Database Users

EXEC SUMMARY: TIPS n TRICKS to make your JasJar run well

There are way too many posts on this board from ppl who r saying "Piece of crap, I'm gonna take it back and stick it up my provider's...". This post is for you!
I'm no expert (just a disciple of ppl like buzz, vj, etc), BUT I am not afraid of a hard reset or 30, and as a result I've tested everything below, and most of the stuff throughout this forum. I've also followed everything on every forum since being the 10th person in my country to get a JasJar. I welcome critisism, corrections and additions. Please post replies by refering to the step you would change, or insert after. Let's try to stick to proven alternatives and additions though, so that this thread can become somewhat of a 1-stop point for new users (and existing users who do not have the time to learn this alone - and let's face it anyone who has a Universal already, is probably pretty hard working, and already spending an awful amount of time justifying their acquisition in front of their BlackBerry collegues...)
This is written with a single thought in mind; what the hell would my wife do if she got one of these. No-one could blame her for tossing it inside of a week, but with a few changes it's perfectly functional - in fact with a few more changes (also listed below) it's quite desirable.
By the end of this process, your Universal should have a reasonable suite of apps, perfect functionality around all issues solved to date (I've not covered networking tho), a screen flip speed of 0.5s or less, and free program memory of over 20Mb
So here goes, a step-by-step process to get your Universal 100% functional, proven and tested on the HTC Universal iMate JasJar, but should all work on any MDA:
ROM Upgrade: First thing's first. Upgrade to the September-30 ROM (JASJAR_WWE_11353_137_10301.zip). It's available somewhere on xda-developers, or on clubimate for imate users. This is a no-brainer - no posts on this board or any others indicate it's a waste of time. Many posts cover O2 users flashing to this ROM, with great benefits. There are ways to re-install the O2 graphics and apps - if you want ;-) If you have ANY issues with your Universal, bite the bullet and do this; you'll see that the following setup process is not as brutal as you'd expect (I can run thro it in about half an hour - but I've done it many times and have all the apps lined up and ready).
Optional soft reset: Some pppl like to soft reset BEFORE the device installs the default apps. On this ROM, there's no performance improvement, no memory imporvement that can't be covered later (backgammon etc), and potentially some important losses that I didn't hang around long enough to discover.
Sync: Now sync with your PC to get your contacts, calendar and tasks. This is only here to get you up and running asap.
Pocket Mechanic: Download (www.antontomov.com) and install this essential app. You have a few days on trial, and it's necessary for the next steps
Notification Queue: This can be done later, but it's nice to get familiar with this process whilst your queue is small. Using PM, open the notification queue. You may already (yes!) find some duplicate (yellow icon) sddeamon entries. These seem to replicate during an activesync. You can/must delete all duplicates from time to time. You will also, in future, find some "\.\\Notification.....SCRIPT..." entries. Keep an eye out for these. Most mature within minutes of you finding them, so let them expire. Many are future-dated and tightly back-to-back. These can nearly always (I've never had a regret) be deleted without repercussions. If you don't manage these, they tend to breed, and anyone with XDA experience knows what happens when your queue fills up (failed alarms etc). I'm unclear as to where these come from - undoutedly an app that is not behaving elegantly (regular registration checks etc), and if you follow the steps on this post you should NOT find any - ie the apps here do not seem to be culprits. But, keep an eye open...
Registry cleanup: Again, this can be done later, however you'll soon see the beenfit of doing it now. Using PM, run registry cleaner. You'll get around 6 entries, all of which can safely be deleted. If you did not follow step 1, you may have to examine eahc entry to see if the O2 ROM is messier. The beauty of this step is that from now on, you can safely clean everything that PM finds in the knowledge that it's a leave-behind from an app you installed, and now you can install, de-install, and provided you clean up the directories (easy) you KNOW for sure that you've completely gotten rid of the failed app. Winner!
Task closer: Now it's time for your task manager. There's a lot of coverage on this, and any of the following seem to do the trick, ranked in order of simplicity thro to possibly problematic:[list:333ba237cf]
Magic Button (free, includes battery line on top of screen)
GSPocketMagic++ (free, includes cascading menu. Some MDA Exec users claim that it closes something awful that O2 installs, and solves a 7 second flip issue. SEVEN SECONDS!!! If you implemented step 1, you should not have this problem to solve anyway)
spbPocketPlus (not free, and do not allow it to show any storage meters. There are some bad posts on spb, but I've found it just as good as the above, altho it takes up slightly more memory)
WisbarAdvance2 (not free, HUGE footprint, definite performance issues BUT it skins your Universal SO beautifully, that I've gone with this and WAD - desktop plugin)
[*]Basic apps: Now there are a few no-brainer apps to install, that no-one disputes and that are all free. NO BRAINERS:
Total commander (free, replacement for file explorer - way way better)
TCPMP (free, replaces media player, more formats, full screen, way way better)
Batti (free, battry bar on top of screen like spbPocketPlus, small footprint, but if u r using MagicButton you already get this)
TRE (free, registry editor, necessary to run .reg files covered later)
IIWPO (free, AWESOME concept; If your owner info is changed, it SMS's the number you've set with new SIM number and new 'owner' details. Great if someone steals your Universal. Don't bother if u r not happy with a little installation effort)
BT icon (free, on this board somewhere, gives u an icon on your today tray that shows BT status and allows u to jumps to settings>connections>BT)
BT switch (free, on this board somewhere, several apps that turn BT on, off, or toggle)
Battery Uptime (Optional: free, today plugin that tells u the battery status BUT it's way more useful: you get to see actual running time vs uptime, and remaining running time. This gives u a good feel for your battery consumption rate under different scenarios and helps overcome a LOT of concerns around thinking you are draining faster when actually you are just using the device more)
apReminderPlus (free, AWESOME repeating alarms. Beauty of this is that is seems to be independent of WM5, in that it keeps an eye open for any alarms, and pops up to do its thing if it sees one. WAY beter than built in repeat system, and makes me feel good that I have alarms covered off in case the old wm2003 bugs start to appear again)
VJSMS (free, on this board, gives u 1-click to send an SMS. Note that .lnk file should read as follows INCLUDING inverted commas:
\Storage Card\Program Files\VJApps\vjsms.exe" "123
Change path and number of course. Number can also be a name.
Sad to report that VJDailer doesn't work on the universal. This would be awesome
[*]Settings: Time to do your basic settings:
speed dials
power and backlight
voice dials
Owner info
ringtones and notifications
DO NOT set regional settings if u r using PI (below)
[*]PIM: OK, time to replace the CRAP calendar built into WM5. CRAP CRAP CRAP! Disgracefully, embarassingly CRAP. Hell, symbian ship better default apps with the OLD Psion S3 and S5 than this! Now, I use PocketInformant. Latest release works well on JJ with 2 livable issues: Landscape flip screws up Monday/Tuesday in week view, and you MUST NOT set any regional settings what-so-ever, else you get the blank calendar view bug. AgendaFusion is due for a WM5 release any day now. Other than that, I don't think there is much that works on the Universal - correct?? :?:
[*]Reg fixes: Now there are a few no-brainer registry hacks that you should run. You can find these as cab files on this board, as registry keys under the wiki page, else as .reg files on one of my earlier posts (fastest method):
Buzz's BT headset (prevents BT from turning off over night - no brainer! Thanks buzz!!)
"Always on GPRS" (search this board - keeps GPRS/UMTS turned on - awesome!)
Date & time in title bar (why not)
Menu and popup fonts 700 vs 900 (it's cosmetic, but on our nice VGA screens, it seems daft to have a look n feel that's SO QVGA)
PIE homepage (prevent 'e' button from going to clubimate page)
Terminal services cache (increased cache uses memory during terminal services, but it's WELL worth it to eliminate black blocking issues)
Turn IR off (unless you have a good reason for keeping it on)
[*]Extra apps: There are several very useful apps, that work reliably and do not have an adverse impact on your Universal.
eWallet (not free, desktop sync does not work, but rest is very useful)
Pocket sudoku (not free, but it's SO much fun!)
Mobipocket reader (skinny version is free, for mobipocket ebooks - ebooks fully being 25% of your devices functionality along with PIM, phone and internet access. Google beta 5 version with full VGA support)
uBook (more eBook formats. Not free but usable. VGA support)
1-calc (cos built in calculator is SO crap)
GPRS traffic monitor: We need a GPRS/3G monitor. spbGPRS monitor does NOT track the usage of yoru device as a 3G modem - which is where u chew up traffic costs. IP Dashboard has similar issues.
[*]Memory:Now, I'm the first to say that I don;t fully get this yet. There are a few things that the posts suggest should reduce program or storage memory - but don't really seem to do so. Try them and let me know results with more scientific before and after checking please:
Remove backgammon & skype, and re-install to SD card
Remove the 1Mb .tsk themes from the \Windows directory. You cannot delete them, you have to create new files that are smaller and copy them into \Windows and overrwite the larger files. Search this board for some sample small files provided. I didn't find that I got any memory back...???
Ditto for .cab files in \Windows
Do not use these big theme files - by using smaller themes you should get more program memory.
A couple of dudes have started threads on getting more memory and clearing out \windows files - but there are no good responses yet...
[/list:333ba237cf]
Right, that's it! As I said above, I welcome input and feedback - but let's keep it hi quality so that this post perhaps gets stickied and we can get less of the "Buy my JasJar before I post it on eBay posts". Of course there are a load more apps you can add, but most give issues (eg TomTom) and posts on this board cover working around them for ppl who have to have these apps. This was a good, strong, basic config.
Hope this is helpful to some.

