Move input and widgets docs to their own pages

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Steve Streeting 2020-10-23 12:54:17 +01:00
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ReadMe.md
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This is a helper plugin library for [Unreal Engine 4](https://www.unrealengine.com)
which makes a bunch of things better:
* UI Improvements
* FocusableButton: button which uses Hover style to highlight when it has focus (keyboard / gamepad)
* FocusablePanel: which ensure a widget is focussed when gamepad is activated so navigation is reliable
* Also remembers last focussed widget so it can be restored when used in context stacks
* FocusableUserWidget: A hack to allow UserWidgets to delegate their focus requests to a child item (required to make focus work reliably with compound widgets)
* InputImage: Image which will change itself to an image representing a button / key based on an input action
* (It changes dynamically when the input method changes e.g. when player moves a gamepad stick)
* Includes use of a UiTheme data asset which maps FKeys to Sprite images of buttons
* MenuStack/MenuBase: a context stack of widgets so you can easily create menu sequences, implement "back" navigation
* OptionWidgetBase: a widget which implements the "choose an item" concept but adapts between mouse and keyboard/gamepad
style navigation depending on what the currently used input method is
* Input Improvements
* Tracks last used input method (keyboard / mouse / gamepad) per player
* Events raised whenever a player uses a different input method (in game, and in UI)
(Actually reliable and not dependent on vagaries of input mappings / differences between UI and game input)
* [New Widgets](doc/Widgets.md)
* Focusable buttons, menu stacks, control prompts and more
* [Input events](doc/Input.md)
* Reliable notification when the player changes input method
:heart: **[Support my work on Patreon!](https://www.patreon.com/stevestreeting)**
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```
## Widgets
Several custom widgets are supplied to assist with some common challenges:
* [OptionWidgetBase](docs/OptionWidget.md)
This widget base class adds "option switch" functionality, allowing a user to
select one of a number of options by moving through them in a linear list.
It handles both mouse and gamepad by automatically switching styles between
separate clickable arrows for mouse, and a unified left/right rocker style
for gamepads. Styleable in Blueprint subclasses.
* [InputImage](docs/InputImage.md)
This custom Image widget takes an Action or Axis name and will automatically
display the image for an associated bound control, based on the currently
active input method. Dynamically switches as input method changes.
* [FocusableButton](docs/FocusableButton.md)
A refined Button widget which raises focus events you can listen to, and
which can apply the "Hovered" style to itself when focused (very important
for gamepad navigation).
* [FocusablePanel](docs/FocusablePanel.md)
A Panel widget which can make sure that something is selected when a
gamepad is in use, and resists loss of focus. Has a default focus widget,
and also remembers the last focus widget if you switch away & back
without destroying it.
* [MenuBase](docs/MenuBase.md)
A specialised [FocusablePanel](docs/FocusablePanel.md) which adds the ability
to be part of a contextual [MenuStack](docs/FocusablePanel.md), and which
as it becomes the top of the stack can automatically grab focus, change game
pause state, alter input modes, and change the mouse pointer visibility
(all individually optional).
* [MenuStack](docs/MenuStack.md)
A container for and stack of [MenuBase](docs/MenuBase.md) instances, making it
easy to create multi-level on-screen menus with a simple "back" navigation.
# Additional Configuration
## UiTheme
Some features of this plugin such as InputImage need a `UUiTheme` asset, which
is just a Data Asset based on the `UUiTheme` class which references other
resources like button images. There is one in the Examples project as reference.
### Create a UiTheme:
1. Click Add New > Miscellaneous > Data Asset
1. Select "UiTheme" as the class
1. Save the new asset with your chosen name
### Create a Primary Asset Label
UiThemes are a new kind of primary asset, loaded at runtime. To ensure this
asset is included when packaging, create a Primary Asset Label in the same folder:
1. Click Add New > Miscellaneous > Data Asset
1. Select "Primary Asset Label" as the class
1. Name it however you like
1. Double-click to edit
1. Under "Explicit Assets", add an entry and pick the UiTheme you created above
1. Save the changes
This just ensures that the packaging system knows to include your UiTheme, since
it won't be directly referenced by any other primary asset.
### Create button sprite data
The UiTheme wants to reference DataTables which contain links between the input
keys and button sprites. So the first job is to create the button sprites.
The Example project includes some button sprites already; contained in a packed
sprite sheet. I created these using TexturePacker and imported into UE which created
the sprites, but you can create them however you like. However, we do require sprites
rather than plain textures.
This means you must have the Paper2D plugin enabled in your project.
### Linking input keys to button sprites
Once you have a set of button sprites, you need to create DataTables which map
input FKeys (which can be keys, or mouse buttons, or gamepad buttons / sticks)
to these sprites, so that for example InputImage can be told to display the action
"Fire", and then display either say the left mouse button or a gamepad trigger
depending on what's being used.
Personally I did this using a CSV file for ease of use, for example:
```csv
Name,Key,Sprite
Gamepad_LeftX,Gamepad_LeftX,"PaperSprite'/Game/Textures/UI/Sprites/Frames/XboxOne_Left_Stick'"
Gamepad_FaceButton_Bottom,Gamepad_FaceButton_Bottom,"PaperSprite'/Game/Textures/UI/Sprites/Frames/XboxOne_A'"
```
You should import this as a DataTable based on the KeySprite type. A separate
one is needed for keyboard / mouse and gamepad. Once you've created them, or
copied the ones from the examples, you should update the UiTheme asset you
created to point at these data tables.
# License

