Footswitch Integration

[kaixxx]

I have added an arduino controlled footswitch to my teleprompter: https://github.com/kaixxx/Teleprompter-Footswitch
Very helpfull if you are alone in the studio (I am a sociologist making educational videos on YouTube).

Right now, the implementation is a bit hacky and works only on windows. It would be much nicer to integrate this into the app itself. The arduino controlled footswitch sends simple text based messages over serial (115200 baud) that the teleprompter would need to react to.

Thank you very much for the great app!
Best
Kai

[Cuperino]

This is great @kaixxx! I'll leave this issue open for people to take notice.

I could help add Linux support if you'd like. Python is pretty much a universal language. On Linux, a command line tool like ydotool or xdotool could be used to send keys to a specific window. Using ydotool would make it compatible with both major Linux display servers, XOrg and Wayland.

One thing you should consider to help increase adoption of your tool is adding a GUI to help less technical users make use of it. Python comes with the Tk and tkinter libraries, which allow for creating simple cross platform GUIs without requiring additional dependencies. If you'd like something fancier, you should consider the Qt framework and its PyQt bindings. In my opinion, Qt work better across operating systems than the GTK framework, which is also a good option. Nevertheless, the easiest approach would be Tk, because there are no additional dependencies to distribute.

[kaixxx]

Sorry for my late answer, I have catched a cold.
Great suggestions how to implement this in Linux. I cannot test this since I don't have a running Linux system and don't feel very comfortable with Linux anyway. But maybe somebody else can pick up from here?
A GUI is alwys nice. But actually, there are almost no settings to change, only the COM-Port.

[Cuperino]

But maybe somebody else can pick up from here?

I'm already on it. I can provide Linux support, if you're okay with that.

A GUI is always nice. But actually, there are almost no settings to change, only the COM-Port.

A few more options could be added. Besides the serial port, users could receive visual feedback when a pedal is pressed, choose between two and three pedal modes, and select which teleprompter software they want to use.