making color touchscreen into digital photo frame

Hey Amigos,

You know how you can use your color touchscreen to store a couple photos and cycle between them, so you can use it like a digital photo frame. But when you have filled the memory in the CTC, you have hit them limits.

I want a way to show lots of photos but the screen does not allow Windows file sharing to access a folder on another computer.

Here in mexico we have lots of time to spare so instead of siesta, I have been made a way to a digital photo phrame on my color touchscreen.

Here is recipe. Follow carefully!


On your remote machine:

1/ Download and install Apache web server.

You can get it here: http://httpd.apache.org/ Follow the download links, and the select for installing the Win32 Binary without crypto. This is MSI installer install on Windows XP by double clicking it. Other versions of Windows will probably also be ok but you might need to check.

If you are on a stand-alone network then when prompted for network domain, server name, etc, you can pretty much make up whatever you want, its not too important.

Install for all users on port 80, as a service.

2/ Download and install PHP5.

You can get it here: http://www.php.net/downloads.php. You want the windows installer (not the ZIP package). The installer is bigger but easier to install.

During the PHP install, select the version of the web server you are using. If you follow the info about it will be Apache 2.2.x Module.

You will probably have to select the Apache configuration directory to:
C:\Program Files\Apache Software Foundation\Apache2.2\conf\

You don't need to turn on any extensions.

3/ Make sure your new web server is working:

Point a browser at the location:

localhost:80

You should see a page saying "It Works!"

4/ use the Apache Monitor down in your tray to RESTART the Apache service.

5/ Go to the Apache web root folder (C:\Program Files\Apache Software Foundation\Apache2.2\htdocs):

- rename the file index.html to index.html.old

- create a new file index.php, and paste EXACTLY the following contents of the "Code" part into it

Code:

[FONT="Courier New"]<?php

$HTBase      = "C:\\Program Files\\Apache Software Foundation\\Apache2.2\\htdocs";
$Photos      = "photophrame";
$Dir         = "$HTBase\\$Photos";
$LastOneName = "lastone.dat";
$LastOnePath = "$Dir\\$LastOneName";

global $Dir;
global $LastOneName;


// Make the record of where we got to if it does not exist
if (! file_exists($LastOnePath))
  {
    $first = FindFirst();
    file_put_contents($LastOnePath, $first);
  }

// Find the next file name. Getting to end of directory is messy.
if ($dh = opendir($Dir))
  {
    // Get the last file name that was displayed
    $lastfile = file_get_contents($LastOnePath);
    $nextfile = $lastfile;

    while (true)
      {
        if (($nextfile = readdir($dh)) === false)
          {
            // Error - Found EOF - Should not happen
            closedir($dh);
            $nextfile = FindFirst();
            break;
          }

        // Read was not past end of dir, find next file
        if ("$nextfile" == "$lastfile")
          {
            // Found the name displayed previously, get next
            if (($nextfile = readdir($dh)) !== false)
              {
                // Not EOF, was it the name of our records?
                if ("$nextfile" != "$LastOneName")
                  {
                    // Was not the records file name, so its OK.
                    closedir($dh);
                    break;
                  }
                else
                  {
                    // Yes it was, try next file or start again
                    if (($nextfile = readdir($dh)) === false)
                      {
                        closedir($dh);
                        $nextfile = FindFirst();
                        break;
                      }
                    else
                      {
                        closedir($dh);
                        break;
                      }
                  }
              }
            else
              {
                // Got to end, find and return first dir entry (should not happen)
                closedir($dh);
                $nextfile = FindFirst();
                break;
              }
          }
      }

    file_put_contents($LastOnePath, "$nextfile");

    $file_type = ltrim(strrchr($nextfile, "."), ".");

    header("Content-type: image/$file_type");
    readfile("$Photos/$nextfile");
  }

function FindFirst()
{
  global $Dir;
  global $LastOneName;

  $dh = opendir($Dir);

  while (($file = readdir($dh)) !== false)
    {
      if (($file[0] != '.')
          &&
          ($file != $LastOneName))
        {
          $nextfile = $file;
          break;
        }
    }
  closedir($dh);

  return $nextfile;
}

?>[/FONT]

6. In the Apache web root folder (C:\Program Files\Apache Software Foundation\Apache2.2\htdocs), make new folder called "photophrame".

