[APP][2010-09-04][v1.2.0] ArkSwitch: the task manager, upgraded!

There are many task managers floating around out there, with lots of neat features and great UIs. I've been looking for a good replacement for the HTC Task Manager home screen button that no longer works properly in Windows Mobile 6.5.x, and I've been unable to find one I really like. So I made my own!

SCREENSHOTS AND DOWNLOADS ARE >>HERE<<

ArkSwitch can be opened from any screen that has the top bar visible - I tried to make it simple yet unobtrusive.
You can click the text of an app to bring it to the foreground, click the icon to view the App Info screen, or click the "X" image to close it.

Please see the changelog in the second post.

Important info for chefs and customizers: http://xdaforums.com/showpost.php?p=8002276&postcount=733
And a quick CAB to disable the Close All confirmation dialog.

I ASK FOR YOUR HELP:
If you are using ArkSwitch in your ROM, please post a message here telling me so. I would really like to know. Also, if you make themes, please post them here for everyone else to enjoy. I would appreciate that.

Also, if you're a developer and would like to help with implementing any features, I'd be glad to accept your patches, changesets, etc.

HOW TO USE:
1. Install the CAB.
2. Either reboot (it will run on startup) or start it from the start menu --> Tools.
3. Click the left half of the top bar (or other area if customized) to bring it up.

CUSTOM THEMES:
SimpleGloss Blue | Dusk | NinjaBlack | Purple Pimp | SRG | Hacienda | Showtime7


Why doesn't ArkSwitch show process memory information anymore? Read the answer here.

Historical notes:
v1.0.0 --> 350
v1.0.1 --> 1700
v1.0.2 --> 2739
v1.0.3 --> 1582
v1.0.4 --> 2831

If you'd like to donate, please use the following link:

CodePlex page | Download link

ArkSwitch has been tested on VGA and QVGA by myself, and WVGA. It should work on FWVGA as well, although I don't think any WinMo device with that resolution exists at this time.

CHANGELOG:
[v1.2.0]
- FIX: Shortcut creation (was fixed in an unofficial v1.1.4a release earlier)
- ADD: Quickly killing the foreground app by "scratching" the activation field!
- ADD: German translation
- ADD: More registry tweaks, including one to disable the "Close All" confirmation
[v1.1.4]
- FIX: Couple of bugs with the new process mode
[v1.1.3]
- FIX: Much better stability in general
- FIX: Better handling of frozen apps (thx MichyPrima)
- CHG: Theming now allows for resolution-aware dynamic image selection (see config.xml for more info)
- ADD: Global memory info is back
- ADD: Process listing - swipe horizontally on the main task list page to see it (thx MichyPrima)
[v1.1.2]
- FIX: Crash/freeze in certain situations
- REM: All memory reporting features, probably only temporarily
[v1.1.1]
- FIX: Stupid crash encountered in some unique situations
[v1.1.0]
- FIX: Some apps/windows not appearing when they should be
- CHG: Running as high priority in order to be able to close misbehaving apps
- ADD: THEMING SUPPORT!
- ADD: Source code
[v1.0.4]
- FIX: Double tmail.exe (and others) listing in certain situations
- CHG: Reverted back to X button instead of OK button for the main ArkSwitch screen
- ADD: Memory usage percentage
- ADD: Experimental memory usage efficiency index on the App Info page
[v1.0.3]
- FIX: Various QVGA issues
- FIX: Free/total RAM refreshing when closing apps (more info)
- CHG: Icon rendering now does proper transparency
- CHG: ArkSwitch's main window X button is now an OK button so that other apps don't try killing it
- ADD: Internationalization support (more info)
- ADD: Activation field location customization
[v1.0.2]
- FIX: Overlap issue with certain themes
- CHG: gwes.exe and shell32.exe are now hard-excluded (i.e., not a choice)
- CHG: Close Task button is now Close All
- ADD: Manila to default exclusion list
- ADD: Options screen
- ADD: Color-coded free/total RAM info on the bottom
- ADD: Read app icons from start menu (caveat)
[v1.0.1]
- FIX: Resize icons that are too big
- FIX: Always open ArkSwitch when executed after it's already running
- ADD: App details screen
- ADD: Exclusion functionality
- ADD: Standard app mode (see below)
[v1.0.0]
- Original version


TODO/WISH LIST FOR FUTURE VERSIONS:

• Possibly add Alt-Tab-like functionality for switching to other apps using a HW button
• Add free or used RAM percentage, in parentheses or configurable
• Possibly take over X button to close apps instead of minimizing? Maybe even the start button?
• As possible alternative to the above, have second activation field that kills foreground apps
• Prevent ArkSwitch from turning on when device is locked
• Possibly add an icon bar for common tasks on top?
• Suggestions?

