CHome/Titanium Modifications - Adding Panels

**Hafrust** · #1 03-31-2009, 09:22 AM

This thread was created so that the various 6.5 ROM threads don't get unnecessarily cluttered. For those of you that do not know what this is, CHome/Titanium is the default Today plug-in in WM 6.5. All credit goes to the developers over at XDA (showaco, lpaso, tlogix, drkfngthdragnlrd). I'm just the messenger here, they've done all of the hard work.

Everything posted here is confirmed working on 21500 builds of 6.5.

Titanium Weather Updated 4/14/09: Version 3a released.

Original Thread: http://forum.xda-developers.com/show...51#post3304751 (Released by showaco)

*Note: Showaco's version is for VGA. QVGA users can get Titanium Weather from mnemonique here.

Installation and Setup Instructions:

Disable Titanium (Start>Settings>Today>Items>uncheck Windows Default).
Install TitaniumWeather_v3a.cab.
Soft reset.
Re-enable Titanium.
You will now have a panel titled "Titanium Weather". Scroll down to it and tap the right soft key, which is "Menu".
Select your options in "Forecast Options/Setup", and "Panel Display Options".
Go back to the main menu and select "Run Full Update and Exit".

Titanium Customizer

Original Thread: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=497232 (released by lpaso)

This gives you the ability to change the order of your panels and enable/disable them. It's pretty straightforward to use.

Instructions:

Install lpasoTitaniumCustomizer.CAB.
Disable Titanium (Start>Settings>Today>Items>uncheck Windows Default).
Open Titanium Customizer. You will see a popup reminding you to disable Titanium plugin. This popup will come up even if you already have it disabled. Just tap "OK".
It's pretty straightforward from here. The only thing that really needs to be mentioned is that the "Clock" panel needs to stay in the fourth slot, otherwise all of the panels will be misaligned vertically.
NOTE: You can also re-order the panels in the registry instead of using this program. When editing the registry (HKLM\Software\Microsoft\CHome\ExtensibilityXML), the panels will not be misaligned if the "Clock" panel is out of the fourth slot.

CHome Configurator

Original thread: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=393104 (released by tlogix)

This program was designed for Smartphones, so it does not work completely. You can use this program, along with a couple of other edits to create your own custom panels. Please note that there are some limitations. Detailed instructions on creating your own custom Panels can be found in post 2. The following instructions are just an example of how this program works. I repeat, this is just an example.

Instructions:

Install CHomeConfig.cab and CHomeConfig-IconPack.cab.
Disable Titanium (Start>Settings>Today>Items>uncheck Windows Default).
Open CHome Configurator and you will see a listing of all of the panels in CHome.
Tap on "CLinks".
Select Menu>Panel>Customize, and it will open up a new screen.
Select Menu>Page>New, and a new page will be created.
You have a couple options from here. You can either manually input all of the information, or you can use a template. I recommend templates because they make it so easy. There are templates for launching a new application, contact dialer, and internet links.
After you have set up your pages, and want to save and exit, you will need to tap Menu>Exit>and confirm save changes. If you do not do this your changes will NOT be saved.
Re-enable Titanium.

**Hafrust** · #2 03-31-2009, 09:23 AM

How to Add a New Panel

*Thanks to showaco*

***Note: If you have Titanium Weather Version 3, you can leave out the steps listed below regarding copying .cpr files***

You have the ability to add new panels to CHome, however there are limitations. To add new panels, you will need to have CHome Configurator installed (read the first post and familiarize yourself with this program). These instructions might sound complicated at first, but I assure you it is relatively simple. Please read through this entire post carefully and pay attention to the details.

Basically, you can create 3 custom panels pretty easily using information that exists for panels that are not utilized by default in Titanium. You will be using either the CLinks, CWelcomeCenter, and/or Settings panels to create your new custom ones. I will break down how to use each of these:

How to Add a Panel Using "CLinks"

This is the quickest, easiest way to make a custom panel because you aren't really creating a new one altogether, rather than just customizing an existing one.
Open CHome Configurator, highlight CLinks, and tap Menu>Panel>Customize.
Using the various templates within CHome Configurator, create all of the pages you want to be available for this panel.
On the main screen in CHome Configurator, highlight CLinks and tap "Show" (left soft key). Exit the program through Menu>Exit to make sure your changes are saved.
In your registry, go to HKLM\Software\Microsoft\CHome\ExtensibilityXML. You will need to add CLinks to the list in the location you want it to be displayed.
Extract the .cpr files that are attached in the .zip file to your \windows folder on your phone.
Go back to CHome Configurator, select CLinks, and tap Menu>Panel>Customize.
In the "Collapsed" field, type in whatever name you want to show for this panel on the home screen.
Upon exiting CHome Configurator, if your panel still does not show, go back in and add a new page to the CLinks panel (you can delete it later).

