Develop Bugs

Since We're Getting Multitasking and A Task Manager

is there any hope of us getting a official File Manager? they said they werent going to allow a file manager but they said the same thing about multitasking and now they're allowing that has any thing been said about the possibility of them adding a file manager? and downloading mp3's and things from the web? they can limit the access to the file system if they wanted so i dont see the big deal about allowing us to have a file explorer
i know touch xplorer is out there but will there be a official one from microsoft? has anybody used touch xplorer? how is it compared to the old windows mobile file explorer?

I doubt it. And it isn't a task manager per se...more of an app switcher, so far as I can tell you can't kill the app from there. And I believe the multi-tasking is still iOS-esque in the sense that it tombstones still (except some apps are allowed to petition for run in the background [i.e. music apps]) and just restarts the app, but it does it much faster now.

I really don't understand this. If you want all that, go get an Android device. Wp7 is good because it's so lean and -easy-. Not that I mean that file managers aret hard to use. But I don't care to look at my files in a big list in a folder. Honestly, what's the point? I use my phone quickly, I put it back in my pocket. There are no apps taking up battery life or memory. For f**k's sake, stop with this ****.

deadwrong03 said:
is there any hope of us getting a official File Manager? they said they werent going to allow a file manager but they said the same thing about multitasking and now they're allowing that has any thing been said about the possibility of them adding a file manager? and downloading mp3's and things from the web? they can limit the access to the file system if they wanted so i dont see the big deal about allowing us to have a file explorer
i know touch xplorer is out there but will there be a official one from microsoft? has anybody used touch xplorer? how is it compared to the old windows mobile file explorer?
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Click to collapse
Not likely at all. A file explorer would open up the system to manipulation and allow things to be added that could compromise the integrity of the system. The multi-task'er won't harm the system and will be one of the best there is.

MartyLK said:
Not likely at all. A file explorer would open up the system to manipulation and allow things to be added that could compromise the integrity of the system. The multi-task'er won't harm the system and will be one of the best there is.
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I agree, that is the best reason why file managers would not be implemented. However, I think with Nokia's entrance in WP7 scene and considering their stance on closed & limited use of phones, we are likely to see a few things "enabled" at least on the developer side.

They never said there wouldn't be multitasking, they merely said they hadn't worked out a way to do it they were happy with. It's always been a 'coming soon' feature.
I doubt we'll get a 'File Explorer' in the way you want it, but I can see in future more freedom in adding/removing music, photos and videos. I can see you being able to download things through the web browser to the appropriate hub (provided the phone recognises the content type). I also think at some point they will allow you to load files into 3rd party apps storage areas, for example the Adobe Reader.

sure haven't said:
I really don't understand this. If you want all that, go get an Android device. Wp7 is good because it's so lean and -easy-. Not that I mean that file managers aret hard to use. But I don't care to look at my files in a big list in a folder. Honestly, what's the point? I use my phone quickly, I put it back in my pocket. There are no apps taking up battery life or memory. For f**k's sake, stop with this ****.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
if that's all you use your phone for why are you even on xda?

MartyLK said:
Not likely at all. A file explorer would open up the system to manipulation and allow things to be added that could compromise the integrity of the system. The multi-task'er won't harm the system and will be one of the best there is.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
compromise the integrity of the system, how ? by adding, moving, deleting .... files ? crap man, that's what computers are for is file manipulation !
a task manager will harm the system (or battery life mostly) more than a filer would ever dream. messing with already -really- nicely done scheduling is osmething that doesn't need to be done. ever.
my 2 cents

Good grief. Look people if you don't understand what files are you shouldn't be posting about them.
Files store information in a structured way.
Sometimes this information is intended for use with only one program. E.g. files storing user settings. It is best for these files to be isolated for use only by this program.
Sometimes this information is in a standard format, usable by any program. E.g. mp3, jpeg, rtf, html, wmv or most files you know about. These files should be usable to any program, with restrictions by user only.
WP7 is an irredemably flawed system until it has this ability.
Once it is there anyone can write a file manager. Microsoft doesn't need to provide one.

Once you have a file browser, you need to have assoiations so you can open files with applications. This opens a whole new world.
Personally, I would love have a section of the memory on WP7 device to use as a USB drive, just so you can view your files on the device (music, Videos, word/execl docs, etc) and have a explorer just for those files. The OS would not get touched and everyone is happy.

