Related
i found this and i think it can be useful
Customizing the Weather Plug-in
Let's say we want to add the city of Bremen in Germany to our HTC Touch Weather Plug-in (this works for every other city as well that can be found at AccuWeather.Com).
• Look up the City of your Choice
Go to http://www.accuweather.com/ and enter your desired city in the search field called "Local Weather Forecast", in our case: Bremen, Germany.
After you have clicked yourself to your local weather site, take a look at the browser's address bar and copy the location code from the URL.
• Edit the XML file
Now navigate to your Windows directory in the pocket pc. Find the file called "HH_0407_WeatherCities.xml" and change its properties so it can be edited (uncheck read-only tickbox).
Then, click on "File" - "Edit" and duplicate a line of XML code, preferably in the right alphabetical place. In general, such a line of code contains the following:
<city name="Cityname, COUNTRY" locationcode="LOCATIONCODE_YOU_COPIED_BEFORE"/>
So in our case we would change the entries to this:
<city name="Bremen, DE" locationcode="EUR|DE|GM005|BREMEN"/>
Save the file and reset its properties again to read-only.
this can be done on your pc too by simply sending the file in your desktop pc and do your magic there
also i have an xml ready for greek friends
with athens patra korinthos and salonika
just extract and put it in your windows folder in your pocket pc
hope it helps cause i was searching for it for a very long time
this is the file
this is it
thimiost said:
i found this and i think it can be useful
Customizing the Weather Plug-in
Let's say we want to add the city of Bremen in Germany to our HTC Touch Weather Plug-in (this works for every other city as well that can be found at AccuWeather.Com).
• Look up the City of your Choice
Go to http://www.accuweather.com/ and enter your desired city in the search field called "Local Weather Forecast", in our case: Bremen, Germany.
After you have clicked yourself to your local weather site, take a look at the browser's address bar and copy the location code from the URL (marked red in the next picture).
• Edit the XML file
Now navigate to your Windows directory in the pocket pc. Find the file called "HH_0407_WeatherCities.xml" and change its properties so it can be edited (uncheck read-only tickbox).
Then, click on "File" - "Edit" and duplicate a line of XML code, preferably in the right alphabetical place. In general, such a line of code contains the following:
<city name="Cityname, COUNTRY" locationcode="LOCATIONCODE_YOU_COPIED_BEFORE"/>
So in our case we would change the entries to this:
<city name="Bremen, DE" locationcode="EUR|DE|GM005|BREMEN"/>
Save the file and reset its properties again to read-only.
this can be done on your pc too by simply sending the file in your desktop pc and do your magic there
also i have an xml ready for greek friends
with athens patra korinthos and salonika
just extract and put it in your windows folder in your pocket pc
hope it helps cause i was searching for it for a very long time
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Why if a put www.accuweather.com on my tilt nothing appears?
I'm connected aand it doesn't load
at me it opens fine
rmarin said:
Why if a put www.accuweather.com on my tilt nothing appears?
I'm connected aand it doesn't load
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
dont know whats wrong...
rmarin said:
Why if a put www.accuweather.com on my tilt nothing appears?
I'm connected aand it doesn't load
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
When that's happened to me, I disconnect the data session. Once it reconnects it works just fine. You might want to try that...or a soft reset...but the data connection is faster.
This method does not work on Dutty's v4 Rom. The .dll has to be changed...
jarek91 said:
When that's happened to me, I disconnect the data session. Once it reconnects it works just fine. You might want to try that...or a soft reset...but the data connection is faster.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have the tilt and when I go on the windows file I found the HH file but it's the HH_0409 and I do not know how to edit it.
This worked great in the DCS ROM!!! You do have to do a soft reset for the changes to take.
Same here thing how do you edit the file????
No need to edit.
Just download this program way better than HTC Home weather and it's free
http://www.freewarepocketpc.net/ppc-download-weather-watcher-mobile-v1-0-8.html
{
"lightbox_close": "Close",
"lightbox_next": "Next",
"lightbox_previous": "Previous",
"lightbox_error": "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later.",
"lightbox_start_slideshow": "Start slideshow",
"lightbox_stop_slideshow": "Stop slideshow",
"lightbox_full_screen": "Full screen",
"lightbox_thumbnails": "Thumbnails",
"lightbox_download": "Download",
"lightbox_share": "Share",
"lightbox_zoom": "Zoom",
"lightbox_new_window": "New window",
"lightbox_toggle_sidebar": "Toggle sidebar"
}
Features:
- Forecasts available for 77,000+ cities world-wide.
- Current weather conditions.
- 46-hour forecast.
- 10-day day/night forecast.
- Severe weather alerts from National Weather Service (US only).
- 18+ weather unit conversion choices.
- Skinned interface/forecasts.
- Data usage stats. Installation:
Download and copy the CAB to any location on your mobile device. Tap the CAB on your device to start the Weather Watcher installation program.
The program receives it's weather from weather.com
Here's what to do first
Before editing the XML file. Look for your city to see if it's available on the database.
GO HERE TO SEARCH CITIES: http://www.accuweather.com/ (Use your own zipcode or city)
Then Go here: "http://htc.spamasaurus.com/parseweather.php?locCode=NAM|US|FL|WELLINGTON" and edit the LAST 3 FIELDS TO YOUR COUNTRY,STATE, AND CITY.
ex:
NAM=North America
(COUNTRY)US=United States
(STATE)FL= Florida
(CITY)Wellington
Once you have all your information confirmed, change the file properties uncheck Read-only . Then edit the xml provided using activesync. Be sure to change it back to read only then transfer it back into the Windows folder on your mobile device. Perform a soft reset and search for your city. Through some trial and error you should be able to have your city or one closer to you.
