Office Mobile 6.1 Update

Microsoft has released the highly anticipated Office Mobile 6.1. This upgrade, which is free to existing Office Mobile users, finally adds support for Office 2007 file formats. It includes new Word Mobile, Excel Mobile, and PowerPoint Mobile applications.

Other improvements include:
• Enhanced viewing experience for charts in Excel Mobile
• Ability to view SmartArt in PowerPoint Mobile
• Ability to view and extract files from compressed (.zip) folders

If you don't have Office Mobile on your device, it's $49 to purchase.

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Finally! WM6 is available for AT&T 8525

Windows Mobile 6 is finally available for the AT&T 8525, also known as the HTC Hermes. 8525 users can download the new ROM from the HTC 8525 download site.

Get it while it's hot! According to HTC,

"This ROM is available from November 1, 2007 to February 1, 2008. After this date, the ROM will be removed from the website and will no longer be available for distribution."

WM6 offers HTML email, improved calendaring, and a host of other goodies. I've been running it for a few months now and I'm quite impressed.

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Using Windows Mobile AutoCorrect to Automatically Replace Text

I love my Windows Mobile device, an AT&T 8525 (also known as the HTC Hermes). But as a former Blackberry user I really miss the Blackberry's AutoText feature.

AutoText allows you to enter a text string that will be replaced by another text string.

For example, if I'm driving and someone sends an email I need to reply to, I can reply with "cm" (call me) and the device would automatically change it to "Please call me on my cell at (650)555-1212."

This article explains how to achieve the same functionality on a Windows Mobile device using Windows Mobile's AutoCorrect feature.

First, ensure that you are able to view hidden files and folder in Windows Explorer. This is done on the Tools Folder Options View tab of Windows Explorer. If you have Windows XP, you will also need Microsoft ActiveSync 4.2 or better installed and configured on your computer. ActiveSync can be downloaded here. If you have Windows Vista, download and configure Windows Mobile Device Center 6.1 for Windows Vista here.

1. Create an ActiveSync connection
   
2. Click Explore in ActiveSync
   
3. Navigate to your mobile device's \Windows folder
   
4. Locate the autocorrect.txt file and copy it to the Desktop. Note: Your autocorrect.txt file may be named differently. Mine is named autocorrect.0409.txt
   
5. Rename the autocorrect.txt file on your mobile device as a backup in case you need to restore it later
   
6. Right-click the autocorrect.txt file on your Desktop and select Properties. Clear the Read-only checkbox and click OK. Note: If you don't see the autocorrect.txt file on your Desktop, it's because you aren't able to see hidden files.
   
7. Open autocorrect.txt in Microsoft Excel
   
8. Insert as many rows as necessary and enter your new AutoCorrect entries. Column A is the text you want to correct and column B is the corrected text. For example,
   jeff for column A and Jeff for column B. See the example below.
   
9. Use Excel's data sorting feature to alphabetize the text by column A. Windows Mobile will not read the file correctly if it is not in alphabetical order.
   
10. Save the autocorrect.txt file in its current format
    
11. Drag and drop the autocorrect.txt file from the Desktop to the \Windows folder on the Windows Mobile device
    
12. Reset the Windows Mobile device to begin using the new AutoCorrect entries. Windows Mobile reads the autocorrect.txt file at start up.
    
    

Note: Be careful not to enter a text string to replace that you might actually use. For example, if you configure "im" to be replaced by "I'm", the phrase "My IM address is jeff@expta.com" will be converted to "My I'm address is jeff@expta.com".

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Placing Server Certificates on Mobile Devices

About the only thing that's difficult in setting up Exchange ActiveSync on a mobile device is getting the server certificate on it. Of course, this is a non-issue if you're using a trusted certification authority like Verisign, Thawte, GoDaddy, etc. I wrote these procedures for those of you who don't want the trouble or expense of buying an SSL cert and want to use the Exchange self-signed certificate.


Export the Certificate

• Log into the Exchange server with administrative rights and run IIS Manager
• Expand Local Computer Web Sites
• Right-click Default Web Site and select Properties
• Click the Directory Security tab
• Click View Certificate
• On the Details tab click Copy to File..., Next, Next, Next
• Enter the path and filename to use for the certificate export (i.e., C:\server.cer)
• Click Finish to export the certificate

How to Put the Certificate on the Phone

Option 1, Using Windows ActiveSync

• Download and install ActiveSync 4.5 on a PC (http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=9e641c34-6f7f-404d-a04b-dc09f8141141&DisplayLang=en)
• Dock the phone
• Use Explorer in ActiveSync to drop the cert into My Documents on the phone
• Use File Explorer on the phone to navigate to My Documents
• Select the server.cer file to import it

Option 2, Using Email

• If there is an alternate form of email on the device, email the cert to your device
• Open the attachment and import it

Option 3, Using a Website

• Send server.cer to a compressed folder (zip file)
• Put the zip file on a web server
• Use Internet Explorer on the phone and navigate to the URL of the zip file to open it (i.e., http://www.myserver.com/cert.zip)
• Download, open and import it

If you have an older Windows Mobile 2002 or 2003 device, check out the SPAddCert utility from Microsoft, documented at http://support.microsoft.com/kb/841060.

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