Database Info

COURAGE:-) MDAIII - Key remapping project

Hi all ...
we need some (maybe a lot) help from programmers to try to remap the hard keyboard keys from mda3.
As many guys know, we are a lot that we buy the mda3 with german hard keyboard layout... and now that we all have an english os, we must remap the key and symbols.
Any idea will be appreciated, we have all files from german os an english os.
Nobody want to broke the keyboard to glue the buttons in other place...
Nobody now how and where can order another english keyboard and replace it phisically.
Remain two thinks:
1. find the file with the layout and remap the symbols via hex edit
2. recompile a new layout (and here may be usefull for future progs)
All idea wiil be apreciated, all guru's invited
Please help us ... we can not take advantage of the new hard keyboard in this mode.
Thanks all before and...
COURAGE FOR ALL NEW POSTS THAT MUST BE UPDATED(POSTED) !!!
DenisJ

Actually, keys and numbers are fine. It's punctuation that is almost impossible to use unless you have a good memory
From what I remember of the old thread that got wasted, a few things were looked at but it seems harder than it should. You would think one or two files transferred from the PDA2K to the MDA III, like a keyboard dll and a mapping data file, would do the trick but, as usual with engineers, they made it harder than it should.

I can suggest another way for this remapping: just writing a kind of program lookind for keypressings and substitute them with another keystrokes.
I've already done it for Russian keyboard (project home page is http://ae.inc.ru/bahrus.html , but it is Russian only). Current state is "beta".
I can do some key remappings this way. But I need to know which of the keys should be replaced with which one. Or replacement table may be simply saved in config.

I'll do a tabel with the replaced hex value ...
You need only the xex value for this or need more ?
Thanks a lot
Denis

Let's try (before find all remapping simbol) to remap only the two letters z and y.
Symbolic constant Value (Hex) keyboard equivalent
VK_Y 59 Y key
VK_Z 5A Z key
like ... if '59' then '5A' and viceversa...
If we can remap this two letters, we can remap all we want.
Thanks a lot
Denis

german to english
since the site posts went down i have received my mda3 in german of course and would love to know how to flash it with an english rom, all other threads however speak of xda3nbftool which i can't find anywhere, also many of the links for required files don't work. any help please?? thank you

Re: german to english
paulmurphy777 said:
since the site posts went down i have received my mda3 in german of course and would love to know how to flash it with an english rom, all other threads however speak of xda3nbftool which i can't find anywhere, also many of the links for required files don't work. any help please?? thank you
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Go here:
ftp://xda:[email protected]/
and look for Bluangel folder.
Regards

Ok, I decided to implement more general solution for this problem and develop customizable hardware key-remapping software. This application wil allow to remap not only BlueAngel built-in keyboard but almost any hardware keybord connected to wince (some of my friends use Luch or Flexis external keyboards with PDA).
Hope first beta version will appear next week.

thank you!, sure i'll be back with more questions though!

Fantastic!
I'm excited about this

AE said:
Ok, I decided to implement more general solution for this problem and develop customizable hardware key-remapping software. This application wil allow to remap not only BlueAngel built-in keyboard but almost any hardware keybord connected to wince (some of my friends use Luch or Flexis external keyboards with PDA).
Hope first beta version will appear next week.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wow, that's great news. (exactly what I wanted to hear!) Keep up the good work. (you rock)

AEKMap is available at http://ae.inc.ru/aekmap.html
To make "remapping" you need:
- install the program;
- run Start - Programs - AEKMap Settings and choose "AZERTY MDAIII with English ROM" in first combo box
- set three other optional layouts to "unassigned" and/or unassign "switch" key.
If you want to create specific layout, you may start with editing one of the existing. Use \Program Files\AEKMap\AEKMapScan.exe to define keyboard pseudo-scan codes.
To find unicode character codes use Start -> Programs -> Accessories -> System Tools -> Character Map on your desktop
This program may be closed with popup menu on system tray (lower-right corner of today screen).
And I'm definitly sure that some bugs are in this utility now. Let me know if you find them
Also send me with your layouts to be published on site (will appear in a days)
P.S.: AEKMapper may be used to remap almost any external or built-in hardware keyboard recognized by system.

AWESOME!
Thanks for doing this. If i understand correctly, what's needed now to get the German MDA III keyboard mapped correctly, following the imate english rom installation, is to:
use AEKmapscan.exe to identify all the keys that need remapping
then look up the correct unicode characters for the desired keymapping
enter them into a .AEK file and put into the Program Files/AEKMap directory on the MDA III.
If i get some free time today, that's what I'll do. If anybody beats me to it, please post!
thanks again, AE!

