GoldenChaos-BTT: The complete Touch Bar UI replacement

Here's the fixed release!

GoldenChaos-BTT 2.557-4 changelog:

  • Removed unwanted keyboard shortcuts that appeared for some reason
  • Multi-account support for Outlook Unread Mail widget
  • Fixed an issue where Astro Unread Mail widget would return missing value
  • Added roundy corner end-caps to browser tab groups
  • Added some padding to browser tab buttons for legibility

Screenshots:

Download: GoldenChaos-BTT 2.557-4

1 Like

New version! Probably one of the biggest yet, a lot going on here. I definitely feel like this is the best version of GC-BTT to date :smile:

GoldenChaos-BTT 2.561 changelog:

  • Fixed padding/spacing for BTT alpha 2.561 (hooooly crap that took a long time, please don't change this again unless you add batch editing controls @Andreas_Hegenberg :stuck_out_tongue:)
  • All-new Bluetooth Toggle button
  • All-new Connect AirPods button
    • Looks for wireless headphones with "AirPods" in the name
    • Added tap again to disconnect
  • Added Connect Beats button
    • Looks for wireless headphones with "Beats" in the name
    • Tap again to disconnect
  • Added Connect Gamepad button
    • Looks for the following controllers in order: SteelSeries Nimbus, Hori Gamepad, Nintendo Switch controllers (Pro Controller/Joy-Cons), Wii Remotes
    • Tap again to disconnect
  • Swapped brightness and volume control positions, added Mute button to option menu (thanks for the suggestion, @whitehusky!)
  • Changed back/forward keys to use cmd+arrows instead of brackets
  • Fixed an issue where the Reminders widget would not output anything
  • Fixed an issue where the Safari Now Playing widget would always be shown
  • Removed back arrow from Emoji widget
  • Weather widget now shows correct current temperature
  • Weather widget now shows correct high and low temperatures for the day
  • Pre-emptively added activated icons for True Tone and Night Shift, will make these work in an upcoming release along with Do Not Disturb and possibly Dark Mode
  • Various other small bug fixes and improvements

Screenshots:

Download: GoldenChaos-BTT 2.561-2

Enjoy, everyone! :smile:

EDIT: Found a bug, fixed it, updated to 2.561-2 :sunglasses:

3 Likes

New version with fixes!

GoldenChaos-BTT 2.561-3 changelog:

  • Date/Time widget will now auto-set the time based on your system settings
  • Fixed an issue where Safari/Chrome Now Playing widgets would only appear if YouTube was playing in the first tab
  • Updated Safari and Chrome Now Playing icons with little YouTube logos in the bottom right corner
  • Fixed Tap to Disconnect not working on various bluetooth widgets

Still working on the new AirPod connect script, this is only slightly more complicated than I thought since to disconnect it has to use the Bluetooth menu but to connect it has to use the Volume menu. Anyways, I should have that working by tomorrow along with enhanced toggle appearances for option menu buttons :slight_smile:

Screenshots:

Download: GoldenChaos-BTT 2.561-3

1 Like

New version! Last one for today, fixing up final bits before the stable release later this week.

@myhouseblewup Two things I found out: (1) it's not possible to tell the UI to click an item in the volume menu bar but turns out it doesn't matter because (2) the original script does work, haha, turns out pairing is just very, very slow and can take multiple attempts. But... that's just the case normally. So just press the button again if they didn't connect. So much for that fancy W1 chip ¯_(ツ)_/¯

Still trying to figure out how to detect True Tone/Night Shift, but that might not be possible without launching system prefs.

GoldenChaos-BTT 2.561-4 changelog:

  • Dark Mode and Do Not Disturb toggle buttons now turn purple when activated
  • Mute button now turns red when system is muted
  • Added Airmail Unread Mail widget
  • Unread Mail widgets all now use the dock badge values to determine whether or not to appear (and display the dock badge value if it exists)
    • You can customize the value your Unread Mail widget displays by changing your mail app's badge settings
    • Any other apps people want to display unread badges for? Now it's possible, so please suggest some!
    • EDIT: HOLY BKLSDFBD GONNA DO MESSAGES BRB

Screenshots:

Download: GoldenChaos-BTT 2.561-4

2 Likes

Actual last new version for the day, I think I've knocked off everything that's been reported now :slight_smile:

GoldenChaos-BTT 2.561-5 changelog:

  • Fixed an issue where Spark Unread Mail would open Astro
  • Added Unread Messages widget
    • Checks the dock badge of Messages.app
  • Added standalone play/pause button for YouTube
    • Only appears when no media players are running and Safari or Chrome is watching a YouTube video

Screenshots:


Download: GoldenChaos-BTT 2.561-5

Now I'm off to bed. Night folks :smile: please report issues and I'll get to 'em in the morning!

