X1BC v1.1
X1 Button Controller
Feb 12, 2009
By Jonathan King​
Description
This program is released open source. Contact me if you would like a copy of the source. The program is capable of capturing both short and long presses of panel key, ok key, L/R softkeys, up/down volume keys, and the win key on the slide out KB. The camera half and full press can also be captured and fully configured for short and long half press, as well as short and long full press. Also, the camera key will be ignored while the camera program is open. Capturing each key is all optional. They can be switched by the registry keys detailed in the next post. By default, if the reg keys are not there, none are captured. You can capture the long press only, short and long press, or leave the key alone. Fn key presses are also detected for A, S, D, F, G, Z, X, C, and V keys. Registry strings are used to specify what happens when the key is pressed. You can choose to open execute anything from a program exe to a mortscript to an mp3. You may also configure it to send a character or special key. This allows maximum flexibility.
The program can also make the win key or tab key a ctrl key. There are two modes of operation for each key. For the win key: Short press mode (short press to enable ctrl then press a letter), Long press mode (press letter while holding ctrl). With the tab key, it is still possible to send a tab character: Short press mode (short press to enable ctrl then press a letter; long press sends tab chr), Long press mode (press letter while holding ctrl; short press sends tab chr).
The program also supports vibrate feedback for a press and hold event. The duration is configurable or this can be disabled. Also configurable is the duration you must hold a key for the long press to occur.
To start the key hook, just launch X1BC.exe. If it is already running, launching X1BC.exe again will end the program and restore the keys to default.
Notes
While the panel key is captured, on the ROM I run with no panels installed I still get a popup saying could not find panelmanager.exe. I am not sure what would happen on a ROM with panels installed. To prevent this all together delete the whole registry key HKLM\Software\Sony Ericsson\PanelManager. You may want to back it up first but there is not harm in deleting it. You do need this key if you want to use panels though. But if you do use panels you dont want to remap the panel key anyway.
Capturing the win key on the slide out KB is tricky, but I think I have done it in a way that wont cause problems. It works well as a ctrl key and I havent had problems with it, but I still think the tab key makes a better ctrl key because it behaves like a regular key and is therefore easier to manipulate.
Disclaimer, use at your own risk. I have tested and debugged in the emulator and on my X1. I dont do anything that I think could really cause any harm or data loss. Has never crashed on me at any point during dev. The program does not make any changes to the system. It just runs in the background. If terminated everything works as it did before the program was started. Try it out.
Registry settings:
The following are DWORD values:
HKCU\SOFTWARE\JKing\X1BC\CapturePanel
HKCU\SOFTWARE\JKing\X1BC\CaptureOK
HKCU\SOFTWARE\JKing\X1BC\CaptureLeft
HKCU\SOFTWARE\JKing\X1BC\CaptureRight
HKCU\SOFTWARE\JKing\X1BC\CaptureVolumeUp
HKCU\SOFTWARE\JKing\X1BC\CaptureVolumeDown
HKCU\SOFTWARE\JKing\X1BC\CaptureLWIN
Here are the possible choices:
0 - Leave the key alone
1 - Capture long press only
3 - Capture long and short press
The default if the value does not exists is 0
The following is also a DWORD but the format is different:
HKCU\SOFTWARE\JKing\X1BC\CaptureCamera
The possible choices are:
