Sloganeer

Artisanal signage app that displays text with animated transitions.

Command line

Simple example: Sloganeer myslogans.txt -fontname Calibri -fontsize 120

Numeric parameters accept fractional values unless specified otherwise.

Usage: Sloganeer [SLOGANS_PATH] [options]

Option	Description
SLOGANS_PATH	The path of an ANSI or UTF-8 text file containing the slogans to display, one slogan per line; if the path contains spaces, enclose it in double quotes.
‑help	Show help; -h is also accepted.
‑fullscr	Start the application in full screen mode.
‑text STRING	Slogan text; if the string contains spaces, enclose it in double quotes. Supports common backslash escape sequences. For multiple slogans, specify this flag repeatedly.
‑fontsize SIZE	Font size in DIPs. A DIP equals 1/96 inch.
‑fontname NAME	Font name; if the font name contains spaces, enclose it in double quotes.
‑fontwt WEIGHT	Font weight from 1 to 999; integer only.
‑transdur SECS	Transition duration in seconds. Applies to both incoming and outgoing transitions unless the outdur option is also specified.
‑holddur SECS	Duration for which slogan is immobile, in seconds.
‑outdur SECS	Outgoing transition duration in seconds. Only needed if outgoing transitions should have a different duration than incoming transitions.
‑pausedur SECS	Duration of pause between slogans, in seconds.
‑seqtext	Display slogans sequentially instead of shuffling them.
‑bgclr COLOR	Background color as a hexadecimal value, comma-separated decimal values, or an HTML color name.
‑bgpal PATH	Path to a background color palette: a text file with one color per line, each consisting of a hexadecimal value, comma-separated decimal values, or an HTML color name.
‑bgfrq FREQ	Background color cycling frequency in Hertz; only effective if a background color palette is specified.
‑drawclr COLOR	Drawing color as a hexadecimal value, comma-separated decimal values, or an HTML color name.
‑drawpal PATH	Path to a drawing color palette: a text file with one color per line, each consisting of a hexadecimal value, comma-separated decimal values, or an HTML color name.
‑drawfrq FREQ	Drawing color cycling frequency in Hertz; only effective if a drawing color palette is specified.
‑nowrap	Disables automatic word wrapping.
‑easing PCT	The percentage of motion to ease. Only applies to transition types that support easing.
‑seed	Starting point for random number generation; integer only. If not specified, seed is current time so that each run is different.
‑transtyp TYPE	Override the transition type to a single type, specified via its index or code; useful for testing.
‑record PATH	Destination folder path for recording an image sequence; a pipe name such as \\.\pipe\foo is also accepted.
‑recsize SIZE	Recording frame width and height in pixels, separated by a lowercase 'x' as in 640x480.
‑recrate FPS	Recording frame rate in frames per second.
‑recdur SECS	Recording duration in seconds.
‑markdown PATH	Write help markdown to the specified file.
‑license	Display the license.

Examples

Example	Description
‑fontsize 90	Set the font size to 90 DIPs.
‑fontname Georgia	Set the font name to Georgia.
‑fontwt 400	Set the font weight to 400.
‑transdur 2.5	Set the transition duration to 2.5 seconds.
‑bgclr FF0000	Set the background color to red.
‑bgclr 255,0,0	Set the background color to red.
‑bgclr red	Set the background color to red.

Each slogan cycles through the following four states:

1. Incoming transition
2. Hold
3. Outgoing transition
4. Pause

The duration of each of these states can be set independently. To skip a state, give it a duration of zero.

Note that if you only specify the transdur option, it applies to both incoming and outgoing transitions. To make the outgoing transition a different duration from the incoming transition, you must also specify the outdur option.

For example, to set incoming transitions to 1 second, a hold time of 3 seconds, no outgoing transition, and a pause of 1.5 seconds:

-transdur 1 -holddur 3 -outdur 0 -pausedur 1.5

Slogans file

The slogans file is a plain text file containing the slogans to be displayed. Each non-empty line of the file is interpreted as a single slogan. You can create multi-line slogans by inserting the escape sequence \n where you want line breaks. Each \n in a slogan is replaced with a newline when the text is displayed. To create a blank slogan, use a line containing a single space.

The slogans file must be in either ANSI or UTF-8 format. To use non-ANSI characters, UTF-8 format is strongly recommended. UTF-8 supports nearly all languages including Chinese, Japanese, Arabic, and Hindi.

CSV slogans file

Sloganeer supports an alternate file format that lets you customize the properties of each slogan, including its font, colors, timing and transition types. It’s a well-known format called comma-separated values, also known as CSV. The CSV file can be ANSI or UTF-8, but UTF-8 is strongly recommended for languages other than English.

CSV format supports the columns listed below. Most of these columns have the same name and meaning as a command line option, so they’re only described briefly here; refer to the command line reference for additional information.

Column	Description
text	slogan text
fontname	font name
fontsize	font size in DIPs
fontwt	font weight, from 1 - 999
bgclr	background color
drawclr	drawing color
transdur	transition duration in seconds
holddur	hold duration in seconds
outdur	outgoing transition duration in seconds
pausedur	pause duration in seconds
intrans	incoming transition type
outtrans	outgoing transition type

If a column is omitted, the value is obtained from the corresponding command line option, or if none exists, from an application default.

