can i be of any help? - Windows Mobile Software Development

i reckon a majority of programs/applications here are developed with technologies like c++/java. however, as a 6+ years developers in .NET, i'm wondering if anyone might want to find ppl talking about .NET stuff and developing some stuff with .NET framework?
dunno if this is the right place to say this. sorry if it's bothering.

I could do with a bit of a hand with my first ever vb.NET app if you have a spare minute....
I managed to 'lay my hands on' a copy of VS2008 and have installed the SDK's from M$ and have been messing about with it for about 2 months now with some success.
I've managed to program a simple alarm clock app which uses a SDF database for the alarm functions which works well (but still needs more work before I release it).
The main problem I have right now is that I cannot get the phone to wakeup from a standby state when the alarm is supposed to sound (as all programs are suspended when the device goes into standby).
I found this article on MSDN about the 'CeRunAppAtTime' function and have placed it in my code with a calculation for the milliseconds needed (until wakeup occurs) The milliseconds-until-wakeup are calculated using the hours and minutes between the current time and the set alarm time, converted to Integers using the built in time functions of VB.
The problem is that this does not seem to wake the device from standby when it's supposed to.
I've scoured the web for any info on this but have been stuck at this stage for about 3 weeks now, messing with the code so much I've lost track of what I've tried.
Is there any alternative to this function call or am I stuck trying to work it out?
I would post that section of my code but it's on my other PC which I can't get to right now....sorry.

I think you'll find the answers you're looking for here:
http://www.koushikdutta.com/2008/07/cerunappattime-cesetusernotificationex.html

A while back I found a c# compiler that worked ON THE DEVICE -- it was totally cool to compile and mess around with c# on the phone.
That compiler only supported the compact framework 1.0, and the developer seemingly disappeared off the face of the earth without releasing his source.
It would be cool if someone knowledgeable soul could make a version that supports CF 3.5.
Understand that there was no IDE here, you simply loaded your c# source into it, told it to compile, and you got an EXE.

godefroi said:
I think you'll find the answers you're looking for here:
http://www.koushikdutta.com/2008/07/cerunappattime-cesetusernotificationex.html
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the link but I'm not quite sure that this gives me what I'm after.
I don't want to have to schedule a system notification to wake the device as other devs on other sites have reported issues with the dialogue and not being able to assign a sound to it other than the default one for notifications.
CeRunAppAtTime would do the job but I just can't get it to work.
Anyone got any working VB code using this API?

...problem finally solved and the Alarm clock is available for download here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=5551369#post5551369

Related

Background trapping mouse events on WinMo.. posibble?

Hey developers,
Believe me, I tried searching quite a lot but couldn't find an answer, never tried this kind of developing ever.
Let's say that my point is to disable part of screen - eg below 400px will not work - my app will catch those mouse events and stop them.
I tried speaking with Chainfire on IRC but he went for gaming or so and he offered me injecting dll's. I'm not sure if that would be the best idea since I'd prefer to do it on background rather than loading it with all apps.
I was thinking another few minutes and how about loading it as driver or some kind of touchscreen filter and running inside device.exe or any other kernel process (or just as background process, doesn't matter those few kB in memory).
Thanks for any push in any way of doing this, believe me, you won't regret the result . OndraSter
Not sure this is possible with the Win32 HWnd stuff, you can catch and handle Window Messages only within the Window said messages are posted to. Never seen a way to do it system wide. Would probably involve replacing some fairly fundamental components. Same sort of thing we are looking at to get multi-touch working correctly on the HD2.
I heard someone got it working with keyboard, but mouse not because of lack LL_MOUSE stuff etc
maybe develop a driver, like i.e. Touch response does.
Yep that was one of two things that came to my mind - driver or service...
But I have no idea where to start with it though...

Windows Mobile Soundboard apps?

