Database Users

Dealing with icons, screen orientation, and MortScript

I apologize in advance if this gets too technical for some, but after you read it, you may understand why I took the time to do it and ultimately offer it here.
First of all, if you noticed after a soft reset that it takes some time for Windows Mobile to show the programs you have installed on your device, you'll quickly realize that the reason why it's so slow is that it's grabbing the icon image from the shortcut's executable, which is usually located at the end of that executable.
Now, you'll also notice that some icons appear slower than others. Most of the time, it's because the program's executable is usually big. Take Skype, for example. It can take up to 20 seconds just to show the stupid S icon because the single executable is about 5MB big.
All that effort to get to an icon is painstaking, and surprisingly enough, the issue remains in Windows Mobile 5.0. Why Microsoft never learned to cache the icons in a single file is beyond me. And you'll have to deal with it after every soft or hard reset... Of course, the average user here does that often, so you can see where I start to get frustrated.
But with frustration comes inspiration (or desparation).
I have created a small 26KB file called RunSkype.exe. All it does is launch Skype. While that doesn't sound helpful much, you'll realize that if you copy this file to the Skype folder, then create a shortcut to RunSkype.exe and replace the Skype shortcut with this one, you'll see that the icon and program will show up MUCH faster than having Windows Mobile 5 try to poll the 5MB file.
I also took the liberty of making a full VGA-compatible icon for Skype, so it looks good from 16x16 pixels to 64x64 pixels.
You can download the program here: http://www.beyondthetech.com/downloads/phone/hacks/RunSkype.exe
Now, for us HTC Universal owners, you're in for a treat. A really awesome program called MortScript has been released. MortScript is essentially a batch language which you can have steps completely automated for you, based on a text file of commands you create. You can simulate button and keypresses, stylus taps and holds, execute and close programs, read/write registry entries, and much more.
http://www.sto-helit.de/modules/edito/content.php?id=38
One of the biggest gripes I have on the Universal are the developers who have not yet dealt with landscape mode. Some games such as Pocket Mini Golf 2 and Farkle, will either look nice or screwed up, and/or the stylus will not work properly because the image doesn't match the screen coordinates. Avid Universal owners will know what I'm talking about.
Using MortScript, I create this batch file:
Code:
Rotate 0
RunWait \Program Files\Smart Box Design\Farkle.exe
Rotate 270
If it isn't obvious, the batch file will rotate the display to portrait mode, then launch the program. After the program has exited, it will revert back to landscape mode. Again, Universal owners such as myself have kicked themselves for launching a program knowing they have to flip the screen before they run it in order for it to work. This batch file takes the forgetful step and makes it automatic. Flipping the screen to portrait afterwards makes no difference since it's already in portrait, so you're all good to go.
The only downsides to this are two things: 1. If the program doesn't actually exit, but minimize, then it will never get a chance to rotate back. In that case, I delete the last line of the batch file and change RunWait to just Run. 2. It's obvious that you'd make a shortcut to the batch file, not the program's executable anymore. Soon, you'll notice that all the shortcuts will have the same MortScript icon, and that just looks ugly.
This is where my second executable comes in. But, this is going to require some work and an icon editor such as MicroAngelo.
I created a program called batchrun.exe. After you have created your MortScript batch file, save it as batchrun.mscr and put both files in the program's folder. Drag the batchrun.exe and the original program's executable out to your desktop. Using MicroAngelo's Librarian software, you can extract the icon images out of the original program's executable and inject it into batchrun.exe. That way, when you create a shortcut to batchrun.exe, it will have the original icon of the program you want to run.
So, the chain of command is: batchrun.exe -> batchrun.mscr -> commands + original program's executable
One final word... batchrun.exe is hardcoded to run batchrun.mscr, so you can't change the name of the batch file. In addition, you cannot change batchrun.exe's name either, since it's tied into the programming. But you can modify its icon data all you want.
Some of the programs I have successfully done this for include:
Acodic Mobile Info2Go
Handmark Zagat to Go
Resco Diamonds
RealDice.com Texas Hold'em
Smart Box Design Farkle
EdgeQ TrafficEdge
Momentum Games Pocket Mini-Golf 2
Again, the above listed programs do not play well in landscape mode, but with the batch file commands I provided above, it makes using these programs much easier.
Here's batchrun.exe. It currently has my BeyondtheTech Guy logo, but again, use an icon editor software like MicroAngelo to replace it as needed.
http://www.beyondthetech.com/downloads/phone/hacks/batchrun.exe
Here's a bonus. I like keeping the Start Menu as clean as possible. This includes the Recent Start Menu items that appear the moment you start launching away at shortcuts. You may recall that if you never ran anything, all it said was "Recent Programs" and the Start Menu was as short and simple as possible.
Well, you can always get that fresh feeling by creating a MortScript batch file containing this line:
Code:
RegDeleteKey HKCU,\Software\Microsoft\Shell\TaskSwitch,1,1
Call this file cleanup.mscr and stick it in your \Windows\Startup folder. As soon as you boot up from a soft reset, it will silently wipe out the most recently launched items.
Hope this was helpful to anyone.
If anyone needs help or doesn't understand any of this, just let me know.

