Have you ever tried opening or saving a file on Windows Mobile? You would know how much a pain it is because of the way Windows Mobile works. I really have no idea why it was programmed this way but I guess someone in Microsoft thought this would be the easier for people who were using Windows Mobile and thus designed it that way. WRONG!!

The Problem

Just what am I talking about? The file dialog box. It’s the box that pops up on many occasions such as when you are trying to add a file to your email or when you want to save a file from Pocket Internet Explorer. It’s a real pain because of 3 things:

One, you cannot choose the hierarchy of the folder, you can only choose the name. So if you have 2 identical folder names (one on storage card and the other on main memory) such as My Pictures, how do you know which one contains your file? You don’t until you open the folder from the dialog box and see if it’s there. Which brings to problem number 2.

That is, when you open the folder, all the files get listed. Great if you have very few files. Not so great when the numbers are big. Even worse, if the there are a lot of files in that folder and it turns out, that’s not the folder you are looking for. Time wasted isn’t it?

The third problem is that the folder list only goes down one level deep. That means you can only access folders /My Documents/AAA and /My Documents/BBB from the menu but not /My Documents/AAA/111 and /My Documents/BBB/222. If you use many folders within folders, you would know what I mean.

The Solution

The solution is rather simple. All you need is to download and install this application, do a soft reset and configure. And that’s it. You’re all good to go. For those needing a step by step guide, read on.

1. Download this file and transfer it to your Pocket PC.
2. Install the file on your Pocket PC. Make sure it’s installed to Main Memory.
3. Turn off your Pocket PC, wait for about 30 seconds and then do a soft reset.
4. When your Pocket PC restarts, go into Start > Settings. Tap on the System tab and then choose File Dialog Changer
5. Put a tick in the box that says Exchange Standard File Dialog and you are good to go.

Further Configuration

The File Dialog Changer can be configured to have exceptions. This means that if for some reason you want to use the default file dialog instead of this new one, you just need to add it to the exception list. Not many will use this option so don’t worry if you have nothing to add here.

How Do I Know It Works

Something’s wrong	Bingo!

Compose a new email and add an attachment. If you see the screen shot on the left, it means you did something wrong. Retrace your steps and see where you went off-course and correct it. If you see the screen shot on your right, congratulations.

How Do I Use It?

When the file dialog comes up, it will be in /My Documents/. Use the left soft key to navigate to the root and then navigate accordingly from there.

If you do not like smal icons but prefer a detailed view, use the right soft key to bring up the menu. There, you can switch between views and create a new folder if needed.

Other Options

You could install Spb Pocket Plus which has this feature and does not need any configuration. However, that is a commercial software while the one provided here is free. On top of that, this one allows you to add exceptions but the one in Spb Pocket Plus does not.

Does this work for you? What other options do you use?

Thanks to Werner Ruotsalainen from Smartphone & Pocket PC Magazine for providing this guide.

Tags: free software