PPCProfiles Pro

[Guest dan13l]

OK Ive been playing with this but I still cannot reproduce the fault.

Is your device using MS or Widcomm bluetooth?

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I'm pretty sure its the MS one. Its a Magician (Orange M500).

[Guest dinkydong]

Seems to be having some issues with this new beta 4 on my HP6365 which was not apparent using the previous beta. With the pda in standby mode, when a new sms comes in, the screen lights up showing the password entry screen (i've activated the system 4-digit password protection) and freezes thereafter. Can't enter my password, can't get to my today screen, had to soft-reset. Now, if the system is not in standby mode, when a sms comes in, its highlighted on my today screen running pocket breeze 4.16. However, when i try to tap on the new sms alert shown by pocket breeze, the inbox application refuses to open. If I tap on the new sms notification icon on the top bar, inbox opens up fine. One more thing i noticed (which I'm not certain if this is due to the latest beta), if I set an Alarm Note in Pocket Informant with the alarm set to come on at a certain time, the screen only lights up at the pre-designated time, without the alarm ringing nor the note popping up. I'm reverting back to the previous beta to see if the above issues still crops up.

Edited August 13, 2005 by dinkydong

[Guest bretto]

hi dinkydong

Seems to be having some issues with this new beta 4 on my HP6365 which was not apparent using the previous beta.

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If there is a conflict it should also be present in beta3 as the only change that has been made to the today plugin is to stop the autosync always running. Very simply change, had a 0 where I should have had a 1. No changes to the tray app.

With the pda in standby mode, when a new sms comes in, the screen lights up showing the password entry screen (i've activated the system 4-digit password protection) and freezes thereafter. Can't enter my password, can't get to my today screen, had to soft-reset. Now, if the system is not in standby mode, when a sms comes in, its highlighted on my today screen running pocket breeze 4.16. However, when i try to tap on the new sms alert shown by pocket breeze, the inbox application refuses to open. If I tap on the new sms notification icon on the top bar, inbox opens up fine.

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Not sure about this one but it has been mentioned before with the tray app running. Unless you have the following options turned on ppcprofiles-pro is really doing nothing but checking to see if icons need to be changed.

Backlight or device set to stay on.

Auto sync option enabled.

Do you have many applications running when this happens? most apps dont shutdown when closed, they go into the background and let windows shut them down if it need processes or memory.

One more thing i noticed (which I'm not certain if this is due to the latest beta), if I set an Alarm Note in Pocket Informant with the alarm set to come on at a certain time, the screen only lights up at the pre-designated time, without the alarm ringing nor the note popping up. I'm reverting back to the previous beta to see if the above issues still crops up.

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Make sure you have your reminder notifications setup for each profile.

There may be a conflict with other programs especially if they change the registry for notifications or the sound and phone options. The best way to tell if ppcprofiles-pro is conflicting is to turn off all applications and see if the same issues exist. Then turn on applications one by one until you find the erroneous combination of applications.

In the mean time Ill do some testing with the password settings, etc. Let me know how you go with beta3.

[Guest bretto]

I'm pretty sure its the MS one. Its a Magician (Orange M500).

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Thanks dan13l. easiest way to tell is by the BT icon in the tray when BT is off. MS has a BT icon with a diagonal red line and Widcomm has a BT icon with red and white cross. Or if PPCProfiles-Pro doesnt control the BT :)

Whats the radio version? can get it from settings->system->device information

Maybe I can find out if something has been mentioned about that version.

[Guest bretto]

Hi dinkydong

Ive been testing to see if I can get my devices to lock up on receipt of a msg when in standby and with a password.

I cannot get it to fault with beta4 or beta3 of PPCProfiles-Pro. Its possible there is a conflict with one of your other apps or maybe your device is under load Im not sure.

Let me know if you can narrow it down or if the problem persists.

[Guest dinkydong]

Bretto, thanks for taking the time to check out my problem. I didnt reply sooner as I wanted to be sure before posting, don't want us to spend needless time chasing our own tails so to speak. I spent the whole day narrowing down the problem, my findings thus far:

1) All these issues happening has nothing to do with changes made from beta3 to beta4. I'm also having similar problems with beta3.

