Program Concept - Windows Mobile Software Development

I fail miserably at creating apps for Windows Mobile, but I'm willing to suggest concepts and whatnot.
That's where this thread comes in.
With some Windows Mobile devices, you only have the choice of either showing the battery life, or showing the clock. I think it's a bit of a hassle to have to navigate through a whole bunch of menus just to see how much life you have left in your battery. So, if a developer could create a program that could allow you to switch from either the battery meter or the time by tapping the icon, or even periodically changing on it's own, it would greatly help out other's with this concern.
If a thread similar to this already exists, by all means, trash it or point me in the right direction.

Hi Tremayne024
Here's one of the many themes that give you both, please search for more
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=578468

Related

MS/WAD/Winterface

Hello again all,
I posted a few days ago about how I was going to move from MS to WAD2.
The thing about MS is although it's stable, and it works well..it's not configurable/customizable without great pain.
WAD is very configurable, but kills my battery in less than a day (with MS I can easily get 2 days or more). It's also very sluggish and doesn't seem to link directly into things eg, in MS hitting the SMS icon takes you into your sms folder, in WAD it takes you to the messages list where you have to select the sms folder adding additional clicks to get to what you want isn't really desirable. This is the same with the email icon.
So I thought I'd try winterface...which is far too complicated and just doesn't seem to be very user friendly
Is there anything else left to try? are these the top 3 that people are using?
Thanks
twisted-pixel said:
Hello again all,
I posted a few days ago about how I was going to move from MS to WAD2.
The thing about MS is although it's stable, and it works well..it's not configurable/customizable without great pain.
WAD is very configurable, but kills my battery in less than a day (with MS I can easily get 2 days or more). It's also very sluggish and doesn't seem to link directly into things eg, in MS hitting the SMS icon takes you into your sms folder, in WAD it takes you to the messages list where you have to select the sms folder adding additional clicks to get to what you want isn't really desirable. This is the same with the email icon.
So I thought I'd try winterface...which is far too complicated and just doesn't seem to be very user friendly
Is there anything else left to try? are these the top 3 that people are using?
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
you can configure WAD to go to anything mate. The reason it is going to messaging when you want SMS is because the theme you are running links it that way. You can link to individual files, folders or .lnk files. THe .lnk files are great because you can pass parameters inside which is how the MS sms link is working anyway. There is no "sms" program, it IS the messaging program with a parameter passed upon execution.
I dont get too bad of battery life from WAD but I am nto really runnign aything else that would drain my batter so that may be helping me. There is nothing out there that can even shake a stick at WAD from a customization perspective. I say you stick with WAD and customize the themes yo ualready love with the links you desire.
ok I wanted to go grab more info for you about the sms thing. when looking at the sms.lnk file I created for my iphone theme, properties shows that to bring up sms directly you need to have
"tmail.exe" -service "SMS"
tmail.exe is just the messaging program and the rest tells it what service to start in. I believe setting to "MMS" also works as well as putting the account in the "". If you named you email Yahoo then "Yahoo" would work and th elnk would take you to the inbox of your yahoo account you set up
ok..that's a huge help as despite it's sluggishness and battery hungryness....I love the fact that I can do anything I want with WAD.
If only there was somewhere that told me about that command!!..I've downloaded the manuals etc, and there's no mention in them about how to use such commands, or how to make a meter, etc etc..
and I hate asking people too many questions.
twisted-pixel said:
ok..that's a huge help as despite it's sluggishness and battery hungryness....I love the fact that I can do anything I want with WAD.
If only there was somewhere that told me about that command!!..I've downloaded the manuals etc, and there's no mention in them about how to use such commands, or how to make a meter, etc etc..
and I hate asking people too many questions.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
lol i hear ya. I learned from here and other forums. I dont know all that much either. I just get an idea, assume it is possible and go search for ways to make it a reality