0 - Leave the key alone
1 - Capture long and short for half press only
2 - Capture long and short for full press only
3 - Capture long and short for both half and full press
The default if the value does not exists is 0
The following are string values:
HKCU\SOFTWARE\JKing\X1BC\PanelShortAction
HKCU\SOFTWARE\JKing\X1BC\PanelLongAction
HKCU\SOFTWARE\JKing\X1BC\OKShortAction
HKCU\SOFTWARE\JKing\X1BC\OKLongAction
HKCU\SOFTWARE\JKing\X1BC\LeftShortAction
HKCU\SOFTWARE\JKing\X1BC\LeftLongAction
HKCU\SOFTWARE\JKing\X1BC\RightShortAction
HKCU\SOFTWARE\JKing\X1BC\RightLongAction
HKCU\SOFTWARE\JKing\X1BC\VolumeUpShortAction
HKCU\SOFTWARE\JKing\X1BC\VolumeUpLongAction
HKCU\SOFTWARE\JKing\X1BC\VolumeDownShortAction
HKCU\SOFTWARE\JKing\X1BC\VolumeDownLongAction
HKCU\SOFTWARE\JKing\X1BC\LWINShortAction
HKCU\SOFTWARE\JKing\X1BC\LWINLongAction
HKCU\SOFTWARE\JKing\X1BC\HalfCamShortAction
HKCU\SOFTWARE\JKing\X1BC\HalfCamLongAction
HKCU\SOFTWARE\JKing\X1BC\FullCamShortAction
HKCU\SOFTWARE\JKing\X1BC\FullCamLongAction
HKCU\SOFTWARE\JKing\X1BC\Fn_A_Action
HKCU\SOFTWARE\JKing\X1BC\Fn_S_Action
HKCU\SOFTWARE\JKing\X1BC\Fn_D_Action
HKCU\SOFTWARE\JKing\X1BC\Fn_F_Action
HKCU\SOFTWARE\JKing\X1BC\Fn_G_Action
HKCU\SOFTWARE\JKing\X1BC\Fn_Z_Action
HKCU\SOFTWARE\JKing\X1BC\Fn_X_Action
HKCU\SOFTWARE\JKing\X1BC\Fn_C_Action
HKCU\SOFTWARE\JKing\X1BC\Fn_V_Action
Each action key can be one of three types: Execution of a file, sending of a character, or sending of a special key.
To execute a file, the string should contain the full pathname of the file to run. This can be an exe, mscr, lnk, mp3, doc, whatever. Enclose the path and file name in quotes, followed by a space, then any parameters if you desire if it is an executable. For instance:
Code:
"\Program Files\App\My App.exe" -p
To send a character, the string must begin with a # symbol followed by the character to send. For instance, to send a "$" character, they value of the string should be:
Code:
#$
To send a special key, the string must begin with a & symbol followed by the identifier of the special key to send. Here are the special keys:
W - Windows key
R - Rotate screen
Q - Send left softkey event
E - Send right softkey event
What other special keys would you like?
For instance, to send a windows key event, they value of the string should be:
Code:
&W
The following are DWORD values:
HKCU\SOFTWARE\JKing\X1BC\LongKeyTimeout
Delay for long key press in milliseconds. The default if the value does not exists is 500.
HKCU\SOFTWARE\JKing\X1BC\LWINCtrlMode
Here are the possible choices:
0 - Do not use as ctrl
1 - Short press mode (short press to enable ctrl then press a letter)
2 - Long press mode (press letter while holding ctrl)
HKCU\SOFTWARE\JKing\X1BC\TabCtrlMode
Here are the possible choices:
0 - Do not use as ctrl
1 - Short press mode (short press to enable ctrl then press a letter; long press sends tab chr)
2 - Long press mode (press letter while holding ctrl; short press sends tab chr)
(Note, you may use either LWIN or TAB for ctrl. Not both at the same time. If both of these keys are non zero, the tab key will be used. I recommend the tab key. It is more reliable.)
HKCU\SOFTWARE\JKing\X1BC\SupportMultipleKeyHooks
Here are the possible choices:
0 - OFF
1 - ON
The default if the value does not exists is 0. (Please leave as 0 for now. It does not work.)
HKCU\SOFTWARE\JKing\X1BC\HoldFeedbackDuration
Duration of vibration feedback for a long key press. Set to zero to disable. The default if the value does not exists is 35.
HKCU\SOFTWARE\JKing\X1BC\LandscapeOrientation
Set which landscape orientation the "R" special key will switch to. Choices:
0 - Left handed (correct orientation for the keyboard)
1 - Right handed
The default if the value does not exists is 0.
