Categories App and Bug Reports - ModMyiFone.com - iPhone

**BigBoss** · #1 (**permalink**) 01-09-2008, 01:16 AM

Many of you are running my Categories app. It's a cool app that lets you put folders on your desktop and orgazize your 10 pages of apps and games into "categories". Here is the link to the app: http://sleepers.net/~iphone/Categories.html

Most people are running this without any issue.

I am reading posts here of people saying in some cases they do this or that and get a blank screen with no icons. If that happens to you, you can fix it. This post will tell you how. But more importantly, if this happens to you, I need your display plist file for analysis. It will be impossible to fix bugs that I cannot reproduce without the files. So this post will tell you how to fix your phone if this happens while saving off the plist files for me to analyze. If this does happen to you dont panic. If you need further help come find me on irc in #iphone on efnet (_BigBoss_).

First off you need to know which file is your display order plist file. It will be:
iPod Touch: N45AP.plist
iPhone 1.1.1/1.1.2 FW: M68AP.plist
iPhone 1.0.2 or older: DisplayOrder.plist

To fix your blank screen with no icons method #1 (using SSH):
1) SCP into your phone.
2) Navigate to /System/Library/CoreServices/SpringBoard.app folder
3) Copy the display file listed above to your PC and name it display-bad.plist.
4) Navigate to /var/root/Library/Categories folder. Find there the same file. Copy it to your pc as display-good.plist
5) Now copy the file from step #4 into the folder from step #3 above.
6) Reboot your phone.

To fix your phone without SSH access:
1) On windows, you can use ibricker. On OSX I am not sure I am guessing independence will do or iphuc.
2) Hook the phone to the pc and make sure you can see it in iTunes.
3) Load up iBricker, click "files"
4) Navigate to /System/Library/CoreServices/SpringBoard.app folder
5) Copy the display file listed above to your PC and name it display-bad.plist.
6) Navigate to /var/root/Library/Categories folder. Find there the same file. Copy it to your pc as display-good.plist
7) Now copy the file from step #6 into the folder from step #5 above.

In either case, when you are done, you will have a working phone and two .plist files for me. Please attach them to this thread here or email them to me at (mark_mon at verizon dot net).

Now, if you are paranoid and you want to run this app but you do not want it to touch your display order, ever, you can disable the ability for the app to update the display order. Just go into configuration and set "Allow Hide Icons" to NO. If you do this, you will be able to create categories and move apps into them but you will have to load up customize and hide the apps you moved yourself. It's a few extra steps and it's annoying, but there is no way that anything can go wrong unless its fault of customize.

Finally, if you do have a problem, please give me some details on what exactly you did to get there. The more details the better. Describe if you have a phone, a touch, what firmware, what apps are installed, what steps you took etc etc. And please by all means send the display order files.

raptorjr · #2 (**permalink**) 01-09-2008, 08:25 AM

I thought it was called M68AP.plist on 1.1.2?

By the way, i also have a N45AP.plist on my 1.1.2, but that maybe is something from some app i installed that works on Touch also?

sterickson · #3 (**permalink**) 01-09-2008, 10:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by raptorjr

I thought it was called M68AP.plist on 1.1.2?

Yes, he made a typo. The line should read:

Quote:

iPhone 1.1.1/1.1.2 FW: M68AP.plist

Quote:

Originally Posted by raptorjr

By the way, i also have a N45AP.plist on my 1.1.2, but that maybe is something from some app i installed that works on Touch also?

The iPhone and iPod Touch use the same firmware, so each has both files. Which one is used, depends on what device it is running on.

-ste

**BigBoss** · #4 (**permalink**) 01-09-2008, 02:36 PM

Quote:

I thought it was called M68AP.plist on 1.1.2?

