*8/20/2007* HTC Home Customizer v0.8b (Live Downloads!)

[emunutz]

HHC is now v1.0 Final and this version of the program is seriously outdated. Some functions do not work at all. Please visit www.pocketemu.com to download an updated version of HHC. This information is left here for archival purposes only and should be considered obsolete.


This program will let you customize, backup and restore the HTC Home Plugin. Currently it lets you customize the background, clock, tab icons, and weather icons separately. Please leave your feedback as I am constantly trying to add/update the feature set. Please view the readme for details.

ATTENTION
The install cab has been removed from the package, however you now have the option to download the home plugin based on your WM version. This is NOT guaranteed to work, but seems to work for the vast majority. You may still install your own version prior to running the customizer, however only the downloaded versions are guaranteed to work with all options.

Also, there is now a 2.0 version of the Kaiser Home plugin with several fixes (working profiles, contact # selection, etc.), however it's only available for WM6. This is the version the customizer will download and install for you if the plugin is not detected (on WM6). The links below are the 1.5 version if anyone would like to use that instead.


v0.8 *UPDATED 8/19/2007*

FEATURES
-New cab installer and two versions, HHC and HHC Lite!
-Change the "appearance" of the Home Plugin (background, clock, icons, weather icons)
-Options to change tab order, music player, and today postition locking
-Backup/restore of your appearance and settings (launcher shortcuts, contacts, weather settings, cities database, plugin options)
-Option for alternate weather selection (custom cities!!!)
-Option to create/delete shortcut to the program
-Custom theme support
-Support for plugins that install to \HTCHome and \Windows
-Live appearance set downloads and previews
-Live download of Home plugin and Audio Manager based on WM version detected.
(You can still manually install another plugin before running the customizer if you wish.)

NOTE ABOUT LIVE DOWNLOADS
Live downloads are very primitive currently, although very functional. Please leave your feature requests for this module in this thread, as they will be added to v1.0 when released.

If you lose your data connection while downloading a file through the customizer, you may experience a delay of up to 5 minutes before the customizer recognizes the connection is lost. This issue will be also be addressed in v1.0.

Here is a direct link to the preview site: Appearance Previews


THEMES
OK, here's how themes work. The "Theme" is broken down into four "Appearance" options. They are Background, Clock, Icons, and Weather Icons. I split those up for two reasons. First, I haven't found any (I'm sure they're out there) alternate weather icons, so copy the sames files over again is redundant and wastes times. Second, it gives you a little more control over the customization of your themes. What the program does is it takes the names of the four Appearance options you have set and save those parameters to the themes.ini file with the name you have given it.

You can then go back and reload that theme (four image sets) anytime you wish from the Themes menu.


INSTALLATION
YOU MUST HAVE THE HTC HOME PLUGIN INSTALLED TO USE THIS PROGRAM. If you would like to use the Tab Order function, you must have a version of the plugin that supports it.

YOU MAY OPTIONALLY INSTALL THE HTC AUDIO MANAGER to use with the Music tab.

HHC is now packaged in a CAB installer. You can install/uninstall this like any other program now. If you have a previous version with a custom backup or appearances, you can copy them into the new installation folder as the folder structure has stayed the same.

If you do not have a Home plugin installed, the customizer will prompt you to download and install a compatible version. You may decline, however you will not be able to use it unless you have one installed.

You can also download a version of Audio Manager for your WM version from the HTC Options menu.

Neither the Home plugin or the Audio Manager are guaranteed to work with your device, however these packages have worked for many people.


USAGE
1. Go to Start -> Programs and launch the HTC Home Customizer.
2. Use the program.
3. Close the program. Once complete, the plugin should reload automatically and you should see your changes if you made any.

WEATHER
Thanks to N2A on XDA forums, you can now pull your local weather. Based on his patch, I've implemented a switchable setup for your weather. You may continue to use the default or switch to a custom db where you can enter the cities you wish, most US cities by zip code only! Please see this link for more details about zip/location codes you will need to enter. You will only need your zip/location code, as the program will handle all the database and reg entries for you.

If you are having trouble with local weather over your phone's data connection when selecting a custom database, try this via wifi (tested) or activesync (untested):
1. Disconnect your phone's data connection.
2. Enable the alternate internet connection and open PIE.
3. Browse to http://htc.accuweather.com, you should get N2A's "error page" (at this point, your weather should now update)
4. Disconnect the alternate connection and re-enable your phone's data connection
5. Try to update the weather tab, you should now get your local weather if everything is setup correctly.

If it's still not working and your on WM6, use the cab from N2A's post above. The cab he provides is more reliable than the "Pocket Hosts" method he describes, which is what the customizer now uses


CHANGELOG for v0.8
-Some packages have been removed to reduce download size.
-New Download Packages option - Can download extra packages from online repo at any time
-Option to preview the packages in IE, then go back to the customizer to download
-Removed extra prompt when plugin DLL not found
-Fixed install background confirmation to say background instead of clock
-Change language of HTC Home plugin (sorry not the customizer itself, just the plugin)
-Added a bunch of artwork to online repository
-Added option to show/hide titlebar clock
-Added prompt to soft reset device if a change that requires it has been made
-Added option to change the localization of the plugin
-Added live download of plugin if not installed with check based on WM version
-Added live download of audio manager (optional)
-Added more description to some prompts
-Added more (still not done) error-checking with program functions
-Most important feature of all: HHC has an icon!!! (A crappy one, but an icon!)
-Probably some other stuff I can't remember right now


MINOR BUGS/ISSUES
Occasionally the program will lock up or soft reset the device. This has only happened after repeatedly opening the program. I've only heard this from one other user, so I think it might have something to do with another package. I'm still looking into this issue.



SCREENSHOTS


Here are some screenshots of the included artwork (WM6 on left, WM5 on right):



SUPPORT
Please use these links for checking on and reporting problems.

HHC Updates
v1.0 BETA Bug Reports/Problems
HHC & HTC Home FAQ
HHC Supported Devices (WIP)