Known Issues:
-Does not support multiple key hooks (not really a problem as this is an OS limitation but see this post for details)
-LWIN long ctrl mode does not work
Changelog:
v1.1 [2/12/09]
-Added special key (&R) for screen rotation
-Added special keys (&Q and &E) for left and right softkeys
-Fixed bug that cause crash if Fn key was assigned to non existent file
-Will now prevent camera app from opening if you reassign camera button
-Changed format of reg settings for camera button
v1.0 [2/11/09]
-Improved WIN ctrl key support
-Added tab key short and long ctrl modes and registry setting
-Added key hold vibration feedback and registry duration setting
-Added capability to capture fn keys. Registry settings added
-Added capability to send character strokes and special keys
-Added capability to capture half and full camera button press. Registry settings added
-Changed default registry values to reflect correct installation directory for other languages
v0.4 [1/10/09]
-Fixed bug that caused extra long key press in one circumstance
-Fixed bug that caused crash during startup if registry strings were not formatted correctly
-Added option and registry value to change long press timeout
-Added short ctrl key feature and registry option for feature
-Added option to allow other key hooks (doesnt yet actually work)
-Now released in CAB format; CAB presets all reg values and creates shortcuts in startup and start menu
-X1BC now ignores keys by default if reg values do not exist, rather than capturing by default
v0.3 [1/07/09]
-Added registry keys for key actions
-Program now performs key actions from settings
v0.2 [1/06/09]
-Simplified reg settings
-Removed all but "exiting" popup during startup and shutdown
-Rewrote key hook algorithm for better reliability
-Unwanted keys now released to system as set by preferences
Todo List:
-Support multiple key hooks
Downloads below. Please note, the cabs will overwrite existing registry settings. If you want to upgrade from previous version, back up the settings first or just replace the exe. The cabs also place a shortcut in startup and in the start menu.
nice!
would look forward for the program when it's officially released
Heh, nice one Jking. I think the best way to go is to somehow "merge" your app with Dande's. Dande doesn't want to create a UI and uses mortscript, where you use the - in my opinion easier - registry. From what I see so far, you both have the same app, written in a different way, with the biggest change being you using the winkey (which I like), and Dande using the tab key.
I'd like to see where this goes, keep up the good work!
All the Best JKingDev, sorry I can't help. I don't know programming.
The biggest shortcoming of the X1 is the lack of buttons for mapping to apps and task manager. I miss the ease of button mapping on my previous i780.
Looking forward to your end product!
Good idea. Looking forward to this app.
cheers
I would love to see an option that would allow these button's to be exposed in the list of assignable buttons in the Buttons Settings control panel (similar to how Tilt developers were able to add the PTT button to it) to allow regular action assignments to those buttons.
Very interested to see how this application turns out!
millercentral said:
I would love to see an option that would allow these button's to be exposed in the list of assignable buttons in the Buttons Settings control panel (similar to how Tilt developers were able to add the PTT button to it) to allow regular action assignments to those buttons.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, me too! But I guess this is on driver level, not sure though!
Edit: I take that back, I remember that AEButtonPlus is able to add virtual keys to that list. But I think you still have to run your application at all time in the background, not really giving an advantage to this. I might be wrong again though.
@JKingDev
I was sending you my code. Didn't expect you to be this impatient
From what I have experienced, using the keyboard hook, it is not possible to remap the panel and the symbol button. Usually you can stop their original functionality to work by returning -1 in the hook, but that doesn't work with panel and symbol. So, at least at first sight, it seems to be not possible to remap these buttons.
You could consider also using RegisterHotKey, which is officially supported by the SDK. Mort told me that he uses it with MortPlayer and it seems to be quite powerful too. Maybe the hook and RegisterHotKey together allow you to do more than just with the hook. I thought that, when you can't do it with the low level hook, there is no other way at all to do it, that's why I didn't even bother trying.
Since you already started a thread in the development phase, maybe you should tell us what you actually plan to implement so that people can tell you in advance what they like about your concept and what they don't. Kind of collecting requirements before coding - like software engineering should be (and not like I did it )
Edit: By the way, in the zip file I sent to you by mail, you can also find a text file which documents the button sequences I was interested in. Helped me a lot while implementing.
Angelusz said:
Dande doesn't want to create a UI and uses mortscript, where you use the - in my opinion easier - registry.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
First of all, the registry is only some kind of global application configuration database (and a bad idea from microsoft if you ask me). The registry can only enable functionality that is implemented in an application. In contrary to that, MortScript allows you to implement functionality that my application doesn't.
Despite of being completely different things, I don't find fiddling in the registry easy nor secure, but that's another topic.
