yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[Windows Mobile Apps and Games] aeratos:
can be added weather panel or not?? need too know
[Windows Mobile Apps and Games] mpenguin14:
ummm.... I dont know. try asking in the M2D release thread
[Windows Mobile Apps and Games] Algus Helm:
Please! How can I change the Softkeys?

This is a great app, bro!
[Windows Mobile Apps and Games] Mattster_spv:
Great news that we can now use zip files. But... what do we do with the zip file? Copy all the contents into the Windows folder? Wasn't the .M2DCT method easier? Confused...

Mattser.
[Windows Mobile Apps and Games] mpenguin14:
thanks for the compliment

as fae as changing the soft keys, I don't know how and I don't think anyone else knows how, try asking in the M2D release thread
[Windows Mobile Apps and Games] mpenguin14:
not quite... Use a zip theme the exact same way that you would use a m2dct theme.

There are 2 ways to get M2DC to recognize a theme.

(1) [RECOMMENDED] Start M2DC, click on the themes tab. Once you are on the themes tab click on the "Import Themes" button in the lower right hand corner. You will now see a file tree, choose your zip or m2dct file and press "OK". Once you do that M2DC will move the selected file to the "M2DC\Themes" folder and give the file a .m2dct file xtension

(2) Rename your zip file to .m2dct, copy the m2dct file to your "M2DC\Themes" directory
[Windows Mobile Apps and Games] Mattster_spv:
So....I download for example Twolf's "Black_Vista.zip", copy it directly to my storage card (no need to open it). Then find it via the file tree and press ok.

That it? That sounds easy!!!

Mattster.
[Windows Mobile Apps and Games] mlin:
Pretty much. You may want to open the zip file to double check that it contains the HTCHomeSettings.xml and all the hh files. I have noticed a few zips contain several subfolders with icons divided amongst them, as well as additional files that are unnecessary for the theme and just take up extra space and might interfere with reading the theme.
[Windows Mobile Apps and Games] mpenguin14:
In theory yes, that is it...

If the zip file contains all the images needed then you can just use it as-is via the import theme button, that is the easy case :)

In reality it is not that easy, It seems that most people are making a m2dct file, putting it in a zip file and uploading that here to xda, that zip file will not work with the 1 step "Import Theme" button in M2DC. Version 0.10 will fix this. To use this kind of zip file unzip it to get the m2dct file, copy that file to your device and import the m2dct file via the "Import Theme" button
[Windows Mobile Apps and Games] pdgpereira:
mpenguin14

Very nice version. Nice options on the home page.

Good call on not forcing a backup of the theme. It would always take that extra time each time I updated your program.

Still exploring all the other options.

Thank you very much for the time you put on this program.

This, Twolf's and herg62123's thread are doing magic for my Polaris.

Y'ALL ROCK!!!
[Windows Mobile Apps and Games] Mattster_spv:
Ok, thanks for the advice. So it depends basically on the way the creator of the theme presents his/her work.

I'm sticking with Twolf's themes as he seems a firm supporter of M2DC!

I've just copied of his black_vista zip to my sd (total of 200 files but no .m2dct file) and imported it via the file tree. Has worked fine. I was also able to dis-enable the analogue clock, so just the digital shows.

Twolf also makes M2DC zips. with just the .TSK, .Scheme and .M2DCT files. With the old version of M2DC I would copy the .TSK and .Scheme to Windows, and .M2DCT to Program Files\M2DC\Themes. How would I use the new version of M2DC to use this zip?

Mattster.
[Windows Mobile Apps and Games] tatnai:
Tried unchecking box on home tab for Enable Line 3, hit apply, and program hung with spinning wait icon. Had to soft reset; after reboot, TouchFlo did not show up, and was unchecked under today screen items. Third line still in place.

Thanks, really appreciating your hard work and dedication!
[Windows Mobile Apps and Games] pdgpereira:
Mattster_spv

Some themes on Twolf's thread have now a second version with the .M2DCT file, some of wich also have a .TSK file due to the colour diference from original M2D to the theme in question.

The previous Zip files made by skinners might not have the necessary .XML files to be .M2DCT compliant. These new ones already zipped to a .M2DCT have all the necessary files.