Ok, I almost got it, can you explain location code? I do not see the pic you mentioned in the first post. I live in US Thibodaux LA 70301. How should I type this in when I edit the file? I have the URL number, which part is the code?
Thanks
Anybody, I think I am almost there.
BKsFinest said:
Before editing the XML file. Look for your city to see if it's available on the database.
GO HERE TO SEARCH CITIES: http://www.accuweather.com/ (Use your own zipcode or city)
Then Go here: "http://htc.spamasaurus.com/parseweather.php?locCode=NAM|US|FL|WELLINGTON" and edit the LAST 3 FIELDS TO YOUR COUNTRY,STATE, AND CITY.
ex:
NAM=North America
(COUNTRY)US=United States
(STATE)FL= Florida
(CITY)Wellington
Once you have all your information confirmed, change the file properties uncheck Read-only . Then edit the xml provided using activesync. Be sure to change it back to read only then transfer it back into the Windows folder on your mobile device. Perform a soft reset and search for your city. Through some trial and error you should be able to have your city or one closer to you.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I still cannot edit!!!! And my file is 0409. does this make a difference?
The file is not editable even when you take it out of read only mode.
0409.
you cant edit the file cus its in the rom.
alltheway said:
Just download this program way better than HTC Home weather and it's free
http://www.freewarepocketpc.net/ppc-download-weather-watcher-mobile-v1-0-8.html
Features:
- Forecasts available for 77,000+ cities world-wide.
- Current weather conditions.
- 46-hour forecast.
- 10-day day/night forecast.
- Severe weather alerts from National Weather Service (US only).
- 18+ weather unit conversion choices.
- Skinned interface/forecasts.
- Data usage stats. Installation:
Download and copy the CAB to any location on your mobile device. Tap the CAB on your device to start the Weather Watcher installation program.
The program receives it's weather from weather.com
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
firsto of all the answer in that is that accuweather looks great on our kaiser
htc home
secondly i have to say that i get irritated without trying to play it smart but when it says at the first post change properties from read only i cannot understand the post about the file not being editable if on read only (7th row )
i am not american so i read english as most of you
i wouldnt say all these things but i got tired of reading threads with 2500 posts and on about 95% of those posts can be answered in the very first post
and for the friend right above me its on my rom too but
PLEASE READ THE FIRST POST WHERE I SAY UNCHECK READ ONLY
IS IT SO HARD!!!!
thimiost said:
PLEASE READ THE FIRST POST WHERE I SAY UNCHECK READ ONLY
IS IT SO HARD!!!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
a file in ROM no matter if you uncheck read only cannot be edited, unless you can unlock the ROM for read/write which if i understand correctly has to be done before you flash the rom to the phone. There is a reason its called ROM (Read Only Memory).
is it like that?
pdtp said:
a file in ROM no matter if you uncheck read only cannot be edited, unless you can unlock the ROM for read/write which if i understand correctly has to be done before you flash the rom to the phone. There is a reason its called ROM (Read Only Memory).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
then i have a rom that can be edited!!!
WOW
thimiost said:
then i have a rom that can be edited!!!
WOW
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not knowing your setup i dont know. I do know that the file in my memory says its in the ROM and if i uncheck the read only part i cant do anything to the file as it is in the ROM, and the file cannot have the read only flag changed.
If you take a look at your own file properties and it has a little checkbox checked that says its in the ROM and you can edit it then i guess you do have a ROM that can me edited if not, well you should investigate things before you make claims like that.
Updated development posted at this thread...
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"lightbox_stop_slideshow": "Stop slideshow",
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"lightbox_thumbnails": "Thumbnails",
"lightbox_download": "Download",
"lightbox_share": "Share",
"lightbox_zoom": "Zoom",
"lightbox_new_window": "New window",
"lightbox_toggle_sidebar": "Toggle sidebar"
}
Notepad Mobile
This is a "text editor" for Windows Mobile. It allows you to open text (.txt) files and other text based files (.xml, .bat, .log, etc.)
Updated v1.1: (28/10/2008)
Added Zoom Functionality
Reduced Executable Size!
Features:
Open/Create/Save text files
Supports cut/copy/paste by right click
Text input area resize as-per SIP (virtual keyboard) space
It is a standalone executable (no installation required)
Extremely light-weight and with minimum memory consumption
How to install:
Extract and copy Notepad.exe on your device and run it from there!
See: http://shamasis.net/projects/mobile/notepad/
Notepad for Windows Mobile - My First App!
Hello everybody,
It is really wonderful to see such a group of talented developers here. I am really amazed to see everyone's dedication. So much so that I felt like contributing. But there is a roadblock ahead of me.
I am a proficient developer. My domain is JavaScripting, PHP, ASP, C# .NET. I am very new to the world of Windows Mobile.
In fact, I found that I am wasting too much of time Googling even simplest of things! In fact, I am still stuck at how to work have transparent controls for Windows Mobile .NET Compact Framework!
What I would request is if someone could give me a headstart with links/tips upon simplest things for transition of C# Desktop development to C# Smartphone development (especially for Diamond as I own one!)
