Related
Guys,
I've not been getting enough time to work on ShantzTodayChanger anymore (and couple that with the irritation of having to boot into windows just to work into this). The motivation levels are simply not there. I'm trying to see if there is someone willing to take up and continue development for this, so that I can release the source code. If anyone is interested, please drop me a word at the project's home page: Shantz Today Changer Home Page
SHANTZTODAYCHANGER
For queries, bug reports, feature requests, updates and downloads, visit ShantzTodayChanger Home Page
If you like this program, then you can
:: DONATE ::
This small tool will cycle ur today background or theme after a set interval of time.
Usage:
1. Make a folder on ur device (preferably not on storage card.) and extract all the files (mainly ShantzTodayChanger.exe, TdyChangerCfg.exe, gsgetfile.dll (might not be visible to u depending on ur explorer settings) and Readme.htm) to this folder.
2. IMP: Do not rename any files.
3. Run the TdyChangerCfg.exe.
4. Set options through the dialog that opens and press apply button (Pressing the native WM OK button will discard all your changes)
5. Options:
i)Choose image type (.gif\.jpg\.png) or theme(.tsk) to be cycled.
ii)If the input files (images or themes) are not in the folder where exes are kept, then you can check the box (underneath the .gif option) and give the "FULL and ABSOLUTE" path of where the files are kept. You can either input the path thru keyboard or choose it graphically by pressing the button (...) next to it.
iii)If you want to run a file after every cycle interval, check the corresponding box and provide the "FULL and ABSOLUTE" path of the file to be run. You can either input the path thru keyboard or choose it graphically by pressing the button (...) next to it.
iv) If you want some files to be avoided during cycling, put a file mask. The program will look for this mask to appear anywhere in the name of the files and will avoid it if found. (Wildcards are not supported. Choose time option has to be checked for this to work)
v) Choose the period for which mask option has to be used. If you choose a time period and leave mask as empty, then during that time no cycling will be done. If you want to avoid some files all the time, then time period should be chosen to cover all 24 hrs of the day.
vi)enter the desired interval between cycling of images\themes.
vii)If you choose a period for the mask, another check box (Consider mask period for exe also) will be enabled. Checking this box will mean that the specified exe will be run only if an image\theme is changed during that cycle. If you dont check this, then exe will be run after every cycle even if there is no change in the image\theme.
6. When you want to stop the cycling, press "STOP Cycling" button.
Additional Notes:
1. I've tested it only on my WM6 HTC Wizard and WM5 emulator. Might work with other devices/OS's but not sure...
2. Doesnt have to be running constantly. So saves resources when not active.
3. Survives soft resets as well.
4. Even takes care of the situation if your phone is off when the time to cycle is reached. Will cycle as soon as ur phone comes back on in this situation.
Planned Updates:
i) Suggestions invited. I have a lot of updates in mind but will incorporate those only which are requested by you.
Known Issues:
i) If the mask option is selected, then in a very particular situation, the app will miss a cycle.
This can be taken care of but not in my priority list because this can be fixed only by rewriting the complete cycling code which is quite a bit. So, will fix it if I get some time from my other projects.
ii) If after maknig the configuration, you see the screen flash for a second at the right times, but the backfround doesn't change, then do this:
- Go to : Settings...today....appearance
- un-check "Use this picture as background"
- start the program using "startTodayChanger.lnk" or TdyChangerCfg (Apply button)
(Thnx to CWKJ for reporting this bug and fix, and to eric for reminding me about it)
End Note:
Like every software, this one is also bound to have bugs, please report it asap.
Though ShantzTodayChanger does not run continuously but sometimes some apps that close all processes automatically (like SPB backup) might clash in schedule with ShantzTodayChanger and close it when it starts to run. In such a case (which is quite unlikely), the app might not be able to set a notification for next cycle, so if u face this situation, then run the config again.
Version History:
1.53 - 23-March-08 -> RECOMMENDED UPDATE
i)Theme Color Detection has been improved a lot. Should work much more accurately now.
1.52 - 11-Aug-07 ->
i) Fixed another bug for the "time period" option.
ii) Made a little optimization in the code.
1.51 - 05-Aug-07 ->
i) Fixed a bug which prevented the "time period" option from working properly.
ii) Fixed a bug where wallpapers might not change if certain particular themes were installed before change cycle happens
iii) Fixed a bug where the time period option was not remembered properly by the GUI.
iv) Added option to allow user to choose whether to run the user specified file (exe\lnk) after every cycle interval only if there was a change in image\theme during that cycle.
v) Made a few small changes to the GUI to prevent users from making incorrect settings.
1.50 - 29-July-07 ->MAJOR UPDATE
i) Added option to specify a mask to avoid files having that mask
ii) Added option to specify the time period during which the mask has to be considered
iii) Added code to ensure that if mask is empty and a period is chosen, then no rotation is done during that period.
iv) Added option to run a user specified file after every cycle interval.
v) Fixed bug where the jpg and png options were not working earlier.
vi) Clicking help button now opens help in Pocket Internet Explorer.
vii) Fixed many more subtle bugs that manifest themselves and very peculiar situations.
viii) Optimized the code a bit at a few places.
ix) Also see "Known Issues" section above.
x) Removed the "append to previous info" box as now the app remembers old info correctly.
1.33 - 18-July-07 ->
i)Added code to select the input path graphically. It is a bit of workaround though. To select an input folder, just select any file inside it in the select folder dialog.
ii)TdyChgrCfg now shows you the previous settings.