So here is a mostly working layout file for the MDAIII German. The only thing that seems to be not working is the semicolon/colon key just to the right of the space bar. that key seems to have no shifted mode, according to aekmapscan.exe
also: if aekmapscan.exe is running, this appears to stop the keyboard from working at all in applications. it needs to be stopped entirely.
Thanks again for this great tool!

It is always nice to know your job is needful to someone
As for the problem with semicolon: changing CapsLock/Shift processing flags should help:
HookShift 1
HookCapsLock 1
Probably I'll find a better solution for this later, but now I can't...
Official project home page will be available at http://ae.inc.ru/aekmap.html

thanks for the tool, works great. Can you add an option to not have the mapping name on the bottom, i.e. DenisJ Layout? It covers up the wireless icon that I use to turn Wifi on & off.
thanks again for the app

you already can turn it off. that's the "hint" option in the settings.

A parts from thanks the great job from AE, i wan't to try to ask a question:
In the registry there's a part...
HKCU/Keyboard Layout that have a profile value..
Could it be usefull..
My German Mda3 have... preload/1 set to e0010409.
Can anyone post the english Pda2K value...
Rups..

Bug report
AEKMap works quite well, thanks to the developer!
But...
I noticed that, when AEKMap is on, you can´t adjust sound/volume levels from the external button on the left side of the screen. Is that a bug or a feature? :roll:
Second thing is that if you switch the AEKMap off, you can switch it on only by softreset. Is that ment to be?
Can anyone confirm those features, or is it just in my MDAIII?
-Jigi

Sorry guys but i just arive from my fisrt (this year) snowboard weekend
AE many many thanks from me and (as can you see) from all other guys with the same german mda3...
I just tryed some days ago to begin something like this using EVC++ 4.0 ... but it's too much to study for an as400 programmer
This will be surrely in my startup programs for a log live time of my mda3...
Surelly we will ask you some options in future ...
Another lot of thanks
DenisJ

Screen Unlock Question

I've noticed in some of the newer ROMs i've tried (e.g. Schaps 4.xx) that the screen unlock now allows use of the left softkey followed by the right (rather than having to tap on the screen, though you can still do this). I was wondering if anyone knew if this is a change in later builds of Windows Mobile or if there is a registry key that enables this. I'm currently making my own ROM and like this feature and so would like to put it in if I can (I'm currently basing it off the latest official ROM I could find, which was the Imate/Telstra ROM in Australia (it's a Hermes ROM i'm making, but the question seemed more generally relevant than specific to Hermes so I thought here was a better place to ask)).

Keyboard layout support for wm6 roms?

Hello,
I'm from switzerland, using a qtek 9000 with original wm5 Rom. I've tried several wm6 Roms yet, which all were fast and handy... the only reason to go back to my original rom, was the keyboard support (swiss german uses äöiü a lot) which simply wasn't there. I've tried tons of Registry hacks and all possible combinations of them, without success.. May it be possible, that the keyboard layout settings for swiss ger aren't even on these roms? Where are they stored? Since I've no experience on cooking roms, i dont know how to solve this problem. Any Idea?
(May it be, that the keybddr.dll has a influence on the keyboard-layout? how would i get this file from my old rom into the new one?)

alderan said:
Since I've no experience on cooking roms, i dont know how to solve this problem. Any Idea?
(May it be, that the keybddr.dll has a influence on the keyboard-layout? how would i get this file from my old rom into the new one?)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have an italian keyboard profile, after each ROM upgrade I usually change the registri key:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\OEM\Qwerty\Layout
Write down the value of you current ROM and set it after the upgrade.
This will solve your problem about the real keyboard (N.B. this change doesn't affect the soft keyboard, since I'm not interested in that one I never searched for a solution).
Marco.

Thanks for your help, but as i wrote in my first post, i tried a whole lot of registry keys (the one you mentioned now once again) without success.. I can get the original qwerty Layout to a qwertz, but the äöü.. are not to type as i can do in the original swiss german one (a+sym, u+sym usw). Any other ideas?

You need to edit \Windows\sym.txt (or sym.0409.txt or whichever one you use).
The file is simple text file and I am sure you will understand it's syntaxe when you see it.
This solution is for hardware keyboard only. It doesn't affect the onscreen keyboard.
btw. You can of course copy the one from your old ROM with working keyboard.

larger qwerty keyboard

is there a landscape qwerty input type available that has larger keys?

