Win2X : Alternative Frontend


MiOdd said:
So I've been playing with this a lot today and have a few more simple suggestions for you.

1. I think I already suggested we need a sorting method for the icons I think there should be a option to sort by either "Link Text" or "Link Description"
2. When typing in text, the on screen GUI is all blue which makes it very difficult to see which letter is selected, would it be possible to highlight the selection better? Maybe making the whole box orange instead of just the border?
3. Also on the text screen there is no space character I only see underscore which I think looks ugly. (I know this one is kinda immaterial, haha)
4. If there are too many characters entered in the "Link Text" or "Link Description" field, can there be marquee scrolling implemented so we can see all the characters.
5. Can we change the orientation of icons? The desktop automatically sorts them from top to bottom whereas the individual windows sorts them left to right.

So yeah, thats all I can think of at the moment, the only major feature I would like to see implemented is some kind of sorting method the rest of my recommendations are just me nitpicking because I like this menu so much already I just want it to be perfect! ;)
MiOdd,your suggestions are very helpful.You are right about the keyboard.It was incomplete in the latest version but until now I have completed it(rearranged the function buttons to be more convinient,added touchsceen support,missing chars like space,etc.).I am now working on making a more powerfull explorer(icon support,copy/paste function,and some file support aswell-like opening and viewing images).After that I will get to icons arrangment for sure...Thanks again.
 
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I mirrored you file, because I hate Megaupload ;-)

http://www.sbock.net/upload/Win2x.rar

Nice program, I hope you will improve it further...

Regards,
Stephan
 
Peter R said:
Is there any reason this isn't on the archive yet?
Yes.First of all...I do not know how to upload it to openhandhelds.org and second...there are many improvements to be done yet as this is a pre-release version...for now,all I need is users feedback.So for anyone who tried this,please feel free to post your comments...
 
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Found another glitch so to speak. I put a handful of png files in the Wallpaper folder but when you open the wallpaper section in the settings only the original four png are available to choose from and the explorer won't let you browse to another folder.

Also, I think you probably should post what you have so far on the archive, it is fully functional and useable as it is and you can make a note that it is a work-in-progress. It might also help to garner more attention and more feedback.
 
MiOdd said:
Found another glitch so to speak. I put a handful of png files in the Wallpaper folder but when you open the wallpaper section in the settings only the original four png are available to choose from and the explorer won't let you browse to another folder.

Also, I think you probably should post what you have so far on the archive, it is fully functional and useable as it is and you can make a note that it is a work-in-progress. It might also help to garner more attention and more feedback.
Thank you MiOdd.From what you said I'm assuming that you have installed Win2X as the primary OS and then you copied your files to the Wallpaper folder of the SD card...So to explain...When you install Win2X,you no longer need the files on the SD card..,It runs standalone from the system memory and it sychronizes with it..so whatever changes you make in the SD folder(AFTER Win2X installation),it doesn't matter...This will be solved as long as I include copy/paste functions to the explorer(which I'm doing right now).Then you will be able to copy any png file to the system wallpaper folder and use it.Thanks for the statement anyway.
About the archive...Could you direct me on how can I upload to the archive??
 
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Thanks for your work on this, chp. I've installed it now and it's been working a treat.

I have a problem using two SD cards with different emulators / games on, I've created links for apps on one, then when I stick the other one in, I see only one app that was setup for the old card, when I delete this another appears. I am guessing it stores the config on NAND but how is it supposed to deal with this multiple SD card situation?

Another suggestion, if you haven't thought of it already, would be to be able to change the view, so you can view text only, and details like you would Windows explorer etc. Also I hope a way to change icons will come soon as I currently see pages of default icons, which isn't easy to navigate.

And one last point while I think of it; would it be possible to open the menu automatically on program load - every time it loads I press the start button as I don't use the 'desktop' icons. It might be useful to have this as an option.

Cheers!
 
Nice to hear you like it,frolik!Now...on multiple SD cards,the links are shown only if the reference program exists in the same path and the same name as it was initially created.Otherwise,if you delete,rename or change SD then the links created for one SD will not appear for the other.Same goes for desktop links as well as category links.(note that if you change SD,you should reboot the system).
 
chp said:
About the archive...Could you direct me on how can I upload to the archive??
Thanks for the explanation Chp, you are correct I had it installed first, I shall eagerly await your next update. :)

Also about the uploads. Go here: http://dl.openhandhelds.org/cgi-bin/wiz.cgi create an account and after you sign in scroll down a little bit and there will be a link to Add File.
 
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chp said:
Thanks a lot MiOdd!You've been very helpful.Update coming real soon...

Anychance of the touchscreen issue being fixed in that update? I really want to try this properly but its not as intuitive to use without touchscreen functionality.
 
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Peter R said:
chp said:
Thanks a lot MiOdd!You've been very helpful.Update coming real soon...

