Customizing the Sliding Panel Homescreen

Article
06/03/2008

Hi, my name is Jorge Peraza; I am a Developer on the Windows Mobile team that was responsible for the new “Sliding Panel” home screen in Windows Mobile 6.1.

When we were working on the visual style and functionality of the home screen we tried to make something that looked both professional and appealing while still showcasing all the information the user is going to need to know what’s important and requires attention. While I think the default design looks really cool, we added some customization features to enable users to make it their own.

Customizing the layout:

The home screen layout can be modified using the same home.xml file from previous versions of WM, the schema of the file was extended to allow the customization of many of its elements, this includes the art assets that are used for most of the plug-ins.

When you open the SlidingPanel.home.xml file (inside \ApplicationData\Home) you will find the plug-in element that corresponds to the sliding panel home screen (its CLSID is {E9267CAB-02EE-4f37-8216-6BF6A8FF5A71}). All the child elements inside it are designed to tweak and customize the way the home screen will look.

The top level element is the plugins tag, this has one attribute called “Order” and it’s used to list the plug-ins that will be shown and the order they are going to be laid out on the screen.

The built in plug-in names are:

1) CClock – The big clock

2) CAppointments - The calendar plugin

3) CHome – The notifications plugin

4) CMyPhotos – The photos plugin

5) CMessage – The message center (this is off by default on all sliding panel built in layouts.

6) CMusic – The music plugin

7) Settings – The settings plug-in

8) Custom Plugins – Users can specify custom plug-ins with static content that can be displayed on the home screen.

For example, the XML snippet bellow moves the photos plug-in to the first position and enables the message center (which is turned off by default on both "Sliding Panel" and "Sliding Panel Media")

</plugin>

There are many other ways of customizing the home screen using the plug-in settings like overriding the default images or even adding your own custom plug-ins that display static content, I'll post and updated entry latter on on how to do this in detail but for now, you can use the provided home.xml files to start experimenting with this.

The notifications plug-in and message center

In the sliding panel home screen, the notifications plug-in by default serves as a dual-purpose notifications/gateway to all you phone/message accounts where every page represents one account (so, if you have multiple notifications in one category they will be shown as one summary page).

There is however an alternative behavior where individual notifications are added as independent pages (Similar to what the T-Mobile shadow home screen does) and the plug-in only shows accounts that have new notifications in them. One cool feature of this alternate behavior is that each individual notification can be dismissed without having to leave the home screen.

You can enable this alternative behavior by setting the following registry key to a value other than 2 (The actual value indicates how many pages of each notification type will be added to the home screen before collapsing them into a summary page. We have tested 2 and 5 but feel free to experiment with other values)

[HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Chome\Chome]

PageCollapseThreshold: DWORD

Note that this prevents you from being able to access the email/phone account data if there are no notifications for it. If you still want to be able to do that you can always re-enable the message center as described in the previous section as a separate plug-in.

There is one more behavioral change you can make that allows you to “dock” the condensed view of the first plug-in to the top of the screen when it is not active, we added this for people like me that want to have the clock always visible. To enable just set the following registry key to “1”

[HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Chome]

DockOperatorBar: DWORD

Advanced layout modification:

There are even more advanced things you can do to further tweak the look of the home screen but it is unsupported by Microsoft at this moment so you’ll have to experiment on your own

J (Hint, look at the following files \windows\CHome_240x320.cpr and \windows\CHome_320x240.cpr).

Important update, please read:

Although we're excited to see developers interested in taking advantage of the new home screen, any code samples in this blog post apply only to Windows Mobile 6.1 Standard devices. We do not expect this code to work on previous or future versions of Windows Mobile. Please keep this in mind if you decide to develop plugins for Sliding Panel today.

Comments

Anonymous
June 03, 2008
Wow, this looks great! Do you know which phones are going to support this? Is there a separate downloadable package for Sliding Panel for any windows mobile phone?
Anonymous
June 03, 2008
Hi Marcus, I can't comment on which devices will receive updates for 6.1, stay tuned for official announcements soon though :-).
Anonymous
June 03, 2008
Hi Marcus, I have a Smartphone with WM 6.1 and the sliding panels theme installed. I have written a weather application that writes information to the registry in the HKLMSoftwareChomeCTestUIPlugin section to update the "Text1","iconpaths" and "image" fields to show current weather PNG icons as well as a text description. However the Text2 entry is missing, although present on "Operator Services" type panels, or the "Settings" panels. Also, while the TestUI plugin is Enabled (using the DWORD key in that registry settings), reloading the homescreen for any reason (like changing colors or layouts) crashed home.exe and leaves me with a blank homescreen :( Any ideas why it would behave this way ? Am I doing something wrong ? I can be reach at nrgz28@gmail.com if you can provide any insight on this. Thank you :)
Anonymous
June 03, 2008

Custom Plugins – Users can specify custom plug-ins with static content that can be displayed on the home screen. Can you please expand on that a little bit ? How can a user add static content to one of the sliding panels ? :)

