Help Running Emulators?

[mc2]

Scanning directories for a file name pattern does add up. I have two 32GB cards and plan on putting lots of files on it. Please do not waste my battery life and time for a perceived difficulty.


Also, I want .pnd files to not be used in certain cases. Examples include backing up prior versions and having copies on another SD card. I do not want to see duplicates or old versions in those cases.


This searches for file names, not the contents of a file. If you think that searching for file names can be done any faster, please let the maintainer of the application know (I have a feeling that it already runs as fast as it can).


find / -name '*.pnd'

 

[MarioPandio]

Scanning directories for a file name pattern does add up. I have two 32GB cards and plan on putting lots of files on it. Please do not waste my battery life and time for a perceived difficulty.


Also, I want .pnd files to not be used in certain cases. Examples include backing up prior versions and having copies on another SD card. I do not want to see duplicates or old versions in those cases.


This searches for file names, not the contents of a file. If you think that searching for file names can be done any faster, please let the maintainer of the application know (I have a feeling that it already runs as fast as it can).


find / -name '*.pnd'

+1 I concur.

 

[ManlyStump]

Reldar, look at this can of worms you've opened!!

 

[meandu229]

Quick bit of user opinion I was following forum for a while so knew where everything went but I think dropping in on the end of the wizard would be good,


Just a quick please insert SD card, no pandora/menu/desktop folder found would you like me to create? then a small section implying where to put files,


or possibly a step saying please point me to your PND directory at which point the system would add that folder to the config.


I defiantly think that this should be on the 1st time wizard (skipable)

 

[notaz]

The repo/app sites could also have a short reminder where to put the .pnd files that you are downloading.


There could also be optional PXML field for short setup instructions for the sites to display, like where to put ROMs/bios and such.

 

[CoMiKe]

I also think a small document on the desktop named "HOW TO INSTALL APPS" or something similar that explains where to download applications and what folder you need to put the PNDs would work.


And I also think it's a great idea to put all the Pandora related files in the /pandora folder, so you can use the SDcard for other porpuses, too.


I hate when you insert an SDcard on a device and it creates a custom set of wierdly named folders on the root directory.


So I wouldn't change the currect scheme.


PS: My Pandora will be delivered today!

 

[Galaxis]

Just to add another opinion:


Yes, the current system is unintuitive (you need to know where to put your PNDs) - but then it's practical with minimal fuzz.


I don't want all PNDs on my media to appear on the desktop, and I don't even want all PNDs on any media to be indexed (backups etc., as mentioned by others)


If the user experience is important, one possibility would be to support the user in setting up the environment. Something like - when there is no /pandora folder on the media, prompt the user and ask him if he wants the required folders created and all PNDs on the device moved into pandora/apps.

 

[Nintendo]

PNDs in Mmenu folder or in Desktop folder.


Or for both, put them in Menu folder.


Easy.

 

[Esn]

Just copy+paste the information from this section on the wiki's unofficial manual, and put it on the desktop in easy view:


http://pandorawiki.org/User_manual#Installing_a_PND_file_.28an_application.29


That's the simplest solution, I think. Craig, if you have free time to spend on problems, getting your Appstore to work with PNDstore would be a good candidate.

 

[WizardStan]

I'm just going to speak to Jeff and make this happen, the arguments are not relevant against because this won't effect any current Pandora user in any way but will make using the PNDs far far easier for new users who might just put them in the root of an SD card and then be very confused.

Oh Craig, this must be what you feel like whenever someone says "why don't you just XXX with the case" or whatever. The irony is so thick it is almost delicious.

 

[NoeleyC]

Just to add another opinion:


Yes, the current system is unintuitive (you need to know where to put your PNDs) - but then it's practical with minimal fuzz.


I don't want all PNDs on my media to appear on the desktop, and I don't even want all PNDs on any media to be indexed (backups etc., as mentioned by others)


If the user experience is important, one possibility would be to support the user in setting up the environment. Something like - when there is no /pandora folder on the media, prompt the user and ask him if he wants the required folders created and all PNDs on the device moved into pandora/apps.

I've no problems with the current system, not that difficult really to figure out where to put your PND's, cutting down the options would limit my preferred Pandora setup. I'm wondering if this proposal ties into the suggestion to move away from Xfce and use Minimenu as the default interface? (personally I prefer Xfce for the little computer feeling!)

 

[Michael Eriksson]

After receiving my pandora I too needed some time to figure out where to put my .pnd files.


