Database Users

alternative way to backup contacts?

Hi
Just got this thing the other day (O2 XDA Mini S) and am pulling my hair out with ActiveSync. A google and a look round these forums convinces me I'm not alone.
I'm now at the point where notes will sync, but Contacts and Calendar will not. This appears to be most likely because I'm not using an Exchange Server.
I give in. Can anyone advise whether this some alternative to ActiveSync that I can use to back up my contacts list? I'd hate to have to do it all over again.
I have a memory card, so adding software from that is no problem if necessary.
Thanks

You can try the backup tool Sunnysoft
in advanced mode is an option Backup PIM databases

lansalot said:
I'm now at the point where notes will sync, but Contacts and Calendar will not. This appears to be most likely because I'm not using an Exchange Server.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Are you just trying to sync with your pc over the usb link? You don't need Exchange Server for that - it sync's with Outlook directly. Have you set up what information you want to sync in ActiveSync's Tools->options?
Another possibility for not syncing is any firewall you are running - although, if it was that, you wouldn't even get Notes to sync.
John

yup
Thanks for that John, yep I've done all I can see that I need to do. Missing Exchange was about the only thing left I could think of. I think I might uninstall Outlook and reinstall it to see if that helps. Though I *hate* having to install that POS just so I can backup some settings !
Perhaps there's somewhere within the phone that will export the various settings somewhere. Or perhaps I should dig out VS2005 and attempt to write one myself. Backing up to storage card would be the best option I think, and from a look around the .net mobile CF, it would appear to be pretty well supported.
And I had to disable Zonealarm despite having all the appropriate configurations set up to allow it. I even put 169.254.x.x in the trusted zone, to no avail.
ActiveSync is a shocking piece of software - and I know from owning other phones that there's things like MobiExplorer and MobiManager that tends to work much better than the usual manufacturer-supplied stuff.
Chak, thanks for the lead with SunnySoft.

Copy the pim.vol file from the root directory of the device. This contains all your pim info (contacts, call history, tasks, calendar). You can't really make anything out of it if you try to view it, but when you hard reset, you can just overwrite the new one and soft reset to restore everything. I copy mine to my storage card every time i add something new that has to do with pim stuff.

guttrhead said:
Copy the pim.vol file from the root directory of the device. This contains all your pim info (contacts, call history, tasks, calendar). You can't really make anything out of it if you try to view it, but when you hard reset, you can just overwrite the new one and soft reset to restore everything. I copy mine to my storage card every time i add something new that has to do with pim stuff.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
in my case, pim.vol file is protected, so copying & replacing it after hard reset does not work. i have other workaround for backuping contacts (as my activesync with outlook simply does not work) - each contact via irda to computer. it saves contact as .vcf file that you can send to wizard back again after hard reset.

Try using total commander to get to the file.

I yust transfered the file via email inside my home WLan to the PC.....

Hey, is this a common problem for HTC devices or Windows mobile in general?
I just started searching because my calendar won't sync. (3 palm devices and 3 pda's later, I have 1,400+ contacts.)
Are there any workarounds that anyone knows?
I tried setting up the sync settings whilst the device was disconnected, but the calendar entry just disappears when I re-connect.
-Worried of Sheffield.

thanks
Thanks eva_d, I had already hit on the idea of bluetoothing all my contacts over (thankfully, there's not that many) from my nokia 6600. Luckily, the XDA didn't require my SIM to be in it during the transfer. It even took over the mini pictures I had for some of the contacts, quite smart.
But it would be some chore with more than the couple dozen I had.
I'm reading up on the windowsmobile classes in dotnet, I reckon the answer would lie in there somewhere. Writing an app in VS to back things up to some funky open format would be the ideal, even if it does just drop a directory full of VCF files for example.
Once I'm sure VS2005 is installed and working correctly (http://forum.xda-developers.com/viewtopic.php?t=41155), I'll throw some serious effort at it.

Re: thanks
lansalot said:
Thanks eva_d, I had already hit on the idea of bluetoothing all my contacts over (thankfully, there's not that many) from my nokia 6600. Luckily, the XDA didn't require my SIM to be in it during the transfer. It even took over the mini pictures I had for some of the contacts, quite smart.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
copying contacts to other handset is bit risky, because various producers are using various interpretation of .vcf file format. for instance, when i copy contact from siemens s65 to wizard, email field is always ripped off the contact and polish national characters are also absent. copying contacts to computer via irda is quite safe, however personal ringtones assigned to contact and voice dials are sacrified. all other data within a contact are still present, including contact picture.

