Applications like Microsoft Reader, Tasks, and games with falling objects arguably work better in the normal Pocket PC vertical orientation. But others, such as spreadsheets and web browsers, are usually more useable in horizontal mode. Wouldn't it be nice if the Pocket PC let us switch between a vertical and horizontal orientation, depending on our needs?
Thanks to reader, Chris Patten-Walker, I found out that at least my HP Jornada 540 can do just that. Furthermore, the good news is that many Pocket PC applications work just as well in both orientations.
Changing the HP Jornada's screen from vertical to horizontal
It seems HP or Microsoft engineers created an undocumented piece of software that allows screen rotation. Chris emailed me the directions for activating it, which I share with you below.
Caution: Before experimenting, you should take the following precautions: Back up your system; turn off password protection; close down all applications (Settings > System > Memory > Running Programs > Stop All).
Here are the steps to turn your HP Pocket PC screen sideways:
- Turn on the Jornada Pocket PC and go to the Today screen.
- Push in and hold in the roller ("action") key.
- While the action key is pushed in, tap and hold the stylus on the time found in the upper right corner.
- After a few seconds a two-word menu, "Run, Clock" pops up in the upper right hand corner of the Today screen. (Up to this point, these instructions work on all Pocket PCs we tested. Tapping "Clock" brings up the Settings System Clock screen. From here on down the instructions
seem to work only on the HP Jornada Pocket PC.)
- Tap "Run"
- Type in "rotate r" (without the quotes) and tap Enter. Note: There was an error in line 6 (above) in the print magazine. If you were unsuccessful getting your screen to rotate following those instructions, please try again using the corrected version here. The space between "rotate" and "r" is critical. We apologize for the error.
- A message should pop up: "Rotate Display. Changing display to landscape and 8-bit color. Please reset unit and align screen."
- Push in Reset button in back. When Jornada restarts, you'll see the horizontal Today screen.
- You must now re-align (re-calibrate) the Jornada's touchscreen. Do this by holding down the On/Off button on the Jornada until the Align screen comes up, and follow the instructions. (If you don't re-align the touchscreen, the Jornada will not be aware of the orientation change, and continue to recognize your stylus taps as if the screen were still
vertical.)
- IF YOU DIDN'T TURN OFF PASSWORD PROTECTION you have to enter the password before you can get to the Align screen. This is difficult because the system still "thinks" that the screen orientation is vertical. Play with the action key, moving it and pressing it in. Once you see the numbers highlighted, you can enter the correct numerical password with the action key.
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