Plus, as someone pointed out, some Themes under a .ZIP file have icons on subfolders wich i think will not be read by the theme manager.

I would sugest going with the .M2DCT themes (and eventual .TSK) just to be sure. If you are savy in the theme business, go with the Zip files, making sure they have all the necessary icons and .XML files.
[Windows Mobile Apps and Games] pdgpereira:
Mattster_spv

Also, I do belive that .TSK still has to be manually selected on the "Today" options
[Windows Mobile Apps and Games] twolf:
I used to have a .scheme file to (I thought) help the black TSK become all flat, apperantly I was mistaken, and the TSK is the only thing needed, so I removed it from the M2DCT zips now.

BTW, I wanted to have a .M2DCT directly in the post attachment, but that is not possible so I placed it inside a zip, do not confuse those zips with the other themes, the .M2DCT files need to be outside the zip to work.

Congrats on the new update! :)
[Windows Mobile Apps and Games] outphase:
[deleted because my question was my own error]
[Windows Mobile Apps and Games] pdgpereira:
mpenguin14

There are now many many clock for people to chose from, besides from the hole theme. There are also some icon sets and other nice weather themes.

What is the best way to change this on a theme selected by your program?

Will we see an "Icon", "clock" and/or "Weather" tab next to your "theme" tab? I understand there are some xml lines involved in this matter. Maybe applying a diferent weather theme would read it's xml file regarding the position of the icons, town name, weather description [...], and change the apropriat xml lines in the current theme, so that the positions would not be messed up (like some times people will see when changing the clock).

I know this takes a lot of time but i've seen other people say it would be nice.

Do you agree?
[Windows Mobile Apps and Games] Mattster_spv:
Hi Twolf. Thanks very much for organising the themes so well. I love the black_vista theme.

So, to recap.... with the latest M2DC v0.9.127, I'm basically best off just downloading your MDCT zips, putting the .TSK file into Windows and the .M2DCT to Program Files\M2DC\Themes, right?

If no MDCT zip is available, I just put the whole zip file onto my sd then find it using the file tree in MDCT, yes?

Thanks,

Mattster
[Windows Mobile Apps and Games] WatermelonSlim:
I have a few suggestions for the M2DC...

I like the idea of a theme manager. The issue I have is how it puts everything in the install directory.

People are starting to cook this into their ROMs, so it would be nice if the M2DC let you choose your theme folder. That way you could make a folder on your SD card for your themes, and hopefully a backup could be made to the SD card as well, with the theme manager actually cooked into the ROM.

The more people cooking this into their ROMs, the more likely it will become standard and everyone will use this format instead of cabs. But if it totally kills your storage space when you cook it into the ROM, nobody is going to want to cook it in.

I haven't read this entire thread yet, so sorry if someone else has already posted this...
[Windows Mobile Apps and Games] twolf:
Yes, you can also create a M2SCT file yourself just by zipping the folder with all the skin files and then renaming it to .M2DCT

:)
[Windows Mobile Apps and Games] schnitzelbrain:
was just about to write the same thing, the problem is when u import the theme now and delete it with ur app .....its gone. so better just extract it to the needed places when applying it and leave the m2dct (zip) wherever it is.

if there is just a folder to set for the themes in m2dct (zip) format there is no need to import anymore, only apply:)
[Windows Mobile Apps and Games] mpenguin14:
Well thanks for the feedback guys, and thanks to blazinwolf from the skins thread for the oririginal ideas to implement this functionality.

Oct-05-2008

v0.10.130

- changed the way that M2DC stores and access theme files.

Now no longer are themes copied to the install directory,

You have 2 ways of getting M2DC to recogize your theme files.

1) Copy the theme files directly to the "M2DC\Themes" filder

2) Press the "Add THeme" button.

When you press teh add theme button the theme will not be copied,

instead of copying the theme M2DC now keeps track of all of the

themes that you have added and displays to you the themes files

that exist on the system.

So now you can keep all o fyour themes on your SD card with no problems.