RunSkype.exe .... thanks for that
S

Question about SBP panel and task manager

Hi
I’m using the free SBP panel on my X1 and I noticed that when I activate this panel, there’s no more drop-down for the standard task manager. I use the TM quite often and I really do need it tough I’d also like to use the SBP panel. So is there a way to make the dropdown for the standard task manager in the upper right of the screen appear again?

SBP Panel & Task Manageron Quick Menu
I am experiencing this too. Any Help please?
Thanks!

Yeye, I'm still waiting for help as well

SPB has acknowledged this is an issue and is working on a fix. According to what I am reading, they cannot do updates as fast on OEM type partnerships due to all the red tape they have to go through with Sony. In a couple of threads over on their forum, there are a couple of people that have hinted to there being an update soon but still waiting on Sony. Also, this will not be the only fix in the update.

Thanks for the info m8 I'll try and find their forum then...

there is a way but u will loose default today screen. if u use spb shell primarily u can use this trick.
1. create shortcut link of moblie shell from programme files and sent to windows
start menu. u can use resco explorer for this.
2. now mobile shell link should be in windows/start menu/programs
3. copy this mobile shell link in windows/startup folder.
now when u reboot your phone it will boot directly to spb shell and fully functional task manager.
note spb soft keys would be relplaced by today soft keys .

Alternatives to cube (Idea)

I have been playing with an idea to re-use the UP gesture on the Touch to do something else since it isn't used with the new M2D interface.
I wanted a quick way to launch the Programs screen without having to open the start menu first.
Here's what I did (you could adjust to do something else like launch a media player or something):
1. Create a shortcut in the windows folder to "\windows\folderview.exe" and call it "biotouchLNK.lnk"
2. Copy Vijay's excellent VJBrisk.exe to the windows folder, renaming it to biotouch.exe
3. In Advanced Settings (I used Onyx so this is built in for me) set cube to Enabled
4. Restart
Now whenever I want to launch programs I can just use the UP swipe and it appears.
Hope this is useful to someone.

