Homescreen Designer 2.0 for WM 5.0 released!

[Guest Dumdidum]

Homescreen Designer for WM 5.0 for Smartphone

1. What is Homescreen Designer?

With Homescreen Designer, you can design your own powerful Homescreens for Smartphones without any XML-Knowlegde. It's pure What You See Is What You Get!

2. System Requirements

This version of Homescreen Designer is only supporting Windows Mobile 5.0 for Smartphone (Portrait and Landscape, NO Square)

If you want to design Homescreens for Smartphone 2002/2003, please visit our Homepage (www.ruttensoft.com)

• Windows XP Desktop PC with Activesync (Vista NOT supported yet, but an update will be provided soon)
  
• .NET Framework 2.0 installed on your Desktop PC (Download)
  
• Smartphone with WM 5.0 for Smartphone (QVGA Portrait or Landscape)
  
• 1024x768-Screen Minimum
  
  
  This version of Homescreen Designer is standalone and does not support Smartphone 2002/2003. If you have purchased Homescreen Desinger 1.XX, and you want to upgrade (5$, paypal only), please write an Email to upgrade (at) ruttensoft.com
  
  4. Plugins
  
  The following plugins are supported (more to be implemented in the future!)
  • Iconbar
    
  • MRU
    
  • Time
    
  • Date
    
  • Carrier
    
  • Profile
    
  • SMS
    
  • Email/MMS
    
  • Calendar
    
  • Allday
    
    
    You can change the following system screens:
    • VolumeBox
      
    • QuestionBox
      
    • InformationBox
      
    • ExclamationBox
      
    • ErrorBox
      

    6. Awards

    

    7. Saving modes

    You can save a Homescreen as:

    [*]HME-File: A single homescreen file, which you can distribute

    [*]XML-File: The Homescreen XML-File itself, if you want to change some things manually

    [*]Direct Upload to your Smartphone: You can upload and activate your Homescreen to your Smartphone

    [*]with one single click!

    [*]hsd_wm5-File: Project file for Homscreen Designer, so others can change your homescreen

    8. Support

    For support, please visit our Homepage

    9. Share your homescreens

    Share your beautiful homescreens in uploading them to modaco.com

    10. Download

    You can download a trial (which you can run 4 times) from our website

[Guest Alex (nedge2k)]

I suppose the question on most people's minds is whether this version will ever support the Orange plugin?

[Guest]

Don't know if your taking suggestions ofr plugings but ......

Oxios Tasks Plugin

Wireless Plugin

would be my 2 votes. I know they're easy to add in manually but I'm lazy :)

[Guest Dumdidum]

Don't know if your taking suggestions ofr plugings but ......

Oxios Tasks Plugin

Wireless Plugin

would be my 2 votes. I know they're easy to add in manually but I'm lazy :)

Hi

Of course I am taking suggestion for plugins :-)

Oxios Tasks Plugin will definitly be integrated in the next version, for the Wireless Plugin I have too see, could you please post a link to it? So I will see if it's possible.

For the Orange plugin I'm afraid that this wont be possible as it's very different to all others :-(

Actually I'm currently reviewing the available Third-Party-plugins, and will integrate as many as possible in the next releases!

Sven

[Guest BrownSource]

Is this specifically smartphones ie not vario 2 / compct 3?

If not compatible, can you get similar for PPC?

thx in adv

[Guest Dumdidum]

Is this specifically smartphones ie not vario 2 / compct 3?

If not compatible, can you get similar for PPC?

thx in adv

Hi

Actually it's only compatible for WM 5.0 for Smartphone.

WM 5.0 for PocketPC doesnt use XML for the Today Screen...

Sven

[Guest]

for the Wireless Plugin I have too see, could you please post a link to it? So I will see if it's possible.