Ah, and no offense intended, alright
@Jking:
THANKS for this great idea !!
X1 is missing a dedicated REC key
I desperately need this function
One-touch key press to automatically start recording a voice note
Maybe your software will finally let me use my Xperia as a voice recorder
Thank you for all the support! I am glad there is interest in this. It is nice to give back to this great community. New test version. I rewrote the key hook algorithm to handle the win and softkeys in a smoother way. Shouldnt have any prolems now. Now, if you put in settings to not capture a it should be released to the system like normal. Also changed up the registry settings a little bit to streamline the code. Made note of the new format in the second post. Next step will be to actually perform user specified actions when keys are pressed. It will actually become useful.
For some reason, when I set the grab volume key settings to 0 and completely ignore them, they still dont do anything while X1BC.exe is running. I am not sure if this is my app doing this or AEBP screwing with me since I still have it installed. Does anyone else get this problem?
millercentral said:
I would love to see an option that would allow these button's to be exposed in the list of assignable buttons in the Buttons Settings control panel (similar to how Tilt developers were able to add the PTT button to it) to allow regular action assignments to those buttons.
Very interested to see how this application turns out!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I believe this can be done since AEBP does it but I am not sure how. I have a slight idea of what I think it does. It involves adding some registry keys then sending custom key codes. I will look into this after I have accomplished everything else I want with this app. Can't make any promises but I will try.
Dandie said:
Yeah, me too! But I guess this is on driver level, not sure though!
Edit: I take that back, I remember that AEButtonPlus is able to add virtual keys to that list. But I think you still have to run your application at all time in the background, not really giving an advantage to this. I might be wrong again though.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes I think you are correct on this. The only advantage is assigning special keys like <rotate screen> ect. Most of those things you can find exe's for or use a mortscript anyway though, and my app will allow you to specify any exe/mortscript/file to run/open anyway.
Dandie said:
@JKingDev
I was sending you my code. Didn't expect you to be this impatient
From what I have experienced, using the keyboard hook, it is not possible to remap the panel and the symbol button. Usually you can stop their original functionality to work by returning -1 in the hook, but that doesn't work with panel and symbol. So, at least at first sight, it seems to be not possible to remap these buttons.
You could consider also using RegisterHotKey, which is officially supported by the SDK. Mort told me that he uses it with MortPlayer and it seems to be quite powerful too. Maybe the hook and RegisterHotKey together allow you to do more than just with the hook. I thought that, when you can't do it with the low level hook, there is no other way at all to do it, that's why I didn't even bother trying.
Since you already started a thread in the development phase, maybe you should tell us what you actually plan to implement so that people can tell you in advance what they like about your concept and what they don't. Kind of collecting requirements before coding - like software engineering should be (and not like I did it )
Edit: By the way, in the zip file I sent to you by mail, you can also find a text file which documents the button sequences I was interested in. Helped me a lot while implementing.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry for my impatience. I had lots of free time and was itching to put my coding skills to work. I have wanted to write a button mapper since I owned a mogul (on my 6700 i used pqzII to make the win key a ctrl mey; i missed this functionality) but I never got around to it.
About the panel key, a key hook is able to detect the panel key presses, but for some reason it is unable to prevent the system from detecting it too like it can for other keys. This is why the work around to delete the panel manager registry key is necessary. Once you do that, the system ignores the key. Hotkeys sounds like a good idea. As it is, it works for me. I can try hotkey later though to see if that works out better. Deleting the panel manager key is an easy work around though if you dont use panels.
Well as far as key functions, you will specify via registry key what file/program to open/run. It could be and exe, mortscript, mp3, whatever. I think that allows max flexibility. Run a program directly, or run a mortscript if you have something more complex you want the key to do. The same functionality as yours, the only difference is that this can also run an exe directly as opposed to writing a script to run the exe.
After that, I want to implement the win key as a ctrl ley. There will be four modes. 1.) Disable ctrl key: allow the ctrl key to be assigned for short and long presses like it is now. 2.) Short ctrl key: Short press + letter sends ctrl key while a long press is mappable like it is now. 3.) Hold ctrl key: Hold + press letter then release sends ctrl key, while short press is assignable to something else. 4.) Full ctrl key: both short and hold methods send ctrl key.