1.32 - 21-Jun-07 ->
i) Fixed a bug where sometimes on cycling themes, colors change but images do not change.
ii) Added a measure to avoid running multiple instances (just as a precaution)
iii)Added code to avoid losing notifications if phone is reset too early after running the program
1.31 - 20-Jun-07 ->Fixed 2 bugs:
i) A notification bug where old notification is not deleted
ii) A bug where cycle interval value is not correctly read from the GUI
1.3 - 19-Jun-07 ->
i)Added option to make partial changes to previously entered information.
ii)Fine-Tuned the Theme Color support algo. Now, theme colors should be almost 95% same as calculated by windows mobile while applying theme.
iii)Did some code optimization
1.2 - 19-Jun-07 ->Major Update:
i)Added Theme Support. Changing of system colors as per theme is also supported (which is not done by any other program IIRC)
ii)Added option to keep input images\themes in a separate folder
iii)Provided a GUI Configuration module
iv)Provided option to choose between gif\jpg\png\tsk to be cycled.
1.11 - 12-Jun-07->Fixed another bug with notification queue
1.1 - 12-Jun-07 -> Fixed the bug that causes WM5/WM6 devices not to cycle wallpapers in certain conditions
1.0 - 10-Jun-07 -> Initial Release
Credits:
daxliniere/wacky.banana -> For asking to make the tool and their inputs
SeanFromSoCal/200mpx -> For their inputs
If you like this program, then you can :: DONATE ::
Download:
Latest Downloads can now be found at http://tech.shantanugoel.com
For queries, bug reports, feature requests, updates and downloads, visit ShantzTodayChanger Home Page
it may be interesting
nice release...will try it soon
Hey Shantz! thanks so much for this, unfortunatley it doesn't run on my Hermes!
And I don't know how to debug it so you can take a look at it.
Feature request: JPG or PNG support would be great. Also, a way to specify where the files reside, maybe command line? If argument is not present at command line, then default to install directory (program root)
Thanks Shantz!!
Dax.
@dax: well, I'll add a config module soon for the image paths etc.
Will see if jpg/png support is feasible enuff...
About the hermes, i'll send you a debug build and try to run that. But first of all, tell me whether you can find a registry entry "HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\ShantzTodayChanger" and if its there then can you tell me the objects present inside it along with their values...
shantzg001 said:
Hi
Just made this. This small tool will cycle ur today background / wallpaper after a set interval of time.
Usage:
1. Make a folder on ur device (preferably not on storage card. Its just 8KB anyways) and extract the ShantzTodayChanger.exe to this folder.
2. Copy the image files that you want to set as ur today background to this folder.
[bold]IMP:The files should be gif and moreover, the size (widthxheight) of the images should be taken care of by you in advanced, otherwise they might be stretched or cropped[/bold]
3. Run the ShantzTodayChanger.exe.
4. This will create two shortcuts in ur folder. startTdyChngr.lnk and stopTdyChngr.lnk.
5. Now just run startTdyChngr.lnk. The default time gap between cycling is 600sec. You can modify the shortcut to choose ur own time (in sec).
6. When you want to stop the cycling, just run stopTdyChngr.lnk.
Additional Notes:
1. You can create your own shortcuts if you want. Basically the ShantzTodayChanger.exe works on following command line arguments (without the quotes):
i) "-g 600" - start cycling images. replace 600 by ur own time in seconds. Keep it more than 1 minute preferably.
ii) "-s" - stop cycling.
iii) "-c" - cycle immediately. DONT USE THIS OPTION. MIGHT CREATE PROBLEMS.
2. I've tested it only on my WM6 HTC Wizard and WM5 emulator. Might work with other devices/OS's but not sure...
3. It runs only when wallpaper has to be changed. So saves resources when not active.
4. Survives soft resets as well.
5. Even takes care of the situation if your phone is off when the time to cycle is reached. Will cycle as soon as ur phone comes back on in this situation.
Planned Updated:
i) Suggestions invited. I have a lot of updates in mind but will incorporate those only which are requested by you.
End Note:
Like every software, this one is also bound to have bugs, please report it asap.
Version History:
1.0 - 10-Jun-07 -> Initial Release
Credits:
daxliniere/wacky.banana -> For asking to make the tool
RapidShare Mirror->http://rapidshare.com/files/36281282/ShantzTodayChanger.zip
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
cool,
i was actually thinking of something like this...
feature request????
how about changing the entire theme....
(what i am planning here is having different themes during different times of the day)
along with it say can you make it check the time (say instead of 600s i would like to change it at 12, 3, 6 and 9...)
whole theme changer(tsk), which will change system solors would be WROBG
@fallenCzar: Whole Theme Changer isn't on the list right now...Maybe I can work on it when I get a few other things together first..
along with it say can you make it check the time (say instead of 600s i would like to change it at 12, 3, 6 and 9...)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Do you mean, you want to change it at a specific time of the day? Hmmm, I may try to include an option to specify the "cycle start time" along with the gap, which should take care of this...
not working on my o2 XDA II mini win 2003SE.it says not a valid pocket pc....
@Sathya: It works only on WM5 and WM6. I'll see if just a simple compilation for the WM2003 platform will work and let you know...
@ALL: Those who have tried it on their WM5/WM6 devices, please let me know if its working ok for you or not.
BTW, i've started working on a few updates, check in Post #1..I think I'll make two versions for this, a normal one and an extended one, so that those who want a smaller footprint can use the normal version...
Hey seem to be a nice work shantzg001, checking it out soon ...
Thnx Shailesh, did u get time to run it??
do not work on my Trinity
Shantz,
Just seen this. Many many thanks for your efforts here, most appreciated.
Not had chance to try it yet but most reports sem to be coming back that it doesn't seem to work on a Tytn/WM5 machine? What's your take on that?
Cheers
WB
Hmmm, it works perfectly on my WM6 HTC Wizard and the WM5 emulator as well...Not getting any time right now to look more..Will post a debug build tonight..But can someone please check the registry. I had said earlier also to check under HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\ShantzTodayChanger, to report back what all settings exist there, after you have completed all the process...
Found some problems with the code...Have removed the utility till further notice...
Found out part of the problem by inspecting a colleague's device...Its because of how some devices behave to background change if themes are installed..
Will make the change when i go back home tonight and also see if there is any other problem...
Fixed the bug...It should be ok now for all WM5/WM6 devices..
With 1.11 it now works fine!
