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This is quite annoying, some today plugins are not getting refreshed properly and simply dissapear. I remeber somewhere reading about registry trick, but can't seem to find it. Any suggestions?
TIA
ID64 said:
This is quite annoying, some today plugins are not getting refreshed properly and simply dissapear. I remeber somewhere reading about registry trick, but can't seem to find it. Any suggestions?
TIA
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I found this and tried it, but I still have the problem with part of the Today Plugin dissapearing...
What I did is increase the Glyph cache (fonts) to 32768, the memory used to cache fonts glyphs, this allows you to use more memory to speed up the display.
Sometimes there is still a delay in plug-ins appearing, but now at least they always appear.
Browse to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\GDI\GLYPHCACHE\
You can change the "limit" value from 4096 (slow) to 32768 (fast)
32768 will speed up the display noticeably, but uses more memory. I believe that 32768 is the max. value.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks a lot! I'll try that!
possible explanation for today plugin display issues
found this at MSDN... it seems that the app has to be tweaked a little for it to work better with wm2003se.
----------------------------------------------
Why does my Today Plugin sometimes disappear on Windows Mobile 2003
Second Edition devices?
The code for the sample Today Screen plugin that ships with the Pocket
PC 2003 SDK does not behave as it should do. The code calls
DefWindowProc after handling WM_PAINT, which it should not do. It
should simply return zero after doing its painting.
This bug can result in incorrect painting; specifically, you will get
a WM_ERASEBACKGROUND without a subsequent WM_PAINT, which will cause
your plugin to disappear.
If your Today Screen plugin was built based on the sample code you
should correct this behavior to fix your problem.
http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/d...us/dnppcgen/html/migration_developers_faq.asp
So any solutions to this problem?
I keep having this problem, especially after a soft reset.
Thanks.
i think the software maker should write some more stuff in their code (see my post above) so that the today plugin will be 100% compatible with the OS, maybe you could drop the developer an email and point them to the MSDN link so they could improve their application.
Greg has fixed this problem in his free taskplus plugin in version 1.41. Great tool to show you task list in Today's page.
I tried the registry fix posted earlier in this thread and it worked for my WorldMate plugin. After a reset the Worldmate plugin used to load only about half way and I'd have to unselect all of the plugins and reselect to put it right. So finally I just stopped using it, now it loads great everytime...Thanks.
Also I tried Task plus again and it now works nicely on my Jam. The older version had refresh problems, but now it is working great. Oh happy days!
I tried the registry fix posted earlier in this thread and it worked for my WorldMate plugin. After a reset the Worldmate plugin used to load only about half way and I'd have to unselect all of the plugins and reselect to put it right. So finally I just stopped using it, now it loads great everytime...Thanks.
Also I tried Task plus again and it now works nicely on my Jam. The older version had refresh problems, but now it is working great. Oh happy days!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Doesn't work on mine... I set it to 32768.
But anytime after reset, the WorldMate plugin overlaps the others..
TaskPlus still not working
I'm using TaskPlus 1.41 and had already increased the glyph cache size to max, but TaskPlus still disappears from my Today screen--a lot.
Same here, Taskplus randomly disappears, soft-resetting does not always help, nor does ticking and un-ticking the box in the today settings.
Ok after upgrading to 1.11
I faced that in 1.03 as well after a few days of usage. I have just upgraded to 1.11 and noticed that it stays on after reboot. Will monitor it for a few more days to see if it is ok...
Greetings everybody!
This project started as a simple test to write a today screen plug-in. The first version did nothing but show date and time updated every second. It had no options and in my opinion was useless.
Then I found out about the new AKU2 ROM and that there were a lot of people out there who really didn't like the changes made to today screen.
So I decided to continue with the project, and now it has evolved so even the title of the thread isn't very suitable any more. I keep it so people can recognize the thread.
Here's what this plug-in has to offer:
• Show date on today screen in one line, like in older ROMs.
• Show clock on taskbar in today screen (with / with out AM / PM).*
• Show date in taskbar*
• Options to control what appears in today screen: long / short date, time, seconds.
• 4 different alignment options.
• Custom font size for plug-in.
• Shows alarm icon, even on WM2003 devices.
• Option to blink the taskbar clock at user set intervals.*
• Option to turn of selectability.
