3 Reference Manual

3.1 The Menu Functions

3.1.1 The 'File' Menu

Load settings: Opens a dialog to load your properties from a file. It will load everything what is changable in the properties window.
Save settings: Opens a dialog to save your properties in a file. It will save everything what is changable in the properties window.
Exit: Leaves the program.

Remark: At program start the file default.sms will always be loaded (if it exists) and also when you leave the program current properties will be saved in default.sms. So at next program start your settings will be restored.

3.1.2 The 'Connection' Menu

Connect (only visible if you are not connected): This establishes a connection to your mobile phone and starts to poll for new SMS. Notice: The SMS messages will be deleted from the mobile phone after reading. This is to prevent the SIM card from a overflow.
Disconnect (only visible if you are connected): Here you can stop the poll for SMS and disconnect from the mobile phone.

3.1.3 The 'Options' Menu

Properties: This opens the Properties Window (see 3.2)

3.1.4 The 'Fullscreen' Menu

Full Screen: Enters the full screen mode. This is used for displaying the messages in a nice way on the screen, or - if you have one - on a video beamer.

3.1.5 The 'Help' Menu

Help: Opens a little browser with this help text in it.
About: Shows some information about the SMSBoard.

3.2 The Properties Window

3.2.1 Connection

Adjust these settings for your mobile phone. A list of settings for common mobile phones is on www.smsboard.ch
Please submit me settings for phones not listed (a contact formular is also on this page).
With 'poll interval in seconds' you can set the delay between the polls for new SMS messages.

3.2.2 Fullscreen 1

• Fullscreen behaviour: Select here whether you want the SMSBoard to scroll the shown messages when a new one arrives or to show the last 10 messages centered as a cycling slideshow.
• Scroll behaviour: This is only used when scrolling is active. You can choose here if you want to scroll upwards or downwards.
• slideshow interval time in seconds: This is only used when slideshow is active. Chose here how many seconds each message will be shown.
• Fullscreen label: Choose here text, color and position of the fullscreen title bar.

3.2.3 Vollbild 2

• fullscreen text: Select here the font and the color you like for the SMS messages. In the field message prefix text you can enter a text which will be inserted before each SMS message.
• Background Image: For showing a single image in fullscreen, click on the load .. button. This opens a dialog where you can choose the file. For a slideshow, you have to enter a directory containing only images in the text field. The slideshow will change the picture whenever a new SMS message arrives. With 'randomly choose images from a directory' the order will be at random.
  If you want no background image, just leave the field empty.
  Another option is to scale the image. But I suggest to save the pictures in the right format with a graphics program, because the Java scaling is slow.
  The option 'convert to a darkish grayscale' is for better readability of the text. An alternative is to underlay the text black ('underlay text with black background').
  
• password for typing via keyboard: Enter here the password which you will use to change into typing mode. The password can not be the empty string. If you enter nothing, it will be replaced by ''text''.

3.2.4 Internet

This is an other feature of the SMSBoard. You can submit incoming SMS messages directly to an URL via GET. For this, you have to select the checkbox ''upload to URL'' and enter the URL in the text field. In the URL, every occurrence of the tags written above the text field will be replaced with the SMS message, the date or the sender. So for example
http://www.example-domain.xx/guestbook/index.php?entry=yes&name=SMS&text=$<$m$>$
would submit each SMS message to the guest book of this example domain.

3.2.5 Log File

With the checkbox you can select if you want SMSBoard to make a log. If you do so, every SMS message will be added in the file you select. The log file will be a normal text file and you can open it with any text editor. As in the part 'Internet' you can use tags to enter the format of the file. Choose 'select..' to select a file.

3.3 Establishing a Connection

Before you can connect to the mobile phone, you have to adjust the settings in ''Properties''. For more information about that, see 3.2.1.
Place the mobile phone in a position, where the IR-port of the PC and the IR-Port of the mobile phone are face to face. Windows should give now a message, that your phone is in the range of your IR-port. If you get no message, check if IR is correctly installed and activated in Bios and in Windows. The SMSBoard works only, if infrared is correctly installed. Check also, if you have activated IR in your mobile phone.
When the phone is recognized by Windows, start the SMSBoard and choose the correct settings for your mobile phone. Then click on 'Connnect' in the menu 'Connection'. This can take some seconds. If you receive an error message from the SMSBoard, check if the IR ports are really face to face and try twice or three times again. If it fails in each try, you should check the settings in properties window.
If the connection is established, the signal level will be shown and the SMSBoard starts to poll for new SMS messages.
With 'Disconnect' in the menu 'Connection' you can stop the poll and disconnect from the mobile phone.

3.4 Fullscreen

In the fullscreen mode the SMS messages are shown in the way you choose in the properties menu. To leave fullscreen, simply press ESC.

3.4.1 Shortcuts

PgUp Changes to scroll up mode.
PgDn Changes to scroll down mode.
Esc Leaves fullscreen window.

3.4.2 Typing something via keyboard - typing mode

In SMSBoard you have the probability to enter text for the fullscreen window also with the normal computer keyboard. First, type the password you have defined in properties - fullscreen (see 3.2.3). Do not hit ENTER, just the password! After that, every character you enter will be shown on the fullscreen window in red. To leave this typing mode and to restart the poll, hit ESC.