If I am reposting anything without searching or if I am repeating, kindly excuse me for this time and point me to proper threads!
Thanking you again!
Windows Mobile SDK
Install the Windows Mobile 6 SDK and use Visual Studio.
Already done.
cmilian said:
Install the Windows Mobile 6 SDK and use Visual Studio.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did that! And that is how I made my first app. And just as a note, I do develop C# apps for desktop and as you can see, have developed simple WM apps too!
I just found no good resource as to solve very specific issues like: Control's image background and transparency, etc!
I need to know few things... please help:
1. How do I create transparent controls or have background images of textboxes, labels, etc!
2. If I apply an icon to the application (in solution properties), I get a build error "CVTRES fatal error : cannot read file.", though the same icon file is loaded when I assign it to the main Form's Icon property!!
have you checked out:
www.msdn.microsoft.com
MSDN has some solutions.
idrisito said:
have you checked out:
www.msdn.microsoft.com
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
MSDN has some solutions (regarding the transparency issues), but did not find anything concrete!
shamasis said:
MSDN has some solutions (regarding the transparency issues), but did not find anything concrete!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Technically the CF does not support transparent controls, but as with anything, there are some tricks to simulate it. You might try searching Google Groups in the microsoft.public.dotnet.framework.compactframework group for some pointers. As for myself, although I did get some workable controls using those tips, I found it was more trouble than it was worth. "Roll your own" is my motto now. I hardly even use the standard label control anymore.
As for your icon issue, remove the 256x256 version from the ico file. That should do the trick.
Windows Mobile Icon Issue solved!
GeckoDev said:
... As for your icon issue, remove the 256x256 version from the ico file. That should do the trick.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes right!!! It was stupid of me not to have verified the icon support for this platform.
With a lot of searching, I realized packing: 64x64, 43x43, 32x32, 21x21, 16x16 in 256 colours would be the best idea.
I used IconFX... Great tool See: http://icofx.ro/
The update exe is now way smaller. Do have a look.
BTW: Thanks a ton.
shamasis said:
I used IconFX... Great tool See: http://icofx.ro/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was going to suggest that to you as well ... best free icon editor I've found.
shamasis said:
With a lot of searching, I realized packing: 64x64, 43x43, 32x32, 21x21, 16x16 in 256 colours would be the best idea.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You probably don't need all of them. From what I've been able to tell, the OS only uses the 16x16, 32x32, and 64x64 versions. I think I read that on MSDN somewhere, but I don't have a reference. Either way, those have worked fine for me. Remember that you need to take steps to reduce your footprint on mobile devices.
Useless Icon Sizes!
GeckoDev said:
... the OS only uses the 16x16, 32x32, and 64x64 versions...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Is it so?? I mean... I read some MSDN blog that said for square devices you need 21x21 and 43x43! If you say that its pointless to include them, I will be more than happy to scrap those non-standard sizes!
From: http://blogs.msdn.com/windowsmobile/archive/2007/03/02/320x320-revisited.aspx
Heh ... I was wondering where those weird sizes came from. OK, so if you're developing for square too, then maybe you do need them. I've only concerned myself with VGA/QVGA so far, so I probably misspoke.
As bloated as ico files are, I'm surprised they decided on two additional sizes for squares. I have an app with all kinds of cool graphics that are only 3-5 kb, but the icon with only a few sizes is 90-100kb, which is about 1/3 of the total exe size ... just for an icon!!! That might be why some apps have different installers for square screens, so the footprint for each stays lower.
Hi, i was testing ur notepad.exe on my HTC Touch found this problem the screen seen freeze at 1/3 of the file w/o wordwarp or with wordwarp same only little further. But when i scroll up to top no problem.
using file "HH_0409_WeatherCities.xml" size is 225kb
small problem with switching portrait to landscape while notepad running
(i did this before runnin notepad switch portrait to landscape or versa)
HOPING FEATURES
FIND option <--- this 1 most wanter
Replace option
Hi , if you are still looking for transparent control look at this :
The ability to draw bitmaps transparently though the usage of the ImageAttributes parameter still exists in the .NET Compact Framework, but it's a little bit more work than on the desktop.
ImageAttributes imageAttr = new ImageAttributes();
// Make a transparent key
imageAttr.SetColorKey(Color.White, Color.White);
//Use the key when drawing
gxOff.DrawImage(m_bmp, imgRect, 0, 0, img.Width, img.Height,
GraphicsUnit.Pixel, imageAttr);
source : http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa446518.aspx
Screen Mode Bug Fixed.
OceanSpray said:
...small problem with switching portrait to landscape while notepad running
(i did this before runnin notepad switch portrait to landscape or versa)...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have solved this issue. Now you should have no problem while changing from portrait to landscape and vice versa. Do check out and let me know. Download updated file
Regarding the other bug: I have seen this issue on many devices. In my opinion, it is a problem (limitation) of DOTNET Framework. Try upgrading to latest DOTNET CF and do the testing.
Also, if this problem persists, I presume there will be a workaround for this. But the workaround may be at the cost of loading time and memory usage. Should I proceed in that direction?
PS:
I am planning all the existing Notepad features for this application. That Includes Find and Replace and Zoom.
Icon issue!
GeckoDev said:
...OK, so if you're developing for square too, then maybe you do need them. I've only concerned myself with VGA/QVGA so far, so I probably misspoke.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hey... I have removed the odd sizes as well! Lets dump Square devices as of now!!
