Thumbboard public beta release info and instructions

[Scott]

Attention *EVERYONE*:
You can download the latest version here.

(Click for full-size image)

This is a PUBLIC Beta, so all may enjoy it (or become frustrated with it).

How do I install/enable it?
1) If you currently have an older version of Thumbboard installed, please remove it via "Apps/Delete..." in the main menu before installing the new version.
2) Install the new version to internal memory (not an SD card). This is a hack-style app that will be "listening" for a hard button press no matter what app you're running, so it needs to always be available.
3) Find the icon for Thumbboard, tap on it, then tap "Enable" and then "Done." More preference setting will be provided later.

How do I use it?
1) When you're using an application that you want to compose text for, and a text field has the focus on the screen (usually, but not always, you'll see a blinking cursor somewhere), press the right trigger/shoulder button and Thumbboard will launch. Currently, you can also launch it by tapping on the "abc" icon in the Graffiti panel.
2) Compose your text using the on-screen keyboard. Special features to be aware of include:
- Press-and-hold a letter to capitalize it.
- Push the analog controller (joystick) left/right to move the cursor.
3) To close the app and paste your text back to the original app's text field, press in on the analog controller. Currently, you can also close the app by pressing on an invisible on-screen button to the right of the 3-line text box (i.e., top-right corner of the screen).

Note: Because Thumbboard is a hack-style app, there are unfortunately several apps that won't play nice with it. I'm not aware of any conflicts that will damage your device or require a hard reset. Trying to launch Thumbboard in several apps will cause a soft reset.

This is a public beta release. No warranty/guarantee is provided. The Thumbboard beta will cease to function after 15 unique days of use. If you uninstall Thumbboard and reinstall a new version, you should get another 15 days.

[Scott]

Version 0.5.1 released on 6/20/2005

Bugs fixed:
- Double-quote (found on "k" key) now working.
- Press-and-hold on "Delete" and "Enter" keys will now auto-repeat.
- Visual feedback (gray box) added to "Delete" key.

Changes:
- App now launched by pressing right shoulder button instead of silver function button. Note: I'll most likely make this user-configurable, but I'm interested to hear what you think of using this new launch button.

[Scott]

Version 0.5.2 released @ 12:32am EST on 6/21/2005

Bugs fixed:
- Text box will scroll up/down automatically if you position the cursor outside of bounds (using the left/right control of the analog controller).

Changes:
- Audible feedback when moving cursor left/right.
- Hard button used to launch the app is now user-configurable. Choices include: analog/D-Pad center button, silver function button, left shoulder/trigger button, or right shoulder/trigger button.
- Replacing the system keyboard is now user-configurable (and defaults to off). This means that, by default, tapping the "abc" icon in the Graffiti panel will now launch the normal built-in keyboard applet.

Please remember to disable and uninstall any old version of this app you have before installing the latest version.

[Scott]

Version 0.5.3 released @ 9:15pm EST on Thursday, 6/23/2005

Changes/Enhancements:
- Launch button can be configured to launch app on button press or press-and-hold.

Please remember to disable and uninstall any old version of this app you have before installing the latest version.

[Scott]

Version 0.5.4 released

Doh! Accidentally deleted this post.

[Scott]

Version 0.5.5 released @ 4:04pm EST on Thursday, 6/30/2005

Bugs fixed:
- Statusbar should now be gone (hopefully) on Tungsten T5 (and hopefully other devices).

Changes/Enhancements:
- Joystick/D-Pad Up/Down will move cursor up/down
- More launch button choices (including Home and action/gaming buttons)
- Two "new" *EXPERIMENTAL* approaches used for launching app:
1) Launching via hard-button will no longer highlight and copy text to the clipboard first. This should solve issues where the clipboard limit is exceeded, but this approach has problems with the DateBook (and possibly other) apps which I'm hoping to address. Also new: Your cursor will be positioned where you had it before launching the app. Useful when replying to emails using the free Tapwave email app (SnapperMail still not working).
2) Launch via the "abc" Graffiti icon or "Keyboard..." menu option to launch app without any text pre-filled. When pasting back the text, it will insert the text one letter at a time. This was a method I played with when trying to solve the CliFrotz issues (though it doesn't fully work there). I'm interested in hearing if anyone thinks this paste-back approach could be useful for anything.

Again, both of these new methods are experimental and the old approach is probably still the best approach right now. I'm hoping to address the bugs with approach #1 and make that the standard method, but until I do that if you find that neither of these methods works well for you, let me know and I'll re-implement the old method and compile a new version.

I may have added more but I honestly don't remember. Most (all?) app compatibility issues probably still remain.

Please remember to disable and uninstall any old version of this app you have before installing the latest version.

[Scott]

Version 0.5.6 released @ 9:39pm EST on Friday, 7/1/2005

Changes/Enhancements:
- New method of assigning trigger button (modeled after the excellent Hi-Launcher design). Now you can assign the trigger button to any button you want. Should be more useful to non-Zodiac devices now as well.

- Sped up auto-repeat for when you press-and-hold non-uppercase-capable keys. Press and hold on Backspace should be acceptably fast now.

Please remember to disable and uninstall any old version of this app you have before installing the latest version.

[Scott]

Version 0.5.7 released @ 8:42am EST on Sunday, 7/3/2005

Bugs fixed:
- Caps lock and Alt lock symbol stays on after first character typed.

Changes/Enhancements:
- Clear (Alt version of Backspace key) logic temporarily (?) disabled to address concerns of accidentally doing this and not being able to undo it.

[Scott]

Version 0.5.8 released @ 7:08pm EST on Sunday, 7/3/2005

Bugs fixed:
- Removed debug code which was executed when launching from certain types of text fields (e.g., DateBook app) which displayed a message box showing row and column info. Oops.

[Scott]

Version 0.5.9 released @ 10:59pm EST on Wed, 7/6/2005

Bugs fixed:
- App temporarily disabled at the beginning of a HotSync operation and reenabled at the end of a HotSync. Should hopefully fix HotSync hangs/errors experienced by some users.