Is it possible to make it work not only with gif files but with tsk too
**Real Dollars Paid** Request - Opening & Closing Launcher Tabs at Timed Intervals
To set the scene; I have used advanced google search to see if I could find what I am looking for here and also trawled through the entire mortscript thread (painful) but to no avail.
What I am looking for is either a small app or a mortscript that will allow me to automatically open and close a tab within a today screen launcher (eg UltimateLaunch, SPB PocketPlus, etc) so that the contents of that tab are displayed on scren for a set period of time then closed off.
Within the app or script I would like to be able to set the following parameters:
- Select the tabs I want to open and close be it sequentially (ie tab 1 to tab "n", or tab "n" to tab 1), have an option to have random selection of the tabs, or be able to set a sequence of tabs myself to be opened, eg tab 1, tab 3, tab 2 or tab 4, tab1, or tab 2, tab 5, tab 6, tab 3, and so on) or simply be able to set any number of tabs to be opened (ie if I have 6 tabs but only want to open 2 of them then the tool should allow me to do so. The unselected tabs should remain closed).
- Select the length of time each tab should be open for (in seconds, minimum 10 seconds, maximum "n" seconds) before being closed (this will be a global parameter impacting all selected tabs at once, rather than being set individually for each tab).
- Select or deselect a tone to alert me when a tab has been opened. It would also be nice to be able to set vibrate on its own and/or with a sound as an alert.
- Sound and/or vibrate rules should comply with whatever phone ringtone profile I have setup on my PPC. So for example if I have a silent profile running then I would expect the tool to automatically also drop to silent mode.
- A toggle facility to allow me to turn the whole application on or off whenever required without losing my settings.
There are probably other parameters that would be useful; however this is the minimum I am looking for at this time.
Is there anyone on this forum who is able to write up a script or an app that will do this? I am more than happy to make a handsome donation to anyone willing to give it a go.
Although I have siad the tool should be compatible with any launcher, I am looking for initial compatibility to be with SPB PocketPlus as that is what I use at the moment.
I hope I have made it clear what I am looking for.
Look forward to hearing from you.
WB
Bump. Bump...
No one interested in giving this some traction?
WB
**Look Here - I Will Pay A Developer For This!!**
Thought I woud re-emphasise the fact that I am willing to pay a developer to do this.
Thanks
WB
[REF] *Blackstone Hints & Tips* - Things you may not have known. UPDATED 30th July.
MOD Edit HDuser
This thread has now gone Wiki and can be found under
http://wiki.xda-developers.com/index.php?pagename=HTC_Blackstone_tboy2000
I would like to thank Screec for his help on formatting the Wiki page and tboy2000 for this great collection of information.
End MOD Edit
1. Using the Back Key
You can use the actual back key at the bottom of your phone to go back a web page or two in Opera, instead of bringing up the Opera menu and selecting the back arrow.
2. Exiting Volume Screen
For quick exit of the volume screen, tap anywhere in the dark grey background surrounding the vertical slider button.
3. Reduce Errors in Typing
In Input options, disable the number of words to show in T9 for less mistakes when typing and thus faster entry.
4. Improve Photo Thumbnail Resolution in Photo Tab
Modify or tweak a photo (such as adjusting brightness) using a image editor directly on your HD (eg: Resco Photo Viewer) and save and overwrite the original. This makes the photo thumbnails on your Photo Touchflo 3D tab hi-res instead of low-res.
5. Change the Order of Photos in Fav Album
Modify or tweak a photo (such as adjusting brightness) using a image editor directly on your HD (eg: Resco Photo Viewer) in the order you want your photos to appear on your Photo Touchflo 3D tab, as they are displayed in order of last modified/created date. The first photo you modify will be the last to show in your Photo Touchflo 3D tab and vice-versa.
6. Panning Around Zoomed Photos
Touch and hold a zoomed in photo until you see a white outlined box appear in the corner. You can now remove your finger from the screen and drag and pan the photo to see more of it.
7. Hi Res Contact Photos
Assign contact photos on your SD card directly to specific contacts for hi-res thumbnails. If you assign contact photos in Outlook and then sync, the contact photos on your phone will be low-res.
8. Better Contact Scroll Search
When scrolling Contacts, tap the letter AFTER the name you are looking for to make your results list from the top of the screen instead of the bottom of the screen. Eg: If you want to get to the 'P' names such as Paul tap 'Q' instead.
9. Hidden Weather Animation Easter Egg
In the Weather Touchflo 3D tab, tap on the black background to the left of the title 'Weather' and then immediately to the right of the title, again in the black background to see a hidden Easter Egg where the weather animations are cycled through. You have to be quick with your 2 taps.
10. Have Category Folders in Start Menu
Using a file explorer, add 5 new folders to your 'Start Menu' folder. Name them like: Web, Travel, Utilities, System and Media. Copy relevant shortcuts from you 'Programs' folder in your 'Start Menu' folder to each of these new folders. You will need to use a 3rd party file explorer to unhide system files and rom files to see the pre-installed icons to copy them to your folders. These icons are '.ink' shortcuts. Also copy the entire 'Games' folder and 'Office' folder from your 'Programs' folder direct to your 'Start Menu' folder. Finally uncheck all checked boxes in Menus in Settings page. This will allow all 9 folders to show in your Start menu on your home page, where you can access specific apps much quicker. Remember each time you install or remove a program/game, you have to either copy the new 'ink' icon to your category folder or delete it.
11. Use 3rd Party Tweaking Apps
Use 3rd party apps like 'Advanced Config', 'HD Tweak' and 'SKTools' to tweak and optimise your HD further.
12. Disable Beam
Disable 'Beam' in Settings to conserve power.
13. Haptic/Vibration Feedback on HD
Use 3rd party app 'Touch Response' 0.02.2 to add haptic feedback on your phone to feel small vibration everytime you touch the screen in any app. Ideally useful for Keyboard entry.
14. Protect Screen from Breaking
If you carry your phone in your jacket pocket, make sure it is with the screen facing your body to protect the glass from accidental external jolts/pressure.
