WYSIWYG editor for settings.xml ? - Windows Mobile Development and Hacking General

Is there any kind of visual editor for the homesettings.xml?
I am going by trial and error just to understand what modifies what in that file.
Or maybe at least a guide to what graphical pieces are identified by which label in the xml?
I've found the official guide to the xml, but it just explains the fields, not the lines themselves.
Thanks
edit
Also i noticed that sometimes moving just one elements, moves a lot of other untouched elements.
As if there is some kind of hierarchy or referencing method.
Is anyone aware of this?
I can't find any evidence in the xml...

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HOWTO: save complex structures in a file?

hi,
I have a program and it has lots of settings saved in memory, when I exis the program I need to save settings in a config file.
My program has CString(s), CArray(s) and other basic int and DWORD varibles, so how can I save such complex settings?
Mohammad
as xml maybe
If you're using MFC you could always attach a CArchive to a file and serialize
Perhaps you need to either create a log file - for debugging purposes or save your settings to the registry. If its the former then, check this one http://www.codeproject.com/ce/GenericLogFunctionality.asp it should be helpful. If its the latter, then you just search codeproject and you'll find lot of tutorials on the registry. Also, you can use CEDB which is a flat table data base that can store many data type structures including files and images, use it if you need to.
It may seem like you're lost now, but you can take an overview about the cons and pros of each technique so as to choose the best one for you.
For my config file I use plain english bounded by my own tags. I use a character sequence as a seperator for lists. I convert numerical values into text that can be human readable. There are some benefits to being able to read and edit it manually if the need arizes. I also made a class purely for writing and reading from my config file. Now when I to use a config file I can just drop that class into my project.
XML sounds good and similar but it would require a greater knowledge of xml.
Registry is easier and faster to do/execute but for data that can potentially grow too much it is probably best to keep it out of registry.
Is CArray serializable? do we just simply use CArray::Serialize and it will dump all included objects into a file?
thanks
http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-gb/default.aspx
this site may be helpfull while you wait for somebody to answer your question
If you can it would be easier to use CObArray and ensure that the array members are subclassed from CObject with the DECLARE_SERIAL / IMPLEMENT_SERIAL macros. You could also add a new << operator to the CArchive class and write the serialization routine but that would kinda defeat the object I guess.
I solved the issue using serialization, for CArray structures I used the following method:
File<<MyArray.GetSize();//store how many objects
for(all my objects in the CArray)
serialize them one by one
I did the same when loading and it works flawlessly.
Thanks all for your help

name garbaling in dll

I am using some functions in a dll but the only way I can get the name of the function to remain as I name it is to make it extern "c". If I do not do this then I have to copy the name from directly inside the dll and put the garbled text in my code, ed "someFunctionName" ends up "[email protected]@YAHXZ". It seems that every example I ever see dose not have this problem. Is there some setting I do not know about to force the linker to use the names I type without using a def file?
It was my understanding that this has something to do with C++ convention and cannot be changed, though I could be wrong on this point and if so, would also like to earn the answer.
Mean while if you are using functions from your DLL in your own code you can link to it "implicitly" (am I confusing the terms here?) by simply linking in the lib file compiler creates for the DLL and using the regular function names without all the garbage.
I think that what I am seeing is microsoft ("decoration") not from c++. I think the c++ name mangaling follows some rules that let it show the size of data being passed as arguments.
I do not want to link to it and use .lib etc because I do not want my main project to be entangled with the dll. I am trying to make a pluggin so it will be dynamically loaded with loadlibrary and getprocaddress. I am a bit new to this but it seems to work ok, I was just not sure how to use the def file properly. For example what are the rools regarding the order of names in the def as compared to the header file and what about variables, are they exported or do I have to have a function that returns a pointer to them.
Well some of MS help I encountered states that DEF files are obsolete, or at least MS is trying to make them so.
I didn't get deep in to the DLL rules my self but from what I understand it is sufficient to declare a function as _dllexport for it to be seen from the outside. If you want to specific ordinals (like in the plug-in case) that's another matter.
Variables can be exported and so are classes. I never tried using it, but the "hello world" example of a DLL that eVC 4 builds exports a function a class and a variable and does not use DEF file.
and after building that automatically generated code I get a dll with decorated function names (I view the dll in notepad to check). At first I could not figure out what was going on but after I put the decorated names into getprossaddres it works.

Setup.dll editing what it does on install...

