New Patch: Resize emulator window on TouchPad for legacy apps 25
In the screenshot above, you see what looks to be your typical emulator view for legacy apps on the TouchPad. Normally, this view is about 1/4th the size of the TouchPad screen and makes for using older applications, like Express Stocks above, a bit of a touchy situation. A new project taken up by members of our forums is likely to at least make the experience a little nicer to cope with, even if it doesn't solve the problem of having small windows outright.
Users rmausser and GyroJoe have been working on a new patch that makes those small emulator cards get a big resizing. By changing the emulator window height and width in the luna-platform.conf file, they were able to double the size of that window for all apps on the device and get a better look at the apps they've brought over from the smartphone-sized app catalog. A new patch is there in the forums for testing, and even though it's still a work in progress, it may be suited perfectly for your needs.
Some things that you should be aware of:
- Not all applications will resize very well, especially if the background of that app is an image (like the Pandora screenshot below).
- You'll want to set the size to 1.5 times larger, and not 2. This will allow you to use the TouchPad's virtual keyboard without a hitch and navigate through card view a little easier.
- If you install this app, you're doing so as a tester and with the knowledge that the app, which is a work in progress, could cause problems on your TouchPad that haven't yet been found. Keep the webOS Doctor on hand just in case.
- If you don't like the idea of putting something on your TouchPad that isn't finished yet, then take a pass on this patch for right now until it can be pushed through to Preware.
Source: PreCentral Forums
25 Comments
In addition to this, could we have the option to view the application in landscape mode in 1x size?
This is because sometimes, the TouchPad is easier to hold that way.
interesting
that's awesome!!!!!!!!!!
Idea for HP for the next TouchPad release:
If an app is marked as Pre3-compatible, the emulator window should be 800x480. No questions...
A great suggestion I'm sure HP will listen to. :)
This is great. Are there no means to double pixel it? That should help compatibility, albeit it would be blurry. A sacrifice nonetheless.
This is just something I stumbled upon while messing around with the files for my Increase Smoothness patch.
I dont own a Touchpad, so its really tough for me to test these things out.
I will take all your requests into consideration and look through the WebOS Doctor files for configuring these different aspects. That said:
-Landscape: I am not sure if its a simple thing like changing a configuration setting or if the emulator was never coded to change orientation.
-Pixel Scaling: This is something I would love to implement. Since we are working with web technologies I dont know how easy it will be to do. Im a web developer and I have never come across a method to double pixels, everything is sorta like vectors with web code when resizing, it all scales accordingly. It would be really nice to have a button to let the user decide if they want to view the app scaled (like in the pictures above) or pixel doubled.
-Thats a good point about the Pre3. It should be that minimum though, if the Mojo app was rewritten to be fullscreen then it should be allowed to, and there should still be the option for users to scale 1.5x and pixel zoom.
why don't you have a touchpad?
went to 10 different stores morning of price reduction, all sold out.
ordered 27 online from different retailers, all orders cancelled.
I was actually going to get one for $300, but was waiting to get some disposable income, and then the price reduction hit...
I have some back orders in at my distributor, and I've been told at least some will be filled with the new production. If I get any extra beyond what I already have demands for (let's call it a 50/50 chance), you get dibs on one, at cost not a penny more. We'll make arrangements if/when the time comes.
of course you may well land one during the next firesale... my offer is no guarantee, so get what you can on your own.
by the way rmausser, are you in the US somewhere, or is this going to get complicated if I do actually manage to get a touchpad for you?
edit: ah, I see from your forum profile you're in Canada. well that shouldn't be too hard. Canada isn't a foreign country in the same way that... well, all the other foreign counties are. It's even less of a foreign country than some places in the next city I can drive to in 10 minutes.
What a question...lol
well, yes, I see someone took my question the wrong way, like I was mocking him or something. it was an honest question; for all I knew he had one on order at HP SMB that he still expected to receive, or for some odd reason didn't actually want one and just enjoyed tinkering with the code. so now he's said why he doesn't have one, and I'm sure my answer to that explains the reason for my question.
I wish, rmausser, somebody with gazillion ebay TP's would sell you one for cheap.
Count me in, for one of those gazillion Pre 3's out there. I'm fed up with this Samsung Galaxy thing in my Pocket.
It's neat and all, but I *hate* the phone app and the address book. I'd never thought that two years of using webOS could spoil me that bad.
Works perfectly with 7 legacy apps. No adverse effects on a highly patched and overclocked TP. Nice work guys!
interesting patch...i will check it out....was almost going to delete my legacy apps from my TP...but now i have a reason to keep them....i use them on my pre2....
I deleted all my "legacy" apps from my TouchPad since I already use them on my Palm Pre. Now, perhaps there's reason to bring them all back to TP if the Resize app ever works 100%
It doesnt install for me using either Internalz Pro of WOSQI. Any ideas?
How do I install this resize emulator? There're no instruction / link for it. Is there a specific feed that I need to add to find it?
if you don't know how, then you shouldn't install it. that may sound like a jerk answer, but I think the creators of the patch would agree. it's a work-in-progress, and will be made available in a preware feed when it's ready.
There's nothing wrong with exploring. Sure there's a risk involved, but you won't learn unless you try. Any pointer where to look to install?
you're right, there's nothing wrong with exploring. perhaps my answer was a jerk answer.
it's a raw .patch file, so you need Internalz or webOS Quick Install (WOSQI). PreWare does not hand raw patches. Someone above said it wouldn't install for them that way, but those are the only ways I can think of.
for the record I've not installed it. I've decided I'm happy to let rmausser and GyroJoe finish their expirements and put it up on a PreWare feed.
is this patch still available?
Can't be found in preware nor UberAppCat... where is it ?