Hey noticed that Android is full of those simple soundboard apps which seem to be very popular at least among the younger generation. I started coding one in visual studio but am having a few problems with the code. To any winmo developers out there I have a few questions.
1) I assume the easiest way is to have all the sound files loaded as linked resources not embedded.
2) how do you access the embedded resources? for the path I just used ../Resourcs/filename.pcm and it was built fine but I recieved an error at runtime.
Basically I just want to have a series of buttons which each play a sound and a button on the bottom which stops all sounds. Seems simple enough or at least I thought. Any code examples other than the MSDN ones would be appreciated. The MSDN ones seemed to be more complicated than what was needed. Thanks in advance!
-Dave
Edit: forgot to mention this is in C#
Yeah I have been looking for something like this too, I have even thought of learning to program one as well
Try hermssoftware and look for isound, i use it and added my own themes, but i haven't figured out how to label the buttons.
Thanks!
I am really looking for more input on how to get my code to work as I'm more interested in creating my own than just having soundboards on my phone.

[Project] CTaskManager - Spicing up UI [Android-Like]

Hey Everyone...I haven't been around these parts often, but I conceived a pretty good idea [I think]...
My friend recently got a Droid phone, and of course he was flaunting it to me...I love Android, honestly...but I love Windows Mobile too. SO! I thought "Why not merge the best of both worlds?"
Well obviously, I cannot make windows look 100% like Android...that would take tooooooo long. So instead, I thought "What about the Task Switcher!"
So I introduce to you, CTaskManager
Right now it is just a P.o.C (Proof Of Concept), but I have done my research and found pretty much all the API calls I will need [minus one or two, but I'll find those]. It will be fully in C++, and if I can get it working correctly, will be activated by the HOME button.
Attached is a proof of concept image [100% Photoshopped, not real at all].
In any case, this is how I forsee it working:
This will appear on top of any window
Activated by pressing [and holding?] HOME
1st Box will always be the Home Screen
2nd Box will always be the current Window (unless it is the HomeScreen)
You can switch between apps with 2 easy Clicks
First Select the Number of the Dialog
Second, Press CENTER or SPACE to switch to it, or press DEL to quit that app
The program's layout will vary depending on the number of Open Windows
Should be light, fast, and easy to use
Hopefully, since I forsee this to be a really easy project, I will have a release by later today! I am making it for my Excalibur users FIRST, because I owe it to this whole forum [And because I will be switching to an HD2 this upcoming monday, and I want to start a project up for a phone I use NOW]
-Until Later: CycloneZephyrxz7
sweet...thanks..will wait for your release and then will added to the sticky.
I am very pleased that the ONLY component I have yet to get working is getting the screen captures [and window titles]. I need to investigate this ... For some reason, I am getting the same window drawn OVER and OVER again. I think it is because the window handle I am getting from some of the methods is invalid...Its very odd ... I have to figure it out. I should be able to do this winthin the next hour or so
seems cool so its like a multitasker? or somthing
alexrodri0 said:
seems cool so its like a multitasker? or somthing
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Exactly.
So this is the update:
I got the program to run on Home-Key Press ... Now I am going to just modify it and add a timer or something to get it to run on Home-Key Long Press [since just a press interferes with Smart ToolKit]
An odd bug I have encountered is that when I run this, and wait, the Smart Toolkit taskbar shows up (as it should), and the whole phone locks up...I think it is because both are competing for Keyboard privilages. [I have to use a Keyboard hook to get this working, and it is all undocumented APIs]
I have yet to get the actual Task part working Haha. I can't confirm whether or not it is working, because for some reason my Debugger is acting weird, and all the images are of the current screen. As it turns out, it is impossible to take a snapshot of a minimized / partially visible screen. It will take the screen coordinates, and take a picture of whatever is there right now. I will get that fixed [I am talking to another Dev to see if he will let me in on how he does it in his task manager].
I got the "back" key escape working. Relatively simple.
I have planned out Layouts. Such that when you have JUST the HomeScreen open, it will NOT run. When you have the HomeScreen and 1 OTHER window open, the two will be split on the screen [Maybe make each like 150x113]. When you have 3 to 4 total windows (Including HomeScreen), they will make a 4-quadrant layout. Where each will be around [120x90]. When you have 4 - 6 open, each will be [92x69] (as shown in the ScreenShot) and have a 6-block layout. When you have more than 6 (if that is possible on the Excalibur haha), it will make a second page, and the second page will adapt to however many excess processes there are.
