BlackBerry Forums Support Community - View Single Post - HOWTO: Opera Mini 4

Mark Rejhon · 09-07-2007, 04:58 PM

Questions being asked over and over, so I'm posting a mini HOWTO for Opera Mini. I'll probably expand it a little over time, but let's start with:

How do I download?
A: Enter www.operamini.com into your BlackBerry Browser and download.
.
It does not use BlackBerry Menus properly!
A: Upgrade to Opera Mini 4 BETA 2, it introduces a better BlackBerry menu UI
.
It does not use BlackBerry Trackwheel/Trackball properly!
A: Upgrade to Opera Mini 4 BETA 2, it introduces a better BlackBerry menu UI
.
Full Screen Mode: How do I turn off the title/status bar?
A: Upgrade to Opera Mini 4 BETA 2, it has a "Full Screen" mode option in its Settings
.
How do I Zoom out after I've Zoomed in?
A: Press the number 5 key on your BlackBerry keyboard.
.
How do I Page Down / Page Up?
A: Press the number 2 and 8 key on your BlackBerry keyboard.
.
How do open the context menu?
A: Press the number 1 key on your BlackBerry keyboard. (Context menu is a "right-click" style pop-up menu).
.
Scrolling is terrible! How do I fix this?
A: Don't use the trackwheel/trackball to scroll around! Use the number keys on your BlackBerry keyboard. The number 2/4/6/8 keys SCROLLS VERY FAST and it automatically 'snaps' to columns of text for easier reading. Just get used to putting your thumb on the number keys for 4-way scrolling and page up/page down.
.
It's time consuming to click links!
A: Just use your trackball to point the mouse cursor and then hit Enter. Presto - easy to do.
.
I still prefer BlackBerry Browser Link Selection behaviour!
A: Enable "Fit to Width" and you get page rendering more similiar to Opera 3 and BlackBerry Browser, you just use the trackwheel/trackball to select links.
.
I still prefer to use trackwheel to scroll!
A: Enable "Fit to Width" and you get page rendering more similiar to Opera 3 and BlackBerry Browser, and you only need to scroll up and down.
.
I prefer Opera 3!
A: Enable "Fit to Width" and you get page rendering more similiar to Opera 3, and you only need to scroll up and down.
.
I had animated zoom/scrolling before. How do I reenable this?
A: Upgrading to Mini BETA 2 disables these settings. Go to Settings, and then enable "Visual Effects". This will bring back the smooth scrolling (especially useful when using the fast scrolling via the number keys on your BlackBerry keyboard). For older model BlackBerries such as model 7100, it is recommended to turn off this feature.
.
How do I copy and paste the URL of the current web page?
A: Opera Mini did not include copy and paste support, but there's a method. The easiest way is to add the current page as a bookmark, then edit the bookmark. From the bookmark editor, you can then copy and paste the URL.
.
It crashes often with a Java exception!
A: Upgrade your BlackBerry OS! Some users have reported much better Opera Mini stability this way, to the point where it never crashes for them. Please note, early BlackBerry OS 4.3 releases may be more unstable in some aspects than mature, newer, BlackBerry OS 4.2 releases. However, there are a lot of known instabilities in early BlackBerry OS 4.2 releases, that often causes some Java applications to crash. (BlackBerry 8700 users may wish to obtain v4.2.1.101 which was stable with Opera Mini)
.
Can I rotate my screen to Landscape mode on my BlackBerry?
A: Not yet for Opera Mini 4 Beta 2. There is no screen rotation support for BlackBerries at this time. Opera says they may support this feature in a future version.
.
What BlackBerry models are supported? What BlackBerry OS version?
A: OS Version 4.1 is needed. This is pre-installed on all 8XXX series BlackBerry models, including Pearl and Curve, so you are ready to go. However, if you have certain 7XXX series BlackBerry, you may be interested to know Opera Mini 4 surprisingly works reasonably well (albiet somewhat slow) on older BlackBerries, as long as they have been upgraded to OS 4.1. For example, the model 7100 and 7290's work with Opera Mini 4. As a rule of thumb, if your BlackBerry is a quadband / 32 megabyte / Bluetooth-capable model, it is recent enough to support the OS 4.1 upgrade. If your BlackBerry has only 16 megabytes or less, it will not support Opera Mini 4. To determine the OS version of your BlackBerry, go to Options->About on your BlackBerry. To download an OS upgrade for your BlackBerry, go to the sticky in "RIM Software" forum or click my FAQ link at the bottom of this post.
.
My Fonts are Scrambled at "Small" Font Size
A: This is a bug when running on certain BlackBerries using Beta 2, such as 8800 with the default 4.2 OS. Try upgrading to a newer version of Opera Mini 4, such as Beta 3. If you don't want to upgrade, you can blindly fix by: Open menu, select menu item "Settings", select the first textbox in the screen, open menu, select menu item "Select", change to the second option (which represents "Medium" font size), open menu, select menu item "Select", open menu, select menu item "Save", and your problem is fixed. Now you don't have to reinstall Opera Mini!. (Note: The Small font size works great on a BlackBerry 8700 running OS 4.2.1.101 so it appears to depend on the BlackBerry)
.
What is the ideal configuration for Opera Mini 4 to cram maximum text on one screen?
This puts MORE text in one screenful than BlackBerry Browser::
1. In settings enable "Full Screen Mode".
2. In settings choose "Small" font size
3. In settings enable "Visual effects" (easier to track turbo scrolling this way)
4. Now scroll using only your thumb on the "5" key, pressing the 2/4/6/8 to use TURBO SCROLLING up/left/right/down, and 5 to toggle between zoom in/out. You don't need to open a menu to zoom, and this scrolling method is faster than via trackball (scrolling via trackball is too slow). This puts twice the amount of text on the same BlackBerry screen as BlackBerry Browser can, with a very readable and nice looking antialiased font (same font as the "Use small fonts" setting in GMAIL Mobile), if you have good eyes. BlackBerry Browser doesn't let you use such a small font size, which is quite a shame, especially if you have good eyes. It also minimizes zooming, because you can read several paragraphs without needing to scroll or zoom.