Anonymous
June 04, 2008
I'd love to use this on my Verizon Wireless Q9m, but alas, no update as of yet. I thought that Microsoft included Automatic Updates, that we'd actually see these point releases as they are released?
Anonymous
June 04, 2008
Thank you for the information, this is the first information from Microsoft I can find on the internet about the new CHome plugin. When experimenting with the emulator, I wrote a freeware to customize almost every registry settings in CHome section (available from my blog. However all the work was done just by experimenting because there's no documentation. This post allow me to add more useful features to it. Will there ever be a more details official (advanced) documentation from Microsoft about this new plugin?
Anonymous
June 04, 2008
Hi TLogix, I'm planning to write a second blog post with more information (I'm going to play around with CHome configurator a little more to see if there is anything in specific that could make it even cooler), should come in the next few days. Sadly, I'm not aware of any plans to release official docs for the developer community as of now, but if you have any questions you can always ping me :-)
Anonymous
June 04, 2008
Jorge, You have excellent timing. Sprint just released the 6.1 ROM update for us Q9c owners yesterday, so this info couldn't have come at a better time. :)
Anonymous
June 04, 2008
The comment has been removed
Anonymous
June 04, 2008
I'm running Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional and don't have this functionality. Is this limited to non-touch devices? If so why?
Anonymous
June 04, 2008
Is there anyway to get the "long" form of the date similar to the mode="long" in the old homescreen XML? I like to see what day and month it is.
Anonymous
June 04, 2008
NeoteriX: You can have the day of the week back by opening the windowsCHome_320x240.cpr (for the motoQ or other landscape devices) and replacing  <Text ID="Date" Left="180" Top="83" Width="110" Height="19" FontFamily="Segoe Condensed" FontSize="9" FontStyle="Bold" Wrap="False" HorizontalAlignment="Left" Trimming="EllipsisCharacter"></Text> For  <Text ID="Date" Left="180" Top="83" Width="110" Height="19" FontFamily="Segoe Condensed" FontSize="9" FontStyle="Bold" Wrap="False" HorizontalAlignment="Left" Trimming="EllipsisCharacter"></Text> <Text ID="Day of Week" Left="65" Top="83" Width="110" Height="19" FontFamily="Segoe Condensed" FontSize="9" FontStyle="Bold" Wrap="False" HorizontalAlignment="Right" Trimming="EllipsisCharacter"></Text> Note that there is a bug where the day of the week will not fade in like the rest of the clock when the screen power is restored. As for the availability on touch devices (WM 6.1 Pro) I really can’t comment on it, sorry. Jorge
Anonymous
June 04, 2008
The comment has been removed
Anonymous
June 04, 2008
There is no support for the full date as you describe at the moment. For PageCollapseThreshold, it is the number of individual notifications that will be added to the plugin (this is, per type like "Voice Mails", "Missed Calls", etc) before they are collapsed into one. so, if the number is 5, you can get up to 4 individual notifications before they get summarized into one page. Jorge
Anonymous
June 04, 2008
The comment has been removed
Anonymous
June 04, 2008
Jorge, thanks for your responsiveness. Just in case anyone was following along, I played with it a little and on a 320x240 smartphone (at least) Changing the left align to 46 (instead of 65) results in a more pleasing and symmetric setup with the date. Like so: <Text ID="Day of Week" Left="46"...
Anonymous
June 04, 2008
Really great info, thanks! I'm looking forward to the info on custom plugins. Also please let us know if there is any way to alter the content so it isn't purely static (dynamic plugins, or even an approximation). If you can tell us, will any of these concepts carry forward to WM7, or will they be totally replaced with something new in that version?
Anonymous
June 04, 2008
So, is this available for 6.1 Professional (=with touch screen)?
Anonymous
June 04, 2008
Hi, my name is Jorge Peraza; I am a Developer on the Windows Mobile team that was responsible for the
Anonymous
June 05, 2008
this is a little off topic, but can anyone tell me how or what program you use to save an image of a windows mobile 6.1 devie emulator.
Anonymous
June 05, 2008
I'm using Pocket Controller-PRO (http://www.soti.net/default.asp?Cmd=Products&SubCmd=PCPro)
Anonymous
June 05, 2008
I use this http://mymobiler.com/ freeware equivalent to Pocket Controler - Pro. Jorgeba, is there a windows message or PInvoke we could use to refresh just one sub plugin of CHome (ex: refresh just CWelcomeCenter). CTestUIPlugin uses Enable reg value to do that but this sub plugin crashes when the homescreen is refreshed using SHOnPluginDataChange() and it doesn't have the ActionURL and Softkey2 URL.
Anonymous
June 06, 2008
I'm sure it would be a lot easier to do a "PrintScreen" to save an emulator image. Then, just cut out the emulator part :)
Anonymous
June 06, 2008
Jorge, I was wondering, I noticed that CAppointments shows tomorrow or page 2 instaed of today or page 1 by default. Is there a way to change this?
Anonymous
June 06, 2008
Jorge from our Windows Mobile Developer team has written an excellent article on the Windows Mobile Team
Anonymous
June 06, 2008
Hi Mike, Can you elaborate a little bit more on what you mean?
Anonymous
June 06, 2008
Yes, I have an All Day event today and 2 appointments tomorrow, however My CAppointments panel shows my first appoinment for tomorrow by default and not my all day event today. Meaning when my CAppointments panel is highlighted it is on page 2 of 4 not page 1 of 4 I would have to click back one to see todays event. The CAppointments panel even shows tomorrow's event when it is not highlighted.
Anonymous
June 06, 2008
The Day of Week doesnt work in portrait mode. Please confirm.
Anonymous
June 06, 2008
The Day of Week doesnt work in portrait mode. Please confirm.
Anonymous
June 06, 2008
Mike, There is no way to change that behavior ili, The "Day of the week" control works on both, you might need to change its location to make it look good though (make sure you are changing the right cpr, chome_240x320 in this case).
Anonymous
June 06, 2008
TLogix, There is no way to force a sub-plugin (panel) to reload, sad :-(. I'm very interested on figuring out why the CTestUIPlugin is crashing though, can you send me the repro steps?
Anonymous
June 06, 2008
Thanks Jorgeba, that confirmed my worst fear :) About CTestUIPlugin, it's quite easy to reproduce the problem