Note that if you only specify the transdur column, it applies to both incoming and outgoing transitions. To make the outgoing transition a different duration from the incoming transition, you must also specify the outdur column.

A transition type can be specified as a zero-based index or as a mnemonic transition code. The codes are preferable as they’re easier to remember and indices may change. The codes are given in the table of supported transitions elsewhere in this document. Transition codes are case-insensitive.

The CSV can optionally start with a header row, indicating which columns are specified. This lets you specify a noncontiguous subset of the columns without typing lots of commas, and also lets you specify the columns in any order. Some examples follow.

No header row, all columns specified:

My Slogan,Verdana,100,400,Green,Red,2,4,3,1,mlt,clk

Displays the text “My Slogan” in 100-point Verdana, normal weight, drawn red on a green background. The timing is 2 seconds incoming, 4 seconds hold, 3 seconds outgoing, and 1 second pause. The transition types are Melt incoming, and Clock outgoing.

No header row, specifying a subset of columns (text, fontname, drawclr):

My Slogan,Verdana,,,,Red

Displays the text “My Slogan” in Verdana, drawn red. The commas are necessary in order to skip fontsize, fontwt, and bgclr. The commas could be avoided by using a header row:

text,fontname,drawclr
My Slogan,Verdana,Red

If your slogan text contains commas, you must enclose the entire slogan in double quotes:

"My slogan, has a comma"

And if your slogan also contains double quotes, you must double them:

"My ""slogan"", has a comma"

Escape sequences

The slogan text supports a few common escape sequences:

Seq	Meaning
\n	newline
\t	tab
\\	backslash

For example, this slogan forces a line break between “My Slogan” and “has two lines”:

My slogan\nhas two lines

Transitions

#	Code	Name	Description
1	SLL	Scroll LR	Scroll from left to right
2	SLR	Scroll RL	Scroll from right to left
3	SLD	Scroll TB	Scroll from top to bottom
4	SLU	Scroll BT	Scroll from bottom to top
5	RVH	Reveal LR	Reveal or cover from left to right
6	RVV	Reveal TB	Reveal or cover from top to bottom
7	TWR	Typewriter	Sequentially reveal or cover one letter at a time
8	RTW	Rand Type	Randomly reveal or cover one letter at a time
9	FAD	Fade	Fade to or from background color
10	SCH	Scale Horz	Scale horizontally
11	SCV	Scale Vert	Scale vertically
12	SCB	Scale Both	Scale both axes
13	SCS	Scale Spin	Scale both axes and rotate
14	RTL	Rand Tile	Reveal or cover with random tiles
15	CVH	Converge H	Converge horizontally
16	CVV	Converge V	Converge vertically
17	MLT	Melt	Melt or grow by erasing outline
18	ELV	Elevator	Per-character horizontal reveal
19	CLK	Clock	Per-character radial reveal
20	SKW	Skew	Tip over or return to upright
21	XPL	Explode	Explode each letter into fragments
22	SUB	Submarine	Rise from or sink into horizon
23	TMB	Tumble	Spin and scale while gathering or spreading
24	IRS	Iris	Clip each letter with an ellipse
25	BLR	Blur	Blur or sharpen
26	ASM	Assemble	Construct each letter from pieces in order

Colors

Colors can be specified in three ways. This applies to the command line, CSV format, and palette files.

1. Hexadecimal color value consisting of up to eight characters, each of which is [0-9], [A-F] or [a-f]. The color channels are expected to be in RGB or RGBA order. If six or less characters are specified, RGB is assumed and the alpha channel defaults to opaque. The value is case-insensitive. Do not prefix the value with a pound sign. Example: DC143C

2. Decimal color value consisting of three or four decimal numbers, each of which is [0-255], separated by commas and/or spaces. On the command line, commas are easier, as a parameter containing spaces must be enclosed in double quotes. In a CSV file, spaces are easier, as a CSV value containing commas must be enclosed in double quotes. The color channels are expected to be in RGB or RGBA order. If three numbers are specified, RGB is assumed and the alpha channel defaults to opaque. Fractional values are accepted. Example: 220,20,60

3. Color name consisting of one of the 140 defined HTML extended color names. Color names are case-insensitive and must not contain spaces. Example: crimson

A palette file is a plain text file containing one color value per line. The color values must be in one of the three formats explained above.

Defaults

Randomized slogan order, white text on black background, 150 point Arial Black (weight 900). Each transition takes two seconds, with one second of hold time, and no pause between slogans. Easing is 15% for transitions that support it. Recording defaults to 1920x1080, 60 FPS, one minute.

Shortcuts

To enter or exit full screen mode, use the app’s system menu or the shortcut key F11.

Installation

There is no installer. Unzip the distribution file and run the executable. The application does not store settings in the registry or anywhere else.

Pipes

Sloganeer can send raw uncompressed frames to another application via a named pipe. This may be more efficient than recording an image sequence, as it avoids compressing each frame to a PNG and writing it to disk. To create a pipe, specify a pipe name instead of a folder path as the argument to the record option. The other record options still apply, including the duration. The example below uses ffplay as a client.

sloganeer -record \\.\pipe\slog -recsize 1920x1080 -recrate 60 -recdur 300

ffplay -f rawvideo -pixel_format bgra -video_size 1920x1080 -framerate 60 \\.\pipe\slog

Development

• The issues list is here.
• There’s a development blog. See you there!