.

This should allow you to give Opera Mini 4 a fair chance.
For example, you can configure OPERA MINI 4 behave more like OPERA MINI 3 if you prefer to.

09-07-2007, 04:58 PM	#1
Mark Rejhon Retired BBF Moderator Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Ottawa, Ontario, Canada Model: Bold Carrier: Rogers Posts: 4,870	HOWTO: Opera Mini 4 - Make it Better than BB Browser! Please Login to Remove! Questions being asked over and over, so I'm posting a mini HOWTO for Opera Mini. I'll probably expand it a little over time, but let's start with: How do I download? A: Enter www.operamini.com into your BlackBerry Browser and download. . It does not use BlackBerry Menus properly! A: Upgrade to Opera Mini 4 BETA 2, it introduces a better BlackBerry menu UI . It does not use BlackBerry Trackwheel/Trackball properly! A: Upgrade to Opera Mini 4 BETA 2, it introduces a better BlackBerry menu UI . Full Screen Mode: How do I turn off the title/status bar? A: Upgrade to Opera Mini 4 BETA 2, it has a "Full Screen" mode option in its Settings . How do I Zoom out after I've Zoomed in? A: Press the number 5 key on your BlackBerry keyboard. . How do I Page Down / Page Up? A: Press the number 2 and 8 key on your BlackBerry keyboard. . How do open the context menu? A: Press the number 1 key on your BlackBerry keyboard. (Context menu is a "right-click" style pop-up menu). . Scrolling is terrible! How do I fix this? A: Don't use the trackwheel/trackball to scroll around! Use the number keys on your BlackBerry keyboard. The number 2/4/6/8 keys SCROLLS VERY FAST and it automatically 'snaps' to columns of text for easier reading. Just get used to putting your thumb on the number keys for 4-way scrolling and page up/page down. . It's time consuming to click links! A: Just use your trackball to point the mouse cursor and then hit Enter. Presto - easy to do. . I still prefer BlackBerry Browser Link Selection behaviour! A: Enable "Fit to Width" and you get page rendering more similiar to Opera 3 and BlackBerry Browser, you just use the trackwheel/trackball to select links. . I still prefer to use trackwheel to scroll! A: Enable "Fit to Width" and you get page rendering more similiar to Opera 3 and BlackBerry Browser, and you only need to scroll up and down. . I prefer Opera 3! A: Enable "Fit to Width" and you get page rendering more similiar to Opera 3, and you only need to scroll up and down. . I had animated zoom/scrolling before. How do I reenable this? A: Upgrading to Mini BETA 2 disables these settings. Go to Settings, and then enable "Visual Effects". This will bring back the smooth scrolling (especially useful when using the fast scrolling via the number keys on your BlackBerry keyboard). For older model BlackBerries such as model 7100, it is recommended to turn off this feature. . How do I copy and paste the URL of the current web page? A: Opera Mini did not include copy and paste support, but there's a method. The easiest way is to add the current page as a bookmark, then edit the bookmark. From the bookmark editor, you can then copy and paste the URL. . It crashes often with a Java exception! A: Upgrade your BlackBerry OS! Some users have reported much better Opera Mini stability this way, to the point where it never crashes for them. Please note, early BlackBerry OS 4.3 releases may be more unstable in some aspects than mature, newer, BlackBerry OS 4.2 releases. However, there are a lot of known instabilities in early BlackBerry OS 4.2 releases, that often