MS did not say they are not going to allow Multi-tasking, it's just not added yet.

orangekid said:
if that's all you use your phone for why are you even on xda?
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Well that's not all I use it for. I also use it for company email, hotmail, games, music/radio apps, etc. But the point is I like it's simplicity and ease of use. You put it away and it's good to go. There's no making sure you have to close apps, etc.
As for why I'm on here, I joined a long time ago for windows mobile, and of course got awesome awesome apps and tweaks here. And when I got a wp7, I just came here to talk about it, since I love it. I don't think being a genius developer is a prerequisite of being here?

I think personally that the people who are clamouring for a file manager have completely missed the whole point of Windows Phone.
The point is, you don't NEED a file manager, because your files are managed for you.
If your life is incomplete without a file manager,
A) Get out more
or
B) Get an Android phone

Jim Coleman said:
I think personally that the people who are clamouring for a file manager have completely missed the whole point of Windows Phone.
The point is, you don't NEED a file manager, because your files are managed for you.
If your life is incomplete without a file manager,
A) Get out more
or
B) Get an Android phone
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
but if your downloading something like a .rar file or a zip file u cant move it where u want or anything. On my windows mobile i download music and other files in rar and zip folders all the time, and add it to my library and update it all the time without the use of a computer and this is what worries me the most about wp7

deadwrong03 said:
but if your downloading something like a .rar file or a zip file u cant move it where u want or anything. On my windows mobile i download music and other files in rar and zip folders all the time, and add it to my library and update it all the time without the use of a computer and this is what worries me the most about wp7
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
His point is that you shouldn't need to move it. A file should be associated with a program and it should reside in that program's memory space.
The whole File Manager aspect is archaic in a lot of respects. You shouldn't need to move it, you shouldn't need to extract the zip, you shouldn't need to add it to your library - it should be done for you.
I think the a appropriate request would be for Microsoft to allow 3rd parties to associate file types to their software - although this opens the system up to malicious softwares, it would allow developers to be much more creative.
Don't complain just because it isn't done the way you're used to - remember, this is no longer Windows Mobile

....is this what you are looking for?
http://www.1800pocketpc.com/2011/03/01/windows-phone-device-manager-video-preview.html#more-18329
FTC

deadwrong03 said:
but if your downloading something like a .rar file or a zip file u cant move it where u want or anything. On my windows mobile i download music and other files in rar and zip folders all the time, and add it to my library and update it all the time without the use of a computer and this is what worries me the most about wp7
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Such a scenario is not supported with WP7 now and probably never will be if MS sticks to their design principles with WP7. If such functionality is vital to you its probably best to consider another smartphone OS as WP7 will not be suitable for your needs.

Blade0rz said:
His point is that you shouldn't need to move it. A file should be associated with a program and it should reside in that program's memory space.
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And it's completely wrong. Only internal files that are understandable only to that application should reside in the applications isolated storage.
Actually his point was that Big Brother is looking after your files, and has chosen how they should be accessed; anyone who wants to do things differently should question whether he is a normal person.
The whole File Manager aspect is archaic in a lot of respects. You shouldn't need to move it, you shouldn't need to extract the zip, you shouldn't need to add it to your library - it should be done for you.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
One reason is that folders are used for organization.
I think the a appropriate request would be for Microsoft to allow 3rd parties to associate file types to their software
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That is great, and it assumes that there are files independent of applications. That is the key point and it's what I'm arguing for.
although this opens the system up to malicious softwares, it would allow developers to be much more creative.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, it allows more things. There is no security risk however as only applications do things. Files don't do things. Applications can still be sandboxed (within silverlight) and access files. Of course a malicious application might delete files in common storage, but there are various ways of protecting against this, and it's an infinitessimal risk in practice.

DavidinCT said:
Once you have a file browser, you need to have assoiations so you can open files with applications. This opens a whole new world.
Personally, I would love have a section of the memory on WP7 device to use as a USB drive, just so you can view your files on the device (music, Videos, word/execl docs, etc) and have a explorer just for those files. The OS would not get touched and everyone is happy.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Agreed.
Emailing Documents is a pain in the arse.