• Windows Mobile 6 compatible
• Internet time synchronization (manual only)
*The plug-in does not effect system displayed taskbar clock if it exists, instead it puts it's own clock covering some icons. It can do so in today screen and all programs. The covered icons can still be accessed by taping on their location (the clock is 'click transparent')
NOTE: Before updating the plug-in, disable old version and then uninstall it. This will insure new file and settings will take effect. It is also recommended to preform soft reset.
DISCLAIMER: This program comes free but with no warranty, or even a guarantee that it will work. I take no responsibility for any damage that might incur from using this program.
PLEASE NOTE: The download is just below this message, but you must be logged in to see it.
LATEST VERSION: 0.2.1 published on 12/1/2008
One minor bug fix: my leap year calculation was off so the internet time sync was a day back. This is now fixed.
Download the app: View attachment LVMTime.CAB
Want to know how it works? Get the source code: View attachment 65697
Side note: It seems that the pole was reopened (probably because of forum format change. 33 people voted for "something else" but I have not received a single suggestion. "see post" means that if you vote for "something else" you must add a post with a suggestion - or I'll have to hunt you down for it! (Just kidding - not time as it is).
very nice
I'm about to commission something like this myself (plans from a month back or so - hope you don't mind)... here's one thing I noticed immediately; the font size doesn't respect the system font size. So if your today text is all "smaller" or "small", your item will still display as "normal".
Hi ZeBoxx!
I'm about to commission something like this myself (plans from a month back or so - hope you don't mind)...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Like I said this is just something I did as a test so be my guest, in fact if you want, I can send you the code, it's really basic but a good starting point.
the font size doesn't respect the system font size
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, I just create the font once in a global var. If someone will be kind enough to point me toward the right registry key, I'll be happy to correct this.
Also I'm pretty sure that clock.exe has a command line parameter that forces it to open on the time tab instead of the last tab accessed (when you launch it from the clock / run menu), I've tried several options but none of them worked. Does any one know what the parameter is?
Hi Levenum,
nice if you could send me the code too.
Thinking to implement some options, that might be usefull.
- Show/hide date
- Show/hide seconds
- Left/right justify
Seems to be the best alternative, for lack of clock in Today screen with new WM5.0 ROMs.
At least until someone cames with a proper hack!
Code sent via email.
levenum said:
Code sent via email.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Can you send the code also to me? Would be nice. Thanx
Thanks levenum
I think this good and can be further enhanced.
1. Clock to be sensitive to the h:mm:ss tt setting so we can alter the format and option to turn seconds on/off
2. Date format to be sensitive too to the format set
3. I think I would prefer the time to be right justified as this would appear neater.
I think this project could be a real goer as many have complained with the new wm5 roms and two lines date and time take.
Keep up the good work!
Thanks levenum
I think this good and can be further enhanced.
1. Clock to be sensitive to the h:mm:ss tt setting so we can alter the format and option to turn seconds on/off
2. Date format to be sensitive too to the format set
3. I think I would prefer the time to be right justified as this would appear neater.
I think this project could be a real goer as many have complained with the new wm5 roms and two lines date and time take.
Keep up the good work!
Hello everybody!
I am actually a bit overwhelmed by the warm response and the amount of downloads in such a short period of time.
Since I don't have access to a WM 5 device with the current ROMs you mentioned here I had no idea there was a problem with the date on today screen.
Regarding adding the formatting options: I thought of that, but unfortunately I have next to no time to devote to this project (I didn't actually expect it to become a project) so since I need to do a search for the registry keys (or maybe there are API functions) that contain the date and time format I am not likely to incorporate them any time soon. Of course if someone wants to help by posting the relevant info or link to it, that might speed things alone.
If anyone out there wants to just take my code and add the options them selves like Conchas you are welcome to post the results right here.
Also, the code requests keep coming in. I didn't post the project here because I thought it will be a waste of disk space (it's just a basic outline for a plug-in) but if the requests keep coming I will post it here rather then sending it every time.
P.S.:
I found this forum very helpful, and am glad to give a little something back to the community, although I am sure a monetary donation would have been more appreciated by the site administration. :mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen:
I want the code also.Thanks a lot
Hey good jb, I have downloaded, but not installed.