A bit more info on the missing calendar link:-
I have one laptop using activesync V.4.1 this was where i first discovered the problem.
Just tried laptop #2 running a/sync v.3.7.1 which has an older copy of my appointments in outlook. Calendar doesn't sync to this either, so it must be something inside the MDA.
Tried to search microsoft support to find a solution, but no entries found. This seems to indicate that it is a HTC issue. I had a MDA Pro briefly sync-ed up which worked Ok. The problems are with my MDA compact running WM2003.

pim.vol not only saves the contact but also the assigned ringtone and pic. only way to do it is copy to storage card.
then after hard reset it won't let you overwrite the new one but if you rename it to pim.vol.old it lets you do that. then you can overwrite it.

laich71 said:
pim.vol not only saves the contact but also the assigned ringtone and pic. only way to do it is copy to storage card.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
contact pictures are NOT saved in pim.vol. when i restore contacts via irda from .vcf files on my laptop, pictures are already there.

I know this thread has moved on a bit, but I've just got my calendar to sync. again and I'm soooo relieved!
Take a look at this forum to find out how:-
news://msnews.microsoft.com/microsoft.public.pocketpc.activesync
Look at 'Cannot get calendar to sycnhronise' and the second reply.

Backing up the Contacts with Mail2Web Live Mail Service
I basically use the mail2web live mail service, and use its exchange server as the server source in Activesync. I only choose synching Contacts with this server (but you can choose others).
This way, all my contacts are always up to date in mail2web servers, and even if I need to hard reset, I can reget all of my contacts back very quickly.
Highly recommended...
Fast

please use the search PLEASE! ....search for PPCBckpContacts.exe
damn it!

Want to redo phone, how do I backup and which of the ...

My phone suddenly feels sluggish as if some program is hogging all the memory and I've made a bit of a mess anyway :?. I also just recently got a 1GB mini SD and want to install apps to it.
I need to backup: my contact list, call history, text messages, notes, tasks and also calendar.
How do I go about doing this?
Also which of the following should go on PPC and which are fine to run off the SD?
-TCMP (which cab am I supposed to use again?)
-Skype (going to try new one)
-Total Commander
-Real player (don't think TCMP can play such files)
-The tweak app posted here
-Adobe acrobat reader PPC (I know there's something else but I don't remember its name)
-minimo (seems pretty interesting haven't had the chance to try it out yet)

AsGF2MX said:
I need to backup: my contact list, call history, text messages, notes, tasks and also calendar.
How do I go about doing this?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Contact list, notes, tasks, calender is backuped with ActiveSync. You don't have to worry if ActiveSync works fine with Outlook.
About the call history and text messages I don't know. I myself haven't find them that important.
I use Sunnysoft Backup Manager for backups:
http://www.sunnysoft.com/en_clanek.php?clanekid=51
Check it out ... it's good if to restore to a snapshot before you screw up your device.
And remember to "redo your phone" with the newest available ROM.

To be honest, I have been running without Activesync. Don't think I have outlook installed...hmm. Is there any way to do it so that it can be loaded directly onto the phone? Otherwise I guess I will have to install it as it comes with office if I remember correctly.
If I can't backup text messages...hmm...there must be away. I would like to keep the call history but it looks like it can't be helped...I'll have to run through and collect some of those numbers :x
Do I really need the newest ROM for my mini S? :? The one on it right now works great. Heck even skype worked acceptably till now...

AsGF2MX said:
If I can't backup text messages...hmm...there must be away. I would like to keep the call history but it looks like it can't be helped...I'll have to run through and collect some of those numbers :x
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I suppose it's possible if you know where the data is saved. But I think there won't be a simple way of doing it. I would myself be intresting where the data can be found.
AsGF2MX said:
Do I really need the newest ROM for my mini S? :? The one on it right now works great. Heck even skype worked acceptably till now...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Once you "redo your phone" ... it's your best opertunity to upgrade the ROM. And I prefer you do so to avoid problems in the feature. Your device will be faster and be more stable (ROM 2.17).