Moderators: Well... ummmmm.... this software seems to be working on most ppc-s without breaking them!!! can/should this be copied/moved to the "softwares" section??
Development shifted to another thread.
Find updated information at:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=2853166#post2853166
I intend to follow-up this thread for a diamond specific notepad that I will make. Provided I can find a way to make good transparent controls!!
Thanks for this nifty app!
There's a bug however : I'm unable to externaly launch a non-known filetype with Notepad. I get : "The specified file cannot be opened. Path or format incorrect" I get the error with or without launching the file (a .ini file, just for the record) in double-quotes. However, I'm able to open the file just file from within notepad.
And do take a look at Notepad2 (Desktop). It's a great Notepad replacement but maintains the speed and style. Would be nice if you could implement some of its features like line numbers and syntax highlighting.
[deXter] said:
Thanks for this nifty app!
There's a bug however : I'm unable to externaly launch a non-known filetype with Notepad. I get : "The specified file cannot be opened. Path or format incorrect"...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
hello dexter. kindly check out the newer version of this app with many new features at this thread: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=2853166
shamasis said:
Notepad Mobile
This is a "text editor" for Windows Mobile. It allows you to open text (.txt) files and other text based files (.xml, .bat, .log, etc.)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi Shamasis,
I was looking for a Windows Mobile Notepad to edit .reg and .ini files on my PDA without having to copy the files to PC and back again. Your Notepad is a very cool start but has one problem for me: it only saves in ANSI format and not in UNICODE format.
I can use your Notepad to view the files but not edit them unfortunately. The *.ini for many of my applications needs to be in UNICODE and doesn't accept ANSI after opening and saving in Notepad.
Can I make a feature request for Save As... UNICODE? Or perhaps you can automatically resave in the same format the opened file was?
Great tool Shamasis - keep up the good work!
Mathew
Hi everyone,
I wrote yet another simple file manager for the Android platform, called Ghost Commander.
Why I did it? Because it only features two panels, like famous (Norton|Midnight|Total) Commander and you can easy copy/move files between the panels by a single key press (instead of that boring cut/copy/paste operations). It also can create and delete folders, edit small text files.
For the advanced users, this file manager has also the "root:" (su - super
user) mode to work with system files on a rooted phone, change file permissions
attributes (chmod) and even execute your own shell commands. Plus, the "mount:"
mode to browse and remount the file system partitions.
Aside the file system on the sdcard, the file manager can also upload or
download files from remote locations such as FTP servers, Windows (aka Samba)
network shares (plug-in required), create or extract ZIP archives.
Here is the link for download.
Ill check it out! Sounds interesting...thanks!
-BMFC
Your app is very good! Nice and simple, but it doesnt show anything under /cache or /data /or /system/sd/...it could really use that function, other than that its pretty good, no FC's, not really laggy, Nice work! Make it truly show ALL contents and itll be great! Thanks!
-BMFC
bmfc187 said:
Your app is very good! Nice and simple, but it doesnt show anything under /cache or /data /or /system/sd/...it could really use that function, other than that its pretty good, no FC's, not really laggy, Nice work! Make it truly show ALL contents and itll be great! Thanks!
-BMFC
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you for the review.
I don't know why it does not show the content in some system folders. It just got nothing when it asks the list of the files for that directories. May be it's some java security limitations. I tried other file managers, they don't show that as well. I'll try to as a question on an xda forum.
Did you expirience any troubles with the track ball? The application should switch panels on the left movement, did that bring any trouble?
Can you post some screenshots?
zc2 said:
Thank you for the review.
I don't know why it does not show the content in some system folders. It just got nothing when it asks the list of the files for that directories. May be it's some java security limitations. I tried other file managers, they don't show that as well. I'll try to as a question on an xda forum.
Did you expirience any troubles with the track ball? The application should switch panels on the left movement, did that bring any trouble?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The only file manager i know that shows the contents of those folders is SUFBS. It has a file browser, terminal, shared network viewer...its pretty good...i guess i hadnt thought about that being basically the only one that DOES show those directories...guess i got spoiled....lol
Screenshots:
{
"lightbox_close": "Close",
"lightbox_next": "Next",
"lightbox_previous": "Previous",
"lightbox_error": "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later.",
"lightbox_start_slideshow": "Start slideshow",
"lightbox_stop_slideshow": "Stop slideshow",
"lightbox_full_screen": "Full screen",
"lightbox_thumbnails": "Thumbnails",
"lightbox_download": "Download",
"lightbox_share": "Share",
"lightbox_zoom": "Zoom",
"lightbox_new_window": "New window",
"lightbox_toggle_sidebar": "Toggle sidebar"
}
-BMFC
bmfc187 said:
The only file manager i know that shows the contents of those folders is SUFBS. It has a file browser, terminal, shared network viewer...its pretty good...i guess i hadnt thought about that being basically the only one that DOES show those directories...guess i got spoiled....lol
-BMFC
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I tried to access to the "/cache" folder with a terminal emulator (ConnectBot) and got "Permission denied". But as root the folder reads fine.
So, it seems need to figure out how to run a java app as root (if possible).
Thank you for the screenshots. I've learnt I shouldn't mix system provided icons and application's in one menu.
That SUFBS seems very powerful. Will try it later if I'd find where to download it from.
zc2 said:
I tried to access to the "/cache" folder with a terminal emulator (ConnectBot) and got "Permission denied". But as root the folder reads fine.
