmaker, is the alignment of the program fonts. They look a bit messy on my system.
What is influencing this? Compiz, the desktop theme or font settings in Gnome