15. Cover Up Blemishes on Casing
You can use a black permanent fine tip marker pen to cover up scrapes on paintwork of housing. Rub firmly back and forth with your fingertip after a few seconds wait after applying pen.
16. Power Off Reset Action
Turn the phone off and on if you want to reset without taking the cover off or the latest version of HD Tweak installs a Reset icon which you can tap.
17. Temporary Stylus Attraction to Casing
Once you have taken your stylus out and you need a spare hand for a quick second, you can temporarily stick it magnetically underneath your HD along the right edge - instead of having to put it back in and then take it out again.
18. More Contacts per View
Show more contacts per page if you check "show contact names only" in 'Contact' options. You get 18 names per view as opposed to 12 and a half.
19. Fastest Way to Write New SMS
Quickest way to write a NEW text message is through the 'Contacts' list and NOT through the SMS Touchflo 3D tab. Best to assign a softkey to 'Contacts' so it is instantly accessible from your home page.
*Number of taps through Contacts is 3 or 4:
1st: Tap 'Contacts'.
2nd: Scroll to a name.
3rd: Tap the name
4th: Tap 'Send text message'
Automatically ready to start typing.
(Can be only 3 taps if your contact is within the first 18 contacts listed so no scrolling is required. This is based on using middle font size and "show contact names only" checked.)
*Number of taps through Messaging is 6 or 7:
1st: Tap Message tab
2nd: Tap new message icon
3rd Tap 'To:' text
4th: Scroll to a name
5th: Tap the name
6th: Tap the message area to shift the cursor from the 'To: field to the message field.
Now ready to start typing.
(Sometimes this can be 7 taps if you have more than one number for a contact and it asks you to choose which number to send the text message to. Amazing it does not automatically recognise a mobile number.)
20. Super Fast Text Entry
Use the standard built in (non HTC) Keyboard for super fast text entry with a stylus. Don't forget the gestures. Stroking upwards from a lowercase key inputs a capital letter. Stroking rightwards from any key to another inserts a space. Stroking leftwards from any key to another deletes a character. Stroking downwards from any key creates a new line. Using the Small keys means you don't have to switch to the numbers keyboard as all numbers appear above the QWERTY line. Even faster entry.
21. Keyboard Usage
When using the HTC keyboards, pressing and holding a key for a second or two will input the small grey character inside the key.
22. Contact Entry in SMS
If you start typing part of a name in the 'To:' field and hit enter, you will get a possible contact name to approve by hitting enter again. If there are more names to choose from, the arrows will turn white for you to scroll through the names by using the dpad buttons at the bottom of the keyboard.
23. Zoom Size and Zoom Location in Photo
When viewing a photo in the 'Album', you can not only choose where to zoom into but how much to zoom into. If you gesture a clockwise circle in the middle of the photo, then the photo zooms in with the middle of the photo filling the screen. If you gesture a circle near the top right corner, then that specific area zooms in to fill the screen. Also if you gesture a small circle you get maximum zoom. If you gesture a large circle then the photo only zooms in a little. An anti-clockwise circle gesture will zoom out the photo. Vary your circle widths to zoom in at various degrees.
24. HD Friendly Facebook Website
For a HD screen friendly Facebook website, rather than go to the full website, try the iphone version: iphone.facebook.com
You may need to double tap to zoom out.
25. Messaging Gestures to Ease Use
In 'Messaging' you can move from message to message or account to account just by swiping your thumb left or right across the screen. Imagine each message/screen is laid out before you horizontally in a row, left to right with the most recent message on your far left and your oldest message on your far right. By shifting all messages to the right gets you to the beginning of the row and to the newest message. Vice versa for older messages. Visualising this as you swipe lets you know if you are going up or down your email/sms list.
26. Activate Links Without Zooming-In in Opera
If you are tired of having to double tap a web page to zoom in just to activate a link, try this:
In the Opera url bar, type: 'opera:config' (without the ' ' ). Click on 'Adaptive Zoom'. Next change the default number in 'Minimum Overview Zoom' to 70 or higher. Scroll down a bit and hit 'Save' and restart Opera. You can now click on links with your stylus when you are fully zoomed out on a web page.
27. Using the Casing Buttons in Darkness
To see the four hard buttons in the complete dark, place one hand parallel with the bottom of the phone. The light from the screen reflects back onto the buttons making them clearly visible. Alternatively it is also quite easy to estimate where the buttons are by visually dividing the lower edge of the backlit screen into quarters and pressing below the relevant section.
28. Increase Quality of Photos
To increase the quality of photos, open the Camera, go to Settings, Advanced, then Image Properties. Increase Contrast to 5, Saturation to 5, and Sharpness to 4. Now you will have better definition and much more realistic colours. Also don't forget to choose Super Fine under Quality in Advanced Settings menu.
29. Reduce Blurriness in Photos
To focus better, have shutter set just to Touch. After you have touched you have the whole three seconds to steady your hand and take a non-blurry photo.
30. Charge when Powered Off
Always charge your device switched off if possible. This makes the charging time shorter and helps the battery to "calibrate".
31. Activate Hidden Photo Modes
You can activate hidden photo modes using the 'HD Tweak' app. Make sure to leave the resolutions for these modes at 1 megapixel though or they may not work properly. For for the more advanced users, use the following reg entries:
To enable Burst mode:
Mobile Device\HKLM\Software\HTC\Camera\P6
set "Enable" on "1"
To enable Sports mode:
Mobile Device\HKLM\Software\HTC\Camera\P8
set "Enable" on "1"
To enable Video Share mode:
Mobile Device\HKLM\Software\HTC\Camera\P9
set "Enable" on "1"
To enable GPS Photo mode:
Mobile Device\HKLM\Software\HTC\Camera\P10
set "Enable" on "1"
32. How to Hard Reset your Phone
To hard reset your phone which means to delete ALL personal data and settings and have the phone in factory default conditions as if you turned on the phone for the first time after purchasing, press the following buttons:
1. With the device turned off, press and hold the VOLUME UP and VOLUME DOWN buttons, then briefly press the POWER button.
