A new version! We changed / added / fixed a lot again in version 3.0. Check it out below.
OpenJDK 17
Great news! Version 3.0 works with an embedded Java build and we selected the OpenJDK 17 version for this. This means no more issues with updating java and issues with licenses and issues with other Java requiring applications. This does mean that this is a breaking update and you need to manually install this version and uninstall the previous version.
NEW UPDATER
With the new embedded Java come new perks. One of these is that we can now offer the update process within the app itself. This means you will get a notification of new updates in the new notification center.
Added Sliders
Version 3.0 comes with a new control. No longer are buttons the only way to control your software and other services. You can now use Sliders for multiple systems.
Example of a Slider controlling a Windows Audio Source
To use a slider you can add a connector to the slider that will make the connection between the software and Touch Portal and controls the given attribute. Below is a list of all currently added connectors. Plug-ins are also able to add connectors so expect this list to grow.
All current Slider Connectors
Re-Design
We have changed the design of Touch Portal with this new version. Below is an overview of most of the changes
MAIN SCREEN
We have re-designed the whole main screen. User interviews showed us that the current menu was not really understood correctly by our users. So we decided to change the left sided menu to a more visually clear vertical tab menu structure. We have changed the whole design with a color-theme to allow for more popup of the elements that the user controls. Better clarity will in improve usability.
The new main screen (v3.0)
REDESIGNED PAGE SETTINGS
With more and more functionality in Touch Portal we need additional space for options that are relevant and useful for the users. For a more consistent look and feel, we have also redesigned the Page settings to use tabs. This allows you to quickly selection the settingsgroup you want to edit. No more endless scrolling and searching for the correct option.
We also improved all elements in the settings list and added more descriptions to aid new users and to allow for a better and more noticable visualisation of controls.
BUTTON EDIT SCREEN
Using the same principles we've completely redesigned the button edit screen. Each tab will show a specific set of options that allows you to change a specific topic for the control.
The new button edit screen (v3.0)
WHAT ELSE?
We have made small improvements, such as positioning the connection controls better centered and other many more. The Touch Portal settings screen also follows the new design.
Reworked Page Management
We have reworked the Page selector tool and added several things to improve the quality of life.
The new improved page manage control
FOLDERS
You are now able to add folders and place pages in folders to give more structure to your set up.
Create new pages and folder and place them in folders where needed
EXPORT / IMPORT
Exporting pages will give you more options to include in your export. You can add flows and values that are used on your page. Additionally, you can also add files that are referenced outside of Touch Portal such as media files and text files.
Add the specifics to your export
New icon packs
Since the beginning there was our flat white icon pack with a collection of useful icons but they were not that complete. So from this version we have added a few new icons to use straight out of the box. We have added icon packs for the following categories:
- Streaming
- Gaming
- Smart Home
- Photo Editing
- Classic
Notification Center
We are introducing Touch Portal's new Notification Center in this version. The Notification Center will be used to give feedback to you as a user from several places. For example you will receive a notification when a new version of Touch Portal is available. You will also receive notification from Touch Portal when the Twitch tokens are expired or when a device tries to connect without the proper security code. Whenever you have a new message it will show a flashing background on the Notification Center icon in the titlebar. Plug-ins will also be able to create notifications allowing to give the user proper non-intrusive feedback.
Notifications will have different priorities and will show different coloring to indicate these priorities.
Added StreamElement OBS.Live integration
Another great addition this version is the integration of OBS.Live. With the help of the great people from StreamElements we have added a full integration for everyone with the free base version of Touch Portal. Here are the actions available to everyone (no Pro upgrade required):
All available StreamElements OBS.Live actions and events
Added Photoshop integration
We have added our first iteration of our Photoshop Integration. You can use the following actions:
All available Photoshop actions and events
Controlling Photoshop has never been easier with Touch Portal. No more spending key combinations for all the above mentioned actions..
Directly control Photoshop using Touch Portal
To really get you started quickly we have added an icon pack for photo editing software. The pack is called Touch Portal Essentials Photo Editing.
Improved auto navigation options
ADDED SUPPORT FOR WINDOW TITLES
You can select the option to check for titles instead of processes. This will allow for a more sophisticated auto navigation structure. Touch Portal will always check title settings first before it checks processes for auto navigation.
ADDED SUPPORT FOR MULTIPLE PROCESSES A PAGE
Sometimes you want a page to be triggered for multiple processes. You can now use the semicolon character to separate entries and each entry will be used to check if the page needs to become active for the process you activated on Windows.
PROCESS INFORMATION SCREEN
We removed the auto logging of processes and added a popup screen that shows the current active processes and titles in Windows. This will allow you to see more info on the current processes and you will be able to use this information to set up the auto navigation options more easily.
Reworked and improved usability
It is becoming a tradition to also improve the user experience each update as well. This time with the redesign we took some time to improve quite a lot!
NUMBER PICKERS
Number pickers have had visual upgrades but we also improved how they work. With the new number picker controls you can scroll through the numbers using the scroll wheel of your mouse.
SCROLL SPEED
On several views we have increased the scroll speed. This will help you get to the places you need to go faster.
PAGE MANAGEMENT
Like already mentioned in more detail above, we have improved the page management controls by integrating adding page folders, giving more control about im- and export options and improved visuals.