Creating shortcuts which "wrap" a program with WVGAFIX3

For some time, I've been using WVGAFIX3 on my Blackstone to run older games supporting only 320x240 (QVGA) or 640x480 (VGA) resolutions.
As excellent as WVGAFIX3 is, running WVGAFIX3 "by hand" has always been annoying, especially if I forget it the first time, and copying and editing the typical Mortscript for each new game is a hassle:
Code:
RunWait("\Windows\WVGAFIX3APP.exe", "-640")
Sleep(500) # pause suggested by mr_deimos, to allow the dust to settle
RunWait("\path\to\game.EXE)
Run("\Windows\WVGAFIX3APP.exe", "-800")
These scripts have to be stored somewhere, and icons can't be assigned to them, so they're not a good alternative to the plain shortcut.
My next step was to generalize the script (called RunVGA.mscr):
Code:
RunWait("\Windows\WVGAFIX3APP.exe", "-640")
Sleep(500)
RunWait(arg1)
Run("\Windows\WVGAFIX3APP.exe", "-800")
Now, arg1 can be given at the command line in the shortcut - this example is Shift.lnk (for this free, excellent little time waster):
Code:
132#"\Windows\Mortscript.exe" "\bin\RunVGA.mscr" arg1="\Program Files\Shift\Shift.exe" ?\Program Files\Shift\Shift.exe,
(The Shift game can really mess up the Blacstone's display if WVGAFIX3 is not used - I've had to soft reset a couple of times when I forgot!)
This shortcut will look like the original, as the icon is preserved (by repeating the EXE path between "?" and ",", and providing no icon ID after ",", thus using the default ID). When launched, RunVGA script above will do its thing.
Now, the next improvement would be to simplify the shortcut (at the cost of launching an extra process). I have modified RunMscr.exe found here. When renamed to yourscript.exe, the original executes
Code:
Mortscript.exe yourscript.mscr argument1 argument2 ...
My patched version (attached) executes
Code:
Mortscript.exe yourscript.mscr arg1=argument1 arg2=argument2 ...
Notice that RunMscr.exe implicitly names the arguments, something which should have been done by Mortscript a long time ago, in my opinion. Thus, I can copy RunMscr.exe to RunVGA.exe, and modify the shortcut above to
Code:
132#"\bin\RunVGA.exe" "\Program Files\Shift\Shift.exe" ?\Program Files\Shift\Shift.exe,
(Notice that I keep all scripts and manually copied executables in \bin - adjust accordingly in the scripts provided!)
Having RunVGA.exe with my method of passing arguments, means that you can also launch an executable in VGA mode directly from Resco Explorer by using tap and hold, "Open With...", and browsing to RunVGA.exe.
Now, I was pretty happy with this, but wanted a lazy man's solution for creating these shortcuts (and reverting to the original). The following describes how to toggle a shortcut between its original version and its RunVGA version, again using "Open with..." in Resco Explorer.
First create ToggleVGAfix.mscr:
Code:
line=ReadLine(arg1)
Split(line,"#",1,length,shortcut)
Split(shortcut,"?",1,shortcut,icon)
If (Find(shortcut, "RunVGA") = 0)
# This is a normal shortcut, convert to RunVGA shortcut
If (icon eq "")
icon = shortcut
# Strip quotes from icon string
While (CharAt(icon, Length(icon)) eq """")
icon = SubStr(icon, 1, Length(icon)-1)
EndWhile
While (CharAt(icon,0) eq """")
icon = SubStr(icon, 2)
EndWhile
icon = icon & ","
EndIf
line = length & "#" & """\bin\RunVGA.exe"" " & shortcut & " ?" & icon
Else
# This is a RunVGA shortcut, revert to original
Split(shortcut,"RunVGA.exe"" ",1,dummy,target)
line = length & "#" & target
EndIf
# Uncommment if you want to keep the original
#Rename(arg1, arg1 & ".bak", TRUE)
WriteFile(arg1, line)
Next, copy RunMscr.exe to ToggleVGAfix.exe (next to the ToggleVGAfix.mscr script above).
In Resco Explorer, navigate to a shortcut you want to test this on, tap and hold, select Open With, and browse to ToggleVGAfix.exe. Then try launching the shortcut itself - if all goes well, the program will run in VGA mode, and revert back to WVGA when ended.
With all this behind us, we've accomplished this: The next time you install a QVGA/VGA game, navigate to the \Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Games (according to your locale) folder, tap and hold the shortcut, select ToggleVGAfix, and you should be good to go from your normal Games menu.
A small caveat: I've noticed that WVGAFIX3 occasionally doesn't kick into effect in time for the "wrapped" exe. I may look into this if it proves to be enough of a problem. Edit: added a Sleep which fixed this problem for mr_deimos.

great job! I wish wvga worked on wm 6.5 so I could use this with wvga
this can be useful with other programs tho too, do you think i can use this to disable windows mobile's setting temporarily while certain programs are running? I'm having a problem with an music player going into sleep mode while I'm playing a song but I don't want to disable windows mobile sleep completely cause it saves so much battery life.
also is it possible to use this to run a program automatically in the background by ridirecting to the today screen right after running the program?

