[APP] PinballX Database Manager 25.03.17.0 (supports Touch Play as well)

[Mike_da_Spike]

  On 7/8/2024 at 1:43 AM, bushav said:

Also, where does Database Manager place "old" files?  I did have a backglass video for this table at one time but I renamed the table and had Database Manager remove old files. 

Expand  

Renaming a table will not result in the loss or deletion of a Media file by Database Manager. In fact, renaming a table name is harmless, as the Database Manager will uses the table's filename for media files.
Changing the table's filename will prompt by default a message dialog if you want to rename the associated media files accordingly to the new name. If you do not receive this message, it means you have opted out of this dialog, and you have two choices: to rename or not to rename.

Should the Database Manager delete a table (by pressing the delete button, or by adding a new video), it will move the deleted media  to the Windows Recycle Bin.

Edited July 8, 2024 by Mike_da_Spike
More thought about the deleting, so modified the answer

[Mike_da_Spike]

  On 7/8/2024 at 1:35 AM, bushav said:

I've run into a problem today.  With database manager I am not getting a backglass when I "create videos".  I'm creating a video for a single table and getting the DMD and playfield but not the backglass.  The log states "no backglass mp4".  I've tried it with GPU capture and without GPU capture.  I believe this has been working for me last week.

DBManagerLog.txt 11.9 kB · 0 downloads log.txt 5.87 kB · 0 downloads PinballX.ini 12.84 kB · 0 downloads

Expand  

Can younpost the databasemanager.INI ? Your logfile of pinballx shows that your dmd is not hide. Therefor pinballx will not record the backglass, my assumption is that you uncheck rhe record of backglass in dbm

[bushav]

@Mike_da_SpikeThanks for taking a look.

PinballXDatabaseManager.iniFetching info...

[Mike_da_Spike]

  On 7/8/2024 at 3:03 AM, bushav said:

@Mike_da_SpikeThanks for taking a look.

PinballXDatabaseManager.ini 1.84 kB · 0 downloads

Expand  

Thanks for the file.
With your file and the code, I came to the following conclusion.

if you have set the "Hide Backglass during video" for a table 

the 'Create Video' button will not create a backglass video (this is a PinballX limitation).
Your PinballX log file shows :
 

21:04:30.64  7/7/2024:  Hide DMD
21:04:30.64  7/7/2024:  Hide Topper
21:04:30.64  7/7/2024:  Not Hide Backglass!
21:04:30.64  7/7/2024:  Waiting for threads

If you use the ' bulk video' option 
And set the 'create backglass videos' to enabled

it will ignore the  "Hide Backglass during video" and make the video
if you want it for a single file, simply check the checkbox , create the videos and uncheck it again
This was created by design like this

[bushav]

  On 7/8/2024 at 3:56 AM, Mike_da_Spike said:

Thanks for the file.
With your file and the code, I came to the following conclusion.

if you have set the "Hide Backglass during video" for a table 

the 'Create Video' button will not create a backglass video (this is a PinballX limitation).
Your PinballX log file shows :
 

21:04:30.64  7/7/2024:  Hide DMD
21:04:30.64  7/7/2024:  Hide Topper
21:04:30.64  7/7/2024:  Not Hide Backglass!
21:04:30.64  7/7/2024:  Waiting for threads

If you use the ' bulk video' option 
And set the 'create backglass videos' to enabled

it will ignore the  "Hide Backglass during video" and make the video
if you want it for a single file, simply check the checkbox , create the videos and uncheck it again
This was created by design like this

Expand  

Thanks for figuring out what is going on!  I have unselected the "hide backglass during game" because I want a seamless loading experience.  It is my thought that the backglass goes blank during the game loading pause if this is checked.  I will check this box while recording videos going forward.  I am glad to see that the problem is just an error on my part.

Thanks again!

[Mike_da_Spike]

  On 7/8/2024 at 10:30 AM, bushav said:

Thanks for figuring out what is going on!  I have unselected the "hide backglass during game" because I want a seamless loading experience.  It is my thought that the backglass goes blank during the game loading pause if this is checked.  I will check this box while recording videos going forward.  I am glad to see that the problem is just an error on my part.

