[MOD][SENSE2.5TAB] SenseUtil (Tab Control File Editor) [10 Aug 2011 New Release]

Project Open
Compiled Cab file attached to this post.

Code-Plex Page (source available):
http://senseutil.codeplex.com


======================
Project Status
======================
Initial development is completed.
The application does all the items defined in the Manifest!

Ideas and feedback are very welcome, particularly for the GUI (which is more functional than anything else).

Graphics etc are welcome, then I can add graphical controls etc and state icons.
Added example shortcuts
Shortcuts for use with installing and uninstalling tabs. See Shortcuts section of the manual below.


Release 10th Aug 2011 (meltwater_SenseUtil (9433).cab) - Thanks to mike2nl for gathering the extra tab details and corrections!
+Added (shortcuts & resource files):
1a9fc010_manila \windows\HTC\today.mode9
2c417551_manila \windows\HTC\GGorizont\GGorizont.mode9
04ca8df7_manila \windows\HTC\GPSTracker\GPSTracker.mode9
34C172FA_manila \windows\HTC\Manilatv\favorites.mode9
037D6881_manila \windows\HTC\GameFifteen\GameFifteen.mode9
0C3A0700_manila \windows\HTC\programlauncher.mode9
2CAADFCD_manila \windows\HTC\manilaradio\manilaradio.mode9
+Corrected document tab shortcut
+Language title files (6f286a05_manila_en-us_titlefixed.txt is template for others)
+Language title files added to cab (although most require translations etc)


======================
Additional Work
======================
Missing Available Tabs:
===============
If there are any missing tabs from the available tabs list, then send me the details so I can generate a resource file.

Extra Features (To Do):
==========
At some point I will update the app to read the configuration keys (if available) and generate the file using the order defined there (plus re-generate the keys to keep disabled tabs disabled).

Graphics:
======
If anyone is interested, I can add icons to help determine the states of the tabs...just need some graphics!
Possible State Icons for tabs:
Tab Installed & Present - in the tab control file & on the device (Installed Fine)
Tab Not Installed & Present - not in the tab control file but on the device (i.e. Available to add)
Tab Installed & Not Present - in the tab control file but not on the device (!Warning State! Sense will probably fail to run)
Tab Not Installed & Not Present - not in the tab control file or in on the device

Also the icon could indicate if the source is from XML file or the tab control file (only applies to the installed ones - not installed ones will always be xml).


====================
User Manual
====================
I'll try to update this with new information as and when I get time, hopefully the app isn't too difficult to understand.

Control Sense Page:
============
This page controls sense...


[Start Sense]:
If sense is not selected in the Today Plugin, this adds and triggers sense to start.

[Stop Sense]:
If sense is running, or set in the Today Plugin to run, this will remove it and trigger it to close.

[Restart Sense]:
This will cause sense to restart (by removing and adding it from the Today Plugin).
Note: Any changes to your Tab Control File (26948339_manila) are ignored.

[Reset Sense]:
The same as [Restart Sense], but will also cause it to re-build by removing the ManilaFull.xml file.
Note: If you have changed your Tab Control File (26948339_manila) any changes will be re-built in this process.

[Full Reset Sense]:
The same as [Reset Sense], but will also delete the configuration registry keys (this is required when you add/remove tabs for them to initialise correctly and for them to show up in the Tab Re-arrange page within the Sense Settings Tab).
Note: Any tabs disabled via the Sense Settings Tab will be re-enabled!

[Soft Reset]:
This simply restarts your device, quite often sense will not re-start correctly without at least one reset.

Tab Control File [Update]:
If you have generated a new Tab Control File (26948339_manila), this option will replace your existing file (creating a timestamped backup within the SenseUtil folder) and [Full Reset Sense].

Tabs (Loaded) Page:
============
On start up, this page shows the contents of the Tab Control File (26948339_manila).


[Build]:
Once you have made adjustments to the list, you can build a new file (which you can then view using a suitable text editor and check if you wish).

Tab Source [#]:
This toggles the source of the tab data:
Default=Your original Tab Control File
File=The loaded xml resource file
Note:
If the tab is not available (the xml file does not exist) then the source will not change. Also if you delete and re-add a tab which was in your tab control file, it will not be able to be set back to Default - you will need to Reload the data fresh.

Remove [-]:
Removes the tab, the tab will no longer be installed.

Shift Up [^] and Shift Down [v]:
Allows you to adjust the default positions of the tabs.

Tabs (Available) Page:
============
This page will show you the tab's which are available (loaded from the Resource Folder xml files).


