I've been working on a script to convert HTML pages to WML for viewing with a wireless web browser. My script is still in the development stages, but you can try it out by directing you wireless web browser to andybloch.com/cgi-bin/get.cgi. (If you access that URL with a non-wireless browser, you will see an approximation of how the pages would look on a wireless browser.)
The script currently only has limited support for forms. You can enter text into input fields and submit forms from your wireless phone, but checkboxes and selection lists are not yet implemented.
Java and javascript are ignored, and secure pages and pages that require authorization are not accessible.
But, despite it's limitations, the script does make a great deal of the web accessible from your cell phone.
Here's a brief tutorial:
If you select the minibroswer on your phone, once your phone connects, you should see a home page that looks like this: (This is how the page looked on 12/25/1999.)
You will have to scroll down to see below line number 4.
HOME PAGE 1 @SprintPCS 2 Yahoo! 3 Amazon.com 4 Ameritrade 5 Bloomberg 6 FOX Sports 7 The Weather Channel 8 Site List 9 Bookmarks Go to...
To go to a WML or HDML site, you scroll down to " Go to..." and push OK, or push "0".
The screen then looks like this:
Go to Site:
Enter "andybloch.com/links.wml" as the site, and push "OK".
(Hint: to enter "/" on the Touchpoint, you can either push "1" eleven times, or push right on the touchpoint to highlight "alpha", push OK twice, push down on the touchpoint (if necessary) until you see "SYM2" highlighted, then push "4". To enter periods, simply push "1" once.)You'll see a short list of links:
Select the first one.
Links: 1 Get html pages 2 ... 3 ...
(Alternatively, you can enter "andybloch.com/cgi-bin/get.cgi" at the initial "Go to Site:" prompt to go to the script directly.)
You'll probably want to bookmark these pages so you don't have to re-enter them. To do that, use the touchpoint to scroll to the right until "Help" is highlight, then click OK.
The phone displays:
You should scroll to "Mark Site" and push "OK", or push "3". Edit the name as desired, and push "OK". The next time, you can go to my site using your Bookmarks.
Browser Menu 1 Help 2 Home 3 Mark Site 4 Show URL 5 Restart 6 Phone.com... 7 Advanced
After you get to andybloch.com/get.cgi, you should see this screen:
("6170000000" should be replaced with your cellular phone number.) ("andybloch.com" is the current default page, it will probably change in the future.) Edit the URL you want to access ("http://" can be elided) and push "OK", or just push OK to go to "andybloch.com". If all goes well, you should see the page shortly. (Hint: to erase the entire URL, press and hold the "CLR" button.)
Welcome 6170000000! Enter URL: andybloch.com_
For this tutorial, enter "google.com" instead of the default page. The page should look like this:
On the bottom of the screen you'll see
(Page 1 of 2): Google _Form_ Search the web using Google [:] [*Google Search] [*I'm feeling lucky] _EndF_ Try our special searches: [>Uncle Sam] Search millions of US government documents [>Linux] Search the web's Linux resources
"NextP" should be inverted. As you move down the page, "NextP" may change. Scroll down until [:] is highlighted. This is a text input box. Press OK. Then, enter something to search for, such as "tahajian". Press OK once. You should be back at the Google page, with [:] replaced by [:tahajian]. Scroll down to
NextP Menu
and press enter. In a couple of seconds, you should get to a new page:
[* Google search]
Scroll all the way to the bottom, then click "OK". Once the second page is loaded, you should see:
(Page 1 of 11) Google Search: tahajian _Form_ [>/] [:tahajian]10 (This is the text from an input control results30 that I have not implemented yet.) results100 results About 62 matches for tahajian Showing results 1-10, Search took 0.33 seconds ...
Push down on the touchpoint once, so that "[>Expert" is highlighted. Click OK, and you'll be sent to this lawyer's home page.
(Page 2 of 11) [>Expert Estate Planning & Probate Law Attorney. ...
Here's what the characters on the pages signify:
- [>XYZ]
- a link to XYZ. When it is highlighted, you will see "Link" on the bottom of a page. Push OK to follow the link.
- [~XYZ] or [~]
- a disabled link. Link utilized JavaScript or an unimplemented protocol, such as mailto:.
- _Form_
- The start of a form.
- _EndF_
- The end of a form.
- [:] or [:input text]
- A text input control. "Enter" is displayed on the bottom of the page. Click OK, then enter or edit the text. Click OK and you'll return to the page, with the text after the :.
- [*submit text]
- A submit button. There may be several submit buttons on a form. My script places all the submit buttons just before the end of a form. Because some sites use graphical buttons without specifying alternate text it might not always be clear what the different submit buttons do.
If the document was split into more than one page, to get to the next page, you simply push OK when you see "NextP" highlighted on the bottom left corner of the display. ("NextP" is highlighted whenever a link, submit button, or input is not highlighted). If you don't see "NextP" on the bottom of the display, scroll up or down until you can.
To move back a page, or reload, or enter a new URL to go to, or jump to a specific page, use the "Menu". Push right on the touchpoint once so "Menu" is highlighted, then click OK. You'll then see the following menu:
Pushing "OK" or "1" will move back one page in the document you are viewing.
1 PrevP 2 NewURL 3 Reload 4 Go to page... 5 Find text... 6 Report Error
Selecting "NewURL" will allow you to enter a new URL to access.
Selecting "Reload" will reload the current document and redisplay the current page. This may be necessary if the document you're viewing contains frequently updated data.
Select "Go to page..." to enter a specific page to jump to within the current document.
Select "Find text..." to find and jump to the next page containing the text you enter.
Use "Report Error" to report an error. If you encounter an error trying to access a page, go back to the previous page, go to the menu, and select "Report Error". Thanks for reporting errors!