SmartPhone Emulator Forte Edition

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What is the "SmartPhone Emulator Module"?
The Yospace SmartPhone Emulator allows the user to view and interact with WAP content and services in a manner that accurately reproduces a variety of WAP enabled devices. The SmartPhone Emulator Forte Edition is tailored to work within the Forte for Java development environment. The module facilitates the development of WAP content, allowing the user to quickly and easily produce content tailored for many of the world's most popular handsets.

How to install the module

Run Forte for Java

Go to the Tools menu and select Global Options (see Figure 1).

Figure 1 : Opening Forte's Global Options

Right-click on Modules and select Module from File. This could be under the New submenu if API support is installed (see Figure 2).

Figure 2 : Loading the Module into Forte

An Open File dialog will appear. Use it to find the SPEFE-2.0.jar file and open it. The module will now install.

Warning: the module will be loaded dynamically each time Forte is started. If the module is renamed or moved then Forte will not load the module and the module will need to be reinstalled from its new location.

Figure 3 shows how the SmartPhone Emulator module appears in the Global Options. Additionally, there is a new entry called Yospace SmartPhone Settings which is where the license key for the SmartPhone Emulator needs to be set before WML files can be viewed. To set the license key select the Yospace SmartPhone Settings entry in the Global Options window and enter the three fields - Name, Email and Key into the relevant text entry boxes on the Properties sheet. A license key is emailed to the address supplied when the software is downloaded. Once the license key is set, Forte will remember it as long as the module stays installed. If the module has to be de-installed for any reason then the key will need to be re-entered.

Figure 3 : Global Options after installation

What the module provides
The SmartPhone Emulator module extends the Forte environment to handle WML files. Once the module is loaded, WML files can be edited in Forte's Source Editor and viewed using the SmartPhone Emulator. In Forte's Explorer window WML files are shown as in Figure 4. Forte is also extended to provide a template for WML files - much as there are templates for HTML and other types of files. This makes creating new WML files much easier.

Figure 4 : WML files in Forte's Explorer

How to create a new WML page
Creating a new WML page in Forte is done by using the WML template. Choose "New" from the Forte "File" menu. Open the "Yospace" tab on the dialog that appears and "index" should be listed like in Figure 5. The file can be given a name other than the default name, "index.wml". Names do not need the "wml" extension added to them when creating a new WML file using the template.

Figure 5 : The Template Chooser dialog for new files

How to view a WML page and viewing options
In order to view a WML file right-click on the relevant file in Forte's Explorer window. This will display a menu similar to the one shown in Figure 6. Selecting Open will open a Forte Source Editor window for editing the WML source file. Selecting Launch SmartPhone will open the SmartPhone Emulator with the WML file displayed (as shown in Figure 6).

Figure 6 : Launching the SmartPhone Emulator

Page Title: The current location of the file being viewed is displayed in brackets after the window's title.

Current HTTP Status: Displays the current HTTP status code.

View Status Message: If the full HTTP status message is needed then selecting this button will open a separate dialog which will display the message. This window must be closed by selecting OK before continuing.

Phone Skin Selector: This is a pop-down menu that can be used to change the current phone being emulated. The default phone that will be opened will be a Nokia 7110 (zoom).

Refresh: Clicking on this button will refresh the page displayed from the source file on disk. Be aware that it is refreshing from the disk and so any changes made in the Source Editor need to be saved prior to refreshing.

View Decoded WML: This button can be selected to open a window that displays the decoded WML. The decoded WML reconstructed from the encoded version which is actually used to render the content. This window must be dismissed by selecting OK before continuing.