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Minimo FAQ

This is the Minimo's FAQ, which contains the most frequently asked questions about the Minimo browser.

Table of contents

General Questions

What is Mozilla?

Mozilla is an open-source web browser and toolkit, designed for standards compliance, performance and portability. The Mozilla Foundation coordinates the development and testing of the Firefox browser by providing discussion forums, software engineering tools, releases and bug tracking. For more about mozilla.org, read Mozilla at a Glance.

What is Minimo?

Minimo is a free, open-source web browser for Windows Mobile (Also called Windows CE, Pocket PC 2000, 2002, 2003, and 2003se) and is based on the Mozilla codebase. It is small, fast and easy to use, and offers many advantages over Pocket Internet Explorer, such as tabs, spatial navigation and more. Read more about the browser at the Minimo Projects Page.

What's the difference between Minimo and Firefox?

Minimo is a small version of Firefox with many of the same features offered.

Is Minimo a better option than Pocket Internet Explorer?

Yes, Minimo and all other Mozilla-based products are more secure and offer more features. Minimo is a full featured web browser that supports Google Maps, SSL/PSM, Spatial Navigation, full screen, and tabs with more to come!

Is Minimo free?

Yes! Minimo is open source software, meaning that anyone has the right to download and use the browser for free, to distribute it unmodified to other people, and even to view and modify the source code under the terms of the Mozilla Public License.

Can Minimo coexist with Pocket IE?

Yes. Minimo uses a different profile and does not interfere with Pocket IE.

Where can I download Minimo?

To download Minimo, head over to Doug Turners page and look for the latest release.

How do I install Minimo?

Minimo now has a installer! .009 and the latest nightly builds now include a installer. Note this directory contains nightly builds which may not be as stable or complete as a release build. All future releases will include an installer. To install, simply download and run minimo_setup.exe and follow the prompts.

Depending on the version of Window Mobile installed you may receive the following error immediately after setup:

" The program you have installed may not display properly because it was designed for a previous version of Windows Mobile software."

This error is harmless and can be ignored. The installer is designed to support Windows Mobile 2002 and it seems this error is unavoidable.

Version .008 or early:
If you wish to use .008 or earlier you must follow these instructions:

  1. To install Minimo you must first download the latest CE releasehere.
  2. Open the "MinimoCE_*.zip" file with your favorite unzipping program.
  3. Copy the extracted folder to your Pocket PC, PDA, PDA Phone or SD/CF card.
  4. Use File Explorer, find & run the MINIMO.exe application that you copied to your device in step 3.
  5. Wait for Minimo to open! The first run of Minimo may be slow; Minimo must register files during this initial run.
How do I uninstall Minimo?

Instructions for version .009 or nightly builds:
Click start, settings, system, remove programs, choose Mozilla Minimo
Version .008 or earlier:

  1. To uninstall Minimo simply use file explorer or your favorite file navigation tool to delete the Minimo folder you copied during step 3 of the installation instructions above.
  2. Use file explorer to delete /Windows/Mozilla
Where can I find Minimo's Road Map?
Minimo's Road Map is available here.
What's the difference between releases and nightlies?

Releases are generally more stable versions of Minimo that should probably be downloaded by most users. Nightly builds are released every night and contain the very latest changes, including new features as well as new bugs. Don't expect everything to work in the nightly builds. Nightly builds of Minimo are now available.

Is Minimo available in my language?

As of right now English is the only available build. When Minimo approaches later builds language support will be extended.

I'm a Linux user, does Minimo support Linux?

Yes; very soon the current distro of Minimo for Linux will look and feel much the same as the WinCE versions.

Where are my bookmarks?

As of release .009 Bookmarks are not yet supported. Social bookmarking has been added to version .009. To use social bookmarking simple select 'Social bookmarking' from the menu and type in what you are looking for in the field. A new tab will open with results.

What can I do to help?

We need all the exposure we can get. Make it your mission to convert as many of your friends, family members and coworkers as possible. If you're a student, get it distributed at your college. Submit a story to Slashdot and other news sites about the latest release. Make some noise on your blog. Mass distribution via the Internet is possible -- look at Kazaa.