Nice job. Believe me or not, but i made a script identical to the first one you posted a week ago - just for launching Shift on my wvag toshiba g900 But i just put the shortcut to mscr file in the start menu - you actually can change it's icon so it was good enough for me.
My shortcut is:
Code:
104#"\Storage Card\Program Files\Games\Shift\Shift.mscr"?\Storage Card\Program Files\Games\Shift\Shift.exe,0
But of course, your automagic solution for toggling wvgafix is much better than doing everything by hand
Just a little note - you might want to add a Sleep(500) or even Sleep(1000) before running the app itself. Just using the RunWait to launch wvgafix usually works, but today when i launched shift with script without Sleep() the game actually started before wvgafix finished resizing the screen. So all i got was a black screen. I could close shift by tapping in the top-right corner of the screen, but taskbar remained hidden and i had to soft-reset to get it back. It happened twice in a row. It's seems to be the same problem you're facing. In my case it was probably caused by the fact that my pda is running underclocked a bit (when i was first testing the script it was running at full speed). After putting in the additional 1-second sleep everything works like a charm And the difference in startup time isn't really noticeable.

CowMix said:
great job! I wish wvga worked on wm 6.5 so I could use this with wvga
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, this is one of the reasons I'm postponing 6.5. (The other, of course, is that kwbr has not yet released a Topix based on 6.5 )
this can be useful with other programs tho too, do you think i can use this to disable windows mobile's setting temporarily while certain programs are running? I'm having a problem with an music player going into sleep mode while I'm playing a song but I don't want to disable windows mobile sleep completely cause it saves so much battery life.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Unless your player has the option to disable sleep, modifying my script(s) will probably work fine. Simply replace the Run statements for WVGAFIX3 with whatever executables or registry changes you want to happen. For registry changes, you may want the safeguard of resetting the "standard" values at startup, in case your phone resets or turns off while your player (and the script) is running.
also is it possible to use this to run a program automatically in the background by ridirecting to the today screen right after running the program?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Probably! Replace the code in the first script with something like this (untested):
Code:
Run(arg1)
Sleep(1000)
Show("Start")
A different take:
Code:
Run(arg1)
title = "Title of window to hide"
WaitFor(title, 30)
Minimize(title)
This will need more work to use with my shortcuts, as this script also needs the title of the window to hide. The benefit is that Windows will show the previously active window instead of Today, which is usually what you want.

mr_deimos said:
Nice job. Believe me or not, but i made a script identical to the first one you posted a week ago - just for launching Shift on my wvag toshiba g900
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think many of us have done a similar job with Shift .
But i just put the shortcut to mscr file in the start menu - you actually can change it's icon so it was good enough for me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That works - I would have preferred to put the mscr directly into the Start menu (to avoid having to stash them somewhere else). In this case the icon is determined by the mscr extension, which looks dull, to say the least .
Code:
104#"\Storage Card\Program Files\Games\Shift\Shift.mscr"?\Storage Card\Program Files\Games\Shift\Shift.exe,0
Is 0 the icon ID, or just the "default" icon? I simply tried with nothing after the comma, and it seemed to pick up the default icon in each EXE/DLL.
But of course, your automagic solution for toggling wvgafix is much better than doing everything by hand
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks - it's something I've been meaning to figure our for at least 6 months, since I learned that WVGAFIX3 takes command line parameters.
Just a little note - you might want to add a Sleep(500) or even Sleep(1000) before running the app itself. ...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks - added!

ugumba said:
Is 0 the icon ID, or just the "default" icon? I simply tried with nothing after the comma, and it seemed to pick up the default icon in each EXE/DLL.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It seems the default icon ID - the one displayed by the OS. I didn't even know you can just omit this parameter So probably both ways will give the same results.

