Tutorial: Creating XML homescreens

[Guest kelv23]

w411y___Icons.home.xml

Cheers, at least the file show up . I think Im just being a bit blonde somewhere. Heres what comes up for the screen u posted

[Guest kelv23]

Cheers, at least the file show up . I think Im just being a bit blonde somewhere. Heres what comes up for the screen u posted

After a brief (but not uncommon) period of blondeness Im getting somewhere .Thanks for the help but it may not be over yet

[Guest w411y]

DW I'm blonde too ;)

By the way, nothing is showing up because I didn't give you the background image :)

[Guest kelv23]

DW I'm blonde too ;)

By the way, nothing is showing up because I didn't give you the background image :)

yeah I was aware of that anyway (Im not THAT blonde !) Anways take a look at this

this is the stage Im at now, yikes!

Sorry if its hard to see but the text doesnt seem to be alined or formatted

here we go again

[Guest w411y]

Have fun :)

[Guest duke_stix]

Hey

Im interested in making my own theme (because NONE out there are what i want!)

what im wondering is, with the windows default theme, you have a little bar across the top where you have a few of the last programs you opened (kinda like shortcuts) is there any code to implement this into an xml file to make a theme?

thanx

[Guest w411y]

Its in the defaults to do with border spacing or something similar uill get a definate answer when Im on my PC

[Guest astateofblank]

I'm working on doing my first custom home screen, and I was wondering if there was a way to make a couple of my plugins stay visible. I've come across a lot of things on making some plugins disappear when there's no email/voicemail, but none for making them stay visible. My phone is an SDA flashed with the latest Qtek ROM (in other words WM5). The plugins that I can't get to stay there and display "0" are

<plugin clsid="{DCE58428-275E-491f-B835-F2AC38D0CC17}" name="voicemail">

for voicemails and

<plugin clsid="{8486CC1E-025B-4888-9C76-048DF7C1787D}" name="msgcount2">

for "other" emails. I've tried using

<format state="noevent" visible="true"/>

but that doesn't seem to do anything. Does anyone have any suggestions on what to try, or know the way to get it to stay put (or at least not just disappear, messing up the alignment I'm going for further down the home screen between text from another plugin and the background image)?

[Guest w411y]

Are u putting a ? That may help possibly. I know that people with WM5 phones have always moaned about no number showing up when an email or mmsn box is empty. Sadly I don't have a WM5 device to have a look

[Guest astateofblank]

Yeah...it seems if there's no message it just skips everything in the plugin. Even if I put:

<plugin clsid="{DCE58428-275E-491f-B835-F2AC38D0CC17}" name="voicemail" height="15">

		<background>

			<format state="noevent" visible="true"/>

			<format state="selected" b-border-width="0" bgcolor="transparent" font-weight="bold"/>

			<format state="unselected" b-border-width="0" bgcolor="transparent" font-weight="normal"/>

		</background>

		<label x="65" y ="2" font-size="14" halign="left" fgcolor="#FFFFFF">

			<text>Voice Mail: <unreadVMail/></text>


		</label>

	</plugin>

It just skips the whole thing, and doesn't even dispay the "Voice Mail: " text. I've sort of got a work around. I'm using the older plugins

<plugin file="sysplug.dll" clsid="{2F930BF0-6FE9-4a53-9E17-88E9247BAB48}" height="15">

to display voicemail and emails, as they'll always show up. But putting that line into the above code as the plugin isn't working 100% yet, as my font-weight's aren't changing correctly when its selected.

I'd like to be able to use the newer plugins, as I'm fairly sure if I select my voicemails and press the joystick down it dials my voicemail, rather than just going to my email/txt inbox.

[Guest ensellitis]

is there a way to make it where it shows only 1 appointment at a time on the homescreen, or maybe ever "Appointments Today"? the homescreen i am working on only has one line for appointments, so if there are more than one, it overlaps the box...

