About Xtras

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Xtras is an alternative application launcher for EPOC platform. It follows the concept and style of Windows ‘Start’ button.

Xtras also implements a few basic, frequently used device control functions, such as Sound and Link control.

Quick Start

  1. Launch Xtras by tapping on the ‘Xtras’ icon in the Extras screen.
  2. If this is the first launch on this device, this help file will be displayed.
  3. Activate Xtras by tapping on the ‘System’ silkscreen icon, or by pressing CTRL+Menu. Note that list of applications is being updated while flashing message “"Updating application information…" is being displayed.
  4. Set your preferences by choosing: Service > Control > Preferences… (please read description of each setting below in this help file). Click OK when done.
  5. Set each application preferences and create/change folders by choosing: Service > Control > Applications…
Note:
You do not need to close ‘Application preferences’ dialog to configure multiple Apps. Settings for the current App are saved when you move to the next one.

6. Use Xtras as your ‘Start’ button.

Main menu overview

Applications

Applications menu contains all applications currently installed on your device. You can create folders and assign applications to folders (group them by some criteria). You can hide applications or make them always visible. You can also assign alternative description to application.

Tip:
Please refer to ‘Application preferences’ chapter of this help for details.

Tasks

Tasks menu contains all active and visible tasks (or Eikon Applications), currently running on your device. If application is file-based and has a file opened, file name is always displayed.

You can switch to, close or kill any application.

Note:
If file name is too long to fit in the tasks window, file name is trimmed to show only the left part of the file name.

Control Panel

This menu option opens system control panel

System

This menu option is displayed only if Xtras is associated with System silkscreen icon. It allows access to System screen of your device.

Services

This menu option allows access to the several system configuration options.

It also allows exiting application.

Service menu overview

Help:

Access to

Remote link:

Alarm Sound:

Note:
This option DOES NOT switch sound driver on or off, just the alarm sound. It is similar to alarm enable/disable function of EPOC’s Time application

Control

Control menu gives access to such functions as Warm Reset of your device, Exiting Xtras, and setting application specific and general preferences.

General preferences

Activation tab:

These settings control how Xtras menu is activated.

Silk Screen Key - choose silk screen icon you would like to use to activate Xtras.

Modifiers - choose which modifier key (or a combination of keys) you would like to use in conjunction with a silk screen key. Available options are CTRL, SHIFT and FN buttons, or any combination of those.

Shift - choose which Shift button you would like to use: Any, Left or Right.

Keyboard Key - choose a keyboard key you would like to use to activate Xtras.

Note:
Only a selection of special keys are available as Xtras activation.

Modifiers - choose which modifier key (or a combination of keys) you would like to use in conjunction with a keyboard key. Available options are CTRL, SHIFT and FN buttons, or any combination of them.

Shift - choose which Shift button you would like to use: Any, Left or Right.

Note:
You can not disable both Silk and Keyboard key activation.

View tab:

Menu pane corner - choose where Xtras main menu appears on the screen. Available options are four corners of the screen.

Default menu - choose which of the menus will always pop up when Xtras main menu is activated. Available options are: Applications, Tasks and Services menus.

Menu pane font - choose which of the three available fonts should be used to display menu panes: Normal, Title (Bold) or Dense.

Use alternative caption - choose whether you like to use original application caption, or alternative caption (which you set up).

If alternative caption is not maintained, original caption is used.

Hide app caption in task list - choose whether you would like to see only currently open document file name or application caption and file name in the task list. Usually you can tell which application opened a document by the application icon.

Note:
If application is not file based, caption is displayed regardless of this setting.

Display application icon - to increase drawing speed of Xtras you might opt to sacrifice displaying of individual application icon for a generic one.

Note:
This option is introduced primarily for Revo, Revo+ and Mako users. Xtras require additional time to draw application icons on these devices due to re-sizing.

Sort and Search tab:

Sort order - choose how applications should be sorted. Applications are always sorted by caption alphabetically. Sorting by any other criteria is not available.

Sort method - choose whether you would like applications and folders sorted alphabetically throughout the list, or folders be grouped together in the beginning or at the end of the list.

Search method - choose how application and folder caption lists are searched: by first letter only or by incrementally typing the application or folder name.

Note:
If search reaches a character that does not exist, device will make a short beep sound. You can reset search buffer by moving cursor one line up or down.

Beep on search mismatch - controls whether the device will beep on every mismatch during incremental search method. To conserves battery power, disable this feature.

Control tab:

Confirm each update - choose if you would like to confirm changes to EVERY application in the list individually, as well as to other settings explicitly. This setting applies primarily to the application settings dialog.

Functional icons - choose if you would like a tap on the application or a folder icon to bring up context sensitive function, or act a regular menu.

Note:
You can always access context sensitive function of any menu item via ‘Menu’ button.

Background cancels dialogs - choose if you would like any dialog to cancel when application goes into background.

Show in task list - by default Xtras is not visible on EPOC task list. This, however, may prevent such programs as CyrLat from correctly detecting switch in application context when Xtras is activated. If you require Xtras to have its own application context, enable this option.

Applications preferences

Application preferences dialog let you set up how applications look and feel inside Xtras application.

Work with application settings usually follows the following steps:

1. Select application from the list.

Note:
Check application UID, and hidden flag

2. Type in alternative caption, if you prefer to have one.

3. Choose whether application should always be hidden, always visible, or behave as designed.

4. Assign application to a folder.

If you would like to place this application into a new folder, please create, change or delete folders via Folders button. You can have a hierarchy of folders of up to 20 levels deep.

Note:
When you assign a folder to a new one, you need to make sure it does not ‘fall off’ the hierarchy. Orphaned folders and sub-trees are not allowed.
Note:
When you delete a folder, its entire sub-tree is assigned to a parent folder of the one, being deleted.
Note:
Xtras keeps records of uninstalled applications in case you install them back again, or in case they reside on the CF card, which you have temporarily unplugged. Information about uninstalled applications can be deleted.
Note:
There is no separate maintenance concept for folders. Each folder is created for a specific application. Therefore configuration is application-driven.

Context sensitive functional icons

Xtras has a concept of context-sensitive functional icon. Each icon in any menu has a special function associated with it. It is different from the default function of the menu line.

This ‘Special’ function is accessible by tapping on the icon itself (not menu description) or by pressing ‘Menu’ button when at a menu line.

Menu item’s default function is accessible via tapping in the description area or pressing ‘Enter’ button.

Tapping function is configurable and could be disabled, ‘Menu’ button could be used always.

Emergency exit

If you need to exit Xtras, but can not get to the main menu of the application, press FN+’k’ five times within 2 seconds. This action should force Xtras to exit, or at least make Xtras application visible on the task list, where it can be then ‘killed’ as a process.

Thanks!

Special thanks to:

Copyright

This program is distributed FREE in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.

Support

Author: Anatoli Arkhipenko

Email: support@multicontacts.net

Note:
Please report bugs only. I am not planning to develop this application further.

Version history

1.02 (17)

1.01 (16)

Note:
IMPORTANT: This version will reset general settings (folder structure will not be reset)

1.00 (14)