Topfield v2.0 manual Starting iGuide, iGuide key features

v2.0 user guide Page 2

Starting iGuide

If iGuide is installed in the /ProgramFiles/Auto Start directory it will be loaded whenever the TF5800 is switched on; this is the recommended option. It can also be started manually, if installed elsewhere, through the usual Topfield TAP loading interface.

iGuide’s support files are stored in a directory at /ProgramFiles/Settings/iguide; if this does not already exist, iGuide will create it when it first boots. Certain configuration files (described below in the Support Files section) are included in the iGuide distribution zipfile. If you wish to use any of these – for example, channel and channel group logos from files

logo.dat and cglogo.dat – then /ProgramFiles/Settings/iguide must be created and appropriate files copied into it before iGuide starts. But none of these are actively necessary – iGuide is able to work out of the box.

Note that earlier versions of iGuide could potentially store their configuration files in other

places on disc, e.g. /ProgramFiles/iguide or /ProgramFiles/Auto Start/iguide. If no /ProgramFiles/Settings/iguide directory exists, but such a directory does exist elsewhere, then iGuide v2.0 will automatically move it to the correct location at start up: existing configuration will continue.

Do not create /ProgramFiles/Settings/iguide if you are upgrading iGuide, and wish to preserve an existing configuration (including series-link patterns and EPG Views). The contents of the earlier directory will not be copied over if a directory exists in the correct, new location.

iGuide: key features

iGuide has a number of key features that set it apart from other EPG replacements. Some of these features are an intuitive part of the user interface; others are additions of functionality that you may, or may not, use. Either way, it’s a good idea to be aware of them before reading on into the main body of the user guide below.

1.Series-link patterns

Series link patterns can be set up to create timers for any programme that matches certain criteria. These criteria, which are editable, include: channel or channel group (see below); title (may contain wildcards); days of the week; portion of the day.

Keywords can also be added to a pattern. If a pattern contains keywords, then rather than matching programme titles, programmes whose descriptions contain the keywords will be matched.

Patterns can also be given a percentage of ‘uniqueness’. Programmes have to be unique – that is, unlike an existing recording or timer within a margin of error – to match the pattern. This mechanism effectively stops multiple copies of the same episode of a series being recorded.