So, it seems need to figure out how to run a java app as root (if possible).
Thank you for the screenshots. I've learnt I shouldn't mix system provided icons and application's in one menu.
That SUFBS seems very powerful. Will try it later if I'd find where to download it from.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Its on the market, Its not called SUFBS anymore, it was changed to "SuperUser File Manager & Terminal" or something, if you search market for "superuser" it will come up, its about $2 or $3 USD, i forget, but well worth it for the functionality. Maybe you might contact the developer and see if they would help you with figuring out how to show root directories, since they already know...
-BMFC
It's definitely good start but isn't possible add 2 panels like app shares. For example :
d750 said:
It's definitely good start but isn't possible add 2 panels like app shares. For example :
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's possible now:
2 panels great. Now definitely missing feature single tap select item and refresh second panel after copy file.
new version is available
d750 said:
2 panels great. Now definitely missing feature single tap select item and refresh second panel after copy file.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've decided not to overload the screen with additional components to be able to select an item by a single tap.
So, now it behaves this way:
When you click on the left part of the row the item processed, when you click on the right part, the row is selected.
Refresh after an operation was also fixed.
This is almost perfect. Isn't possible make option in settings to enable and disable file detail like (mb, time).
new version
d750 said:
This is almost perfect. Isn't possible make option in settings to enable and disable file detail like (mb, time).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
simple/detailed view option and sorting were added.
damn im actualy in middle of writing an app just like this but image specific
will probably finnish it up next week...
Freedomcaller said:
damn im actualy in middle of writing an app just like this but image specific
will probably finnish it up next week...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
that's interesting... is it available to take a look?
as of now its very similar to the standard image gallery (just the browser section has doublevision) and thats all im gona do for the browsing i just need to implement drag and drop to copy files which is probably the hard part. the cool thing is im gona have it drop onto a new activity with the drop explorer enlarged and some extra buttons like cancel and rename that it can be droped onto. since your not gona drop it in the area you picked it up from. ive never worked with drag and drop or content resolvers yet so this is gona be hard, but before this app i never worked with databases or list adapters either so...
Wow that's perfect. Now definitely missing ftp client.
d750 said:
Wow that's perfect. Now definitely missing ftp client.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There is no a ftp java library around so write a ftp client from the scratch may take some time.
BTW, the Ghost commander has internal module architecture, so, if somebody willing to implement a ftp client according the interfaces I provide, it will be very easy to plug in to the project.
Freedomcaller,
Drag'n drop is probably cool, but I rather use the keyboard to do the stuff.
Welcome all
This thread is now in the process of being built, so please dont complain about it being rubbish until I have finished it
This thread will guide you through all the steps to skin and edit manila how you like, so you will be able to make your own themes and visual tweaks
This guide will be more complete than others, but primarily focus on the more skinned files, to save peope time scanning through long lists, I will also make raw packages for people to use to get a head start on their themes..
So, watch this space and I will help you with all you need to know, some of the things I will cover are:
[★]Manila Basics
[★]Opening up a cab
[★]Quick and basic way to find what manila file does what, and how to find them on your phone
[★]The Better way to find Manila file does what, and how to find them on your pc
[★]Converting Manila Files To PNG And Vice Verca
[★]Skinning Manila Files
[★]Re-Colouring Manila Files
[★]Editing The Transparency Of Manila Files
[★]Manila Compatibility
[★]Cabbing Up Manila Files To Test
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Manila BasicsOk, so there are different types of manila file,
even though they all look the same when looking at them
on a desktop, or on your phone. There are: QTC, Mode9
and Lua files. The only one I understand, and the one that
is used for skinning manila, is the QTC files, and this is what
we will learn about, so for now, forget about the other two,
and note that when I refer to a manila file, I mean a QTC file,
but you cant tell the difference anyway, just by looking at it.
A common question that people ask is: Is 'this manila mod'
compatible with my version of windows? Now, this is pretty
much irrelevant, as manila and windows are two seperate things,
manila runs on top of windows.. However if you are running an
old version of windows mobile, its likely you have an old phone
which isn't able to run Manila anyway.
There are many different name for all these manila. Touch Flo 3D,
Sense 2.5, Sense 2.1. Now, Touch Flo 3D is the original htc ui that
was first released on devices such as the Touch Pro and the Diamond.
Sense 2.1 was releases on the touch pro 2, the diamond 2 and the
blackstone, a good way to distinguish between this version and
sense 2.5, is that 2.1 has a greyed out slider, whilst 2.5 has a colourful
one. Sense 2.5 is on most of the newer devices, such as the leo,
however due to custom roms, pretty much everyone on the blackstone,
touch pro 2, touch diamond 2 and imagio now runs 2.5.
Hardly anyone uses TF3D any more, so you can forget about that, a
simple way to differentiate between 2.1 and 2.5, is 2.1 has no
quicklinks on the home screen, and 2.5 does. However there has been
many updates to both versions so it can be hard to tell sometimes.
If you are still not sure, go to the settings tab, scroll down to the bottom and select about, select software information
You only usually need to refer to the first 6 digits, so mine is 2.5.2012.
Opening up a cab
You shall want to know how to open and examine cab files,
I will explain why in the next post. This is much easy than
many people first think.
