PathPilot 2 How to use/enable FULL LinuxCNC capabilities.

To enable full functionality in PP you need to code the GUI to do so not the other way around.
The underlying LinuxCNC has only the functionality Tormach wants to support for their machines which from a product support point of view is the correct decision. They had no desire to become a linuxcnc support group and deal with all the varied things you could do in LinuxCNC and screw up your Tormach and expect them to fix it.

Adding a full LimuxCNC under PP is the easy part. there's only a few tormach specific modules to worry about.
The problem is you have to add any/all LinuxCNC functionality you want to the PP GUI, that's the hard part.

The easier approach is to ask what do you want to add then you look at how to add it instead of trying to do everything.

rodw wrote: Well just go to LinuxCNC on github and pull down the comp file and type halcompile --install toggle2nist.comp
Check the docs, you may need to install linuxcnc-dev first.

I tried this. As soon as I installed the full linuxcnc package PP stopped working. I think the kernel or something gets changed. Kinda over my head.

smgvbest wrote: To enable full functionality in PP you need to code the GUI to do so not the other way around.
The underlying LinuxCNC has only the functionality Tormach wants to support for their machines which from a product support point of view is the correct decision. They had no desire to become a linuxcnc support group and deal with all the varied things you could do in LinuxCNC and screw up your Tormach and expect them to fix it.

I understand this and I agree with their decision, so no problem with this.

smgvbest wrote: The easier approach is to ask what do you want to add then you look at how to add it instead of trying to do everything.

I'd like to add some physical buttons for Run, Feedhold and Stop, and the examples I've found uses toggle2nist (and toggle). Since I'm very much a rookie when it comes to LinuxCNC (and only a little more experienced with Linux), I don't know what's the difference between toggle and toggle2nist and why they both are used/needed.

I installed Linux Mint 18.3, kernel 4.11.9-rt7 (same kernel as PP) and LinuxCNC in a VM and compiled toggle2nist and copied it over to my PathPilot install, but it complained that toggle2nist wasn't found. Is there any place the HAL components have to be registered to be found?

I also compiled toggle and compared it to the version included with PP, and there were quite a few differences. There was a reference to the source directory, which differed between my install and Tormach's, and the GCC version was different, but since I know next to nothing about LCNC, I don't know if any of this matters.

did you compile same version of LinuxCNC as used by PP. that would easily explain the differences you see.
as far as where it goes that would be ~/tmc/rtlib

I've added buttons to the PP without changes to this module by adding them to the GUI and supporting python code.
just as a FYI

smgvbest wrote: did you compile same version of LinuxCNC as used by PP. that would easily explain the differences you see.
as far as where it goes that would be ~/tmc/rtlib

I've added buttons to the PP without changes to this module by adding them to the GUI and supporting python code.
just as a FYI

I did copy the file to tmc/rtlib, but still PP complained about the file not existing, hence my question if it needs to be registered somewhere to be detected.

When you say you added button, are they physical buttons or "virtual" buttons? Any pointers to how you did it? An "adding buttons to PP for dummies" would be nice...

I've also seen that you have been hacking the PP GUI. Any chance of you sharing your work? I have an original PP2.0, so I have the artwork from Tormach.