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In-smartphone editing of home screen layouts FOR DUMMIES
Learn quickly how to edit home screen layout of your MS Smartphone powered cell phone.
Are you bored of your standard home screen layout, that looks like this:

[image]

... and you would like to make yourself home screen layout, that contains only this what you like, not more, for example like this one:

[image]

... ?

In this article we describe how to do it, and how to do it INSIDE OF YOUR SMARTPHONE, so you even don´t need neither PC nor even connection to Internet from your smartphone!

Before you start, you need however to prepare yourself. Contrary to common belief you don´t need PC and you don´t need to use some web based services or PC based program. All you need is:

• some knowledge about format of home screen layout files (files of type *.home.xml)
  for example you can use an article about customizing home screens, that is available here
  
  
• some text editor for smartphone
  for example you can use Orneta Notepad that is freeware and is code signed by GeoTrust (it works both in locked and unlocked smartphones); to download it click here
  

Now we assume that you are prepared so we can start! Firstly you must open some existing home screen layout file from \Windows\ directory of your smartphone:

[image]

These home screen layout files have naming convention "SOMETHING.home.xml" or *.home.xml . You can open any but we propose \Windows\simple.home.xml .

Right after opening, use Menu / File / Save As to save the file to new special location:

[image]

As you can see above this location is the direcotry: \IPSM\Application Data\Home . We used the name "msmo.home.xml" where "msmo" stands for "msmobiles".

Now you can edit the file in the notepad as you wish (at least change the content of the "title" tag in the file):

[image]

... then save it, and the go to menu Programs / Settings / Home Screen / Home screen layout and select the name that you entered as a content of the "title" tag. After selecting it and confirming with "Done" the new home screen layout of yours, edited FULLY IN THE SMARTPHONE, appears on your home screen!

The content of the home screen layout file that generates this layout:

[image]

... is here:
http://msmobiles.com/downloads/msmo.home.xml
(use context menu and "save as" if you wish to reuse it)