Some well-thought out words there, craigiecraigie4. However, I'm a firm believer that it's a bad move to install anything that I REALLY don't need. So far, my MDA Pro has a default installation. None of these "essential apps" are necessary. Indeed, half of them seem to only exist so that you can add other "essential apps" :wink:
If/when a better browser comes along, I'll investigate. Other than that, I find the messaging client perfect (works nicely against Exchange server); Terminal Services could be better - just giving me true full-screen support would be enough. And I'd like better Wifi support - I want, for example, to be able to name my SSID. IMHO, with desktop PCs as much as with PDAs, every time you install a piece of software, it ultimately makes the system *worse*. ie the result is a damned site less than the sum of the parts.
so, taking each point with my (possibly unique, certainly cynical) POV
1. ROM Upgrade
Didn't bother. It adds nothing that I'd use apart from MSN and that would just suck up time that should be spent on worthwhile things :lol:
2. Optional soft reset
Yeah, I may do this but, TBH, T Mobile install very little stuff and it seems to work, so I ain't fixin' it.
3. N/A
4. Pocket Mechanic
I can't see that I need this.
5. Not quite sure what the problem here is. I've been using XDAs since day 1 and never encountered the problem. YMMV
6. Registry cleanup
Never assume that some badly-written software doesn't depend on some default or illogical registry setting. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED
7. Task closer
OK, not a "two-click" operation, but in Settings/Memory, I can close running applications. No new software needed.
8. Basic apps
Total commander - erm, yeah, it's nice and everything and does a better job than the standard affair. However, 99.99% of the time, error: +/- 0.01%, I find I don't actually need any of that extra fluff.
TCPMP - granted, I only use MP to listen to WMAs I record off the radio to listen to later.
Batti - On my Today screen, there's a little icon I tap and it shows me my battery state. I can also see this using Settings/Power (or whatever it is)
TRE - See previous warning about effing about with your registry
IIWPO - nice idea :lol: but no substitute for insurance or taking care
BT icon, BT switch - I've never used Bluetooth in my life. YMMV
Battery Uptime - See prior comment about battery state indicator
etc
I'm sure that more people will find your advice usefull than mine, but just like to point out that, out of the box, these devices (at least MDA Pro) seem not to be too wide of the mark. For me, at least.

This is very helpful...thanx!
You mentioned that the soft reset before installation of imate stuff may lead to some problems in the long run. As I have opted for this strategy and have only installed two cab files (btpatch and a file that brings up the smart dialing), I would appreciate it if you could tell us what kind of problems we might confront. Also, is it too late to add these cab files after the fact (that is given we have synched contacts and added other programs)?
Cheers, apap

craigiecraigie4 - very useful advice, I think for everyone with a PPC. I don't have a universal, but good tips either way.
I didn't realise VJDialer doesn't work on WM5. I'll look into updating it when I get a new version of Visual Studio (or a WM5 device!).
Good work man!
V

Hi VJ - yeah, I'm afraid that there are a couple of posts on your primary thread about the "no command line specified" - no matter what combinations we try in the .lnk file. Saw your comment that another crowd charges for such an app. I'd happily contribute for the benefit of quick-dials - would be awesome along with WAD. You might want to mention your app on the WAD (lakeridgesoftware) forums - many 2003 users there who would LOVE this. With WAD u can have popup boxes on your skin, so with vjdialer one can popup and view of quickdials. awesome.

craigiecraigie4 said:
[*]Buzz's BT headset (prevents BT from turning off over night - no brainer! Thanks buzz!!)
[*]Menu and popup fonts 700 vs 900 (it's cosmetic, but on our nice VGA screens, it seems daft to have a look n feel that's SO QVGA{)
/quote]
where can i get the 2 things above...looked but cant find
thanks
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Click to collapse

vijay555 said:
craigiecraigie4 - very useful advice, I think for everyone with a PPC. I don't have a universal, but good tips either way.
I didn't realise VJDialer doesn't work on WM5. I'll look into updating it when I get a new version of Visual Studio (or a WM5 device!).
Good work man!
V
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
hi vijay!
I'm running on wm5 on my xda2....and am using vjdialer and vjsms extensively!
I dont think there are any problems with VJDialer's compatibility with wm5....
S

spbPocketPlus (not free, and do not allow it to show any storage meters. There are some bad posts on spb, but I've found it just as good as the above, altho it takes up slightly more memory)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have this running on my Exec and have storage indicators for memory and SD card on today screen, or are you talking about something else?
Btw, I found that my Exec runs faster with pocket plus than it did with magic button and pocketmagic++
Cheers
J

craigiecraigie4
Thank you VERY much for your extensive effort - this really does helps a lot :!:

That's an awesome post craigiecraigie4, some hard work went into that one dude.
Now my post below is not intended to be better than the original, merely another option. craigiecraigie4's use of the device is obviously a lot different to mine, as I work in an office, and am out of connectivity for maybe 3 hours of travel a day max, and never at weekends unless I go out. I'm on a scooter or a tube train so no connectivity is possible during travel for me.
What we are describing is our comfortable loadsets or configurations of our little systems, and that's what the stuff down here is, the Bongo configuration if you will. :lol:
I have made my comments against craigiecraigie4's original titles, and added a few apps of my own that I have.
[*]Weirdness for Hallowe'en :shock: After a hard reset, then sometimes the crosshair pointer setup would be real slow, and others it would be fast. Just in case, I did it until I had a fast one and proceeded from there. Don't know what/if any difference it makes, but that's what I do.
[*]ROM Upgrade: As there aren't any upgrade ROM's out there execept for the iMate one, I wouldn't until the new carrier ROM's are posted. I agree with CraigieCraigie though. Sooo, why not then? Warranty is the answer. Although I think in reality they wouldn't wash their hands of you just because you dared to use someone else's ROM, the carrier techies are generally not allowed to instruct you in the art of repairing your device with anyone else's ROM except their own, and so you would need to wait until your carrier released an upgrade and they could tell you how to do it.
[*]Optional soft reset: Definitely. And be selective about the manual .cab installs (installing total commander or the like first to see the Ext ROM). There's generally something in there that forces the device to behave in a way you don't like. An example is the internet button taking me to the t-mobile home page all the time. I hate that so I didn't install the relevant .cab.
[*]Sync: Now sync with your PC to get your contacts, calendar and tasks. This is only here to get you up and running asap. <-yeah man
[*]Pocket Mechanic: Download (www.antontomov.com) I bought this. It's good meaty tools you would get in a full Windows OS that M$ didn't put in WM5 yet.
[*]Notification Queue: Did it once, didn't do it after my last hard reset and TBH, haven't felt a need. I probably would do if I installed it and saw a gazillion notifications spamming my inners up. :lol:
[*]Registry cleanup: Haven't done it, but a careful look and selective delete may be of some use. Can't be arsed is the honest answer
[*]Task closer: Haven't bothered this time to minimise my number of concurrently running programs (absurd logic eh :wink: ). I only use a certain few apps, and as they're few don't notice a big slowdown from having them minimised if they don't close fully
[*]Basic apps: Here are Craigie's apps with my comment, and my loadset apps
Total commander - yeah man, schmokin
TCPMP - I only use mp3's so no point for me. Perhaps if I need to watch videos I will reinstall it.
Batti - I use Spb GPRS Monitor, v2.3.0, b525, and it has a battery icon, and I have the icon on my today screen, and I can guess it most of the time.
TRE - I use BitsInside Regedit. Also free and I like the Win 98 feel to it.
IIWPO - Great idea, I didn't know it worked on Universals. I will do this cos you never know if it might lead you to a thief. They'd have to be non-savvy theives of course else they'd hard reset it before using the new SIM
BT icon - I use the FN + -> combination to get there or the connectivity icon on the status bar.
BT switch - as above
Battery Uptime - If you want to learn then great
apReminderPlus - I don't use the alarm function
VJSMS - Inbuilt in WM5 is fine so far for my needs
Agile messenger - very thrifty use of bandwidth, like <10% of MSN (really) and free at the moment, but will pay for itself in bandwidth charges very quickly for most people. Suck it and see
GPS Viewer - because I have a Holux GPS and want to verify connectivity sometimes
Pocket Hack Master - because I like to crank it up to delightfully unstable 624MHz sometimes, but haven't need to with my installation as described here oddly enough. It's fast enough for me so far.
Pocket MSN because I want the Hotmail to appear in my messages application. I use Agile to IM people as above
TomTom Navigator 5.1 because it's awesome
[*]Settings: Time to do your basic settings:
speed dials
power and backlight
voice dials
Owner info
ringtones and notifications
DO NOT set regional settings if u r using PI (below)
[*]PIM: OK, time to replace the CRAP calendar built into WM5 - I agree it's crap, but I don't need a decent one. I am a simple soul.
[*]Reg fixes: - If you want to
Buzz's BT headset - haven't noticed this issue yet, bet I will tomorrow morning now though
"Always on GPRS" No good for me - 40megs/month tariff limit
Date & time in title bar (why not) - cos I know the date and time.
Menu and popup fonts 700 vs 900 - haven't done it yet. I like the size
PIE homepage - is done for me through my selective Ext ROM install
Terminal services cache - I don't use it yet
Turn IR off - yeah agreed waste of space most of the time.
[*]Extra apps:
eWallet - I don't keep details like that on my phones.
Pocket sudoku - I read books, so insert MS Reader for me there
Mobipocket reader - doesn't support .lit (MS format), and I read .lits and .docs so far. Wait until I run out of books though... :lol:
uBook - haven't needed it ....yet
1-calc - but the inbuilt calc does +, -, * and / so it's cool for me. I'm not a physicist
GPRS traffic monitor - spb is fine for me as I don't use it as a modem due to bandwidth limitations and being surrounded by connectivity in London.
[*]Memory:Haven't done these, but they look sensible if you can be arsed
Remove backgammon & skype, and re-install to SD card - I don't have them or use them anyway. How do you play backgammon? I went to a comprehensive school
Remove the 1Mb .tsk themes from the \Windows directory. I only have 3 default ones and use the standard blue theme. Functionality and not form is my motto :wink:
Do not use these big theme files - Good advice bro' (or sis)
Hope this is helpful to some other people :lol:

hi
Does ROM update invalidates the manufacture warranty?
Jatt

Menu and popup fonts
can anyone explain how to change the Menu and popup fonts from 700 to 900. Is it a registry hack?

jatt said:
hi
Does ROM update invalidates the manufacture warranty?
Jatt
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You would need to ring them up and enquire. With t-mobile, the tech dude just said they wouldn't be able to help me if I bricked my MDA until t-mobile released a ROM that I could download and use to revive the MDA. So, not invalidated for me, just much reduced support. Until a new ROM si out, all they can do with misbehaving devices is offer a replacement at the moment.
Illwil - the font size is a registry hack - search as it's here on this site somewhere.

joebongo: nice perspective. now users can see 2 extremes; O2 with much office usage, vs HTC with much out-n-about usage. Thanx 4 the effort.
illwil : search for my post on reg tweaks and run the .ren file 2 got 700->900 or rather 900->700
codiac: agree. I fiund spbPP 2 b perfectly well behaved, but there is so much bad press on it in this forum. perhas it's an O2 rom issue - pretty sad 4 them actually
xiasma: there truly do see 2 b an awful lot of ppl who think their universal is junk. this is intended 2 help them get up n running. some ppl got lucky (htc rom or just happy with functionality that actually works well) and they probably should not fix what aint broke. But one day they may want 2 push the envelope a little...

craigiecraigie4 said:
codiac: agree. I fiund spbPP 2 b perfectly well behaved, but there is so much bad press on it in this forum. perhas it's an O2 rom issue - pretty sad 4 them actually
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
PocketPlus is working OK for me on my O2 Exec...