When you select an item, you will be able to see if the tab's keyfile is Present On Device or not, this provides an indication of if the files required for the tab are on the device
Note: Only the keyfile is checked - there will be additional files required for the tab/sense to function.
Various details about the tab are also available, if a custom tab links to the tab's development and release pages should be provided.

Add Tab [+]:
Allows you to add a tab to your Tab Control File, if the tab is not detected as Present On Device you will be warned that Sense probably will not start (you will need to install the correct tabs files on your device).

Add All [+All]:
This will add all the tabs which are detected as Present On Device but not currently in the Tab Control File.
Note:
Only the keyfile is checked - there will be additional files required for the tab/sense to function. So be sure you have correctly installed all the required files for a particular tab.


Settings Page:
============
Provides various options for the app.


Register to Today Softkey:

[Set Action/Contacts)]​

illi said:

Great idea meltwater. This will help rookie cooks like me
TIA

Click to expand...

Click to collapse

Well my thinking is, if we can make the "black art" a little "lighter" then it opens things up for novice users (like I was once) and brings fresh ideas and talent in.

Ok, I've created an outline project in CodePlex, I will start putting in some basic stuff and see how I get on.

Time is limited for me, so if someone else is interested in working on this too then they are welcome. The source is easy to download, and I will happily add you to the project if you wish to upload your progress directly.

1st Release!

Ok, I've put some starting stuff in (attempting to control sense).

Need some people to test it, I think there is an issue with starting sense again although not sure what. Soft-reset and it will comes back (assuming you've not changed anything else).

Sense Control Tab:

Start Sense - Clears the entry in the Today page for HTCSense
Stop Sense - Sets the entry in the Today page for HTCSense
Restart Sense - Does Stop and then Start with a delay in the middle.
Reset Sense - Same as Restart Sense but deletes the ManilaFull.xml file (which will cause sense to re-initialise - file will be regenerated)
Full Reset Sense - Same as Reset Sense but also clears the configuration keys (required when you add/remove a tab)

Settings Tab:
Allows you to register the app with the Today page softkeys (gives easy way to get sense running again!).
CAUTION: Only set to restore the defaults on my phone (LSoftkey=Action Page RSoftkey=Contacts).
Keys effected by this setting are:
HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Today\Keys\112
HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Today\Keys\113

Find the latest code in codeplex: http://senseutil.codeplex.com

Skrobel said:

I can try to test the app if you want.
Using Jackos ROM with Sense 2.5.20181527.0
But I flash relatively often so I'm able to test it on some different versions.

Could you point me out what I should do now (what to download, what to pay attention on)?

Click to expand...

Click to collapse

Excellent!
So far it only has the basic sense control buttons in, so it would be help to check that they work correctly. My testing has shown that it sometimes has issues with starting sense, but that could be down to my sense setup (it's not very stable due to CHT and my own development work...).

At the moment, I seem to also have some issues with the softkey settings (but I'm happy I can continue testing that, issues with permissions etc I think).

From the codeplex changeset package (the zip file you download) you will only need the SenseUtil.exe (later on anything in the \Debug directory as files are added).

Captain_Throwback said:

Hey meltwater!

I see you've gotten tired of manually updating people's Tab Control files .

Great idea - I wish I had some programming knowledge so that I could help. Unfortunately I do not. How difficult would it be to learn? What software would I need?

Click to expand...

Click to collapse

Well more accurately... tired of some users...although having an easy way to reset sense etc will be very handy. Plus does seem to be the number 1 cause of issues.

It is a good as project as any to learn how to program on (nice mix of changing the registry, reading files and standard .net forms). You will need something like Visual Studio 2008 Professional though (you can get 90 day trials quite easy - let me know and I'll find you one).

I'm quite happy to help guide you (or anyone else interested) as far as I am able (although my code should not be taken as a prime example of how to code - it's not my trained area of programming).

Skrobel said:

OK, it's time for first impression

From the Sense control tab everything seems to be working cool. I tried each option in the first tab several times and Sense always started without problems.

I have one question though. After the first time I made a Full Reset (with the config keys) this button was inactive anymore. I recon that the keys are already deleted. But shouldn't they be redefined during Sense next start?

And I confirm the matter with softkeys. The first time I wanted to assign SenseUtil to right softkey, the "Unexpected error" appeared (right after I confirmed I was sure) and I had to kill the app. However the second time each left and right softkey worked.

But the Set (Action/Contacts) button never worked. There is always Unexpected error when I tap "OK" in the message box. Below I present the details of the error.