- no longer removes the original theme file during add theme

- added more prompts for theme deletion
[Windows Mobile Apps and Games] kidnamedAlbert:
i just want to say AMAZING job mpenguin14. im using 0.9 and its working like a charm.

it great so when i create themes and need to fix things. its easier to change themes.
[Windows Mobile Apps and Games] mpenguin14:
thanks a lot for the compliments man, version 10 really only changes the way that theme files are managed, but I think this is something that a lot of people were wanting...

thanks for the red void theme too, i have been using it off and on all day while developing, that is one nice looking clock :)
[Windows Mobile Apps and Games] mario23:
I have a question for you.

What do you mean when you say the program no longer removes the original theme file during add theme.

Are the original theme files being left in the windows directory?

I'm just curious which would be more stable.

I am currently running version 9 on my storage card so I don't have any memory issues so wasn't sure if I should upgrade.

tks
[Windows Mobile Apps and Games] schnitzelbrain:
:):):) and :)

great job, now ur manager is as slim as the cab installes. no more eating up memory, as a theme junkie.
[Windows Mobile Apps and Games] 911sniper:
Nice work! Keep eye on you!:D

One question of translation:I can't find the ressource of "This will restore all Manilla 2D theme files from your backup copy.Would you like to continue?" with eXescope/ResourceHacker or PE Explorer.
[Windows Mobile Apps and Games] twolf:
May I propose something?

The preview would obvisouly be a responsability of the skin maker, that should leave a preview.jpg file on the root of the zipped M2DCT.

:D
[Windows Mobile Apps and Games] Troc:
Unconsistent results when applying themes

First of all, let me say this is a great job you've been doing with M2DC. I can't imagine not having it. There will be some coffee for you on next pay day for sure.

I've been experiencing some weird results when applying themes, and I don't know if they are related to the theme files or M2DC. These are events that occurred since last evening, but I'm not sure I can reproduce them (I'll try a more scientific approach tonigh):

- after applying a theme, sometimes part of the old theme remains (clock, or some icons, or top bar)

- after applying a theme, digital clock gets stuck, and I need to mannually remove the .bmpx files from \windows folder

- after applying a theme, touchflo stops working, and I get the screen from the old theme but no functionallity

I believe these must be related to specific theme files, cause I allready realized that when I have TWolf's black vista theme one, it's less likely to have a problem when applying other themes. Here is the list of themes I've benn switching between (it's fun, and I'm addicted:o):

- BlackWolf's Black Vista

- MobileMatt's Alabaster

- MobileMatt's Bios

- s2w's Black Gold

- deonidis' Sticker

- witro's Rosvil

- showaco's Golden Oldie

- SpaceMonkey's White Nova

Also tried s2w's Red Scarlet, but TouchFlo wouldn't start after applying that.

Been also thinking if these could be related to the ROM or device I'm using.:confused:
[Windows Mobile Apps and Games] schnitzelbrain:
Did u turn off 2d in today before applying new theme ? then restart 2d again.
[Windows Mobile Apps and Games] Troc:
When using M2DC do I still have to turn off M2D before applying a theme? I was under the impression that M2DC would take care of that.
[Windows Mobile Apps and Games] mario23:
With version 9, I never turned M2D off prior to theme switching and never had a problem...
[Windows Mobile Apps and Games] mpenguin14:
thanks for the compliment I am glad to hear it is working out for you

hmmm, right now I am not reading the strings from the resource they are all hard coded, I will look into what it will take to read the strings out of the resource so that translations are easier.

Wow, that looks great twolf, I don't think hat should be too hard to do... I have a few bugs that I observed that I have to get ironed out, but once those are done then I am definitely going to try and get that functionality in M2DC.

Yeah, I too have experienced those issues., I am looking into it, The problems can be due to a number of things, maybe I am not over writing the old images correctly so some parts of the old theme stay. I also know that I have some theme zip files that only have 100 or so images, and when you apply them they update some of the overall theme, but not everything, so you first have to apply the regular base theme that you want before applying this kind of theme.

yeah since version 0.1 you have not had to do that manually, M2DC takes care of all of that for you

Thanks for the feedback everyone
[Windows Mobile Apps and Games] showaco:
That preview would be awesome, just let us know what size the image should be that is included in theme file.

Maybe people should reinstall original image/xml file before changing to a new theme. That would eliminate old images leftover since it would put everything back to original.

Great work:D
[Windows Mobile Apps and Games] Khrushy:
Just popping in to express my love and gratitude. Awesome program, and it's really come of ages as an excellent tool with the last couple of versions.