WILL NOT LIKELY HAPPEN:

• Making ArkSwitch into a service - it's pointless - see this post

WM6.5 compatibility mode:
In case you don't want ArkSwitch to take over your top bar, you can disable that functionality and thereby have it function as a standard app. In this mode, the original WM6.5 should also be fully functional. To enable this mode, either do it in the Options screen, or manually set the following Registry value:

[HKCU\Software\ARKconcepts\ArkSwitch]
TaskbarTakeover = 0 (DWORD)

Yes, you can use the program with softkeys. You can select apps by using the D-Pad and then the left softkey to close it or the right softkey to open a menu which will let you switch to it, close it, view the about screen, or quit ArkSwitch.

The only way to "remove" ArkSwitch from the top bar is to close it. One of the main reasons I chose the top bar is ease of access. If something else goes there, then this app can't be accessed easily anymore. I've never used WkTask, but from what I'm reading about it, it looks like the two apps would be incompatible with each other, sorry

P.S. I speak Russian as I'm originally from Ukraine. Please don't use CP1251 for Russian encoding, US browsers don't like it Unicode is better.

deepthroat said:

looks great! but QVGA please ??

Click to expand...

Click to collapse

I still have my old Hermes. When I have a chance, I'll flash a WM6.5.x ROM on it and get that working. It's on the TODO list

toadlife said:

Rows were overlapping eachother.

The the program crashed when I chose exit from the menu and I was forced to soft-reset.

Runnning WinMo 6.5 on a Touch Pro 2

Click to expand...

Click to collapse

Obviously you didn't read my first two posts. This application is NOT for the original WM6.5! Only for 6.5.x, where the start and X keys are on the bottom of the screen. However, if you'd like to use it as a regular task manager started by a hardware button or something similar, that could be done in the future through an options screen, which is also on the list.

pavel-auto78 said:

I was wrong in my question. Can I put the launch ArkSwitch on softkey?
(My english very bad, isn't it?)

Click to expand...

Click to collapse

Please see above. And if you're not sure if your English text is good, you can also say it in Russian next time

maisonpulaski said:

so far so good on my Whitestone (Imagio) 6.5

1. question- is my regular taskmanager (upper most right hand corner) still supposed to function? bc i loose the little icon and get no response from pressing there. wasn't sure from your description if they both were supposed to function at the same time.

2. my device is wvga and i did not have overlap issues like a previous post.

3. the x's all work good and switching between apps works good.

4. pressing softkey\menu\quit arkswitch exits the program and it has to be restarted. "X"ing the upper right minimizes? is that correct?

5. oh yeah- and touching the upper left is working good to open ArkSwitch.

6. Thank you. I have been looking for a simple solution for a finger friendly task manager.

Click to expand...

Click to collapse

1. ArkSwitch does not touch the right half of the taskbar at all. I'm not sure which task manager you're using, though.

2. Right, because you're actually using WM6.5.x as opposed to toadlife...

3. Great, that means I can say WVGA works!

4. Correct. Would you like me to add an "Are you sure?" dialog when quitting?

5. Yay!

6. You're welcome

jodeltje said:

Really quick program, working pretty good!

I do have 2 requests though, which would make it perfect

I am on a 6.5.3 wvga device and I have some icons overlapping the text... maybe you can crop/stretch all icons to a specific size?

and another request, could you implement a way to exclude processes from showing in arkswitch? like start.exe etc?

Really well done so far!

point the button towards \..\program files\arkswitch\arkswitch.exe that works for me.

EDIT: well, the button doesn't work all the time, I think it has something to do with what program is in focus or something...

guess that adds a 3rd request... sorry to a pain in the ass

Click to expand...

Click to collapse

Hmm, I guess if an icon is bigger than I tested with, it would overlap. I'll add that to the list. Can you give me an example of which app(s) had overlapping icons please?

Excluding processes is already on the TODO list.

Yeah, starting the program multiple times doesn't always bring it to the front. You have to have opened the ArkSwitch window at least once before it could do that. I'm not sure why that's happening; I'll look into it some more. It's definitely a bug that should be fixed.

fotone said:

Possible X of windows mobile (down right) = close ?

Click to expand...

Click to collapse

I'm not entirely sure how to do that, actually. If any WinMo devs with experience on this would like to point me in the right direction, I'd appreciate it


Thanks for your feedback, everyone!

Are you sure that the overlapping icons are the customized ones? Because it looks like JWMD only changes the start menu icons, while ArkSwitch looks inside the actual EXE to find its icon.

Okay, that makes sense. Thanks for your feedback!

By the way, I've added a to-do list to the second post.