Layouts going crazy, strange behavior.

[slowsl]

Today I tested a bunch of layouts on my pc.  On my RPi3, I deleted all of the layouts in the .attract/layouts folder, and copied over all of the ones that I'd like to use that I previously tested on my pc.  Now, in my display, under layout pick box,  none of the new ones are showing, only some of the old ones that were deleted. When picking the old layouts, only a couple of the old ones show as they should, all the rest are showing as the default with the large screen text and the snap in the background full screen (they all worked before all this).  I've rebooted, thinking maybe it would refresh, but still no go.  What the heck happened?  Seems like anything I try to do just screws up my AM setup.  I'm stumped.

[progets]

It sounds like you installed AttractMode from the RetroPie Setup Menu which doesn't use the default AttractMode install locations. Look in your other "attract" folder(s) for the correct location.

[slowsl]

It sounds like you installed AttractMode from the RetroPie Setup Menu which doesn't use the default AttractMode install locations. Look in your other "attract" folder(s) for the correct location.

Installed from Floob's image, then everything updated.  It had been working flawlessly for weeks.  The only thing that was done today was deleting everything from the .attract/layouts folder and copying new layouts into the folder, right after everything went to crap.

[slowsl]

How/when does AM scan the /layouts folder to collect information on the layouts inside the folder?  It's not doing that, when I add any layout to the folder, it never shows when editing a display and cycling through the layouts, it still shows all of the old layouts that were working before deleting all of them, they are not even in the folder anymore.

[progets]

Floob's image is over 2 years old! What do you mean by "updated everything"? How was "everything" updated?

You deleted the layouts from the /usr/local/share/attract/layouts folder or from the ~/.attract/layouts folder?

How did you copy your new layouts, which folded did you copy them to and what user account was used to copy them?

[slowsl]

Floob's image is over 2 years old! What do you mean by "updated everything"? How was "everything" updated?

You deleted the layouts from the /usr/local/share/attract/layouts folder or from the ~/.attract/layouts folder?

How did you copy your new layouts, which folded did you copy them to and what user account was used to copy them?

I know it's old, but it has always worked well unless I screw something up somehow.  I updated raspbian, retropie, then AM from this post http://forum.attractmode.org/index.php?topic=1249.0
I've tried twice now installing the latest retropie, then AM as an experimental package.  Both times, when setting everything up, out of nowhere, I'm not able to type anything anywhere.  Anywhere that requires text to be added or modified, such as adding or modifying an emulator or display,  I'm not able to type anything.  All other buttons work for navigation, etc, just unable to type anything.  I've read it might have something to do with Linux & permissions, but never found a solution, so I went back to Floob's image.
.attract/layouts folder is the only one I've ever used, and never had a problem up until tonight.  I was always able to delete/add layouts in this folder, then change the layout in the display to the desired layout.  I didn't even know about the /usr/local/share/attract/layouts folder.  I see that the layouts inside this folder match the layouts available in the display configuration.  I have no write permission to this folder.  I use WinSCP to transfer files, using pi as the user, is that what you mean? Sorry, I have little experience with linux.

[slowsl]

Okay, made some progress.  I disconnected winSCP, then logged in again, credentials are saved, so it's still logging in as "pi" as it always has, copied a layout to /.attract/layouts, went into a display and the layout shows up and works.   Strange thing is I've rebooted the rpi several times, winSCP would disconnect, then automatically reconnects after reboot.  Not sure what happened, but it's working now.

[progets]

You say you followed the Pi FAQ http://forum.attractmode.org/index.php?topic=1249.0...

1. You say "I've tried twice now installing the latest retropie, then AM as an experimental package." The  first section of Pi FAQ reads

Code: [Select]

Warning to upgraders: If you are upgrading from a version of Attract-Mode that was originally installed from the RetroPie Setup menu do not use these steps, instead upgrade using the RetroPie Setup menu like your original install. Failure to do so will result in two desperate Attract-Mode installations. This specific step is meant for people that have manually installed Attract-Mode from the command line or are installing Attract-Mode for the first time.
2. The keyboard issue you mentioned is talked about in Floob's image thread. It's an old image and I believe the fix was a timeout before launching AM.

3. The /usr/local/share/attract/layouts requires root or "sudo" access. The "pi" user doesn't have enough rights.

Go to the command line and type the following.

Code: [Select]

sudo find / -name attract

This will show you results. Next type the following for each of your results and post them.

Code: [Select]

ls -l <path_found_above>/layouts
example:
ls -l /usr/local/share/attract/layouts

[slowsl]

You say you followed the Pi FAQ http://forum.attractmode.org/index.php?topic=1249.0...

1. You say "I've tried twice now installing the latest retropie, then AM as an experimental package." The  first section of Pi FAQ reads

Code: [Select]

Warning to upgraders: If you are upgrading from a version of Attract-Mode that was originally installed from the RetroPie Setup menu do not use these steps, instead upgrade using the RetroPie Setup menu like your original install. Failure to do so will result in two desperate Attract-Mode installations. This specific step is meant for people that have manually installed Attract-Mode from the command line or are installing Attract-Mode for the first time.
2. The keyboard issue you mentioned is talked about in Floob's image thread. It's an old image and I believe the fix was a timeout before launching AM.

Yes, I'm aware of this.  I've updated Floob's image according to the thread, the text input issue is not with Floob's image.  I used a different SD card to install the latest Retropie, then installed AM as an experimental package... It would work for a while, then out of nowhere would not be able to use keyboard input in the text fields, not finding a solution, I abandoned this build and switched back to the SD card with Floob's image.  I've resolved the issue with the layouts on Floob's image, however eventually I'd like to switch to the stretch/Retropie/AM since it's still being updated, but can't get past the keyboard input issue. I will try again and see if I can pinpoint where the problem starts.  I believe it was when I try setting up Scummvm, but not 100% sure exactly what triggered the problem.  I will post a reply when I mess with it again.

Thanks.