2.17...Is that an O2 ROM? I will first need to figure out how to save those text messages. Hmm.... Worth emailing MS?

AsGF2MX said:
2.17...Is that an O2 ROM? I will first need to figure out how to save those text messages. Hmm.... Worth emailing MS?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
2.17 is the ROM HTC has distributed to all brands/countries ... depeding on each contact it depends when the ROM is available officially.
I think it's no worth mailing MS. Hope someone here know where the SMS are saved.

AsGF2MX said:
2.17...Is that an O2 ROM? I will first need to figure out how to save those text messages. Hmm.... Worth emailing MS?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You realy do need outlook.
JeyoMobileExtender wil backup your SMS in Outlook.
You can also use SPB-Backup, works fine but is hat not to many option for custom backup and restore. The backups are selfextracting

Are those two freeware?

AsGF2MX said:
Are those two freeware?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No freeware

AsGF2MX said:
Are those two freeware?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Shareware ... you may be able to test them during the time you "redo your phone".

Jayo Mobile Companion is what you want!
http://www.jeyo.com/companion.asp

CSV Import Calendar and Contacts

Yes, i've seen similar questions asked but Windows Mobile 2005 in usual Microsoft Stupidity doesnt seem to have any import functions. My contacts and calendar items are all stored on google contacts and my mac. Since I cant use activesync I need someway of importing these items. Now im not sure there is any method to do this. Has anyone tried CSV importing using 3rd party software at all?

Oni said:
Yes, i've seen similar questions asked but Windows Mobile 2005 in usual Microsoft Stupidity doesnt seem to have any import functions. My contacts and calendar items are all stored on google contacts and my mac. Since I cant use activesync I need someway of importing these items. Now im not sure there is any method to do this. Has anyone tried CSV importing using 3rd party software at all?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I made a tool to do backup/restore of outlook contacts, you can find it on http://buzzdev.net in the download section.
Here is the link of the download (you need to be registered):
http://buzzdev.net/component/option,com_remository/Itemid,109/func,fileinfo/id,215/
Here is the link of the screenshots and some info about the prog.:
http://buzzdev.net/component/option,com_simpleboard/Itemid,59/func,view/id,10234/catid,33/
I wasn't interested in appointments, so I didn't do any development on that, sorry.
Cheers,
.Fred
ps.: the layout of the csv file is well defined. I suggest you to do a backup of your wm2005 contacts, then edit the csv file produced and do a restore.
pps.: if you need more infos, don't hesitate to ask.

Thanks for the reply. Such a program was pretty much what i wanted. However, Im afraid to say that it doesnt actually support proper CSV. For starters, your file uses semi-colons. The CSV file im using is produced by GoogleMAil so its standard is beyond reproach. Still, it seems to work for backing up purposes. I suspect this is another slight variation from Microsoft again.

Oni said:
Thanks for the reply. Such a program was pretty much what i wanted. However, Im afraid to say that it doesnt actually support proper CSV. For starters, your file uses semi-colons. The CSV file im using is produced by GoogleMAil so its standard is beyond reproach. Still, it seems to work for backing up purposes. I suspect this is another slight variation from Microsoft again.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry for that, maybe in a future version I will add a version where the delimiter could be chosen by the user.
Cheers,
.Fred

Well i tried changing the delimeter to semi colon and it still complained that the file wasnt genuine. Is this an encoding isue do you think?

Actually i tried re-encoding the file but with no luck. Stupid microsoft. Of course an import function is needed! Grrrrr :x

Oni said:
Well i tried changing the delimeter to semi colon and it still complained that the file wasnt genuine. Is this an encoding isue do you think?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Are you sure you respect every field defined in the first record, which is the header?

Possible to import messages from old phone?

Hey,
is it possible to import sms/text-messages from my old nokia phone to the Touch HD? I've managed to import the contacts from the old phone to outlook, but can't find a way to do the same with the text messages.
I would be greatful for any help!
Regards,
Bacardi Man

I used a program called EASY HELPER on my xda2i to transfer text and contacts between two similar handsets. Worked ok, ALTHOUGH text only backs up INBOX. sent, drafts etc... are populated but by empty files you have to just delete anyway.
If easy helper is supported in 6.1 then it might work for you, don't forget to search for other 3rd party sms backup and restore programs which could be equally helpful.
....IB a n e

Well on the Nokia side you could give the new NCC 2.0 beta http://www.nokia.com/A41013626 a try, but I think even 1.0 in the latest current Phone Suite could export SMS. My N95 is currently with Nokia, so I cannot test it for you (Export function w/o phone is greyed out). Re-Importing a common export file format back into WinMobile should not be a great deal.

