Seeking help with my "launch smplayer on each monitor" script

[boognish-rising]

Hello!

I'll preface with the obligatory (but sincere), "THANK YOU for smplayer!" a̶n̶d̶ ̶s̶e̶g̶u̶e̶ ̶i̶n̶t̶o̶ ̶i̶n̶f̶o̶r̶m̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶y̶o̶u̶ ̶t̶h̶a̶t̶ ̶I̶'̶m̶ a̶n̶ ̶"̶a̶r̶m̶c̶h̶a̶i̶r̶"̶ ̶p̶r̶o̶g̶r̶a̶m̶m̶e̶r̶ ̶o̶n̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶b̶e̶s̶t̶ ̶o̶f̶ ̶d̶a̶y̶s̶.̶ ̶W̶h̶a̶t̶ ̶I̶'̶m̶ ̶a̶b̶l̶e̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶s̶l̶a̶p̶ ̶t̶o̶g̶e̶t̶h̶e̶r̶ ̶i̶s̶ ̶g̶e̶n̶e̶r̶a̶l̶l̶y̶ ̶d̶o̶n̶e̶ ̶o̶u̶t̶ ̶o̶f̶ n̶e̶c̶e̶s̶s̶i̶t̶y̶,̶ ̶u̶s̶u̶a̶l̶l̶y̶ ̶i̶n̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶c̶o̶u̶r̶s̶e̶ ̶o̶f̶ ̶t̶r̶o̶u̶b̶l̶e̶s̶h̶o̶o̶t̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶o̶r̶ ̶s̶i̶m̶i̶l̶a̶r̶.̶ ̶T̶h̶i̶s̶ ̶i̶s̶ ̶a̶ ̶r̶a̶r̶e̶ ̶e̶x̶c̶e̶p̶t̶i̶o̶n̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶r̶u̶l̶e̶.̶ ̶S̶o̶ ̶p̶l̶e̶a̶s̶e̶,̶ f̶o̶r̶g̶i̶v̶e̶ ̶a̶n̶y̶ ̶g̶a̶p̶s̶ ̶i̶n̶ ̶m̶y̶ ̶k̶n̶o̶w̶l̶e̶d̶g̶e̶ ̶o̶r̶ ̶o̶b̶v̶i̶o̶u̶s̶ ̶(̶t̶o̶ ̶t̶h̶o̶s̶e̶ ̶w̶i̶t̶h̶ ̶a̶ ̶c̶l̶u̶e̶)̶ ̶e̶r̶r̶o̶r̶s̶ ̶i̶n̶ ̶a̶n̶y̶ ̶s̶c̶r̶i̶p̶t̶ ̶r̶e̶f̶e̶r̶e̶n̶c̶e̶d̶.̶ ̶ ̶