Sven

Heres the code for the wifi plugin (its inbuilt into WM5 as far as I know)

Thanks :)

gr

Edited January 31, 2007 by Guest

[Guest Dumdidum]

Heres the code for the wifi plugin (its inbuilt into WM5 as far as I know)

Thanks :)

gr

Thanks, I will check that, unfortunately I've got no WiFi-Phone to test. But anyway, I will try to integrate it!

Sven

[Guest]

Thanks, I will check that, unfortunately I've got no WiFi-Phone to test. But anyway, I will try to integrate it!

Sven

If you want me to test a screen for you just let me know, I've a dash (landscape) with wifi.

gr

[Guest Paul (MVP)]

The question on everyone's lips though... will the MoDaCo Plus registration codes work with this version? :)

P

[Guest]

The question on everyone's lips though... will the MoDaCo Plus registration codes work with this version? :)

P

Figured you and Sven would be in tense negotiations with that one, didn’t want to cause ripples :D

Edited February 1, 2007 by Guest

[Guest Dumdidum]

Figured you and Sven would be in tense negations with that one, didn’t want to cause ripples :)

The codes for 1.3.2 will not work, but I will provide a new keygen to Paul soon :-)

[Guest]

The codes for 1.3.2 will not work, but I will provide a new keygen to Paul soon :-)

great news!

[Guest pembo]

Any idea when your going to add Vista support to it?

[Guest simon211175]

Had a quick look at this - first thing I noticed is that we only seem to be able to create blue themes - am I missing something obvious or is there no colour editor in this new version?

Second thing I see is a message in the "Change System Screens" popup that says:

Due to security settings on Windows Mobile 5.0, System screens cannot be integrated into a HME/CAB file anymore!

I've created three full themes so far for WM5.0, and all have been successfully installed on my Qtek 8500.

[Guest abramQ]

Hello!

Nice program, but I thing there is two things making it the middle class...

If you want people want to buy it please do:

1. Screen size 176x220 (for example my new HTC S310 with WM5 has got this type of resolution). And there are other smartphones alike - why you forget them?

2. Let people to load other formats of themes (standard hme format, xml format), not only you native projects. Many people don't want to build a theme from ground, they like to modify, personalize existing themes. Closing to only your format kills many potential customers;-)

Best greetings, waiting for the wind of changes;-)

Robert A.

[Guest Dumdidum]

Hello!

Nice program, but I thing there is two things making it the middle class...

If you want people want to buy it please do:

1. Screen size 176x220 (for example my new HTC S310 with WM5 has got this type of resolution). And there are other smartphones alike - why you forget them?

2. Let people to load other formats of themes (standard hme format, xml format), not only you native projects. Many people don't want to build a theme from ground, they like to modify, personalize existing themes. Closing to only your format kills many potential customers;-)

Best greetings, waiting for the wind of changes;-)

Robert A.

Hi and thanks for your post.

1. Actually the HTC 310 is the only WM 5.0-phone with 176x220-Display available on the market, and it is unlikely that there will come others. Because the biggest effort is to change screen resolution, which would take us very long, it's just not very good to spent that many time for that, as there are only a few owning this phone. We will concentrate on the QVGA-Users and implement new plugins.

2. Closing to our own format has nothing to do with creating a new format. It's just nearly impossible to let Homescreen Designer import existing XML-Files (or HME, which is nohting more than a compressed XML-File). There are too many plugins around, and the Microsoft-System to show the plugins is not so good, so it wont be possible.

Sven

[Guest Griff_FFOC]

Is there no way to change the colour schemes on this version?

[Guest Dumdidum]

Is there no way to change the colour schemes on this version?

Hi

Actually in WM 5.0, you can set the color scheme with only 2 colors. So if you choose red and white, the whole system will be in red an white. It's a new feature of WM 5.0, that WM 5.0 then selects different "reds" to create a scheme.

We will try to implement it in the next version!

Regards

Sven

[Guest abramQ]

Hi and thanks for your post.

1. Actually the HTC 310 is the only WM 5.0-phone with 176x220-Display available on the market, and it is unlikely that there will come others. Because the biggest effort is to change screen resolution, which would take us very long, it's just not very good to spent that many time for that, as there are only a few owning this phone. We will concentrate on the QVGA-Users and implement new plugins.