Ok so I have been missing around with an app. and found out that its setup.dll on install adds a shortcut in the programs menu and messes with the default today items settings. I have used ResHacker to look @ it but it doesnt seem to show the shortcut or anything else, it simply has the EULA accept info as far as I see with ResHacker. So my question is, is there a way to stop it from doing so? Would I need to just try and create my own Setup.dll for it? Or is there a better dll editor?
Thanks for any help,
Mike
No such thing as "DLL editor". Resource hacker only shoes resources, that is dialogs bitmaps icons and any text the writer chose to put in a string table so it would be easily changed. I guess the shortcut is hard-coded.
Now I am not sure what your background in programing is, so don't be offended if this explanation is too basic.
DLL is basically a program, only it isn't started by itself but called by another program.
You could try removing it from the CAB all together, but it could be performing other functions critical to program installation. You would need to know about them and be able to code in c / c++ to write a replacement.
There is a powerful disassembler called IDA for ARM code but you need to know assembler on a good level to do anything with it.
Thanks so much for the reply. Well im not that new to .cabs, roms, and what not but c+ or c# im a complete n00b. Didnt know there wasnt a dll editor, my mistake. You learn something new everyday. That being said...I removed it before posting and should have said that. This setup.dll is needed and wont work without it. But I figured what you said a new one would probably be the only way. But you mention disassembler....so since im new which would u suggest would be easier? I do have the tools to write one....but i dont have anything for the disassembler method.
Thanks,
Mike
Writing an app is much easier than disassembling one, since reading assembler is no joy (at leas for normal and semi normal people, some consider it their second / first language).
But like I wrote before you face one basic problem: What is it that this DLL does that the program won't run without?
If you know that, writing a new one will not be a problem. People on the forum could help you with the C++ code if you have basic knowledge of the language. C# won't work for this.
be aware that the dll that dose the installation is normally stored in the windows directory for performing the uninstallation at a later time. Modifying it could prevent propper removal of the program.
If the shortcut is hard coded into the dll it is probably visible as readable text in the dll (as long as the author did not try to obfuscate it). If so you may be able to just replace the string. I gave it a try on a similar dll but just editing the text screws up the dll. Someone else may be able to tell how to do it properly (please).
I think I figured out what the issue was and why it wouldnt work without the setup.dll. Its just a reg edit that the setup.dll does and thats what was missing when its removed. When I added it to the .cab everything worked smoothly! Thanks for the replys guys and I appreciate the help! BTW thanks for being so nice about it levenum. I would have responded sooner just been busy.
~Mike

[HELP] Open/edit data/bin files(unity?) looks like: 0b45efec47cdc425b977192ced6a4408

I hope someone knows how to do this, I have looked everywhere and could find no reference since most of the files seem to be randomly generated names there is no extension, and I think they are similar to split archives for use by the unity engine in a game or apk. I think I got ONE open a while ago but don't know what i did, and none of the others i tried worked, I think adding the 7zip / winrar archive header to the beginning parts of the file in a hex editor is what I did on one random file, but nothing else and cant find what data that was (it was a random link i found)
0c45efac37cdc425b977292ced6a6507 is an idea of one of the file names and there are several dozen of them, ranging in 4-6 digit files sizes in the apk. which leads me to believe they are some sort of archive, or compressed or at least encrypted or obfuscated data. but nothing I search along those lines brings any results related.
I could be way off, i know. so I am looking to the pros here in the android development section to lend me hand.
there must be a tool out there that someone has made, or a method since I am sure I am not the first to try this, and my experience is limited, so hopefully I can be lead in the right direction
Thanks in advance.

Manually creating and editing D5 ClockSkins

Hi all,
Firstly many thanks to Smartwatch Ticks for those excellent tutorial videos detailing what's in the XML files behind the ClockSkin faces on the D5 / Lem5 etc.
This sparked an interest in using something I discovered last year called Leo Editor (www.leoeditor.com). It's open source and written in Python. It's basically an outline editor. It has a tree structure and each node can contain text. However, the trick to Leo is that you can generate external files from any node. Also each node can be cloned and used anywhere.
This means that you can have a tree node which just contains the definitions of all your image arrays. If you want to use them for a particular face just clone the node again and paste it into your watch face structure where it's required.
The advantage with these clones is that if there's an error, once you fix it in one place, they're all fixed!
When you save your outline it writes all your generated files, creating new files for new nodes as required.
It doesn’t just support xml. It can be used to work with any language to break up code into manageable structures.
It's documentation which generates the code for you.
A concept called "literate programming".
I think there is already a software for creating android based smartwatches such as the D5.
It's called ClockSkinMaker created by @rromeroa
Clockskin Maker
Hi yes, I've had a look at ClockSkinMaker. I didn't find it very intuitive and I have been toying with the idea of developing my own that will include being able to edit the images, but for now I think I'll use it to test my faces and create them using Leo Editor.
Most stuff doesn't change anyway, it's just a matter of creating the new images, plus it makes it very easy to create a group of faces that have slight differences. Cloned nodes containing the desired "drawables" can easily be added in.
This enables very easy creation of several versions of the same face, but each one with slightly different features.
If a GUI was always better, the good lord wouldn't have given us bash!
richardtwyning said:
Hi yes, I've had a look at ClockSkinMaker. I didn't find it very intuitive and I have been toying with the idea of developing my own that will include being able to edit the images, but for now I think I'll use it to test my faces and create them using Leo Editor.
Most stuff doesn't change anyway, it's just a matter of creating the new images, plus it makes it very easy to create a group of faces that have slight differences. Cloned nodes containing the desired "drawables" can easily be added in.
This enables very easy creation of several versions of the same face, but each one with slightly different features.
If a GUI was always better, the good lord wouldn't have given us bash!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ohh I see. Good luck then :good:

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