VERTICAL BUTTON TEXT OFFSET
In the previous version of Touch Portal text on a button was always in one of the same three locations on a button. With version 3.0 you are able to add an offset to this to position the text in almost every location. This will be especially handy for users that are using the Edge Graphics Upgrade as they can from now on position the text correctly in regard to the borders.
You can now change the vertical offset of the text of a button.
HORIZONTAL BUTTON TEXT OFFSET
The same as above but for horizontal movement. This will allow you to place your text precisly where you want it to be.
OBS
We have improved the inner workings of the OBS integration, no more need for timers and more reliable operation. But we didn't stop there:
- Improved the OBS scene to icon functionality
- Fixed OBS Source muted event not working in Events
- Fixed OBS Source filter visibility event not working in Events.
- Fixed OBS Scene filter visibility event not working in Events.
- Fixed OBS updated when sources are added and removed within OBS.
- Most lists are now ordered alphabetically
- Touch Portal will auto connect to OBS.
- Fixed Touch Portal not connecting after you have changed credentials
- We added a warning for first time OBS users when they install the 5.0.0 alpha build of the Palakis plug-in. We do not support 5.0.0 yet. We will make this available when the plugin is complete and stable.
Twitch
FEATURES
- Added Twitch Follow Event
- Added Twitch Whisper Event
- Twitch Advertisement action no longer requires a popup window but is now an inlined action.
BUGFIXES & IMPROVEMENTS
- Fixed a bug where Twitch bits events from anonymous users did not work
- Fixed some Twitch events not available in Global Events
- Improved execution time of all chat related actions
- Added more Twitch variables to the dynamic text system.
XSplit
FEATURES
- Added Set Default Speaker Volume action
- Added Set Default Microphone Volume action
- Added Set Silence Detection on/off action
- Added Set Noise Suppression on/off action
BUGFIXES & IMPROVEMENTS
- Current scene is retrieved at connection time resulting in an up to date state for the current scene.
- Fixed Toggle Recording action
- Fixed Scene List communication object was corruptable in rare case
Auto backups
Touch Portal v3.0 will create and keep 3 automatic backups that can be restored manually if something went wrong. These backups will show up in the settings tab but cannot be automatically restored. These three backups will be from the last three days Touch Portal was used. This means that every time you start up Touch Portal, if it's the first time that day a fresh backup will be made deleting the backup from three days ago.
Plug-in system updates (Touch Portal API)
We have added new functionality and improvements to Touch Portal for our API:
- We have bumped the API version to 4
- You can now create Connectors that work with Sliders
- You are able to send notifications to Touch Portal.
- We fixed issues with trusting and untrusting plug-ins.
- Slight improvement for plug-in communication
We have updated the
documentation for the API with all new additions
What else?!
- Improved logging of action flows for better execution understanding.
- Added logging for HTTP POST and GET actions.
- Streamlabs OBS has been renamed to Streamlabs Desktop
- The Streamlabs Desktop icon has been updated to their new logo.
- For those who want to check for updates without closing Touch Portal we have added a "Check for updates" button on the settings screen.
- We have added Windows audio volume change events and states for Windows source.
- We have added more links to guides within the app.
- All unknown states (or dynamically created states) are no longer visible within the GUI.
- Popups are now popping up on the screen where you are using the desktop application.
- A lot of lists are now alphabetically sorted.
- Touch Portal will show the name of the connected device on the main screen.
- Background images are maxed at 2000x2000 to reduce issues with big backgrounds and memory. This means Touch Portal will resize them if they are bigger.
- We have improved the live updating of button changes when the mobile active page is the same one as the page you are editting on Touch Portal desktop.
- We have added the Value functionality to a lot more controls in this release. For example you can now use a Value to set a timer instead of a fixed number.
- We have added new audio actions and connectors for Windows Audio control.
- We have updated the "More Info" destinations for all Graphics Upgrades to the specific FAQ item on that Graphics Upgrade.
- We added the update notification for MacOS as well. You will not miss a new version anymore.
- We have added a new restart option in the system tray icon options.
- When you try to run a Powershell script and are not authorized it will show a notification.
Bugfixes
Most bug fixes are already mentioned in the sections above but we also fixed some bugs not in those categories:
- Fixed bug where adding actions sometimes are added twice
- Fixed Philips Hue Set Brightness action not available in Events or Flows
- Fixed Philips Hue Set Brightness not saving value for brightness.
- Fixed bug where scientific notation was used when using calculateValue action instead of a normal number.
- Fixed icon pack screen not loading when last used icon pack no longer exists.
- Fixed crash when network interfaces are not retracable to own ip address.
- Fixed a few copy and paste issues with buttons.
- Fixed delay of play audio action when path does not exist.
- Fixed Beginners Slobs page
- Fixed scientific notation in Value overviews
- Fixed deleting an action sometimes deleting two actions at once.
- Fixed Graphics Upgrade not in your possession message contineously popping up when changing pages
- Fixed Splashscreen not showing on MacOS
- Fixed multiple popups from showing white before loading the screen.
- Fixed custom default page not properly loading at all times.
- Fixed icon pack crashing when the last selected icon pack was removed from disc
- Fixed import button not saving pngs and jpg images on actions
- Improved performance for the Assets menu using properly sized images.
- Improved performance running Apple scripts
- Improved information about getting the Pro Upgrade depending on the mobile platform.
- The font Touch Portal uses is now forced on the interfaces.
