[Windows Mobile Development and Hacking General] volDeus:
MOVED TO NEW THREAD

BG4ALL + True transparent task and menu-bars in Sense 2.5.2012 ... BOTH ORIENTATIONS

Heres a small app I put together today for setting and aligning wallpapers in Sense/Manila and incorporating Ham3r's transparency hack...

This is an attempt to bring together Ham3r's transparency hack, some other work from around the forum, and some work of my own..

The app lets you pick two images (portrait and landscape) and it sets them as your today wallpaper and Sense/Manila wallpaper in one step. It aligns the images so that the portion of the today wallpaper visible through the transparent task-bar and menu-bar line up perfectly with your Sense wallpaper in both orientations. When you combine it with my refresh helper and the Elegance II theme or my stripped cab,

you get an easy, one-step process for changing your wallpaper ... and a seamless look in both orientations and all screens (Manila, today, start menu)...

Instructions:

1. To use this app

YOU MUST FIRST INSTALL

the Elegance II theme or the stripped down version of it I made and posted below: HQ, All tabs, Port and Land.

If you don't install one of these, the app may still work, but only in portrait orientation, and the wallpapers in Sense/Manila will be much lower quality.

2. Extract the .exe from the "vol Set Wallpapers" wherever you want to and run it.

3. Choose images for portrait and landscape from the file list. The images you choose will be previewed and you will be prompted for confirmation. Tap yes to continue, no to choose a different image, or cancel to exit the app.

4. Wait for the images to be processed and for Sense/Manila to restart.

5. Extract my refresh app and run it, it will run in the background and refresh your task-bar and menu-bar when you rotate your screen.

6. Repeat 3. and 4. whenever you want a new background.

Important notes:

-Back up your data and be prepared for the possibility of a hard-reset ... This setup is working fine for me, but it is a work in progress and it may cause you trouble.

-If you don't install the Elegance II theme or my stripped down cab, the app may work but it will only be in portrait orientation and the wallpaper image quality in Sense/Manila will be much lower.

-The two prerequisites mentioned above do not seem to play well with other Sense/Manila mods... I have tested with cookie's home tab and it is not working ... I am just starting to learn about Sense/Manila MODs and if anyone is willing to help get it working with other MODs, (especially cookie's) please do.

-The Sense/Manila wallpapers are not full quality but they are close, and are much higher quality than standard wallpapers set through un-modded Sense.

-I have only tested this setup on my WVGA device ... The app itself is resolution independant but the prequisites may not be ... Feel free to test with other resolutions and let me know what your results are.

-The Elegance II theme includes a custom clock, retractable slider, and gsensor rotation enabled in Sense ... my stripped down cab does not.

-For now, the app will only accept image files that match your device's resolution. I will add resizing/cropping options if anyoone is interested.

Known bugs/issues:

-The start menu wallpaper does not update until you perform a soft-reset ... everything else does. I have not found a way to force the start menu to refresh yet.

-I don't think any of this setup is uninstallable, work in progress.

-The app and the refresh helper are single .exe files, you will have to run them from your file manager unless you create shortcuts to them with something like Total Commander.

-Unless you copy the refresh app to your \Windows\Startup folder ... you will have to run it again after each soft-reset.