Hello Everyone.
I proudly received my Exec this morning, only to find that it ran like a bag of S**t.
I removed the connections.exe, and the active files from my windows/start up folder and things improved dramatically.
However I am having a problem with the activesync.
I have set up the partnership with my laptop running activesync 4 and when it communcates it does it without any problems, however as soon as I connect my usb cable between my Exec and my laptop it takes a few minutes for the charging LED to come on on my Exec, and a while longer before Activsync on my pc recoginses it.
Does anyone else suffer from this problem?
Cheers

You removed connections.exe and now u have a connection problem...
Try removing things 1 at a time.
I definitely don't have this problem.
FYI, on my HTC all I have under startup is:
sddeamon.lnk
batti (i installed)
apreminderplus (me)
iiwpo (me)
O2 is definitely adding stuff that does not seem 2 b required by htc.

The only shortcut I have in my Windows\Startup folder is 'Services' and I have no problem with ActiveSync, voice dialling (with the built-in dialler) or anything else. I have no idea what the sddaemon one does but mine runs fine without it.
fatspark, your problem might lie with your laptop rather than the Exec? As a test though, are you able to try ActiveSyncing over Bluetooth? See if it's any quicker. If so then maybe it's a USB problem. Dunno.

IIWPO
Can someone explain how to install the IIWPO in the extended ROM on the JASJAR ?
I think it is different than the EXEC, where can I find instructions ? I am willing to handle the hassle

Cheers SiliconS
The problem is a driver issue on one of my laptops, I installed activsync 4 onto another one and all is ok.
Cheers.
Fatzzz

Newbie questions

Hi all,
Just got my I-mate JAM last week ... and absolutely love it. I know the JAM isn't the latest and greatest anymore, but I wanted a small PPC phone and JAM's the perfect size. The JAMin is too expensive for me, and I also think its improvements (wifi, EDGE, WM5 to name a few) are over-rated.
I had a separate PPC (toshiba e330 ... yeah it's about time it retires) and a smartphone (MPx220) before so it's great I only get to carry 1 device instead of 2.
Anyways, got a few newbie questions I hope you guys can help me with ...
1- Storage memory??
I realize the JAM has limited memory so I've been installing as many programs as possible on the 1G SD memory card.
I still found that ~ 60% of 'storage memory' is used though, so I started moving some more programs to the memory card (and had to relink them one by one).
Afterwards I found the 'storage memory' has actually gone UP even more ... from 60% to 68%??!
What is storage memory? I thought storage memory is the stuff (program / database) stored on the RAM, so by moving some of the programs to the flash card I should see the storage memory go DOWN, not UP?!
When I run something like a 'space detective' I find that all of my big files are on the memory card anyways, so I really don't know how my storage memory got so high, and don't know how to get it back down neither.
2. Repeated resetting
Everytime I do a soft-reset, the PPC has a tendency to do repeated resetting before I finally get it back ... the first time it freaked me out. I thought it's gone into an endless loop and I'd have to do a hard-reset ... good thing I got it back after 4-5 soft-resets. Once I get it back it actually runs stable, and wouldn't reset itself.
Is that normal? Has anybody else experienced this? Usually it'd reset itself again once it gets to loading the phone alarm today plug-in, or when it connects to the phone network.
I currently have the following plugin's installed on the today screen:
-phone alarm
- ADB Weather
- Calendar
And I also run WisBar Advanced 2 ... but I have disabled WA2 to reload itself automatically on soft-resets.
I put phone alarm, ADB weather and WA2 on the main storage instead of memory, because I don't want to increase the chance of crashing.
Does anybody else has this problem? Do I have a software conflict here?
3. Photo contact?
I use photo contact that comes with the phone ... now that software is a piece of crap to begin with, keeps freezing the PPC even for the smallest thing.
And, 5 times out of 10 when someone who's been assigned a photo ID calls, the photo doesn't show up. This is despite I've put the resized photo contacts on the main memory, not the memory card.
Anybody experienced the same problem? And what's a good photo contact ID program to recommend?
4. Good dialer program?
I can also use a good replacement dialer program ... the dialer program that comes with the phone works, but it's pretty slow in suggesting contacts as I dial, and the buttons a tad small as well for 1 hand operation.
I tried D9, but for whatever reason it doesn't install for me ... plus, I also need the DTMF tones to check voicemail and what not.
5. Must have appz?
Any other must have appz you guys would highly recommend? Since getting the phone I've installed:
- phonealarm (great appz for changing profiles and displaying sms / vmail / email / missed calls)
- Wisbar Advanced 2 (great launcher)
- Cyberon BT voice dialer (not sure how it's not included with the phone)
- Resco File Explorer
- Resco Picture Viewer
- Mapopolis
- Intelligolf
- Sprite backup (works well, but extremely slow if launched from the PPC)
- eWallet
Thanks! Any comment / suggestions is appreciated!

Number16, welcome to the board.
I'm afraid I don't have time for a thorough response right now, but some thoughts:
- please read the board rules. Posting a thread with a useful topic title will get you more help, faster. It's in your interest.
- read the wiki and do search the board. The Magician is still my favourite phone, and we've all spent years posting about issues for it. It's likely most of your concerns have already been discussed.
- specifically read the wiki on favourite software. It's far from complete, but it'll point you in the right direction. Someone asks the question every 4.7 minutes, precisely, day and night, so you will find other more detailed responses elsewhere. My recommendations: get gsfinder, claunch and SmallMenuPlus NOW.
- investigate the BigStorage Rom hack. (see Wiki)
Will try to post more later if possible.
V

apart from games I'd recommend the following:
1. Eye on privacy
2. XCPU Scalar
3. SPB plus
4. HiCalc
5. Novii remote
6. imusic

I would recommend;
AE Button plus
Allows you to map up to 3 functions per button, works great on the magician
+ its free
http://www.pocketgear.com/software_detail.asp?id=20322
"Total commander" is a great free file explorer
"Mortscript" is a useful for custom tweaking
"PHM Traylaunch" put shortcuts in the System Tool Tray
Also search this forum for a sound tweak that vastly improves audio quality when listening to music via headphones
& checkout http://www.pocketpcfreewares.com/en/index.php

Thanks guys, great advices there.
Speaking of AE Button plus, I installed the (free) ver 1.0.1 but somehow it only works for the contact and schedule button. I didn't re-assign the TALK/END buttons because it says if I do I won't be able to use these buttons in the dialer.
And somehow AE Button also doesn't work for the camera and record buttons (on the side) neither ... if I re-assign some other tasks to them, they don't bring up the camera application but won't start the intended application neither. I just hear a few beeps and nothing happen.
Does the paid version of AEB Plus improve that?
Sorry if I've gone off-topic here...

number16 said:
Thanks guys, great advices there.
Speaking of AE Button plus, I installed the (free) ver 1.0.1 but somehow it only works for the contact and schedule button. I didn't re-assign the TALK/END buttons because it says if I do I won't be able to use these buttons in the dialer.
And somehow AE Button also doesn't work for the camera and record buttons (on the side) neither ... if I re-assign some other tasks to them, they don't bring up the camera application but won't start the intended application neither. I just hear a few beeps and nothing happen.
Does the paid version of AEB Plus improve that?
Sorry if I've gone off-topic here...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's the same version as i'm using. Works on my contact & calender buttons & on my camera & record buttons perfectly, I use the camera button for the camera & flight mode toggle, I have mortscripts assigned to the other buttons which changes the buttons functions depending on what program is in the active window.
I find this easier to use stylus free than WM5 (I also own a Universal & a Prophet for the wife)
From your first post it sounds as your devise is a bit buggy, might be worth doing a hard reset or flashing it with a custom ROM.
A well setup Magician is an almost perfect PDA/Mobile phone balance
Have fun.
PS; Try the free trail for the paid version of AE Button & see if you like it.

