Tired of Tappin'? Launch Those Programs Faster!

[Pat Logsdon]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.jenneth.info/archives/2005/02/how_to_launch_p_1.html' target='_blank'>http://www.jenneth.info/archives/20...launch_p_1.html</a><br /><br /></div><i>"How do you get to frequently-used apps quickly? I like Windows Mobile 2003 SE's feature of having the last four recently-used programs on the Start menu, but you can also easily configure the other items on this menu in the Menus control panel in Settings. Taking this idea a bit further is Wisbar 2 Advance, which adds 'cascading menus' to the Start menu, not unlike the style used in Windows on the desktop."</i><br /><br /><img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/logsdon_20050201_jenneth.jpg" /><br /><br />This is a good overview for those of you who are new to Pocket PCs. Jenneth's got more up her sleeve than just Wisbar Advance 2, so give it a read. Nice, concise, informative and with some really spiffy screenshots. ;)

[beq]

But when will Wisbar 2 Advance support Pocket PC Phone Edition (like the Blue Angel aka PDA2k)? I seem to recall there was a beta version but I don't know what became of that...

[Darius Wey]

But when will Wisbar 2 Advance support Pocket PC Phone Edition (like the Blue Angel aka PDA2k)? I seem to recall there was a beta version but I don't know what became of that...

Support for Phone Edition devices will come real soon. The beta phase is nearing a halt because support for Phone Edition will actually be integrated into the main program itself, so rather than having two separate versions (i.e. standard PPC and PPCPE), there will simply be the one, universal version supporting both standard PPC and PPCPE. :D

[Phillip Dyson]

I've been using the cascading menus for quite some time. Though I found it to be slow on my Toshiba.

One thing that really helped was turning off the option to show the program icons.

Its much zippier.

[pr0vider]

While on this subject, is there any way to disable the WM2003SE option to display the last four programs? :?

[Zidane]

I've been using the cascading menus for quite some time. Though I found it to be slow on my Toshiba.

One thing that really helped was turning off the option to show the program icons.

Its much zippier.
You really should try the latest beta versions. Chris has really enhanced the performance of the start menu and even has given instructions on how to make them blazingly fast, albeit at the cost of a little bit of memory.

Right now my start menu displays much faster than any other cascading menu program I've tried.

[Phillip Dyson]

I've been using the cascading menus for quite some time. Though I found it to be slow on my Toshiba.

One thing that really helped was turning off the option to show the program icons.

Its much zippier.
You really should try the latest beta versions. Chris has really enhanced the performance of the start menu and even has given instructions on how to make them blazingly fast, albeit at the cost of a little bit of memory.

Right now my start menu displays much faster than any other cascading menu program I've tried.

I just installed the x.16 cab and now my Start Menu is completely unresponsive. And I don't have a way to shut down Wisbar because the menu is not at the top of the screen. Soft reset doesn't help either.

I think I'll wait for the release version.... (reaching for the backup file).
Hmm ... or maybe I'll try x.15 :worried:

[Phillip Dyson]

Tried x.15
One word. SLOOOOOOWW.

Or should I say SLOOOOWEEEERRR.
I didn't even turn the Show Icons setting on and my Start Menu is not as responsive.

When I get home, I'm going to re-install the released version.
I think they need time. And I'm patient. [NOT] :)

[blazingwolf]

Tried x.15
One word. SLOOOOOOWW.

Or should I say SLOOOOWEEEERRR.
I didn't even turn the Show Icons setting on and my Start Menu is not as responsive.

When I get home, I'm going to re-install the released version.
I think they need time. And I'm patient. [NOT] :)

Did you try the new .exe Chris posted later in the thread. It cleared up the lockup problems peopole were having. Chris has said that he will release a new version with this .exe later today.

Instead of installing a backup just go into file explorer and delete the link for Wisbar in the startup folder. Then soft reset. This will stop Wisbar from loading automatically upon a restart.

[FrozenIpaq]

I have been a committed user of WA2, and i must say it has improved since it first came out. Chris, the programmer, has enhanced the start menu speed with preloading icons, I love this program for its start menu and skins. Visit the forums at Lakeridgesoftware.com to get caught up on all the news! WA2 is and will always be one of the greatest programs ever made for the Pocket PC.

[mattp]

I also use Wis Bar, and agree that it is indespensible. But, I find a Today plug-in like tdlaunch to be the best for me for quickly launching programs.

[Phillip Dyson]

Actually Chis had an x.17 when I went there.
I installed it and the lockup was fixed.

There is still a noticable delay on the Start Menu. I don't even have the icons being shown.

[Zidane]

Actually Chis had an x.17 when I went there.
I installed it and the lockup was fixed.

There is still a noticable delay on the Start Menu. I don't even have the icons being shown.
It probably has nothing to do with your icons. Chris has indicated that it could take a few seconds to load up the background images. There is an option to cache those images in memory so that the start menu loads faster, if you like.

Another issue is that the first time the start menu is loaded, it reads the entire start menu's directory structure and loads the control panel applets (if you have "Expand Settings" turned on). After that, though, the information is cached and not retrieved again until you adjust WA2's settings or you make a change to the start menu's structure (i.e. you install a new program).

For the fastest start menu, try this:
Turn off program icons (or turn on icon caching at startup).
Turn off "Don't cache background images"
Turn off "Expand Settings on the Start Menu"

The next time you load, you will see a slight delay as the background images are loaded. After that, though, you should see a significant speed increase when accessing the start menu.

[Phillip Dyson]

For the fastest start menu, try this:
Turn off program icons (or turn on icon caching at startup).
Turn off "Don't cache background images"
Turn off "Expand Settings on the Start Menu"

The next time you load, you will see a slight delay as the background images are loaded. After that, though, you should see a significant speed increase when accessing the start menu.

Thanks for the tip. I left the Expand Settings turned on but did everything else. There is a definite difference. I think when I saw the "Don't Cache ..." I was still thinking icons.

[sto-helit.de]

Other ways are SKMenu (http://www.s-k-tools.com/) or MortButtons (http://www.sto-helit.de/freeware/pocketpc/mortbuttons-en.pl).

V2.0 of MortButtons is currently in beta state, you can d/l it here (http://www.sto-helit.de/downloads/MortButtons-2.0b12.exe).
Some of the new features include support for WM2003SE (landscape/VGA), own skins, some new items (rotation, folder contents, submenus, ...), better support of links, etc.
It's already very stable. I'm just waiting for some feedback whether it works fine with SE_VGA or similar tools, maybe some translations, and whether some bugs appear in the next few weeks...