[Guest blackmkiv]

I've had my phone for all of 8 hours... now would someone mind helping me out with my first little skin thingy?

How do I move the SMS/Email thing to be aligned at the bottom center of the screen?

Here's what I've got...

<?xml version="1.0"?>

<home>

 <author>Chibo</author>

 <contacturl>[email protected]</contacturl>

 <title>rotary-power</title>

 <version>1</version>

 <!-- Controls anything not specified -->

 <default target-width="240" target-height="320" font-face="nina" font-size="19" font-weight="bold" padding-left="5" padding-right="5" bgcolor="transparent" fgcolor="COLOR_HOMETEXT" padding-top="3" b-border-color="COLOR_HOMERULE" b-border-width="1">

  <format state="selected" fgcolor="FFFFFF"/>

 </default>

 <background bgimage="rotary.jpg" valign="top"/>

 <scheme>

  <color name="COLOR_WINDOW" value="#FFFFFF" />

  <color name="COLOR_WINDOWTEXT" value="#000000" />

  <color name="COLOR_STATIC" value="#FFFFFF" />

  <color name="COLOR_STATICTEXT" value="#000000" />

  <color name="COLOR_HIGHLIGHT" value="#CCCCCC" />

  <color name="COLOR_HIGHLIGHTTEXT" value="#FFFFFF" />

  <color name="COLOR_TEXTSELECT" value="#FFFFFF" />

  <color name="COLOR_MENU" value="#FFFFFF" />

  <color name="COLOR_MENUTEXT" value="#000000" />

  <color name="COLOR_GRAYTEXT" value="#CCCCCC" />

  <color name="COLOR_GRADLEFT" value="#FFFFFF" />

  <color name="COLOR_GRADRIGHT" value="#FFFFFF" />

  <color name="COLOR_INTGRADLEFT" value="#FFFFFF" />

  <color name="COLOR_INTGRADRIGHT" value="#FFFFFF" />

  <color name="COLOR_TRAYGRADLEFT" value="#000000" />

  <color name="COLOR_TRAYGRADRIGHT" value="#000000" />

  <color name="COLOR_HIGHGRADLEFT" value="#000000" />

  <color name="COLOR_HIGHGRADRIGHT" value="#000000" />

  <color name="COLOR_TRAYTEXT" value="#FFFFFF" />

  <color name="COLOR_WINDOWFRAME" value="#000000" />

  <color name="COLOR_BTNFACE" value="#000000" />

  <color name="COLOR_BTNTEXT" value="#FFFFFF" />

  <color name="COLOR_SCROLLBAR" value="#000000" />

  <color name="COLOR_HOMETEXT" value="#000000" />

  <color name="COLOR_HOMEHIGHLIGHT" value="#CCCCCC" />

  <color name="COLOR_HOMEHIGHLIGHTTEXT" value="#000000" />

  <color name="COLOR_HOMERULE" value="#C54E0C" />

  <color name="COLOR_ALERTWINDOW" value="#FFFFFF" />

  <color name="COLOR_ALERTTITLE" value="#444444" />

  <color name="COLOR_ALERTRULE" value="#000000" />

 </scheme>

<!-- Iconbar -->

 <plugin clsid="{837FC251-FE69-43ad-84E0-EBCEDEBA0884}" name="Iconbar" height="0">

  <background b-border-width="0">

  </background>

  <iconbar bgcolor="transparent" fgcolor="#ffffff" y="0" x="0"/>

 </plugin>

<!-- Date/Time/Carrier Plugin -->

 <plugin file="sysplug.dll" clsid="{E09043DF-510E-4841-B652-388316977A7A}" height="90">

  <background b-border-width="0">

  </background>

  <clock>

   <time font-weight="bold" font-size="16" bgtext="transparent" halign="left" fgcolor="#FFFFFF" mode="12" y="0" x="0" />

   <date font-weight="normal" fgcolor="#FFFFFF" font-size="16" valign="top" halign="right" mode="long" y="0" x="0" />