enable CTestUIPlugin and make it visible
refresh the homescreen (or just reboot the phone)
change the display order of one of the plugins on the homescreen
refresh the homescreen one more time (or just change to another homescreen layout) the homescreen will crash and it'll display a blank homescreen.

Anonymous
June 06, 2008
Thanks Jorgeba, that confirmed my worst fear :) About CTestUIPlugin, it's quite easy to reproduce the problem

enable CTestUIPlugin and make it visible
refresh the homescreen (or just reboot the phone)
change the display order of one of the plugins on the homescreen
refresh the homescreen one more time (or just change to another homescreen layout) the homescreen will crash and it'll display a blank homescreen. Here's a more simplified procedure.
Enable the CTestUIPlugin by changing the "Disabled" DWORD key to "0"
Go to Settings > Homescreen and try changing the homescreen layout or choose any one of the color schemes that forces the Homescreen to reload.
Home.exe WILL crash, leaving you with a blank homescreen :) Remember that if you reboot the phone after this, it will remember the changes you wanted to make... So the only way to make a color change or refresh the homescreen IS to reboot the phone. I have a very crude way of doing so, by using a scrip that kills "appman.exe" > "home.exe" > "cdial.exe" > "cprog.exe" and then restarting it as follows "home.exe" > "appman.exe" (with the requires arguments to make it load the start menu), "Cdial.exe" and finally "cprog.exe". However this, sometimes makes the phone very sluggish and home.exe and cprog.exe go to 40-50% of CPU activity constantly, until you reboot the phone :)