2. Continue pressing the VOLUME UP and VOLUME DOWN buttons until you see this message on the screen:
"This operation will delete all your personal data, and reset all settings to the manufacturer default settings. Press VolUp to restore manufacturer defaults, or press other keys to cancel."
3. Release the VOLUME UP and VOLUME DOWN buttons.
4. Press the VOLUME UP button to perform the hard reset, or press any other button to cancel the reset.
You can also use Clear Storage to reset your device back to factory default settings.
1. On the Home screen, slide to the Settings tab and then tap All Settings.
2. On the System tab, tap Clear Storage.
3. Enter “1234” and then tap Yes.
Make sure you back up all your data such as Contacts, Appointments etc or they will be gone forever.
33. Clean your Camera Lens Often
Remove the back cover and gently clean your camera lens with a soft cloth. You would be amazed to find fingerprints or dust on it.
34. Install Official HTC Hotfix
Sometimes your screen may stop responding for about 3 to 5 seconds when running an application that needs to use the stylus to click the screen repeatedly within a short time. Apps like SMS, email, solitaire, etc. The Hotfix will enhance the response time. Almost everyone should install the official hotfix from the link below. Please read the instructions carefully in the link as it only works if your rom is LESS than version 1.19.xxx.x.
http://www.htc.com/europe/SupportViewNews.aspx?dl_id=448&news_id=16
35. Quick System Status Menu Exit
When you tap the status icons on the top bar and want to immediately exit the screen, just tap anywhere in the grey background.
36. Enable Analogue Clock
If you prefer to see an analogue clock instead of a digital clock on your title bar, tap on the main clock on your home page, then the 'More' tab and then check "Display the clock on the title bar in all programs". Finally, when you see the digital clock on the title bar, tap and hold it and choose 'Analog'.
37. Resolve Squeaky Back Cover
A temporary solution is to use small Post-It notes paper to stick to the inside of your cover.
38. Cheap Security Measure for Lost Phone
If you were to lose your phone how could someone know who it belongs to, to return it? What if your battery dies and the finder cannot access your Owner page? What if you have a lock code on your phone that your finder cannot enter to get access to your Owner or Contacts page? A simple solution to all this is to write on a 2"x2" piece of paper the following words or similar: "If you find this phone, please call 07890 xxx xxx to reunite the phone to its rightful owner and claim a cash reward of £XX. Thanks!" Stick this slip to either the battery or the inside of the back cover. You are hoping when someone finds the phone, the first thing they will do is take off the cover and try to put their sim in it and discover the message. Of course you will have enabled sim lock on your phone to prevent them using the phone straight away. Seeing as they can't access or use the phone to their advantage, they may go the easy route and go for your cash reward. If you offer say £40 reward, it is still cheaper than buying a new phone and having all your personal data back - especially if you have no insurance. Let's just hope that there are honest people out there that just might pay attention to the message. You never know so you may as well try it.
39. Tube/Subway Map for HD
Do you want a train map for your HD? Simple. Go to 'Google Images' and find your underground train map for your country and right click to save it. In 'Photoshop' or any PC image editor, tweak it to make it more sharp and crop it if necessary. Choose 'Save for web' option to optimize file size and speed loading on HD. Save the image to your 'Favourite Album' on your Storage Card. The map will be there in your Touchflo Photo tab for you to zoom in and pan to find your routes and plan your journey. Very useful.
40. Clean your Pouch
Use sellotape wrapped around your fingers (sticky side out) to clean all the pocket fluff stuck to your suppllied pouch.
41. Unlock the First 6 Shortcut Slots in the Programs Tab
Using a registry editor, go to: HKLM (local machine) - Software - HTC - Manila - Programlauncher. There you will find 24 directories for the 24 shortcut locations. The first 6 (i.e. numbers 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5) have a value of 1 in the "read only" section. Change that to 0. Now you can go to the programs tab and erase those and then add the ones that you want in their place.
42. Add the Option to Reflow Text in Adobe Reader
To make pdf files easier to read on the HD, you can change a registry setting to activate the "Reflow" option in Adobe Reader.
In the registry go to current_user/software/adobe/adobereaderle.25/Enablereflow and change the value from 0 to 1.
Now, when reading a pdf file, go to Tools - View and select Reflow. Now zoom all you want without having to pan back and forth to read the text.
43. Exit Fullscreen Mode in Adobe Reader
If you are viewing a pdf file in fullscreen mode, just double tap on the screen to exit that mode. FYI: This still works even if you have activated the Reflow option mentioned in the previous tip on this list.
44. Faster Opera Browsing
For faster browsing use opera in portrait mode
45. Choose Which Default Number to Use in Phone Application
Touching the contact name in the Phone application list dials the default telephone number. This number may not be the one that you wish to use.
In order to use a different number, slide the "m", "t" (etc) letter on the right hand side of the contact line. The top of the screen will show you the number. In this way, you're able to choose the desired telephone number.
46. Opening Contact Details in Phone Application
Sadly if you tap on a contact name in the Phone application list, it automatically calls the contact. The only way to get around this is to swipe left or right on the contact which will highlight the name but not call it. Now you can tap on 'Menu' and then 'Open Contact'.
47. Increase Number of Tabs in Opera
To increase the number of allowed tabs from only 3 (default) to any other number, type 'opera:config' (without the ' ') in the url bar. Next scroll to 'User Prefs' and tap on it. Find the entry 'Maximum Allowed Tabs' and alter the number here. Scroll down to save and then restart Opera to see changes.
48. Contacts - Alphabet Bar Scrolling Up v Down
If you slide your finger down the Alphabet bar and stop at a letter, the first entry for that letter will show at the bottom of the list. However, if you scroll UPWARDS and stop on a letter, the first entry for that letter will show at the TOP of the contacts list which is how it should be.