Blade0rz said:
His point is that you shouldn't need to move it. A file should be associated with a program and it should reside in that program's memory space.
The whole File Manager aspect is archaic in a lot of respects. You shouldn't need to move it, you shouldn't need to extract the zip, you shouldn't need to add it to your library - it should be done for you.
I think the a appropriate request would be for Microsoft to allow 3rd parties to associate file types to their software - although this opens the system up to malicious softwares, it would allow developers to be much more creative.
Don't complain just because it isn't done the way you're used to - remember, this is no longer Windows Mobile
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
so by this logic then they should be able to make a pocketrar app and have it available in the marketplace then correct? is it too far fetched for a app like that to be made?

[ISSUE] Maximum amount of media on WP7 devices?

Yesterday I stumbled across a curious error. Zune told me that I had reached the maximum allowed amount of media on my HD7. It's not that my SD card was full or so, there's still 15 GB left on it. I had about 3 GB of music, 2 GB of videos, 400 MB of podcasts and 5 GB of pictures on it. I removed the media and am currently synchronizing again, since I can't believe that WP7 limits the amount of media in any way. Did anybody else ever experience such an error?

Just in case somebody else may face the same situation as I did:
there doesn't seem to be a limit for the total amount of media on a device. The issue I had was caused by a folder containing about 12000 pictures. Apparently WP7 can't handle or doesn't allow that many pictures in one single folder. I solved it by making several child folders containing 3000 images each.

dkp1977 said:
Just in case somebody else may face the same situation as I did:
there doesn't seem to be a limit for the total amount of media on a device. The issue I had was caused by a folder containing about 12000 pictures. Apparently WP7 can't handle or doesn't allow that many pictures in one single folder. I solved it by making several child folders containing 3000 images each.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hello old friend ...
I see you find the solution ...12.000 files in one folder ??? wowwww.
Thanks for the tip anyway

colossus_r said:
Hello old friend ...
I see you find the solution ...12.000 files in one folder ??? wowwww.
Thanks for the tip anyway
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi mate
Well, seems I was wrong. There really appears to be a limit to how many images you may have stored on the device. Even though I splitted the folders, it synchronized only 1300 images back to the phone. So around 10700 pictures remained unsynced. I'll try and contact winphonesupport via twitter. Maybe there's some workaround. I have tons of images of my family I use to carry around on my device. And I want to keep it that way.

I had a nice chat with the WinPhoneSupport on Twitter. It appears that Zune uses a database on each device which is quite limited concerning the amount of media it can handle. That means that - totally independent from the storage space left - it's possible that you just cannot sync anymore files if you have a huge amount of pictures on your device. I can't exactly tell what that limit is, but I had the error at about 35000 files. The support told me they'll escalate my report to the team, whatever that may mean. Let's hope they simply increase that limit.

dkp1977 said:
I had a nice chat with the WinPhoneSupport on Twitter. It appears that Zune uses a database on each device which is quite limited concerning the amount of media it can handle. That means that - totally independent from the storage space left - it's possible that you just cannot sync anymore files if you have a huge amount of pictures on your device. I can't exactly tell what that limit is, but I had the error at about 35000 files. The support told me they'll escalate my report to the team, whatever that may mean. Let's hope they simply increase that limit.
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Click to collapse
yes!! please get back to us with what transpires! what device are u using?

professorwol said:
yes!! please get back to us with what transpires! what device are u using?
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Click to collapse
I use a HTC HD7.
Btw, here is the error code: C1010032 (8004A211)

dkp1977 said:
Hi mate
Well, seems I was wrong. There really appears to be a limit to how many images you may have stored on the device. Even though I splitted the folders, it synchronized only 1300 images back to the phone. So around 10700 pictures remained unsynced. I'll try and contact winphonesupport via twitter. Maybe there's some workaround. I have tons of images of my family I use to carry around on my device. And I want to keep it that way.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Put your images on skydrive. Smartphones aren't media PCs, and I simply cannot even fathom a reason why anyone would want that many on a phone nevermind waste support's time dealing with a non-issue...