EDIT: The dock badge scripts really hammer the dock process, so in the next version I've set the various dock badge widgets to only run if the specified app is also running.

New version! A dock on your Touch Bar?!

GoldenChaos-BTT 2.563 changelog:

  • Unread Mail widgets are now part of the Touch Bar Dock!
  • Also, the Dock is now a thing, and it supports a lot of apps
  • Dock badges use colors associated with their apps
  • Dock badges get number from relevant app's actual dock icon
  • Dock badges appear only on the GC-BTT main screen (so you can still use expanded widgets and modifier menus), docked to the left next to fullscreen/esc
  • Tap on any dock badge to open its parent app
  • Full list of currently supported apps in the Touch Bar Dock:
    • Missed Calls
      • FaceTime
    • Unread Messages
      • iMessage
      • WhatsApp
      • Telegram
      • Skype
      • YakYak
      • Chatty
      • Caprine
      • Goofy
    • Unread Mail
      • Apple Mail
      • Outlook
      • Spark
      • Astro
      • Airmail
      • Boxy
    • Mentions
      • Slack
      • Discord
      • Discord Canary
      • Tweetbot
      • Twitter
    • Notifications
      • Facebook
      • Tumblr

Screenshots:


This isn't new, I just haven't shown off a screenshot of the default set lately and I really like it.


Oh, cool, somebody likes me!


Wow I'm so... POPULAR!!!


Uh okay guys hold on a sec here-

Download: GoldenChaos-BTT 2.563

2 Likes

New version with some fixes :slightly_smiling_face: I'd say this is pretty close to the stable release. I haven't encountered any major issues on my machine so far.

GoldenChaos-BTT 2.563-2 changelog:

  • Improved browser detection for Show Browser Tabs button
  • Added Safari Technology Preview support to Browser Tabs widget
  • Added Polymail, Postbox, and Mailplane support to Touch Bar dock

Download: GoldenChaos-BTT 2.563-2

1 Like

New version! Wrapping up browser support. If no bugs are found in this version before @Andreas_Hegenberg releases the new stable BTT, then I think this is going to be the stable version. It's definitely RC1 material :smile:

EDIT: Oh man I fixed the Now Playing output bug! Now iTunes widgets can display songs even if they have double quotes in them. Updated version to 2.563-4, haha.

If anyone's wondering, I used this code to escape the double quotes:

set aString to trackInfo

set astid to AppleScript's text item delimiters
set AppleScript's text item delimiters to quote
set aString to text items of aString
set AppleScript's text item delimiters to "\\" & quote
set aString to aString as text
set AppleScript's text item delimiters to astid

set trackInfo to aString

GoldenChaos-BTT 2.563-4 changelog:

  • Fixed an issue where song titles with double quotes would break the iTunes Now Playing output
  • Added Chrome Canary support to Browser Tabs widget
  • Added Now Playing support for YouTube as a Fluid app (Try it out! Just create a Fluid app called YouTube :slightly_smiling_face:)
  • Added Twitch support to the Dock

Known issues:

  • The Dock currently consumes a lot of energy, but I don't know why

Screenshots:


Download: GoldenChaos-BTT 2.563-4

New version! Is this version the "Snow Leopard" of GC-BTT? :thinking: In seriousness, I think I've got performance to an acceptable level. I'm now seeing some of the lowest energy usage from the preset in a long time on my system. Things also just feel much, much snappier as a result.

EDIT: After a few hours monitoring BTT, I'm really happy with the performance of this version. Honestly, if I wasn't the one who made the changes, I would've guessed that I increased the refresh rate of the scripts because of the sheer performance boost.