A̶s̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶t̶i̶t̶l̶e̶ i̶m̶p̶l̶i̶e̶s̶,̶ ̶I̶ ̶w̶r̶o̶t̶e̶ ̶a̶ ̶s̶c̶r̶i̶p̶t̶ ̶w̶i̶t̶h̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶i̶n̶t̶e̶n̶t̶i̶o̶n̶ ̶o̶f̶ ̶l̶a̶u̶n̶c̶h̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶f̶u̶l̶l̶s̶c̶r̶e̶e̶n̶ ̶i̶n̶s̶t̶a̶n̶c̶e̶s̶ ̶o̶f̶ ̶s̶m̶p̶l̶a̶y̶e̶r̶ ̶o̶n̶ ̶e̶a̶c̶h̶ ̶o̶f̶ m̶y̶ m̶o̶n̶i̶t̶o̶r̶s̶ ̶a̶n̶d̶ ̶b̶e̶g̶i̶n̶n̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶p̶l̶a̶y̶b̶a̶c̶k̶ ̶o̶f̶ ̶a̶ ̶s̶p̶e̶c̶i̶f̶i̶e̶d̶ ̶p̶l̶a̶y̶l̶i̶s̶t̶ ̶o̶r̶ ̶d̶i̶r̶e̶c̶t̶o̶r̶y̶.̶ ̶T̶o̶ ̶m̶y̶ ̶s̶u̶r̶p̶r̶i̶s̶e̶,̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶s̶c̶r̶i̶p̶t̶ ̶s̶u̶c̶c̶e̶e̶d̶s̶ ̶a̶t t̶h̶e̶ f̶o̶r̶m̶e̶r̶;̶ ̶f̶u̶l̶l̶s̶c̶r̶e̶e̶n̶ ̶i̶n̶s̶t̶a̶n̶c̶e̶s̶ ̶a̶r̶e̶ ̶l̶a̶u̶n̶c̶h̶e̶d̶ ̶o̶n̶ ̶e̶a̶c̶h̶ ̶m̶o̶n̶i̶t̶o̶r̶.̶ ̶H̶o̶w̶e̶v̶e̶r̶,̶ ̶t̶h̶a̶t̶'̶s̶ ̶w̶h̶e̶r̶e̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶"̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶s̶c̶r̶i̶p̶t̶ ̶s̶u̶c̶c̶e̶e̶d̶s̶"̶ p̶a̶r̶t̶ ̶o̶f̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶s̶t̶o̶r̶y̶ ̶e̶n̶d̶s̶.̶ ̶A̶f̶t̶e̶r̶ ̶s̶i̶m̶p̶l̶i̶f̶y̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶t̶h̶i̶n̶g̶s̶ ̶f̶o̶l̶l̶o̶w̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶c̶r̶e̶a̶t̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶t̶h̶i̶s̶ ̶d̶i̶s̶c̶u̶s̶s̶i̶o̶n̶,̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶s̶c̶r̶i̶p̶t̶ ̶n̶o̶ ̶l̶o̶n̶g̶e̶r̶ ̶e̶r̶r̶o̶r̶s̶ ̶o̶u̶t̶ a̶n̶d̶ ̶n̶o̶ ̶l̶o̶n̶g̶e̶r̶ ̶p̶o̶p̶u̶l̶a̶t̶e̶s̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶p̶l̶a̶y̶l̶i̶s̶t̶ ̶w̶i̶t̶h̶ ̶c̶h̶u̶n̶k̶s̶ ̶o̶f̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶s̶c̶r̶i̶p̶t̶ ̶i̶t̶s̶e̶l̶f̶ ̶b̶u̶t̶ ̶s̶i̶m̶p̶l̶y̶ ̶d̶o̶e̶s̶n̶'̶t̶ ̶s̶t̶a̶r̶t̶ ̶p̶l̶a̶y̶b̶a̶c̶k̶.̶ ̶T̶h̶e̶ p̶l̶a̶y̶l̶i̶s̶t̶ ̶h̶a̶s̶ ̶z̶e̶r̶o̶ ̶i̶t̶e̶m̶s̶.̶

I suppose now it would be helpful if I provided the script for context (Updated to reflect most recent changes where it's mostly functioning as intended):

#!/bin/bash

# Directory containing your media files
MEDIA_DIR="/path/to/playlist/or/directory/"

# Playlist file to be generated
PLAYLIST_FILE="smplayer_NO-SYMLINKS.m3u"

# Find all files in the directory, excluding symlinks, and write them to the playlist
find "$MEDIA_DIR" -type f ! -lname '*' > "$PLAYLIST_FILE"