N8ter said:
Put your images on skydrive. Smartphones aren't media PCs, and I simply cannot even fathom a reason why anyone would want that many on a phone nevermind waste support's time dealing with a non-issue...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
First of all it's my decision whether I want to carry my pictures with me on my device or put them somewhere on the net. Secondly having all those images stored on a server would require a fast internet connection if you want to quickly browse through the (sorted) images if you're looking for something specific. Sadly you don't always have such a fast connection. Third and last: I consider it an issue when the amount of media - whatever kind it may be - is limited by a database with a too low capacity rather than the storage.

N8ter said:
Put your images on skydrive. Smartphones aren't media PCs, and I simply cannot even fathom a reason why anyone would want that many on a phone nevermind waste support's time dealing with a non-issue...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If he has enough space on the phone then why not keep the pics there? skydrive is not always accessible and could end up costing you if you don't have an unlimited data plan...

[THEMERS][ATTENTION REQUIRED] Minimum Theme Quality Control [RESEARCH CONCLUDED]

PLEASE POINT YOUR READINGS, THOUGHTS AND WORDS TO THE TWIN THREAD OF THIS AT S4 FORUM
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Click to collapse
Hi All
For a while I've being trying to learn the art of themming by example. Like Curious George, I try browsing the diverse works and learn from them. Unfortunately I've found some glitches that could be corrected with simple and quick actions.
Let's see one example extracted from a "XDA Recognized Themer" distribution package:
ZIP Size: 117 Mb
Unpacked: 144 Mb
"Thumbs.db": 132 files accounting for 77 Mb
53% of the distribution are useless junk files that are being flashed on users devices. This is wrong!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
We all know that themming is hard, laborious and a huge time consuming. Nevertheless is important that we do take care about what we are distributing. There are cases too where graphics that never existed on that app are being injected.
My shallow knowledge on android app's don't give me any authority to say but it I wonder if this injections are increasing the apps footprint on memory/caches slowing down the systems.
Addendum 1
The increase of app's size has been already corroborated with this experiment. At moment, lasts the question if this can be harmful indeed. For devices with limited memory space, wouldn't this compromise the system performance?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Addendum 2
As part of the research, the following question was made and with the usual supportiveness, Master @JustArchi provided the final enlightenment to the matter
[KERNEL DEV ANALYSIS] Does 'Junked' APKs Affects Performance ?
JustArchi said:
APK is some kind of an archive, which contains precompiled source (classes.dex) and resources (resources.arsc and everything else).
Not-loaded parts of the archive (f.e. thumbs.db) are not affecting ram, neither performance because Android doesn't load them at all.
In the best scenario, apk may load a bit longer, but this "a bit" is less than 0.1 sec. This is ONLY due to uncompressing apk needed for loading classes and resources.
So yeah, mostly we're talking about storage space here.
Hope it helps .
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Addendum 3
Motivated by this assumption, a tiny tool to help developers and users get their themes clean of these files, was developed:
[THEME][TOOL WIN][DEV & END-USER] The Dethumber™ Pro (as seen on TV)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Conclusion
As the matter were previously plainly unknown, just this shallow discussion has been suffice to enlighten the main points and create a piece of the knowledge base that future developers may consider useful.
We could determine that:
> "Thumbs.db" like files are been created by unnoticed themers using the Windows operating system and distributed inside their theme packages.
> Users are flashing these files without noticing their existence.
> Villain Flash System (vrtheme) is the most used tool by themers to distribute their works and, as expected, insert those files into the apk's regardless their previous existence. A fork project Universal Theme Flasher can the desired behaviour but ONLY if the UFT.config flag CLEAN_MORPHING is set to YES.
> As previously stated, what regard devices performance there is no perceivable compromise.
> Until the quality of the releases improves, the problem is restrict to storage and distribution sizes.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So, if you really care about your "customers" please take this problem seriously. It won't take you more than 30 seconds to correct.
Source and Solutions to the problem:
Wikipedia: Windows thumbnail cache
What are Thumbs.db Files and Can I Delete Them?
How to Switch Off the Thumbs.db Image Cache File in Windows
Users: Please reinforce this information with your fellow Theme Developer to guarantee the quality of the work you are receiving. The voice of the customer can and will make the difference.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nice regards and good work.
.

Kdio said:
"Thumbs.db": 132 files accounting for 77 Mb
53% of the distribution are useless junk files that are being flashed on users devices. This is wrong!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've already seen these files within several themes here on the forum ... I thought it was OK.
Will try to pay more attention on what I'm flashing on my device.
Tks for the notice.