I suggested to SPB to get a hurry up with their WM5 release of SPB Time, and have heard that it has gone into Beta, probably for this reason.
will have a look and provide feedback. Without looking, some good features that people have indicated a need for in clock feature on other forums are:
1. Alarm clock system that works
2. Floating screen saver for clock
3. Stop watch and lap counters
PS I am sure donations will flow with a commitment to add in and make your own features enhanced.
When I looked, there was 66 downloads. If we offered say $10 (AUS) or similar for a full featured application, you would have had $660, and its ony just been posted. by the end of next week, it will have been downloaded thousands of times.
xdaIIse: I am posting the code a the head of the thread.
simon_darley: You misunderstood me: I am not asking for donations to my self. What I meant was that this site could use a donation more than my plug-in posted. It was just a little joke.
As for SPB, I saw some of their plug-ins, and there's not much chance I will be able to compete with them though I decided to add some options soon.
I was only dropping a hint that you could make money out of it, and gain further development experience at a profit... ,)
I just downloaded -- will be great as a quick intro to writing today plugins -- thanks!
I'm also really interested, because I'd like to have a single-line Day, Date, Time option for my Today screen -- but NOT the 2-line silliness that WM5 makes you use -- that just takes up too much space!
I have the date and time on my task/title bar with Wisbar, but there's no room up there for it to say "Saturday" (or any other day for that matter!). So I've been pondering a nice slim Today add-in that can format the day, date, time exactly as I'd like. I'd also like to experiment with options to make it skinnable, transparent, obey/ignore the system fonts, date formats, etc.
Thanks...I'll take a look at this soon...
Hey, could some one post here or pm me a screen shot of the problematic date plug-in. All this talk got me curios. I worked with WM 5 devices but they had a standard date display like WM 2003.
levenum said:
Hey, could some one post here or pm me a screen shot of the problematic date plug-in. All this talk got me curios. I worked with WM 5 devices but they had a standard date display like WM 2003.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's only with the new ROMs (AKU2 ROMs)
http://forum.xda-developers.com/viewtopic.php?t=44662
Thanks Ze!
It looks to me like MS is heading towards making PPCs look like regular cell phones with this new OS. First there were the soft keys that took the place of the menu/toolbar. (I didn't understand the design until I saw a phone edition device that had hardware equivalents) now it’s the little white battery meter.
What's next?
Full screen incoming call notification…
Problem is, unless you use a full taskbar skinner like Wisbar, you don't have much control over the fact that the day/date displays as two lines (I think changing the global date formats might have an effect but I'm not positive - and that SHOULDN'T be the only way to affect this display!).
Take a look at this clock plugin: TodayTime
Perhaps it does what you want. Dunno about the spanish though...
Cheers
Ok, most of you may find this totally useless as a plugin, but it was a combination of a request by user Treo_newb and a desire to create a sample plugin project that could be used as a base / example for plugin writers (I plan on doing an article on codeproject.com and this will be the source for it).
What does it do?
This plugin displays a string stored in registry.
The path is:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\RegDispPlugin
Value name: DisplayString
It checks if this string has changed several times per second when today screen is shown (as the system sends refresh message to all plugins) and displays the updated message if a change occurred.
What is it good for?
First, if you write apps using mortscript or similar like the user who requested this it will let your script display stuff on today screen.
Alternatively it could be used to mark your device today with a string that isn't as easily changed as user info.
The source is basically a skeleton plugin you can use to build your own plugin on (no license / copyright to limit you) and it already has several tricks needed for the plugin to display correctly:
VGA compatibility
Text size matching system settings
Proper header in settings dialog (like on system plugins)
Proper text color when selected (according to theme)
No blinking all today screen on change
Proper resize when switching between landscape and portrait
When I was writing my first plugin I could not find all these little fixes concentrated in a single article so I had to fish for each one as the bug reports came in.
Hope you will find this little project useful.
The plugin:View attachment RegDisplay.CAB
The source (eVC 4 project): View attachment RegDisplay.zip
Thanks for this!
Thank You Lev.
Thanks, Thanks, Thanks,
You are a legend.
I was almost through with my today plugin and was trying to figure out reading registry values and all of a sudden I get a PM from u about the plugin !!!
Very Cool !!!
OK a few questions,
1. I know that WM_TODAYCUSTOM_QUERYREFRESHCACHE is called for refreshing the today plugin, any ideas about when is it called.
I read somewhere that it was 2 seconds. Is it true?