Next I will add FN+key combinations to be assignable the way the other keys are (run exe/script/open file).
After that it will be looking into the suggestions of others such as virtual app keys.
Dandie said:
First of all, the registry is only some kind of global application configuration database (and a bad idea from microsoft if you ask me). The registry can only enable functionality that is implemented in an application. In contrary to that, MortScript allows you to implement functionality that my application doesn't.
Despite of being completely different things, I don't find fiddling in the registry easy nor secure, but that's another topic.
Ah, and no offense intended, alright
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The purpose of using the registry is not really to make things easier, it is just to make things configurable. You may choose what keys to trap and turn the ctrl key on or off. Mortscripts are very powerful and easy and I still give you the option of using them. But if all you want the key to do is launch a program, why launch a script just just launches a program? I give you the option to just launch that program directly.
New version 0.3. Now the keys are fully functional. The program is actually useful now. The registry keys to set for the key actions are detailed in the second post. All fully functional. I have stopped using AEButton plus now as X1BC does everything AEBP was doing. No more AEBP splash on boot. Now on to what AEBP doesnt do, ctrl key, fn keys, ect.
One caveat though. I figured out what the problem was with the volume keys. I use the HTC Blackstone volume control. It seems certain that HTC volume control as well as you tube, radio, ect use key hooks. Even if I tell my program to ignore the volume keys, pressing volume up will bring up the volume control but after that the volume keys wont change it. The reason why is that once HTC volume control pops up it sets a key hook to control the keys. If my app already has a key hook set, HTC VC will be unable to install its own hook, thus cannot grab the keys. I proved that HTC VC uses a key hook by closing X1BC, launching the VC, then trying to launch X1BC. My app reported as expected that it could not install the hook.
I noticed something very interesting a while ago though. I can launch X1BC even while AEBP is running and it will work. I didnt think much of it but now I realize that this is important. HTC VC works fine even if AEBP is running. AEBP certainly uses a key hook. I can launch AEBP first then launch X1BC. If I first launch X1BC then launch AEBP, AEBP wont work. I think this means that AEBP has some mechanism of supporting a second key hook. Probably the same way hookmgr works. I will try installing that and seeing if it makes the HTC programs and X1BC work together peacefully. Ultimately though, I want to give X1BC the capability to support another program setting a key hook. Not a big deal though. The HTC programs still work. Pressing a volume key brings up the volume control then you can control with your finger.
It is fully functional for mapping the hard keys now! Try it!
@JKingDev
I would still like to know what exactly you plan to build as the application, I mean featurewise. What features and maybe layout do you want the final application to have? It does really make sense to gather feature requests before starting the development of a complex software, otherwise people will always tell you what they would like to have changed. I think you would save quite a lot of implementation effort that way and you also could arrange your architecture a bit to the "final" structure of the application.
Dandie said:
First of all, the registry is only some kind of global application configuration database (and a bad idea from microsoft if you ask me). The registry can only enable functionality that is implemented in an application. In contrary to that, MortScript allows you to implement functionality that my application doesn't.
Despite of being completely different things, I don't find fiddling in the registry easy nor secure, but that's another topic.
Ah, and no offense intended, alright
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
None taken. I'm just trying to add some perspective here. This is a developers site - true. So you can expect some people to be able to work with mortscript - true. But, regardless of any other arguments, there's a lot of users who just don't grasp scripting like with mort's and/or cba to learn yet another language. It's really good to support mortscript, all I'm saying it's nice to have the "easier" and simpler options as well. I will probably get into mortscript soon, too - as soon as university loosens up.
Now, on this application itself - it's looking really good Jking, it would be lovely to have it support multiple keyhooks. Another feature I'd like to see is grasping software keys, like for instance when tapping the clock in TF3D. I'd like to be able to set what that does as well; e.g. remap it to an application or something. Same goes for calender etc. - is your current code able to support that too?
Keep up the great work, this one is starting to look like a keeper!!
(Although I like AEbuttonplus, I read/noticed some downsides about it and would rather replace it.)