Between the latest M2DC and the latest Manila you have made setting up my phone 1,000 sexier and easier.
[Windows Mobile Apps and Games] Troc:
I second that. A great idea!

Thank God it's not just me. Was beggining to think I've messed up something with all the cabs, tweaks and everything.:)

I would be surprised if not, cause that's how I've been using it.

It's the least we can do, but I intend to do a little more.
[Windows Mobile Apps and Games] schnitzelbrain:
i thought that when m2dc is applying the theme 2d is still running, it would restart after apply. But when it takes care of that, even better.

Just a suggestion, I wonder why I have no problems with the sms tab.

maybe i am just lucky :)
[Windows Mobile Apps and Games] kwill:
wow!! great release on the latest. glad to see that everyone found m2dc and my concern with it eating the memory. quick question and it may be stupid. now if we decide to manually copy files, should they go into the appropriate directory for our m2d install or into the m2dc directory somewhere?
[Windows Mobile Apps and Games] blazingwolf:
Great stuff. :D Thanks for the updates. :) You have definitely made using tf2d easier.

Installed and working perfectly. Thank you very much. :D
[Windows Mobile Apps and Games] schnitzelbrain:
Do u mean what is written under 1) ? Correct ?
[Windows Mobile Apps and Games] jmquinn:
Thanks for the great app, mpenguin14.

I have a question that could likely be answered by the kind folks making the themes: Regarding the "problem" referenced in this thread and this msdn blog post, is it possible for your application to set a designated theme directory, so we could avoid storing everything in /windows?

From what I could tell in the M2D-XML reference thread, the location of the images is specified in the HTCHomeSettings.xml file, and the only reason that they're currently all stored in /windows is that that's where HTC decided to put them.

Is it up to the theme developers to specify the directory? Can M2DC intervene and store the files elsewhere?

I currently have M2DC .10.130 installed with M2D Update 18. I've imported a theme that had the designated extension, and the images all still seem to be in /windows.
[Windows Mobile Apps and Games] schnitzelbrain:
I think this is a thing of Manilla 2d and not from M2DC.

M2DC just puts the files where manilla 2D needs it. Same thing as changing the font coclors, manilla 2D needs to be hacked. Then u can specify another Directory or changing colors
[Windows Mobile Apps and Games] kwill:
not really. thats for the packaged themes that have all inclusive files. i mean for example, if we just want to change the icons. we can just copy them into the appropriate directory (windows or wherever your m2d install has them stored). using m2dc, the last time i tried that i copied files into windows and it didnt overwrite anything. so m2dc had moved the files. i ended up with crap all over the device. windows and m2dc themes folder:)
[Windows Mobile Apps and Games] andrew-in-woking:
Problem with start menu in specific rom

Hi,

Here is an outline of a problem that I, as well as some others it seems, am having with M2DC and the sakajati's Hyperdragon III OPAL ROM from 30th September:

On previous ROM's where M2D was not cooked in but installed, the start menu changed when M2D was enabled through Settings>Personal>Today>Items>TouchFLO from the regular start menu that was part of the applied theme file (.tsk) to having Manila style seperators and a custom background that was not part of the regular today theme. This was also true for the HTC task manager today menu when opened.

When I first flashed this ROM the start menu was in a nice manila style one whether or not M2D was selected from the today items setting. This can be seen in the screen shots picture in post 1 of the ROM thread here:

http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=397121

However, after running M2D Config version 0.9.127 to change the Programs Launcher tab the start menu reverted back to the standard one in line with the today theme (.tsk file) that was selected, whether or not M2D was enabled. Restoring a backup made in M2DC before any editing did not restore the start menu to its original state.