The easiest way to do this is to use Win CE Cab Manager,
however it is not free,but Im sure many of you have other
ways of getting it, but that is not to be discussed on this forum
There is also another program you can use to look at the contents,
however it is not as fancy as Win CE, but it is FREE . I shall go
over that later
To Open a cab with Win CE Cab Manager (WCM): This is very simple, just
open the cab file with WCM and go down to the files tab, here you will find
every file that is in the cab, along with its locations that it installs to on the
phone. Here is a visual aid:
Another way to do this, is to use ervius's Package Creator, this is free, and will quickly extract all files from a cab for you to a set folder, however this way, you cant find out where the files go to, however this does not matter because all manila files go to windows. Here is how to do it:
Quick and Easy Way To Find What Manila File Does What
Ok, so this is how I used to find what I needed,
however it isn't very useful all thee time, as you have to know of
a cab that already changes what you want to change yourself.
So, for example, lets say I want to edit the clock background, but
I don't know what manila file represents it, first thing I would do is
go to try and find a cab that someone else has made that did something
to the clock background, so I find this
'Touch X original clock background',
[Download it here if you want to
follow me exactly]
So now I have it, I will open it with WCM (see above on how to open
the cab up with WCM), and we can see that there is the file called
'31794a12_manila' inside, so we now know that this file is for the
clock background.
Next we want to find the original or 'stock' version, of this file, so
we can work with the same file that we see on our phone. So, next
thing to do is open up file explorer on our phone and navigate to the
windows folder. This is located at the root of the device. Now if you
keep scrolling down the windows folder, you should start coming
across all the manila files. If you don't see any manila files, then
go onto the file explorer menu and select show all files. Now, all
you have to do is scroll down until you find 31794a12_manila, and
then copy it from windows to somewhere like your storage card,
and then copy it onto your pc, you now have a file ready for editing.
Better way to find manila files.
Sorry this took me so long to write, I wasn't sure of the best way to write it, and I'm still not so here goes..
When your favourite rom chef, or even HTC for that matter, make roms, manila is added in, in multiple packages, such as Manila Music, Manila People, Mania Home ect.... This can help us ALOT in finding a particular file, as we can narrow down our searches to one package.
So, being a rom chef myself, I just take all the manila packages from my kitchen, and look through them with cfcgui (we shall get to that later) however there are so many different versions of manila, so many different packages that it might be hard to find the packages for your specific version, however if you can find yours, thats great. Alot of files DO NOT change between versions, so usually its quite easy to find a packages that suits yours and others roms. The most used manila package at the moment is probably 2012 and 2014, so I will upload those packages for you guys, that way you have somewhere to start. Also provided is a thread which has some more manila packages, thanks to dotcompt
[Dotcompt packages]
[Manila 2012 Packages]
[Manila 2014 Packages]
So, lets begin , lets say for example, I want to edit the Mail background paper image, so this will take 2 seconds with this method , no looking for other cabs
The first thing we want to do is download CFC GUI, heres a link to the thread!
[Download]
[Thread, so you can read more about it and its features] - Thanks Chainfire, great work as usual
I keep CFCGUI in the same folder as my manila packages...
Open CFC GUI, and it will ask you to select a folder, this is the directory it will work from, so we want to point it to the manila package. And we want to edit the mail tab background, and so we can make a pretty good guess that its gonna be in the Manila Mail package , so browse to where your manila mail package is, and then to the files folder inside that, and click ok, CFC GUI will now scan the folder for manila files.
Now, we have a list of files, CFC GUI will name the ones that it already knows, but considering it hasn't been updated in a while, this doesnt pick up all of the files, so any ones it doesnt recognize goes into the unknown section. Just keep flicking through all these files, whilst CFC GUI displays an image of it on the right, until you find the one your looking for, which in our case is the second from last file, found in unknown - 32830efc_manila WE HAVE OUR FILE!
Now, we want to edit it, use the shortkey Ctrl+S to save the file as a png ready for editing, I like to have a seperate folder for converting png to qtc and vice versa, which I name, my working folder , so have an empty folder called Working Folder somewhere else, and choose to save the png there.
Another advantage to this is, the file is already converted to png for you
Converting Manila Files To PNG's And Vice Verca
If you found the files the better way from the last post, you won't need to know how to convert from Manila (QTC) to PNG, however its good to know for other reasons, plus its super easy
For this, I use a program called M9Editor, technically, you can do the same with this as you can with CFC GUI, but M9Editor does this particular task more efficiently.
[Download Here]
[Thread For Further Reading] thanks 6Fg8!
Once m9editor is downloaded, extract the contents to a folder and then run m9editor.exe, and it will say something along the lines of 'some of the following settings are not correct' so you press ok and set what directories are used. I personally just use the same folder for all 4 of the functions, as I only use m9editor for one function, and so this saves confusion!, use the same folder as you save into with CFCGUI, this makes everything fit together and makes your manila editing experience much smoother ;D
So, to convert Manila to PNG, put the Manila file in the directory you specified when you setup m9editor, and you will see it appear in the list, you can put as many files in the folder as you want, they will all show up, also on the left of the screen you will notice a preview, this is also useful to have. Now, to convert the manila file to a png file, click the button 'Q>P', depending on how many files you have in your folder, this will take a few seconds, and then you will have a png with the same name in your working folder. Sorted! Now you can go edit it.
So Im sure you've worked it out, to convert PNG to Manila, we just press the button next to 'Q>P' which is 'P>Q' ;D and now you have a manila file generated with the same name as the png.