I have exporter all Contacts and messages from my Nokia phone using Nokia PC suite. All this data now is stored in one single *.nbu file.
So you mean there is a program, which can extract the messages from this file and transfer them to an WM6.1 based PDA?

Can PC Suite only export nbu file format? Doubt any other program can read that. No option there to choose csv or text format at least?

Bacardi Man said:
Hey,
is it possible to import sms/text-messages from my old nokia phone to the Touch HD? I've managed to import the contacts from the old phone to outlook, but can't find a way to do the same with the text messages.
I would be greatful for any help!
Regards,
Bacardi Man
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok, let me think about it:
you may be able to send your text messages from the nokia phone vie bluetooth to your HD (if your Nokia supports sending more messages than one at a time, that would be the easyest way )
every phone and it software stores text messages in a different format and way. so normaly, its not possible to load those on another phone. some programs can store and save those messages as text files. but on the other hand, you would not be able to get those text files on your HD stored as real sms again. so the best thing would be bluetooth. just send those messages over and ypur HD will get them and know that its an sms (did the same with my contacts, just sended them via bluetooth )

My colleague says NCC can in fact export to csv format. From that format it should be possible to import into WinMobile. If only I would remember if this WM5 software HTC SMSBackup in this old post of mine http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=1053322&postcount=2 can import csv? If you wanna give it a try, install for WinMobile 6.x as a cab is different now:
1. Change the ".zip" extension to ".rar"
2. extract 00CAB300.001
3. rename to "00CAB300.001.exe"
4. copy to phone and use

simple answer: use pimbackup - i moved everything from my trinity. you can find it by searching on XDA, it is simply perfect.

pzucchel said:
simple answer: use pimbackup - i moved everything from my trinity. you can find it by searching on XDA, it is simply perfect.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Does it also work for SE devices such as the W800i?

Monsieur zucchel, the topic here is syncing Nokia to WinMobile No simple answer yet

Lucas0511 said:
Monsieur zucchel, the topic here is syncing Nokia to WinMobile No simple answer yet
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi Lucas, my apologies. i thought it was a windows mobile device....

Bienvenue, PIMBackup is indeed a fine WinMobile solution.

But is there also a solution to port contacts from sony Ericcson devices to the HD?
Asking that cos I own a W800i.

Well, one nice feature of SE phones is the capability to copy all phone contacts to SIM card. Then you put the SIM in your other phone, and voila. Just a quick fix, a better way would be to export contacts to a export data file like .csv, and then import that one into WinMobile with the free PIMBackup http://www.dotfred.net/ Give the free http://www.fjsoft.at/en/ MyPhoneExplorer a try, it was always my favourite SE contacts and SMS sync software.

Really good news as I am already using MyPhoneExplorer.
Will give it a try on monday when the HD should arrive.
The problem with the SIM Card is that there is only a storage capacitiy for 150 numbers (not even contacts) so this option wont work for me.

The option of using bluetooth sounds really interesting. But how can I send a sms via Bluetooth. In the options menue of the messages menue there is no possibility to do that, altough both phones support bluetooth.

Since I still can't find an option to send my sms via bluetooth from one phone to the other, I tried exporting them into .csv format, which worked fine.
Now I have the problem that both, your program Lucas, and PPCPIMBackup don't recognize this format.
Any suggestions?

Studied the PIMBackup since I dont use it. Its backups are stored in a .pib file, which actually is just a .zip file which you can decompress. It will reveal a number of .csv files, for the different types of data in your Touch HD. I would then assume that you can copy the contacts from your Nokia .csv file into the PIMBackup .csv with contacts, using Excel which can read and write .csv. Do the same for SMS. Unfortunately not a one-click solution, but transfering PIM data over operating systems is still a pain - when it comes to SMS. Contacts of course can be transfered via Outlook, or a online account which both of your devices can access.
If you like to explore further, I think Jeyo Mobile Extender was a software that allowed you to put all your SMS into Outlook as messages, from where you could copy them. But I never got it to run fully under Outlook 2007, and development has stopped.
Good luck!