Great thing! I tried and it works! But I have another problem. I am using Fingerkeyboard and when I switch the resolution to VGA it is still showing me error that this resolution is not supported (there is download for each resolution and it is not possible to have WWGA and VGA installed).
So my question is - it is possible to change software keyboard by Mortscript? And then, when application ends change it back?
Thank you

I found the solution, I am switching the keyboards with this tool from Vijay555: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=242503
Great thing, so now I don't have to remember to change keyboard, change screen...

ugumba said:
For some time, I've been using WVGAFIX3 on my
In Resco Explorer, navigate to a shortcut you want to test this on, tap and hold, select Open With, and browse to ToggleVGAfix.exe.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It seems that you don't need the non-freeware resco explorer for that - the file explorer extension from here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=421723
also provides this functionality. You would just need to make sure that the shortcut to ToggleVGAFix.exe is in the start menu (the file explorer extension can't browse for program to open file with).

ugumba said:
For some time, I've been using WVGAFIX3 on my Blackstone to run older games supporting only 320x240 (QVGA) or 640x480 (VGA) resolutions.
As excellent as WVGAFIX3 is, running WVGAFIX3 "by hand" has always been annoying, especially if I forget it the first time, and copying and editing the typical Mortscript for each new game is a hassle:
Code:
RunWait("\Windows\WVGAFIX3APP.exe", "-640")
Sleep(500) # pause suggested by mr_deimos, to allow the dust to settle
RunWait("\path\to\game.EXE)
Run("\Windows\WVGAFIX3APP.exe", "-800")
These scripts have to be stored somewhere, and icons can't be assigned to them, so they're not a good alternative to the plain shortcut.
My next step was to generalize the script (called RunVGA.mscr):
Code:
RunWait("\Windows\WVGAFIX3APP.exe", "-640")
Sleep(500)
RunWait(arg1)
Run("\Windows\WVGAFIX3APP.exe", "-800")
Now, arg1 can be given at the command line in the shortcut - this example is Shift.lnk (for this free, excellent little time waster):
Code:
132#"\Windows\Mortscript.exe" "\bin\RunVGA.mscr" arg1="\Program Files\Shift\Shift.exe" ?\Program Files\Shift\Shift.exe,
(The Shift game can really mess up the Blacstone's display if WVGAFIX3 is not used - I've had to soft reset a couple of times when I forgot!)
This shortcut will look like the original, as the icon is preserved (by repeating the EXE path between "?" and ",", and providing no icon ID after ",", thus using the default ID). When launched, RunVGA script above will do its thing.
Now, the next improvement would be to simplify the shortcut (at the cost of launching an extra process). I have modified RunMscr.exe found here. When renamed to yourscript.exe, the original executes
Code:
Mortscript.exe yourscript.mscr argument1 argument2 ...
My patched version (attached) executes
Code:
Mortscript.exe yourscript.mscr arg1=argument1 arg2=argument2 ...
Notice that RunMscr.exe implicitly names the arguments, something which should have been done by Mortscript a long time ago, in my opinion. Thus, I can copy RunMscr.exe to RunVGA.exe, and modify the shortcut above to
Code:
132#"\bin\RunVGA.exe" "\Program Files\Shift\Shift.exe" ?\Program Files\Shift\Shift.exe,
(Notice that I keep all scripts and manually copied executables in \bin - adjust accordingly in the scripts provided!)
Having RunVGA.exe with my method of passing arguments, means that you can also launch an executable in VGA mode directly from Resco Explorer by using tap and hold, "Open With...", and browsing to RunVGA.exe.
Now, I was pretty happy with this, but wanted a lazy man's solution for creating these shortcuts (and reverting to the original). The following describes how to toggle a shortcut between its original version and its RunVGA version, again using "Open with..." in Resco Explorer.
First create ToggleVGAfix.mscr:
Code:
line=ReadLine(arg1)
Split(line,"#",1,length,shortcut)
Split(shortcut,"?",1,shortcut,icon)
If (Find(shortcut, "RunVGA") = 0)
# This is a normal shortcut, convert to RunVGA shortcut
If (icon eq "")
icon = shortcut
# Strip quotes from icon string
While (CharAt(icon, Length(icon)) eq """")
icon = SubStr(icon, 1, Length(icon)-1)
EndWhile
While (CharAt(icon,0) eq """")
icon = SubStr(icon, 2)
EndWhile
icon = icon & ","
EndIf
line = length & "#" & """\bin\RunVGA.exe"" " & shortcut & " ?" & icon
Else
# This is a RunVGA shortcut, revert to original
Split(shortcut,"RunVGA.exe"" ",1,dummy,target)
line = length & "#" & target
EndIf
# Uncommment if you want to keep the original
#Rename(arg1, arg1 & ".bak", TRUE)
WriteFile(arg1, line)
Next, copy RunMscr.exe to ToggleVGAfix.exe (next to the ToggleVGAfix.mscr script above).
In Resco Explorer, navigate to a shortcut you want to test this on, tap and hold, select Open With, and browse to ToggleVGAfix.exe. Then try launching the shortcut itself - if all goes well, the program will run in VGA mode, and revert back to WVGA when ended.
With all this behind us, we've accomplished this: The next time you install a QVGA/VGA game, navigate to the \Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Games (according to your locale) folder, tap and hold the shortcut, select ToggleVGAfix, and you should be good to go from your normal Games menu.
A small caveat: I've noticed that WVGAFIX3 occasionally doesn't kick into effect in time for the "wrapped" exe. I may look into this if it proves to be enough of a problem. Edit: added a Sleep which fixed this problem for mr_deimos.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi, sounds really great. but i have problems to understand...
which files do i need and where i have to place them?
do i need for every game a own file?
greetings

