Tutorial: Creating XML homescreens

[Guest DownIsTheNewUp]

First off,

w411y, your tutorial is excellent! Many thanks to you for your hard work. Now, to the question:

I was wondering if it was possible to put my tasks or at least a "link" to my tasks on the home screen. Possibly something that just says Tasks: 5 or something like that. I would like to do this without using Facade if possible. Any help is greatly appreciated.

I'm going to attempt to create my first home screen soon, so this will probably be one of many posts from me. Wish me luck.

[Guest w411y]

I havn't really though about it as I use Facade but if I remember theres one called Oxios Task Plugin

[Guest Sq322]

I havn't really though about it as I use Facade but if I remember theres one called Oxios Task Plugin

Here is the link

OxiosPlugins

I dont use it, but i DO use their memory plugins...very good.

OxiosMemory

Edited September 21, 2006 by Sq322

[Guest DownIsTheNewUp]

I havn't really though about it as I use Facade but if I remember theres one called Oxios Task Plugin

Is Facade free? That's the only thing that's stopping me from using it. The budget is extremely tight right now. I know you can download a 12-day trial version for free, but what about the actual app?

[Guest aquila421]

Simply amazing w441y. but one quick question that i'm searched relentlessly for...

how do you change the font color of the items in the start menu?

if you've already answered this one, you may shoot me now...

[Guest ccarrara]

GREAT TUTORIAL, thanks for spending the time on it!!

I've been mucking around with the homescreens for the last few days, learning most of what is in this tutorial, but the HARD way. Wish I had read this first.

I'm tyring to add the BatteryBar plugin downloaded from this site, to my homescreen. I'm having great difficulties with two things. 1. I ONLY want the battery bar going across the screen, and a "95%" just before or after it. I followed some instruction on the BatBar thread, but still having problems.

Can you post the code to add the bat bar from this side (vers 2.9) with just the bar, and a %?

Thanks in advace.

Oh, almost forgot. I use an App called CityTime. It has a plugin to the homescreen which shows the time for two cities (current city) and another city like:

New York Frankfurt

4:56pm 10:56pm

I've been trying to add the current date (mm/dd) to this plugin, so it looks like:

New York Frankfurt 10/04

4:56pm 10:56pm

Anyone know how to do that?

Edited October 5, 2006 by ccarrara

[Guest w411y]

For battery bars I use Smart Monitor.

See some of my themes for the code its pretty easy..

http://w411y.blogsome.com/2006/07/29/chrome-aqua-v20/

http://w411y.blogsome.com/2006/06/29/capsule-orange/

[Guest ccarrara]

For battery bars I use Smart Monitor.

See some of my themes for the code its pretty easy..

http://w411y.blogsome.com/2006/07/29/chrome-aqua-v20/

http://w411y.blogsome.com/2006/06/29/capsule-orange/

w411y,

Thanks. Downaloaded and installed Smart Monitor. MUCH better (no hangs...). Just opened up the html of it's default home screen, WOW, lots of stuff in that plugin. Looks like I can do ALOT with it.

Just to save me some time for now (before I spend a few hours playing with it to do more), can you post the simple code of just making only the bar show? Like in your Capsule-orange theme. I just want a small bar and % on or next to it. Ideally I want the bar to be as thin as possible. Really, just a thick line that is green and slowly gets shorter as battery goes down.

[Guest w411y]

w411y,

Thanks. Downaloaded and installed Smart Monitor. MUCH better (no hangs...). Just opened up the html of it's default home screen, WOW, lots of stuff in that plugin. Looks like I can do ALOT with it.

Just to save me some time for now (before I spend a few hours playing with it to do more), can you post the simple code of just making only the bar show? Like in your Capsule-orange theme. I just want a small bar and % on or next to it. Ideally I want the bar to be as thin as possible. Really, just a thick line that is green and slowly gets shorter as battery goes down.