Thanks again!

Expand  

We (scutters and myself) use that as well. But thought behind it, is that not everyone wants the backglass video, but if you select the bg video in bulk videos, it will ignore the setting. I mostly use bulk video's,  so I never forget a video to create

[Mike_da_Spike]

Version 24.08.02.0 has been released.

Minor updates for end users, but significant updates for ourselves.
We updated some NuGet packages to be compatible with the latest version.
This caused many of the MEGA URLs we used to stop working.
Our investigation revealed that we needed to treat the URLs differently and parse them again.
It is possible that an old format URL may not work in the future due to changes in the MEGAAPI.
If DBM detects an old format URL, it will display the following text in the action log:

By following these steps, the warning will no longer be displayed, and you can be assured it will work in the future.

We have also introduced a significant new feature: the right-click option in the 'Tables' list on the main form.

While it's not a feature used daily, it will be a lifesaver during the restructuring of your PinballX systems.

Consider my PinballX system as an example. I have over 1000 tables, and searching feels like a crime!
I've set up filters within PinballX, but the list has become too long to display because of the numerous filters.
My idea is to set up new systems (since we can configure about 60 systems within PBX). Essentially, I want to transform the filters into systems.

The first step is to create a new system in settings.exe, which is a duplicate of your normal PinballX settings, with the same paths, parameters, etc.

This is my normal PinballX system :

to create a system for tables that JPSalas created I make the following system :

and another for VPW team

Here's a brief video I made on my development PC. I don't have all the media added to the tables, but you can see how it simplifies the process of transferring tables to another system.

In addition to copying or moving a table, you can easily toggle the "Hide DMD/Backglass/Topper during game" checkboxes with a single click. This is similar to the 'Tables enabled in front end' checkbox.

Lastly, we have the delete option, which will explain itself.

Note: When moving tables to a different system, the statistics entry for the table will be updated to the new system, preserving your favorite settings, times played, etc. However, when copying the table, this data will remain unchanged and will be linked to the current system. Deleting the tables from the old system will sever the link to the statistics.

A big thank you to @scutters for bringing this release to completion as always.

[Mike_da_Spike]

Version 24.09.06.0 has been released.

This update was significant. Several items from our 'wish' list were implemented. The highlight is the 'Advanced Video Switch,' a long-anticipated feature. To be candid, it was on the wish list, but it was unclear which videos were intended. This gap became apparent while creating the PBX documentation two years ago, leading us to note 'check all media folders for more options.' We had lost track of which videos to add until @strangeleo72 requested a help button for instructional videos. That's when Scutters and I realized we had overlooked these videos! It took considerable time for our design department to integrate it into the main form without adding new icons. The solution, presented by Scutters, our head of design, at our board meeting, was met with excitement from the entire team.

Another issue was that downloading from FTP or MEGA only displayed the 'Busy' animation, leaving us guessing the duration. We approached the head of our downloading department to devise a solution, resulting in a progress bar that now displays the download progress for files from FTP or Mega.

The FTP was already stocked with promotional, instructional, and gameplay videos. I've added some extras and still have more on my hard drive to review and upload.

Below is a brief demonstration of the Advanced video feature with the download of a sizable file:

Another feature I really like is the VPS icon we added to the main form. When a match is found for a table that corresponds to the VPS website, an icon will be displayed next to the language icon at the top right of the form. Clicking on it will launch your browser and directly open the table or group of tables on the VPS website. This functionality is similar to the link we already have on the 'Table Versions' form.

We've also made some additional improvements:
When adding a rating to a table in PinballX, the extra information within DBM would previously be lost. However, we've implemented a clever solution that preserves these entries when launching DBM after using PinballX.

Furthermore, we've addressed an issue where the favourites count and entries could appear incorrect. This is a temporary fix until @Tom Speirs implements a permanent solution in the next release of PinballX. The issue, initially mentioned by @robertms and traced to its root cause by @scutters, will now be corrected during the launch of DBM.

