Release: Blacklight for HPCs (beta / freeware keystroke launcher)

It's been a while, and last time (months and months ago), I thought I gave up CE development. Well, somehow they keep pulling me back in.

I'd like to announce the beta release of Blacklight, an application in the vein of Launchy or Keybreeze. It is basically a more powerful version of the Windows RUN box, allowing you to create aliases for commands, launch files/websites, etc. It is going to be released as donationware / nag-free software. That's during and after beta. This is the initial release, and there's versions for CE 2.11, CE 3.x (and up), and desktop Windows. I'm using the same code (thanks to Dialect, which compiles the same code for both CE and desktop), and I've been testing this on my desktop PC and running it. Since I don't have a CE device to test it, I was hoping some brave souls could assist me with this. It should work, but then again, I may be surprised. There's also the desktop version, so you can see what I'm aiming for if the CE version has some issues. Feedback would be appreciated. Here are some pictures:







Download the ZIP files for your devices and read the README.TXT file first. Please send any feedback to julioangelortiz@gmail.com. Thank you.

Blacklight for Desktops

Blacklight for CE 3.0 ARM

Blacklight for CE 3.0 MIPS

Blacklight for CE 2.11 ARM

Blacklight for CE 2.11 MIPS

Blacklight for CE 2.11 SH3

Blacklight for CE 2.11 SH4

Nice to have you back, Julio.

I'm downloading the 2.11 ARM, MIPS, and SH3 versions to test on my devices. I'll let you know how it works.

that's good!


the app runs on a jornada 720, but i get an error when the app launches (it does launch however)

Error (msgbox title):

Syntax Error: Attempt to make function call on object that isn't a function
[
["blacklight",635]
["blacklight",368]]


when i press OK, the app closes



....i suggest you buy a hpc again to test this (and more)! :joke:

Edited by cmonex 2007-08-02 6:37 AM

Cmonex & Other forum members

Just a suggestion - you might also want to email your findings to Julio's email address < julioangelortiz@gmail.com > just in case he doesn't frequent the forums very often. If you already have, then just ignore this post!


Julio

Welcome back.......thanks for giving Win CE programming another shot!

Edited by Hurricane John 2007-08-02 8:00 AM

Thanks guys. CMonex, I'll take a look at the code tonight and see if I can fix that error. There are some cases where I have to check whether the app is running in CE or regular Windows so that the right function is called. Probably a case where the wrong function is used. Or something. lol

Okay, here is a ZIP with the update MIP, ARM, SH3, and SH4 blacklight.exe files. Just replace the ones on your device/install. Hopefully this should work better. Please let me know and thank you for your help.

Download update

Edited by JulioAngelOrtiz 2007-08-02 6:43 PM

Julio Angel Ortiz, hablas español? el programa no corre en mi maquina, me dio el mismo problema que le dio a cmomex.

Error (msgbox title):

Syntax Error: Attempt to make function call on object that isn't a function
[
["blacklight",635]
["blacklight",368]]


Lo sustitui luego por el archivo actualizado y me dice que falta un componente.

Que se puede hacer.

Thanks for the feedback. I have put up a new version, 0.6, for download for all platforms. This rolls in the fix from the update zip (which is no longer available, having been superseded by this version), and uses the same download links as at the top of this thread.

Changes in Version 0.6 Beta
===========================

* Added the Macro Engine from M3cro. As such, Blacklight can now "play back" M3cro scripts.
* In conjunction with M3cro support being added, the command "regmacro" will associate ".m3c" files as the macro files for Blacklight. Launching a .m3c file will launch Blacklight in a "silent" mode to process the script and then exit.
* Changed the hotkey from "WIN+SPACEBAR" to the more standard "ALT+SPACEBAR". This also fixes a compatibility issue on Tablet PCs.
* (Hopefully) fixed the issue of an incorrect function being used in Blacklight that was preventing it from launching in Windows CE devices.
* Added the DLLs to the download ZIP file that Blacklight uses (mfccexx.dll and olecexx.dll, where xx is the CE version you are running. This is particularly useful for device owners of CE 4.x and up who need the mfcce30.dll and olece30.dll to run Blacklight. Please read the README.TXT file for more information.

Please let me know how these work for you.

rrcc, por favor, dejame saber si el nuevo archivo trabaja para usted.

Any feedback? Does it work/not work on CE? I have the next update just about done but I'd like to know if it works.

Just in case I didn't mention it, this app is going to be free.

Edited by JulioAngelOrtiz 2007-08-10 8:17 PM

OK, lo instale, pero para ejecutarlo debo presionar las teclas ALT + SPACE tres veces y la tecla ENTER queda inhabilitada.

rrcc, cual HPC esta usando?

wanted to post this earlier but site was down - works fine on 900c and jornada 720.

can i have a small suggestion though? when i press alt+space could it come in focus automatically? right now i have to click its tab on the taskbar to bring it into focus.

Edited by cmonex 2007-08-10 11:18 PM

That's weird, because I have it programmed to be the focused window when activated. More tweaks are in order. The focus part works fine in Windows (trust me, I wanted the same thing). I'll look at that.

So, let me ask everyone who has used it: is it a useful app? Something people might find useful on the HPC? More feedback would be great.

EDITED TO ADD: I've posted a zip of the EXE for the next version, 0.71, for ARM 3.0 devices here: Blacklight ARM 3.0 test. Could Cmonex (or anyone else with an ARM 3.0 CE device or greater) please see if this fixes the issue with Blacklight not having the focus upon appearing? I just added code to try and fix it and I'd like to see how successful it was. Thanks.

Edited by JulioAngelOrtiz 2007-08-11 1:39 AM

it works now.

neat stuff especially with skinned GWES on my 900c (i like the look with the minimize etc buttons) and useful too.

Edited by cmonex 2007-08-11 11:32 AM

Awesome, thanks for testing this out. I'll have the next update out today or tomorrow, and it will roll in this fix, as well as some new features/tweaks. I'll also announce it on my website at The Next Chamber.