Mister B said:
That's the same version as i'm using. Works on my contact & calender buttons & on my camera & record buttons perfectly, I use the camera button for the camera & flight mode toggle, I have mortscripts assigned to the other buttons which changes the buttons functions depending on what program is in the active window.
I find this easier to use stylus free than WM5 (I also own a Universal & a Prophet for the wife)
From your first post it sounds as your devise is a bit buggy, might be worth doing a hard reset or flashing it with a custom ROM.
A well setup Magician is an almost perfect PDA/Mobile phone balance
Have fun.
PS; Try the free trail for the paid version of AE Button & see if you like it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i have 2.5.1 registered version i cant figure how to toggle flight mode operation..help plz and i wanna ask if we can put magician on vibrate mode with any any key ???

max414 said:
i have 2.5.1 registered version i cant figure how to toggle flight mode operation..help plz and i wanna ask if we can put magician on vibrate mode with any any key ???
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Flight mode toggle
Download from link below then unzip & copy the program below to your phone or sd card, then create a shortcut to it in your programs folder (if you have a shortcut in your programs folder, it will show up in the menu in Buttons). Then go to "Settings>Buttons" & pick what button you want to link to the flight mode toggle program.
Vibrate mode toggle
You could create a batch file to use with Mortscript (freeware) which would turn your vibrate on & off, then link this batch file to a button.
Its quite easy to do, do a search for Mortscript. If you need help let me know & i'll write the script for you & give you what help I can in setting it up.
Mortscript is a great bit of software which can enable you to solve a few problems so its worth doing some research on it.
http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/pdamagician/wm2003sewm5software.html
http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/pdamagician/Downloads/tel.on-off_100.zip

Mister B said:
Flight mode toggle
Unzip & copy the program below to your phone or sd card, then create a shortcut to it in your programs folder (if you have a shortcut in your programs folder, it will show up in the menu in Buttons). Then go to "Settings>Buttons" & pick what button you want to link to the flight mode toggle program.
Vibrate mode toggle
You could create a batch file to use with Mortscript (freeware) which would turn your vibrate on & off, then link this batch file to a button.
Its quite easy to do, do a search for Mortscript. If you need help let me know & i'll write the script for you & give you what help I can in setting it up.
Mortscript is a great bit of software which can enable you to solve a few problems so its worth doing some research on it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i have got mort script but it s too much for my little brain......if was hoping if u could provide the file i will assign it a button ...looking forward to your help...thx for flight mode toggle

I've got the paid version of AE Buttons Plus and it still runs a little funny sometimes ... certain buttons will work from time to time. For example, I left "single click" for Button1 untouched (which should be Calender by default) and "double click" would start Notes. Well, it starts Notes on double-click all right, but from time to times single-click wouldn't do anything. A reset usually fixes the problem, but then it'll happen again after a while.
So instead of leaving "single click" for the button un-assigned, I've assigned it to Run Appz -> Notes. That did the trick so far.
I also find that Wisbar Advanced 2 is causing quite a bit of problem ... anybody else has problem with it? With WA2, PhoneAlarm and AEButtons running at the same time, the Magician gets pretty unstable. It's a lot better if I don't load WA2.
Which is too bad, cos i've been a fan of Wisbar from long ago (well, it was a freeware then) ... anybody has any suggestion for a taskbar launcher? I really don't want something that's too busy looking, and I don't like clauncher ... I use the today screen for caleder plugin's and what not.
Thanks,

max414 said:
i have got mort script but it s too much for my little brain......if was hoping if u could provide the file i will assign it a button ...looking forward to your help...thx for flight mode toggle
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
"max414"
I've sent you a private message rather than go further off topic on this thread.
Check your private messages & get back to me.

If you guys interested have a look at the 10 Best Softwares
Comments?

Here's my 2 cents on this '10best software' list ... befoer I start I gotta say for the most part I don't agree with it, for 1 reason or another.
1. Wisbar Advanced / Desktop.
Ok, I really like Wisbar, dating back to the PPC2002 times. It was a smart little program that worked very well as a launcher and took up close to nothing in terms of memory and storage, and better, it was a freeware. The Wisbar advanced these days though, is a memory hog for what it does. It may not be a problem on somehting like a x51v, but on a device like the Magician it really isn't the best solution for launcher. Plus, I dunno if it's just me, but I ran into all kinds of software problems with Wisbar advanced 2, potentially caused by software conflict with other softwares I have. Maybe someone else have better luck with WA2 though.
2. PocketBreeze
Never really used it, but personally I'm not a fan of busy today screen ... but that's just me.
3. PocketWeather
DOn't know why I'd pay for this software when I can get ADBWeather for free.
4. PocketMusic
I used PocketMusic in the PPC2002 days, and it's not bad ... but these days when you can get GSPlayer for free, it gives PM a run for the $$.
5. RescoFileExplorer
No question about this one. Always the first program I install after a hard-reset, 'nuff said.
6. Memmaid / PocketMechanics
I use Memmaid and it's great. Never used PocketMechanics
7. QuickNotes
Never used it ... so can't really say.
8. SPB Backup
I used Sprite Backup on my old PPC so I continue to use it on the Magician. Other than being rather slow when it scans your device, I have no complaint about Sprite. I never used SPB so I can't compare.
9. Internet Browser
Haven't tried anything other than IE so can't say ...
10. Theft Alarm
Well, I use eWallet to store all the sensitive information ... never used theft alarm so can't say.
I guess that's just the list for PPC ... because for PPC phones, I'd say PhoneAlarm's one of the top 'must-get' softwares for sure.

Any software requests out?

Hi, I'm a developer wanting to write an app/today plugin. Do you have any request?

Yea I've wanted this for long time and hope you make it for me. Program that like the watch beep or vibrate 30 min or hour and not turn the screen on?? so I can tell time without pulling the phone out.
Thanks for the opportunity, I was thinking about asked here.

Today plug in for Last call and Running Program as in O2 Plus. Both are nice features of O2 Plus but sadly hacked version has lot of issues to run on wizard and it's big prog to install only for those plugins. Thanks.

check this out http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=328317

I'd love an app that would allow you to get notifications of email that goes into folders other than inbox. Currently, there's no way to do that, and there are no rules you can set like in desktop Outlook to inform you when a message goes into one of those folders.