[REQ] Timetable program that's finger friendly

Hi guys,
Unfortunately it's that time of the year again where students go back to their universities and begin the process of temporarily absorbing material so that they can pass exams in order to get a piece of paper (Certificate) =P.
I have been looking for a program that will list all of my lectures/tutorials in a way that will integrate with TF3D, but unfortunately, most of the programs do more than I need and don't really look nice. I don't want to use the Home Screen for this because it would be too cluttered, and I don't want to use the Calendar for this because I want to reserve this for important/once-off events.
I am wondering if anybody would be willing to make me/teach me how to make a program that will simply list all of my lectures/tutorials for the day? Ideally it will be accessed through an additional tab in TF3D (using Singh's 15 tabs? or something else?). I am thinking that the list will give the subject name/title, location and time details. There is no need for things like assignments, due dates, etc, as this can be done through Calendar. Preferably this program will also be finger-friendly!
Is there something I can use to program it myself (I have basically no programming experience)? Or is someone able/willing to help me? I am willing to help out with the interface.
I think that this may be a relatively simple program to write, but I have no idea how to do it. Or is there something out there that does this already? I have searched the forums for "timetable", and also Google for "timetable windows mobile app", but nothing seems to suit.
Thanks guys!
Okay, by the number of views on this thread, I can probably guess that this is something that people are interested in...
...but nobody seems to know how/interested in doing it =S.
I am also thinking that this can be expanded into other uses, say, a To-Do list that's available at a glance, or a shopping list. I think it would be look best if it looked like the other TF3D tabs, both icon-wise as well as the theme wise (ie: see-through/big entries/smooth scrolling).
If anyone is willing to point me in the direction of how to make an app like this, I am more than willing to give it a shot. I only have a basic understanding of Visual Basic (from high school, lol ). But I can give it a shot.
Can someone point me in the direction of how to make this app? Or better yet, do it for me?
My bad about the double-post, but nobody seems to want to post!

Transparent/Translucent Forms & Controls

So I have been searching these forums a bit each day for the past week, and I have yet to see a working solution for SmartPhones AND PPC's alike. I have tried P/Invoking AlphaBlend, SetBkMode, etc. but to no avail. I am not a great coder, so I may be using them wrong.
If anyone knows how to get this to work on SmartPhone's and PPC's, could they please share their knowledge
Thank you!
Cyclonezephyrxz7 said:
So I have been searching these forums a bit each day for the past week, and I have yet to see a working solution for SmartPhones AND PPC's alike. I have tried P/Invoking AlphaBlend, SetBkMode, etc. but to no avail. I am not a great coder, so I may be using them wrong.
If anyone knows how to get this to work on SmartPhone's and PPC's, could they please share their knowledge
Thank you!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What exactly do you want to do?
I want to be able to make forms / controls that have Opacity less than 255 ... (I want to do this in C#) ... take, for instance, SMSBubbles, it displays a small bubble at the bottom of the screen about a new text message...how would i be able to achieve that and still maintain the background to be transparent. Also look at SmartToolKit, when you pop open the Start Menu, the back (what is not covered by the menu) remains updating (etc.) but you still get the menu..
I want to do something along those lines...
any help is greatly appreciated
Have you checked out this blog entry?
blogs.commentor.dk/post/Transparent-Controls-in-NETCF.aspx
Or a library: http://beemobile4.net/?sitecateg=products&productID=5
Thanks for the replies, the first I tried implementing, but it didn't work as I would have hoped (The second, well I don't want to pay 45+$ for it...heh)
So I re-tried P/Invoking SetBkMode in the onPaintBackground method:
Code:
protected override void onPaintBackground(PaintEventArgs e)
{
setBkModeCE(e.Graphics.getHDC(), BkMode.TRANSPARENT);
}
I also made sure to P/Invoke
Code:
SetCursor(IntPtr cursor)
...main loop starts here...
SetCursor(IntPtr.Zero)
to get rid of the wait cursor.
While this works perfectly in terms of eliminating the background, it doesn't actually make it transparent. What it does, i can do by taking a screenshot and applying it as the bg (It doesn't update). I suppose I can use a timer and have it update the background on Events of all sorts, on user-activity, and every minute, but that seems like it is a hassle.
That may be the only way to actually do it, I don't know, but it just seems that there is a better way to do it (and be able to conserve RAM).
I used this library in one of my apps: http://code.msdn.microsoft.com/uiframework
Sourcecode is available, written in C# so its easily adaptable to your needs too.

Where should I get started?

