Changing Menu Layouts Between Numbers and Letters

Temporale-MenuFormat-WindowsMobile Some Windows Mobile devices are configured to show the menu items prefixed with a number, while other devices will use a letter of the alphabet. Sometimes the letter is in front of the menu item, while other times they underscore a letter in the menu item. Typically, devices with a front facing keyboard are using the letter option. While candy-bar phone are displaying the number option.

On the original BlackJack, Samsung used the number option. This made for quick and easy menu selections when combined with an oversized region for the number keys. On the BlackJack II, Samsung changed the number layout to 1 number to 1 key and switched the menu to the letter format. While I’m pretty good with the alphabet and QWERTY layout, I still find it faster and easier to navigate the menu’s using numbers and not letters. Thankfully, there’s a way to switch the layout to reflect your preference.

Break out your registry editor of choice and follow along!

  1. Browse to HKEY_CURRENT_USER \ Software \ Microsoft \ Shell
  2. You should see a Value by the name of HasKeyboard. If you don’t see this, switch from KEYS to VALUES and it should display.
  3. Change the value data in HasKeyboard to reflect your preference. Setting it to 1 will show letters and setting it to 0 will show numbers.
  4. Save your changes and your done. No rebooting required.
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About Mike Temporale

Mike Temporale has written 497 posts on Mobile Jaw..

Mike Temporale grew up fascinated by computers since an early age. His first hands on with a computer came when he was 7 years old and a travelling lab of Commodore PET computers made a stop at his school. Hooked on the new world these devices offered, he took any chance possible to get in front of a computer. When Compaq launched the iPaq 3600, he was hooked again. This time on a whole new world of mobile computing. Today, Mike spends his day helping clients deploy and manage their mobile device around the world. From installing custom software, to locking and securing data, and everything in between. He is also the Editor in Chief at Mobile Jaw - a site focused on today's mobile world.

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Comments

  1. avatar MobileJaw says:

    Changing Menu Layouts Between Numbers and Letters: Some Windows Mobile devices are configured to show the menu i.. http://tinyurl.com/bez4vm

  2. avatar Jerry Raia says:

    Thanks Mike, I did have to reboot but it works great. :)

  3. I found that if the program was already running, it wouldn’t see the change and you have to restart the program. So things like Mail and ActiveSync.

    You can just kill the process and start it again and you should be fine. However, a reboot is easy enough too. ;)

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  1. ClintonFitch News Mobile Jaw Shows how to Change Menu Layouts Between Numbers and Letters:

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