New PPC skins downloaded...

[BrianPPC]

Okay so they were downloaded and I synced the iPaq but I can't seem to find them to set a new background. I looked in the "today" icon but the only two skins there were the standard skins that come pre installed.

Where the heck did they go?

[Brad Adrian]

You need to make sure that the files are in the My Documents folder in internal memory (not a storage card).

[Darius Wey]

Make sure they exist as TSK files. Some theme creators release their themes in ZIP, which requires you to extract the TSK files.

[BrianPPC]

Ok, they are .tsk files and they are in the documents folder, in the templates sub folder but I can't locate them on the PPC. Sorry, I'm new to PPC coming over from a Treo.

Any ideas?

[Brad Adrian]

For your device to "see" the TSK files, they MUST be in the MY DOCUMENTS folder in internal memory; putting them in a subfolder will not work.

Unfortunately, Windows Mobile can be a bit quirky about where files have to be located and how "deep" some applications can see to detect files. It's a bit better than it used to be, but the rules about Themes remain pretty hard and strict.

[BrianPPC]

So when the themes were downloaded, they should have been put into the "My Documents" folder that is put on your desktop when you first set up the handheld out of the box?

[Darius Wey]

So when the themes were downloaded, they should have been put into the "My Documents" folder that is put on your desktop when you first set up the handheld out of the box?

No, place them in the "My Documents" folder of your Pocket PC. You can copy files to and from your Pocket PC using the Explore function of ActiveSync.

Then to select the themes, go to Start > Settings > Today (on your Pocket PC).

[Brad Adrian]

Right. It's probably called something like "yourdevicename My Documents." Then, when you synchronize, those files are copied to the "My Documents" folder in your device's internal memory. You can confirm the location of the TSK files on your Pocket PC by opening File Explorer and navigating to the "My Documents" folder. If they're not there or are in a subfolder, the system won't see them.

Then, to apply a new theme on the Pocket PC, go to start>settings>today. Select the desired theme, then tap OK.

I hope this helps. If there's something I haven't explained well, let me know.

Good luck. We look forward to seeing you here often.

[BrianPPC]

I can read what you both typed and my brain is working but I have no idea what the heck I'm not doing right. I clicked on file explorer and my documents and all that is there is "business", "my music", "my pictures", "templates." But on the desktop, when I click on the my documents folder of PPC , they are there, not inside one of those files, but along WITH the four files mentioned above.

[Wiggster]

The "My Documents" folder on your device isn't necessarily the same thing as your "My Documents" folder on your desktop/laptop computer. On the "My Documents" folder on your computer, there should be a subfolder named "DEVICENAME My Documents." In this case, c:\My Documents\Wigglet My Documents is the folder on my computer. Anything put in your My Documents\DEVICENAME My Documents folder on your dekstop is synced to the My Documents folder on your device. Confusing, isn't it?

If you want to be sure that you're putting a file directly in your My Documents folder on your PDA:
Connect your PDA to your computer via ActiveSync. Hit the Explore button in ActiveSync. This will open your My Documents folder on your PDA to explore the files. Drag and Drop the file to this explorer window on your desktop
The file will then immediately be on your device.

[juni]

... and then go to start-> settings-> Today and select your theme.

Moving files and folders seems to be amazingly difficult for people who are new to pocket pcs until they get the hang of it. :)

[BrianPPC]

Ok, got it now. Finally!


Thanks.

[Wiggster]

... and then go to start-> settings-> Today and select your theme.

Moving files and folders seems to be amazingly difficult for people who are new to pocket pcs until they get the hang of it. :)

Err, yeah, I guess enabling the theme would be a crucial part of installing a theme, eh?

P.S. Juni: make some more matching VGA Pocket PC and QVGA Smartphone themes for WM5 :mrgreen:

[victore]

You can also place the *.tsk files in the root of the Windows folder.