Party Sign version 1.6.0 – Join the party with flashy messages

Purpose

Have you ever wanted to relay a message to somebody but they were too far away or in a car? Want to send a sexy message in a noisy dance club? Or do you just want everybody to know how you feel right now?

Party Sign is the answer to these situations.

Display large scrolling text and emoticons on the screen to communicate with somebody too far away to hear you or in a noisy environment. Perfect for meeting new people at a dance club or letting your date know how you feel. Many other uses including “Thank You” messages, pranks and jokes.

Usage

Upon launch, you will get the main screen showing the list of available messages as shown below.

There are 2 ways to add new messages. To quickly add a message without having to specify any settings, use the “Quick Add” button on the lower left corner as shown below.

You will get a dialog box where you can type your message, then pres the “Save” button. Now the message will be displayed automatically. “Quick Add” is a good option when you are in a big hurry to show your message.

To be able to specify other settings, use the “Full Add” option by touching the “+Add…” line as shown below.

You will be presented with the “Add Message” screen. Enter your message at the top and change other settings if needed. More detail on the other settings are described later in the “Edit Message” section.

When finished, use the “Back” gesture to return to the main messages list.

Now, from the main menu, to see the large scrolling text , touch the message line. When done, use the “Back” gesture to return to the main menu.

To delete a message, simply swipe horizontally on the message. To change the order of the messages, touch and hold a message, then drag and drop the message to it’s new location.

To change the setting for the message, touch the “i” icon on the right side of the message line as shown below.

This will bring up the “Edit Message” screen. From here, you can edit the text, set the speed of scrolling, change the text and background color, and turn on the repeat feature. Turning on the repeat will cause the scrolling text to repeat over and over. You can also change the size of the text on this screen.

Emoticons can be added wither by typing them directly into the message text area, or by using the add emoticons button in the lower left corner.

This will bring up a list of the available emoticons and upon selection, will be inserted into your message at the current cursor position. To remove an emoticon that is already in the message, use the delete emoticons button in the lower right corner.

You can also use bold and underline attributes for your messages. To use, highlight one or more words by holding the Caps key and touching the word. Next, touch the “B” for bold or “U” for underline. To un-bold or remove underline, repeat the process.

When finished, use the “Back” gesture to return to the main menu.

The default message settings can be changed by going to the “Preference” screen via the
pull down Menu at the upper left corner of the screen. These settings will be used for NEW messages only. This does NOT change the settings for existing messages.

The “Keep Screen On” option will keep the scrolling text on and will prevent the WebOS device from going into “sleep” mode. This is useful if you want to see Party Sign scrolling text while your phone is being charged on your desk.

As of version 1.2.0, we’ve added a new feature that will allow you to display multiple messages. Messages can be combined by using the checkbox selection to the left of each message (in the main messages menu) as shown below.

Now when the “Show” icon is touched at the bottom right of the screen, all messages with checkmarks will be shown in the order from top to bottom. The “Show” icon is the right icon as shown below.

The checkmark icon (on the left) will select ALL messages, while the uncheck icon (middle) will un-select ALL messages.

The checkbox selection can also be used to change the settings of multiple messages by using the “Set To Default” option in the app menu. All the selected messages will be set to the settings that are set in the Preferences menu.

App Menu
The following are the selections available in the app menu (upper left corner from the main screen).

What’s New:
This selection will show you the changes that were made in the latest release of this app. Look here first after downloading a new version of the app.

Delete All:
Use this selection to clear out all the messages and start from scratch.

Set To Default:
Use the checkbox selection to change the settings of multiple messages by using the “Set To Default” option. All the selected messages will be set to the settings that are set in the Preferences menu.

Tools:
Under this heading are “Backup” and “Restore.” Use the Backup feature to save all your messages to your Google Docs account. If you do not have a Google Docs account, there is an option in the Preference to email your backup to yourself.

Preference:
Use this screen to change the default preference for your new messages. Note that this does NOT change the settings for your existing messages.

“Keep Screen On”
If you would like to keep the app turned on while charging, set this switch to “YES.”

“Use Google Docs”
If you do not have a free Google account, but still want to backup your messages, set the setting to “NO.” This will allow you to email your backup to yourself.

Help:
“How To Use”
Information on how to use this app.

“Discussion”
Use this selection to see comments and questions left by other users and the option to submit your own comments.

“Check For Updates”
Use this to see if there is a newer version of the app available in the Palm App Catalog.

Tips and Tricks

While the text is scrolling, you can flick your finger on the screen to speed up the scrolling or rewind it back, depending on which way you flick. You can also “drag” the text by moving your finger on the screen left and right and the message will follow your finger’s direction.

You can also flip the device 180 degrees and the message will automatically flip.

If you want to automatically display a message when you open the app, minimize and close the app while the message is scrolling on the screen. Now, when the app is re-opened, the message will automatically be displayed again.