Resco's Keyboard is Full Screen when in portrait mode. All keyboard vary in functionality. I personally like EzInput because of its simplicity. Other keyboards seem to throw too many options and stuff in there to please everyone.
Simplicity is the reason why the iPhones SIP keyboard is considered awesome (plus the compacitive screen)

I'm very new to the world of Windows Mobile, (i used to work with android/iPhone OS)
It's probably a stupid question, but how do i install EzInput?
Thanks in advance!

read 2nd answer

My diamond2 is 6.1, so it doesn't have EzInput.
Do you have a link/tutorial to flash it to 6.5?

Stupid questions don't exist mate Everyone has to start from the beginning. A good beginning is the search option and the wiki, that's how i learned a lot.
Now to get back to your question, look here for a lot of info on ezinput as well as other keyboards:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=534678&highlight=ezinput

Thanks for the help.
I searched already on this forum / on the internet, but I didn't find any clear posts.
I'll try those links

I think I installed EzInput now, but I don't see any change of the keyboard...
Do I have to change a setting or something else?
(Do you have a link where I can see/read how to flash 6.5 on my diamond?)

I guess yours came default with that.
Well ofcourse i've got a link for you but first...
A quick guide:
Select your phone here:
http://wiki.xda-developers.com/
Read everything you can find about flashing cooked rom's, radio's and hardspl
The choice of your radio is very personal, it's different for each country but very important 'cause it basically give you good signal
The choice of the cooked rom is very personal. Some put speed over graphics whilst others like it the other way around
It's very important and the first step of flashing to start with HardSPL'ing your device. If you don't start with that you won't be able to do anything with 6.5
After that you can choose your rom and read all the info that the cook (a rom builder) has provided for the users, there are quite some differences and things to know and learn about roms in these posts. To install a rom you need CustomRUU (installer) and some even support flashing from your microsd card.
The last part is to always hard-reset your device after you've completed 1 of the 3 basic steps. Be aware that you'll loose all the data on your phone, it's basically to turn i to the first point after you've installed the rom. So don't start installing things right away...first try a few roms 'cause you might like another one better.
Last but not least, the radio, well my friend you'll just have to read about it 'cause it depends on your region etc. That one can be flashed after you've done the first 2 steps and it basically goes the same way as flashing a rom. But first things first...start your search for hardspl!
I've taken all these steps for example from the topaz. Some devices might have other routines,...i focus on my device only, 'cause otherwise it's just too much info.. and all the info that's on this forum might be confusing at first (let's face it, there's a lot of info.) But nevertheless, my experience is that people are willing to help others here. There's a solution for everything here, if you know how and where to look.
Start reading and have fun...

.joeri. said:
I think I installed EzInput now, but I don't see any change of the keyboard...
Do I have to change a setting or something else?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Open up your standard keyboard (in SMS for example), click on the small arrow next to the middle keyboard icon and go to "Other input options".
EzInput should be listed there, select it and youÆre good to go!
If you wish to set EzInput as default keyboard, even after restart of your device, use SIP change application. Remember to set the time-delay to 40-50 seconds!
Here are some linx to freeware keyboards;
FingerKeyboard2 Awesome KeyBoard!
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=3575714#post3575714
Click link below, goto Mobile, find FlashKey 1.2b and Half-K v1.1 and download both. Know they're Flash based!
http://twolf.sytes.net/
PDAMill TopKey
http://www.pdamill.com/prod_tk.shtml
PocketCM Keyboard
http://www.pocketcm.com/keyboard2.php
Euro KeyBoard
http://sourceforge.net/projects/eurokbd/
FAT KeyBoard
http://sourceforge.net/projects/fatsip/
.. Well that's it, hope this helps

Editing OEM/SYS when Cooking

hey folks. i'm new to this rom cooking thing. i'm using the Kaiser Kitchen. I've loaded a base rom into the folder and run the Begin command prompt. now i'm stuck. i have no idea what OEM/SYS items i can get rid of and what i need to keep. i'm just trying to build an extremely lite rom that has manila 2d with the weather under the clock on the home screen. but i don't want to go and delete something that i need, so i'm not comfortable doing any editing just yet. can anyone give me a breakdown of what this stuff is? or even point me in the right direction if it's already posted (which it probably is, i'm just not sure what to search for)? i'd greatly appreciate it. i'm enjoying this rom cooking quite a bit, but, like i said, i'm pretty new to this. i've never taken any classes or anything, so i don't understand some of the terms/procedures used on this site, so please use layman's terms if you reply to me. again, i appreciate your taking the time to help me out, even if it's just a finger pointing me in the right direction.