I have to work on getting the Translucent Background working ... that shouldn't be too hard, I just have yet to look into it {I think I have to use AlphaBlend or TransparentBlt}.
In any case, there is actually very little that doesn't work yet haha, but of course it is the most essential parts that don't work.
I will keep you all updated
sweet
looking forward to this, my phone will live on!!!
Thanks to a bunch of help from another Dev, I confirmed that getting the image of a non-visible window is IMPOSSIBLE on windows mobile. [Although it gives me an idea to try to 'fix' that haha ... maybe after this]. In any case, I think I have figured out how to do it. Tomorrow I will write up the code, test it, and hopefully have an Initial release.
The way I see it the releases will be as follows:
1) Initial Release [Basic]
2) Fix-Up of any Bugs
3) Add some Effects
4) Add some customizations
5) Fix-Up of any Bugs
6) FINAL
Hopefully, I can do this in 6 or less releases [And in the meanwhile, adapt it to work on my new HD2 i will get on Monday ]
*PS: For those of you following my projects: Once I get my HD2, I am going to make a fixed up release of FFP_LS, and then open-source it. Thereafter, i won't work much on it anymore. This is so I can start working on my SUPER-HUGE project called "CMessage" ... Here are the contents of the 'sticky note' i have on the desktop reminding me of it:
Suite of Programs:
1. Transport DLL (Send/Receive SMS/MMS/EMail)
2. T-Mail.exe Client (Compose/View SMS/MMS/EMail)
3. Notifier (When new Message Arrives, Display Alert)
4. A new DLL for the HomeScreen [it probably won't be compatible with the old one]
5. API Docs (For future use and adaptation)
6. Sample Programs (I.E. HomeScreen Panel, SMS Games, etc.)
7. Filter Rules Program
8. Macro Program (Get Message ... Do Action)
9. Environment Set-Up DLL/Exe [Cache Contacts, create Message Stores, transfer over old stuff, etc. etc.]
It is going to be a VERY large project. Hopefully, it will also be a very successful one Say bye-bye to CE MAPI?
Cyclonezephyrxz7 said:
Thanks to a bunch of help from another Dev, I confirmed that getting the image of a non-visible window is IMPOSSIBLE on windows mobile. [Although it gives me an idea to try to 'fix' that haha ... maybe after this]. In any case, I think I have figured out how to do it. Tomorrow I will write up the code, test it, and hopefully have an Initial release.
The way I see it the releases will be as follows:
1) Initial Release [Basic]
2) Fix-Up of any Bugs
3) Add some Effects
4) Add some customizations
5) Fix-Up of any Bugs
6) FINAL
Hopefully, I can do this in 6 or less releases [And in the meanwhile, adapt it to work on my new HD2 i will get on Monday ]
*PS: For those of you following my projects: Once I get my HD2, I am going to make a fixed up release of FFP_LS, and then open-source it. Thereafter, i won't work much on it anymore. This is so I can start working on my SUPER-HUGE project called "CMessage" ... Here are the contents of the 'sticky note' i have on the desktop reminding me of it:
Suite of Programs:
1. Transport DLL (Send/Receive SMS/MMS/EMail)
2. T-Mail.exe Client (Compose/View SMS/MMS/EMail)
3. Notifier (When new Message Arrives, Display Alert)
4. A new DLL for the HomeScreen [it probably won't be compatible with the old one]
5. API Docs (For future use and adaptation)
6. Sample Programs (I.E. HomeScreen Panel, SMS Games, etc.)
7. Filter Rules Program
8. Macro Program (Get Message ... Do Action)
9. Environment Set-Up DLL/Exe [Cache Contacts, create Message Stores, transfer over old stuff, etc. etc.]
It is going to be a VERY large project. Hopefully, it will also be a very successful one Say bye-bye to CE MAPI?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
can't wait!
This program is actually bugging me...haha [get the joke?].
In any case, it is becoming rather tough to get this actually working. Correction: To get it working efficiently. The dev making the 3D iManager app over in the Development/Hacking forum told me how he is doing it, but to me it just seems terribly inefficient (every 5 seconds, check for Foreground Window....LOTS OF BUGS). In any case, I am using a registry notification now, since Windows Mobile has a value that tells me the currently active program and the previously active program [and it updates!] ... this works out because then I can take a screenshot of the new-ly active program, AND check to see if the old one was minimized or closed. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem to be working as I would have hoped.
I don't have much time today for developing [Hooray for a 50 Page AP Government Outline] ... so I will probably get back to this tomorrow [NEW PHONE], or maybe tonight if I get a really good idea/inspiration to finish this!
Cyclonezephyrxz7 said:
This program is actually bugging me...haha [get the joke?].
In any case, it is becoming rather tough to get this actually working. Correction: To get it working efficiently. The dev making the 3D iManager app over in the Development/Hacking forum told me how he is doing it, but to me it just seems terribly inefficient (every 5 seconds, check for Foreground Window....LOTS OF BUGS). In any case, I am using a registry notification now, since Windows Mobile has a value that tells me the currently active program and the previously active program [and it updates!] ... this works out because then I can take a screenshot of the new-ly active program, AND check to see if the old one was minimized or closed. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem to be working as I would have hoped.