7. Into that folder, copy JPG images you want to use on your Color Touch photo frame.

8. Now in PICED make a timeout page. On that page make a link so when you touch it, it will go to your home / entry / start page. And on that page, put a full screen sized WEB CAMERA component. Point the URL to http://your-server-name/index.php. Set the page to update maybe every minute or something like.

9. Test in PICED, then load it to the color touch and sit back and enjoy. Watch your screen with nice cold beer in hand.

Adios Amigos!

 

Stupido forum... my php code indenting is gone. El stupido!

 

good to see someone else thinking alsong the same lines as me!

I used a trial version of software called 'slide show pilot' (i think) which created the html page and scaled the images.

And the IIS server built into windows, it is kinda heavy (bloatware), but has worked a dream for 2 years now.

Cheers

Grant

 

Hi all. Come across this the other day and followed the instructions but can not get it to work. I am running vista. Is it compatible with vista? Everything appears to work until PICED. Is there something else besides what is in the instructions that i am missing? Any help would be greatly appreciated

 

False alarm. I followed the link you posted about testing PHP installation and followed the instructions but that partially work. When viewing the info.php file through the browser i was getting a blank screen not invalid link etc...So i asked a co worker to set it up on his computer and it worked straight away. I then went back to PICED on my computer and it was working. I cant for the life of me explain why it was suddenly working but it is. I had spent 2 or so hours the day before installing and uninstalling trying to get it working. I have only been able to get it to work if I type the IP address of the remote computer instead of server name. We did notice why you need to use a web cam component instead of html component because PICED appears to use internet explorer and PHP at the moment doesn't like to play with explorer and thats why i was having problems testing it. PICED would ask me to save or open file index.php and internet explorer didn't know what to do with it and open it with notepad as mumbo jumbo. Thank you everyone for your help. It works a treat. The only thing that would be good is to give the user the ability (system io or Tools/Options) for refreshing the page so that they can adjust the "photo hold time" which I was giving them with the old method I was using for displaying photos. I though you might be able to do it through Tools/Option but that only gives you time out parameters. Switching between pages doesn't do it, only refreshing the page appears to be the way.

Darren? Can we add this to your already fabulous product?

 

I am still laboring through this trying to get a grip of what to do here in OSX.
I have downloaded and installed php for Apache v1.3 found here:

http://www.entropy.ch/software/macosx/php/

To test whether its working it says do this:

PHP should now be up and running. You can test it by dropping a file named test.php into your Sites folder in your home directory. Into that file, write this line:
<?php phpinfo() ?>.

Now open up http://127.0.0.1/~your_username/test.php in your web browser.
You should see a status table with information about the PHP module.

I have identified the Sites folder in my home directory, but I don't know what it means to drop a file named "test.php" into here, etc

This is the bit I don't get. What does it mean by "drop a file named test.php into your sites folder in your home directory. Into that file write this line.."?

 

This is still very confusing. Where I'm at:

1. I made a file called "test.php" in which is written <?php phpinfo() ?> and dropped it into the Sites folder.

2. In the Apache folder I renamed "index.html.en" to "index.html.old"

3. I created a new file "index.php" put it in the Apache folder and dropped into it the following code:

<?php

$HTBase = "/Library/Webserver/Documents";
$Photos = "photophrame";
$Dir = "$HTBase/$Photos";
$LastOneName = "lastone.dat";
$LastOnePath = "$Dir/$LastOneName";

global $Dir;
global $LastOneName;


// Make the record of where we got to if it does not exist
if (! file_exists($LastOnePath))
{
$first = FindFirst();
file_put_contents($LastOnePath, $first);
}