So I am new to these forums, and new to winmo devices in general(coming from sidekick platform). I have browsed through some threads but still have no clear place to begin. My goal is to customize my brand new touch pro 2 and learn more about my device.
If anyone would be as kind to point me to specific threads on where to begin or have any advice of their own it will be much appreciated.
Thanks in advance.
P3rpetual said:
So I am new to these forums, and new to winmo devices in general(coming from sidekick platform). I have browsed through some threads but still have no clear place to begin. My goal is to customize my brand new touch pro 2 and learn more about my device.
If anyone would be as kind to point me to specific threads on where to begin or have any advice of their own it will be much appreciated.
Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Keep in mind there are a few sub forums for the touch pro 2...
You might want to give the themes and aps sub forum a good read. In there right at the top you'll find this thread Software worth installing on the TP2 *Continuously Updated, links in thread* [MAR 8]
That's definatly a good place for you to start.
Reading through the CABs and Tweaks thread is a good start too. The real potential of the TP2 isn't really unlocked until you start tweaking, and the ability to tweak/customize is one of the best things about Windows Mobile. Read through the thread, see what customizations sound good to you, and try them out. Don't be afraid to tweak. Most any of the customizations can be uninstalled. Or at the last resort, you can hard reset to get to factory settings.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=524655
I know u gonna want to get ur phone up to speed, so heres somemore advice. Theres a thread here in general called "why is my phone so slow". Theres some cabs listed there thats like system tweaks to make ur phone more efficient and faster and manage memory better. system tweak cabs to look for is: Data Fix Cab, SD tune up, dynamic system proxy, manila no push internet, and memory leak cab. all of those together will make ur phone UI faster, better internet speeds, better memory management(more free RAM avaliable), and faster read speeds from ur memory card.
It might be a good idea to get a good system file explorer or registry editor. the included file explorer is good but cant edit registry. You might want to look for either the newest Total Commander or PHM editor(might b mispelled). any of those give u complete access to files and system registry. also allows u to back up your data on ur phone in case you ready to try some serious installs
If u havent noticed already, your battery only reads in 10% increments. Theres a mod/cab called No2chem and Chainfire 1% Battery. Once thats installed , your battery meter will give u a more exact/precise battery reading in increments of 1, instead of 10. ur stock battery meter wont show it so u should download a battery meter of sorts. You can either get a new taskbar that 1% is enabled or even easier , just install WMMiniBattery. it will put a small battery meter that stretches across the whole screen up top. itll read in 1% increments and alot easier to see where ur battery life is at. but remember, if u get the 1% battery cab, u also need a new battery meter. The wmminibattery works well with no hiccups. theres another one up here, but gave me issues whenever u opened the keyboard up.
just to let u know, the stock browser in tp2/tilt2 suxxxxxx....so u going to want a new better faster one. LIke Skyfire, Opera mini 5 , and opera mobile 10. i got em all the stock browser i believe the opera 9 or something and internet explorer. the ones i named previously blows all of those out the water when it comes to browsing experience and speeds. plus Skyfire is like the ultimate one. can play any video or movie off the web on a website, mostly. i can use skyfire and watch whole movies from websites with out hardly any slowdown. try that with internet explorer or opera 9 in ull see what i mean. for theme tweaks and stuff, check out that particular thread.
Im not trying to talk ya to death...lmao Just giving u a headstart, cuz theres so much info and tweaks for our phones, that almost impossible to come across them all. one more thing, get either Clean Ram or Clear Temp cab. those help and clear up old files, cache, etc.. also helps to make phone more efficient. I could go on and on listing stuff, but i think with what i named, you will catch up quick to the rest of the community without flashing a new rom.
Just make sure to read up plenty, tons of useful info from very skilled people up here. and when u ready to try out a new operating system on ur phone, Android, just let me know, ill show ya the way..lol
Welcome to Rhodium and have fun modding your phone, i surely have. I only joined in April and already seasoned...lol my phone is nuthing like it was brandnew or completely stock.
When you get some time, go through the custom rom section to see if any of those roms interest you. Once installed, there are countles amounts of modifications that alter the overall appearance of the phone. From boot up to shut down, your phone can be thoroughly customized.

