Detecting when the stylus is present, perhaps using S&N broker

  • Thread starter Thread starter Minerva Jones
  • Start date Start date
M

Minerva Jones

AFAIK there's no support for this, either from the OS, the CF or the
hardware. But wouldn't it be a good idea if any given program could be
notified when the user has removed or replaced the stylus and then
switch the UI accordingly? At the very least it could either hide or
show the SIP or perhaps change it from one style to another.
 
Removed or replaced in what way? You mean into the physical device body
itself? If so, this would require electronics to detect that state change,
and I've never seen a devivce that had that, plus I generally lose the
stylus within the first couple weeks anyway and use whatever is handy for a
pointing device, so my device would always be in the "stylus removed" state.


--

Chris Tacke, Embedded MVP
OpenNETCF Consulting
Giving back to the embedded community
http://community.OpenNETCF.com
 
Why are you asking? I don't think it's valuable at all (and it's a pain to
design into the hardware without custom components). You could easily do
something with it by advertising a custom interface when you detected that
the stylus was removed (or inserted, whichever; see AdvertiseInterface() and
RequestDeviceNotifications() in the C help), so the OS isn't preventing you
from doing anything. It doesn't have a specific device type for "stylus
holder", but that doesn't prevent you from implementing something on your
device.

Paul T.
 
Removed or replaced in what way? You mean into the physical device body
itself?
Yes.


If so, this would require electronics to detect that state change,
and I've never seen a devivce that had that
Click to expand...

Yes, hence I said "AFAIK there's no support for this, either from the
OS, the CF or the hardware", though since then I've recalled the Psion
5 and I've a funny feeling that it did it.

Even so, I don't see it being particularly difficult, certainly enough
phones have ways and means of detecting whether the clamshell or flip
is open. You could even have a tiny IR emit/detect at the end which
the presence of the stylus blocked. That'd be a non contact solution
which had no wearing issues.

plus I generally lose the stylus within the first couple weeks anyway
Click to expand...

In around a decade of various smartphone/PDA use I've never lost one.

and use whatever is handy for a
pointing device, so my device would always be in the "stylus removed" state.
Click to expand...

And therefore software would surely act just as it does now. Only if
it gets a stylus *event* would it react.
 
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