How to Add Panel Using "CWelcomeCenter"

Open CHome Configurator and tap Menu>Panel>New to create a new panel. Highlight the newly created panel and tap Menu>Panel>Customize.
Use the templates to create all of the new pages you want to be available in this panel.
On the main screen in CHome Configurator, highlight this new panel and tap "Show". Exit the program through Menu>Exit to make sure your changes are saved.
In your registry, go to HKLM\Software\Microsoft\CHome\ExtensibilityXML. You will need to add the name of your new panel to the list in the location you want it to be displayed.
Go to HKLM\Software\Microsoft\CHome\CWelcomeCenter. Copy the GUID string.
Go to HKLM\Security\CHome\Default Settings\[your custom panel name]. Paste the GUID string you copied in the previous step.
Extract the .cpr files that are attached in the .zip file to your \windows folder on your phone. Soft reset.
NOTE: Only 1 panel can be active at a time using this GUID.

How to Add Panel Using "Settings"

Open CHome Configurator and tap Menu>Panel>New to create a new panel. Highlight the newly created panel and tap Menu>Panel>Customize.
Use the templates to create all of the new pages you want to be available in this panel.
On the main screen in CHome Configurator, highlight this new panel and tap "Show". Exit the program through Menu>Exit to make sure your changes are saved.
In your registry, go to HKLM\Software\Microsoft\CHome\ExtensibilityXML. You will need to add the name of your new panel to the list in the location you want it to be displayed.
Go to HKLM\Software\Microsoft\CHome\Settings. Copy the GUID string.
Go to HKLM\Security\CHome\Default Settings\[your custom panel name]. Paste the GUID string you copied in the previous step.
Extract the .cpr files that are attached in the .zip file to your \windows folder on your phone. Soft reset.
NOTE: Only 1 panel can be active at a time using this GUID.

How to Edit a Panel You Created Using the GUID from CWelcomeCenter or Settings

Once you have an active panel that is using the GUID from either of these existing panels, you will have to take a couple steps to be able to edit it.
Open CHome Configurator and create another new panel. This is going to be a "dummy" panel that exists only for the purpose of using the GUID, so it doesn't matter what you name it. You don't need to add pages or anything.
In your registry, go to HKLM\Software\Microsoft\CHome\[name of your dummy panel]. Copy the GUID string.
Go to HKLM\Security\CHome\Default Settings\[name of panel you are wanting to edit]. Paste the GUID string you copied in the previous post.
Now you can go back into CHome Configurator and modify your panel.
Once you have made all of your changes and exited CHome Configurator, you'll need to go back into your registry and copy the GUID from either CWelcomeCenter or Settings (whichever you initially used) back to your custom panel.

**Hafrust** · #3 03-31-2009, 09:24 AM

FYI....Showaco has posted an Opera panel cab that is in testing stages. Check it out here. I'm not going to post the cab since it's still listed as "for testing". I installed it on my phone and it works fine, but it has not been tested on all versions of Opera. QVGA users can find info on how to get this working on your device in this post (thanks to drkfngthdragnlrd). Here's a peek:

Also, anyone up to his challenge?

Quote:

Originally Posted by showaco

Any volunteers to make a new chome configurator for ppc 6.5? Its mainly just needs a UI to make reg changes, very simple and I or drkfngthdragnlrd would be able to clue you in on which registry values to write for making the panels. I could do it with mortscript, but it wouldn't look to nice and I don't know how to view images(for contact and icons) when selecting using mort. I could provide it with a file explorer type view only for selecting, without image preview which sux in my opinion.

RONMAC · #4 03-31-2009, 10:13 AM

This is great Hafrust.

So I have added Opera to the launcher and think it is great to have an editable "Favorites" setup but I wish we were able to add new panels.

Thanks for putting this together for us all.