2) The Pocket Informant alarm note issue has nothing to do with PPCProfiles.

3) The issue I have with opening sms from Pocket Breeze calender list has nothing to do with PPCProfiles. Apparently I believe there's a bug with the version of PB that I am running.

4) As I am running a few today plug-ins, its not easy to narrow down the exact combination of apps. I tried removing one plug in at a time and the password screen freeze still occurs. It happens as long as I have PPCProfile as a plug-in.

5) I've almost given up until I tried setting PPCProfiles as a tray app instead of a today plug in. Thereafter, all the problems magically disappear! My 6365 is still ticking after testing with 30 over smses, dozens of calls, reminders, etc. Not a single screen freeze so far.

I'll monitor it for another day or 2 to be sure. As long as I can get PPCProfiles to work with the rest of my other apps, I'm perfectly fine with running it as a tray app. At least I get to have my cake and eat it too!! :-)

[Guest bretto]

Thanks dinkydong your efforts are greatly appreciated.

I'll recheck everything in the plugin to see if I can spot anything that might be unnecessary in the refresh routine. Should be the only place that is effected when your screen turns back on.

Ive kept the code as plain vanilla c++ and all function calls are made to MS APIs to make sure that compatability is at an optimum for MS devices. So if its in my power I will try to fix this for you.

[Guest bretto]

OK dinkydong Ive been doing some reasearch.

By default the 6365 runs wm2003 version of the operating system so I installed that version on my system and used it to test with. Let me know if your using wm2003se.

Firstly I loaded up every application I had on the device to make sure it was under load. Every todayscreen plugin was also on.

I managed to get a couple of funny things to happen when using the password option.

1. The screen stayed off when the the device received the sms. Pressing the power button turned everything on and functioned as normal.

2. The password screen appeared to be locked or not accepting input. Pressing the "CLR" button then keying in the password resolved this and everything functioned as normal.

I dont have any answers but it would appear that when PPCProfiles-Pro is running on the todayscreen the password screen can function strangely on wm2003. It could be a timing issue with the today refresh that "almost" puts the password application in background although it is shown in the foreground??

At this stage your best bet is to use the tray selection mode if that is working for you.

[Guest scottb]

Hi Bretto,

I have one question (request?) about the tray selection mode. I currently use the Today Screen plugin with text button selections. I like these because I can easily see what profile is selected and I can just tap the one I want with my thumb nail.

I have considered the tray selection mode, but there are a few things that keep me from using it. One is the need for three taps to set a new profile. The profile buttons are failry large, but the OK button is hard to tap with my finger.

Would you consider making the profile buttons a little taller (for a thumb) and eliminating the OK button for ease of use? The other buttons could stay and function as they do (maybe make them a taller too), but I see no need for three taps to change the profile.

The deciding factor for me, however, would be the ability to tell the currently active profile by looking in the tray. A text or icon button in the tray would let me see the active profile. Tapping it would bring up the dialog, then a second tap would change it and minimize it back to the tray.

This would add one tap (instead of two) but would give me more room on the Today Screen for my appointments and tasks.

Thanks for reading this.

Edited August 15, 2005 by scottb

[Guest dinkydong]

Bretto, you are correct, my 6365 runs on WM2003, NOT WM2003SE. I stumbled upon another issue today while running PPCProfiles Pro as a tray app (in fact, i suspect it also happens as a plug-in) on my machine. When I turned on AUTO SYNC and say i have an upcoming appointment with a BUSY status set in both the PIM and PPCProfiles Pro at 9am, my 6365 will wake up exactly at 9am just like the auto template switching. The difference is however it freezes my unit. I am able to key in the password but it hangs thereafter at the today screen. It doesnt happen as long as i do not activate auto sync. Auto template switching works fine w/o the system freeze. Any ideas?

Edited August 15, 2005 by dinkydong

[Guest bretto]

Hi scottb

Ive made some changes to the tray app and the popup to make things more user friendly as you suggested. Will be available for beta5.

