Flex Builder 3 Localization Tool

This plugin helps the developer to extract hard-coded strings in MXML and ActionScript files and replace them with ActionScript localization calls.

You can download the latest version from here.

How to use it:

1) Download the plugin and unzip to . The zip file has the folder plugins included, make sure check "User folder names" checkbox in winzip. The jar file should go to \plugins

2) Start FlexBuilder and go to Window->Other Views...

3) Expand the "Localization Category" and click Resource View to open the view

4) Use "Open Resource" button to open the properties file

5) Open an MXML file or as file in the project and click the Resource View

6) The hard-coded strings are shown in the "Matched String(s)" tab

7) Click one entry in the matched string list and the replaced text is in the preview textbox

8) You can change the Resource ID field to get a new ID value

9) Click "Replace" to update the MXML file

10) Click "Save Resource" button to save the properties file.

11) Sections are the comment lines in the properties file, and you can use comments to define sections and instruct the plugin to insert the externalized property string under the specified comment line

Known Issues:
1) If the Localization view is closed and the user closes FlexBuilder, the plugin doesn't ask for unsaved changed in the properties file.


If you have questions or feature requests, please send email to techiesnt@gmail.com

A Digital Picture Frame on Your PC Desktop

I created this picture frame application to show my pictures. It is just like a digital photo frame pinned on your PC desktop. It can be resized by dragging the bottom right corner. You can also change the picture source folder by clicking the tray icon. It picks up the folder shortcut automatically.

It is a .Net 2.0 application, so you need .Net 2.0 runtime installed. The setup.exe will guide you, including the .Net 2.0 runtime install.

Download the application from there.

A BlackBerry Timer

Sometimes I find I need a count down timer to remind me something, for example, time to flip the burger on the BBQ. BlackBerry device is a perfect smart device to serve that purpose. Just download this Techie Timer to your BlackBerry and use the count down mode. Enjoy!

How to Setup the BlackBerry Remote Control

1. Pair you BlackBerry with your PC
2. On Vista, open the Bluetooth Devices in Control Panel
3. Click Bluetooth Settings button on the toolbar

4. Click COM Ports tab and click Add button to add an Incoming Bluetooth serial port.



5. Click the BlackBerry Remote Control icon on your PC’s desktop and select the corresponding COM port in the combobox, then click start




6. Run BlueTooth Remote Control application on your BlackBerry and select the connect menu to connect to the paired PC
   
   Note: On Windows XP, the user has to find the serial port setting to add a serial incoming port for BlackBerry device. The Bluetooth setting UI may look different depends on the driver.

Control PC from a BlackBerry

One day, I spent a few hours to build an HTPC (Home Theater Personal Computer) and everything worked perfectly, until I realized that I didn't have a remote control for the HTPC. I thought about all these options:

• Wireless keyboard & mouse - too big
• Remote control for the TV card - it can only control the card, not the whole PC

I did some google search and I found this application, but it isn't what I wanted.

I finally found my ideal remote device - A BlackBerry 8800! It has a full keyboard and a trackball perfect for using as a mouse. So I wrote a little application, which contains two parts:

1. An application runs on the BlackBerry device and sends all the key typing and trackball movements to the PC
2. A .Net application runs on the PC and translates all the typing and trackball movements into Windows input

This remote control solution is perfect for your HTPC or doing presentations. Image you can walk freely while doing your presentation, changing slides and input text remotely.

Features:

1. Full keyboard remote input support
2. Mouse movement suport, including mouse wheel mode

Application requirements:

1. PC and BlackBerry device must have Bluetooth
2. BlackBerry device should have a trackball. I haven't tested it on the touch screen versions.
3. PC is running XP or Vista with .Net 2.0 runtime installed (If you don't know what .Net is, the setup.exe will guide you to install it)

To use it, download the following parts:

1. Remote Control PC software - Unzip and run setup.exe
2. Remote Control BlackBerry software - Unzip and use BlackBerry Desktop application loader to open bluetooth.alx
3. Read the How to use BlackBerry Remote Control post

About This Blog

I am a computer geek and I use this blog to share my applications and ideas. If you have any comments or questions, please send email to techiesnt@gmail.com.