Anonymous
June 06, 2008
Having used this home screen for several months now, I can honestly say it is amazing. It irons out many of the issues with the first sliding panel (found on the Samsung i600 Phones). I love how it defaults to the first panel for 2 reasons; the time being displayed and for the right softkey function (Contacts). The first Samsung variety of the home screen didn't default to any one panel... and each panel changes the right soft key. So you'd find yourself being severely delayed trying to locate the card with "Contacts" as the softkey. I also love the fact how they included a "recent programs" menu while hitting Start... before actually getting to the Start menu. Only rarely do I need to go digging though the start menu again.
Anonymous
June 06, 2008
Hi, it is possible to translate the content of sliding panels? (ie to spanish) PS: when will be available the localized emulator images in other languages than wwe? Thanks in advance!
Anonymous
June 06, 2008
Jorgeba, thanks for taking the time to educate your user. I have some questions. How do you change the text in the condense clock? The .cpr file has Text ID="Text 1". How is "Text 1" define? I would love to add the date to the condense layout. The ActionURL and Softkey2 URL in the Appointments plug-in always open calendar in the today view. Is there a way to make one of the button opens calendar in the month view? Setting the default view for calendar does not help.
Anonymous
June 07, 2008
Edmond- Which version are you running? Player911- Thanks for your comments, I'm glad you like it Leonardo- It is localizable but I'm unsure on where or when it is going to be available on different languages nhung- Adding the date might be possible using the time format override reg keys (though it is a global change so it might not be what you want).
Anonymous
June 07, 2008
Jorgeba, even CHome on the emulator will crash that way. As described by Edmon, CTestUIPlugin must be enabled and visible first. Then just go to Settings > Homescreen and set the color scheme from default to blue for example. press home to get back to the homescreen and you'll see it crashes.
Anonymous
June 07, 2008
Yep, you can easily replicate this behaviour in the emulator! We would love to get CTestUIPlugin to work, it's our ONLY way of displaying information in CHome in real time... :(
Anonymous
June 07, 2008
I'm trying to get the exact build you guys have, can you tell me the version (from the settings->about dialog)
Anonymous
June 07, 2008
This one is from WM 6.1 Standard QVGA emulator image: CE OS 5.2.19202 (Build 19202.1.0.0) Hope that helps.
Anonymous
June 07, 2008
"time format override reg keys"? Which registry key is this?
Anonymous
June 08, 2008
I would also like to know why this new interface is left out of Professional. It is great, why deny those of us with PPC's the ability to use it?
Anonymous
June 09, 2008
Edmond, Tlogix, I'm still looking at the crash, will update once I know more.
Anonymous
June 09, 2008
hi do you know if you can change the location of CMyPhoto to Storage CardMy DocumentsMy Picturs
Anonymous
June 09, 2008
That is not possible currently; the plug-in will scan DCIM and Pictures only.
Anonymous
June 09, 2008
could you change the location if i hacked cmhome.dll?
Anonymous
June 09, 2008
I've searched everywhere but I can't find the answer that I'm looking for. Has anyone created a panel for the tasks? I use my task as my to-do list and it would be great if someone could create a panel that acts similarly to the appointment panel where it displays the tasks that you have. I've used CHome confiugurator and I have created a shortcut to my Tasks but it would be great to just be able to view them from the homescreen like I can with appointments. Any help would be appreciated!
Anonymous
June 09, 2008
That could be easily done in the CTestUIPlugin... if JORGEBA figures out for us why it crashes on homescreen reload :)
Anonymous
June 10, 2008
I can't seem to edit SlidingPanel_Media.home.xml -- it's locked, and I can't unlock it to edit it, or replace it. I'm using a Motorola Q9h
Anonymous
June 10, 2008
Philip I recommend creating a new one with a different name (just copy the media one to a new name and edit that :-)), make sure you update the <Title> tag that matches the the language of your phone
Anonymous
June 10, 2008
The comment has been removed
Anonymous
June 10, 2008
No hard feeling :) Now I have another question, in the CPR file, lets say I added a custom panel based on CWelcomeCenter GUID named CTest and I'd like to have a different layout for CTest. Is it possible to do it by adding another 2 sections of: <Layer ID="TestExpanded" Visible="False" Width="240" Height="130">.... <Layer ID="TestCondensed" Visible="False" Width="240" Height="130">..... In another word, how does CHome determine which layer ID should be applied for each panel? I don't see any GUID or panel name anywhere except in this layer ID attribute. Thanks.
Anonymous
June 10, 2008
Well, kind of, by default the current CWelcomeCenter loads the "DefaultExpanded" and "DefaultCondensed" layouts which is shared among all plugins that have no specific layout. You can create a "WelcomeCenterExpanded" and "WelcomeCenterCondensed" layouts to modify the appearance for all the CWelcomeCenter based plugins but there is no way to just modify one instance.
Anonymous
June 10, 2008
I was under the impression that the CWelcomeCenter plugin gets its layout "directions" from the "Operator Services" section of the CPR file. Based on my experience, modifying DefaultExpanded and DefaultCondensed doesn't affect the WelcomeCenter's layout... And one last question... is there AAAANY way to get the fix that you talk about ? It would mean so much to us right now. CTestUI is like a godsend to us homescreen designers and having it broken is just such a... heart break for us :(
Anonymous
