Palm PDA viewing TinyPortal help needed

[cbmr777]

Background info:
Forum:  Michigan Natural Parenting Community
Using:  SMF 1.1.4 and TinyPortal 0.9.8
Started using TP November 2007

Mods I am using:
Tiny Portal
Simple Mood
View Single PM
Show Multiple Badges
Display Age and Location next to posts
SMF Trader System
Google Member Map

I am using a heavily modified custom based off of the Default (TP version) template. I designed the forum myself.



Problem:
I have a member who views my forum using a Palm PDA.  (I've PMed her to find out what kind of Palm, Palm OS vs WinMO, etc.)

My forum is about 1.5 years old but recently added TinyPortal in November.  No one else is having problems with accessing or viewing any part of the forum on regular desktop/laptop PCs.  She is the only one that is (that I am aware of).

I am hoping someone may be able to help me get her successfully viewing the forum.

Here is her PM regarding her problem:

Ever since the forum changed to include the Welcome screen (with the wreaths), my TREO defaults to that screen whenever I try to access the site.  Before after the sign on screen, there was a icon that said "board index" which I would click on to get the index.  The new Welcome screen on the TREO provides no access to the index.  I went back into the history of my TREO and found a record of when I accessed the site before the Welcome screen was added.  I bookmarked that and now I keep going back to that whenever I get the Welcome screen -which is every time I try to get to the index.  For example, I access one of the subjects and when I try to return to the index, I get the Welcome screen.  I then go back to my bookmarks and start over.  So basically at this point, this strategy - though mildly inconvenient - is working.  I wanted to explain what was going on just so that you understood what likely is happening when someone tries to access the site via cellphone - which apparently is not happening very often except by me.  But otherwise, I am working around it for now.  Nothing like this happens on my desktop.

Unfortunately, I don't have a Treo (or any PDA) so I can't see what she is seeing or duplicate the problem.  So I am not sure what to do or how to help her. I'm not even sure what questions I should be asking her.

Can anyone help me solve her problem?

Thank you so much in advance!

[Smoky]

I dont have a palm, but if you try viewing sites that have the tp involved, you need to watch the display of graffix.. the normal smf can be viewed easier than a tp, because the smf doesnt break down into too many sections.. when you go changing this, it will limit or distort the viewing.. my suggestion is to tell her she needs to install mini opera from opera.com onto her cell phone.. they make a browser that should help her to view the site, and it will have a better bookmarking system.. if this doesnt work out, please post back.. i will try to help with this if i see it doesnt help. 

[Zetan]

I don't have a PDA either, but I have accessed my site on a friends and on my cell phone.

Please take a look at this topic:
http://www.tinyportal.net/index.php?topic=6905.0

It is a topic from last year, 2006.. and the team are well on the way TP 1.0.
How much of that involves PDA/Mobile device support, I don't know. It may have to wait until after the initial TP upgrade is rolled out to be Beta tested.

I'll let Bloc answer as to whether the plan still involves PDA support.

[cbmr777]

Thank you for the replies!  I'll have her download mini Opera and see how that works out.  I'll report back once she does this. 

As for graphics, my only main graphic is my header. The rest of the site (minus icons and such) is only CSS.  Hopefully that helps me, huh?

PDA support will be great!  I know I have plans to get probably the Palm Centro once my tax money comes in, so I will soon be seeing first hand what the forum looks like in a Palm PDA. 

[Smoky]

mini opera is one of the best browsers for the net.. you can use it with just about any phone you have.. it acts like a gate to allow normally large websites to behave the right way in a mobile situation. I ran a website for over 2 months off my phone, because I had no pc to work with, so it is possible.. and that wasnt a palm, it was a cheap 8300 from Sprint.. Now i have a m1, and i still use my mini opera.. 

[Ianedres]

I, as a recent convert to Windows Mobile, would also suggest using Opera Mini for the mobile browser selection. It is a distinct advantage over IE, particularly in the page-rendering. Pages (not just SMF/TP) actually look like my desktop, finally, after struggling with the default IE installed on my HTC 6800.

[bloc]

SMF supports 3 modes as of SMF 1.1.4..thats wap, wap2 and imode. Since I cannot test on mobile devices I assume they will cover most devices?

Anyway, TP 1.0 now supports wap,wap2 and imode, though not the latter on this site yet.

[scope]

Well here is what you do!  Tell her to access website like normal but add ;wap or wap2

wap = most basic PDA use and wap2= a slightly ore jazzed and upbeat version.

You can goto my site:  http://www.clandsk.com

In my menu on the left I have links for PDA/Mobile Phone users.  I haven't figured out a script that dedirectst them based on their browser yet, but I am still looking.

Let me know what you think.  I will be using this option on a nascar fanatasy race car league as well.  Any advertisements you have more than likley won't work, but maybe in wap2 it will.

When you click on the link notice the ending of the address, it should say wap2.

I just tested loading the main starte page and you have to do it like this for PDA
http://clandsk.com/index.php?wap2

You will have to do some customizing to get pages working good for PDA.  All pages can be accessed via wap/wap2 but they are stripped and you lose your access to move around.  You will need to create a selection of pages made for the purpose of mobile/pda or make one page as an index of the pages that have the links to click on to go to another page using wap/wap2.  

PM me if you need help in this.  There is also one more mode that my friend uses called imode http://clandsk.com/index.php?action=board;imode
but imode only appears to work in the forms.  Each mode you should have no problem replying back in either.

Let me know if I have confused you or you need help.  I will be setting up a wap2 menu page anyway for my site.  To make it easier for my guys to see upcoming matches real easy or any other clan related news.

[scope]

Hey block, not sure if has been asked or you might suggest I move this question some where else, but does TP have an option to look at the vistiorsbrowser/os or something and redirect to wap/wap2/imode, automatically.  I know it currently doesn't do it automatically.  or if someone on the tp team would liek to venture on a mobile TP controller,mainly to easily help an admin create a mobile/pda main screen?

[bloc]

scope, i'll look into it. Links that simply tag a wap or wap2 to the adress can be done, but there is also work to be done on the actual wap output I see. Tested it on a couple emulators and it doesn't look too good.

In fact, even SMF only is somewhat lacking. We need to adress this more.