DomController - the first full-featured home automation application for Windows Phone
Written by Julien Schapman
Wednesday, 18 April 2012 11:20
Some time ago I posted a video demoing a personal project of home automation for Windows Phone, that generated a lot of enthusiasm so I decided to make home automation available to anyone!
Since few months I am working on an ambitious project called DomController, that is able to control everything in your home using your phone, but as well a PC, a tablet, a simple remote or even using voice and gestures with Kinect!
DomController supports home automation standards Z-Wave & X10, supports also a wide range of home devices: lights, switches, outlets, TV and A/V equipment, thermostats, valves, thermometers, cameras, computers, smartphones, tablets, set-top boxes, remote controls, UPS, Squeezebox audio players, Karotz robot, relay boards, weather stations, light sensors, motion sensors, smoke detectors, flood detectors, door/window detectors, security systems, motorized gates, door locks, energy meters,... It can be extended to support any other connected object thanks to its Application Programming Interface open to developers.
The application take benefits of Windows Phone features such as live tiles that sum up home & devices status, current temperature and power consumption, you can also pin all your favorite devices and scenes to Start screen for a glance view and quick access, and you can receive push notifications (f.e. in case of intrusion, fire, water leak, device malfunction,...).
Plug in your phone, it should detect it automatically, if not click Connect in menu
The first time you connect your phone Windows Phone Device Manager will automatically install TouchXperience
Requirements:
Unlocked/registred Windows Phone 7.5 device
Windows Vista/7/8 32-bit or 64-bit
.NET Framework 4.0
Zune software 4.8 or later
Zune WMDU (optional)
Windows Phone SDK 7.1
It should work on any version of WP7 and has been tested on the following devices: HTC HD7, HTC 7 Mozart, HTC 7 Trophy, HTC 7 Surround, HTC 7 Pro, HTC Arrive, HTC HD2, HTC TITAN, HTC Radar, Samsung Focus, Samsung Focus S, Samsung Omnia 7, Dell Venue Pro, LG Optimus 7, LG E900, LG C900, Nokia Lumia 800.
The latest version of TouchXperience is 2.4.0.0
Changelog: Version 1.10.0.0
Compatible with Windows 8
Minor UI changes
Bugfixes
Version 1.9.0.0
Improved remote screen (up to 30 fps)
Improved general stability
Fixed app backup error on unlocked devices
Fixed screen capture not working because of background agent memory limitation
Files put in \My Documents are copied in Office hub for all devices
Bugfixes
Version 1.8.0.0
Public release
Full access to apps isolated storage
Show toast notification when an action requires to launch TouchXperience
Bugfixes
Version 1.7.0.0
Full support of Windows Phone 7.5
Added support of Nokia Lumia 800, Samsung Focus S, HTC TITAN & Radar
Improved connection
Auto detect OS and version when phone is plugged in
Warning when trying to install an app using interop services on an interop-locked phone
Supports Mango ringtones API
Show toast notification when the phone is connected or disconnected
Show toast notification once an app has been installed
Automatically check for TouchXperience updates
Bugfixes
Version 1.6.0.0
Check whether phone is PIN-locked or screen-locked
Ability to change remote screen resolution & quality
Full screen mode in screen capture
Display battery remaining charging time
Notify when battery is fully charged
Automatically disable Zune launcher while running
Fixed crash when Windows Phone Developer Tools are not installed
Improved progress dialogs
Improved general stability
"Maybe" fixed FS access on LG devices
Version 1.5.0.0
Full device backup/restore
Remote screen
Detailed storage information
Windows Explorer integration (test)
Support of SLDR mode
Reboot phone (OS/SLDR/Cold boot)
Version 1.4.0.0
Backup/restore documents & apps data
Improved connection reliability
Improved transfer of large files
Improved connection over Wi-Fi
Fixed some connection issues
Fixed "Newer version required" error message
Allow to manually connect by entering computer IP address
Allow to change ports on device
Automatically add rules to Windows Firewall
Show progress while retrieving app info
Sortable app list (by name, size, install date,...)
Sortable file list (by name, size, date modified,...)
Save UI state on exit
Display ROM modules and ROM files in blue/dark blue
Open apps install & data folders directly from app list
Send sounds (in the same way you send ringtones, to customize sounds in Advanced Config.)