Hi Kartam, I use claunch, you can see it in my avatar there, I would love to be able to finger scroll the launch icons to the left or the right to quickly get to all my apps, configurable icon size of course. Outside of the today screen a finger friendly file browser is definitely waiting for development, something that has the look and feel of pocketCM but shows your files instead of your contacts, complete with favourites and filters for stuff like music videos or documents. It should also allow users to set a default action on selecting any given item.

funger friendly alarm clock?
Hi,
how about an alarm clock with numbers like a telephone pad, so you can easily type in the wake up time (regular cell phones allow this). I tried all sorts of commercial products, they are not good (snowtime, spb time, etc...)
Or how about a modern version od "pPod"? :-D
Good luck with all your programs!!

finger friendly alarm clock?
Hi,
how about an alarm clock with numbers like a telephone pad, so you can easily type in the wake up time (regular cell phones allow this). I tried all sorts of commercial products, they are not good (snowtime, spb time, etc...)
Or how about a modern version od "pPod"? :-D
Good luck with all your programs!!

Mine's rather Simple!!!!
...or at least I think it it should be.
All I want is an app (preferably that sits on the today screen) that can toggle the network selection between automatic, roam only, and home only.
Sometimes I need to roam to hold a proper signal, and in those places I like switching my phone to "roam only". Then, when going home, I switch it back to automatic network selection. Problem is that this is buried in many menus and takes several clicks to switch. Its a pain to do this 2x a day.
what do you think?

I actually think you may be able to do that with MortScript, I could've sworn I saw a script that did something similar on HoFo or another forum with one that did almost exactly what you described, but it might've been the WiFi radio in conjunction with a GPS puck...or something

I have multiple application using GPRS. My problem is that all those application are not using tha same APN (not sure of the name, I mean different GPRS connections). Each time I need to use one application or another I need to go to the parameters, change my setting click multiple times on OK.
It would be great (at least for me) to have an application on the today screen which permit to select the correct APN.
Regards
Stephane

cybersush said:
Hi,
Or how about a modern version od "pPod"? :-D
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What a great age we live in when a completely touch screen digital music player is not considered as modern!

Haha, you got a point there, touché :-D
What i meant was a more modern pPod skin (maybe more skins to choose from...?), a playlist manager of some sort (so you dont have to browse through all kins of folders until you find your mp3s), slightly bigger buttons, ....
I love the design and the simplicity of the pPod though, just a little tweaking would be cool. And yes, i did also try mortplayer and HTC audiomanager, both great programs, but both programs are too big for just playing music (in my opinion)

Actually a great program would just be a hack to have HTC Audio Manager use the ID3 Number tags to sort music instead of Alphabetical

Re the new ppod program - that'd be great - I've been refreshing the iphone media player thread like nothing on earth - cant wait to see what that turns out like... the HTC hack would be good tho.
ps you might want to check out Simple Tunes V1.61

Hi!
You can make a little program for me??
Here you can find a little CAB http://forum.xda-developers.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=49265&d=1188921933
They copy to the Windows folder a little executable, copy into StartUp folder a shortcut to it, and add few registry-entries....
Well, this program don't have any interface, simple start when device start...
The target is "improove" the quality of A2DP transmission (audio over bluetooth)
BUT, when this service running, the battery quickll drain!!
You can make a simple app (like a GUI) to enable/disable it??
To enable = write few registry-entries and copy a shortcut to the StartUp folder, then softreset the device
To disable = remove the same registry-entries and remove the shortcut from the StartUp folder, then softreset the device

Can you create an application that will let my Hermes roam the floor vacuuming!?

a2dp stereo auto enable
can you write (or is there out there) an app which enables the a2dp pairing with a bt headset so the stereo is enabled by default when the headset re-establishes a connection.
currently (for me) if i turn loose the pairing, ie if I charge the headset, then turn the headset back on for a2dp. I have to run the bt settings in control panel and click 'set as wireless stereo' on the headset.
note the phone headset is enabled straight away when it is powered up.
thanks

left/right scrolling today screen plugin
this would be a sweet today plugin....

Location based profile changer

[APP] Star Trek Communicator (new CAB +REQ for better version)

*** CLICK HERE FOR A WORKING CAB VERSION ***
REQUEST (for better version):
Hi all coders! I have a request for a new Diamond app to fulfil my geek fantasies! Here is what I would like it to do:
Flicking the Diamond (like Kirk flicking open a Star Trek original series communicator) will perform the following actions:
1) Play attached .WAV file (or make it configurable)
2) Come out of standby (if in standby or backlight was off)
3) Go to configurable location (e.g. Home, Phone, Notes etc.)
I wouldn’t normally make such a request but considering some of the great apps appearing on this board I thought it would be worth a try
Cheers!

I like this

nice idea

Nice idea!
As a Trekker and sci-fi geekette myself would love this to go with the wonderful Star Wars lightsaber app

EDIT: Ignore this.
Sorry, I misread your post

This is a Great idea! please someone help us out here

Very interested to see how this works! I wonder how easy it is to develope for this phone...any pointers anybody?

yeah. this sounds like an awesome idea.

I noticed other threads saying that it would not be possible to wake up from standby as the g-sen doesn't poll then.
shame.
But I think it would still be fun, when on, to flick/flip the phone and get the wav sound and jump to the phone/dialer screen...
am i geeking out a little too much??

redman99 said:
I noticed other threads saying that it would not be possible to wake up from standby as the g-sen doesn't poll then.
shame.
But I think it would still be fun, when on, to flick/flip the phone and get the wav sound and jump to the phone/dialer screen...
am i geeking out a little too much??
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That is a shame but understandable as the battery life would be even worse than it currently is.
Maybe tapping one of the volume keys to wake up the G-Sensor will be a possible solution?
And no, you can never be too geeky!

I vote for this. Great idea.

Working Trek communicator sound!
As is it is unlikey that someone will write an app to do this, I have created a little something with the little knowledge I have!
The attached file will allow you to get the classic Star Trek communicator sound everytime you come out of standby by pressing the Power Button.
Requirements:
You will need to install MortScript available from here:
http://www.sto-helit.de/index.php?module=download&action=view&entry=65
Installation:
- Once MortScript has been installed, create a folder in Internal Storage called 'Trek'
- Copy all files in the attached zip to this folder
- Using File Explorer on your device, click on 'TrekEnable'
Options:
There are no options per se, but you can do the following:
- Using Notepad on your PC, modify the file 'TrekPlay.mscr' to play a different WAV file of your choice. I have included two versions of the Star Trek communicator sound, a quiet version (enabled by default) and a loud version
- If you would like the files in another location, you must modify all the .mscr files and change the path
Uninstall:
- Using File Explorer on your device, click on 'TrekDisable'
- Delete the 'Trek' folder
NOTES: I have noticed that if you quickly power off then on again it will not play the sound. If you power off and leave it for about 10 seconds or more before powering on again it should work
Enjoy!

Works good man Thx
Edited: But for some reason time to time it plays the sound twice or three times..