2. Closing to our own format has nothing to do with creating a new format. It's just nearly impossible to let Homescreen Designer import existing XML-Files (or HME, which is nohting more than a compressed XML-File). There are too many plugins around, and the Microsoft-System to show the plugins is not so good, so it wont be possible.

Sven

HTC 310 as you can even see on todays Modeco news page is distributed by Orange - you are right it's not so big market yet, but it is a new model, the amount will grow. Telling so, that changing resolution will take you much time sounds for me... like your code is weak parameterized;-) Sory, but - will you write all the code for every resolution separately? That's not the way, especially thinking of writing programs comercially, as you do. I write some code and your way is not the good practice;-)

The second question - "impossible"? hmm... coders use to say - difficult thinks we do in one hour, impossible for tommorow;-) It would be enought to use just a few standard plugins. People would be happy;-)

Resume:

Good program... for freeware;-)

[Guest Dumdidum]

HTC 310 as you can even see on todays Modeco news page is distributed by Orange - you are right it's not so big market yet, but it is a new model, the amount will grow. Telling so, that changing resolution will take you much time sounds for me... like your code is weak parameterized;-) Sory, but - will you write all the code for every resolution separately? That's not the way, especially thinking of writing programs comercially, as you do. I write some code and your way is not the good practice;-)

The second question - "impossible"? hmm... coders use to say - difficult thinks we do in one hour, impossible for tommorow;-) It would be enought to use just a few standard plugins. People would be happy;-)

Resume:

Good program... for freeware;-)

:) I see that you dont know what's behind the Homescreen XML. :D The Smartphone OS is reading every plugin and is placing it beneath each other. Some plugins dont even have a "height"-value, so it's impossible to know how "height" it is. They dont have global x,y-parameters, but from the last plugin. So if there is a plugin in the XML that is not supported, how should it be possible to read it from the XML? It is not. It is even not possible to read all other plugins that are supported and place them on the screen, as you can't know the place of them. So it is just not possible. I'm only honest...

I know that everyone just wants freeware. That's our society, where you can get a lot for free. But nobody even knows how much work there is in coding these applications. You are free to test it, if you dont like it, so start a text editor and code your XML-stuff yourself. That's up to you. You can use the trial up to 4 times, that's enough for changing your Homescreen. Users that wants to create more Homescreens will know how much time you can save using Homescreen Designer.

So happy XML-Coding...

Edited February 5, 2007 by Dumdidum

[Guest Paul (MVP)]

HTC 310 as you can even see on todays Modeco news page is distributed by Orange - you are right it's not so big market yet, but it is a new model, the amount will grow. Telling so, that changing resolution will take you much time sounds for me... like your code is weak parameterized;-) Sory, but - will you write all the code for every resolution separately? That's not the way, especially thinking of writing programs comercially, as you do. I write some code and your way is not the good practice;-)

The second question - "impossible"? hmm... coders use to say - difficult thinks we do in one hour, impossible for tommorow;-) It would be enought to use just a few standard plugins. People would be happy;-)

Resume:

Good program... for freeware;-)

Sounds to me like you're making assumptions abramQ without actually knowing how things work, and being quite rude to Sven in the process!

P

[Guest JamieDow]

This is a big transformation from the previous version, nicely packaged, as always easy to use

:)

[Guest Dumdidum]

This is a big transformation from the previous version, nicely packaged, as always easy to use

:)

Thanks!

[Guest Griff_FFOC]

Hi

Actually in WM 5.0, you can set the color scheme with only 2 colors. So if you choose red and white, the whole system will be in red an white. It's a new feature of WM 5.0, that WM 5.0 then selects different "reds" to create a scheme.

We will try to implement it in the next version!

Regards

Sven

Thanks Svan. It will mean I can easily make my homescreen without the MS blue theme.