If you would like to change your wallpaper to be the large text shown in Party Sign, press the following keys simultaneously: Orange + Sym + P
This will save the screen as an image which can be viewed with your “Photos” app. Then save as wallpaper by touching the icon on the lower left corner as you would any other picture. Note that the saved image is static and will not scroll.

There are special codes that you can use to display emoticons as follows:

Type	To Get
: )	Smiley face
: (	Smiley frown
: p	Smiley tongue
: D	Big smiley
; )	Wink
:angel	Smiley angel
:basketball	Basketball
:baseball	Baseball
:clock	Clock
:cry	Crying smiley
:date	Current date
:down	Thumbs down
:drive	Steering wheel
:football	Football
:heart	Heart
:mad	Mad smiley
:miltime	Military time
:music	Musical note
:nodogs	No dogs
:nosmoking	No smoking
:peace	Peace sign
:rose	Red rose
:skull	Skull and crossbones
:soccer	Soccer
:star	Star
:stop	Stop Sign
:time	Current time
:up	Thumbs up

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What do I use this app for?

A: There are many uses for this app. For students, use it to send messages to your classmates while your teacher isn’t looking. At work, use it to send messages to your co-workers. At a dance club, send messages to that hot guy or girl. Send messages to people in other cars on the road to prevent road rage. Send a love note to your spouse from across the table.

Q: How do I send a message via SMS or email?

A: We are working on this feature but currently, there is no way to send a message that way.

Q: Sometimes the scrolling is not smooth. What can I do?

A: As of WebOS 1.4.1, and Party Sign 1.4.1, there should be a reduction of the stuttering during the scrolling. However, it is recommended that you close all other non-essential applications running on your Palm.  If you find that it still runs slowly after closing all applications, reboot your Palm by pressing the keys ORANGE+SYM+R simultaneously.

Q: What’s different in the new version?

A: You can see the list by going to the app menu (upper left corner) and touch “What’s New.”

Q: Are there any other secret emoticons?

A: Yes. Try :beer.

Changelog

Version 1.6.0:

Color selection shows sample color and emoticons selection also shows sample emoticon.

App menu now features “Backup” and “restore” under “Tools.” This new feature will allow the user to backup the messages to (and restore from) their Google account. If the user does not have a Google account, there is an option to send the backup to themselves via email.

Edit messages now uses multi-line mode (larger text area) for editing longer messages.

Version 1.5.2:

Added bold and underline in Edit screen. To use, highlight one or more words by holding the Caps key and touching the word. Next, touch the “B” for bold or “U” for underline. To un-bold or remove underline, repeat the process.

After touch dragging, the scrolling will now stop and allow the user to position the text. To resume scrolling, flick the screen quickly.

New emoticon :angel added.

Version 1.5.1:

Use :miltime to get military time and :date for current date.

Bug fixes:
Submit discussion comment fixed and options to see older and newer comments.
The first letter of the message is no longer automatically capitalized.

Version 1.5.0:

Remove emoticon button added to edit screen to remove emoticons from message.

“Set To Default” option added to app menu to allow user to select messages to set to default settings from Preference screen.

New Emoticons added:

Use	To Get
:clock	Clock
:drive	Steering wheel

Bug fixes:
Message with only emoticons are now centered correctly vertically for all sizes.
Using app menu while editing message works properly.
Quick add with only spaces is now ignored.

Version 1.4.1:

Changes for WebOS 1.4.1 to reduce scrolling stutter.

Added option for large text.

New colors Deep Green, Deep Indigo, Garnet, and Mint added.

Bug fixes:
Problem with messages not saving properly the first time app is used has been fixed.

Version 1.3.0:
Quick Show: After “Quick Add”, the new message is automatically shown.

New color “Neon Green” added.

Added feature to remember last message on app closure. To use, minimize while message is scrolling, then close app. When app is re-opened, the message will automatically be displayed again.

New emoticons added:

Use	To Get
:nodogs	No dogs
:nosmoking	No smoking
:peace	Peace sign

Bug fixes:
Blank messages are not added.

Version 1.2.0:
Option to keep screen on in Preference. Use this to show messages while charging.

Checkmark messages to combine multiple messages together.

Quick add and full add messages now available.

New emoticons added:

Use	To Get
:basketball	Basketball
:baseball	Baseball
:football	Football
:soccer	Soccer
:stop	Stop sign
:time	Current time

Bugs fixed:
Using special characters and multiple spaces now work properly.
Add emoticon via submenu on blank text field fixed.

Version 1.1.0:
Messages can now be reordered by drag and drop.

New colors added:
Brown, gold, gray, orange, pink and purple.

Background colors selectable in Preference and “Message Edit”.

New emoticon selection submenu added to “Message Edit”.

New emoticons added:

Use	To Get
; )	Wink
:cry	Crying smiley
:mad	Mad smiley
:music	Musical note
:rose	Red rose
:skull	Skull and crossbones

Bugs fixed:
“Delete All” now works properly.
Repeating same emoticon in one message now works properly.