  </clock>

 </plugin>

<!-- SMS/MMS/Email Plugin -->

 <plugin clsid="{2F930BF0-6FE9-4a53-9E17-88E9247BAB48}" name="SMScount" height="16">

  <background b-border-width="0">

  </background>

  <format state="unselected" font-weight="normal" />

  <format state="selected" font-weight="bold" />

  <label y="0" x="0" halign="left" bgcolor="transparent" fgcolor="#ffffff" font-size="16">

   <text>SMS: <unreadSMS />  Email: <unreadEmail /></text>

  </label>

 </plugin>

</home>

Thanks :)

[Guest ensellitis]

i am still trying to align things to absolute areas like the bottom, but for centering, change:

halign="left"

to:

halign="center"

[Guest w411y]

Centering doesnt work. Gutting huh :)

[Guest blackmkiv]

Centering doesnt work. Gutting huh ;)

I've found that easy to overcome, it just takes a lot of time :)

As for aligning to bottom it's kinda weird. If I give the Mail/SMS a value of y other than 0 it disappears... That confuses me - a lot.

[Guest w411y]

I've found that easy to overcome, it just takes a lot of time :)

As for aligning to bottom it's kinda weird. If I give the Mail/SMS a value of y other than 0 it disappears... That confuses me - a lot.

Increase the height

[Guest blackmkiv]

Increase the height

Ah. Thank you :)

[Guest Sq322]

Wally:

Great tutorial. It really helped me understand the xml file a ton.

Question for you.

Is there a default height for plugins other than the iconbar (which according to your tut is 27px i believe)?

Or can they be made any height as long as you dont leave the boundaries of the screen size itself?

[Guest baldeagle]

Hope someone can help - Here's the problem, I'm trying to create a homescreen on my SPV C600 which has a transparent iconbar and a background image that cover from top of softkeys to top of screen. From what I've read I need an image that's 240x295 valigned top, which is what I've done, but it then leaves a 5 pixel gap between the image and the softkeys.

I've tried different size images and still no luck, there seems to be window around the image that restricts/locks the image to a set size, so when I align it top the whole image moves up to the top leaving the gap.

Any help with this would be greatful.

Thanks

---DON'T WORRY I'VE SORTED IT---

Edited August 22, 2006 by baldeagle

[Guest baldeagle]

Is there a way to timeout the selection/highlight bar on the homescreen?

[Guest w411y]

Wally:

Great tutorial. It really helped me understand the xml file a ton.

Question for you.

Is there a default height for plugins other than the iconbar (which according to your tut is 27px i believe)?

Or can they be made any height as long as you dont leave the boundaries of the screen size itself?

Any height mate. They can go off the screen although things get messy then !

[Guest w411y]

Is there a way to timeout the selection/highlight bar on the homescreen?

I dont believe you can unless you use bold font for selected and normal font for unselected thus having no bar at all.

Also how did you sort your other problem out with the 5px at the bottom. I hear this a lot and it seems to be a WM5 phone, something I lack in. So how did you solve it so I can inform others in the future? :D

[Guest baldeagle]

I dont believe you can unless you use bold font for selected and normal font for unselected thus having no bar at all.

Also how did you sort your other problem out with the 5px at the bottom. I hear this a lot and it seems to be a WM5 phone, something I lack in. So how did you solve it so I can inform others in the future? :D

The problem was that I'd specified the what image I wanted in the 'background image' menu, once I set it to 'default' and let the xml file specify what the background image should be it shifted down to the correct position.

Thanks for your response

[Guest w411y]

The problem was that I'd specified the what image I wanted in the 'background image' menu, once I set it to 'default' and let the xml file specify what the background image should be it shifted down to the correct position.

Thanks for your response

No probs :D Thanks

[Guest Sq322]

One more question w411y....for now :D

If the iconbar is set height="0"

Does that mean that the first plugin starts at 28px down from the top of the screen?