49. Show Vertical Alphabet Scroller in Contacts
In 'Contacts', click on Menu then Options. The first option is called "Show alphabetical index". When this option is enabled you get an alphabet index at the top of the screen - "old style". If this option is disabled, you get the bar on the right side of the screen, which is much better. Some of you may already have the vertical scroller enabled.
50. Get True 5 Mega pixel Resolution When Using Camera
To get 5MP instead of 4MP resolution when using your camera, you must switch off Widescreen mode in the 'Advanced' Menu.
* Normal screen = 2592 x 1944 pixels = 5,038,848 pixels = 5MP
* Widescreen = 2592 x 1552 pixels = 4,022,784 pixels = 4MP
51. Use Gestures to Advance Days and Weeks
When using 'Calendar', if you are in Agenda or Day view, swiping the screen left or right will advance or go back one day at a time. If you are in Week view, swiping the screen left or right will advance or go back by week. If you are in Month view, swiping the screen left or right will advance or go back one month.
52. Get Better Video Quality When Using Camera
Use MPEG format instead of H.263 for better quality video output. This option can be found by going to the Advanced Setting from the Video Settings menu. Once there, go to Capture Format and change format if necessary.
53. Set MP3 as a Ringtone
In Windows Explorer, you can right click an mp3 file and choose to set it as a ringtone.
54. Improve Speed Access of Micro SD Card
Most Micro SD cards come already formatted as FAT 32 using 32kb clusters. To speed up your Micro SD access, reformat your Micro SD card to use 64kb clusters instead of 32kb clusters (FAT 32 remains the same). Warning: formatting will permanently erase all data on your Micro SD card so be sure to copy all data on it to your PC and the copy them back again after the format. You can use SoftWinter's StorageTools app to reformat the card.
55. Use Titles Instead of URLs for Opera Bookmarks
When adding and saving a new bookmark in Opera, be sure to let the web page fully load and THEN save it as a bookmark. Doing so, your bookmark will use the friendly title name for the web page. If you add a bookmark while the page is still loading, your bookmark will be using the url address as your bookmark's title.
56. Increase Frame Rate of Camera
If you want to increase the FPS of the camera to speed up picture processing, just turn down the brightness to -1.5 or -2.0.
57. Increase Wrting Space in SMS
Go to this site: http://www.ghisler.com/pocketpc.htm and download the 'arm/xscale/pxa'.cab file. Go into Explorer and run the cab file from wherever you saved it, and install it. Now go to Start > Programs and run 'Total Commander' that you just installed. Open the directory 'Windows' and scroll down to find 'thread_sms.htm'. With 'thread_sms.htm' highlighted click 'File' then 'Edit'. Scroll down through the file until you find the line
'<Inbox:content id="COMPOSESUBJECT" width="98%" height=35'
Change the value for height from 35 to 70 and then click 'File' then 'Save'. Soft reset the phone and your space for typing a message should be bigger.
58. Increase Speed and Fix Lag of Keyboard Tapping
Use a registry editor to make the following changes. Go to:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\ControlPanel\Keybd
Find "InitialDelay"=dword: dec - change to 775
Find "RepeatRate"=dword: dec - change to 23
Also set the suggested words to a lower number such as 0 and disable auto-correction of words. Now you should no longer hvae misspleled wrods.
59. Increase Resolution of Panoramic Photos
By default, panoramic photos are less than 1 mp. This registry tweak increases resolution to about 7 mp.
Go to: HKLM/Software/HTC/Camera/P3
Adjust MainCamCaptSize to 1024 and MainCamSupportCaptSize to 1744. Soft reset.
60. Quick Access to Manila Alarm Page
You can go direct to the Alarm page from the Manila Home screen by tapping the alarm info text in the lower right corner below the flip clock.
61. How to Calibrate Screen if Stylus Can't Navigate the OS
To align screen if it is not usable, press and hold Vol Up and Vol Down buttons together and tap the screen. You are now automatically taken to the screen calibration screen.
62. Improve Suggested T9 Dictionary With Custom Words
The Blackstone has a very useful hidden application in the Windows directory. You need to unhide hidden system and Rom files in order to find it and you can do this by using a 3rd party file explorer such as 'Resco File Explorer'. Find the file "eT9MyWords.exe" in the Windows directory and add a shortcut to this file in your Windows/Start Menu folder.
When in the application, add the most common words you use when using the keypad such as names, locations, user names, email addresses and other words not common in the standard T9 dictionary. For example if you are based in London, UK you could add the following locations:
Leicester, Piccadilly, Tottenham, Soho, Charring, Euston, Trafalgar, Clapham
and words such as BRB, DVD, coz, lol, xoxo, [email protected], ciao, etc.
63. Quick Access to Last Manila Tab
Go direct to the last tab of Manila by flicking towards the right anywhere on the screen above the tabbed scroll bar
64. Add Favicons to your Opera Bookmarks
Make sure a bookmarked web page is fully loaded and save and overwrite your existing bookmark with the same title to also save the favicon icon for that bookmark. This even works with pre-installed bookmarks. Just save as the same bookmark title. You can only see the icons when accessing the bookmark page through Opera and not through Manila.
* Latest update: Added entries 60-64
MOD Edit HDuser
All entries up to number 52 have now been added to wiki
One more reserve for luck!
Hi Tboy,
are the latest updates the highest numbers? - or they grouped by functionality
Thanks
Hi! The latest entries will always be the last few numbered (highest numbers). You can always check what has been added that day at the end of the list.
Reset button hole
Probably gone unnoticed because of the new thread:
Take a tiny drill, remove the backcover from the Touch HD
and drill a tiny hole in the backcover on the exact spot where the reset button is.
Re-attach the backcover on your HD.
Use a paperclip everytime you need to reset your device.
Works like a charm, no hassle of removing the backcover anymore.
Don't understand why HTC didn't do that.....
Fab idea. You probably can use hand nail drills that women use to add diamond studs to their nails. How would u know where to drill a hole and make sure it is lined up exactly? I guess a safer alternative is just to use the software reset apps like in Tweak HD or made by Singh.
