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One of the nice things about having a Treo is that it’s a phone. And as most cell phone owners can tell you, having your own customized collection of ringtones can definitely personalize your phone, not to mention getting the envy and looks from friends over having such cool ringtones. Of course, there’s also the usefulness of having distinctive ringtones when you can set a specific ringtone for a contact so that you know who’s calling.

There are several ways in which you can get midi (Musical Instrument Digital Interface) (extension of .mid) files onto your Treo and use them as ringtones. Since this is quite an extensive topic, I will likely be breaking this MIDI ringtone posting into various other posts. This post is just going to discuss how to transfer a MIDI file that you currently have access to, to your Treo.

The default database of Midi ringtones on the Treo is in the file is named MIDI Ring Tones. This file will also include any new midi ringtones that you add via any of the methods I discuss below. So, the file of MIDI Ring Tones can get bigger in size as you add more and more midi files to the database, and obviously take up more RAM as this file is stored in RAM. You may want to keep this in mind when adding new ringtones to your collection.

Please note. You can’t simply install a midi file to your Treo by “installing” the .mid file via hotsync. IT WILL NOT WORK. You will have to try any of the methods I’ve discussed below.

Also, you can’t use a MIDI file larger than 64 KB in size as a ringtone. Even if you download it to your Treo, you won’t be able to play it. So, you will need to cut it down to less than 64k in size if you wish to use it (more info in a future posting).

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1 - Send an email to your cell phone with a midi file attachment. Once you open the email and the enclosed attachment, the Treo will recognize the file and ask if you wish to save it to your midi ringtone collection. Done.

2 - Beam the midi file via infrared or bluetooth.

In the Treo 650:

Open up the Preferences application. Select Sounds & Alerts. Tap on the Tones button. Tap on the Manage… button at the bottom. Select the midi tone you wish to send and tap on the Send button at the bottom. Select Beam or Bluetooth and choose Send. You can also select to send the midi file via email or messaging (SMS).

Again, when the wireless beam is detected, the Treo will recognize the midi file and ask to save the file to the midi ringtone collection.

3 - Transfer to SD card and use Blazer. Use a card reader or card reader software like Card Export II or Card Reader to transfer the midi file from a computer to the SD card on the Treo. Then, open up Blazer and navigate to the midi file location on the SD card.

For example. If you have transferred a midi file named test.mid to your SD card using a card reader, here’s how you need to do to have it transfer to your Treo.

If test.mid is located in the default or root directory, you simply need to type in the following path in Blazer or whatever web browser you use:

file:///test.mid

(replace the file.mid with the name of your midi file.) YOU MUST type in the file:/// (NOTE THE THREE ///) and then the name of the file.

If the test.mid is located in a folder named directory type in the following:

file:///directory/test.mid (replace the directory with the correct folder name)

If test.mid is located in a subdirectory called subdirectory under the directory folder, then type in the following:

file:///directory/subdirectory/test.mid

If recognized, the save prompt will come up.

You may need to write down the exact location and file name correctly (keep in mind the Caps and the underscores _). If entered incorrectly, you won’t be able to transfer the file over. I’ve found this method quite cumbersome.

4 - Use a File Manager application like Resco Explorer that can recognize and associate the .mid extension to the program that runs it so that when you tap on the file, the Treo will prompt to save it as a ringtone. Actually, this is my preferred method as I no longer have to worry about getting the file name right, getting all the underscores and whatever else. It’s quite hard to enter and see your entire url when the file name and location is longer than what the Blazer url bar can show. I’m not sure if UniCMD or others will do it. You may want to try and see.

5 - Download the midi file directly from the website. Surf wirelessly via GPRS (General Packet Radio Service via data on your cellular network). Or, surf the internet via the cradle using Softick PPP. Go to the site where the midi file is located and to the exact location of the midi file. Open up the link to the midi file. You will be prompted to save the file. Save it. Once saved, it will be added to your Midi database (MIDI Ring Tones).

6 - Use VFSExchange and install the midi file via hotsync.

In a future How To posting, I will be discussing the various sites on where to get MIDI files that you can use as a ringtone, how to crop or cut your MIDI files so that the files are smaller in size.

Also check out this knowledgebase article from Palm

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