Look at my XML and images for the Capsule screen. I use images for the bars;

- 1 for battery full

- 1 for battery empty

..and then set it from right to left so that whatever the percentage of battery is left, the amount of each image is shown. The percentage is jsut a simple tag :rolleyes:

[Guest ccarrara]

Look at my XML and images for the Capsule screen. I use images for the bars;

- 1 for battery full

- 1 for battery empty

..and then set it from right to left so that whatever the percentage of battery is left, the amount of each image is shown. The percentage is jsut a simple tag :(

hmmmm...... it's a ".rar" file, why do I remember that from my Unix and AS380 years? I'm starting to remember why I quit programming years ago!! :rolleyes:

[Guest Looby]

w411y, I have mastered the ceation of xml files ( never thought I would love the sound of beep so much ) but the only thing I can't get my head around is the 'height'. Any chance of a simple explanation as to its' use? Many thanks...Looby :rolleyes:

Edited October 5, 2006 by Looby

[Guest ccarrara]

Ok, took your code and copied into my code. Then I took your images (emty and full) and slimmed them down to 6 tall, and changed the bar color to green. Changed the x y coordinates of where they lay, (I put the % after the bar instead of before). Changed the font color to white (ffffff) and BOLD. Everything works, looks great except one thing, just can't seem to figure it out.

The background image (emptybattery.bmp) does not show? The green bar is just laying on top of my blue background image (standard/default cingular blue background).

What am I missing for the background image?

<!-- Smart Monitor plugin -->

<plugin clsid="{05E393E9-1712-41ac-B9D3-533B52F10A36}" 

	name="SmartMonitor" 

	height="14" b-border-width="0" 

	selectable="false">

	<background state="unselected" bgcolor="transparent" b-border-width="0"/>

	<background state="selected" bgcolor="transparent" b-border-width="0"/>

	<format state="unselected" bgtext="transparent" bgcolor="transparent" font-size="12" font weight="bold"/>

monitor state="unselected">

	<meterbar x="4" y="0"

	image-full="\Application Data\Home\BatteryFull6.jpg" 

	image-empty="\Storage\Application Data\Home\BatteryEmpty6.jpg"

	bar-direction="left-right" 

	type="battery"/>

	<battery x="200" y="0" font-size="14" font-weight="bold" color="#ffffff">{life-percentage}% </battery>

	</monitor>

</plugin>

Oh, just noticed one other problem. My Start button (bottom left) is there. But after using it (pressing start, selecting somthing....), when I go back to Home, the previous programs menu bar buttons are still there? For example if I hit start, then select Calandar, then hit the Home key, I get my home screen with the Calandars menu at bottom ( Month | Menu ).

What the heck? Who dun it? Thanks for the help.

[Guest ccarrara]

w411y, I have mastered the ceation of xml files ( never thought I would love the sound of beep so much ) but the only thing I can't get my head around is the 'height'. Any chance of a simple explanation as to its' use? Many thanks...Looby :rolleyes:

Looby,

Height is just the height of the plugin on the screen. It's the amount of verticle space to be used by that particular plugin. So if you want it to take up alot of space, make it a big # like 60. If you want it to be slim like my battery bar I'm trying to display, make it 15 or 20. Obviosuly, the height you make it will also depend on what is displayed in the plugin. If you want to use a font that is 30 size, you will need to make the height large enough to fit the text or it will get cut off.

w411y,

Might have figured out my background not showing. Ahhh, err um, the battery is at 100%!! duh!!! I never said I was smart did I?

BUT, I still have the menu problem when returning to homescreen from other programs. I am also noticing that the background image suddenly shrunk. It does not reach the bottom anymore? I didn't touch it or its position. Amd my last problem is, look at my image attached. I made the bat monitor plugin 10 high. The battery images are now only 5 high. The font for the % gests cut off on the bottom. I can't get it to center in the plugin. It actually goes below the plugin if you look closely, while there is plenty of space above? My y coordinate is o. Is that a bug in the plugin?

the only way I can make it fit properly, is to make the height 15, then it fits but it is not centered with the green bar, and I don't want it that fat, takes up too much realestate.

ss002.bmp

[Guest ccarrara]

To try and fix the image shrinkage problem, I opened the current background image "Windowsmobile.bmp" and found it's size was out of wack. No idea how that happend. So I selected a different image in the homescreen html, bgiimage="Cingular.bmp", and made sure the bmp file is in "App Data\Home". Notta!! The old background is still there.

???? I give up!! Two days to get a simple thin battery bar on my screen... and its still not working.

[Guest Looby]

Thanks ccarrara it was a really clear and concise account of the meaning of 'height'...Looby :rolleyes:

Edited October 6, 2006 by Looby

[Guest w411y]

Thats a lot of reading for not enough time (I'm in a rush sorry).

But from looking at the screenshot.. the for your battery percentage needs to lose some y. Try setting y to 1 or not putting in a y value at all (ie. y=0)

[Guest ccarrara]

Thats a lot of reading for not enough time (I'm in a rush sorry).