Dodger said:
Probably gone unnoticed because of the new thread:
Take a tiny drill, remove the backcover from the Touch HD
and drill a tiny hole in the backcover on the exact spot where the reset button is.
Re-attach the backcover on your HD.
Use a paperclip everytime you need to reset your device.
Works like a charm, no hassle of removing the backcover anymore.
Don't understand why HTC didn't do that.....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Or install the HD Tweaks utility. The latest version also provides a HD Soft reset option in your start menu. No need to drill anything.
Dodger said:
Take a tiny drill, remove the backcover from the Touch HD
and drill a tiny hole in the backcover on the exact spot where the reset button is.
Re-attach the backcover on your HD.
Use a paperclip everytime you need to reset your device.
Works like a charm, no hassle of removing the backcover anymore.
Don't understand why HTC didn't do that.....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
HTC doesn't do that because they think that Diamond user use it too many time (so they need to use it)
On HD their rom are really stable, so why have a reset button when concurrent doesn't have it ? it's a proof of weakness.
So just hide it
Sometimes my HD hangs and is really doing nothing.
Mostly during use of Opera and sometimes as a result of invalid logins.
The 4 buttons on the bottom vibrate when touched,
but no other response.
Even after 30 minutes nothing happens.
Therefore, no software solutions is possible.
And so, this solution works fine for me.
What is about pressing the power button for 5 seconds (or something like that). Other users were saying that this is exactly the same as a soft reset.
As I haven't my device yet, I can't check it, would somebody of you mind?
johnpatcher said:
What is about pressing the power button for 5 seconds (or something like that). Other users were saying that this is exactly the same as a soft reset.
As I haven't my device yet, I can't check it, would somebody of you mind?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Single press would lock the phone and shut down the display panel, continously holding the powerbutton would shut the device down completely. So al you need to do is to power it up again, works the same as soft resetting the device but only takes a little longer, advantage is that you do not need to remove the battery cover to reset your device.
Even the last one is not working while my HD hangs.
So for me there was no other solution than drilling
the tiny hole and using the reset button.
The problem occurs also when using to much links
to frequent after each other.
Somehow the device gets confused and hangs....
Hi,
Here translation in french of some tips and more (.net 3.5 ...) :
http://celogeek.free.fr/mobile/mobile-trucs-et-astuces/htc-hd-trucs-et-astuces/
Thanks a lot man, it's wonderfull !
lots of useful tips here. someone needs to convince all cookers to include this in their roms as the help file or default start page in browser
needs more stuff though
Dodger said:
Sometimes my HD hangs and is really doing nothing.
Mostly during use of Opera and sometimes as a result of invalid logins.
The 4 buttons on the bottom vibrate when touched,
but no other response.
Even after 30 minutes nothing happens.
Therefore, no software solutions is possible.
And so, this solution works fine for me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Make sure you add the official Hotfix to fix the problem when phone hangs for a few seconds:
http://www.htc.com/europe/SupportViewNews.aspx?dl_id=448&news_id=16
Will add to post 2.
A tip I learned today... If you set background image using Today applet and image appears almost completely white instead of with original colors, use "Pictures & videos" application instead (not "Album" or "Camera" - these two don't have the option to set image as background). In "Pictures..." you can choose desired transparency level or disable it (to have original colors).
tboy2000 said:
Make sure you add the official Hotfix to fix the problem when phone hangs for a few seconds:
http://www.htc.com/europe/SupportViewNews.aspx?dl_id=448&news_id=16
Will add to post 2.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
this fix is for rom under 1.19, so not concern anymore actually.
To focus better, have shutter set just to Touch. After you have touched you have the whole three seconds to steady your hand and take a non-blurry photo.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I really don't understand this sentence
Can you explain it more clearly please, the sense is out of my english knowledge
So, I have understood to push shutter touch button, and don't move at all during 3s? easy to do and common sens but what happen if people you take move ?
My MWG Atom Life has developed a screen fault rendering it unreadable and therefore largely useless. It's under warranty so I can send it for a repair but before I do that I'd like to synch it to get my diary changes etc from when it was last synched. The problem is it's currently in mass storage mode so I can't link via activesync. Although the screen is fubar, it appears to be runing fine underneath that. So, what I need to do is change the usb mode without being able to see what I'm doing...
I'm pretty sure that if I press the start menu key and then up twice before pressing the select key, that gets me into settings. Then I think up once will take me to the tab selection at the the bottom and right twice to the connections tab. Hopefully, you're with me so far. I'm also fairly sure that the USB to PC icon is on the far right, 3 from the top but I don't know where the 'cursor' goes when I press up once I'm on the settings tab, so I don't know how many left/right/up/dpwn etc I need to get to the right icon. Also, once there, I don't know how many ups/downs I need in order to select the normal synch mode (is it rndis? can't remember).
So, if somebody feels like doing a good turn could they PLEASE give me a step by step on how to get to the right icon and then how to change it. Also, if I'm wrong about the keystrokes I mentioned earlier please put me straight. I know this is a long shot but I'd love to at least give it a go before I have to send it off for repair so I'm really hoping somebody might be able to reply quickly.
Thanks for reading and if somebody can help I'd be incredibly grateful.
Regards
Mark
First thing You must do is soft-reset because You could have different focused icons in each settings tab.
Next lets have those mean:
L - left
R - right
U - up
D - down
C - center
W - windows
RP - red phone
Proceed as is: W, U, C, U, R, R, U | R, D, D, D, C - this changes the window, and next: U, U, U, C, RP - this will select RNDIS Sync Mode.
I hope You have same icons as me in the third tab. (You are in third tab with first icon selected, when You reach "|" sign).
My icon is in second column, fourth row.
Wish You luck on this .
Thanks for the reply
I really appreciate the time you've taken to post these instructions. Unfortnately, they haven't worked for me but I think I'm close... Could I just clarify a couple of things?...
