Drive Kneedeck

For Kneedeck 0.42.0 and later.

Kneedeck can be driven from another program of the PC: the Stream Deck, VoiceAttack, a script in Python, Lua or C. Commands go through the command line, or through messages.

1. The command line

A shortcut, the Stream Deck (System action, Open) or VoiceAttack (run an application) starts Kneedeck with a command. A Kneedeck already running does it without opening a second time.

kneedeck.exe --action next-page --repeat 3
kneedeck.exe --tab "Carte LFXX" --page 3
kneedeck.exe --tab-number 2
kneedeck.exe --profile "Mirage F1"
kneedeck.exe --brightness 60

`--action`	An action, from the list below.
`--repeat`	The action that many times, 50 at most.
`--tab`, `--page`	The tab of that name, and its page, from 1.
`--tab-number`	The tab at that place on the tablet, from 1, with `--page` if wanted.
`--profile`	The profile of that name, or of that id.
`--brightness`	The tablet's brightness, in percent.

The actions:

`toggle`, `show`, `hide`	Show or hide the tablet, show it, hide it.
`mouse`, `keyboard`	The mouse to the game or to the tablet, the keyboard to the tablet or to the game.
`next-page`, `previous-page`	Next page, previous page.
`next-tab`, `previous-tab`	Next tab, previous tab.
`next-profile`, `previous-profile`	Next profile, previous profile.
`zoom-in`, `zoom-out`	Zoom in, zoom out.
`rotate-tab`	Turn the tab a quarter.
`toggle-bookmark`, `next-bookmark`, `previous-bookmark`	Bookmark the page or remove its bookmark, next bookmark, previous bookmark.
`toggle-pin`	Pin the page or unpin it.
`brighter`, `darker`	Brighter, darker.
`tint`, `tint-on`, `tint-off`	The night tint: switch, turn on, turn off.

2. Messages from programs

A program of the PC sends Kneedeck a JSON text by UDP, to 127.0.0.1, port 47831: one object, or a list of objects done in their order. Kneedeck only listens to the programs of this PC, and answers nothing.

`{"action": "next-page", "repeat": 3}`	An action, that many times.
`{"tab": "Carte LFXX", "page": 3}`	A tab by its name, and its page from 1.
`{"tabNumber": 2, "page": 1}`	A tab by its place on the tablet.
`{"profile": "Mirage F1"}`	A profile by its name or its id.
`{"brightness": 60}`, `{"brightness": "+10"}`	The brightness in percent, or a few points up or down.
`{"module": "dupont.minuteur", "message": …}`	A message for a module, by its id (see part 3).

Python

import kneedeck

kneedeck.send({"tab": "Carte LFXX", "page": 3})
kneedeck.send([{"profile": "Mirage F1"}, {"action": "show"}])

kneedeck.py, next to the script. It also runs on its own: python kneedeck.py "{\"action\": \"toggle\"}".

Lua, for DCS World

local kneedeck = dofile(lfs.writedir() .. "Scripts\\kneedeck.lua")

kneedeck.send('{"tab": "Carte LFXX", "page": 3}')

kneedeck.lua, in Saved Games\DCS\Scripts. It works in Export.lua as in a DCS script, and in any Lua with LuaSocket.

C and C++

#include "kneedeck.h"

kneedeck_send("{\"tab\": \"Carte LFXX\", \"page\": 3}");

kneedeck.h, for Windows, linked with ws2_32.

3. Messages to modules

A module gets the messages sent to it, if it is in a tab of the tablet: those of the programs of the PC, of the tablet's web pages and of the other modules.

Kneedeck.on("message", (message, from) => {
  // from: "pc", the site of a web page, or the id of another module
});
Kneedeck.send("dupont.checklist", { tick: 3 });

The rest is in Write a module.

4. Web pages

A web page in a tab talks with Kneedeck through postMessage, each message carrying kneedeck: 1 and its type.

parent.postMessage({ kneedeck: 1, type: "ready" }, "*");
parent.postMessage({ kneedeck: 1, type: "pages", count: 5 }, "*");

addEventListener("message", (event) => {
  const message = event.data;
  if (event.source !== parent || message?.kneedeck !== 1) return;
  if (message.type === "hello" || message.type === "page") show(message.page);
});

What the page sends:

`ready`	The page is ready: Kneedeck answers `hello`.
`pages` (`count`)	It has that many pages, 1000 at most: the tablet turns them as those of a PDF.
`size` (`width`, `height`)	The size it is made for, in pixels: the tablet shows it whole, smaller or larger.
`title` (`title`)	Its title, which the tab takes if the player chose “Name taken from the page”.
`message` (`to`, `message`)	A message for the module whose id is `to`.

What Kneedeck sends:

`hello` (`games`, `page`)	The data of the games the player gives the tab, and the page to show, from 0.
`games` (`games`)	The games' data, at each change.
`page` (`page`)	The player turned the page.

The games' data are the modules' own, described in Write a module. A page kept on the PC (an HTML tab) sends and gets the same messages, without the games' data or the messages to modules.

To look at a page closely: Settings, Developer tools, choose the page, then “Open”. It opens in your browser, with its tools.