Hope it doesn't take you too long to read.
first off what's your base ROM (the ROM that you downloaded and put inside the BaseROM folder) and then I could tell you what to get rid of. By the kaiser kitchen you mean the one from the wiki correct?
I'm going to need more info on how you are putting the weather on the home screen (e.g. CAB, Package. etc.) and your BaseROM to tell you accurately what to do.
as for adding in that weather package, first make sure the manila version you are using is 2.x or more. I would say don't make a package out of the CAB (if that's what you are using to put the weather display on the home page). Instead go into the OEM folder and look for the OperatorPKG folder. Enter the OperatorPKG folder and look for a file named "config_operator.txt" (without the quotes).
Mine looks like this:
LOCK:Enabled
TSK: \WINDOWS\Htc.tsk
CAB: \WINDOWS\AMfix.cab
XML: \WINDOWS\Menu_Operation.xml
CAB: \WINDOWS\fixyoutube.cab
CFG: \WINDOWS\config_PT.txt
I'm positive yours will look different. Pay attention to the "CAB: \WINDOWS\"insert CAB file name here"
What you are going to do is take that weather CAB for manila and put it in the OperatorPKG folder. Now go in the "config_operator.txt" and add this string:
CAB: \WINDOWS\"name of the cab file you just put in the OperatorPKG folder, INCLUDING the .cab extension (ex: M2Dhomeweather.cab)"
After cooking and flashing the ROM and setting up your device it will auto install that CAB and you should be set to go.
Now once you tell me the baseROM you are using I can tell you what is mostly junk in the OEM folders you have.
Also in case you are curious.
In the "config_operator.txt"
A "TSK" represents a theme and will make the device load a certain theme.
A "CAB" (obviously) represents a CAB file and will auto-install the CAB file.
A "CFG" represents the next config.txt file and tells the device to look at that config file next.. There are 4 total in all used for different purposes but they all do the same thing more or less. In the "config_operator.txt" ALWAYS make sure the
CFG: \WINDOWS\config_PT.txt
string goes last. It will skip anything else after itself if you do not have it as the last string.
P.S. - Always get an opinion from more than one person

Using the above process you will be using 2x the amount of space .cab & install
Also when things are cooked in they are faster accessible than via .cab install.
Regards removal of OEM/SYS a very good guide
Universal Tutorials for Customizing any Device and Cooking
Holds alot more valuable info than just what your after

clsifford said:
hey folks. i'm new to this rom cooking thing. i'm using the Kaiser Kitchen. I've loaded a base rom into the folder and run the Begin command prompt. now i'm stuck. i have no idea what OEM/SYS items i can get rid of and what i need to keep. i'm just trying to build an extremely lite rom that has manila 2d with the weather under the clock on the home screen. but i don't want to go and delete something that i need, so i'm not comfortable doing any editing just yet. can anyone give me a breakdown of what this stuff is? or even point me in the right direction if it's already posted (which it probably is, i'm just not sure what to search for)? i'd greatly appreciate it. i'm enjoying this rom cooking quite a bit, but, like i said, i'm pretty new to this. i've never taken any classes or anything, so i don't understand some of the terms/procedures used on this site, so please use layman's terms if you reply to me. again, i appreciate your taking the time to help me out, even if it's just a finger pointing me in the right direction.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
BTW, you are better off using visual kitchen.in that way you tick what u need and untick what you don't. If you find out that you needed it you simply tick it again...LOL!