I just put them into the root of my SD card and expected the pandora to find them.


After it did not I started searching the wiki.


I think many other users did the same (or will do)


So I think it would be a good idea to scan the root of a file system too. Otherwise they will come to 'bad' ideas like putting everything in the NAND...

 

[MarioPandio]

PNDs in Mmenu folder or in Desktop folder.


Or for both, put them in Menu folder.


Easy.

Except your wrong :lol:


You mean


pandora/mmenu = minimenu only


pandora/desktop= desktop only (+minimenu)


pandora/menu=menu only (+minimenu)


pandora/apps=desktop and menu (+minimenu)


Except I'm probably wrong now too


edit: Theres no point fighting things Craigix, just go ahead and put a txt file on the desktop that states :


"If you don't know where to put your .PND files after all this time, the wiki, ED's videos and the forum....GO AND BUY A PSP"

 

[EvilDragon]

The repo/app sites could also have a short reminder where to put the .pnd files that you are downloading.


There could also be optional PXML field for short setup instructions for the sites to display, like where to put ROMs/bios and such.

I like that optional field! It's awesome for the repo, very good idea

Just copy+paste the information from this section on the wiki's unofficial manual, and put it on the desktop in easy view:


http://pandorawiki.org/User_manual#Installing_a_PND_file_.28an_application.29

Sounds good. I'll need to PND it up, so I can put it into minimenu as well, but that should be easy


Some documentation on the NAND shouldn't be a big deal

 

[Esn]

Just copy+paste the information from this section on the wiki's unofficial manual, and put it on the desktop in easy view:


http://pandorawiki.org/User_manual#Installing_a_PND_file_.28an_application.29

Sounds good. I'll need to PND it up, so I can put it into minimenu as well, but that should be easy


Some documentation on the NAND shouldn't be a big deal

Yay! Just one thing, though - the wiki doesn't mention anything about a "mmenu" folder. Is what MarioPandio said accurate - do things in that folder only show up in minimenu? If so, I'll try to change the wiki article to reflect that (that section was probably written before minimenu even existed).


Another nice thing to include on the desktop might be this:


http://pandorawiki.org/Basic_Linux_Guide


In particular the section about "The structure of the file system". I know that's one thing that really confused me for the first few months when I had my Pandora. And you can't really escape from learning about it, because sooner or later some program is going to ask you to save something in one of the directories, and you wonder why some files are in two locations at once... (i.e. anything in the "mnt/utmp" directory)

The repo/app sites could also have a short reminder where to put the .pnd files that you are downloading.


There could also be optional PXML field for short setup instructions for the sites to display, like where to put ROMs/bios and such.

I like that optional field! It's awesome for the repo, very good idea

Shouldn't "documentation" already cover that? I recall that was the reason it was created. The problem is that there's no way to view documentation online (milkshake considered it but never implemented anything because he was afraid of displaying possible malicious code in the documentation - which would've been avoided if documentation could only be plain text), and on the Pandora viewing it is inconvenient because Arora takes ages to load.


By the way... if you install through PNDstore, it automatically lets you choose from the correct folders where to place your PNDs.

 

[Nintendo]

Anything in the Mmenu folder will only show up on MiniMenu, nowhere else.

 

[Tempel]

By the way... if you install through PNDstore, it automatically lets you choose from the correct folders where to place your PNDs.

It only does that if those folders already exist. And if you know to make those folders, then you know how to use PNDs. I could have PNDstore make those folders for you, but if you're running PNDstore, you know how to use PNDs. It's hard accommodating a wide range of user needs.

 

[skeezix]

Yes you can use 'mmenu' to stick apps in only for mmenu; sneaky I know, but I figured there might be a class of apps that only mmenu users would want. As mmenu does its own scan for apps outside of the usual mechanism, it can do that.


(mmenu can run by itselfm, without all the other system facilities, so it uses libpnd directly; everything else just watches .desktop files that libpnd spits out.)


jeff

 

[mitosis]

Please please PLEEEEEAAAASE, keep it just how it is. At the most maybe have it scan the root of the SD card but not scan sub-folders, just don't make it scan the whole card. The current way it works is very time and energy efficient as well as easy to use, simple to understand, and functional.


edit: oh wow, how have I been registered here this long and yet this is my first post? lol I guess it just takes a bit to get me out of read-only mode. Hi new forums!

 

[WizardStan]

Hi!


Actually a good idea, too, maybe make everyone happy.