Animated Skins?

[Ooglor 7]

Hi guys,

Was wondering if there is any way to load bitmap framed animations into a skin or background?
                                            Thanks-Oog

[Art]

Since the skins and backgrounds are both saved as JPG's they can not be used for what you wish as far as I can tell.
A gif file can be animated but that's another story.

[TechSteele]

I am currently studying this very subject.

So far no joy with anything other then Jpg files.

The buttons right now are covers sort of, the press function only makes the cover pic disapear, showing whats underneath. There is no other state to them.

There should be a way. I just havent found it yet.

I have been hopeing to add functions like a media player, but animated buttons or graphics can/will be part of that.

I am beginning to think the extention Jpg is hard coded in, In the Skin Variables, because i get an error trying other formats.

I have been reading about different ways of doing XML/HTML/Java and others, or some way of framing everything combined.
I can make a Media player skin with most of not all of the functions/animations, and even layout the button points for Hal, but cant get Hal to use it as a skin yet.
If i use a Plug in to open teh Media Skin/Flash object, then open hal with a background skin, there is no way to sync them together with out physicaly moving the items over top each other, which defeats the purpose, you may as well use multi programs.

This, among other items, needs/should be encorporated into Hal6.2, if/when it ever gets started. Things like expandability of all different kinds is the only next step i can see for hal, unless some collage has a new simple open source A.I. i dont know of that Robert Can use for a ReFit of Hal.

I will keep reading, because Animation is MY next step as well, in my Research/testing.

[Ooglor 7]

There are programs that convert animations into one long bitmap strip. If one were to take that strip and convert it into a jpeg, is there a way to include in the script something that keeps adding 1 to a variable, to the background picture or what have you that perhaps could create an animated effect? I use desktop x alot and one can make animations out of long bitmap strips. Could we perhaps do the same with hal?

[TechSteele]

Since i posted this i have done more tests with it.

You can use Jpg, Bmp, and Gif "Pictures".

I mentioned somewhere that i now believe the whole hal "Interface",
is ONLY the input/output boxes.
The "Skin" should be called a Background.
You can enter coordinates for the buttons, but thats all. You are just telling it where to click.
Since it is just a Picture it has no Frame/Window to take advantage of any of Explorers functions, like Flash, Gif, Java, or any other plug-ins (active X items?).

You CAN make Gif or Jpeg animations and have them load but since it has no access to the functions, it only shows the first frame of any string of animation.

There is no way to make a plug-in to open it differently because that part is hard coded into Hal.
At least no way i have seen.
I have seen an Iframe plug in, however, it can be opened by Hal, you can not open Hal in a frame, or in windowed mode.

There could be a way to create a program/script to open Hal in a Window i think, Embedding it somehow Writing in VB, XML, or maybe java, but thats way above me at the moment.

I am still doing some reading and testing, IF, i ever find a way i will post it. Who knows how long that could take.
The more i read, it seems it may be easier to incorperate some of hal into a real AI, instead of trying to turn Hal into real AI.