Anychance of the touchscreen issue being fixed in that update? I really want to try this properly but its not as intuitive to use without touchscreen functionality.
I'm trying to figure it out,but unfortunately I do not have enough information on other users devices.Can anyone help?I need to know the contents of the system /lib folder for a non-working touchscreen(like yours).You can access it through Win2X's explorer and see its contents.Could you make a list of it please?
 
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chp said:
Nice to hear you like it,frolik!Now...on multiple SD cards,the links are shown only if the reference program exists in the same path and the same name as it was initially created.Otherwise,if you delete,rename or change SD then the links created for one SD will not appear for the other.Same goes for desktop links as well as category links.(note that if you change SD,you should reboot the system).
Thanks for clearing that up, there appears to be a bug, when I change SD every menu has one shortcut that does not exist on the new SD, when I delete it, another appears. This works inversely when I change back to the previous SD with shortcuts I've made on the other one. Hope you understand what I mean, let me know if you need any more info.
 
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chp said:
Peter R said:
chp said:
Thanks a lot MiOdd!You've been very helpful.Update coming real soon...

Anychance of the touchscreen issue being fixed in that update? I really want to try this properly but its not as intuitive to use without touchscreen functionality.
I'm trying to figure it out,but unfortunately I do not have enough information on other users devices.Can anyone help?I need to know the contents of the system /lib folder for a non-working touchscreen(like yours).You can access it through Win2X's explorer and see its contents.Could you make a list of it please?
After you get this finalized would there be any chance that you would look at Gmenu2X to see if it can be improved to work better?

This is good work but honestly windowing interfaces are very cumbersome on handheld devices. It needs too much poking around on the screen to get to what you want and are terrible with a d-pad as you have to move a pointer around with it and that is just time consuming and awkward. In Gmenu the shoulder buttons change catagories and you can navigate the grid with the d-pad very quickly, it is nice and fast and you don't need to fumble with the stylus, scratch the screen and do screen calibrations.
 
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DaveC said:
This is good work but honestly windowing interfaces are very cumbersome on handheld devices. It needs too much poking around on the screen to get to what you want and are terrible with a d-pad as you have to move a pointer around with it and that is just time consuming and awkward. In Gmenu the shoulder buttons change catagories and you can navigate the grid with the d-pad very quickly, it is nice and fast and you don't need to fumble with the stylus, scratch the screen and do screen calibrations.
Have you tried Win2x yet? You don't use the d-pad to move a cursor or need to fumble around with windows. Once its set up nicely you can quickly move about the grid of icons very quickly with the d-pad just like in Gmenu2x and pressing the menu button on the Wiz lists categories which can also be easily access with the d-pad to bring up different grids based upon the category you chose. Give it a shot, you can still play with the menu without having to instal it.
 
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Thta's right DaveC.The touchscreen works like a mouse,but D-PAD gives you access to the various options instantly!There is no mouse pointer to move. Even with the touchscreen.You do not have to replace your current interface,for trying Win2X.So feel free to try it and see for yourself...
Forgot to answer to the other question:Yes GMenu2X can be improved but in my opinion it will be a waste of time...
Except some minor fixes,it would be pointless to...The weird is that while GMenu2X isn't an exceptional program(about what you can do with it),it uses a lot,A LOT of source code to do it.I mean thousands of lines of source code,object-oriented programming,classes,structures,etc. just to have a simple interface...This means waste of RAM(and time)...
So...sorry for my long answer but I wanted to explain why(in my aspect) won't get hands on GMenu2X.
 
Well Ok but Gmenu is just faster to navigate. Having to bring up a "start menu" then select a catagory , then select an icon is more steps than needed I think.

Besides I hate Windows on the PC even though that is what I use, this looks too much like Windows but oh well.

Too bad a Gmenu-lite couldn't be done, I agree that Gmenu 2X got a bit too heavy. In it's first form it was much cleaner and smaller, then it got bloated up with "featuritis".
 
DaveC said:
Well Ok but Gmenu is just faster to navigate. Having to bring up a "start menu" then select a catagory , then select an icon is more steps than needed I think.

Besides I hate Windows on the PC even though that is what I use, this looks too much like Windows but oh well.

Too bad a Gmenu-lite couldn't be done, I agree that Gmenu 2X got a bit too heavy. In it's first form it was much cleaner and smaller, then it got bloated up with "featuritis".
No that is not the case...In Win2X you have the desktop, which can hold links from different categories and also gives you the possibility to delete a desktop link without deleting the actual link(which remains to the respectfull category).In other words-desktop links are links to already created category links!And the desktop is accessed instantly when Win2X starts up...So,in that aspect,Win2X is faster than GMenu and more flexible...Have you tried it yet??
And "featuritis" are not the reason that GMenu2X is heavy...The reason is bad programming designing,resulting in huge and needless source code.
 
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