1/2/3/4 should be recognized by Noobs without Shift first

[stevekmcc]

Using composite video is rather difficult. In the first installation I think it works fine, but if HDMI is chosen on install then on subsequent boots it's frustratingly difficult to temporarily use composite if no HDMI is attached.

Holding shift while booting results in a boot to HDMI (even if unplugged). Holding 3 while booting results in a boot to the last-used OS, in composite mode (although perhaps only because its config.txt is set up for composite). Pressing 3 repeatedly leaves Noobs forever showing the OS selection screen to HDMI (i.e. a blank screen forever on composite).

The behaviour I want - to see the Noobs OS selection dialog on the composite screen - doesn't seem to be achievable, at least not by holding or repeatedly pressing 3. The best I can get is to alternately press Shift and 3 while booting. This gets me to the Noobs installation screen displayed on composite, with a dialog asking if I want to make the display change permanent. I can choose No, press Esc to get to the OS selection, and boot that OS (assuming its settings work for my composite monitor - see Issue #166).

(NOOBS v1.3.2 - Built: Nov 2 2013)

[lurch]

See also #142

When you install an OS using NOOBS, it hardcodes the config.txt for that OS into booting using the 'saved/permanent display mode' of NOOBS (in contrast to the standalone versions of the OSes, where they attempt to auto-detect the current display mode at bootup).
So if you've installed an OS in 'HDMI mode', and you later want to boot it in 'composite mode', you need to press/toggle SHIFT at startup to get into the NOOBS install menu, and then use the built-in config editor to switch the OS back into composite mode, before booting it. I guess NOOBS isn't really designed for you to be using the same SD card with both composite and HDMI displays interchangeably.

But I can see that it'd be useful for the 1/2/3/4 keys to also work within the OS-selection menu.
Classifying this bug as minor for now, since you've already identified a workaround.

And I wonder if you're also being affected by #149 ?

[Ruffio]

@stevekmcc is this still an issue?

[stevekmcc]

Thanks for asking! I imagine so - I just checked the version comments since back then, and the cross-referenced issues like #142 and there's no mention of this. As Noobs can't be updated, I don't really have an easy way of finding out. I certainly still find it a problem, as my Pi gets moved between an HDMI computer monitor and a composite TV. Related issues like #236 and #237 suggest this area of Noobs is still difficult for people - if it's hard when you can see the screen, imagine how it is when you can't...