now then, let's give it a try...
what file do i need to edit...
Includes_Home.xml, that's the file where the two menus are defined (vertical and horizontal menu).
search that file for this string: <control type="list" id="5040">
that's where the code for the vertical menu starts.
if you search for this string: <control type="wraplist" id="5041">
you'll find the code for the horizontal menu.
how to add a menu button...
the code for a menu button looks like this:
<item id="13">
<label>1036</label>
<onclick>ActivateWindow(Favourites)</onclick>
<icon>special://skin/images/backgrounds/favourites.jpg</icon>
<thumb>$INFO[Skin.String(Home_Custom_Back_Favourites_Folder)]</thumb>
<visible>!Skin.HasSetting(FavouritesInHome)</visible>
</item>
so, what does it all mean...
<item> : defines the start of the menu button code. it's best to give each button a unique "id". so if you want to add a button, just pick the first unused id, like this: <item id="17">
<label> : this is the text label on the button. i'm using numbers here that point to entries in the xbmc language file,
but you can just use text instead. so let's say you want a separate menu button for all your crap movies, just use this: <label>Crap</label>
<onclick> : this is the action that should be taken when the button is clicked. you have many possibilities here, so i'll list a few:
- to run a script, add the path the the script:
<onclick>XBMC.RunScript(/home/xbmc/.xbmc/scripts/Apple Movie Trailers/default.py)</onclick>
- to go to a certain video folder (source) in filemode:
<onclick>XBMC.ActivateWindow(VideoFiles,Crap)</onclick>
- to go to a certain entry in the video library:
<onclick>XBMC.ActivateWindow(MyVideoLibrary,tvshowtitles,re turn)</onclick>
(the 'return' parameter will take you right back to the homescreen when you press the 'back' button. if you omit the 'return' parameter, pressing back will take you 'up' one level in the library.)
- more examples here: http://xbmc.org/wiki/?title=Opening_Windows_and_Dialogs
<icon> : specifies the background image(s) that should be displayed when the button is focused. you can specify the path to a single image: <icon>/home/xbmc/backdrops/home-crap.jpg</icon>
or if you want multiple images, specify the path to a folder: <icon>/home/xbmc/backdrops/crap/</icon>
of course, the image and/or folder should be accessible by xbmc.
<thumb> : you can skip this. it's basically the same as above, but it allows the user to specify the backgrounds in skin settings. you don't need to add this.
<visible> : skip this one too. it's only needed to turn the button on or off in skin settings.
</item> : end of menu button code.
horizontal menu...
if you want to add a button to the horizontal home menu, you can just insert the button code in-between the other buttons at the position where you would like it to be.
congratulations, you're done.
vertical menu...
add to button code at your prefered position in-between the other buttons in the vertical menu.
a few more code changes are needed and this should only be done under supervision of a second degree skinner.
adjust the height of the total menu:
increase the <height> value of <control type="list" id="5040"> by 40 for every button you add.
adjust the y position of the menu:
decrease the <posy> value of <control type="list" id="5040"> by 20 for each button you add. note: negative values are possible.
also add this to the other animations: <animation effect="slide" end="0,20" time="0" condition="true">Conditional</animation>
adjust the position of the top shadow. the code of the top shadow (shadow-home-top.png) is right above the code of the vertical menu.
add this to the other animations there: <animation effect="slide" end="0,-20" time="0" condition="true">Conditional</animation>
adjust the position of the bottom shadow. the code of the bottom shadow (shadow-home-bottom.png) is right below the code of the vertical menu.
add this to the other animations there: <animation effect="slide" end="0,20" time="0" condition="true">Conditional</animation>
if things don't turn out the way you expected...
too bad....i did my best to explain everything as detailed as possible.
it's up to you to get it to work and there's an excellent xbmc skinning manual available here (http://xbmc.org/wiki/?title=Skinning_Manual).