I don't have much time today for developing [Hooray for a 50 Page AP Government Outline] ... so I will probably get back to this tomorrow [NEW PHONE], or maybe tonight if I get a really good idea/inspiration to finish this!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
keep the good work man and again thanks for your effort in developing new stuff for the dash.
Cheers,
So I finished my work
But that isn't pertinent to this forum. What it does mean is that I can work on my developing for today!
Counter-to-my-prior-plan, I am going to release a pretty flawed version of the program ... errr ... rather an Alpha that will run much less efficiently than the final product.
I hate announcing a project, thinking it will be easy, then taking forever with it ... so this is what I am going to do:
I will use the same timer-based approach that iManager 3D uses, but I might make it update more often [3 second intervals maybe] ... it won't be AT ALL battery efficient, but it should be pretty memory efficient. It will serve as NO MORE THAN A PROOF OF CONCEPT OF WHAT THE FINAL PRODUCT WILL BE. The final product should not have a major impact on battery life, and should leave the end user unaware that it is actually running when it is!
I am re-installing Visual Studio because it has been acting up, but once that is done, I should be able to pump out an ALPHA VERSION.
EDIT: Computer Issues ... Expect a release in the coming days. Sorry for the inconvenience.
Cyclonezephyrxz7 said:
So I finished my work
But that isn't pertinent to this forum. What it does mean is that I can work on my developing for today!
Counter-to-my-prior-plan, I am going to release a pretty flawed version of the program ... errr ... rather an Alpha that will run much less efficiently than the final product.
I hate announcing a project, thinking it will be easy, then taking forever with it ... so this is what I am going to do:
I will use the same timer-based approach that iManager 3D uses, but I might make it update more often [3 second intervals maybe] ... it won't be AT ALL battery efficient, but it should be pretty memory efficient. It will serve as NO MORE THAN A PROOF OF CONCEPT OF WHAT THE FINAL PRODUCT WILL BE. The final product should not have a major impact on battery life, and should leave the end user unaware that it is actually running when it is!
I am re-installing Visual Studio because it has been acting up, but once that is done, I should be able to pump out an ALPHA VERSION.
EDIT: Computer Issues ... Expect a release in the coming days. Sorry for the inconvenience.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Great! This sounds awesome! And yeah, we finally get more interests and development in non-touch devices! Good luck with building the program and don't forget to contact the News-Writers when it's ready!
This is actually quite upsetting ... I tried re-installing Visual Studio, because it was no longer giving me the 'code suggestions' for C++ ... [like if I typed in a function, it didn't tell me what the parameters were] ... and now it isnt set up for Windows Mobile 6 Standard/Pro anymore. So i tried reinstalling those SDKs .... no joy....I am going to uninstall EVERYTHING OF IT and start all over [backing up my projects of course ].
Hopefully I will get my computer in working condition by tonight.
I got my new HD2 [TMOUS] today I am very happy with it already. BUT I WILL NOT GIVE UP ON MAKING THINGS FOR THE DASH. Non-TouchScreen phones are highly under-appreciated, and I hate that so much [let alone the fact that WinMo is underappreciated] .... I NEED YOUR IDEAS TO MAKE THIS PHONE [Exca] BETTER! So toss me a PM with even the wildest Ideas, and I will try to figure something out
Cyclonezephyrxz7 said:
This is actually quite upsetting ... I tried re-installing Visual Studio, because it was no longer giving me the 'code suggestions' for C++ ... [like if I typed in a function, it didn't tell me what the parameters were] ... and now it isnt set up for Windows Mobile 6 Standard/Pro anymore. So i tried reinstalling those SDKs .... no joy....I am going to uninstall EVERYTHING OF IT and start all over [backing up my projects of course ].
Hopefully I will get my computer in working condition by tonight.
I got my new HD2 [TMOUS] today I am very happy with it already. BUT I WILL NOT GIVE UP ON MAKING THINGS FOR THE DASH. Non-TouchScreen phones are highly under-appreciated, and I hate that so much [let alone the fact that WinMo is underappreciated] .... I NEED YOUR IDEAS TO MAKE THIS PHONE [Exca] BETTER! So toss me a PM with even the wildest Ideas, and I will try to figure something out
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
congrats with your new phone!
"Non-TouchScreen phones are highly under-appreciated, and I hate that so much [let alone the fact that WinMo is underappreciated]!" Yeah that sucks, that's also why I keep developing Apps and ROMs!
Hope you can get VS working again!