causes some Java applications to crash. (BlackBerry 8700 users may wish to obtain v4.2.1.101 which was stable with Opera Mini) . Can I rotate my screen to Landscape mode on my BlackBerry? A: Not yet for Opera Mini 4 Beta 2. There is no screen rotation support for BlackBerries at this time. Opera says they may support this feature in a future version. . What BlackBerry models are supported? What BlackBerry OS version? A: OS Version 4.1 is needed. This is pre-installed on all 8XXX series BlackBerry models, including Pearl and Curve, so you are ready to go. However, if you have certain 7XXX series BlackBerry, you may be interested to know Opera Mini 4 surprisingly works reasonably well (albiet somewhat slow) on older BlackBerries, as long as they have been upgraded to OS 4.1. For example, the model 7100 and 7290's work with Opera Mini 4. As a rule of thumb, if your BlackBerry is a quadband / 32 megabyte / Bluetooth-capable model, it is recent enough to support the OS 4.1 upgrade. If your BlackBerry has only 16 megabytes or less, it will not support Opera Mini 4. To determine the OS version of your BlackBerry, go to Options->About on your BlackBerry. To download an OS upgrade for your BlackBerry, go to the sticky in "RIM Software" forum or click my FAQ link at the bottom of this post. . My Fonts are Scrambled at "Small" Font Size A: This is a bug when running on certain BlackBerries using Beta 2, such as 8800 with the default 4.2 OS. Try upgrading to a newer version of Opera Mini 4, such as Beta 3. If you don't want to upgrade, you can blindly fix by: Open menu, select menu item "Settings", select the first textbox in the screen, open menu, select menu item "Select", change to the second option (which represents "Medium" font size), open menu, select menu item "Select", open menu, select menu item "Save", and your problem is fixed. Now you don't have to reinstall Opera Mini!. (Note: The Small font size works great on a BlackBerry 8700 running OS 4.2.1.101 so it appears to depend on the BlackBerry) . What is the ideal configuration for Opera Mini 4 to cram maximum text on one screen? This puts MORE text in one screenful than BlackBerry Browser:: 1. In settings enable "Full Screen Mode". 2. In settings choose "Small" font size 3. In settings enable "Visual effects" (easier to track turbo scrolling this way) 4. Now scroll using only your thumb on the "5" key, pressing the 2/4/6/8 to use TURBO SCROLLING up/left/right/down, and 5 to toggle between zoom in/out. You don't need to open a menu to zoom, and this scrolling method is faster than via trackball (scrolling via trackball is too slow). This puts twice the amount of text on the same BlackBerry screen as BlackBerry Browser can, with a very readable and nice looking antialiased font (same font as the "Use small fonts" setting in GMAIL Mobile), if you have good eyes. BlackBerry Browser doesn't let you use such a small font size, which is quite a shame, especially if you have good eyes. It also minimizes zooming, because you can read several paragraphs without needing to scroll or zoom. . This should allow you to give Opera Mini 4 a fair chance. For example, you can configure OPERA MINI 4 behave more like OPERA MINI 3 if you prefer to. __________________ Thanks, Mark Rejhon Author of XMPP extension XEP-0301: www.xmpp.org/extensions/xep-0301.html - specification www.realjabber.org - open source Last edited by Mark Rejhon; 10-26-2007 at 12:04 PM..
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