ONELAN | Support

Touch Screen Functionality

Overview

The described NTB Touch Screen functionality facilitates installing a touch sensitive panel (connected to an NTB by a USB cable) over a display being driven by the same NTB media player. A user touching the overlay panel will be able to cause changes to occur to the media being displayed, presumably being guided by instructions embedded in the media being played, movies, stills etc.

The touch facility alters the media playing by causing "Layout Changes" or "AdvanceTo commands" to be issued to the associated NTB. The reader of this note is referred to a description of the NTB’s AdvanceTo and Change Layout mechanisms.

The response of the NTB to touch is configured by a media manager who establishes what responses the NTB gives to touch operations.

The area touched by the user can be used to determine which of a number of reactions the NTB makes to the touch event. The response can be configured in any combination at the following two levels:

Layout sensitivity. When configured in this mode alone, the NTB will be sensitive to touch anywhere on the touch panel. The reaction of the NTB can be to change Layout or AdvanceTo a new position within any of the PlayLists associated with the Zones of the currently running Layout.
Zone and Playlist sensitivity. When configured in this mode, the NTB can react (launch a Change Layout or an AdvanceTo) differently when pressed in different areas of the panel / display. The touch sensitive areas of the panel are inherited from the Zone geometry of the running Layout. However, the NTB's individual Playlist item Zone position facility (only viewable in Home->Options->User Interface Policy - Expert) is supported. The NTB can also react differently depending on where a given Zone's PlayLists has reached.

Any Layout can be configured to have a timeout, i.e. a period of time after the Layout will revert to another Layout or issue an AdvanceTo in the absence of touch events.

Any Zone of any Layout can be displaying an HTML page (including a Flash animation). If touch is enabled for the Zone, touch events are passed to the NTB's HTML player for handling. This allows a user to navigate Web pages using links embedded in the displayed HTML page.

Configuration of the Touch Facility

At the NTB Layout Level.

Visit: Home->Layouts->LayoutName->Edit button->Edit Layout->Interaction Tab

Use this page to set:

Whether a touch response is required for this Layout at the Layout level
Whether said touch operation causes a Layout Change or an AdvanceTo
If an AdvanceTo, whether the AdvanceTo is sent to all other Zones or a single Zone
Whether it is the touch or release operation that causes the action
Whether to move to another Layout after a period of time in the absence of a touch operation
If using a Layout Change, which other Layout to move to
The time after which this Layout will revert to another Layout in the absence of a touch event.

At the Zone Level

To invoke this facility the user must either:

Include an "OnTouch AdvanceTo" command in the PlayList of the appropriate Zone.
Include an "OnTouch Change Layout" command in the PlayList of the appropriate Zone.
Play an HTML page in the Zone.

To configure these facilities use the Specials Tab of the Playlist editor for the appropriate Zone to add the appropriate Playlist items.

The user may include more than one OnTouch AdvanceTo or OnTouch Change Layout command in the Playlist of the appropriate Zone. Each OnTouch command overrides the previous one thereby allowing the reaction to a touch event to change throughout the Zone’s Media Playlist

If the Zone is displaying an HTML page, it is normal not to have the Zone reactive to touch events since the OnTouch event will take precedence over the HTML player. Only Left Mouse Button Up and Down events are passed to the HTML player. To use HTML navigation, either simply omit any OnTouch Playlist items or use the Interact Clear (Special Tab in the Playlist editor) to de-activate any previous OnTouch items.

Operation of the Touch facilities in combination

If using the Layout level touch facility on its own, a touch event at any location on the panel will cause the appropriate reaction.

If using the Layout level facility and an OnTouch command or HTML media item in any non-hidden Zone, the NTB will honour touch events for each Zone as configured, i.e. different behaviour for each Zone.

If the touch event occurred outside any active Zone, the reaction defaults back to the Layout level.

If using multiple OnTouch commands in multiple overlapping Zones, the NTB will honour the OnTouch action of the Zone highest in the Z-order stack, i.e. nearest to the top.

Touch Screen Physical Interface

The NTB code base at V6.2 supports:

USB HID v1.01 Mouse, e.g. Hampshire Company TSHARC Analogue Resistive

This interface is via USB into the NTB. The NTB will only work with a device such as above that reports X/Y coordinates on an absolute coordinate basis.

There is no support for a mouse-like device that sends relative movements, since this requires an on-screen cursor. This functionality may be made available in a later software release.

Calibration of the Touch Panel

See Home->Setup->Touch->Status Tab

Press the Calibrate button.