June 10, 2008
I'm just wondering if there is a way to add WindowsLive, windowslive search or an express weather plugin to the home screen in it's own panel? I've been playing around with it a bit but the most I've been able to accomplish is to re-arrange the order of the default plugins. Thanks in advance.
Anonymous
June 10, 2008
I chnage the value to 1 in registry but I do not see any difference. [HKLMSoftwareMicrosoftChome] DockOperatorBar: DWORD What will change? where time will be.
Anonymous
June 11, 2008
You HAVE to reboot after you make that change. Or at least refresh your homescreen by switching layouts.
Anonymous
June 11, 2008
Edmond, You are right, on the 6.1.0 release WelcomeCenter does get the layout from "Operator Services". so much code so little time :-). For fixing the crash, the only way I can think of is to get cmhome.dll and ccore.dll from a newer build. Jason, If you set up the windows live client it will add itself to the homescreen with search, email and messenger on their own panels.
Anonymous
June 11, 2008
Well hopefully you guys will update the emulator image with this newer build. Thanks for the info.
Anonymous
June 12, 2008
Is there a way to change the media player on the sliding Panel to point to the storage card. I really dislike how it plays the ringers as music and not the music on the storage card when selected off of the homescreen. Thanks for any help in this question.. Phone: Moto Q9C OS: WM6.1 Carrier: Sprint
Anonymous
June 12, 2008
If I remember correctly, the media plugin gets the media information from the WMP library so, if your music from your memory card is in it, the pluging should be able to discover it and play it. the same way, you can remove the ringers from the library and they will not be avaliable anymore from the homescreen.
Anonymous
June 13, 2008
So... any more tips for to customize the sliding panels ? :)
Anonymous
June 16, 2008
@rickwyatt I've made a folder named "Pictures" in the root of my storage card. The 'my photos' tab now also shows all the pictures that are in there. You could give it a try.
Anonymous
June 16, 2008
Is there a way to add plugins is simular way to sliding panels <plugin clsid="{4760B747-7DD5-2470-CC01-AA4F9D954A65}" name="Communicator" height="55" autoheight="true"> <background> <format state="selected" bgcolor="COLOR_HOMEHIGHLIGHT"/> </background> </plugin> Thank you.
Anonymous
June 16, 2008
There isn't.. I think he made that pretty clear already.
Anonymous
June 17, 2008
Hi Jorge. Nice work on Sliding Panel home screen. I'm developing a home screen plugin also, but I faced a big problem: how to change the RSK? Ok, so you can say: change the [HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftHomeKeys113] registry key. But changing this will erase the Default RSK choosed by the user via another app and will also conflict with other applications that use the same key. So I'm looking a way to change RSK and handle it key without changing the RSK registry key, like Sliding Panel do. Can you please tell me how Sliding Panel do it? Regards, Matthew Vallabhbhai
Anonymous
June 24, 2008
This new homescreen seems pointless to me if we can't create and add our own panels.
Anonymous
June 25, 2008
it there any way that i could make my cmhome screen look like the t-mobile shadow neo home screen? you no the bar is locked at the bottom of the screen
Anonymous
June 27, 2008
The comment has been removed
Anonymous
June 27, 2008
ok, actually, it just decided to start working again. so i'm gonna hope it keeps working. haha.
Anonymous
June 29, 2008
I am trying to remap the Clock panel to bring up the Wireless Manager when the user selects it (right now it defaults to the Date/Time, Alarm 1, Alarm 2 screen). Is there any way to do this or is it hardcoded hence not able to be changed?
Anonymous
July 02, 2008
How to install sliding panels in wm 6.1 Pro? Only Stand I really like it.
Anonymous
July 04, 2008
You CANNOT install this WM Pro. Is that so hard to understand ? It's for WM Standard !!
Anonymous
July 04, 2008
The comment has been removed
Anonymous
July 04, 2008
Has anyone figured out how to get the day of week to fade like the rest of the clock panel?
Anonymous
July 06, 2008
For older windows mobile phones, will they be able to get upgraded to 6.1? would it be for free or for a price?
Anonymous
July 06, 2008
Hi I have the NEO skin, how do I set the picture scroll to view the pictures on my storage card rather than from the phone mem?
Anonymous
July 06, 2008
Hi I tried to configure the CWelcomeCenter and it worked fine for me, but I don't have the idea abt how to add for multiples languages.Is there any way to add more languages for the CWelcomeCenter.
Anonymous
July 09, 2008
The comment has been removed
Anonymous
July 11, 2008
It's sad. You don't seem to really want CE to succeed. Why not offer this nice plug to the many 5.2 users? Truthfully, how hard can that really be? It's good chance they will never get beyond that, because they are at the mercy of the carrier. I know, it's "marketing", you think it will "force" users to upgrade, but in fact you will just frustrate users (and devs) who can't control this, and make then crave an IPhone.
Anonymous
July 11, 2008
JD, you are never at the mercy of your carrier. You can buy any phone you want to use pretty much on any network. It just depends on how bad you want it, and how much you are willing to pay for it. Windows Mobile has and will evolve. No one is trying to force an upgrade of anyone. You can run older versions and they work fine. Just as with any operating system on anything, newer versions have more features. Its not out of necessity that you upgrade, but out of desire.
Anonymous
July 15, 2008
For some reason, I edit the XML file repeatedly and nothing ever goes into effect. I tried rearranging the panels but it's always in the same order. Does it only work if I edit the XML from the device itself (currently I'm just replacing the XML file from my computer)?