Please report on how performance of this version is on your machine so I can make final adjustments! Thanks everyone :slightly_smiling_face:

GoldenChaos-BTT 2.563-5 changelog:

  • Added Franz support to the dock
  • Added Cisco Jabber support to microphone mute button detection
  • Reverted Refresh/New Tab combo button behavior to sidestep UX and performance issues
  • Home screen Reminders and Calendar widgets now run every 60 seconds to save on performance
  • Minor padding adjustments to Finder, AirDrop, Reminders, Calendar, and Things widgets
  • Dock widgets now run every 5 seconds to save on performance
  • Default dock widget set reduced to only system apps
    • Dock widgets for 3rd party apps must now be enabled manually
    • Enable badges for as few apps as possible to get the best performance :slightly_smiling_face:

Possible issues:

  • Some lighter-colored dock widgets like FaceTime might have black text instead of white. If so, then that's an import bug @Andreas_Hegenberg

Screenshots:

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Download: GoldenChaos-BTT 2.563-5

3 Likes

New version with Spotify long-press widget! It's a little bit more basic than the iTunes one, but I did leave a bunch of placeholders in the widget for whenever I or someone else is able to get those additional functions working. For now we've got shuffle/repeat and copy track link :slight_smile: enjoy @ZucchiniZe :smile:

GoldenChaos-BTT 2.563-6 changelog:

  • Added long-press widget for Spotify Now Playing with the following added controls:
    • Shuffle
    • Repeat
    • Copy Link to Song
    • Disabled placeholders for Thumbs Up/Down, Add to Library, Favorite, Go to Album, and Go to Artist (not functional)
  • Fixed an issue where the Spotify Now Playing formatting would break slightly during advertisements
  • Fixed an issue where the Repeat control in the iTunes Now Playing long-press widget would not highlight when activated
  • And of course, all the great performance improvements from 2.563-5

Screenshots:

Download: GoldenChaos-BTT 2.563-6

1 Like

New version! @Andreas_Hegenberg this version is very, very stable. What version of BTT do you think is going to be the next stable release?

@Randy_Saeks after testing, I can't reproduce your calendar bug. Have you changed it at all?

GoldenChaos-BTT 2.566 changelog:

  • Resolved an issue where various widget icons would disappear on BTT restart
  • Optimized image sizes, reducing preset's uncompressed file size from 265mb to 22mb (!!)
  • Organized widgets a bit since this preset has gotten heug
  • Added handoff support to dock widgets
  • Added Safari handoff dock widget
  • Long press on Next Track button to skip ahead 30 seconds (iTunes only)
  • Long press on Previous Track button to rewind 15 seconds (iTunes only)

Screenshots:


Download: GoldenChaos-BTT 2.566

1 Like

New version again! Since I had some extra time, I made the volume up button display a dynamic icon :slightly_smiling_face: it doesn't require any extra scripts since it returns the alternate icons as text in base64. This'll probably be the last update for today, haha.

@TheAnonymous010 that's great news!! :smile:

EDIT: Fixed a small bug with the repeat button using my newfound widget updating powers :stuck_out_tongue: decided to just replace the current version rather than releasing a new one so soon.

GoldenChaos-BTT 2.566-2 changelog:

  • Fixed an issue where the iTunes repeat button would not highlight properly
  • New Volume Up widget dynamically displays current volume status
  • Better Volume Down icon

Screenshots:





Download: GoldenChaos-BTT 2.566-2

1 Like

Okay, I lied, I've got one more tiny new version. Couldn't help myself :slightly_smiling_face:

GoldenChaos-BTT 2.566-3 changelog:

  • Volume Up button now turns blue if wireless headphones are connected

Screenshots:

Download: GoldenChaos-BTT 2.566-3

5 Likes

New version! @Harrumph had an idea that was so good how could I not put out a release at 4am?!

GoldenChaos-BTT 2.566-4 changelog:

  • Long-press the fullscreen/esc button for escape only

Download: GoldenChaos-BTT 2.566-4

1 Like

Awesome. I've just uploaded GC-BTT 2.600, and I took the liberty of taking some newer screenshots for you to include in the release notes since it's changed visually from 2.536 quite a bit.

GoldenChaos-BTT 2.600 changelog:

  • Stable release!
  • Added Safari Technology Preview handoff dock widget
  • Added Google Chrome handoff dock widget
  • Added Chrome Canary handoff dock widget

Screenshots:

Improved UI:



Expanded widgets on long-press:


Emoji and browser tabs:


New modifier key menus:



Download: GoldenChaos-BTT 2.600

1 Like

New experimental version! This one is actually experimental, so expect new features to be work in progress. Don't run experimental versions from now on unless I specifically mention a particular one is stable, or unless you're willing to sacrifice battery life to try new features that may or may not work properly. etc etc :stuck_out_tongue:

GoldenChaos-BTT 2.605 changelog

  • New Connectivity Actions modal widget! Long-press on Volume Up, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, or Connect to BT Accessory to open. Access to the following controls:
    • Wi-Fi toggle (sticky)
    • Bluetooth toggle (sticky)
    • AirPlay Mirror (sticky)
    • Detailed volume indicator (sticky)
      • Volume mute
      • Volume slider with up and down buttons
      • Volume percentage
    • Connect to AirPods
      • Displays (currently unstyled) battery level indicators when connected
    • Connect to Beats
    • Connect to Gamepad
  • New Language Picker and Current Language widget and widget group! These are very very early and disabled by default. They only support a few defaults taken from here at the moment, and other than adding the standard GC-BTT UI I haven't really modified this yet.
  • Fixed remaining disappearing icon issues
  • Fixed an issue where the iTunes Now Playing widget would not open iTunes when playing was stopped
  • Copy Apple Music Link functionality is now faster and works more reliably
  • Controls that are unavailable when playing is stopped will now hide themselves properly in the expanded iTunes Now Playing widget
  • Some further housekeeping to keep things organized

Known issues

  • Flag icons are not vertically centered properly in the Current Language widget

Screenshots



Download: GoldenChaos-BTT 2.605

New experimental version with collapsable menu bar on the main screen! @Andreas_Hegenberg what's the timeline on the Reuse Widget functionality?

Please let me know what you think of the collapsing functionality! In particular I'm wondering if the tap target for the chevron is too small.

GoldenChaos-BTT 2.605-2 changelog:

  • Added experimental Collapse/Expand Menu Bar UI
    • Due to a limitation with BTT, this currently only works on the main screen. It will work everywhere in a near-future release!

Screenshots


Download: GoldenChaos-BTT 2.605-2

New experimental version! Decided screw waiting I want cool features now.

GoldenChaos-BTT 2.608 changelog

  • Collapsable menu bar now works everywhere
    • Collapsable state can only be toggled from main screen
    • Collapsed/Expanded preference is retained between BTT restarts
    • Made collapse/expand chevrons a little bit less bright

Known issues

  • Emoji and App Switcher widgets don't change width when menu bar is collapsed, will fix in the next release

Questions for testers

  • Do you think the weather widget should be included in the reduced menu bar set? For this first iteration I've gone super-minimal. A part of me loves it but also wants to see the weather. I've also considered having it rotate between three states (S/M/L), where the current reduced option is "S" and an "M" layout would have the date and weather but no Spotlight/Siri/Notification Center buttons.
  • Do you think controls for things like window snapping should get a padding increase to fill the available space when the menu bar is collapsed?

Screenshots


Download: GoldenChaos-BTT 2.608

That is weird. Well, in this new version I moved the location of the toggle scripts, so it should work this time! Hopefully :stuck_out_tongue:

GoldenChaos-BTT 2.608-2 changelog

  • Added Skype for Business dock badge widget
  • Fixed an issue where Skype's dock badge widget would mistakenly look for Telegram's badge
  • Added third state to menu bar collapse, now cycles between Large / Medium / Small sizes
  • Adjusted emoji and app switcher widgets to take advantage of all three menu bar sizes

Screenshots





Download: GoldenChaos-BTT 2.608-2

New experimental version! Quite a few changes in this one.

GoldenChaos-BTT 2.610

  • Dramatic energy and CPU usage improvements
  • Preset no longer requires High Sierra Media Key Enabler
  • Moved to native Now Playing widget, deprecated previous Now Playing widgets
  • iTunes and Spotify Actions are now combined into a single Now Playing Actions group
  • Added GC-BTT settings modal
    • Enable the GC-BTT Settings button inside of BetterTouchTool, then tap it to access settings
    • Easily toggle between using combo and normal esc keys across the preset
    • Includes button to hide the settings button when you're done
    • More settings to come, feel free to suggest some!
    • Also, someone please suggest a keyboard shortcut to trigger the settings modal :stuck_out_tongue:

Known issues

  • Trying to view 7-Day Forecast crashes BTT for some reason @Andreas_Hegenberg
  • Chrome Now Playing no longer works because it is not supported by the native Now Playing widget; I may re-include Now Playing widgets for unsupported apps

Screenshots


New GC-BTT settings button (disabled by default)



Toggle all the things (just two things for now)



Fullscreen buttons automatically added to UI when using normal esc keys



Normal esc key works everywhere!


Customized layouts like this can now be set up in just a few seconds.

Download: GoldenChaos-BTT 2.610