Support of Mango developer tools beta
Fixed localization issues
Improved debugging
Automatically check for Device Manager & TouchXperience updates
Hundreds of improvements and bugfixes
Version 1.3.0.0
Public release
Documents and favorites sync (1-way only from PC to phone)
Improved file explorer
Added option to reconfigure and restore default settings
Supports file copy to \Windows for LG devices (untested)
Fixed screenshot saving
Fixed control panel task links
Fixed localization issues
Many other bug fixes
Version 1.2.0.0
Fully featured file explorer & integration with Windows Explorer
Support of copy/paste and drag & drop
Support of HTC Arrive
Install mutiple apps at once
Send multiple files at once
Send toast notifications from PC (with command line WPDeviceManager /SendToast "message")
Launch in background at Windows startup
Improved connection reliability
Fixed connection issues
Fixed missing toolbar in file explorer
Fixed error after taking a secong screenshot
Fixed application list not showing in some cases
Fixed duplicate tasks in jumplist
Fixed Connect/Disconnect not working in jumplist
Version 1.1.0.0
Improved Windows explorer integration (display apps icons and info)
Control panel integration
Application updates notifications
New custom installer solving issues for both 32-bit & 64-bit
Send notes
Send clipboard content
Detailed device info
Check for app updates
Auto update for future TouchXperience versions
Improved connection reliability over Wi-Fi
Launch apps from WP Device Manager via Wi-Fi
Multilanguage support
Fixed links in Windows Device Stage
Fixed connection problems on 32-bit when Zune is not running
Fixed Samsung Focus not recognized
Automatically remove max apps installed limit
Sound notification on connect
Version 1.0.3.0
Device Information (partial)
Capture phone screen (TouchXperience must be running on the device in order to take screenshots)
Open weblink on phone
Add web favorite to phone
Managing purchased apps (HTC only)
A lot of bugfixes
Version 1.0.2.0
File Explorer
Improved performance and reliability
A lot of bugfixes
Hints: PLEASE READ CAREFULLY
You can initiate connection from both PC and device (tap PC Synchronization in TouchXperience to etablish connection from device). You can connect via USB or Wi-Fi, but the first time you have to connect via USB so WP Device Manager can deploy TouchXperience and your device can get your PC IP address.
In the current version you can't manually set the PC or phone IP address to connect, or change default ports.
Make sure port 8007 is not blocked by firewall on PC and port 8107 is reachable on device.
When WP Device Manager initiate a connection and can't connect to the phone, in case you are connected via USB it will launch TouchXperience, in other cases it will send a push notification to your phone asking you to manually launch TouchXperience
Some tasks requires your phone screen to be unlocked
It is not necessary to have Zune runing in order to use WP Device Manager.
If WP Device Manager does not start at all, make sure you installed all the requirements and try to reinstall full .NET Framework 4.0 and developer tools.
If you are not able to connect or if some features are not properly working, go to Settings in WP Device Manager, click Restore default settings and eventually restart your PC.
If Windows Phone Device Manager is not able to communicate with TouchXperience, go to Settings in WP Device Manager, click Restore default settings and restart your PC. Try to temporarly disable your anti-virus or firewall programs to see if that's the problem. You can also try the registry fix in attachment
If you have connection problems, try the following may help: unplug/replug your phone, close or start Zune, restart WP Device Manager, make sure your device is detected by Zune, in worst case restart your PC.
WP Device Manager or some components of it may be considered as potential threat by anti-virus or firewall programs, this is a false alarm, you may need to add exceptions to your anti-virus or firewall may prevent WP Device Manager from working correctly.
WP Device Manger is automatically disconnected when you quit TouchXperience (for example when you launch an app or return to Start screen). This is not a bug, this is because TouchXperience is stopped due to the lack of native multitasking in WP7. To workaround you can enable multitasking in TouchXperience settings.
Tap on a menu title in TouchXperience and the main menu will show up
If you want to take screenshots of an other application on the phone you need to enable multitasking in TouchXperience settings
Some features needing high privileges on the phone (f.e. file system access) may not be available, this depends on the unlock level of your phone.
Applications installed with other tools than WP Device Manager are not recognized (they are identified by their id) on non-HTC device. To solve the problem you can simply browse your original XAP files, application info will be automatically cached and diplayed in the app manager.
If only sideloaded applications are displayed it's because your phone does not have full file system access.
Some application versions are incorrect. This is due to the fact that some developers does not update their application manifest with correct version number when they release new versions. To fix the problem you can check for app updates and click on Dismiss All assuming all your applicatons have been updated to their latest version.
You can't copy most of DLL and EXE in \Windows directory, this is simply because these are not files but modules.
You can check TouchXperience version in Settings or in WP Device Manager application list.
You should have a folder with device name in My Documents on your PC, place here the files you want to sync with the phone.
You can send toast notifications from any program on your PC using command line C:\Windows\WPDeviceManager\WPDeviceManager.exe /SendToast "message".
