Menu library for Arduino, mbed and ESP with designer UI and remote control capabilities.
APACHE-2.0 License
Bot releases are hidden (Show)
Published by davetcc 8 months ago
In the 4.x releases the amount of configuration we were storing made us move from using config files to a database. We made the move first in the flutter-based embed control application and used SQLite. However, in Java the third party packaged SQLite library implementation does not work at all with Apple App Store or Apple Notarization. The amount of work to make it viable was significant. Given that we are only using this database for very lightweight storage requirements, we have made a one-off switch to a pure Java database HQLDB, and I am glad to say we can now move on from this.
However, and very importantly, all settings that were in the SQLite database will be lost after this release, (as above we can no longer ship the SQLite driver). If you have designed any forms, EXPORT THEM BEFORE PROCEEDING. If you have already upgraded and not done this step, the database will still be there untouched in ~/.tcmenu/tcDataStore.db, you can use most SQL tools to access the TC_FORM table and manually export the forms.
The other change in this release is to avoid the database being so critical in future, by saving editable forms within the active project. On first editing a mobile form a your_project/form directory will be created, and the forms you create stored there. On a best-efforts basis, the designer will keep these forms coordinated.
Available as a signed installer for Windows, Notarized disk image for macOS, and as a Linux package.
Published by davetcc 9 months ago
This release has now been in testing for several months and is now ready for release. Ideally, this should be used with the same tcMenuLib version, although it should work for most situations with 4.1.x. Some of the most notable improvements in 4.2 are as follows:
Available as a signed installer for Windows and as a Debian Linux package.
However, the macOS notarized version has run into some issues at the Apple end, see https://github.com/davetcc/tcMenu/discussions/445
Published by davetcc 10 months ago
NOTE: This is the second BETA release and should only be used for testing and evaluation.
Note that ideally this should be used with the latest tcMenuLib from master, although it should work for most situations with 4.1.x. Some of the most notable improvements in 4.2 are as follows:
As this is a beta release, the Linux version will be built only if needed, there is a discussion for this beta, please use that to discuss any issues.
Published by davetcc 11 months ago
NOTE: This is a BETA release and should only be used for testing and evaluation.
Note that ideally this should be used with the latest tcMenuLib from master, although it should work for most situations with 4.1.x. Some of the most notable improvements in 4.2 are as follows:
As this is a beta release, the Linux version will be built if needed, let me know in the attached discussion.
Published by davetcc about 1 year ago
This release fixes three minor but annoying issues that could not wait until 4.2.0. Please read the 4.1.1 release documentation for a full list of changes.
Built for Windows as signed installer, macOS as a Notarized disk image, and Linux as a Debian package.
For EmbedControl please use the previous 4.1.1 version, there are no changes in this release.
Published by davetcc about 1 year ago
This UI and library version is mainly compatible with the previous release, and for most will work immediately without a round trip through the designer.
However, as usual, take a backup of your projects before upgrading so you can easily revert to the prior version if needed. If you encounter any issues please revert to the previous version and start a discussion or raise an issue.
We have doubled down on rendering and library-level bugs in this release, some of the most important are:
This release provides a new preview window where you can see a preview of how your app will look, it updates live as the menu tree changes. You access this from "Menu Item -> Preview" menu. Initial support for forms has also been added (click the grid button top right). Expect a few usability / unforeseen issues in the preview as it is new. Form documentation will be available soon.
Windows 10/11 - Two setup programs signed with extended validation, designer and embed control.
macOS - Two Notarized disk images. designer, and embed control.
Linux/Ubuntu - Two installers, designer, and embed control.
Published by davetcc over 1 year ago
TcMenu 4.0 is a large release, it will likely take you a little time to work through the changes, although it is mainly backward compatible, we recommend you take this release when you have a little time. Make sure you upgrade all dependent libraries (TaskManagerIO, IoAbstraction, SimpleCollections and TcUnicodeHelper) as tcMenu 4.0 assumes the latest available.
If you are using Arduino IDE/CLI (platformIO/cmake/mbed not affected), please note that when creating a new project the default build option will not work, this will be corrected in the next release. See https://github.com/davetcc/tcMenu/issues/377
We recommend you take a backup of your projects before attempting to upgrade, especially if you intend to convert to a multi-language project as this will not be fully backward compatible given it is a new feature. As usual, any problems with this release, just go back to the previous version and raise an issue here.
Backups are now stored in the .backup
directory of your project.
Major thanks go out to all our sponsors and also special thanks to @vzahradnik for helping test and translate the designer to additional languages.
Published by davetcc over 1 year ago
This is a BETA release and should only be used for testing and verification of features. It will be released fully once we've got confirmation from enough users that it is of sufficient quality. In the meantime new users should not use this version.
IMPORTANT NOTE - Unlike normal releases, you must use this release with the master versions of both IoAbstraction
and tcMenu
libraries. Unless you wish to do this, please wait for the proper release.
Please raise anything to do with the release in this discussion https://github.com/davetcc/tcMenu/discussions/317. For any issues, please clearly mark them as from this BETA unless it also affects the last known release.
Windows/Linux/macOS releases available.
Published by davetcc over 1 year ago
TcMenu 3.1 is a major release including some important features and bug fixes. It includes major changes to the touch support, and will require you to reconfigure any touch plugins. We've tried to default everything as sensibly as possible, but if in doubt check the examples. Note that this requires the designer, tcMenu library, and IoAbstraction be at V3.1.x.