Anonymous
July 15, 2008
Never mind, problem solved. All I had to do was change it from Sliding Panel Media to Sliding Panel. Thanks!
Anonymous
July 18, 2008
Can you provide more information on Custom Plugins? There is barely any information on how to actually get one to work. An example will help greatly. I ran in to some documentation which says Settings is also a CustomPlugin but there is nothing regarding that present anywhere. Does .cpr file has to be modified for any custom plugin created?
Anonymous
July 22, 2008
Could anyone give me some steps on how to develop a custom HomeScreen plug-in, and how to integrate it into the image via PlateForm? Thank you!
Anonymous
July 23, 2008
Just traded in my Treo 755 Treo for 800W Treo. I don't wear glasses and I'm 61 years old. The overwhelming amount of text is too small to read. It looks like 4 or 5pt. type. I have increased type that is allowed. To the best of my knowledge there is no way to make icons home page.
Anonymous
July 23, 2008
Just traded in my Treo 755 Treo for 800W Treo. I don't wear glasses and I'm 61 years old. The overwhelming amount of text is too small to read. It looks like 4 or 5pt. type. I have increased type that is allowed. To the best of my knowledge there is no way to make icons home page.
Anonymous
July 23, 2008
I am having trouble finding the SlidingPanel.home.xml file in my phone. I checked applications/data/home and do not see it. I have 6.1 and am running slidingpanel, I would like to change it around a bit and maybe add some freeware, which I am not sure how to do. Can anyone help?
Anonymous
July 24, 2008
I find it very sad that this functionality is only for standard users. We who shelled out the additional money for a Pro device are left short...
Anonymous
July 24, 2008
I don't get it... Microsoft has been TOUTING the heck out of the new SLIDING PANEL and we wait and wait for 6.1 to come out and BAM! Pro users don't get it because we have a touch screen??? Big deal. I also have a D-Pad. I would also like to run my Media Player from my home screen. I would also like to see all my messages neatly organized too. I know that the Sliding Panel isn't the ONLY fix/update/upgrade in WM6.1, but in my opinion, it was the ONLY thing that made this update TRULY UNIQUE!!!!! Please pass on to the powers that be that, PRO OWNERS WANT THE SLIDING PANEL PLEASE.... Thank You!
Anonymous
July 25, 2008
It would be awesome if WM Pro got the sliding panel... :( Anyone know of any places where i can find a customization or way to port the panel to PRO?
Anonymous
July 25, 2008
The comment has been removed
Anonymous
August 01, 2008
Quick question. I am running 6.1 smartphone. I seem to loose the notification count when I open the new item, and it does not show the unread count. Example - I have 4 new text messages. I go to CHome notification and choose text messages. When I read one, and still have 3 unread and return to the Homescreen, the value goes to zero. This is different from the message center panel that I enabled that actually shows the total number of unread. I would really like to have the CHome panel show all unread. Is this possible? Thanks in advance.
Anonymous
August 01, 2008
pmorganii, The notifications plugin was designed to show what is new rather than what is unread (And it has a bug on all mail accounts where if you action on one email it will actually dismiss them all) so there is no way for it to show what you want :(
Anonymous
August 01, 2008
Jorgeba, thanks for the response. Wow...pretty big bug or missed feature I must say. Is this a feature that will be fixed? I could really care less about how many "new" pings I have. I would much rather have the total number of unread mails, vm's, sms, etc at my finger tips. Any thoughts?
Anonymous
August 02, 2008
Regarding the CMyPhotos plugin. It worked when I first booted up my new 6.1 device. It did pull all the pictures off my SD card from DCIM. However, after the next reboot of the device, the CMyPhoto plugin just shows "No Pictures" and displays nothing. I have tried creating a new root folder on my SD card named "Pictures" and moved pictures there, no go. I have moved pictures to My DocumentsMy Pictures, no go there either. I have since done a master reset, and still, No Photos. Any ideas? Thanks
Anonymous
August 02, 2008
Update: It turns out, my SD card needed a re-format. Plugin is working fine now.
Anonymous
August 11, 2008
Somebody posted this... but I didn't see a response to it... just bumping it up because I'd really like to find out if this is possible. ... trying to remap the CClock panel to bring up the Wireless Manager when the user selects it (right now it defaults to the Date/Time, Alarm 1, Alarm 2 screen). Is there any way to do this or is it hardcoded hence not able to be changed? Just to add to this... if we cannot remap the panel to bring up the Wireless Manager, can we simply add a page or two to allow us to add the Wireless Manager as a page to the CClock panel? Thanks!
Anonymous
August 13, 2008
ummm..okay..im only 14 but I have the htc mogul by sprint & I just downloaded windows mobile 6.1 professional..& I really want the whole huge clock as my background or whatever..what do I do..because sprint is making my phone boring..I can't even send pics =(
Anonymous
August 14, 2008
Is there anyway to reset the ff: CHOME_240x320.cpr CHOME_320x240.cpr to defaults just in case we mess up in editing it?
Anonymous
August 15, 2008
I really like this UI much better. I wish it were more pervasive throughout the rest of the UX, but it's a great start. And I like the point of not guaranteeing forward compatibility - sometimes that's a sacrifice for progress, right? :-) Anyways, great job with the UI.
Anonymous
August 16, 2008