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# Input Helpers
Unreal lacks an in-built way to determine the currently used input method by
a player, and ways to be notified when that changes. So I fixed that 😄
All these functions are available on "Steves Game Subsystem", which you can
get on a Blueprint like this:
![Game Instance Subsystem](../Resources/gameinstance.png)
Or in C++ like this:
```c++
#include "StevesUEHelpers.h"
...
auto GS = GetStevesGameSubsystem(GetWorld());
```
## Getting the last input device for a player
Blueprint:
![Game Instance Subsystem](../Resources/lastinput.png)
C++:
```c++
EInputMode Mode = GS->GetLastInputModeUsed(PlayerIndex);
```
## Listening for when player changes input device
Blueprint:
![Game Instance Subsystem](../Resources/bpexample.png)
C++:
```c++
// Subscribe somewhere in your code
void AYourClass::ListenForInputModeChanges()
{
auto GS = GetStevesGameSubsystem(GetWorld());
GS->OnInputModeChanged.AddDynamic(this, &AYourClass::InputModeChanged);
}
```
```c++
// This is your method which gets called
void AYourClass::InputModeChanged(int PlayerIndex, EInputMode NewMode)
{
...
}
```

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# Widgets
Several custom widgets are supplied to assist with some common challenges:
* [OptionWidgetBase](OptionWidget.md)
This widget base class adds "option switch" functionality, allowing a user to
select one of a number of options by moving through them in a linear list.
It handles both mouse and gamepad by automatically switching styles between
separate clickable arrows for mouse, and a unified left/right rocker style
for gamepads. Styleable in Blueprint subclasses.
* [InputImage](InputImage.md)
This custom Image widget takes an Action or Axis name and will automatically
display the image for an associated bound control, based on the currently
active input method. Dynamically switches as input method changes.
* [FocusableButton](FocusableButton.md)
A refined Button widget which raises focus events you can listen to, and
which can apply the "Hovered" style to itself when focused (very important
for gamepad navigation).
* [FocusablePanel](FocusablePanel.md)
A Panel widget which can make sure that something is selected when a
gamepad is in use, and resists loss of focus. Has a default focus widget,
and also remembers the last focus widget if you switch away & back
without destroying it.
* [MenuBase](MenuBase.md)
A specialised [FocusablePanel](FocusablePanel.md) which adds the ability
to be part of a contextual [MenuStack](MenuStack.md), and which
as it becomes the top of the stack can automatically grab focus, change game
pause state, alter input modes, and change the mouse pointer visibility
(all individually optional).
* [MenuStack](MenuStack.md)
A container for and stack of [MenuBase](MenuBase.md) instances, making it
easy to create multi-level on-screen menus with a simple "back" navigation.
# Additional Configuration
## UiTheme
Some features of this plugin such as InputImage need a `UUiTheme` asset, which
is just a Data Asset based on the `UUiTheme` class which references other
resources like button images. There is one in the Examples project as reference.
### Create a UiTheme:
1. Click Add New > Miscellaneous > Data Asset
1. Select "UiTheme" as the class
1. Save the new asset with your chosen name
### Create a Primary Asset Label
UiThemes are a new kind of primary asset, loaded at runtime. To ensure this
asset is included when packaging, create a Primary Asset Label in the same folder:
1. Click Add New > Miscellaneous > Data Asset
1. Select "Primary Asset Label" as the class
1. Name it however you like
1. Double-click to edit
1. Under "Explicit Assets", add an entry and pick the UiTheme you created above
1. Save the changes
This just ensures that the packaging system knows to include your UiTheme, since
it won't be directly referenced by any other primary asset.
### Create button sprite data
The UiTheme wants to reference DataTables which contain links between the input
keys and button sprites. So the first job is to create the button sprites.
The Example project includes some button sprites already; contained in a packed
sprite sheet. I created these using TexturePacker and imported into UE which created
the sprites, but you can create them however you like. However, we do require sprites
rather than plain textures.
This means you must have the Paper2D plugin enabled in your project.
### Linking input keys to button sprites
Once you have a set of button sprites, you need to create DataTables which map
input FKeys (which can be keys, or mouse buttons, or gamepad buttons / sticks)
to these sprites, so that for example InputImage can be told to display the action
"Fire", and then display either say the left mouse button or a gamepad trigger
depending on what's being used.
Personally I did this using a CSV file for ease of use, for example:
```csv
Name,Key,Sprite
Gamepad_LeftX,Gamepad_LeftX,"PaperSprite'/Game/Textures/UI/Sprites/Frames/XboxOne_Left_Stick'"
Gamepad_FaceButton_Bottom,Gamepad_FaceButton_Bottom,"PaperSprite'/Game/Textures/UI/Sprites/Frames/XboxOne_A'"
```
You should import this as a DataTable based on the KeySprite type. A separate
one is needed for keyboard / mouse and gamepad. Once you've created them, or
copied the ones from the examples, you should update the UiTheme asset you
created to point at these data tables.