NOTE: If you are going to convert a file, always make sure that the file you are producing is not going to be made in the same directory as a file with the same name, so in other words, if you converted a Manila to png, then edited the png, then wanted to convert it back to manila, make sure you delete the original Manila file first.
Skinning Manila Files
Now this is where the fun bit comes in and where everyones skill is put to use, the actually skinning and modification of a manila file. This is also relatively easy (especially for graphics artists ofc lol) but there are a couple of rules you MUST remember when doing it.
Firstly, when you open your new PNG image in whatever program you use to edit images, I would always recommend you make a new layer on top to work with, as you must remember the original image should be considered a template, and you must work within its guidelines. Alot of manila files total canvas size is alot bigger than the actual graphic that is on it, I'm not sure why HTC decided to do this, but they did and so we must always remember that when on our phone, Sense only picks up graphics where the original one was, and the rest isnt seen.
That leads me onto my second point, all the wasted space is transparent! it has to be transparent, that means two basic things, all manila files are always saves as PNG's before conversion, as only PNG's support transparency, and also you cant use MS Paint to edit manila, cus it has no transparency support for its PNG's I usually use Alpha Transparency.
So if your confused by now, heres a few little images to show you what I mean, using the clock background image file:
..............................................................................................................................................................................................
........................................................
..........................
..............................................................
And one final one for me
Nice.............. tutorial for dummies
nice work
i am good designer , but don't know how
Sounds very nice, when will we see first release?
12 posts?
your getting me excited!
Oh my God ! I can't belive it !! finally !
andy andy said:
Nice.............. tutorial for dummies
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not dummies people who are too lazy to look around to find answers
windows7 said:
nice work
i am good designer , but don't know how
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good good, looking forward to some nice themes then man
hskeik said:
Sounds very nice, when will we see first release?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
in a couple of weeks, like I said in the first post
gman34 said:
12 posts?
your getting me excited!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
hehe
tin2404 said:
Oh my God ! I can't belive it !! finally !
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
[★] said:
Not dummies people who are too lazy to look around to find answers
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If I may to correct this statement for a little bit....
For example, Wherever I searched for, for my project,I could not get answer anywhere,and whatever I tried,it was always mistake somehware and I could not find the sollution...So,this is not for lazy people ( lazy people does not search sollution between hundereds of various files inside manila) so this is ULTIMATE tutorial for people who like to learn how some things works and behave inside manila envoriment..
And it is interesting that there is none of any good tutorial since WM5 for building WM 6.5 .tsk theme...These stuf are really essential and fundamental and it is amazing that there is none of them here exposed...
(sorry for my bad english )
great!
I look forward to your tutorial. cheers!
Source and app
http://windowsphonehacker.com/articles/folders_for_windows_phone_mango_first_release-10-27-11
Video:
How to:
THANKS to Jaxbot:
Jaxbot said:
Now from the top, hmm, my work ended up on XDA. Funny how that happens Glad you guys are figuring it out. The program was designed to try and be a little bit proofed, but it should be easy enough to take apart for developers.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
cant get it to deploy. keeps telling me the phone is locked up.
XAP Deployment (the one from M$) works aok.
EDIT: Found a way around it.
if you go into the files:
-foldersconfig_v1
-release1
-folders.xap.dynamic
you can rename 'folders.xap.dynamic' to 'folders.xap' and just deploy it the old fashioned way.
....
poy41 said:
cant get it to deploy. keeps telling me the phone is locked up.
XAP Deployment (the one from M$) works aok.
EDIT: Found a way around it.
if you go into the files:
-foldersconfig_v1
-release1
-folders.xap.dynamic
you can rename 'folders.xap.dynamic' to 'folders.xap' and just deploy it the old fashioned way.
....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How did you manage to copy apps to the folder? before you xap it. I mean sideload apps.The video doesn't shows how to copy sideload using the menu txt.
great, looking forward to more user configuration of the tiles.
very neat
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Ttblondey said:
How did you manage to copy apps to the folder? before you xap it. I mean sideload apps.The video doesn't shows how to copy sideload using the menu txt.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
if you do everything they tell you to till the point it comes to deploy it. you can save it. then do what i said to do. should work aok if your having problems using there 'deploy'.
only the homebrew installation is quite complicated.Anybody manage to install their homebrew?
Ttblondey said:
only the homebrew installation is quite complicated.Anybody manage to install their homebrew?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
installation of the apps isn't a problem. the tile images are not showing however. They are blank with the system accent color.
derausgewanderte said:
installation of the apps isn't a problem. the tile images are not showing however. They are blank with the system accent color.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
oic. If there is a way to copy paste.By the way how did you install the sideload apps using the menus.txt.Can you show step by step?
Very Nice work Jaxbot !!!
I like your idea of folder in my Omnia 7
How do you get more than one set of folders pinned to the homescreen? I cant select more than one.
Nevermind, got it now. You have to just go into the Folders app on the phone instead of redploying each folder setup.
Ttblondey said:
oic. If there is a way to copy paste.By the way how did you install the sideload apps using the menus.txt.Can you show step by step?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
everything you need to know is here. I found my problem with tiles was a path error. You can edit the menus.txt tile in the program's dir to fix/change or add stuff.
cheers
derausgewanderte said:
everything you need to know is here. I found my problem with tiles was a path error. You can edit the menus.txt tile in the program's dir to fix/change or add stuff.
cheers
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks anyway.It's quite complicated to copy the .img file although I try to figure it out.Any example step by step?I mean start from scratch.what tio type etc.... and where do we get the .img file.