I don't yet know if sakajati did something specifically to make this start menu or whether it just appeared as part of cooking M2D into the ROM. Also, when I exported the registry from the following key, these were the values found:

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\HTC\EnlargeMenu]

"DisableLandscape"=dword:00000001

"ManilaCustomHlDown"=dword:007a4300

"ManilaCustomHiUp"=dword:00a25900

"ManilaCustomGrid"=dword:008c6f4a

"ManilaCustomTexture"="\\WINDOWS\\ESM_background_pattern.png"

"BackgroundShift"=dword:00000019

"Enable"=dword:00000001

Here are sakajati's original registry values from the same key:

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\HTC\EnlargeMenu]

"Enable"=dword:00000001

"DisableLandscape"=dword:00000001

"BackgroundShift"=dword:00000019

"ManilaCustomHlUp"=dword:00ababab

"ManilaCustomHlDown"=dword:00ababab

"ManilaCustomTexture"="\\WINDOWS\\ESM_background_pattern.png"

As you can see there are some differences. My export was done after using M2DC. Does anybody have any thoughts what might be causing this issue and/or how to fix it? Has anybody had this issue in another ROM with M2D cooked in?

Cheers,

andrew-in-woking
[Windows Mobile Apps and Games] schnitzelbrain:
Ahh ok, as far as I know the windows directory should be it.
[Windows Mobile Apps and Games] kwill:
thanks, thats right. i checked into it after using m2dc to install a theme.
[Windows Mobile Apps and Games] mpenguin14:
I see that you already have your answer but I will go ahead and describe the situation for everyone else.

The first release of M2DC that had a theme manager (0.6 I believe) maintained a folder of theme files in the M2DC install directory (\M2DC\ActiveTheme), this did not play so nicely with update 18 of Manilla 2D, so I released version 0.7 of M2DC< and since version 0,7 I no longer use the active theme directory. Now M2DC will copy an image form your zip of m2dct file directly to where the old theme file is... so if the current theme is using the file in "\Windows", then M2DC unpacks the file form the zip to "\Windows" and overwrites the current file. If the file is in "\Windows\ManilaGFX" then M2DC unpacks the file and overwrites the original file in ManilaGFX.

If you manually want to update your theme you will have to read your HTCHomeSettings.xml file and figure out where it is trying to read each file from, and put the new manually copied theme file there.
[Windows Mobile Apps and Games] jvreeken:
how to change calendar link????

how can I change the calendar link from the default to say... thumb cal????

its not in the HTC/Manilla2d/Home Registry...

Please Advise...

I have already set thumb cal to be the default calendar within the program and it works when I go to the regular calendar link... (redirects it to thumbcal)

there must be some way to change this...
[Windows Mobile Apps and Games] mpenguin14:
Hmmm... My rom (JD's 2.9.1 from ppcgeeks) has the large start menu built in too, I don't use the manila2D that is built in though, I use update 18 from the release post. right now my reg settings match the second set that you posted

I am using the latest version of M2DC... I will do a hard reset tonight and try using the cooked in Manila 2D with M2DC and see if I can recreate the problem

Thanks for the bug report, I appreciate it
[Windows Mobile Apps and Games] blazingwolf:
The Opal start menu is cooked in to my personal ROM and it is working as intended with the use of M2DC .10. tf2d is cooked in also.
[Windows Mobile Apps and Games] showaco:
I have issue with newest version where it doesn't always copy the xml right. Sometime the homescreen doesn't change layout as it should with the theme I'm installing. I have M2DC installed on storage card and my themes are in \Storage Card\Manila Themes in zip format.

I'm using Hyperdragon III rom with manila builtin on a tilt. Otherwise working great so far.
[Windows Mobile Apps and Games] kwill:
@mpenguin... thanks by the way for still explaining it for all. it was difficult for me to even describe in my first initial post (post 189) during the earlier versions. but, i knew it was something:) and im glad you worked it out. program rocks now!!
[Windows Mobile Apps and Games] rabdo:
I found the problem - every time changes are made with M2DC it sets the following registry entry:

HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Today\Items\TouchFLO 3D,"Enabled" to the value "0"

This disables the Manila start menu background (not sure why)

If you change this setting back to "1" then the manila start menu background reappears

If you could stop M2DC making this registry change then it would fix this problem

rabdo

ps. This applies to Hyperdragon III Opal, not sure how it affects other ROMs
[Windows Mobile Apps and Games] leoiden:
I STILL don,t understand why there is additional widgits like operator and myfaves and we cannot use them or atleast change them to something else?
[Windows Mobile Apps and Games] mario23:
Someone else here hipped me to a program called VJBrisk.

Search for that here and you'll find what your looking for...