The bulk video creation feature will generate new playfield videos if the 'Overwrite older playfield videos' option is selected. It will do this upon finding a POV or INI file with a matching table name that is more recent than the existing playfield video.

To further tidy up, we have relocated the MegaLinks.xml and CustomGameEx.XML files to the config folder. This process will occur automatically if you utilize these files.

In the code, we've made numerous changes that may not be apparent to you.
As always, this release wouldn't have been possible without the help of my good friend @scutters.
He's not just the head of design but also oversees several departments in our software house. Additionally, he serves as the CEO and a board member.

enjoy this release !

 

[scutters]

  On 9/6/2024 at 4:45 AM, Mike_da_Spike said:

As always, this release wouldn't have been possible without the help of my good friend @scutters.
He's not just the head of design but also oversees several departments in our software house. Additionally, he serves as the CEO and a board member.

Expand  

Can i put that on my CV?

🤣

[bushav]

Guys,

Thanks for the update!  I am getting an error message while loading Database Manager this morning.  It was not present before the update.  I believe from the log it has to do with my Future Pinball Database.  Could you comment on what the issue might be please.  I seem to have all the Future Pinball tables that are listed in my database and have not altered my Future Pinball tables in months.  The message does not seem to be a fatal error but my OCD side hates to see "red"!

DBManagerLog.txtFetching info...

[bushav]

Here is my PinballX Future Pinball xml if that helps.

Future Pinball.xmlFetching info...

[Mike_da_Spike]

  On 9/9/2024 at 11:46 AM, bushav said:

Guys,

Thanks for the update!  I am getting an error message while loading Database Manager this morning.  It was not present before the update.  I believe from the log it has to do with my Future Pinball Database.  Could you comment on what the issue might be please.  I seem to have all the Future Pinball tables that are listed in my database and have not altered my Future Pinball tables in months.  The message does not seem to be a fatal error but my OCD side hates to see "red"!

DBManagerLog.txt 3.24 kB · 1 download

Expand  

Thanks for your message. Its caused by a new feature we implemented.

We will fix it in a next release. Sorry for the red error ... 

[bushav]

  On 7/8/2024 at 3:56 AM, Mike_da_Spike said:

Thanks for the file.
With your file and the code, I came to the following conclusion.

if you have set the "Hide Backglass during video" for a table 

the 'Create Video' button will not create a backglass video (this is a PinballX limitation).
Your PinballX log file shows :
 

21:04:30.64  7/7/2024:  Hide DMD
21:04:30.64  7/7/2024:  Hide Topper
21:04:30.64  7/7/2024:  Not Hide Backglass!
21:04:30.64  7/7/2024:  Waiting for threads

If you use the ' bulk video' option 
And set the 'create backglass videos' to enabled

it will ignore the  "Hide Backglass during video" and make the video
if you want it for a single file, simply check the checkbox , create the videos and uncheck it again
This was created by design like this

Expand  

I continued to struggle with this.  I could not get my backglass to record a video irregardless of the settings on "hide or not hide".  However, I discovered my problem this morning. I had to uncheck "hide backglass during game" in the settings for PinballX using the legacy settings exe.  Evidently Database Manager was not overwriting this particular setting in PinballX on my system.  I have not tested on additional tables but I was able to record a backglass for "Goldeneye" this morning after unchecking "hide backglass" in the PinballX "Settings EXE".  

[Mike_da_Spike]

  On 9/9/2024 at 1:17 PM, bushav said:

I continued to struggle with this.  I could not get my backglass to record a video irregardless of the settings on "hide or not hide".  However, I discovered my problem this morning. I had to uncheck "hide backglass during game" in the settings for PinballX using the legacy settings exe.  Evidently Database Manager was not overwriting this particular setting in PinballX on my system.  I have not tested on additional tables but I was able to record a backglass for "Goldeneye" this morning after unchecking "hide backglass" in the PinballX "Settings EXE".  

Expand  

Not following you 100% (must be my Dutch background).

So, your setting is "hide backglass during game" is checked and when you do a bulk videos create with the "create backglass videos" it won't create it ?

Or do you use the "create video" button per table?