Dandie said:
@JKingDev
I would still like to know what exactly you plan to build as the application, I mean featurewise. What features and maybe layout do you want the final application to have? It does really make sense to gather feature requests before starting the development of a complex software, otherwise people will always tell you what they would like to have changed. I think you would save quite a lot of implementation effort that way and you also could arrange your architecture a bit to the "final" structure of the application.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Dandie, I am not sure quite what you mean by this. I outlined all the features I plan to implement. The application is in its final structure, I am just still adding features. What more details did you want to know?
Angelusz said:
Now, on this application itself - it's looking really good Jking, it would be lovely to have it support multiple keyhooks. Another feature I'd like to see is grasping software keys, like for instance when tapping the clock in TF3D. I'd like to be able to set what that does as well; e.g. remap it to an application or something. Same goes for calender etc. - is your current code able to support that too?
Keep up the great work, this one is starting to look like a keeper!!
(Although I like AEbuttonplus, I read/noticed some downsides about it and would rather replace it.)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks Angelusz. I don't believe that capturing things like tapping the clock in TF3D is possible though. Tapping software buttons does not generate a keyboard event. Only actual keys do. Therefore unless TF3D sends key events for some reason this would not be possible.
JKingDev said:
Dandie, I am not sure quite what you mean by this. I outlined all the features I plan to implement. The application is in its final structure, I am just still adding features. What more details did you want to know?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oh, then I must have overlooked something. What configuration possibilities do you want to offer in your UI, what do you want to offer via registry configuration and what must be done via scripts or additional programs. E.g. what do you want to implement what a powerful program like AEButtonsPlus offers, what do you don't want to offer and what do you want to add to it to make it better. Starting a discussion like this would pop up many good ideas for a somewhat perfect application, you will see.
By the way, a software never is final - unless you declare it final, which basically means you stop the development.
JKingDev said:
Dandie, I am not sure quite what you mean by this. I outlined all the features I plan to implement. The application is in its final structure, I am just still adding features. What more details did you want to know?
Thanks Angelusz. I don't believe that capturing things like tapping the clock in TF3D is possible though. Tapping software buttons does not generate a keyboard event. Only actual keys do. Therefore unless TF3D sends key events for some reason this would not be possible.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think you're right, I have however found a tool that allows me to remap the paths! http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=407777
Dandie said:
Oh, then I must have overlooked something. What configuration possibilities do you want to offer in your UI, what do you want to offer via registry configuration and what must be done via scripts or additional programs. E.g. what do you want to implement what a powerful program like AEButtonsPlus offers, what do you don't want to offer and what do you want to add to it to make it better. Starting a discussion like this would pop up many good ideas for a somewhat perfect application, you will see.
By the way, a software never is final - unless you declare it final, which basically means you stop the development.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well I wasnt planning on making a UI unless people absolutely want to. All my settings are easily changeable in the registry. The second post outlines all the available options. When I add the ctrl key and fn keys there will be options for these too. There will also be an option to allow other key hooks if I get that working. Nothing must be done via scripts or other programs. Simply enter in the registry what file to run or open when the key is pressed. Everyone is free to make requests. There is one request to emulate virtual hard keys and I will try addressing that later. I am not trying to match AEBP. I did this a.) becausse AEBP is a bloated all purpose app; mine is tailor made for the X1, and much smaller and lighter; b.) AEBP costs money; c.) AEBP cannot create a ctrl key or grab FN keys; AEKM does, meaning purchasing another application. If there is something more you would like to see the app do let me know. Otherwise, I have laid out everything that is in the plan already.
Angelusz said:
I think you're right, I have however found a tool that allows me to remap the paths! http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=407777
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Glad you got that worked out. I thought there would be something of this nature.
Hi JKingDev,
I have tired X1BC for only one button so far (long press ok button to switch to 2nd today). So far everything is working quite nicely.
With AEBP I was facing a significant battery capacity drainage this was for me the main reason to look out for another button mapper. At least in my configuration I was able to reproduce this battery problem (I had 3 buttons asigned with a double click function and the action menue). But this is reported allready (Touch HD forum, because it happens on the Touch HD as well). It is realy a pity, because AEBP is a great application and was the very 1st I was installing on a WM phone.
As long as there is no UI maybe you could do a presetting of all those reg key with a samll cab file? And fill the dword with "0" - I understand that than the key has just its standard behaviour.