New Cab Version
OK, I managed to get an easy to install and uninstall CAB working for this. You no longer need to install MortScript either.
The attached file will allow you to get the classic Star Trek communicator sound everytime you come out of standby by pressing the Power Button.
Installation:
- Copy the attached CAB to your phone and run it
- Select where you want to install it: Device or Internal Storage (I recommend Device as it is only 120Kb and should work faster)
Options:
NOTE: Default install directory is \Program Files\Wired Trek Communicator
There are no options per se, but you can do the following:
- Modify the file 'TrekPlay.mscr' to play a different WAV file of your choice. I have included two versions of the Star Trek communicator sound, a quiet version (enabled by default) and a loud version
Uninstall:
- Go to Settings > Remove Programs and select 'Wired Trek Communicator' then click 'Remove'
KNOWN ISSUES:
- If you quickly power off then on again it will not play the sound. If you power off and leave it for about 10 seconds or more before powering on again it should work
- Sometimes it will not sound after powering on but you may find that certain events cause it to sound afterwards, such as certain notifications
- It will also play the sound when removing the stylus if the phone comes out of standby
- If phone is in standby and you have set an alarm, the sound will play before your alarm sound
Some of these issues are down to Windows Mobile, others I may be able to workaround at some point.

Found another issue: Doesn't work properly with S2U2. Makes only sounds if I put in the USB cable which is attached to my PC.

Came across this post yesterday and thought to myself, that's a cool idea!
So I gave it a go, let me know what you think.
Download here: http://trueeddie.com/?p=49
PS: I haven't done extensive testing, so if there are issues just tell me.

It requires .net 3.5. You can install that with out your carrier though.
The app brings up the dialer and plays the communicator sound when you flick your wrist

New audio switch program for skype and others.

This program is an evolution of the first I made. It will route the audio to the earpiece when an certain program is running.
I put the program here because I have test it in wizard, if people test this in others phones and it works, please post here and maybe move this this thread to an more "generic" forum.
the program MUST be under "\($program files)\audioswitch" folder, you must unzip the contents to this folder.
the configuration file (command.txt) is under this format:
1000
skype
fring
etc
the first line is the delay(in miliseconds) in witch the program will "look" if a program in the list is in the top level window, faster phone, smaller delays, I recommend 1000 ms.
the next 20 lines are the programs you want the audio to be routed to the earpiece(max 20 lines for now).
Again the program is under the "do it on your own risk" and "I am not responsible for anything" licence. And,of course, it is free!! Do not sell it!
It is manly intended for little expert users, as it is still in "beta" fase, hehehe.
How it works:
the program runs in an eternal loop and look for the title of the current window that is displayed for the user in a time interval.
When the program mach the title window with one of the names user configured it it will switch the audio, when the program is not running anymore, the audio will swich back.
Do not launch two or more instances of the program at the same time, could really mess things up. -- se the forum (thanks tucahara)
To stop the program, u must use a process manager.
it would be good if someone could make a cab to install it. -- done see the forum (thanks tucahara)
this is still a beta, I intend to make ajustments as people give feedback.
Thanks,
hope u like.
-----first update---
now, an file called "audioswitch_error.txt" in the root directory will hold the error messages.
------------ List - Working ------------
wizard - I tested
P3301 or P3300 - I tested
att tilt - I tested
touch 3452 and 3450
touch dual
touch cruise
touch HD
Sony Ericsson Xperia X1
BenQ E72
Titan --> see the forum
------------ List - NOT working ------------
T-Mobile Diamond
HTC Touch by Sprint
Samsung SGH-i780
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
check the new thread at:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=502361
new aproach to do the switch and now open source, even with an class that others can improve and put in other apps...
Some people complain about me not openning the source of the app, I have just made this way because there was proprietary code inside and I had no time to rewrite it without the proprietary code.
I have made the best I could, and now I had some time and rewrite the app in open source, to those who only complain about it, get the code and make it better instead of complaining!
Thanks for all that encourage me to continue the work and helped the development.
will retire this project for while...
thanks u all.

Audioswitch for Skype
On HTC Touch by Sprint (CDMA, also known as Vogue), audioswitch does switch the audio in the Skype 2.5 windows mobile PPC from external speaker to handset. Unfortunately, the microphone is then also disabled. I hope you'll be able to tweak your audioswitch to resolve this.
Thank you so much for developing this wonderful applet. I'm sure you will have the gratitude of many frustrated Skype windows mobile users.

What really happens is that when the sound output is switched in some phones, the microphone gain changes too. This happens because the phone thinks it is a "normal call".
Most of the times the mic gain increases, but in your phone it must be decreasing. Try to figure out in registry where the mic gain controls are recorded and chage all of then to the same value. I had this issue with my P3301 and solved this way, but there is quite a time now and I do not remenber where are the reg keys to change, but I have found the information here in the forum.
I will try to figure out for other "hack" to solve this issue... thanks for reply.

doesn't work at T-Mobile Compact IV (aka Diamond)
Sound went to loudspeaker....
PS: fring last version working fine with sound at mine phone (without any additional programms). Sound is going to correct destination automatically

I just tried the latest version of Fring, which automatically switches audio to earpiece when call is connected.
The same issue occurs with the new Fring as I described above with your audioswitch program: I can hear audio through earpiece, but microphone doesn't work (or is inaudible).
I couldn't find a tweak or registry hack to correct this. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

MarceloFB said:
This program is an evolution of the first I made. It will route the audio to the earpiece when an certain program is running.
I put the program here because I have test it in wizard, if people test this in others phones and it works, please post here and maybe move this this thread to an more "generic" forum.
the program MUST be under "\($program files)\audioswitch" folder, you must unzip the contents to this folder.
the configuration file (command.txt) is under this format:
1000
skype
fring
etc
the first line is the delay(in miliseconds) in witch the program will "look" if a program in the list is in the top level window, faster phone, smaller delays, I recommend 1000 ms.
the next 20 lines are the programs you want the audio to be routed to the earpiece(max 20 lines for now).
Again the program is under the "do it on your own risk" and "I am not responsible for anything" licence. And,of course, it is free!! Do not sell it!
It is manly intended for little expert users, as it is still in "beta" fase, hehehe.
How it works:
the program runs in an eternal loop and look for the title of the current window that is displayed for the user in a time interval.
When the program mach the title window with one of the names user configured it it will switch the audio, when the program is not running anymore, the audio will swich back.
it would be good if someone could make a cab to install it.
this is still a beta, I intend to make ajustments as people give feedback.
If someone like this program and wants to make an donation...
https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_donations&business=4WLQVA6LTKWSL&lc=GB&item_name=marcelofb&item_number=marcelofbxdadonations&currency_code=USD&bn=PP%2dDonationsBF%3abtn_donateCC_LG_global%2egif%3aNonHosted
Thanks,
hope u like.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have an idea. Rather than regularly polling to see what the current windows is, why not use a windows hook to monitor windows messages. When you see a message indicating a window has come to the foreground test it against your list of windows and enable/disable audio switch as necessary. Use SetWindowsHookEx and hook for WH_CBT messages. If you are unfamiliar with using SetWindowsHookEx I could supply you with the hooking code and all you would need to do is insert the code to check the window names, enable the audio switch, and disable the audio switch. Or you could send me the enable/disable routines.
Another tip, I noticed that skype places an icon in the notification area during a call. If there is someway of detecting the notification icon that could be another great way to trigger the switch.
Great program though. Works beautifully.