Conclusion
Hi ALL
The OP was updated as some new informations were researched:
Addendum 2: Android Performance
Addendum 3: Tool
Conclusion
Thanks you all for your support on this.
.

[Q] Best working Emulator Frontend?

Hey guys,
I've been trying to find the best way to put my games collection on my fire TV and so far all of them dont work well.
I even tried to use XBMC with the config information here: http://forum.xbmc.org/showthread.php?tid=183527
No need to make any changes to the Rom Collection Browser since its been updated recently.
Rom Collection Browser(XBMC): Works but doesn't resolve misnamed files well at all. Gameboy Advance and PSX games collection buttons do nothing. Cant use because all images and videos are stored onto local drive maxing out the box space. I even made a Advancedsettings.xml file to move the cached items from xbmc to the usb drive and it doesnt allow my xbmc to run.
Advanced Launcher(XBMC): Requires much more configuration than Rom Browser. I keep getting a launcher.xml error when it tries to write to the plugin folder so it doesnt save any roms or changes.
Gamesome: Works, fantastic file identification but you have to input 100 games at a time or it will crash on new file scans. Also no way to remove previously scanned items that have moved or been deleted.
Any Input or ideas anyone?

If you have the choice to delete games through the Gamesome app,do so to properly remove them from the list.
If you have lingering game names,you will have to clear the data of the app in order to remove them,but will have to customize all of your settings again if you do clear the data.

retroben said:
If you have the choice to delete games through the Gamesome app,do so to properly remove them from the list.
If you have lingering game names,you will have to clear the data of the app in order to remove them,but will have to customize all of your settings again if you do clear the data.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I figured that and thats a deal breaker because im not trying to redo my 23,000 nes roms 100 at a time again. and i have a collection of everything.

Are those from something "good" at a "paradise" for the animal known as "emu"?

retroben said:
Are those from something "good" at a "paradise" for the animal known as "emu"?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Lol yes

Here is an awesome place I once forgot the name of,but eventually found once again.
It has unlicensed and pirated nes game dumps for nes.
I wish that the large compilation pack was still available so you would only have to download one file.
cah4e3.shedevr.org.ru/
There's things like Zelda SNES port for NES,Toy Story partially ported from Genesis,and Pokemon Diamond 2 on NES.
It says FAMI Dumping Project,but they are in .nes format for easy playback.
Just use retroarch's FCEUmm core to play them all,as some are using difficult mappers.
Surprisingly,it is still ongoing with new dumps since the last one was June 21st this year.
HAVE FUN!

Other folder problem M8s

Hello, I am using my M8s like 6 months and there are other folders and they are increasing .I don't know what are these folders and where they are. I can't install anything Is there a way to delete them or Just wait marshmallow update to move app data to SD Card.

Try the app "Disk Usage", its a great one that graphically and intuitively will show you what files are taking up the most space. If you don't know what they are, come back here and ask before deleting them.
Is the phone modified (root, custom recovery, etc.)? If so, sometimes folks leave their TWRP backups on the phone, which take up a huge amount of space (possibly 4GB or more for each backup) which can easily account for big storage usage in the "Other" category.
Other than that, what is taking up all the space depends a lot on how you use your phone.

redpoint73 said:
Try the app "Disk Usage", its a great one that graphically and intuitively will show you what files are taking up the most space. If you don't know what they are, come back here and ask before deleting them.
Is the phone modified (root, custom recovery, etc.)? If so, sometimes folks leave their TWRP backups on the phone, which take up a huge amount of space (possibly 4GB or more for each backup) which can easily account for big storage usage in the "Other" category.
Other than that, what is taking up all the space depends a lot on how you use your phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I tried that app but still can't find the files
No, It's not rooted

gsozcan97 said:
I tried that app but still can't find the files
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That doesn't tell me much, that enables me to help you.
With the app, you can see what files are taking up the most space, are there large files or folders that don't look familiar to you? Maybe post a screenshot of the Disk Usage app. Although we might have to drill down to other folders to see their contents, so 1 screenshot alone might not be enough.
I can't just give you a blanket answer of how to clear up storage space, since it completely depends on how you use your phone. It can be videos or photos you took, stuff you downloaded, content for games (which take up lots of storage), OTA update files, or any number of other things.