Because than I just have to type "only" my individual settings (I am lazy - I know).
For making program starting easier I have the idea to create in the reg keys a path name to a standard link such as
"\Program Files\X1BC\OKLongAction.lnk"
Than I create a new link for the program I want to start, rename it to "OKLongAction.lnk" and overwrite with this new link the one in the standard directory.
This would allow to make changes without playing arround in the regestry all the time.
Best regards & Many thanks for this great tool!
dingolino
Registry settings:
The following are DWORD values:
HKCU\SOFTWARE\JKing\X1BC\CapturePanel
HKCU\SOFTWARE\JKing\X1BC\CaptureOK
HKCU\SOFTWARE\JKing\X1BC\CaptureLeft
HKCU\SOFTWARE\JKing\X1BC\CaptureRight
HKCU\SOFTWARE\JKing\X1BC\CaptureVolumeUp
HKCU\SOFTWARE\JKing\X1BC\CaptureVolumeDown
HKCU\SOFTWARE\JKing\X1BC\CaptureLWIN
Here are the possible choices:
0 - Leave the key alone
1 - Capture long press only
3 - Capture long and short press
The following are string values:
HKCU\SOFTWARE\JKing\X1BC\PanelShortAction
HKCU\SOFTWARE\JKing\X1BC\PanelLongAction
HKCU\SOFTWARE\JKing\X1BC\OKShortAction
HKCU\SOFTWARE\JKing\X1BC\OKLongAction
HKCU\SOFTWARE\JKing\X1BC\LeftShortAction
HKCU\SOFTWARE\JKing\X1BC\LeftLongAction
HKCU\SOFTWARE\JKing\X1BC\RightShortAction
HKCU\SOFTWARE\JKing\X1BC\RightLongAction
HKCU\SOFTWARE\JKing\X1BC\VolumeUpShortAction
HKCU\SOFTWARE\JKing\X1BC\VolumeUpLongAction
HKCU\SOFTWARE\JKing\X1BC\VolumeDownShortAction
HKCU\SOFTWARE\JKing\X1BC\VolumeDownLongAction
HKCU\SOFTWARE\JKing\X1BC\LWINShortAction
HKCU\SOFTWARE\JKing\X1BC\LWINLongAction
Are there any tools or registry hacks available to remap the Inner Circle and Messenger keys?
I can think of more usefull programs to map to a dedicated hardware key instead of these...
TIA
Do you actually need to use the Inner Circle and WLM functions on your device?
I ask because the only way so far which I have found to remap those key buttons is to create Mortscript .exe files called InnerCircle.exe and WLMMessenger.exe, each pointing to respective InnerCircle.mscr and WLMMessenger.mscr scripts which run the programs you want. You would then drop these into your \Windows folder, overwriting the original InnerCircle.exe and WLMMessenger.exe files (having first removed the Read-only / System etc. properties from the original files using Total Commander or Resco Explorer). Clearly this will then render the Inner Circle and WLM functions inoperative on your device - not too much of a problem for me as I have no need for either. If you want to regain their functionality you simply need to delete the two .exe files you created and the originals will regenerate from ROM. Note that I found I needed to use Mortscript to get this to work. Simply copying a renamed .exe file of the actual program you want to assign to the button did not work.
I know it sounds ridiculous but none of the "regular" methods for changing hardware key assignments seem to work - I even tried editing the keymap. There is a "Short_Circle" lnk file in \Windows - changing the target of this seems to make no difference. The various registry entries which I have used successfully in previous devices made no difference. It's as if there is some sort of ROM-level hardware association between the Inner Circle key and the InnerCircle.exe file (same deal with WLM).
If anybody can come up with a more elegant solution to this it would be welcomed - I'm a reasonably adept WM user but I'm pretty sure somebody more knowledgeable can do better. If you don't have a Snap then please be a little cautious about being gung-ho with suggestions (!) - I know this is fairly well-trodden territory on xda-developers but the setup with the Snap seems like it might be a bit different. Cheers
P.S. Don't be tempted to delete or disable the Windows Live key from HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Services - this will prevent the Windows Live service from loading, which might be good in various ways, but it's needed for the Windows Live key to work (even if the WLMMessenger.exe which is being executed is running something else).