As usual, any issues with this release just rollback to 3.0.x and let us know.
The designer is released as a signed installer on Windows, a notarized disk image for macOS, and as an Ubuntu package.
Published by davetcc almost 2 years ago
TcMenu 3.0.0 puts in place a few long-needed features in both designer and library, significantly improving the performance of menus based on Adafruit GFX, providing a consistent Unicode API that works even standalone outside of tcMenu, fixing more bugs in the designer, and adds the ability to create fonts and bitmaps directly within designer.
Important notice: Projects WILL need to be run once through the designer/code generator to update the plugins. Make sure you upgrade both TcMenu and IoAbstraction libs to the latest 3.0.x release and also ensure that you get tcUnicodeHelper library from the library manager.
If you're new to TcMenu, please take a look at the getting started guide here: https://www.thecoderscorner.com/products/arduino-libraries/tc-menu/tcmenu-overview-quick-start/
As usual, there is an extended validation installer for Windows, notarized disk image for macOS, and a Linux debian package. Further, should you have the requirement to, building from source is not too difficult (especially if using Liberica Full JDK which includes OpenJFX).
There is full access to old versions of the UI and library. Basically, just go back to the old version as shown below.
Published by davetcc almost 2 years ago
This release is mainly incremental but has one new feature that requires tcMenu library version 2.5.0, be sure to upgrade the library at the same time. This feature is to be able to set the default value on all menu types from within the designer / JSON project file. Our new plan is to try and release more frequently with smaller releases.
If you're new to TcMenu, please take a look at the getting started guide here: https://www.thecoderscorner.com/products/arduino-libraries/tc-menu/tcmenu-overview-quick-start/
Any issues, just downgrade back to 2.4 and report them here or in the forum.
Published by davetcc about 2 years ago
Release 2.4.0 of TcMenu Designeer UI requires tcMenu library version 2.4 along with the most recent versions of dependant libraries (IoAbstraction, SimpleCollections, TaskManagerIO). Please make sure before proceeding that you have installed these first. This is to simplify the library going forward.
Built on the new JavaAPI version, mainly an incremental update with no new features.
For changes in the library, see the library release page
Builds of the designer UI and embedCONTROL below for Windows, macOS, and Debian Linux.
Published by davetcc over 2 years ago
All our images are now built using jpackage from BellSoft Liberica OpenJDK, in this case, OpenJDK and LibericaFX 18. We also try to keep any third-party libraries that we use as up-to-date as possible.
This release brings fixes on the top of 2.3.0, it can be considered the second part of that release as it has a few major fixes in it. There were a few fixes in the 2.3.1 library of note as well, below we list out everything. Any problems, just go back to 2.3.0 and let us know.
Published by davetcc over 2 years ago
All our images are now built using jpackage from BellSoft Liberica OpenJDK, in this case, OpenJDK and LibericaFX 18.
Existing Users Note: on the first round trip, code generator interrupt / polling state for switches will be reset, as the options have changed.
NOTE that this is considered preview quality in this release. It will be cleaned up over the next few releases.
Published by davetcc over 2 years ago
For embedCONTROL continue to use the previous build.
Published by davetcc about 3 years ago
To install the designer UI use the appropriate download for your platform below.
Published by davetcc about 3 years ago
Designer and library version 2.2.4 have just been released.
For all users we strongly recommend you use 2.2.5 as it fixes a critical issue found in this release.
Library:
Designer:
Continue to use V2.2.3 of embedCONTROL further down the releases page, there were no embedCONTROL changes in this release.
Published by davetcc about 3 years ago
tcMenu 2.2 builds on the work in 2.1 to make the library sustainable going forwards. Most remote plugins now build from a common base. In this case, we've refactored the remote plugins so that they share much more code than before. We've also made it far easier to get started with a new sketch by allowing you to set up EEPROM, Authentication, and IO expanders directly from the designer. In addition for the first time, you can remotely control your application using embedCONTROL for desktop.
Should you run into issues with this release, go back to 2.1 and let us know what went wrong. Please use the new Help/Diagnostics function to get the version and app information.
embedCONTROL & TcMenu Designer are both in this release for all platforms.
Published by davetcc about 3 years ago
This is a major release of TcMenu, we recommend that you move to this release when you're ready to upgrade both designer and library to 2.2. It is presently a BETA release so library V2.2 is not yet in Library manager. To use you'll need to manually update the Arduino/mbed library - tcMenuLib-master.zip is attached, and then download the app below.
Major IoT improvements
UI Improvements
CLI and generator
For all platforms:
Apps
Platform Information
Published by davetcc over 3 years ago
This release has a few small UX improvements, and the 2.x libraries and plugins become the stable branch.
Install the designer by choosing the right package below. There is:
The packages below are completely compatible with any designs from the store version. You can upgrade in your own time, and there are no restrictions around where you can save files. We expect there were a few that preferred AppStore deployment, we ask that you try to move this designer and report back any usability issues, we'll iterate a few times if need be to get any usability issues solved.
Given we've made a few changes in 2.0 and then 2.1, we discuss the changes here: https://youtu.be/hxFJxUFlWWM
I've also started a new forum thread to discuss this release for any UX issues encountered or missing features transitioning from Store versions. https://www.thecoderscorner.com/jforum/posts/list/124.page