# Launch SM Player on each monitor
# Adjust the coordinates and screen names according to your setup

# Monitor 1 (Top left)
flatpak run info.smplayer.SMPlayer  --geometry 1920x1080+0+0 "$PLAYLIST_FILE" &

# Monitor 2 (Bottom left)
flatpak run info.smplayer.SMPlayer --geometry 1920x1080+0+1080 "$PLAYLIST_FILE" &

# Monitor 3 (Top right)
flatpak run info.smplayer.SMPlayer --geometry 3840x2160+1920+191 "$PLAYLIST_FILE" &

# Monitor 4 (Bottom right)
flatpak run info.smplayer.SMPlayer --geometry 1920x1080+1920+1271 "$PLAYLIST_FILE" &

P̶e̶r̶h̶a̶p̶s̶ ̶a̶l̶s̶o̶ ̶w̶o̶r̶t̶h̶ ̶m̶e̶n̶t̶i̶o̶n̶:̶ ̶ ̶I̶ ̶t̶r̶i̶e̶d̶ ̶m̶a̶n̶y̶ ̶d̶i̶f̶f̶e̶r̶e̶n̶t̶ ̶a̶p̶p̶r̶o̶a̶c̶h̶e̶s̶,̶ ̶t̶o̶o̶ ̶m̶a̶n̶y̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶p̶r̶o̶v̶i̶d̶e̶ ̶o̶r̶ ̶e̶v̶e̶n̶ ̶m̶e̶n̶t̶i̶o̶n̶ ̶t̶b̶h̶,̶ ̶b̶u̶t t̶h̶e̶y̶ ̶a̶l̶l̶ ̶f̶a̶i̶l̶e̶d̶ ̶i̶n̶ ̶a̶ ̶v̶e̶r̶y̶ ̶s̶i̶m̶i̶l̶a̶r̶ ̶w̶a̶y̶.̶ ̶S̶o̶m̶e̶ ̶o̶n̶l̶y̶ ̶l̶a̶u̶n̶c̶h̶e̶d̶ ̶o̶n̶e̶ ̶i̶n̶s̶t̶a̶n̶c̶e̶ ̶a̶n̶d̶ ̶s̶o̶m̶e̶ ̶h̶a̶d̶ ̶l̶e̶s̶s̶ ̶a̶n̶d̶/̶o̶r̶ ̶s̶l̶i̶g̶h̶t̶l̶y̶ d̶i̶f̶f̶e̶r̶e̶n̶t̶ ̶p̶l̶a̶y̶l̶i̶s̶t̶ ̶i̶t̶e̶m̶s̶ ̶(̶b̶u̶t̶ ̶s̶t̶i̶l̶l̶ ̶s̶e̶e̶m̶e̶d̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶r̶e̶f̶e̶r̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶"̶l̶a̶u̶n̶c̶h̶ ̶o̶n̶ ̶m̶o̶n̶i̶t̶o̶r̶s̶"̶ ̶p̶a̶r̶t̶ ̶o̶f̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶s̶c̶r̶i̶p̶t̶ ̶U̶P̶D̶A̶T̶E̶ ̶-̶ ̶d̶o̶w̶n̶ ̶t̶o̶ z̶e̶r̶o̶ ̶p̶l̶a̶y̶l̶i̶s̶t̶ ̶i̶t̶e̶m̶s̶)̶.̶ ̶A̶l̶s̶o̶,̶ ̶I̶ ̶t̶r̶i̶e̶d̶ ̶"̶s̶m̶p̶l̶a̶y̶e̶r̶"̶ ̶i̶n̶ ̶p̶l̶a̶c̶e̶ ̶o̶f̶ ̶"̶f̶l̶a̶t̶p̶a̶k̶ ̶r̶u̶n̶ ̶-̶-̶b̶r̶a̶n̶c̶h̶=̶s̶t̶a̶b̶l̶e̶ ̶-̶-̶a̶r̶c̶h̶=̶x̶8̶6̶_̶6̶4̶ ̶-̶-̶c̶o̶m̶m̶a̶n̶d̶=̶s̶m̶p̶l̶a̶y̶e̶r̶ ̶-̶-̶f̶i̶l̶e̶-̶f̶o̶r̶w̶a̶r̶d̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶i̶n̶f̶o̶.̶s̶m̶p̶l̶a̶y̶e̶r̶.̶S̶M̶P̶l̶a̶y̶e̶r̶"̶ ̶b̶u̶t̶ ̶n̶o̶ ̶j̶o̶y̶.̶ ̶S̶a̶m̶e̶ ̶r̶e̶s̶u̶l̶t̶.̶ ̶(̶U̶P̶D̶A̶T̶E̶ ̶n̶o̶w̶ ̶j̶u̶s̶t f̶l̶a̶t̶p̶a̶k̶ ̶r̶u̶n̶ ̶i̶n̶f̶o̶.̶s̶m̶p̶l̶a̶y̶e̶r̶.̶S̶M̶P̶l̶a̶y̶e̶r̶)̶ ̶ ̶

