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Support for further customisation or 3rd party apps?

FreakadudeFreakadude
in Feature Requests
Hi,

First of all i want to say that i really like Repetier Server. I have tryed Octoprint, Astroprint and for me personally Repetier-Server is the best solution with the great interface design and overall functionallites. That said sometimes i do wish there was some sort of possibility to integrate one or two additional feature into it that other printer servers have.

Octoprint with its 3rd party plugins are a pretty nice feature where you can mix and match what you want to add. Most of the plugins are really not that usefull to be honest but i find that one or two features i would love to see also here but sadly since there is no 3rd party plugin feature i guess thats currently not really an option.

I.e.: I would love to have a big ass Emergency Stop button placed somewhere on the interface and NOT having it hidden in a menu. In case of an issue i just want to hit it as fast as i need so being able to place it maybe as a dedicated button on the top bar would already be a cool feature.

I use TP Link smartplug to turn my printer off after a completed print. I have a dedicated linux script setup for that purpose which is triggered through repetier server external commands function but ideally (knowing that majority of people would not have such a plug) it would be nice if this feature would be more integrated in repetier server somehow. Possibly with the potential support of 3rd party developed plugins like the one available for this in Octoprint.

I know that currently Repetier Server is a more closed system and as such is probably also a much more consistant system (for me at least) then the alternatives out there (Octoprint) but if in the future you would consider opening up it a little bit with some possibilities for more tweaks by users that would be the cherry on top of this otherwise very fine cake for me :)

Cheers

Comments

  • RepetierRepetier
    Plugins or modules as our version is named are two fold. It is nice to have easy extension and they are a pain when it comes to modifications. Octoprint is a good example for it. Many problems occur by plugins not being compatible any more with some revisions being made. Often free authors write something for them self and publish it and after a while loose interest in providing updates. So our basic approach is to offer all useful function of our hand. So also we have a module system allowing extensions (e.g. firmware uploaded is an extra module) you get not as much possibilities to modify the interface. You can make new pages and you can use our shadow www directory system to modify the interface completely. You can hook up new code to run on server side as well using lua modules. So it is at least possible to tweak the system. That is mainly meant for printer manufactors to optimize the interface to their needs. But of course any user with a bit web programming knowledge can adjust it as well using the docs on our homepage.

    Regarding emergency stop there will be a better solution next release. Left to the multiplier and executable with 2 clicks (for safety).

    Not sure how you want to improve the switch - you can add it already as a menu entry in printer menu which is exactly the place where I would put it in natively. Maybe the option to have some external link requests as menu entry might be nice as that is all you need I guess for the switch. But then also the problem with all the protocols start: GET or POST, with authentication or extra header or json post of parameter? Depending on the hardware there are so many variants. A external command that can use curl beats all this and more. But making it externally editable also opens many security risks which is why we opted for the file solution only editable from authorized persons.
  • FreakadudeFreakadude
    Thanks for the answer. I completely understand your approach and also the fact that with some web programming you can customize the interface also is nice. I have reverse engeneered lot of stuff for myself out of necessity on various platforms over the years where i am no expert but simply wanted certain features to be there and there were no ready alternatives. While i can and will do that here as well i was just curious if something like an easier solution to this might be in the stars for you guys. But that said again i understand your logic and this is also why i probably like Repetier Server the most out of all the other solutions as it gives me the best experience overall.

    TP link switch i have already integrated as a menu item thanks to a tipp from you guys a few months back. I only meant with better integration that it could perhaps be better done by you guys and maybe have more of its features work (i.e. the octoprint plugin shows the power consumption as well in the interface which is a nice added touch while i simply managed via a script trigger to have the power off function triggered by printer end states or out of the menu)

    Again i appriciate all the effort that has already been put into this great software and am looking forward to future updates you guys will be doing :)

    Cheers

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