[APP] Repli - A simple freeware SMS auto-reply - Windows Mobile Apps and Games

A little background:
The other day I was looking for a simple SMS auto-reply to function as an away message of sorts for when I'm busy and can't actively reply to texts. My search turned up two candidates, SMS Minder and Mobliza. SMS Minder was exactly what I was looking for, but unfortunately it simply did not work for me. It must've been something about my ROM, but it just ignored any texts that I received. I then paid the few bucks for Mobliza, which worked well, but it "blocked" the texts from my inbox, preventing me from viewing them later which I did not care for. I had been looking for an excuse to play around with Windows Mobile development, so I fired up Visual Studio and had a crack at it. Four hours later, here is the first release of what I got.
How to use it:
At the top of the window is a drop-down list of messages. Choose one or type in your own.
Press Start.
That's it. It'll send that message to anybody who texts you until you press Stop or exit the program.
Features:
Shows who it has replied to. Uses the contact picture if available so you can see at a glance. Useful if you're using this while driving and you are curious who texted you but you don't want to be distracted.
Unlike other programs of this nature, this one does not interfere with the text in anyway. It still goes to your normal inbox. It still gives the ringtone and vibrates like usual. This is by design.
Custom messages. Save your list of custom replies in the settings window, or simply type one into the main window quick if you're in a hurry.
Features coming later:
White/blacklists. Controls who does and doesn't get the replies.
Others? Let me know if there's anything you'd like to see in this.
This program requires the .NET Framework 3.5 to function.
Thanks for taking a look, hope someone finds this useful
Changelog:
5/31 7:40PM: Added support for saving custom messages; check the Settings menu for more. Also packaged in a cab so it can be installed and used like a proper program now.
5/30 8:30PM: Works better with QVGA devices now. I played around with the emulators, and it turns out that QVGA devices have a different DPI than VGA+ devices. So although the program ran fine on QVGA devices, it wouldn't show any actual messages it responded to, just said "and 1 more."
5/30 3:51PM: Initial release

---

I'm gonna try it tomorrow.
This sounds like Just the application I was looking for. Here in NY state, it is illegal to text while driving. IMHO, It is kind of dumb to text while driving, anywhere.
I have been looking for a way to send an automatic text to let people know that "I am driving now...will text later."
I am going to give this program a try tomorrow morning, and will keep you posted.

---

I'm also in NY state, one of the reasons I was looking for something like this
Looking forward to what you think about it.

---

Great. Will try it out and let you know. Thanks.

---

This looks really nice, as there are several times in class or when driving that I'd prefer to have an auto-reply rather than have to keep people waiting.
Couple of suggestions though:
Whitelist/Blacklist, as you said in the first post. Would help if there's certain people that you MUST be in contact with. Maybe even a extra vibrate when a message comes from a blacklist person?
Time-based activation, so that it auto-texts during class hours
Keep it up!

---

Maybe GPS-based activation when a user-defined speed is detected, so that it automatically starts replying to any texts when one gets in the car and start driving?

---

I just installed this app on my TP2 and had a friend send me a test text. It works really well. My only question is, will I have to start the application from the zip file every time I want to use Repli? There is no icon or shortcut placed in the start menu and it is not listed as a program when I search the program files in File Manager. It doesn't seem to use a lot memory so is it designed to stay open at all times. Thanks for you great effort.

---

Looks interesting, will test it out later..
Thanks for sharing

---

ken52787 said:
A little background:
The other day I was looking for a simple SMS auto-reply to function as an away message of sorts for when I'm busy and can't actively reply to texts. My search turned up two candidates, SMS Minder and Mobliza. SMS Minder was exactly what I was looking for, but unfortunately it simply did not work for me. It must've been something about my ROM, but it just ignored any texts that I received. I then paid the few bucks for Mobliza, which worked well, but it "blocked" the texts from my inbox, preventing me from viewing them later which I did not care for. I had been looking for an excuse to play around with Windows Mobile development, so I fired up Visual Studio and had a crack at it. Four hours later, here is the first release of what I got.
How to use it:
At the top of the window is a drop-down list of messages. Choose one or type in your own.
Press Start.
That's it. It'll send that message to anybody who texts you until you press Stop or exit the program.
Features:
It keeps track of who it replies to. If the person is in your contacts, it displays their name, photo, and message. If they aren't, it simply shows the phone number and message.
Unlike other programs I've tried, this one does not interfere with the text in anyway. It still goes to your normal inbox. It still gives the ringtone and vibrates like usual. This is by design, I didn't like how Mobliza blocked that.
I haven't been able to test this since I only have a VGA WinMo device, but I've wrote it as resolution independent as I could. It works in landscape and portrait, and should theoretically work on devices with other resolutions (WVGA, QVGA, etc?). Hopefully you guys will be able to give me feedback on this one.
Features I might add later:
Saving of custom messages. Right now it starts up with the same four messages every time, you can't save your custom messages between runs. I'll add this in the next release.
White/blacklists. I'll add this if there's any demand.
Others? Let me know if there's anything you'd like to see in this.
I should also mention that this requires the .NET Framework 3.5. It's also a tiny exe file, I didn't package it up as a cab or anything. So drop the exe on your device and run it. I didn't add much error-handling so don't be surprised if the program crashes for you. If it does, please let me know what you were doing and what exception it throws so I can fix it up.
Thanks for taking a look, hope someone finds this useful
Changelog:
5/30 8:30PM: Works better with QVGA devices now. I played around with the emulators, and it turns out that QVGA devices have a different DPI than VGA+ devices. So although the program ran fine on QVGA devices, it wouldn't show any actual messages it responded to, just said "and 1 more."
5/30 3:51PM: Initial release
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Made a quick .cab file, but no icon yet. Thanks for the cool app!