OOOH
If this program works on the new BenQ E72 I'm getting in a couple of days I'll certainly donate!
THANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOU

hello,
it does not work on hermes (tytn).
by the way "troca2" does work on hermes! - maybe you guys want to work together?

baal_zebub said:
hello,
it does not work on hermes (tytn).
by the way "troca2" does work on hermes! - maybe you guys want to work together?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
hehhehe, I made troca2, I will see if the switch code is the same or if I have made some mistake...
are u sure you have put the program in the correct directory?? I will make some modifications to have an error feedback. So u can see if something is wrong...

JKingDev said:
I have an idea. Rather than regularly polling to see what the current windows is, why not use a windows hook to monitor windows messages. When you see a message indicating a window has come to the foreground test it against your list of windows and enable/disable audio switch as necessary. Use SetWindowsHookEx and hook for WH_CBT messages. If you are unfamiliar with using SetWindowsHookEx I could supply you with the hooking code and all you would need to do is insert the code to check the window names, enable the audio switch, and disable the audio switch. Or you could send me the enable/disable routines.
Another tip, I noticed that skype places an icon in the notification area during a call. If there is someway of detecting the notification icon that could be another great way to trigger the switch.
Great program though. Works beautifully.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It is a good idea to use hook, I have not think of it!
I use a proprietary code included in a lib at the company I work for to make the "switch" but it is not different of what u find here in the forum.
Maybe we can make an effort to re-make it with hooks...

so this program must run all the time? after every softreset you have to start it?
is it not easier with mortscript (for example) to make an shortcut that opens skype as well as the audioswitch program? and closes the audioswithc program when you close skype?
I am using it right now and it seems to work perfect:
i used this script after installing mortscript (http://www.sto-helit.de/):
run( "\Windows\SkypeSoundSwitch.exe" )
runwait( "\Program Files\Skype\Skype.exe" )
close( "troca2" )
(see that in my case i downloaded your original program and renamed it to skypesoundswitch.exe and put it in the windows map)
I renamed it so i could remember what the purpose the file had.. changed nothing but the name!
Thanks for the program by the way! it always worked perfect!!

so to sum up the way i have it now (most files included) on my xperia x1:
1) installed skype
2) installed mortscript
3) add skypesoundswitch to \windows\....
3) add skype.mscr to \.... (root)
4) overwrite skype.lnk with the new skype.lnk in \windows\start menu\programs\..
in the way whenever i open skype(.lnk), it opens skype.mscr, this opens skypesoundswitch.exe and than skype.exe... when you close skype.exe it closes skypesoundswitch.exe...
it seems to work perfect.. but hey maybe i am doing something totally wrong here.. than just shout!
by the way, the .mscr and the .lnk files are offcourse edit-able .. so you can put the files everywhere you like..

madhijs said:
so this program must run all the time? after every softreset you have to start it?
is it not easier with mortscript (for example) to make an shortcut that opens skype as well as the audioswitch program? and closes the audioswithc program when you close skype?
I am using it right now and it seems to work perfect:
i used this script after installing mortscript (http://www.sto-helit.de/):
run( "\Windows\SkypeSoundSwitch.exe" )
runwait( "\Program Files\Skype\Skype.exe" )
close( "troca2" )
(see that in my case i downloaded your original program and renamed it to skypesoundswitch.exe and put it in the windows map)
I renamed it so i could remember what the purpose the file had.. changed nothing but the name!
Thanks for the program by the way! it always worked perfect!!
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That works great too. The advantage of this new program is that it will only reroute the audio when skype is in the foreground. You could minimize skype and leave it running, and audioswitch will automatically restore your sound. Get a call and open up skype and your sound goes back to the earpiece.
I will create the code to do it with a windows hook when I get a chance MarceloFB. Please pm me your email address. All you will have to do is insert the code to read the config file, check the window names, and when necessary enable or disable the switch. Or please show me where to find details on how to code this myself. Thanks!

Hat off to both of you and really glad that we will have a much improved solution.

JKingDev said:
That works great too. The advantage of this new program is that it will only reroute the audio when skype is in the foreground. You could minimize skype and leave it running, and audioswitch will automatically restore your sound. Get a call and open up skype and your sound goes back to the earpiece.
I will create the code to do it with a windows hook when I get a chance MarceloFB. Please pm me your email address. All you have to do is insert the code to read the config file, check the window names, and when necessary enable or disable the switch.
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Click to collapse
okay! I only used skype to make calls and than get offline so this way did the trick for me! but i have to admit it would be much better when i can keep skype online!
this new program does the trick indeed! it changes the output back when i minimize skype!
But still my question above, you have to start this program on every startup isn't it? what does it do with the battery?

madhijs said:
okay! I only used skype to make calls and than get offline so this way did the trick for me! but i have to admit it would be much better when i can keep skype online!
this new program does the trick indeed! it changes the output back when i minimize skype!
But still my question above, you have to start this program on every startup isn't it? what does it do with the battery?
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Yes it must be run at startup but placing a link in your startup folder will make everything transparent to the user. I don't think there will be an effect at startup. In it's current form it must check every second (or whatever you set the timeout to), but its only a little bit of code. I am not really sure if that will really have an effect. The more often it checks the faster it will switch when you open skype, but also the more processor use. Check less often and it uses less processor, but there might be a delay in switching the audio. I proposed doing it by hooks though because this would use even less processor. The app will only check when a new window takes focus, rather than just periodically checking. This way it only checks when it needs to and will always switch instantly.

I am glad u liked the program.
I will try to answer most of the questions...
1- JKingDev:
I have though in your idea of using hooks, but if I use a hook, the program will have a loop anyway to check for the messages(hidden loop ;-) ), and it would have to have an "fake window" or something to process the messages. This way we have only one loop, in a very simple command line program with high optimization, so we have to think what is really the best way of doing it... I will pm u as soon I have any time to "program" again. hehe
2- people that uses mortscript with the old "troca2"
I will try to make a way to make this program work the same way as troca2, maybe with an "argc argv", wait the next update.
3- the battery life??
if u notice any battery life decreasing with the usage of the program, configure a bigger delay, maybe 5000ms, it is a matter of adjust the "timming" for each processor. Post your results here so others can find the optimum value for the delay in their phones.
4- have to start the program every reset?
yes, just put it in the startup folder.
maybe someone can make an cab that put the program in the right place and a link in the startup, it would be cool! I dont have an easy program to deal with cabs, and the vs projects for cabs.... I really cant make that thing work!!

well it is only the batterylife i was worried about. but i'll try running the phone this weekend with the program running and doing some skype.. lets see how it turns out!

For folks who have issues of mic on using this program, there is a quick solution for this problem. You can try sjphone. It provides a internal mic volume control. However, the major setback is that it's only working in wm5.
my 2 cents

weekendli said:
For folks who have issues of mic on using this program, there is a quick solution for this problem. You can try sjphone. It provides a internal mic volume control. However, the major setback is that it's only working in wm5.
my 2 cents
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Click to collapse
will check this, but people reported that worked in xperia... and it is running in my P3301... anyway, will check and post an wm6 build if it is the case... check the error file and see if it tells anything.
Other thing, this program uses low level api`s, so your windows MUST be fully unlocked for it to work in wm6.