My First App, Need Serious Help :/

Hey guys, like the title says, I'm attempting to create an app, but with little success at this point.
What I want to do, didn't sound all that complicated in my head. I want to make an episode guide for a TV show I like. Nothing too fancy, but I do want it to look WP7-authentic.
First off, I don't know or really understanding coding in the slightest. I was hoping to be able to design most of the app through the on-screen WP7 display, which it seems I can do a lot on.
From what I've gathered, here's what I'd like to do:
Use the "Pivots" as the different story arcs or "seasons"
Within each pivot, Episode # and Title
But I'd also like to go one further and have each episode be clickable, which would take the user to a page containing info about the respective episode. Synopsis, International Titles, Airdate, etc.
It's a big project, I just need a little help getting it going.
Thanks!
dbG33K
what you're describing can be done one of two ways.
1. just display images after images
2. input text into the program
from what im gathering, it should be fairly easy for you to do as this is the sort of beginner stuff in most windows phone 7 programming books. id suggest you look into programming because even the slightest pivots and transitions require code.
now if you were on android or webos, thats different. they have full on graphics based programming thats a simple matter of drag and drop and choose function.
Download Expression Blend. You can do pretty much everything without having to write any code. It includes a "Pivot" template which has a pivot all ready for you, then you just add PivotItems using your mouse. Then you can use the Sample Data feature to mock up how your episode data will look.
The only thing you would have to write code for would be to pull the episode information from a datasource. Bind it to your controls and Expression will have the rest done for you.
http://www.microsoft.com/expression/windowsphone/
Sample Data:
http://expression.microsoft.com/en-us/ee426896.aspx
First thing you'll need before you even open Visual Studio or Blend is a data feed.
An rss feed is ideal, And I'm sure theres alot of them out there for TV listings. Without that, theres little you can do (other than screen scraping websites, but people don't look too kindly on that)
If you can find me a Url for the RSS feed you want to use, I'll be more than willing to help you out
xanderkaiber said:
First thing you'll need before you even open Visual Studio or Blend is a data feed.
An rss feed is ideal, And I'm sure theres alot of them out there for TV listings. Without that, theres little you can do (other than screen scraping websites, but people don't look too kindly on that)
If you can find me a Url for the RSS feed you want to use, I'll be more than willing to help you out
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What he said
I'd be willing to help you out as well. I'm in the process of writing a feed reader to help me make the move WP7 from WPF/Silverlight. The idea I have for the UI is similar to yours and the feed reader (at least in the basic form) will be open source so I've no problem sharing my code...
I appreciate your willingness to help me out, but it's actually a series that has been over for quite a while.
Hey guys, I've gotten much further on my app and have become a little more well-acquainted with coding in the form of using Expression Blend 4. That said, I do have a few questions:
1. After making a few pages, I decided to make a sort of Welcome page for my app. How do I tell it to show that page first instead of "MainPage.xaml"?
2. On that welcome page, I would like to make a button that pulls up the user's E-mail and have it have my e-mail as the recipient.
Thanks a bunch!
This is in the WMAppManifest.xml file within the Properties folder.
for the email look into the email compose task
barryallott said:
This is in the WMAppManifest.xml file within the Properties folder.
for the email look into the email compose task
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That doesn't really help me too much...
What am I supposed to do in the WMAppManifest.xml?
And where do I find the email compose task, and how do I implement it into the app?
EDIT: Nevermind, I figured out both of those questions. A new question, though: How do I take screen shots of the app? I need at least one to submit it to the marketplace, but I don't know how :/
dbG33K said:
That doesn't really help me too much...
What am I supposed to do in the WMAppManifest.xml?
And where do I find the email compose task, and how do I implement it into the app?
EDIT: Nevermind, I figured out both of those questions. A new question, though: How do I take screen shots of the app? I need at least one to submit it to the marketplace, but I don't know how :/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Download this:
http://www.innovativetechguy.com/?p=13
Make sure your emulator is set to 100% size and uncheck the "Show Device" checkbox in the tool. That will give you the necessary 480x800 sized .png
There's a fair lot you can do using the designer panel, but you will definitely need C# code for what happens 'behind the curtains'. Things like pulling the episodes from the internet and such.
I definitely recommend these tutorials:
Windows Phone 7 Development for Absolute Beginners.
It builds up slowly, but definitely gives you the foundation you need to put together basic applications.
Hey guys I found this thread and after reading it I feel I have a lot in common with dbG33K's tasks & questions. I feel I have a lot to offer WP7 apps as I learn more! I started out in January learning and studying as an absolute beginner (even did the 5 day course online). After a lot of studying, I felt confident enough to write my first BIG app.
I'm pretty good at the xaml part and getting real familiar with c# as I go along. Also, I think I have all the pieces I need, just need help putting it all together. I'm using an API for the data source (i have all the dlls and resources in place even all the c# methods for the API).
I have the UI all put together, now working on the c#. I'm just unsure on the binding part. I know my listboxes and other controls should be binded to a method in c#, but what calls that method? When the page loads that listbox, textblock, etc? Also, what kind of coding is generally used inside the {} of the methods that pulls info from the datasource?
As I have learned a lot aver the past couple of months, I find that I've learned it from examples I've found online, but I'm drawing a blank on this one. Any help would be great!
Thanks!
Do any of you can tellme how can I save text from the text box??
Sent from my LG-C900 using XDA Windows Phone 7 App

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