Hello, I have just updated my Moto Q9H to WM6.1 and really like the sliding panels. The only problem I have is that the sliding APPOINTMENTS panel only displays 2 days, Today and Tomorrow. Is there any way to get it to display appointments a week or more in advance? Thanks in advance for any help. Icer
Anonymous
August 20, 2008
hate to do this, but count this as another whine that it doesn't work for pro. Glad it is out there for POS (plain ol' smartphone) users, but a 3/8" x 1/4" touch screen area is not a good interface - along with no way to even see # of text/voicemail/email, etc on the screen at once - makes this phone really frustrating to use. Add to that, no real way to make custom screen outside of c++ and no good documentation on going that route. -sufferin succotash
Anonymous
August 22, 2008
How are you guys overwriting CHome_320x240.cpr? I get the following error in windows Vista: "CHome_320x240.cpr could not be placed on the device. You do not have permission to create this item." and the following error in Resco Explorer if I try to delete the file: "File WindowsCHome_320x240.cpr is in ROM memory! You cannot delete it." I don't see the file named in the XML, so I don't know if there is a way to access a different file name. Note that I have already made the RAPI security policy change in the reg editor so I can move Start Menu items around: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESecurityPoliciesPolicies�0001001 Changed from 2 to 1
Anonymous
August 26, 2008
The comment has been removed
Anonymous
August 26, 2008
cough... i like how touch screen users dont even know the original sliding panels on 6.0 names (NEO) for t-mobile was on a smartphone... So why on microsofts version would they make it for touchscreens. Touchscreens have so much over us smartphoners.. let us have something
Anonymous
August 29, 2008
Is there any way to get the CMusic panel default from "play all songs" to "play all albums"? Ideally, is there a way to allow a choice between songs, albums, and artists, and still have Media Player reside within the panel?
Anonymous
September 01, 2008
Messaging slider only indicates new messages (text or email)when they come in. However, if lets say i got 10 new emails downloaded to my phone, once i bring them up the counter reverts back to 0 even though I HAVEN'T read them all. in WM 6, as long as you had unread messages you would see them displayed in teh home screen message count. Can the behavior of the slider be changed to display the number of unread messages as opposed to "newly arrived" messages. The envelpoe icon on the home screen will indicate when you have newly arrived messages, etc and that is sufficient to notify that event.
Anonymous
September 01, 2008
I saw a few comments above about creating a tasks sliding panel... but still wasnt sure if its possible. On a dash with ricky's rom v24
Anonymous
September 03, 2008
I used CHome Configurator to "create" custom panels, which has templates for application launch, URL, and contact dialing, so if a shortcut can be created, with the required switches or GUIDs, it should be possible. Some registry modification may be necessary as well, but CHome Config will be a good start. I just need the GUID for Media Player to play "all albums" vs. "all songs" and I'd be golden.
Anonymous
September 03, 2008
The comment has been removed
Anonymous
September 03, 2008
Oops...I meant not just the recent incoming items.
Anonymous
September 03, 2008
Does anyone know how to replace the default 'carrier' name on the Sliding Panel.xml with custom text.
Anonymous
September 05, 2008
Does anyone know of a neat way to change colors on home screen based on messaging panel status? I think it would be cool to turn the whole panel...or even the home screen background to a different image/color...if there were messages. Essentially I would like to know instantly by hitting the home key if I have messages or not. This is one step quicker then focusing my eyes in on the message number, which can be difficult if I have to check phone status while driving/riding bicycle, etc.
Anonymous
September 10, 2008
The comment has been removed
Anonymous
September 11, 2008
Anyone have more insite on adding the Tasks to the homescreen? For the life of me I cannot find any info on this and it surpises me. I think this would be a standard option. Anyone?
Anonymous
September 12, 2008
I am looking for a solution to remove the "EMAIL" icon on the sliding panel on my BJII 6.1. Is there also a setting to make the clock size smaller? Thank you.
Anonymous
September 12, 2008
The comment has been removed
Anonymous
September 16, 2008
Hi, guys I need some help here. I have a Kyocera Solo E4000 (Benq E72), it says that it's running Windows Mobile 6.1, but there is no sing of the Sliding Panel Homescreen. I even try to copy from the web a sliding.home.xml file but with no luck. The Home Screen when totaly blanck when I choose it from the settings/home screen What am I missing here?, is possible to haver the wm6.1 without the Sliding Panel PlugIn, in that case where can I download the missing files?. Thanks in advance for your help, I really like the Sliding Panel UI and I will to enjoy the full wm6.1 UI.
Anonymous
September 16, 2008
Question for anyone who cares to respond. I'm reading about how great it is to customize the slidePanel by making mods. to the CHome_240x320.cpr file. But the BJll won't allow me to make changes to files in ROM? Is there a work-around? Thanks to anyone who might help out here. . . Bob D.
Anonymous
September 18, 2008
Does anyone know how I can get a WM 6.1 homescreen plugin for the 6800 since it doesn't come with the sliding homescreen when installed 6.1?
Anonymous
September 20, 2008
Hello i have a problem. I have buyed a Winmobile 6.0 phone. Then I haved it upqrgade up to 6.1. But my home screen looks like winmobile 6.0 or 5.0 what is se metter? Thanks for help
