Author Topic: Can Attract mode start up programs on startup??  (Read 2927 times)

Herodes

  • Newbie
  • *
  • Posts: 3
    • View Profile
Can Attract mode start up programs on startup??
« on: March 16, 2018, 10:10:54 AM »
I am having a problem with my attractmode setup.
I killed al windows (10) STARTUP shit and changed the shell to attractmode instead of explorer.exe.
But now i need some programs and they won't start because explorer don't starts up.
Is there a way to make attractmode start up these programs for me ?
I know that other front ends can do this .
(For example i need to start my ipac software)

Can anybody help me with this one???

YellowBirdAZ

  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 80
    • View Profile
Re: Can Attract mode start up programs on startup??
« Reply #1 on: March 17, 2018, 12:08:51 PM »
Hey, I recommend another solution. I had the same basic issue you did but here's how I solved it.

First off, install Autohotkey (AHK). It's a scripting language that has been very helpful with my project, and as you get familiar with it you can use it for all sorts of other things. There are probably other options (Python, Perl, etc.)  But AHK is well-suited to arcade projects because you can use it for re-mapping controls, assigning multiple functions to the same input, window placement and resizing, and so on.

So in my cabinet, instead of booting to AttractMode, I boot to an AHK script I compiled as an executable. Here is the source for that script.

Code: [Select]
#NoEnv

RunWait C:/CSR/ChangeScreenResolution.exe /d=\\.\DISPLAY1 /w=320 /h=240,,HIDE
Run C:/IPAC Profiles/poly.ipc,,HIDE
Run C:/AHK Scripts/always.exe,,HIDE
Run C:/AttractMode/attract.exe -c C:/AttractMode,,MAX
Exit

So it's very easy to read as you can see.

First thing it does is sets my resolution to 320x240 (and waits until that is done before moving to next step).

Second, I load the appropriate IPAC profile (I use the IPAC for my controls, you may be doing something different).

Third, it launches another AHK script that will run in the background as long as the machine is running. This is where I do some control re-mapping and I have hotkeys set up to change resolutions (for error recovery if the display goes black or otherwise unreadable).

Finally, it runs AttractMode before exiting.

Anyhow, I think this might work for you and I bet you'll find other ways to use AHK. Your steps will of course be different, but this is a way to boot into AttractMode while also starting up whatever other processes you need.

Herodes

  • Newbie
  • *
  • Posts: 3
    • View Profile
Re: Can Attract mode start up programs on startup??
« Reply #2 on: March 17, 2018, 06:33:18 PM »
Ok i go try that thanks for your reply :)