---

Thanks for the feedback everyone, I just posted an update. I added support for custom messages now with saving and loading. I made a lot of progress on whitelists and blacklists, but its not ready for primetime quite yet. Also, I finally packaged it as a cab so you can install it like its a real program now.
Keep the feedback coming

---

new version works well with the custom messages, but i cannot start the app. It just stays on the start. first version started though. Thanks.

---

Sorry about that. I changed the way the program initialized the SMS catching. Guess it doesn't work universally that way. Try the updated cab.

---

ken52787 said:
Sorry about that. I changed the way the program initialized the SMS catching. Guess it doesn't work universally that way. Try the updated cab.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
works now, thx..

---

Not working for me, on a stock ROM HD2 . I start it and ask someone to send me a test sms and it does nothing. My freind got no response.

---

kensong said:
Not working for me, on a stock ROM HD2 . I start it and ask someone to send me a test sms and it does nothing. My freind got no response.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
A few questions to help me debug:
1. When you press the Start button, does it switch to say "Stop"?
2. When your friend texts you, does the message show up in the window?

---

katradar said:
This sounds like Just the application I was looking for. Here in NY state, it is illegal to text while driving. IMHO, It is kind of dumb to text while driving, anywhere.
I have been looking for a way to send an automatic text to let people know that "I am driving now...will text later."
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Looks great! I downloaded it and will try it out.

---

ken52787 said:
A few questions to help me debug:
1. When you press the Start button, does it switch to say "Stop"?
2. When your friend texts you, does the message show up in the window?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1. Yes, I see "Stop" after I pressed Start. I did not exit but minimise the application before receiving message.
2. The message did not show up in Repli. Only in my SMS InBox.
Appreciate your work on this. Very useful.

---

This is great!
I tested out the program yesterday while traveling. I think it is a fantastic idea. It worked the whole time. You can use it for so many other things! Meetings, Emergencies, Etc. I especially like the fact that it tells you who you have to get back to. This way you don't forget about them.
I did find a bug.
1) You have to hit "exit" - not the "x" at the top of the screen. If you use the "ok" button on your phone, or tap the "x" at the top of the screen, you get an error message that tells you:
"An unexpected error has occurred in Repli.exe. Select Quit and then restart this program, or select Details for more information." Then when you choose "Details" you get this message:
" Error
Repli.exe Applicationlauncherenableexception at Microsoft.WindowsMobile.PocketOutlook.MessageInterception.MessageInterceptor.Unregister(StringapplicationLaunchId) at Microsoft.WindowsMobile.PocketOutlook.MessageInterception.MessageInterceptor.Finalize()"
Thanks for making the Icon for the start menu! It makes life soooo much easier. Also, thanks for making customized replies available.
Thank you so much for this wonderful little application! It is going to be a real life (and money/ticket) saver!!

---

katradar said:
I tested out the program yesterday while traveling. I think it is a fantastic idea. It worked the whole time. You can use it for so many other things! Meetings, Emergencies, Etc. I especially like the fact that it tells you who you have to get back to. This way you don't forget about them.
I did find a couple of bugs.
1) You have to hit "exit" - not the "x" at the top of the screen. If you use the "ok" button on your phone, or tap the "x" at the top of the screen, you get an error message that tells you:
"An unexpected error has occurred in Repli.exe. Select Quit and then restart this program, or select Details for more information." Then when you choose "Details" you get this message:
" Error
Repli.exe Applicationlauncherenableexception at Microsoft.WindowsMobile.PocketOutlook.MessageInterception.MessageInterceptor.Unregister(StringapplicationLaunchId) at Microsoft.WindowsMobile.PocketOutlook.MessageInterception.MessageInterceptor.Finalize()"
2) I would really like to be able to save my own personnal auto reply, based on why I can't text at the time. Sometimes I get in a hurry, and don't have time to re-type my auto message. (But that's just me)
The program really does need an icon. Even to just put it in your menus list. But...
My solution, for now, is: I copied the program into My Documents, so when I use file explorer, it is on the first page and I don't have to go looking for where I put it. Once I have used the program, it stays in "recent programs" on your start menu until I soft reset. (I have start-clean so when I reset, the recent programs folder gets emptied.)
Thank you so much for this wonderful little application! It is going to be a real life (and money/ticket) saver!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Glad you like it! It sounds like you're using an old version though. Install the cab file in the first post, it has an icon and lets you save your messages. Let me know if that version still gives you those exceptions if you close it with the OK button. Thanks

---

kensong said:
Not working for me, on a stock ROM HD2 . I start it and ask someone to send me a test sms and it does nothing. My freind got no response.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Same here, doesnt seem to like HD2's?