kaiser:
well, first off, i'm using the HyperDragon IV as my base ROM. it's the only one i can find that actually has the weather on the home screen. i love the ROM, don't get me wrong, but it just has a lot of extra stuff in it that i don't need, and i'd like to have that storage space. this ROM actually has the home weather already built in. updates automatically according to the GPS (i'm assuming since it always displays the weather for the city i'm currently in). very handy for taking a quick look rather than having to press any buttons (i'm one of those "no phone while driving" people). however, when i add the Blue Galaxy theme to it, it changes the clock and takes away the home screen weather. i'm very new to this rom cooking business, ie: all i know is what i've either taught myself or looked up on XDA, so i have no idea how to make packages from cabs or anything like that. but reading above about where to put the cabs to auto install with the new rom doesn't seem too difficult. i can visualize it in my head (i spent QUITE A WHILE looking at those files yesterday! haha!). the HyperDragon IV rom is about 110 MB, and it moves a bit slow, but that is my ONLY complaint about it. i'd like to get to the point of being able to build a rom from scratch, but i think breaking one down and rebuilding it to my liking is a better starting point. i'm checking into taking some classes on it. i really enjoy working on my phone and i think if i had some formal training on it, it could be something that i LOVE to do. i just have no grasp of the technical jargin used, so sometimes i'll find a post pertaining to the topic i'm looking for, but i get lost in trying to understand some of them, you know? same thing with cars: i can work on them all day, but i have no idea what most of the parts are even called, much less what they do. i actually have 2 Tilts (my wife thought it was too complicated and got a different one), so i use one to practice on and check out new roms, and the other for everyday use. last night i installed the Hyperdragon IV rom on the extra and printed out the HTCHomeSettings file (with home screen weather) and printed the HTCHomeSettings file from my regular use phone (Blue Galaxy theme installed so no more home screen weather) and was getting ready to print them out and compare the differences between the two. just out of curiosity, would that have done me any good?
Off-hand question: NRH, is that North Richland Hills? if so, nice to see a fellow Texan! i live in Arlington, born and raised.
Stylez:
yeah, that's what i understand. phone operation is much quicker when software is built into the rom. thanks for the link. i was looking for something along those lines yesterday, just couldn't find it. i appreciate it. i've actually looked up A LOT of usefull info that you've posted on here, so thanks for the knowledge as well!
Staxx:
thank you, thank you, thank you sir! i actually posted a request last week for suggestions on a more beginner level user friendly kitchen, but got not a single response (last i checked). that's exactly what i was looking for: something where i can just check what i do and don't want. i was using PPCKitchen at first, but after cooking 3 roms that were just as big as HyperDragon IV (110+ MB) the program started giving me error messages. the frustrating part was that it wouldn't give me errors until it was almost done building the rom. that's quite a while to wait and quite a bit of time (by my standards) wasted to find out that the program isn't going to produce anything! so thanks for the suggestion. i'm going to go search for and download it right now.
To All:
thanks again for the help and advice. you guys are life savers! i can usually figure things out on my own. i like to think i'm smarter than the average bear. but sometimes i just need to be pointed in the right direction, or have things translated from technical jargin to layman's terms. i appreciate yall taking the time to help me and answer my questions. it's nice to see that there are still people in the world willing to help complete strangers. so thanks again guys! i'm sure i'll probably have more questions arise, so i'll probably be posting those as well. i try not to post anything that has already been answered, but sometimes i can seem to find exactly what i'm looking for, even if it is posted already. there is A LOT of info on XDA, but that's a good thing, or a GREAT thing i should say.

Kaiser:
by the way. i'm looking to cook a WM 6.1 ROM with:
blue galaxy theme, but with weather on the home screen, of course
bluetooth function
data connection auto config
manila 2d (dont need the customizer)
quick menu
quick gps
google maps
kaiser tweak
S2U2
BT enabled voice command
BTAudio Toggle (not the btaudio on/off but the toggler button that has the little headphones on the icon)
smartphone tracker
activesync
camera
opera 9.5
***prefer but don't have to have:
volume control, the one that is all black with the white volume bars running up and the vibrate and silent buttons directly underneath
there is also a contacts list that matches the above volume controls, black background with scrolling
wow! that actually looks like a lot now that i've written it out! i actually have all the cabs for the above mentioned items (except camer,activsync, volume controls and contacts list). i also have the cab for manila 2d with the weather on the home screen, but i haven't been successful in installing it WITH the home screen weather working, or even on the screen. i believe it's actually an add on. it's not the full manila 2d, just suppoesed to replace the clock with the flipping clock and add the weather under the clock (which it doesn't seem to do), so i think it may be about useless.
that's really about all i want in the rom. i'll most likely be using the HyperDragon IV rom as my base rom, since it already has the home weather. after that (and some more practice) i may try to learn how to take another lite or naked rom and add the home weather clock to it with manila. that's my goal anyway, to learn how to add it to a rom that doesn't already have it or manila. well, i'm off to download and check out that other kitchen. thanks again for the willingness to help me!

You should probably ask the chef of this ROM for help I'm sure they would be more than happy to help you. They would know about everything in the ROM and would be able to help you the most. If not then I'll download Hyperdragon and look at it in the kitchen.
@off-hand question - yup.

kaiser:
well, i think i'm going to download a stock WM 6.1 rom to practice on first. i'll see if i can't get in contact with the chef in the mean time. i got it off of the Sakajati website. not sure if that's going to make any difference in contacting the chef, but i'll see how it pans out. thanks again for your help.