2. I saw ur code and u have exposed CustomItemOptionsDlgProc in RegDisplay.def, but when I installed the cab file the 'options' is not enabled.
I manually changed the resistry and changed options to dword = 1 and saw ur name and email address.
u might want to enable that by default so that people can notice ur work.
I am planing a commercial release of a new project on basis of this.
Thanks again,
Shailesh
First, you're welcome.
shaileshashar:
1) I ran a debug print on this message once on an iPaq 1710 and it seems to be sent several times per second. This could differ from OS to OS or even from device to device, I am not sure.
If you need specifically timed refresh, or you have an event triggered on new data, I suggest using a timer or maybe a thread that will wait on an event. You can refresh your plugin from anywhere in code by calling InvalidateRect with your window handle.
2) I messed up the cab at first, forgetting to add the Options reg value. Then when I went to upload the fix, I couldn't access the site for about an hour (no idea why, I even rebooted the PC to Ubuntu). Should be fixed now, but I will check it later again (I have to go back to XP for that).
Good luck with your program.
Suggestion
levenum said:
First, you're welcome.
shaileshashar:
1) I ran a debug print on this message once on an iPaq 1710 and it seems to be sent several times per second. This could differ from OS to OS or even from device to device, I am not sure.
If you need specifically timed refresh, or you have an event triggered on new data, I suggest using a timer or maybe a thread that will wait on an event. You can refresh your plugin from anywhere in code by calling InvalidateRect with your window handle.
2) I messed up the cab at first, forgetting to add the Options reg value. Then when I went to upload the fix, I couldn't access the site for about an hour (no idea why, I even rebooted the PC to Ubuntu). Should be fixed now, but I will check it later again (I have to go back to XP for that).
Good luck with your program.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the help, will check the fixed cab.
Also a suggestion:
A custom icon could also be incorporated. You can give a option to load a custom icon next to the text in the today plugin.
I know anybody can modify ur code and do it but still.
Actually, I probably should have mentioned this in the original post but I have no intention of adding options to this thing.
This would only complicate the code and turn it in to an actual app instead of a sample project.
But by all means feel free to make suggestions. If this thing does become popular, when I am done with my other projects (like LVMTopBat) which won't be any time soon (unfortunately) I will release a separate version of this plugin with all kinds of options that can be controlled both by user (form the options dialog) and by other apps through registry.
Maybe things like text alignment, size, bold / Italic / underlined.
P.S.
The reason I put the string this plugin loads under HKEY_CURRENT_USER instead of the HKLM where the rest of the plugin registry resides is because by default the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE on WM 5 and higher has a security restriction. For example you can not write to it using RAPI, only by authorized (or signed) app on the device. The HKEY_CURRENT_USER on the other hand is open for all.
levenum said:
P.S.
The reason I put the string this plugin loads under HKEY_CURRENT_USER instead of the HKLM where the rest of the plugin registry resides is because by default the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE on WM 5 and higher has a security restriction. For example you can not write to it using RAPI, only by authorized (or signed) app on the device. The HKEY_CURRENT_USER on the other hand is open for all.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the info, I never knew that.
Thank you so much! This was exactly what I was looking for!
levenum said:
...But by all means feel free to make suggestions.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As a frequent mortscript user I think, this great app might be even more usefull, if the string was shown in an "allways on top" message box instead of the today screen. The Today screen might be obscured by other active windows during the scripts runtime and the plugin eats precious today screen estate also while being unused, doesn't it?
In that case (of a standalone application) I would furthermore introduce some kind of termination string (or reg. value) to end the display application.
Code:
- start mortscript
- writes first string to registry
- starts display application (run)
- updates string in registry whenever appropriate
- ...
- writes termination string to registry
-> display applications self-terminates
- ...
- end of mortscript
Honestly, I already do use something comparable with mortscript (employing a conditioned sleepmessage loop and reading from the registry too), but this could be much nicer and more elegant.
Just my 2 cents... What do you think?
I think something like that would be better implemented by the mortsrit program it self.
It could be a function like MessageBox API in windows which you could then command on and off. Having it built in would save precious resources on the device that would be wasted by having an extra app run constantly in background.
This is just my thought though.
I'd suggest contacting the developer of mortscript and discussing it with him.
levenum said:
I think something like that would be better implemented by the mortsrit program it self.
...
I'd suggest contacting the developer of mortscript and discussing it with him.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Mort knew about that request and by chance just announced to so.