Ttblondey said:
Thanks anyway.It's quite complicated to copy the .img file although I try to figure it out.Any example step by step?I mean start from scratch.what tio type etc.... and where do we get the .img file.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Its actually rather easy...
After you opened folders config... Make folder and add a couple apps from the marketplace so that the menus.txt will show you the format.. Make sure to save it so that the menus.txt will be recreated.
Now open menus.txt with notepad... Move to side.
Open desired xap with winrar and look for wmappmanifest.xml, open that with notepad.
You will find the guid within the first couple of lines its actually called prodectID in the manifest file...
On the next line in the manifest file is the icon name for the app..
Back to the xap you opened in winrar.. Look for the icon in the xap named what you seen in the manifest file..Copy that to the apps folder in foldersconfig. Make sure it is sized 86x86 pixels.
Now in the menus.txt file add another line below the last app you added. Or changed one of the lines if you just added the app from the marketplace to show the menus.txt file format. Change GUID and icon path to the values you seen in the manifest file.
Save menus.txt file..
Open folderscongig.exe, double click on folder, make sure homebrew app you just set up is listed in the folder now. Hit okay, then save or deploy...
Here is the line from my menus.txt file for vNESlight as an example.
<application name="vNESlight" guid="6190740c-044c-4e5f-bed4-7b5cff306964" image="apps/tile-withBGcorrect-62x62.png" />
reeg420 said:
Its actually rather easy...
After you opened folders config... Make folder and add a couple apps from the marketplace so that the menus.txt will show you the format.. Make sure to save it so that the menus.txt will be recreated.
Now open menus.txt with notepad... Move to side.
Open desired xap with winrar and look for wmappmanifest.xml, open that with notepad.
You will find the guid within the first couple of lines its actually called prodectID in the manifest file...
On the next line in the manifest file is the icon name for the app..
Back to the xap you opened in winrar.. Look for the icon in the xap named what you seen in the manifest file..Copy that to the apps folder in foldersconfig. Make sure it is sized 86x86 pixels.
Now in the menus.txt file add another line below the last app you added. Or changed one of the lines if you just added the app from the marketplace to show the menus.txt file format. Change GUID and icon path to the values you seen in the manifest file.
Save menus.txt file..
Open folderscongig.exe, double click on folder, make sure homebrew app you just set up is listed in the folder now. Hit okay, then save or deploy...
Here is the line from my menus.txt file for vNESlight as an example.
<application name="vNESlight" guid="6190740c-044c-4e5f-bed4-7b5cff306964" image="apps/tile-withBGcorrect-62x62.png" />
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the guide and troubling yourself for the steps, much appreciated.
Will try it.
Homebrew Hub
Hey,
you provided some really great work and gave the phone 7 home-brew development a huge boost.
But I'd like to strongly suggest the next big thing. Here's the plan:
Due the fact that this is already a xap installer and builder, it is really easy to implement a highly requested service:
The Homebrew Hub.
So instead of deploying your xaps with various loaders and then organize them into folders, Homebrew Hub provides a much eaisier way: just select your applications, order them into folders right in the Desktop application and deploy it all together.
So deploying and organizing right together in one application.
In the end, you have all your homebrew applications decent organized in one hub.
Hope you like this recommendation,
Regards, Suicide Clown
MarysFetus said:
Hey,
you provided some really great work and gave the phone 7 home-brew development a huge boost.
But I'd like to strongly suggest the next big thing. Here's the plan:
Due the fact that this is already a xap installer and builder, it is really easy to implement a highly requested service:
The Homebrew Hub.
So instead of deploying your xaps with various loaders and then organize them into folders, Homebrew Hub provides a much eaisier way: just select your applications, order them into folders right in the Desktop application and deploy it all together.
So deploying and organizing right together in one application.
In the end, you have all your homebrew applications decent organized in one hub.
Hope you like this recommendation,
Regards, Suicide Clown
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If there's a demand for a homebrew hub, that's super easy to make.
Now from the top, hmm, my work ended up on XDA. Funny how that happens Glad you guys are figuring it out. The program was designed to try and be a little bit proofed, but it should be easy enough to take apart for developers.
To break it down, FoldersConfig basically acts as a deployment tool and as a XML/ZIP compressor. So, if you know how to set up the program, you don't even need FoldersConfig. It's just to make the process a little more friendly
Any questions, feel free to ask me. This is just a small project I did in my spare time
It works, thanks man
@Jaxbot:
Big thanks for this app.
I think an "on-device-solution" for Samsung devices should be possible.
For creating that you need root access to the folders. So atm only Heathcliff74 has the knowledge...
Greetz
contable
contable said:
@Jaxbot:
Big thanks for this app.
I think an "on-device-solution" for Samsung devices should be possible.
For creating that you need root access to the folders. So atm only Heathcliff74 has the knowledge...
Greetz
contable
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It should be possible. I don't really even need full root access, just reading abilities, which should be possible on all devices with a little bit of interop. I'll play around with it.
Jaxbot said:
It should be possible. I don't really even need full root access, just reading abilities, which should be possible on all devices with a little bit of interop. I'll play around with it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I like "a little bit of interop".
Do you think add/delete functions are possible, too ?
I saw this while testing the latest version of TouchXperience from Schaps, but as usually it works only on HTC devices with Mango beta...