Clearly, getting this setup on your device is left as an exercise for the reader! I basically did this for myself, but wanted to share something I found useful, and explain how I got there. Maybe if there's enough interest, I'll try making a CAB.
I'll try to clarify a bit, though:
1. You need Mortscript installed (I use 4.2 which comes with SASHIMI)
2. You need WVGAFIX3 installed.
3. You need 2 scripts copied from my first post, named RunVGA.mscr and ToggleVGAfix.mscr. If you already have a folder for your personal scripts collection (I use \Storage Card\bin), I suggest you put them there.
4. You need my version of runmscr.exe, attached to my first post, copied to your scripts folder as RunVGA.exe and ToggleVGAfix.exe.
5. You need a file explorer capable of handling alternate associations, so that you can register the two executables as "handlers" for the .lnk extension. On my device, Resco Explorer is indispensable.
6. Finally (the hard part) you need to loosely follow and understand the instructions in the first post, and adjust them to your situation when needed. The important part is after the ToggleVGAfix code (2 paragraphs).
Except for editing ToggleVGAfix.mscr according to your scripts folder, you should never have to edit a file, understand the .lnk format or really understand Mortscript. (All my talk around the Shift shortcut is just me being long winded and feeling I have to explain everything. See how this "little" post turned out? )
If this seems mystical or unclear, I suggest reading the Mortscript manual - you'll be happy you did. Also, Barbudor's page on the original runmscr might shed some light on my rants.

Hey, sorry for jumping on after the horse has bolted, I've been dead for a while, but it's better now...
There's another version of SipSwitch out, called VJSipSwitch (I think).
Don't use the old one, because although functional, I wrote it when I didn't know how to code, akin to a thousand monkeys = Shakespeare.
V

How to activate screensaver?

I use Chronos (a clock program) as my screensaver. I also use Spb PocketPlus for my home screen rather than the stock HTC home screen.
I'm trying to find the command in the software that invokes the screensaver so I can put a link to it on my home screen. I cannot find anything that works in the Windows folder (like scrnsaver in XP).
I also use TweakHD, but can't find anything in there.
Anybody know where this might be found? If I activate to the chronos.exe file, it brings up the full program with the settings indicator, etc. so that I can't dismiss it just by touching it. That's why I'm trying to find the command within the OS that invokes the screensaver.
Thanks.

LeeBv said:
I use Chronos (a clock program) as my screensaver. I also use Spb PocketPlus for my home screen rather than the stock HTC home screen.
I'm trying to find the command in the software that invokes the screensaver so I can put a link to it on my home screen. I cannot find anything that works in the Windows folder (like scrnsaver in XP).
I also use TweakHD, but can't find anything in there.
Anybody know where this might be found? If I activate to the chronos.exe file, it brings up the full program with the settings indicator, etc. so that I can't dismiss it just by touching it. That's why I'm trying to find the command within the OS that invokes the screensaver.
Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
screensaving with pdas means switching off the screen. you will not have much fun with a device that is switched on all the time, because your battery will be drained in less than a day. so there´s no switch to use to activate a screensaver like at your computer at home