[bushav]

  On 9/9/2024 at 1:29 PM, Mike_da_Spike said:

Not following you 100% (must be my Dutch background).

So, your setting is "hide backglass during game" is checked and when you do a bulk videos create with the "create backglass videos" it won't create it ?

Or do you use the "create video" button per table?

Expand  

Using Database Manager - Back in July I reported I was not able to get my backglass to record a video and place it in the media file for the frontend use.  Playfield and DMD were recording but no backglass recording attempted.  You reported that I should "uncheck" "hide backglass during gameplay" in the default setting and in the individual game setting while recording videos.  I never do bulk recordings.  I record as I add tables, one at a time.

I was still unable to get this feature to work, irregardless of how I treated the hide backglass in database manager.  This moring I worked on it again.  I discovered that I must use the legacy PinballX Game Manager and uncheck "hide backglass" for Goldeneye table.  Once I did that I was able to record backglass as expected.  It leads me to believe that at least on my system Database Manager is not playing well with PinballX when it comes to "hide backglass" options.  It could be just a local problem with my system.  I am sure others would be mentioning it if there was a coding issue.

[Mike_da_Spike]

  On 9/9/2024 at 2:12 PM, bushav said:

Using Database Manager - Back in July I reported I was not able to get my backglass to record a video and place it in the media file for the frontend use.  Playfield and DMD were recording but no backglass recording attempted.  You reported that I should "uncheck" "hide backglass during gameplay" in the default setting and in the individual game setting while recording videos.  I never do bulk recordings.  I record as I add tables, one at a time.

I was still unable to get this feature to work, irregardless of how I treated the hide backglass in database manager.  This moring I worked on it again.  I discovered that I must use the legacy PinballX Game Manager and uncheck "hide backglass during gameplay".  Once I did that I was able to record backglass as expected.  It leads me to believe that at least on my system Database Manager is not playing well with PinballX when it comes to "hide backglass" options.  It could be just a local problem with my system.  I am sure others would be mentioning it if there was a coding issue.

Expand  

Yes, that is strange. We use the same "api" as gamemanager to create videos.

I can investigate further and conduct additional testing if something has changed in PinballX

To clarify, unchecking the option in DBM and recording does not capture the video, but doing the same in gamemanager does?

By the way, if you have all your videos neatly organized and you use bulk videos, it will only record the one video you want. It has some additional checks and other features in the code that make it slightly more powerful than the manual one.

[bushav]

  On 9/9/2024 at 2:20 PM, Mike_da_Spike said:

Yes, that is strange. We use the same "api" as gamemanager to create videos.

I can investigate further and conduct additional testing if something has changed in PinballX

To clarify, unchecking the option in DBM and recording does not capture the video, but doing the same in gamemanager does?

By the way, if you have all your videos neatly organized and you use bulk videos, it will only record the one video you want. It has some additional checks and other features in the code that make it slightly more powerful than the manual one.

Expand  

EDIT: Don't spend any time with this issue.  I am not recording new backglasses no matter how I configure or what EXE is use.  My recording issue is local to me and a real head scratcher.

 

 

You are correct with the above description.  Regarding bulk videos.  I am just hesitant to start a bulk process.  I have my frontend neatly arranged and beautiful.  I'd rather not let any executable start rearranging on my behalf.  Just me.

[Mike_da_Spike]

  On 9/9/2024 at 2:56 PM, bushav said:

 

You are correct with the above description.  Regarding bulk videos.  I am just hesitant to start a bulk process.  I have my frontend neatly arranged and beautiful.  I'd rather not let any executable start rearranging on my behalf.  Just me.

Expand  

If you only select the pf and bg recording, and uncheck the "overwrite older pf videos" and check "skip existing", it's safe to run. It'll only make videos through PinballX where it's missing the media for the selected screens/types.

If you still unsure, make a copy of the media/system folder.

Realy, I've been using it for years now and it's always worked for me. I can walk away because I set it to shut down the system when it's done.

[strangeleo72]

  On 9/6/2024 at 4:45 AM, Mike_da_Spike said:

Version 24.09.06.0 has been released.

