Antony Pranata's Forum Nokia Blog

Screenshot v3.01 Released

2008-02-04T21:07:14+02:00

It's been a while since I released the last version of my open source application, Screenshot for Symbian OS. The new version (v3.01) is now available at SourceForge.net.

Unfortunately, only the unsigned version is available right now. As you may know, it takes a while for Symbian Signed to sign freeware/open source applications. So, please be patient to wait for the official signed version. Meanwhile, you can just download and sign it using your own developer's certificate.

What's new in this version?

A new shortcut, i.e. <#>+<*>. It's been a challenge to introduce this shortcut due to conflict with phone application on the idle screen. It is related to a known issue published at Forum Nokia (KIS000708). Fortunately, there is a tricky workaround to this issue.
Support for more applications. The previous version has some problems capturing some applications, especially the ones with direct screen access. The new version does not solve the problem completely; but it should be better than the previous one. For example, the new version is able to capture N-Gage games, which has just been released today.
License upgraded to GPLv3. As recommended by Free Software Foundation, it is better upgrading from GPLv2 to GPLv3.
Some bug fixes. For example, Camera key now works fine on most Nseries devices.

Click here to download unsigned version and source code of Screenshot v3.01

Example Code of Using XML Parser in Symbian OS

2007-04-14T00:05:09+03:00

A couple of weeks ago, I had a plan to write an article and example code of using XML parser in Symbian OS. It seems that another Forum Nokia Champion, Paul Todd had the same idea. He posted a nice article about XML parser in Symbian OS 9.x to Forum Nokia Blogs. It's good that I don't need to write the same article. :)

What I would like to share here is a complete example code of XML Parser in Symbian OS. The example code can be run on Symbian OS 8 and 9 phones, which means it can be compiled under S60 2nd Edition FP2/FP3 SDK or S60 3rd Edition SDK. I am planning to release the same example code for UIQ3 soon.

Click here to download my example code of XML parser

The example basically parses an XML file, dataexample.xml, to the main window. The content will be displayed on CEikEdwin control (see picture below).

Note that the code is written as an example; thus it is designed to be as simple as possible. Do not use it in the production code!

One more thing, this is not the official example code from Forum Nokia. It is just my personal example code.

Screenshot for Symbian OS Goes Open Source!

2007-02-28T07:24:47+02:00

Actually I don't want to reveal this today because there are still some other things to do. Unfortunately (or may be fortunately) cyke64 has smelled this new project. That's why; I decided to officially announce it today.

Ladies and gentlemen... I am proudly announcing Screenshot for Symbian OS goes open source. The source code is hosted by SourceForget.net at http://sourceforge.net/projects/screenshot-sos/. The project is distributed under GPL (General Public License) scheme.

Why do I decide to make the application as an open source project?

I want to give this application to the Symbian OS community out there. I have chosen GPL scheme to make sure that everybody can receive the copy of the binary as well as the source code free of charge.
As you may know, there are more and more Symbian OS devices coming out. Since I cannot buy and test on all of those devices, I need a way for people to helping me to debug and fix any problem and/or binary breaks.

As a starting point, I publish the source code and binary (unsigned) of the beta version of Screenshot for Symbian OS version 2.70.

I hope that my small contribution is useful for the whole Symbian OS community.

Interpreting Platform Security Error Messages in S60 3rd Edition

2006-06-16T22:38:05+03:00

If you have been reading discussions at Forum Nokia Developer Discussion Board recently, you may notice there are many questions about signing in S60 3rd Edition. It seems the new security feature in Symbian 9 has led to frustration for some developers.

I would like to share what kind of error messages I have seen when installing signed/unsigned application in S60 3rd Edition phones. There is a hint that explains what may cause a particular message. I may not be able to cover all error messages because I may not have seen all of them.

Message: Certificate error. Contact the application supplier.

Hint: You may have tried installing unsigned application. Note that signing is mandatory S60 3rd Edition. You can use self-signed certificate or developer certificate from Symbian Signed to sign your application.

Message: Unable to install. Constrained by the certificate.

Hint: This message pops up when you attempt to install developer certificate in the unsupported device. The developer certificate from Symbian Signed can only be used in a limited number of devices. Remember that you have to send your IMEIs to Symbian Signed when requesting certificate. You cannot use the certificate in other devices that is not in your IMEIs list.

Message: Required application access not granted

Hint: Check that your certificate can be used to sign all capabilities needed by your application. For example, if you use self-signed certificate, you can only sign basic set capabilities, i.e. NetworkServices, ReadUserData, WriteUserData, LocalServices and UserEnvironment. If your application requires one of the extended capabilities, for example SwEvent, you cannot sign it with self-signed certificate. In this case, apply for developer certificates from Symbian Signed.

Message: Unable to install a protected application from an untrusted supplier

Hint: If you use self-signed certificate, make sure that your application uses unprotected UID, i.e. 0xA0000000 - 0xAFFFFFFF. If you use protected UID (0x20000000 - 0x2FFFFFFF) or legacy UID (0x10000000 - 0x1FFFFFFF), you will get this message.

Message: Unable to install

Hint: This message may come up when your installation file (.sis/.sisx) copies files to other application's private folder, i.e. privateuid. Note that Symbian 9 introduces data caging concept, it means you don't have access to other application's private folder.