Thanks anyway.
Hello levenum,
I just joined the community. Reason being, I found your RegDisplay plug-in
You call it a sample project, but the impact is that of an awesome solution.
Great for MortScript, but equally useful in BASIC applications that write
messages to the registry which is show upon screen minimization.
I regret not being a C programmer (mainly BASIC), else I'd love to further
develop this jewel.
Your plug-in runs flawlessly in an iPAQ 210 under WM6 Classic.
Cheers and Respectful Greetings
Robert
CLSID for registry display plugin
What is the CLSID for the Registry Display Plugin? I am going to have to edit the XML file that defines my home screen in order to get the plugin to show up. I am using Facade to control my home screen, and the only plugins that it will show in its list are those currently in use in one of the XML files in the Application Data\Home folder. All other new plugins require editing the XML. Thanks for your help.
levenum said:
Ok, most of you may find this totally useless as a plugin, but it was a combination of a request by user Treo_newb and a desire to create a sample plugin project that could be used as a base / example for plugin writers (I plan on doing an article on codeproject.com and this will be the source for it).
What does it do?
This plugin displays a string stored in registry.
The path is:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\RegDispPlugin
Value name: DisplayString
It checks if this string has changed several times per second when today screen is shown (as the system sends refresh message to all plugins) and displays the updated message if a change occurred.
What is it good for?
First, if you write apps using mortscript or similar like the user who requested this it will let your script display stuff on today screen.
Alternatively it could be used to mark your device today with a string that isn't as easily changed as user info.
The source is basically a skeleton plugin you can use to build your own plugin on (no license / copyright to limit you) and it already has several tricks needed for the plugin to display correctly:
VGA compatibility
Text size matching system settings
Proper header in settings dialog (like on system plugins)
Proper text color when selected (according to theme)
No blinking all today screen on change
Proper resize when switching between landscape and portrait
When I was writing my first plugin I could not find all these little fixes concentrated in a single article so I had to fish for each one as the bug reports came in.
Hope you will find this little project useful.
The plugin:View attachment 41592
The source (eVC 4 project): View attachment 41583
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is great! I was asked if I could write a today screen plug-in for my weather application (http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=445576) - I couldn't since I don't have the skills and I'm writing .NET code - but this is exactly what I needed.
I'm adding support for this plug-in and will of course give credits to you.
I got a problem with my calendar application, it uses a date format that's neither the long (17. October 2007) nor the short version (17.10.2007). Instead it uses a format with Roman numerals for month number, like 17. X 2007. The calendar app can't change this, it simply takes it from the OS, so is it possible to change it somehow, maybe in the registry?
Try using strftime (if you're using ANSI C) or GetDateFormat (Windows API). Changing the registry values will work, too, but that may change the way other apps present the date, which may not be what you want.
Has anyone figured out how to change the clock from 24 hour time format to 12 hour am/pm in the WM5 version (downloaded va HTC Home Customizer v 0.8b)?
My regional and time format settings are set for English (US) with time format of h:mm:tt, but the Home Plugin continues to show in a 24 hour format (H:mm:tt). I've searched the web for most of the weekend to discover similiar posts, but only one hint of an individual that was able to change his regional settings, perform a soft reset and then change it back to have the clock suddenly appear with the 12 hr format. I've attempted so many combinations, including uninstalls, reinstalls, but nothing seems to work. The date format is chaning with the regional changes, but not the time. Searching the registry hasn't revealed anything either.
Anyone else figure this out or have a direction they could point me in? Would be much appreciated.
EDIT:
Further investigation shows that its not really ignoring my regional settings. It just doesn't want to play with either the h:mm:tt or hh:mm:tt formats. I can change it from H:mm:tt to HH:mm:tt and the changes is reflected. Can also change the date format and it appears correctly. Why can't I get h:mm:tt?
UPDATED:
After an "unscheduled" rebuild (couldn't get past Windows Mobile screen after a soft reset), I've installed the HTC Home Plugin and the clock issue resolved itself. Evidently the problem was caused by a conflict with another piece of software. I've reloaded all my apps and its still working fine. Could have saved myself a few days of searching and just bite the bullet and performed a hard reset.
I'm having the same issue but I don't want to hard reset because I did that a few days ago. Anyone have any other solution? I'm using the iPaq rw6815 with Wm5.