[CODE] Blockclock - Free Code Giveaway - A Metro Style Alarm Clock for WM6+

A lot of people I spoke to whilst leaning programming didn't want to help with the Visual Basic side of things and started moaning about me not using C# - but that was my choice to make. So I make this post with similar minded people in mind - maybe there is someone else out there that doesn't want to learn C# to code apps?!?
A while back I started learning about Windows Mobile development but I left it a bit late in the OS's lifecycle and sadly lost my motivation for producing apps for it.
Now that I have left my Windows Mobile development behind I am willing to contribute my, slightly messy but, working code to anyone that might find a use for it.
I am willing to donate my code to the community in the hope someone will finish it off - if they can decypher my workings - or make use of it in their own projects.
It's an Alarm Clock in the Metro UI style (see attached screenshots) which wakes the device at the set time and sounds an alarm and is written in VB and is for Windows Mobile 6 and above. Most of the functionality is already in place.
It requires the Smart Device Framework libraries to be installed on the PC used to code it.
Working Features:
One working alarm which wakes the device when required
Snooze function
Customisable colours - working selector screen with 46 colours to choose (you can even use a custom hex colour if the XML settings file is manually edited)
Selection of different date formats
Rotation support for WVGA devices works...sort of but could probably be tweaked.
Things left to finish:
Add additional alarm(s)
Allow naming of alarms
Put dialogue in place to select a sound for the alarm(s)
Put an 'if -> then' statement in place in the alarm sounding procedure to vibrate the device if vibration is enabled
Graphics are minimal to reduce on memory usage but I think it looks quite good...even if I do say so myself (Please see the screenshots attached)
The program was never finished due to changing my main OS on my phone from Windows Mobile to WP7 and Android and I don't think I'll be returning to Windows Mobile 6.5 development.
The following imports are required:
Imports System.IO
Imports System.Threading
Imports System.Media
Imports OpenNETCF
Imports OpenNETCF.WindowsCE
Imports OpenNETCF.AppSettings
...and the following references in the project references:
OpenNETCF.AppSettings
OptnNETCF.WindowsCE
The app creates an XML file for the settings which is stored in the program folder and in its current state it works for 1 alarm with one alarm tone ('alarm.wav' in the resources folder).
Any questions...feel free to ask. There is one menu template which is configured in various procs to create the menus for alarms and preferences so it can look more complicated than it actually is in the code.
Glad to see some people may have found this useful! Keep me updated with any developments, it'd be interesting to see if this goes anywhere....I ask for no credit.
Hi thank you for the source code. I prefer C# syntax wise but they share the same runtime environment and get compiled into the same MSIL language so in theory they are the same. Just some things are done differently. Cheers again.
sb.oddworld said:
Hi thank you for the source code. I prefer C# syntax wise but they share the same runtime environment and get compiled into the same MSIL language so in theory they are the same. Just some things are done differently. Cheers again.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No problem at all. Some of the form layouts can be a little confusing so if you need a hand just yell. Glad that it might be of use to someone.
Thanks welki1979 being a non C programmer I fully appreciate how hard it is to find suitable code to get examples from. Even if it turns out to be totally useless it is still a very nice gesture.
Ok got it up and running (didn't need the Smart Device Framework listed above as I already had Microsoft .NET Compact Frameworkwork 3.5 installed).
First impressions... It's really cool (especially the random item close), haven't had much chance to go through the code yet as it threw up an exception when I first ran it that needed to be sorted out first.
What I was hoping to see was the application being triggered from one of the menus items but instead it just fires up on load.
I was hoping to learn how to code it so it could be fired off the start menu icons, but I can't seem to work out how those applications are triggered.
Not sure what value I can add to the program, but given enough time to learn a bit more about mobile coding I might be able to add something.