Check out the picture below...

As you can see the tray icon has the number 3 in it which corresponds to the 3rd selectable profile. If the 2nd profile was selected there would be a 2 and so on. There really isnt an alternative for the tray at this stage. Later I can add icon choice to the program so you will be able to select a car icon etc.

The profile selection from the popup now only requires 1 click to select. Press "Normal" and that profile is selected and the popup exits.

Notice also that the popup is now located in the bottom right of the screen so there is less thumb movement required.

The same popup is used for the popup selection mode in the todayscreen plugin so there is also one less click required in that mode but the popup will be centered in on the screen and not at the bottom right.

In doing this it renders the navigation keys almost unusable in the popup but I guess there is always a trade off.

Let me know if you want anything changed and Ill see what I can do.

[Guest bretto]

Hi dinkydong

Whats waking the device up? The profile manager shouldnt it should just switch profile and if your device caters for it also flash the red light 5 times.

Come to think of it I wonder if the flashing light routine is what is causing problems on your HP? Maybe I'll take that out of the beta5 and see if that resolves things. But then again auto switch does the flashy thingy too.

[Guest scottb]

Hi scottb

Ive made some changes to the tray app and the popup to make things more user friendly as you suggested. Will be available for beta5.[snip...]

Bretto,

Wow, that was fast! That's perfect. Can't wait to give it a try. Thanks.

Edited August 15, 2005 by scottb

[Guest dan13l]

Bretto - I tried to reproduce the bluetooth problem again last night, given that you'd not had any success reproducing it. I couldn't ;) I'm not sure what the difference was, but for some odd reason its not doing it now...

I have a question about the new profile selection window using the tray icon - how do you edit your profiles? If tapping on one of the buttons selects it, how do you highlight it and click "setup"?

I'd like to voice my support for the "add-ons" module too, it sounds like a great idea. Moving elements of the app into modules would allow people to only load the bits that they need (eg, it might be possible to move the profile scheduling into another module, so if that's not required it doesn't use up resources, not that I think it takes up a lot as it is).

If you need testers, count me in :) If you're going to go with the add-ons idea, perhaps another thread asking for ideas would be useful?

[Guest dinkydong]

Hi dinkydong

Whats waking the device up? The profile manager shouldnt it should just switch profile and if your device caters for it also flash the red light 5 times.

Tested it a couple of times. Everytime it auto switches profile, my device wakes up. The red light flashes only twice.

[Guest bretto]

Bretto - I tried to reproduce the bluetooth problem again last night, given that you'd not had any success reproducing it. I couldn't :( I'm not sure what the difference was, but for some odd reason its not doing it now...

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Ahh so Im off the hook for the time being then ;)

I have a question about the new profile selection window using the tray icon - how do you edit your profiles? If tapping on one of the buttons selects it, how do you highlight it and click "setup"?

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You can still click the setup button as per normal. The currently selected profile will still be offered when you first go into the setup. All works as per usual.

I'd like to voice my support for the "add-ons" module too, it sounds like a great idea. Moving elements of the app into modules would allow people to only load the bits that they need (eg, it might be possible to move the profile scheduling into another module, so if that's not required it doesn't use up resources, not that I think it takes up a lot as it is).

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Yeah the more I think about it the more it makes sense to go that way. Keep the profile front ends as lean as possible and add more oprions as required.

If you need testers, count me in :) If you're going to go with the add-ons idea, perhaps another thread asking for ideas would be useful?

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A new thread is a great idea. And thanks in advance for the testing it really is invaluable. As everyone knows its pretty hard to test your own work thoroughly.

[Guest bretto]

Tested it a couple of times. Everytime it auto switches profile, my device wakes up. The red light flashes only twice.

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Thanks for the feedback dinkydong.

Ill take out the flashing light bizzo and hopefully that will help things.

I hope your not experiencing too many lockups.

There are so many different devices out there that its hard to get compatability all round. I for one am glad you have spent the time and effort to help out with the HP as that is a device I dont have access to. Im happy to try and get it all working for you if you want me too.