But from looking at the screenshot.. the for your battery percentage needs to lose some y. Try setting y to 1 or not putting in a y value at all (ie. y=0)

Thanks and no problem (on the rush). When you get some time, have a closer look, because something major isn't right, and I can't figure it out for the life of me.

As for the y value, it is y=0. That's what I don't understand. I'm wondering if anyone besides me has ever tried to make it so thin?

Anwho, I have bigger problems. My battery is now down to 88%, yet the full green bar is displayed. the % correctly says 88%, but the green is 100%. Maybee I completely mis-understand how it works. I assume the empty image slowly over writes the full image. So why isn't mine getting overwritten?

And, why can't I change the backround image, and why is the background image cut off at bottom?

[Guest ccarrara]

This is KILLING me!!! arrrrrrrrrrgh!!! :rolleyes:

I'm looking around at all these unbelievable and complicated screens, with stuff all over the place and they look and work great.

I have the simplest screen possible and I can't get it to work. I was as software engineer for 15 years writing real time multi-tasking controll software (read: Rocket science, litterally!). And yet I can't get a (insert 4 letter word here!) battery meeter to display on my screen!!

I've got this down two 2 basic problems:

1. The battery meter is staying full. The % # goes down, but the meter satys the same.

2. The bottom of my screen is wacked out. I just commented out EVERY single plugin, including the mru, startmenu...., and the background still does not display properly. Yet the image is correct size, and the same image works in other "built in" home screens (like the "Windows Defaul").

Here's my code, maybe somebody can make sense of this, cause I can't. And if all this ends up being a "Chris, your simply missing a quote (or something like that)....", please, then don't even tell me!! I'm not sure I could even take that at this point!! LOL!!! :(

Bird_V12.home.xml

[Guest w411y]

I think the reason the y value wont go to 0 is because in the tag (Just below the colour scheme malarke) you have padding-top="2"

Change it to 0

[Guest ccarrara]

I think the reason the y value wont go to 0 is because in the tag (Just below the colour scheme malarke) you have padding-top="2"

Change it to 0

I've gotton that part (spacing) pretty good playing around with those #'s. But when I make it real thin like I want it (about a height of 8), it does not work But my real problem, I can't get to work, is fixing the background image, the empty space at the bottom?? My other homescreens usign the same background image are fine, this one it doesn't fit. Also, the battery bar isn't working. Any ideas on those two?

[Guest w411y]

The cropping of the background image is a WM5 problem which I have no idea about sorry.

Regards to the bar... maybe the path to the image is wrong?

[Guest ccarrara]

The cropping of the background image is a WM5 problem which I have no idea about sorry.

Regards to the bar... maybe the path to the image is wrong?

Thanks for your help. The path was ok, but my one image was too big. I looked at it 100 times, it was ok. The 101st time, I saw it was the wrong size. As for the formating, I have found that you just can't make the plugin for the battery bar as thin as I want it. No matter what you change (no padding, no border....) the font will not line up with the images if it is less than about h=12.

But, still can't get the background image correct. Don't understand that one. I gave up and am just leaving it for now.

[Guest Bongmaster]

Hey :rolleyes: just made my 1st homescreen/theme :( might need a little tweaking and stuff.. but its a basic test so far :)

the theme is based on the Until UrU Ki communication device from the popular Cyan Worlds game.

The Ki is a watch looking device that is strapped to the hand in the game and players communicate, send images, and KiMail using it.

i cheated by using HomeAnimBuilder to put it together. but i still need to edit the xml to get it how i want it ;)

like i said its my 1st and its a test..

one thing that has already not worked how it should was the start meny colour.. its a bright purple as opposed to the colour u see it here.. i want to be able to change it to this colour if possible..

Edited October 30, 2006 by Bongmaster

[Guest bigmak]

Maybe I'm just too stupid to find the answer, I just found the question in several posts. Is there a way to "paint" the softkeys black in WM5? I tried to define black for TRAYGRADLEFT and RIGHT in the xml, but the grey remains. What did I do wrong?

[Guest Bongmaster]

i had a similar problem.. i tried to have the colour thats in the images above.. but i got bright purple instead :rolleyes: .. so i ended up making them grey instead..

it looks like the pallet for the start button and things like it is limited.. but to what colours?

does anyone know the pallet for the start button and friends?