Code:

SenseUtil.exe
ObjectDisposedException


w System.ThrowHelper.ThrowObjectDisposedException(String objectName, ExceptionResource resource)
w Microsoft.Win32.RegistryKey.EnsureNotDisposed()
w Microsoft.Win32.RegistryKey.EnsureWriteable()
w Microsoft.Win32.RegistryKey.SetValue(String name, Object value, RegistryValueKind valueKind)
w SenseUtil.Settings.SetSoftKey(Int32 selkey, String text, String url, Boolean confirm)
w SenseUtil.SenseUtil.buttonRegDefaultSoftKey_Click(Object sender, EventArgs e)
w System.Windows.Forms.Control.OnClick(EventArgs e)
w System.Windows.Forms.Button.OnClick(EventArgs e)
w System.Windows.Forms.ButtonBase.WnProc(WM wm, Int32 wParam, Int32 lParam)
w System.Windows.Forms.Control._InternalWnProc(WM wm, Int32 wParam, Int32 lParam)
w Microsoft.AGL.Forms.EVL.EnterMainLoop(IntPtr hwnMain)
w System.Windows.Forms.Application.Run(Form fm)
w SenseUtil.Program.Main()

I hope this all helps. I would also like to learn programming, but it needs more time than I actually have...

Click to expand...

Click to collapse

Good testing thank you!

The config keys are only generated when you rearrange the tabs, plus I only set the enable/disable of the buttons on start up of the app and following a press.

I think I've corrected the exception, but still not 100% sure about the keys (it is enough to make it work though).

Currently reading up on xml, long over-due I learned how to use it properly! Will have a new version in a few days hopefully.

Ok read through all the material I found on xml, (a good tutorial http://www.csharpkey.com/csharp/xml/Lesson01.htm) will now find out how much isn't supported in compact .net. Fortunately no real surprises, how I've been dealing with xml has been fine (although missed a few tricks). There's also some open source solutions around which I may look into (but for this it's probably fine keeping it simple, it's more suitable for the work I'm doing with RSS feeds).

Ok, new release!

Just put in loading of the xml files which contain the tab information which can be added. Should give a good idea of how things will work!


Will add options to filter the list etc.
Will read the tab control file next, then see if I can add/remove tabs!

Skrobel said:

OK, I downloaded, unpacked, loaded on my phone and.... realized that I have Sense 2.1 currently so I won't test it at once.

But just for your info, the Stop/Start sense, and Restart works even with Sense 2.1.19202517.0

Of course in the "Tabs Loaded" I have nothing, and in "Tabs Available" everywhere I see Not Present On Device. I could only test the overall behaviour of the app but this hasn't changed much. Still the "Set" button gives me the unexpected error, so I'm useless this time.

As soon as I will flash something with Sense 2.5 I will test it immediately and report back (this unfortunately won't happen until at least tomorrow).

Sorry...

Click to expand...

Click to collapse

If you still have 2.1 on, does it use the tab control file in the same way?
i.e. What is the 26948339_manila file like (can you post it?).

"Tabs Loaded" does nothing at the moment anyway, not reading the file yet. The update was to put in my current work in progress.

"Tabs available" I guess the filenames are different for sense 2.1, but can't see why we can't have a set of xml files for 2.1 as well if it works in a similar way. So far I've only created files for the ones on my system and a few which I've had before, I know there are a few missing to add.

Interesting the "set" button gives an exception, thought I'd covered that on my device (will look into it).

Cheers.

Captain_Throwback said:

Here's the Tab Control file from Manila 2.1.1920.2517. It seems to contain similar information, but it contains a LOT more . . .

NOTE: This is from the VGA ported version, but I'm sure the differences are minor (if at all) . . .

Click to expand...

Click to collapse

I would guess that 2.1 does not have the _page.xml files, since that is what the manilafull.xml file looks like, a combination of the tab control and each of the related _page.xml files! Looks like the mode9 files don't include any of the path info beyond the HTC bit, hence why the filenames are probably different.

I'll not worry too much about it for now, interesting though.

Will upload my latest, simply because I'm calling it a night... Populated Tab(Installed) page with some data from the TabControl File - note the buttons will stay disabled (only put in for layout). Oh and the url links on the Tab(Available) aren't enabled yet either.

Update on codeplex now.

mike2nl said:

@meltwater:

sorry to say that, but i have all the time when i start the version 4851 an error popup. Please see the screenshot:

Click to expand...

Click to collapse

See if the version before that works (since the exception is referring to InitialiseTabLists() which hasn't changed). I added a function before InitialiseTabLists() in the latest, which loads up the sense tab control file (but doesn't seem like it is that). Anyway, will check that there is suitable checking of things to avoid the exception, still building the basics.

Hopefully next time should be able to have a go at matching the tabs found in the file with the ones loaded, then generate a new file.

Cheers