Sorry about that. I edited the post and fixed it.

psicose · #5 (**permalink**) 01-25-2008, 02:54 PM

its work with firmware 1.1.3? Nice app!!

davidmaiden18183 · #6 (**permalink**) 01-25-2008, 08:25 PM

Hi,

I’ve got a big problem with my iphone after installing and using the “Categories.app” on the soft jailbreak of 1.1.3
Before I wet to 1.1.3 I uninstalled all my apps, and have this evening been reinstalling them after successfully updating to jailbroken 1.1.3. Anyway, the customize or Summerboard/SMBPrefs would not install as I heard on the forums. “Catagories” installed fine, and I opened it up, created a new category and tried to move a few apps into it. I got an error dialog saying it could not perform this (I think a plist might have been mentioned). I then clicked the Reload Springboard button at the bottom of the Categories App. My iphone then crashed and hung. I did a rest holding the power and home button and now my iPhone is stuck at the black startup screen with the apple logo, and will not go any further regardless of further resetting/switching on/off

How can I get back into my phone? What are my options? Is it repairable?
My phone was bought from O2 in the UK, and I jailbroke using the usual methods and I use it with a non-iphone official contact i.e. a standard o2 contract, hence not a legit upgrade to 1.1.3
Am I going to have to go into recovery mode in iTunes? and if that is the case what do I have to do? can I downgrade back to 1.1.1 now that I’ve had the soft jailbreak of 1.1.3 installedvwithout ther being problems.

Please help me if you ca I would be eternally grateful and happy to donate for anyone who can help me.

I’m guessing there may be an issue with the categories app and jailbroken firmware 1.1.3.

Its 3:13 in the morning here in the UK, and I’ve been up all night with this and I have to get some sleep (if I can now). Really hope someone might have got me a solution when I awake or I’ll cry!

burtthaman · #7 (**permalink**) 02-10-2008, 11:10 AM

I have a bug report... I can't seem to put my webapps (that i created using 1.1.3) into a folder. I am not sure if this is officially supported by you yet, but I recently read about others doing it (unless I misunderstood what they were saying). This is frustrating because I want all my websites hidden off my springboard.

keith4298 · #8 (**permalink**) 02-11-2008, 01:10 PM

I have a jailbroken 1.1.3 (Dev Team) iPhone. Ran new version of Customize.app with no problem. Created a category called games and added 11 items to it.

Then when I try to create a second category, it crashes and leaves me hanging. I can ssh in and delete the new category and that lets it boot again normally.

Any ideas?

hawaiipoolman · #9 (**permalink**) 02-11-2008, 01:22 PM

running 1.1.3 and this app works great except when i update an app already in a category, it places the app back on the springboard and leaves it in the category as well. So i have to manually move it around and remove, add back, etc. is this a know issue?

keith4298 · #10 (**permalink**) 02-11-2008, 01:33 PM

Quote:

running 1.1.3 and this app works great except when i update an app already in a category, it places the app back on the springboard and leaves it in the category as well. So i have to manually move it around and remove, add back, etc. is this a know issue?

The way this app works is that it seems to place a command in the plist telling it to remain hidden. I'm guessing that when you update the app, the plist is being overwritten to its default which is why it's showing up on the background again. Removing it from the category and adding it again should make it disappear from the background or you can use poof.

kutrackkid · #11 (**permalink**) 02-11-2008, 06:34 PM

had to restore and jb 1.1.3 from scratch because of this app yesterday

my screen didnt go blank,
after the apple logo took 2-3 minutes to load the white apple logo with black background stayed, but there were white horizontal lines flashing over the logo. the only app i could see working was the screenshot take picture button.

**Eurisko** · #12 (**permalink**) 02-11-2008, 07:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kutrackkid

had to restore and jb 1.1.3 from scratch because of this app yesterday

my screen didnt go blank,
after the apple logo took 2-3 minutes to load the white apple logo with black background stayed, but there were white horizontal lines flashing over the logo. the only app i could see working was the screenshot take picture button.

Ya, this is the only App that buggered my iphone so bad I had to do a full restore.

burtthaman · #13 (**permalink**) 02-11-2008, 07:44 PM

well fingers crossed knock on wood this app has not caused me any trouble in 1.1.3 except the inability to put webclips in categories

we need a fix!

burtthaman · #14 (**permalink**) 02-11-2008, 07:49 PM

double post

**Eurisko** · #15 (**permalink**) 02-15-2008, 03:38 PM

Could someone send me a stock M68AP.plist? This piece of crap program did it to me again. As for the instructions, there is no /var/root/Library/Categories, there is also no /var/mobile/Library/Categories/M68AP.plist

EDIT: Restoring again.

For the love of god people, stay away from this thing.