This update was significant. Several items from our 'wish' list were implemented. The highlight is the 'Advanced Video Switch,' a long-anticipated feature. To be candid, it was on the wish list, but it was unclear which videos were intended. This gap became apparent while creating the PBX documentation two years ago, leading us to note 'check all media folders for more options.' We had lost track of which videos to add until @strangeleo72 requested a help button for instructional videos. That's when Scutters and I realized we had overlooked these videos! It took considerable time for our design department to integrate it into the main form without adding new icons. The solution, presented by Scutters, our head of design, at our board meeting, was met with excitement from the entire team.

Another issue was that downloading from FTP or MEGA only displayed the 'Busy' animation, leaving us guessing the duration. We approached the head of our downloading department to devise a solution, resulting in a progress bar that now displays the download progress for files from FTP or Mega.

The FTP was already stocked with promotional, instructional, and gameplay videos. I've added some extras and still have more on my hard drive to review and upload.

Below is a brief demonstration of the Advanced video feature with the download of a sizable file:

Another feature I really like is the VPS icon we added to the main form. When a match is found for a table that corresponds to the VPS website, an icon will be displayed next to the language icon at the top right of the form. Clicking on it will launch your browser and directly open the table or group of tables on the VPS website. This functionality is similar to the link we already have on the 'Table Versions' form.

We've also made some additional improvements:
When adding a rating to a table in PinballX, the extra information within DBM would previously be lost. However, we've implemented a clever solution that preserves these entries when launching DBM after using PinballX.

Furthermore, we've addressed an issue where the favourites count and entries could appear incorrect. This is a temporary fix until @Tom Speirs implements a permanent solution in the next release of PinballX. The issue, initially mentioned by @robertms and traced to its root cause by @scutters, will now be corrected during the launch of DBM.

The bulk video creation feature will generate new playfield videos if the 'Overwrite older playfield videos' option is selected. It will do this upon finding a POV or INI file with a matching table name that is more recent than the existing playfield video.

To further tidy up, we have relocated the MegaLinks.xml and CustomGameEx.XML files to the config folder. This process will occur automatically if you utilize these files.

In the code, we've made numerous changes that may not be apparent to you.
As always, this release wouldn't have been possible without the help of my good friend @scutters.
He's not just the head of design but also oversees several departments in our software house. Additionally, he serves as the CEO and a board member.

enjoy this release !

 

Expand  

THANKS!!!!!!! GREAT

 

[Mike_da_Spike]

We've made a small update as we prepare for a larger release. We just wanted to share this one with you.

We've added promo, tutorials and gameplay videos to the settings page, so they can be utilized for bulk or table downloads.

When selecting one or several tables, you can also delete them by pressing the DEL key.

Additionally, a small yet potentially useful feature is the ability to cancel downloads. If you initiate a download and the file is too large, simply press ESC and the download will be canceled.

 

We had a small bugfix as well.
just check the release notes !
Huge thanks to @scutters for making this release possible (again).

 

 

[Mike_da_Spike]

Version 25.02.12.0 has just been released, and it’s packed with an incredible new feature that will knock your socks off! But before we dive into the details, we have a special announcement: This release marks our 5th anniversary! The first program was released around 5 years ago , and what a journey it has been. 

Now, back to the exciting news! It's probably the first program for all of you pinball lovers of its kind that can record everything! After 5 months of extensive developing and coding (and a few late-night caffeine-fueled coding sessions), we’re excited to introduce the DBM Media Recorder. This little gem can capture both images and videos for every game we threw at it, and it worked like a charm.

But it wasn’t all smooth sailing. The first two attempts were not working correctly, and we had to go back to the drawing board. Thankfully, @scutterscame to the rescue! With his magic touch and the mediarecorderlib nuget package, he managed to record everything we tested.