// Find the next file name. Getting to end of directory is messy.
if ($dh = opendir($Dir))
{
// Get the last file name that was displayed
$lastfile = file_get_contents($LastOnePath);
$nextfile = $lastfile;

while (true)
{
if (($nextfile = readdir($dh)) === false)
{
// Error - Found EOF - Should not happen
closedir($dh);
$nextfile = FindFirst();
break;
}

// Read was not past end of dir, find next file
if ("$nextfile" == "$lastfile")
{
// Found the name displayed previously, get next
if (($nextfile = readdir($dh)) !== false)
{
// Not EOF, was it the name of our records?
if ("$nextfile" != "$LastOneName")
{
// Was not the records file name, so its OK.
closedir($dh);
break;
}
else
{
// Yes it was, try next file or start again
if (($nextfile = readdir($dh)) === false)
{
closedir($dh);
$nextfile = FindFirst();
break;
}
else
{
closedir($dh);
break;
}
}
}
else
{
// Got to end, find and return first dir entry (should not happen)
closedir($dh);
$nextfile = FindFirst();
break;
}
}
}

file_put_contents($LastOnePath, "$nextfile");

$file_type = ltrim(strrchr($nextfile, "."), ".");

header("Content-type: image/$file_type");
readfile("$Photos/$nextfile");
}

function FindFirst()
{
global $Dir;
global $LastOneName;

$dh = opendir($Dir);

while (($file = readdir($dh)) !== false)
{
if (($file[0] != '.')
&&
($file != $LastOneName))
{
$nextfile = $file;
break;
}
}
closedir($dh);

return $nextfile;
}

?>

4. After doing all that, in my browser I post http://localhost/ and it loads a web page "If you can see this, it means that the installation of the Apache web server software on this system was successful. You may now add content to this directory and replace this page...."

5. Now in my browser when I post http://10.1.1.6/test.php I get "The requested URL was not found on this server" (10.1.1.6 is the IP of the Mac running Apache).

6. I made a new folder "photophrame" and put in it a few pics scaled to 640x480 and for now have left it on the desktop.

So where do I go from here?

 

I'm now trying a Windows (Vista) instal, as this computer will always be on at home for CTC to access the photophrame folder. I have done everything as per the original post (apache install tested OK), however I can't get the photophrame working in PICED. Regarding the naming of the index.php file, when I check the properties of that file it says index.php.txt - might this be causing the problem?? Windows is forcing the .txt extension, I can't rename it with a .php extension.

 

Thanks everyone for your help. I have tried it on a job but as soon as i transfer the project to the touch screen it stops working. The web component just sits there blank. When testing it on my computer just before transferring it displays the photos. The photo's are stored on the computer i am using to transfer to the touch screen by the way. I then tried it at home and the same. I am thinking its a networking issue. I am using http://192.168.0.7/index.php which works on the work network and in web browsers as the domain name etc. doesn't seem to work. Is this the issue?
Is there anything that i can check. I haven't got a great deal of experience in this area so i will be flying blind. I want to try it at home before stuffing up the customers network. Any help would be fantastic.

 

Thanks Ashliegh. Yeah i know that the IP addresses need to be right and i have done that but i think the firewall settings on the router are prohibiting the touch screen from accessing the designated IP address of the computer holding the photos. I have been playing around with it at home but can't seem to get it to work. Is there anything else you could suggest i check? Thanks in advance.

 

I have been playing a bit more and it seems that when i toggle windows firewall on and off i seem to enable and disable the photos being displayed on the touch screen. Is there a way of opening a port just for the photo's to display without turning firewall protection off completely?

 

You will need to open port 80 in the firewall. The method of doing this depends on the particular firewall you have.

It is possible that the firewall popped up a message about port 80 and you clicked on the "deny" button. In this case you will need to find that firewall "rule" and delete it.

Some firewalls allow you to permit all access between particular devices. If you add the colour C-Touch IP Address to this list, that may also work.