Thanks again the next beta wont be too far away.

[Guest bretto]

Just started a new thread for ideas, comments, etc about the addon package.

[Guest dinkydong]

Thanks for the feedback dinkydong.

Ill take out the flashing light bizzo and hopefully that will help things.

I hope your not experiencing too many lockups.

No Bretto, thank you instead. I've tried a few profile switching apps and NONE works like PPCProfiles Pro on my device. As long as I disable auto sync and use it as a tray app, there's no conflict and thats all i need, a time based profile switching app.

I may have forgotten to tell u that my 6365 actually comes with its own HP Profile switching app (in the ROM) at the settings screen and it can be activated by holding on to the power switch for about 2 secs. Unfortunately, it doesnt support any auto template switching :-( Hope its not the cause for the lockups.

[Guest bretto]

OK Guys version 3.00a (beta5) is now up in the "latest release" thread.

It contains the following.

Version: V3.00a beta5

Changed size of popup.

Changed background of popup.

Removed OK button from popup.

Enlarged all buttons in popup.

Changed display of radio button to buttons.

Added 1 touch selection of profiles.

Made SYNC button close popup.

Made ABOUT button close popup.

Added smart location of popup based on tray or todayscreen selection.

Tray icon now reflects current profile selection.

Modified the way programs are spawned to try to alleviate startup lag and to strengthen memory management.

Removed flashing light from auto profile switching routine.

Let me know if you have any problems.

[Guest scottb]

Bretto,

Thanks for making those changes so quickly--I'm now trying out the tray selection option. I look forward to icons in the tray. :)

I am seeing something strange though. When I tap the icon in the tray, two horizontal black lines appear across the title bar. I'll try to get you a screen print later today or tonight.

Also, if I create a sixth profile, is there any other way to select it besides going into setup?

Thanks again.

[Guest bretto]

I am seeing something strange though.  When I tap the icon in the tray, two horizontal black lines appear across the title bar.  I'll try to get you a screen print later today or tonight.

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I used to see that from time to time when I tap and hold the tray icon to run the setup. Havent seen it for a while though. Havent pinned down what causes it either.

Also, if I create a sixth profile, is there any other way to select it besides going into setup?

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Not at this tage. I havent been able to come up with and elegant, user-friendly way to implement this. Any suggestions are welcome.

[Guest dinkydong]

OK Guys version 3.00a (beta5) is now up in the "latest release" thread.

It contains the following.

Modified the way programs are spawned to try to alleviate startup lag and to strengthen memory management.

Removed flashing light from auto profile switching routine.

Let me know if you have any problems.

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Bretto you are spot on! The above must have done the job. Beta 5 works well with my 6365, now even with auto sync enabled, no more screen freezes! Now, can I be a little more greedy to ask if u can get the bluetooth control to work with my set? :)

[Guest bretto]

Bretto you are spot on! The above must have done the job. Beta 5 works well with my 6365, now even with auto sync enabled, no more screen freezes! Now, can I be a little more greedy to ask if u can get the bluetooth control to work with my set?  ;)

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Great news :) Is that in both tray and today plugin modes?

With the bluetooth what does your BT tray icon look like when BT is disabled? If its a BT icon with a red and white cross to the lower right then I cannot support it at this stage :(

[Guest dinkydong]

Bretto, so far i've only tested beta5 as a tray app. I'll now proceed to try it out as a plug-in and see how things turn out.

The HP6365 BT is a bit different. I don't have a BT tray icon. HP has this program called Ipaq wireless which is essentially an app which has 3 buttons for turning on/off GSM, WIFI & Bluetooth. Respective button turns green when its activated and connected, orange when activated and not connected.

Anyhow, for the HP's BT, here's some info i got:

Its by Broadcom, BT-PPC/PE Version 1.0.0 Build 3701

More info on the BT stack:

http://www.pdaphonehome.com/forums/showthr...&threadid=39586

http://forum.xda-developers.com/viewtopic?t=11711#63559

Hope it helps.