In order to use WP Device Manager from Windows Device Stage, you must have Windows 7 and driver signature verification disabled, unfortunately this is because Windows 7 recognize only digitally signed drivers.
In order to record screen outside of TouchXperience you have to tell him to run in background when exiting, and start screen capture ONLY after exiting, because the server will restart to run on background task so connection to PC will be lost.
Be carefull when using device restoration, incorrect usage or unexpected bugs may cause loss of data.
Don't use full backup/restore feature on custom ROMS!
If you get a message "Unable to launch TouchXperience" on custom ROMS it's because the ROM has some missing components, so you have to launch it manually.
Please uninstall any previously installed version of WP Device Manager and TouchXperience on your phone.
Last Updated ( Monday, 16 April 2012 11:17 )
Huge things are coming to Windows Phone 7!
Written by Julien Schapman
Monday, 07 February 2011 12:31
Windows Phone Device Manager & TouchXperience for WP7 are currently in development and beta testing, it is not publicly available yet and I don't accept more beta testers, but donators who wish to take part in beta testing just have to register and let me know their username via the contact form so I can include them to beta testers group. Former beta testers already have access to those betas and new beta testers also get access to the private betas of all my upcoming apps.
File management: explore device, exchange files with your phone
Files & folders synchronization
Integration with Windows explorer
Send to Windows Phone (to send files, apps, ringtones, web links in one click)
Device backup (if MS allow it)
Device information
Add and manage custom ringtones
Send SMS, E-mail, notes directly from PC (without needing cloud services)
Shared clipboard with PC and phone
Use your phone as a remote control (control mouse, keyboard and navigation in Windows Media Center)
Nice integration with Windows Vista/7: jumplists, widgets, aero effects,...
Programming sends notifications to phone
Initiate connection from PC or phone
Wireless connection support
Auto pairing (no need to enter PC or phone IP address)
Open marketplace for non-commercial applications (if developers are interested)
TouchXperience for Windows Phone features:
Custom panels and widgets
Interactive backgrounds
Applications and games launcher
File explorer
Contact manager
Communication manager
Profile manager
Task manager
RSS reader
Web radios
Integration with Facebook and Twitter
DLNA support
Network drives support
Skydrive support
G-scrolling support
Windows Sideshow support (if MS let me create drivers and services)
Live tile support
And some other things I probably forgot to mention…
Requirements:
Registred/unlocked Windows Phone 7 device
Windows Vista or Windows 7 32/64-bit
Windows Phone Developer Tools
Because I was bored getting hundreds of emails from people asking me to send them WP Device Manager so they can continue to use pirated applications, and because there will be a short term solution for homebrews, I decided not to include my jailbreak tool. I respect other developers and I don’t want to be responsible for piracy, I’ve been contacted by Brandon Watson from Microsoft and I wish to be involved in the official homebrew support on Windows Phone.
TouchXperience Beta 1 is publicly available for download. This is for testing purpose only, this version is not intended for daily use. There are still a lot of compatibility issues, I can't assist everyone and I have enough feedback from beta testers so if you have problems to make TouchXperience properly working on your device it is useless to contact me excepted if you are a registered user. Support is only available to registered users and they don't have warning message at TouchXperience startup. Registered users are beta testers, donators and other contributors of TouchXperience project, you are still welcome if you are willing to contribute.
Now that a first beta version is available since last week, I invite all the beta testers to share their impression with the community on the newly created TouchXperience Facebook page.
Many of you ask me how to become beta tester, unfortunately TouchXperience beta testing is closed at the moment and I have enough qualified beta testers. But contributors are still welcome to join beta testing group, so if you contributed in any of my projects or if you are willing to donate and wish to be beta tester, feel free to contact me and I will send you instructions about how to download TouchXperience and participate in beta testing.
Keep in mind that your donations are really important for the project because I need to invest in different device models, so I can work to port TouchXperience on those devices. Thank you!
Here are some links to make things easier for those of you who are interested:
This is a short demonstration of the new hardware accelerated graphic engine and some other nice features of TouchXperience, like G-Scrolling and multi-touch. Beta testers can expect a first preview on next month. During the following weeks I will publish new videos and screenshots of other TouchXperience features, you can follow my work on twitter.com/touchxperience. My other softwares which are currently in beta will be publicly available in february/march.
TouchXperience is the Next Generation User Interface for Windows Mobile, finger friendly and highly customizable, it offers many interesting features: program launcher, contacts manager, home screen, appointments, messaging, task manager, profile and event manager, call log, control panel, communication manager,...
Advanced Task Manager is a task manager for Windows Mobile, allowing to close and switch between active applications, manage processes and monitor system resources.