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The feature of iReminder is constructed by image and phrase specification. In general, it can be made in two ways, simple and customized: for simple method, raw text is specified; for customized method, each raw text is attached with properties to replace default behavior.
Certain general setting is configurable, for example, the slideshow frequency, and the font size of phrases.
On screen functions are also available, for example, show next image, and delete image.
Simple method
Customized method
Configuration
On screen functions
FAQ
Let's start from the basic usage.
Raw text can be specified by command line, or by list files (.list) such that each raw text is separated by new line:
iReminder image [image …] [-p phrase]For example,
iReminder cat -p "what kind of cat shall I adopt?"or
iReminder color_of_cats.list -p name_of_cats.list
// file 'cat.list'
black cat
brown cat
// file 'cat_names.list'
name it 'Puppy'?
name it 'Yummy'?The simple method adopts an ‘even’ way: each image and phrase is selected in equal chance. On the other hand, the customized method breaks even by specifying weights. It also provides flexibility in searching images and generating sentences.
The customized method utilizes the json file format. Detailed documentation in terms of JSON Schema is available here. In the following, we will go through the major feature through examples.
If one pattern is expected to appear two times more than the other, for example, we can have the following:
// file 'image_weight.json'
{
"image":
{
"patternA": {"rank": {"kind": "WEIGHT", "value": 1}},
"patternB": {"rank": {"kind": "WEIGHT", "value": 2}}
}
} By specifying PERCENTAGE, an absolute appearance ratio is given among all patterns.
// file 'image_percentage.json'
{
"image":
{
"patternC": {"rank": {"kind": "PERCENTAGE", "value": 25}},
"patternD": {"rank": {"kind": "PERCENTAGE", "value": 50}}
}
}If phase is expected to be attached with certain, not all image, we can group it in sentence and specify the target property with the image pattern.
// file 'phrase_target.json'
{
"phrase with target":
{
"target": ["patternA", "patternD"],
"sentence": "This sentence applies for patternA and patternD images"
}
}An inspiring way is to relate phrases with images.
// file 'image_animation.json'
{
"image":
{
"Wreck-It Ralph": {"attribute": {"main_actor": ["Ralph", "Vanellope"]}},
"Inside Out": {}
}
}
// file 'phrase_dynamic.json'
{
"dynamic phrases":
{
"target": "image_animation",
"sentence":
{
"var(main_actor)：I starred in var(`pattern)!":
{
"default_value": {"main_actor": "main actor of var(`pattern)"}
}
}
}
}Here, main_actor is the attribute property of image. It is enclosed by the var(, ) pair in phrase_dynamic.json to build a more creative sentence. In addition, var(`pattern) resolves to the selected image pattern. default_value shall be specified when corresponding attribute does not exist for certain target patterns.
The most important entry in configuration is the GCS certificate, i.e., cx and api_key. Other entry gives general control how images and phases are processed.
[search]
api_key=api_key acquired from GCS
cx=cx acquired from GCS
search_latency=n (default: 3)
- n: the frequency to have image search, the lower the more frequent doing search
[global]
data_location=home
- home: the directory pictures and program files (.pickle) reside
[image]
slideshow_frequency=n (default: 10)
- n: the frequency in second to have slideshow
[phrase]
ratio=n (default: 100)
- n: a fixed percentage ratio (0-100) to show phrase
font_size=n (default: 64)
- n: phrase font size in pixel
At run time, several viewing related functions are provided. They are enabled/disabled through specific keyboard buttons.
| key | function |
|---|---|
| h | H | switch on screen help |
| i | I | switch on screen info |
| p | P | pause | continue |
| q | Q | quit program |
| -> (right arrow) | next picture |
| <- (left arrow) | previous picture |
| + | increase picture rank |
| - | decrease picture rank |
| esc | switch fullscreen |
| backspace (Windows | Linux) | remove picture |
| delete (OSX) | remove picture |
The following section covers some technical details. Check if you are interested to corresponding topics.
- When and how Google Custom Search (GCS) is issued?
As GCS is either paid or free in limited requests, iReminder adopts a conservative way in issuing a search.
Conceptually, a search with less new result takes longer time till next search. In some sense it then guarantees little wasted requests. In practice, one search in iReminder get 60 image urls by 6 GCS requests (each gets 10 results). Search rate can be changed by modifying Configuration->search->search_latency, if the default setting does not make use of GCS very well.
For example, a typical free account has a limit of 100 requests per day, and thus iReminder can search up to 100 / 6 = 16 image patterns. If somehow there is a lot more patterns than 16, then some of them may have little chance to search, due to the limit can be so quick to exceed. To alleviate the situation, we can make bigger search_latency, and then the overall search rate will be lower.