U̶P̶D̶A̶T̶E̶ ̶p̶r̶o̶g̶r̶e̶s̶s̶ ̶i̶s̶ ̶g̶o̶o̶d̶ ̶b̶u̶t̶ ̶n̶o̶w̶ ̶a̶l̶l̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶s̶c̶r̶i̶p̶t̶ ̶i̶s̶ ̶r̶e̶a̶l̶l̶y̶ ̶g̶o̶o̶d̶ ̶f̶o̶r̶ ̶i̶s̶ ̶s̶a̶v̶i̶n̶g̶ m̶e̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶t̶i̶m̶e̶ ̶i̶t̶ ̶t̶a̶k̶e̶s̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶l̶a̶u̶n̶c̶h̶ ̶4̶ s̶e̶p̶a̶r̶a̶t̶e̶ ̶i̶n̶s̶t̶a̶n̶c̶e̶s̶ ̶a̶n̶d̶ ̶m̶o̶v̶e̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶m̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶i̶r̶ ̶r̶e̶s̶p̶e̶c̶t̶i̶v̶e̶ ̶w̶i̶n̶d̶o̶w̶s̶ ̶b̶u̶t̶ ̶i̶t̶'̶s̶ ̶f̶a̶i̶l̶i̶n̶g̶ a̶t̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶o̶n̶e̶ ̶p̶a̶r̶t̶ ̶I̶'̶v̶e̶ ̶m̶a̶n̶a̶g̶e̶d̶ ̶t̶o̶ n̶a̶i̶l̶ ̶w̶i̶t̶h̶ ̶m̶y̶ ̶o̶t̶h̶e̶r̶ ̶s̶m̶p̶l̶a̶y̶e̶r̶ ̶s̶c̶r̶i̶p̶t̶s̶.̶ ̶W̶T̶H̶?̶ ̶ ̶W̶h̶a̶t̶ ̶a̶m̶ ̶I̶ ̶d̶o̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶w̶r̶o̶n̶g̶ ̶a̶n̶d̶ ̶i̶f̶ ̶I̶ ̶n̶e̶e̶d̶ t̶o̶ ̶g̶o̶ ̶d̶i̶g̶g̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶t̶h̶r̶o̶u̶g̶h̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶l̶o̶g̶s̶,̶ w̶h̶e̶r̶e̶ ̶s̶h̶o̶u̶l̶d̶ ̶I̶ ̶s̶t̶a̶r̶t̶/̶w̶h̶a̶t̶ ̶s̶h̶o̶u̶l̶d̶ ̶I̶ ̶b̶e̶ ̶l̶o̶o̶k̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶f̶o̶r̶?̶

By George, I got it! Well, mostly. The instances are actually starting maximized, not fullscreen and they're starting with the same playlist entry on all 4 screens, but this is lightyears beyond where I was with it when I first posted this. So, despite the fact that I basically solved this on my own / before anyone else could chime in, I still have to say thanks, as doing so prompted me to tinker with the script until I ultimately got it. Now if I could just get the fullscreen and shuffle parts down. IIRC, those can be passed via the GUI under advanced, correct? I would imagine -fullscreen and -shuffle separated by a space?

Edit - Hopefully this will be the last edit/UPDATE but I noticed the tooltip that reminded me that all of the available options for passing via the GUI were in the Keyboard and Mouse section and I'm happy to report that "fullscreen" works when passed this way! However, it seems like it's either only passing one argument or pl_shuffle isn't working as intended. I suspected that perhaps it was only passing the first argument, which was fullscreen so I switched them and sure enough, upon the next execution the instances weren't fullscreen BUT the playlist also wasn't shuffled. So it actually seems like it's only passing one argument (or none when pl_shuffle comes first) AND pl_shuffle isn't working quite right when passed in this way. Any input would be very welcomed. I need to give this a rest anyway, so hopefully this last bit will have an opportunity to be addressed by one of you kind and knowledgeable folks.

Thanks again!

[boognish-rising]

Nevermind, when I executed the script without the use of an alias in the terminal, both fullscreen and pl_shuffle were passed successfully. The only thing, and it's a doozy, is that interacting with 3 of the 4 players passes whatever action on to the 4th player, meaning only that player can be controlled. This is actually not unique to using this script, I've faced this many times before. It's one of the greater annoyances of using smplayer for me personally. That said, that's an entirely different can of worms. So, because I've pretty well taken care of the rest I'm going to close this and call it resolved. I'd welcome any input on the weird 3/4 player control issue though, or anything else for that matter!