Psmit said:
Are there any tools or registry hacks available to remap the Inner Circle and Messenger keys?
I can think of more usefull programs to map to a dedicated hardware key instead of these...
TIA
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Use Wordpad.
jhwo99 said:
Use Wordpad.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What are you doing with Wordpad?
jhwo99 said:
Use Wordpad.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
And how would Wordpad help me remap the InnerCircle key?
JC6 said:
Do you actually need to use the Inner Circle and WLM functions on your device?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the extensive reply. I've been using my Snap for a few weeks now and still don't understand what the marketing-fuzz of InnerCircle is all about.
The InnerCircle app I don't need, at all. It does nothing that can't be done with a server-side rule. So no issue that it is completely disabled in the OS. Messenger is a nice to have for occasional use, but a dedicated button is just a wasted button IMHO.
I'll check out your suggested solution.
A link to the task manager instead of the inner circle prog would be cool.
Psmit said:
And how would Wordpad help me remap the InnerCircle key?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Open Windows and change the key by renaming it to the program you want.
Svenitos said:
A link to the task manager instead of the inner circle prog would be cool.
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Click to collapse
I'm using good-old Xbar for that, using the trackball!..I would be lost without a taskswitcher/manager in WM!
Svenitos said:
A link to the task manager instead of the inner circle prog would be cool.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can do that using the procedure outlined in post #2 above. This is exactly how I have mine set up
jhwo99 said:
Open Windows and change the key by renaming it to the program you want.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Can you explain how you did this? I tried the following techniques (which have worked with previous WM phones) and none of them worked:
1. Changing the target of Inner Circle.lnk
2. Changing the target of Short_Circle.lnk
3. Fiddling with the keymap file (although I'm not sure I exhausted this fully).
4. The situation with HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Shell\Keys doesn't seem to be the same with this device as with my previous WM devices.
It's almost as if there is a direct rom-level association between the button and the InnerCircle.exe file - perhaps this is not the case with some of the other Snap ROMs. The only way I was able to "remap" the button was using the Mortscript method I explained in post #2 of this thread. I recognise this is an inelegant solution and would welcome a better method (although it doesn't really cause me a problem as I don't need Inner Circle or Windows Live Messenger - in fact I'd rather they weren't even on the phone, I'm sure they will be removed when we start seeing cooked ROMs).
Im kind of a noob to WM.. so is it possible to explain it slightly more detail what needs to be done.. such as creating a mortscript exe.. i just want to remap the inner circle key to the task manager btw
Hi, I am a newbie to WM. Would like to find out whether there has been any other ways of doing this remapping? Thanks in advance!
hallo i'm using omnia pro and having the same problem here, need some expert advice.
I already tried the AE Button plus but it's seem to not recognized the button I want to re map (PIE and WLMessenger button)
i got the same problem with my htc snap. anybody knows how to change the wlm and innercircle keys?
maybe some of the rom cooking experts can write a rom or cook into next rom?
Custom ROM already has it, in parts
Guys.
ookba has done some button customization on his roms.
Long-press power button will bring the Quick List menu.
You can change though settings:
- Press Inner Circle: default is CeleTask.
- Long-press Home: default is Quick List
Check the ROM here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=551642
I'm waiting for a version where we can change the Messenger and Mail/SMS key also.
[]'s
Cris
For some reason I cannot set (remove) the flags "Read Only" and "system" from InnerCircle.exe....Either with Resco Expolrer and Total commander, both applications seem to properly change the property flags, but when I check again the file properties, the "read only" and "system" are back.
So I am stuck with remapping the Inner circle button.
If anyone has some advise, that would be great.
Tnks
Bump! (I know it's an old thread). Anyone find a way to remap the messenger key??
It seems to me the messenger key somehow is hardwired to launch \Windows\Start Menu\Messenger.lnk. Let Messenger.lnk point to your favorite application and it gets started by the messenger key. This solution is not that elegant since it clutters the start menu, but at least for me it works.
Have fun,
Erik
Hi,
how exactly did you update Messenger.lnk? What did you wrote as a path? Some special characters?
EDIT: solved, I forgot to put double quote. Now it works also for me.