02-01-2006, 05:00 PM
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Developer & Designer, News Editor Emeritus
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 12,959
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Customise Your Backlight Timeout Settings
Windows Mobile offers users an easy way to customise backlight timeout settings, but it doesn't offer much choice with regard to preset values. By opening the Backlight applet (Start > Settings > System > Backlight; the exact sequence may vary from device to device), you'll notice a set of options as shown in the image below. You can tweak the timeout settings for battery power and external power, but the fact is, the range of values in the drop-down box is meagre at best. What if you wanted 5 seconds, 15 seconds, 45 seconds, or even 30 minutes?
With a registry editor, you can change all that.
In this guide, I use Resco Explorer 2005. Remember, you're on your own with registry hacks, so proceed at your own risk.
� Navigate to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\ControlPanel\Backlight.
� You'll notice two DWORD entries present: ACTimeout and BatteryTimeout. The former refers to the backlight timeout setting on external power, while the latter refers to the backlight timeout setting on battery power. These two entries are highlighted in the image above.
� Open either of the two entries and modify the value to a number of your choice. It stores the information in seconds, so if you want a timeout setting of 15 seconds, enter 15. If you want a timeout setting of 1.5 minutes, enter 90.
� Save the changes. You won't need to soft-reset your device as the changes will come into effect immediately.
The aforementioned steps should work on most Pocket PCs. If not, your OEM has your device's backlight settings assigned to a different set of registry keys.
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02-01-2006, 07:47 PM
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Pupil
Join Date: May 2003
Posts: 13
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Awesome! Anyone know a hack to extend the keyboard backlight timeout on a Samsung i730? Currently the longest is 8 seconds. :?
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02-01-2006, 11:40 PM
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Pontificator
Join Date: Dec 2005
Posts: 1,183
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I've been trying to find a way to customise the screen brightness settings. My E800 is way to bright for reading in bed with th elights off ...
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02-02-2006, 12:14 AM
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5000+ Posts? I Should OWN This Site!
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 5,616
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It should be noted that a setting of 0 for either value means that the corresponding box in the Backlight Settings applet will be unchecked.
__________________
iPhone 4! ☠☠☠ Mid-2010 15" MacBook Pro! ☠☠☠ Gateway LT2102h! ☠☠☠ Dell XPS M1210!
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02-02-2006, 02:17 AM
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Neophyte
Join Date: Nov 2005
Posts: 8
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by SteveHoward999
I've been trying to find a way to customise the screen brightness settings. My E800 is way to bright for reading in bed with th elights off ...
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Yes, my Audiovox 6700 goes from too bright all the way up to waaaay too bright for night time reading. I am no expert, but I did check the registry and I can't see anything that could help. The only thing that helped me was to change the page colour of my e-reader to light grey type on a black page. It still burns the retinas.
If anyone can help with this, there are at least 4 eyeballs that would thank you.
S.
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02-02-2006, 04:51 AM
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Developer & Designer, News Editor Emeritus
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 12,959
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by papasula
Awesome! Anyone know a hack to extend the keyboard backlight timeout on a Samsung i730? Currently the longest is 8 seconds.
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Is there an option in Settings which allows you to tweak the keyboard backlight settings? If so, where is it located?
I don't have an i730, so I can't plough through its registry. Hopefully, with your help, we can find the hidden setting (if it exists).
Edit: Fixed quote.
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02-02-2006, 04:52 AM
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Developer & Designer, News Editor Emeritus
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 12,959
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by SteveHoward999
I've been trying to find a way to customise the screen brightness settings. My E800 is way to bright for reading in bed with th elights off ...
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In HKEY_CURRENT_USER\ControlPanel\Backlight, do you have an entry titled "BacklightLevel", "Brightness", or something along the lines of that?
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02-02-2006, 05:07 AM
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Pontificator
Join Date: Dec 2005
Posts: 1,183
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by Darius Wey
In HKEY_CURRENT_USER\ControlPanel\Backlight, do you have an entry titled "BacklightLevel", "Brightness", or something along the lines of that?
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Pretty sure I looked at these before, but here's what's there
ACBacklightLuminance
ACBacklighhtOnTap
ACTimeout
ACTimeoutUnchecked
AutoDim
BacklightLuminance
BacklighhtOnTap
Timeout
TimeoutUnchecked
BackLightLuminance is set to 1 (minimum) for both. But I see no way to hack it so that the lowest setting is dimmer than it appears now.
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02-02-2006, 05:18 AM
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5000+ Posts? I Should OWN This Site!
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 5,616
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In my experience, setting the backlight to automatic will drop the backlight lower than the lowest setting you can get from the plugin in Control Panel, which is much more granular than Spb's today plugin item. But I'm sure you all knew that already. 
__________________
iPhone 4! ☠☠☠ Mid-2010 15" MacBook Pro! ☠☠☠ Gateway LT2102h! ☠☠☠ Dell XPS M1210!
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02-02-2006, 05:23 AM
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Pontificator
Join Date: Dec 2005
Posts: 1,183
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by ctmagnus
In my experience, setting the backlight to automatic will drop the backlight lower than the lowest setting you can get from the plugin in Control Panel, which is much more granular than Spb's today plugin item. But I'm sure you all knew that already. |
Not on my Toshiba. The auto setting is brighter ths minimum in total darkness. :?
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Linear Mode