@lucas:
Your solution would be great, but in fact the pib-file does not contain many csv-files, instead it contains one single pbm-file, which can't be decompressed.

Well then, I am close to giving up . Did you use a .pib file that you filled with some life, i.e. at least one item (contact, sms) for each PIM menu item on your WinMobile device? An empty .pib file out of the box would certainly contain no csv's. If there is still only a pbm file after decompress then the PIMBackup programmer has not updated his manual.
Other than that, maybe someone else would like to step in... Time for a Bacardi I'd say...

How to add more than 15 favorite contacts ?

Hello,
There is a way to add more than 15 favorite contacts ?
It is a great feature but is limited to 15 contacts.
Many Thanks

This would be great if it's possible.

I have another question. How can i change the order of the favorite contacts?

Yeah, would also like to have more than 15 favorites. But maybe they made the limit because it would be too laggy otherwise ? Don't know really

Order of the contacts on people tab
I am also interested in changing the order of the contacts on my people tab. I have searched the site and this is the only reference found. Any update to this out there?
Thanks.

xponline said:
I am also interested in changing the order of the contacts on my people tab. I have searched the site and this is the only reference found. Any update to this out there?
Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As far as I'm aware your favourite contacts appear alphabetically and this order cannot be changed.
If I am wrong, I apologize. But to be honest I don't see a need for this anyway as the time taken to scroll to any of your favourite is Minuscule anyway

thanks for reply. Just wanted to have the wife at the top of the pile - keeps her happy

AAAJessica Alba

I have numbered the beginning of the name of my favorite contacts from 01 to 15. This way you can reorder them in the TouchFlo 3D tab.

This trick works for the all programs tab, but not sure for the people tab
Since--if--the order is alphabetical, try putting a space before the name, e.g. " Jessica Alba" instead of "Jessica Alba."

Any news or updates on this one?
Hi guys, anyone out there had any luck with adding more favourite contacts? Any knowledge to share about the people tab that might help us out?
I'm running Sense 2.5 from Leo 2.02, seems pretty quick on my own WM 6.5 28014 build, but would absolutely LOVE to have more than the standard allowance for favourite contacts
P.S In all the Sense 2.5 versions i've used I've been able to manually rearrange my favourite contacts - guess it's a 2.5 thing, but it is doable.

UP!
Any news for add more then 15 favorite contacts on HD2 ?
Thanks!

I'm also looking for that, not easy to decide which friends should be the unlucky 16th, 17th contacts
thanks

perchera said:
I'm also looking for that, not easy to decide which friends should be the unlucky 16th, 17th contacts
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
LOL
Fallen Spartan said:
As far as I'm aware your favourite contacts appear alphabetically
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Absolutely not.
They simply appear in the order they were created, and when you restore them after a ROM flash (what I do often these days ), they obviously appear in the order they were historically created in the main contacts list (still not using alphabetical order).
This is ABSOLUTE CERTAINTY, is reproduced after each flash, and bears no discussion whatosever.
Fallen Spartan said:
and this order cannot be changed.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If I could find where they are stored (I think I'll ask people who wrote favorite contacts backup programs - though I'm a bit worried, as Zenyee's Back FavPeople Up seems to save and restore actually NOTHING ! ), then maybe I should be able to write some utility to do that...
I don't even know if they are stored in a database, an xml file... The only thing I'm sure of is they are not stored in the registry !
The only way now is to delete them then restart from scratch !
Fallen Spartan said:
But to be honest I don't see a need for this anyway as the time taken to scroll to any of your favourite is Minuscule anyway
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It does't take any time actually if you use the 4x4 mod, as you even don't have to scroll.
But they're still messy anyway, making them not straightforward to click on.
I initially created them sorting professional and personal favorites... But, well, this nice order doesn't survive a ROM flash !
You must just be aware of the fact people just like their contacts to be sorted the way they want. In other words, they think THEY are the boss, not their phone ! LOL
Anyway, it's not forbidden to search for a way to change that, ask for help, and hopefully, find a solution.
I actually found this thread because I was precisely looking for that.
Ducati1979cc said:
I have numbered the beginning of the name of my favorite contacts from 01 to 15. This way you can reorder them in the TouchFlo 3D tab.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
But it has no effect at all for the reason I explained before.
g2tl said:
This trick works for the all programs tab, but not sure for the people tab
Since--if--the order is alphabetical, try putting a space before the name, e.g. " Jessica Alba" instead of "Jessica Alba."
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Same punishment !

