Press and Hold

[me]

I have a T-Mobile (USA) MDA, i.e an HTC Wizard, running WM5, the latest official T-Mo ROM.


In setting the hardware button hotkey assignments in Settings, Buttons, one of the keys (key 4) can be assigned to two different hotkey functions. One if you press and release quickly, and another if you press and hold it a while.

The default setting for that button 4 is a quick press to initiate voice dial, and the longer press to record voice memos. But you can reassign those two ways of pressing button 4 to other functions as well.

However, in that settings dialogue, button 4 is the only button to have two settings like that, press, and press and hold. The other buttons only can have one assignment each.

I'm wondering, however, if there is some way to get around that limitation (a registry tweak, perhaps?), to allow two functions set for all the hardware buttons, depending on short or long press?

I think the hardware supports it on all keys, for the following reason. In the software PIE Plus, in its options, one can set all the keys to two functions, based on short or long press. However, those are only for PIE and PIE Plus functions, not for overall system functions. Yet, the fact that one can set them in that app, leads me to believe that all the keys can sense short and long presses, and react differently to them. Somehow though, in the basic OS of WM5, in that settings dialogue, that set two functions per key is only possible for key 4, the other keys can only be set for one function.

Any way to extend that to all the buttons, in WM5?

[schmenge]

I am not sure if this will work with WM5 or your device, but with a Tilt you can create a shortcut with the properties set to launch a program. This does not work with all buttons but with power, send, end and PTT (push to talk, which you probably do not have). You just put the shortcut on your Windows folder. You could try Long_Send and see if that will do anything.

[me]

I am not sure if this will work with WM5 or your device, but with a Tilt you can create a shortcut with the properties set to launch a program. This does not work with all buttons but with power, send, end and PTT (push to talk, which you probably do not have). You just put the shortcut on your Windows folder. You could try Long_Send and see if that will do anything.

Thank you for the reply.

However, I don't understand what you are trying to say. Or, perhaps you didn't understand my original question.

Yes, I know how to create a shortcut (.lnk file) to start a program. And yes, once I have created such a shortcut, I know how to link it to a keypress, as I explained in my post.

Read my OP again, and you might understand my question better. No sense in repeating it.

I don't know what you mean by "you could try Long_Send and see if that will do anything"
????? What? Try it how? I could type that text into notepad and save it. What would that do? I could put it somewhere in the registry. To do so though, I would have to know where in the registry, more details, etc. I'm not going to start randomly entering that text all over the registry, to "see if that will do anything".

As I wrote, my guess is that there is a way to configure press and hold actions for all configurable buttons, not only for button 4, as one sees in settings, due to the fact that Pie Plus button configuration includes press and hold on all the buttons. It would be nice to find out how to do that systemwide.

[schmenge]

I understood your question and after reading my response I am not sure *I* understood what I wrote. :) Take a look at this (http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=356322)for a better explanation. It is NOT directly answering your question about registry edits, but providing another potential option for long presses with some keys.

[burtcom]

SPB Plus provides this capability

[Pony99CA]

In setting the hardware button hotkey assignments in Settings, Buttons, one of the keys (key 4) can be assigned to two different hotkey functions. One if you press and release quickly, and another if you press and hold it a while.

[...]

I'm wondering, however, if there is some way to get around that limitation (a registry tweak, perhaps?), to allow two functions set for all the hardware buttons, depending on short or long press?
My WM 5 iPAQ hx2795 supports press and hold on all buttons. Look in the registry at HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Shell\Keys. Look at entries for 40C1 through 40C5, which correspond to buttons 1-5. On my iPAQ, I also have 40C6 through 40C9, corresponding to press and hold for buttons 1-4.

You might see 40C9 there for your button 4. Try copying another entry to 40C6, changing the shortcut and seeing if pressing and holding button 1 takes the alternate action.

I haven't tried it, so let us know how that works for you.

Steve