Anonymous
September 30, 2008
Muy curioso si señor, enhorabuena por vuestro trabajo. Estaba buscando información sobre el SDK del Soni Ericsson para los paneles de la XPEDIA y estaba seguro que ya habia visto algo para Windows Mobile y su home screen (aparte del antiguo API). Saludos desde España
Anonymous
September 30, 2008
Really good article. I have been following your blog for last 3 months. You have good knowledge on Mobile(cell phone) Industry and happenings. Please continue the good work. Thank you
Anonymous
October 09, 2008
Why the number of new mails in a customize mailbox can not be reflect to the Sliding panel home screen? Have any official API or other exposed interface for the new feature?
Anonymous
October 17, 2008
The comment has been removed
Anonymous
October 20, 2008
Can I make the Home Screen show 2 appoinments instead of just one? I duplicated the lines in the xml file, but the screen shows the same appointment twice!
Anonymous
October 31, 2008
I'm running Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional. Could you guide me how to customize home screen?
Anonymous
November 02, 2008
Is it true about wm6.5 in Q2 of 2009?
Anonymous
November 06, 2008
is there any way to get live search added to the sliding panels?
Anonymous
November 24, 2008
The comment has been removed
Anonymous
December 05, 2008
can you restore my Favs? And how?
Anonymous
December 12, 2008
My Message Center panel in the Sliding Panels homescreen option only shows the messages I have received(text or voice) no missed calls, email icons. How do I get it to show the missed calls, text messages and voice mail messages as icons as seen above?
Anonymous
December 21, 2008
Is there a list of plugins that can be used per default. I'm using the Communicator Default home screen for my HTC S740 and I would like to replace the MRU plugin with a few well placed "links" to applications (I have a nokia background so I like my applications on the home screen). I don't like the sliding panel, since it's slower to use than the communicator default. :)
Anonymous
December 29, 2008
Hi - is there a way that one can modify the "order" of the Messaging options on a BJ11? For example, currently these options are: Missed Calls, Voice Mail, Text Messages and Setup Email. I would like to have Text Messages as the first option - how (and what file) would I modify to make this change? thanks...
Anonymous
January 04, 2009
The comment has been removed
Anonymous
February 04, 2009
Its possible sliding panel on WM6?
Anonymous
February 08, 2009
George, thx. Is it possible to create a SECOND page for the Cclock plugin? I would like to add a second page with a different time setting (regular time = PST, next page = PARIS time).... Also, is there a way in CHome_240x320.cpr to slim the pannel size down to make them "thinner" (take up less vertical screen real estate to fit more inactive pugins on the homepage w/out scrolling).
Anonymous
February 17, 2009
okay it says "You can enable this alternative behavior by setting the following registry key to a value other than 2" but i dont understand were i look to find the two to change it to a 5 ?????? were is it how do i find it ??? can anyone help??? any help appreciated thanks!! =]
Anonymous
April 10, 2009
I'm not clear on weather the CHomeConfig app will edit the slider. Is there a Google plugin that will work with the slider homescreen? thanks
Anonymous
June 11, 2009
I'm having problems with my Verizon HTC Touch Pro. Windows Media Player doesn't recognize all of my m4a's. The Player that HTC installed for their TouchFlo, is so buggy that it doesn't work but for a few seconds of a song. Any thoughts? Can I sync my music from Windows Media Player on my Laptop, to my phone?
Anonymous
July 13, 2009
To whomsoever it may concern, Microsoft has an illustrious history of creating the most user friendly OS in the form of Windows. The mobile edition WINDOWS 6.1 created by the “ geniuses” at Microsoft is an embarrassment to the Windows OS. It is appalling that Microsoft has given a blind eye some of the basic requirements to make a user friendly OS. I own a Samsung i200 which runs on a Windows 6.1 mobile edition. I must complement you for the innovative way in which messages are displayed. Other than that there is very little to cheer about. Even JAVA phones come with more user friendliness. In this letter I would like to point out some of the basics to which the intelligentsia of Microsoft have turned a blind eye to:

There is no feature to back up messages and contacts on the PC.
I cannot add my phone contacts to MS outlook.
The Home screen cannot support animated wallpapers.
If I have to send a file through file manager then I HAVE TO MANUALLY START THE BLUETOOTH. Unlike nokia phones which automatically starts and ends a Bluetooth connection at the time of file transfer.
Multiple file, contact transfer via Bluetooth is not possible.
I can only COPY CONTACTS FROM PHONE TO SIM. NOT MOVE CONTACTS.
It is not possible to delete several contacts simultaneously.
Bluetooth connection is pretty slow. I cannot see to whom I am transferring a file.
When a Bluetooth transfer is occurring I cannot use the file manager to view other programs. I have to wait for the whole file to be transferred.
There are no birthday reminders. The D- day can hold up to 10 D day tasks. Also storing of b’day with contacts doesn’t come with a reminder.
Every program should have a proper exit or end program function. It is difficult to close all programs by end all tasks from the task manager. Unless you take care of these basics you are far away from being the best OS. The current OS has only bought in dissapointment. Hope you take care of these tweaks in Windows 7.

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Customizing the Sliding Panel Homescreen

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