OK, now I've managed to have Zenyee Back FavPeople Up actually saving something...
There is a very easy and simple way to sort the favorites using this tool.
Just edit the produced HTCcontact-backup.xml file, change the positions between the <FavoriteOrder> and </FavoriteOrder> tags, then restore it, and you're done !
Position numbers begin at 0, so the last one should numbered 14.
I'll now try to restore a modified xml file with a contact position modified to 15...
I'm also searching the registry for the key values enclosed between the tags <FavoriteContext> and </FavoriteContext> : will I be lucky ?
Edit : I'm not !
And trying to renumber a contact beyons the limit doesn't work either.

Z80-Man said:
OK, now I've managed to have Zenyee Back FavPeople Up actually saving something...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
how did you manage to do that? i have an htc diamond2/topaz with the energy rom and back favpeople up! doesn't find any favourite contacts from my people tab :-(... i don't know why. it just says: backup completed; 0 contacts saved. it's really annoying having to add favourite contacts manually after each rom update.
Thanks for any suggestions!

OK, I looked further in the registry and in the contacts themselves (using Outlook on your PC can help, too).
The "Favorite" contacts are actually tagged as belonging to a group ! That's how Back FavPeople Up! works. The group is labelled "1", where not classified contacts are tagged "0".
I managed to have Back FavPeople Up! working by checking the "Sense 2.5" box (I tried previously without success, but now it works. It may actually depend on the ROM build, even if all of them use Sense 2.5).
On restoration, it sometimes doesn't restore them all, though.
Then I analysed the resulting file named HTCcontact-backup.xml.
It's actually a bit messy, because Zenyee din't add a carriage return between each section, but it still works if you add yours to improve readability... It's just XML, after all.
Here is its structure :
Code:
<?xml version="1.0"?>
<!--Backup of HTC Favorite Contacts by dzenkinz ([email protected])-->
<ContactList>
<Contact>
<FileAs>Usual Name</FileAs>
<FirstName>First Name</FirstName>
<LastName>Last Name</LastName>
<RingTonePath>RingTone Path</RingTonePath>
<FavoriteContext>Index Number</FavoriteContext>
<FavoriteOrder>Order Number</FavoriteOrder>
</Contact>
<Contact>
...
<Contact>
...
</ContactList>
The contents between the tags should be self-explanatory for most of them ; some of them need some more explanation, however.
- If a tag is empty, then the syntax is simplified. If for example you don't have a specific ringtone linked to the contact, then it will just be noted :
Code:
<RingTonePath />
The same applies to any other empty tag.
- The "Index Number" tag contains some index relating to the contact's position in the list. It's a 7 digits (decimal) number. I'll go back on it later.
- The "Order number" tag is the most interesting, as it represents the position in the favorite list ! It's a decimal number between 0 and 14.
- The "Usual Name" is the one showing in the "Favorite Contacts" tab. The other ones are just a copy of their real content in the "All People" full list.
Now with these informations, I just did what I always do... Search the registry with the "Contact Number", hoping I could find them... And... Bingo !
You can find a section named "FavoriteOrder" in the [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\HTC\People\] key...
And this is what's in it :
Code:
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\HTC\People\FavoriteOrder]
"0"=dword:Index Number 1
"1"=dword:index number 2
...
So this is a list of each contact index number, stored in a DWORD variable representing its rank on the "Favorite Contacts" tab.
It actually works, as if you juste restore these registry keys then soft reset, you'll see your contacts displayed in the require order.
If you want to leave some empty buttons in order to sort them, then you'll just put the value 0 into the variable wearing the position number (remember they begin at 0, so "0" is the first, "1" is the second, etc.)
You should actually fill in the whole 15 variables (using the 0 value for empty ones), or you'll end up with buttons wearing an old contact on it.
Warning : For the index number, be careful on the base you will use : the numbers found in the XML file are written in decimal, while the registry numbers are naturally written in hexadecimal, so if you must manually copy a value, be sure you first check the "decimal" button.
Technically, you'll just export the [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\HTC\People\FavoriteOrder] key from the registry, edit it with the notepad, sort the contacts to your taste, the import it back to the registry (you can make a CAB to ease the process).
The method still have some drawbacks and difficulties, howether, so please read carefully the following :
1) The [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\HTC\People\FavoriteOrder] will be created only by Zenyee Back FavPeople Up! upon restoring previously saved contacts.
Though it's actually used by the HTC Favorite Contacts tab, it doesn't exist "naturally" !
So you'll have to restore a saved list first, or create the registry keys from scratch. Then you'll be able to export them, sort them to your taste and import them back.
2) There is an another limitation I found this morning. As you might expect, this tool is most useful after flashing a new ROM, when you want to get your favorite contacts back.
The problem is on the method you'll use to get back the full contacts list. maybe it won't be a problem for most people... But I had one.
Yesterday, when I flashed the last Energy ROM, something went wrong with my ActiveSync on my hom PC, and as I was downloading a Dinik version (it takes about 2h1/2 to get one ROM from Hotfile ! ), I couldn't reboot, so I synchronized my contacts this morning from my office PC...
And then the favortie contacts list I restored from the registry keys was all messed up.
The reason is simple : the index numbers were different from the ones that were saved.
I think the reason is my office Outlook file is actually a bit different from my home Outlook file. They are actually syncrhonized separately (of course ! ), so their databases grewn separately.
The other time I flashed, I resynced the contacts from home, so the list was saved according to the home contacts index list.
Then last flash, I resynced from the office, and tried to restore a list that was built from the home contacts list...
I actually don't know if the same could also happen if you still resync from the same PC... You'll have to try out.
But as long as you keep your contacts in your HD, you can freely export and import back the favorite list from and to the registry, and it will be fine.
Now I think that if you use antother method to save your contacts and restore them after a flash, for example if you use PIM backup or any other tool instead of synchronizing with Outlook, then maybe you won't have this problem at all, I don't know.