Let me break it down for you:

• Main options:
  • Record images in PNG format and videos in  MP4.
  • Record videos across multiple screens via parallel recording. Yes, you heard it right! One record for Playfield, Backglass, DMD, and Topper.
• Cool Features:
  • Need a moment before the magic starts? Pause the countdown with the Pause/Break key and resume whenever you're ready. You could make some minor adjustments before recording your media
  • Can’t wait for the countdown to end? Smash the 'R' key, and the recording will kick off instantly, skipping the countdown (even if it's in Pause/Break mode).
  • Automatic rotation isn't correct ? Set it manually so your rotation is always correct displayed withing PinballX
  • Can record audio with playfield videos (using default system audio device)
• Quality:
  • Choose your smoothness: Videos can be recorded at either 30 or 60 FPS.
  • You can also change the video quality settings, the 

So, there you have it, folks! Go ahead and update to the latest version, and let the Media Recorder bring a new level of awesomeness to your pinball adventures. Feel free to share your recordings and let us know what you think!

And how to enable this new feature ?
Got to settings :

Click on the tab Media recording :

And click the checkbox to use DBM recording instead of PinballX recording :

Discover all the features that can be set (also check our updated manual for the settings)

As always, this release wouldn't be what it is without @scutters. Thanks for all of your
help and patience with me! It was a bumpy road, but you made my square wheels round again!  
All the credits goes to you for this release 

Thanks to @wrd1972 and @robertms for doing testing and give us some extra ideas to implement in this release

[Mike_da_Spike]

Version 25.0219 is just released
Minor update of the program including a bug fix and a small internal adjustment:

• Fixed a bug where loading videos showed as 'not found' (red hour glass) in the interface even if a video was present.
• Set timeout to close 'emulator' after recording video to 15 sec
  • This timeout will wait for 15 seconds to gracefully close the emulator process. After this timeout, the process will be forcibly terminated.

Thanks to @robertms for reporting a bug in the latest release.
Thanks to @scutters or making these adjustments quickly.

[DJO Maverick]

The latest update with DBM recording feels like a watershed update; it is awesome, phenomenal, and appreciated.  It also neatly sidesteps the present PBX recording bug.  Thank you!

One eccentricity I haven't figured out...  While the videos are coming out fine, and in proper orientation...  As soon as the recorder starts, it flips every screen 180, upside down for the duration of the process.  Again, purely cosmetic problem during the recording process itself.  Is that expected behavior?

[Mike_da_Spike]

  On 2/22/2025 at 6:26 PM, DJO Maverick said:

The latest update with DBM recording feels like a watershed update; it is awesome, phenomenal, and appreciated.  It also neatly sidesteps the present PBX recording bug.  Thank you!

One eccentricity I haven't figured out...  While the videos are coming out fine, and in proper orientation...  As soon as the recorder starts, it flips every screen 180, upside down for the duration of the process.  Again, purely cosmetic problem during the recording process itself.  Is that expected behavior?

Expand  

Yes, that's the expected behaviour. I believe we included it in the documentation as well.

Thank you for your kind words; I, and possibly Scutters, truly appreciate them. It was quite challenging to obtain a properly functioning recording across all our systems.

Edit : I reviewed the documentation and confirmed that we have included it. Please see below.

[Mike_da_Spike]

Version 25.03.17 is just released
The previous version was a major release that included a media recorder capable of recording every emulator we tested. This version does not feature significant changes, but we have added some minor new features and fixed several bugs.

Firstly, we made a small change to the new version dialog:

When a new version is released, we have endeavored to maintain the formatting as it appears on the website:

If you use DBM in your own language, it will be translated accordingly.

Secondly, we created our own 'tri-state' checkbox and replaced the 'New/Obsolete' and 'Disabled/Enabled' options with this tri-state checkbox. Why? We needed room to add a favorites checkbox as well.

Thanks to @robertms for his request.

@Wahreez McDermott reported an error See trouble trying to acknowledge new version of a table 
this has been fixed as well

Another addition is the version of VPX in which the table is created with:

This will be added automatically when adding a VPX, or when pressing the 'table info', which populates all the tables and imports the data.

Some minor issues were fixed, and we implemented a few other minor changes as well. Please refer to the release information on the download page.

A big thanks to @scutters for getting this release out, adding new features, and fixing some bugs. Additionally, thanks to @robertms for requesting a feature and @Wahreez McDermott for reporting an error.