Multitasking on wp7

Have a look at this
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jipqNtc_PPU&feature=player_embedded
Our own developer Jaxbot is up to his tricks again, and this time, it's paid off: Finder of a hack that brought instant resuming to Windows Phone 7, he has been developing a full fast app switching/multitasking solution for Windows Phone 7.
Shown in the video above, the preview of the application is triggered by pressing the half shutter button (pressing the camera button halfway, not to the point where the camera would launch), and allows the user to jump between desired applications. The applications run in the background to a degree, as shown with the timer, and no time is required to bring the applications back from their background state. It's all very technical, but rest assure that he will be sharing some more details in the future.
Keep in mind the application is a preview-the interface and how it functions may very well change before release, and no release date is available. But if you're interested in having it on your device, share some thoughts about how you think it should look, function, etc, in the comments below.
Without further ado, watch the video above for a demonstration of fast app switching on Windows Phone 7.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Source
Yeah, checked the article out yesterday. Hopefully he'll be releasing something to everyone soon. It's the one thing I'm dying without No third party alarms (as the one MS provides kind of blows) and all this resuming nonsense is becoming slightly annoying.
That looks pretty slick! Would love to see this one in the wild soon, now if I could only get Pandora I would be set.
kwill said:
Yeah, checked the article out yesterday. Hopefully he'll be releasing something to everyone soon. It's the one thing I'm dying without No third party alarms (as the one MS provides kind of blows) and all this resuming nonsense is becoming slightly annoying.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Its still work in progress, there are limitations... people work as hard as they can to overcome these limitations and make it work for all devices.
Currently I believe its not possible to automatically find the titles of the running apps, so they are manually added (hardcoded) however they can find the paths to the files... so the remaining thing is getting access to the files in these paths to extract the title and tile image.
However what you see really works, its real and should work with every app once this is accomplished.
Marvin_S said:
Its still work in progress, there are limitations... people work as hard as they can to overcome these limitations and make it work for all devices.
Currently I believe its not possible to automatically find the titles of the running apps, so they are manually added (hardcoded) however they can find the paths to the files... so the remaining thing is getting access to the files in these paths to extract the title and tile image.
However what you see really works, its real and should work with every app once this is accomplished.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks a lot for the insight on the operation and the obstacles they have to overcome. I'll be monitoring for any progress or assistance I can provide. Although, I'm sure my non-expert help won't be of much help.
kwill said:
Thanks a lot for the insight on the operation and the obstacles they have to overcome. I'll be monitoring for any progress or assistance I can provide. Although, I'm sure my non-expert help won't be of much help.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
you can monitor here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1006331
and here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1021135
btw I have nothing to do with the developments, I was just excited by the news and kept contact with Jaxbot who made this app/video with the code wrapper provided by fiinix
Looks great! I like the idea of a half shutter press. Very elegant solution.
Want that app!
Is this app on the video released?????? I can't find any link to download, although it was introduces about 2 years

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