Why haven't you responded to the mail I sent you?

Use the forums. The Minimo team reads them regularly. We all get a lot of email and yours could get lost.

Who is working on Minimo?

Doug Turner is Minimo’s lead developer with many other parties also involved.

Where do I submit feature requests?

Submit requests to the Minimo forums.

When will you port to Palm/Symbian..etc?
There are currently no plans to port to other OS's such as Palm, Symbian, HPC. Check out the Minimo Forums for possible ways to get Minimo running on your older version of Windows CE.

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Plugins

What Plugins are supported?

As of .009 plugins and extensions are not supported in Minimo.

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Usage

Where are all the Menus?
Menus are accessible by clicking on the blue globe in the upper left hand corner.
Menus Explained:
Version .008 Menu's
New tab: Pretty self explanatory. Choose this option to open a new tab.
SSR: Adjusts the look and feel of sites, attempts to remove side scroll bars, etc
Site SSR: Custom site specific SSR; currently only for maps.google.com (Note to use this feature you must select ‘Site SSR’ and be sure NOT to select ‘SSR’. Choosing both will result in layout problems.)
Text Zoom: Text Zoom allows you to zoom in on text that may be small or hard to read.

The Menu's are being redesigned for the next version to clear up confusion over these features.
Note if you are running a nightly build menus might varry.
What is SSR and how do I use it?
This question has come up several times. SSR adjusts the look and feel of a page via CSS. SSR attempts to adjust image sizes, fonts, and layouts to maximize page space. SSR also attempts to eliminate side scrolling. To use SSR simply click the blue globe and choose SSR. This will attempt to adjust the layout of the page to better fit on your screen.
How do I close a tab?
As of version .008 there is no way to close a tab, its a work in progress.
Can Minimo run in high resolution (640x480) on my VGA compatible handheld?
Yes! The next milestone release of Minimo will support high resolution in landscape or portrait on devices with VGA screens.
What is Spatial Navigation and how do I use it?
Spatial navigation allows you to change the focus on a web page. Traditionally, users had to either use a stylus or have to tab between different elements of a web page. In some cases using a stylus isn't possible. This leaves the user having to tab through the element in whatever order the page is laid out in. However, if the user just wanted to move the focus one element to the right or left, it might require dozens of key presses. Spatial navigation allows you to use the D-pad on your device to select links based on the visible layout on the page. You can find out more about spatial navigation on here.

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Troubleshooting

How do I troubleshoot problems Minimo?

Search the forums. If you believe you have found a bug please search known bugs here. If you believe the bug is new, then submit a new bugfile. Be sure to list your bug as blocks "277211" so they are grouped with other WinCE bugs.

Error: "Cannot open Minimo"

Error: "A critical component is either missing or cannot start because program memory is unavailable. Tap Start > Settings > System tab > Memory, stop programs that did not automatically stop and try again”

This Error is usually caused by a lack of free program memory.

  1. Tap Start > Settings > System tab > Memory, stop programs that did not automatically stop or that are not necessary and try again.
  2. If this does not resolve the error you may have to adjust the slider bar found in Start > Settings > System tab > Memory. Allocate more memory to programs and try again.
  3. If you still cannot get Minimo to run on your device and are willing to hard reset your device in the name of helping Minimo, please try running Minimo on your recently hard reset device.
  4. If you still have no luck, search for past bugs or file a new bug.
Setup Error: May not display properly; designed for a previous version of Windows Mobile.

Depending on the version of Window Mobile installed you may receive the following error immediately after setup:

"The program you have installed may not display properly because it was designed for a previous version of Windows Mobile software."

This error is harmless and can be ignored. The installer is designed to support Windows Mobile 2002 and it seems this error is unavoidable.

Minimo won't run on my (insert brand) handheld, why?

Currently we are tracking several bugs related to certain handheld's not being able to run Minimo. There is no defined date for when this bug will be resolved. Please search the bugs to find out more and keep checking for new releases/nightlies. Sound out in the forums if you've found your device found below does or does not run Minimo. Be sure to include the version you are running! A device matrix is being compliled to keep track of working and non-working handhelds. Please check the matrix if you are having problems.

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© 2005 Andrew Henry.