You start as: W, U, C but from memory and also from taking clues from
http://www.tracyandmatt.co.uk/blogs/index.php/2008/02/04/mwg_atom_life_unboxed
I think the bottom icon on the start list is 'help' and settings is the next one up? Certainly, that seems to fit what I 'see' on the screen - although I can't read the screen at all, there are a few visual clues eg. when I press W there is a discernible line that appears at the side of where the start menu would be. When I followed your pattern, there were no visual clues that I was on the riht track, but if I assume that UI'm right about 'help' being at the bottom and settgins bext up and amend your instructions slightly, proceeding as :
W, U, U ,C, U, R, R
pressing R twice seems to make the garbled mess on the screen change slightly on each press which corresponds with what I imagine to be the changing of tabs. So, assuming I'm right about that, your info that pressing U then takes me to the first icon in the first row is very helpful. However, exactly where the USB icon is is unsure. On the video referenced above it's in the third column 3rd row (I think, certainly 3rd cloumn anyway) but I don't know if mine is! Is there anything non standard in your settings tab that may have moved it?
Also, if I leave my phone connected via USB whilst I try these things, if I happen to hit upon the right icon and then press up to move away from mass storage mode, will the change be reflected immediately? ie will active sync start or do I need to disconnect and reconnect?
One last question, on the USB menu, what options are there, I can only remember mass storage, RNDIS sync and maybe a serial type connection? But your instructions seem to imply that there are 4 options here with RNDIS sync being at the top (I seem to remember that it IS at the top). Could you tell me which options there are under the USB option?
Again I offer you my heartfelt gratitude for bothering to try and help me with this. I can't possibly tell you how grateful I really am. Thank you so much.
Well yes, I have removed help from my Start menu (forgot about it - sorry).
Unfortunately every ROM may have different icons in third tab.
But usually USB settings are either on second or third column.
Remember that when You re-enter Start menu and third tab, after U You'll be on LAST selected icon. You can use this to get throught all icons there to find USB options (using instinct ofcourse ).
USB menu contains three options (RNDIS, Serial, Mass Storage). There's no focus on any setting and I'm going from down to Your option. That's why You have to click U 3 times (but You can do it with only one D instead 3x U).
You can still run autorun apps from SD card.
Maybe someone can make a console app to start with showing USB options.
(putting SD card - autoruns consol app - You are in the right window)
BTW. Do You have latest .NET CF framework instaled (2.0 SP2 or 3.5)?
Ok, found a perfect solution for You.
1) Get this file I created - http://www.driveway.com/e6p1b7o2w8
(requested NET CF 2.0 SP2 or later)
2) Copy the folder "2577" along with file inside to Your Storage Card root.
3) Unplug USB if You were connecting with SD card via PDA-PC connection
4) Take off You card from Atom life, whisle two times and put it again into slot
5) You'll notice something changing on the screen
6) Now You are directly in the USB panel press: D, C, RP
7) Plug Your PDA to PC
8) Get synced
Have fun.
I know some of these problem is already fixed by cab provided in this forum. I just make a summary of them and hope it can be improved in next update.
1. There are only 9 short cut in Home screen
2. There are only 9 short cut in Contact screen
3. The SMS always stuck in Send Box, we have to restart device and send a new SMS to “initiate” the SMS function in order to send out the stuck SMS
4. The calendar screen is too simple. It even can’t show task & appointment on same screen
5. The Music screen is handicap. We can’t select folder to play music or delete unwanted song. Please do not link it to WM Libraries as this is too annoying and time consuming too mange song in this way.
6. The Foot print screen can only support 99 records. There is no point to limit user’s footprint as we have several GB storage on SD card.
7. The twitter screen can’t manage follower/following
8. The setting screen didn’t provide an option to switch off HSPA / Data connection. The default data connection button will be triggered by program like Weather, gmail etc which do not do the job well.
9. The setting screen didn’t provide a monitor/counter for wireless / data transmission.
10. There is no option for us to add our own icon on the slide bar. This is kind of waste for the wise idea of slide bar. If we can create our page on the slide bar, we can better manage the program icons which all sitting in the start menu now.
Anything else?
Apart from number 3 (which can be resolved by turning off HTC messaging - a real fix will follow), they're just wishes. You can't expect your personal opinion to be considered a reflection of how the device is "handicapped". I think you should change the thread title to reflect that these are your personal wishes, not faults. (You need to edit and go into advanced mode to change the title )
1. There are only 9 short cut in Home screen
I have 20 (modified from 9)
2. There are only 9 short cut in Contact screen
I have 15 stock from o2
3. The SMS always stuck in Send Box, we have to restart device and send a new SMS to “initiate” the SMS function in order to send out the stuck SMS
As johncmolyneux post
4. The calendar screen is too simple. It even can’t show task & appointment on same screen
No tasks but the calendar is effective
5. The Music screen is handicap. We can’t select folder to play music or delete unwanted song. Please do not link it to WM Libraries as this is too annoying and time consuming too mange song in this way.
I have a folder per album so if I play an album i'm playing the contents of a folder
6. The Foot print screen can only support 99 records. There is no point to limit user’s footprint as we have several GB storage on SD card.
The most recent 99 images even
7. The twitter screen can’t manage follower/following
Click on the tweet, then again with the white bground.. opens a dialogue box... click show profile... right softkey to follow unfollow
8. The setting screen didn’t provide an option to switch off HSPA / Data connection. The default data connection button will be triggered by program like Weather, gmail etc which do not do the job well.
setting screen open the comm manager which has the data connection switch. pointless unless you have turned off all automatic updates
9. The setting screen didn’t provide a monitor/counter for wireless / data transmission.
Never has, just a connection time in the notif manager. there are 3rd party applications that will do this.
10. There is no option for us to add our own icon on the slide bar. This is kind of waste for the wise idea of slide bar. If we can create our page on the slide bar, we can better manage the program icons which all sitting in the start menu now.
?????? you've lost me now
Yes...100 posts.....
Good point, let me change the title later