These installation instructions assume you will be using the remote control
system with Winamp, Wplayer, and IRAssistant.
Back in the Settings dialog box, look at the "On screen display" tab in the upper left. This controls the display of the name of the received command on the screen. I like to enable it and set it to a BIG font size, so I can tell from across the room when a button pressed on the transmitter has been received. I set the font size to 72! Everything else should be OK with the defaults. Click OK.
Note that six macros are already predefined in the IRAssistant main
window. These macros are for the six buttons on the transmitter. I have them
defined for the functions Play/Pause, Zero (the counter), Back (5 seconds),
Forward (5 seconds), Rewind (back to zero), and Tip Timer. These macros are
defined to simulate keypresses to the Wplayer application as defined in the
following table:
| ame of Macro | Key | Target Window |
| Play/Pause | SPACE | Wplayer |
| Zero | END | Wplayer |
| Back | LEFT | Wplayer |
| Forward | RIGHT |
Wplayer |
| Rewind | HOME | Wplayer |
| TipTimer | F12 | Wplayer |
Every macro has a red exclamation point on it, which means the macro has
not been "learned" yet. To learn the macro, we must tell IRAssistant to learn
the macro, then press the corresponding button on the transmitter five times.
I like the following layout of the buttons:
(antenna) |
Make sure the RF receiver is plugged into the COM port that you specified above. Select (highlight) the first macro (Back, since they are listed in alphabetical order), and select "Learn item..." from the Learn menu, or from the right-click menu. Press the button that you want to use for the Back command. A series of hex values should appear in the learn window, similar to "F7F0F1F4". The exact values will vary according to which button you push. Also, each transmitter has a unique "ID" code (the "F0F1" part), so your transmitter will give different numbers. Press the "Back" button four more times, pausing about a second in between presses. The same values should appear each time you press the button. After five times, the window will close, and the button has been learned.
Repeat for each macro to be learned. Make sure you use a different button
for every macro. (You can also select Batch Learn... from the Learn menu.
This will go through all the macros one at a time. Push the desired button on
the transmitter five times for each macro, pausing about a second in between
pushes.)
We are almost done. Click the "Activate" button at the bottom of the IRAssistant window, and launch Wplayer (Winamp should start as soon as Wplayer is launched). Your remote control should be working! Assuming all is well, there are just a few settings left to make. On the main screen, check the box for "Activate in startup". This will make IRAssistant come up activated when you launch it. Then, in File->Settings, you want to check the box for "Minimize IRAssistant in activation". This makes IRAssistant minimize itself whenever it is activated, so it doesn't clutter up your screen. If you want, you can put a shortcut to IRAssistant in your Programs->Startup menu so it launches every time you start your computer, but I just launch it from the desktop shortcut or Start->Programs menu. When IRAssistant is minimized, an icon appears in the system tray (by the clock). Just double click the icon to restore IRAssistant.
Select File->Exit to close IRAssistant and save all settings.
To edit a macro, select it and select "Edit item..." from the Edit menu,
or right click menu. You can select any combinations of keys, mouse actions,
IRAssistant commands, volume control actions, windows actions, file commands,
or utility commands to be generated by the macro. Simply select the desited
action in the left pane, and click the Add button to add it to the list of
actions in the right pane. You can select the target window as either the
current foreground window, or a specific window which you can select from the
list of running applications using the Set... button. Each macro also has
several options. One of them is "Type of command execution", which may be set
to "In a sequence, no repeat", or "In a sequence, repeat allowed". This has
to do with how fast the command may be repeated again after pressing the
button. If repeat is allowed, it may be repeated immediately. Otherwise, a
short delay (I think a little less than a second) must elapse before the
command will be accepted again. Some buttons (Back and Forward) are better if
set to "In a sequence, repeat allowed", so you can press the button quickly
to go back/forward more than one time. Most other buttons can be left at the
default of "In a sequence, no repeat".
To delete a macro, select it on the IRAssistant main window, and select
Edit->Delete group/macro.
Ta add a macro, select Edit->Add general macro..., and type a name for
the macro in the Name field. Select all actions (keys, etc.) to be generated
by that macro. Select the target window (usually by specifying it with the
Set... button), and select any options (such as repeat mode). Then click OK.
Of course, and newly added macro needs to be "learned" to assign it to a
button before it will do anything.
Of course, you can define any commands you want for the buttons, or use the RF remote control system and IRAssistant to control other media players as well. It can even be used to control Powerpoint presentations, slide shows, or anything else you can dream up.
For details on other options, refer to the IRAssistant documentation found under Start->Programs->IRAssistant->IRAssistant Documentation.
Beware, I could not get the latest version of IRAssistant (3.50) on the
web site to work. Download updates at your own risk. I'm sticking with
version 3.40b1 that I have on my web site.