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BallRoom UIQ3 FAQ

• Why do I need BallRoom?
• How does BallRoom differ from other similar programs?
• Which phones is BallRoom compatible with?
• What are the benefits of using BallRoom?
• How much memory does BallRoom use?
• Does BallRoom cause battery drain?

• Can I change what is displayed?
• How do I change the colors?
• What images can I display?
• What is the best size for images?
• Can the icon do something useful when I touch it?
• Can I use BallRoom to launch applications?
• How to remember what happens when I touch the icon?

• What exactly short and long tap mean?
• When is BallRoom expected to be visible?
• How can I see the BallRoom icon all the time?
• What to do when the icon covers an important area?
• Why I can not correctly see BallRoom's icon replacement?
• Can BallRoom hide and show itself faster?
• What to do when the image stops moving?
• Why does BallRoom always show 0 % battery level on my Z8?
• Where are the icon actions on the Z8?

Answers

General

Q: Why do I need BallRoom?
A: BallRoom replaces an idle part of your phone's display with dynamic content that you can tailor to your needs, thus giving you a more informative and entertaining experience while using your phone.

Q: How does BallRoom differ from other similar programs?
A: There is no comparable program that can do what BallRoom offers. With its ability to permanently provide visual and functional extras, BallRoom offers a unique opportunity to enhance and customize your phone.

Q: Which phones is BallRoom compatible with?
A: BallRoom can be installed and executed on all smartphones running on Symbian 9.x with UIQ 3.x. Icon-touch actions are supported only on those phones that have a touch-screen.

Q: What are the benefits of using BallRoom?
A: BallRoom provides you with a unique way of customizing your phone's appearance and function. It lets you define what is displayed in the application icon area, and what action is performed when touching that area. Selectable dynamic contents include time, date, free memory, battery level, image, and more. Icon-touch actions include stepping between running tasks, closing the foreground program, displaying a status message, and so on. With BallRoom you can make your phone a more informative and entertaining spectacle.

Q: How much memory does BallRoom use?
A: BallRoom uses about 380 Kilobytes of RAM while running. Displaying an image results in additional memory consumption which can be quite significant in the case of large images and GIF files with many frames.

Q: Does BallRoom cause battery drain?
A: Like every programs that are active all the time, BallRoom consumes energy, which contributes to exhausting the battery. BallRoom is optimized to keep a balance between performance and energy consumption, so that significant battery drain is not likely to occur under normal circumstances. If you are concerned about battery drain, refrain from displaying animated images.

Configuration

Q: Can I change what is displayed?
A: Yes, absolutely. In BallRoom's main view select the page for the icon half (either Top or Bottom) that you want to configure. Then select a Content type that you want to display in that icon half. Use the Action icons option to display the applications associated with icon tap actions.

Q: How do I change the colors?
A: First, select the display Component whose color you want to change. Second, use the Color control to choose a color for the selected component. Colors can be changed independently for both icon halves.

Q: What images can I display?
A: All image formats that are supported by the phone are usable with BallRoom. One of the unique features of BallRoom is that you can display an animated GIF file that remains moving all the time, over any application.

Q: What is the best size for images?
A: Preferably use 53x53 pixels images for full-size, and 53x26 pixels for half-size display, respectively. Smaller images are centered within the icon area, while large images are resized to fit within the area. To display an image in full-size mode, choose it for the Top icon portion, and set the Bottom portion to None.

Q: Can the icon do something useful when I touch it?
A: Upon touching the icon area various actions can be performed, depending on what is selected for Short tap and Long tap. Available actions include invoking BallRoom's main view, displaying a status message, cycling content types, switching between running tasks, starting an application, and closing the foreground program. Actions are set separately for the two icon halves.

Q: Can I use BallRoom to launch applications?
A: Yes, you can use the BallRoom icon to execute up to four programs. To enable this feature, select the Start application item in any of the four icon tap action selectors, and choose a program.

Q: How to remember what happens when I touch the icon?
A: Enable the Action icons option to display a small icon indicating the application assigned to icon taps.

Using BallRoom

Q: What exactly short and long tap mean?
A: The borderline between these events is set to 0.75 second. In practice this means that if you just touch the screen for a moment then it will be a short tap, while if you keep it touched for about one second then it will be a long tap.

Q: When is BallRoom expected to be visible?
A: BallRoom's icon replacement is visible as long as the foreground program displays the standard application titlebar, including the application icon area. BallRoom's content disappears when any menu or pop-up window obscures the icon area. By default the icon is also hidden over programs that apply full-screen mode without the titlebar. You can override this behavior by selecting applications in the Permanent icon display dialog, so that the BallRoom icon becomes permanently visible over the top-left corner of the screen.

Q: How can I see the BallRoom icon all the time?
A: By default the BallRoom icon is hidden over full-screen programs (those that do not display their application icon). Use the Permanent menu command to enable displaying the BallRoom icon over such programs. You can mark up to ten applications for permanent icon display.

Q: What to do when the icon covers an important area?
A: To prevent displaying the BallRoom icon over a full-screen application, in the Permanent icon display dialog unmark the program in question.

Q: Why I can not correctly see BallRoom's icon replacement?
A: Most probably you are using a theme which contains some irregularity that confronts with BallRoom. Some themes with unusual component sizes may cause BallRoom displayed abnormally, or not displayed at all in flip closed mode. The solution in such case is to use another theme. Landscape screen orientation and certain full-screen applications may also hamper correct icon display.

Q: Can BallRoom hide and show itself faster?
A: BallRoom keeps an optimum balance between its performance and energy consumption. The program strives for noticing relevant screen changes with the minimum possible checking activity. Sometimes this does not work out perfectly, especially when the phone is very busy doing something. If you experience that BallRoom has missed either hiding or showing itself, then perform some activity, like touching the screen or pressing a navigation key.

Q: What to do when the image stops moving?
A: Animation may stop sometimes. If this occurs, switching to another program solves it in most cases.

Q: Why does BallRoom always show 0 % battery level on my Z8?
A: The operating system on the Z8 and Z10 phones apparently can not correctly report the battery level. Until the issue is resolved, select something else than battery level to display on the Z8.

Q: Where are the icon actions on the Z8?
A: User-defined actions that require touching the icon area can not be supported on phones that do not have a touch-screen. When running on that kind of phone, the main view of BallRoom does not display controls for setting actions.