What i do to have my Fav contacts in tact after flash....
Before flash
Backup my contacts with pim backup
Backup fav contacts with Zenyee Back FavPeople (sense 2.5 checked)
Then after flash
Restore from pimbackup
Restore from Zenyee Back FavPeople and Reset when it will ask you (Importand).
This method is allways working for me in NRG roms

Yes, it works great, but there are some limits to what it can do :
1) If you already imported your saved favorites and let them in the order they came, saving and restoring them back with most probably keep this order.
However, if you rearrange them and save them again, then they'll be restored in the previous order.
Apparently, they are always restored in the chronological order they were created in the main list - something like that.
When they are saved, it's obvioulsy in this order. Zenyee actually scans the whole contacts database from top to bottom and saves the necessary information from the ones that are marked as belonging to group "1" while he encounters them. That's how it's done.
2) It will sometimes miss some contacts at restoration (and will display the warning). Don't ask me why. Maybe the ones I imported from the "Favorite People" tabs, as opposed to the ones I choosed in the main list, then use "Add to favorite" menu, since they might not have all the necessary information ? It actually looks like that.
In other words, Microsoft method seems to be more reliable than HTC method.
3) Beware if like me you're using 2 PCs, at work and at home, sharing the same Outlook information (information synchronized by ActiveSync, with new contacts added or deleted on one site, then synchronized with the HD, then synhronized again with the other PC, and not everyday, nor each time a change is made. So finally two somewhat different databases !)
Zenyee saves index numbers that refer to the current contacts database. That's the only way he actually links the saved data to the previously restored full contacts list.
If you happen to flash your ROM and restore your contacts from a different PC, restoring your favorites will then do a mess of them !
So I won't be so affirmative saying it will all restore to identical each time.
I could just say "it depends"...
Anyway, the method I explained above still relies on using Zenyee Back FavPeople Up! to restore your favorite in the first place (they'll be just in an incorrect order - or not : it depends, as I said above - with the spare icons at the end), as it's responsible for creating the registry keys.
It also requires you're NOT in case #3, or it won't work either !
Then you can import your previously saved registry data (taking care to fill in unused icons data with "0", or the previously restored favorite will still show in double).
After soft resetting, your favorite will then show in the exact order you saved them, including spare icons in the middle if you had any.
My suggestion doesn't replace what's already existing : it just completes it, ok ?