Pocket PC magazine
Make those buttons work for you
In Start > Settings > Buttons, you can configure the settings for all the buttons on your Pocket PC. That means you can turn them into quick launch buttons for the applications you use the most often. If you live and work out of your Pocket PC, this can save you a lot of time over the course of a day. I put my favorite game on button one, Windows Media Player on two, Pocket ScreenSnap on three, etc.
You can even launch documents or favorites with buttons. Use ActiveSync and Windows Explorer on your desktop PC to make a shortcut for the document or favorite, and put the shortcut in My Device > Windows > Start Menu > Programs. It will now show up in the button assignment list in Settings > Buttons.
Finally, Windows Media Player has its own button assignment feature so that you can set your Pocket PC to function like a regular MP3 player. Open WMP, tap Tools in the toolbar, then Options. Then set your buttons to perform functions such as Play, Pause, and Mute by selecting a function from the function list and then selecting the button you want to control it.
Matt Arant
$1.50 car mount for iPAQ Pocket PC?
Car mounts for Pocket PCs make it easier and safer to view the screen and access information while you're driving. But have you checked out how much these things cost? Instead of spending $50 for one, I went to Home Depot and spent $1.50 for a 3/4" x 4" strip of Velcro and used that to attach my iPAQ Pocket PC to my dashboard. I didn't want to put Velcro directly on the back of my iPAQ. Instead, I mounted it on the back of the Cover Pack that came with the iPAQ. I took off the front "door" of the Cover Pack so that I could easily access the screen. I put Velcro on the back of the case and another piece right next to my radio console, which provides the best visibility for me. When I want to mount my Pocket PC on the dashboard, I take the Cover Pack out of the glove compartment, Velcro it onto my dashboard, and drop my iPAQ into it. I like my system better than the expensive commercial ones because when I don't want to use it, I just throw the Cover Pack back into the glove compartment. I don't have some big thing starting at me, just a small strip of Velcro which is the same color as my dash.
You can use this technique with other Pocket PCs by mounting the Velcro on the back of the device. You could also use it with existing open-face cases. For example, you could remove the clip portion of a spare Vaja One Touch Belt Clip, glue it to your dashboard, and hang the Vaja case, with your Pocket PC in it, on the clip when you get into the car. Of course, you have to pay $60 and up for a Vaja case. But if you already own one, a spare belt clip is only $5 more.
Juan de Jesús
Guadalajara, Mexico
Cleaning up junk files on your Pocket PC
Installing and removing applications on your Pocket PC, as well as doing soft resets, can leave files, folders, obsolete registry entries, corrupt files, and more on your Pocket PC. If you do a lot of this, you may want to invest in a program such as Kilmist Storage Analyzer 2.0 for Pocket PC (www.kilmist.com/DT_Default.asp) or Spacemaker (www.dmdsoftware.net). If you're cash-strapped, check out Remover by SK, which can be found on the WebAttack Web site (www.webattack.com). WebAttack has a very extensive list of freeware for the Pocket PC.
Pocket PC magazine user forums
Organizing bookmarks and Favorites
If you have an inexpensive wireless Internet connection for your Pocket PC or Pocket PC Phone Edition, you may want to move all of your IE favorites—or Netscape, Opera, or Mozilla bookmarks—to your device so you can access them when you're on the move. Rather than adding a few hundred Favorites to Pocket Internet Explorer, try converting your bookmarks into an older-Netscape-style bookmarks file, which is basically just an HTML page containing links to all the bookmarked sites.
After you've made the conversion, you can do a quick edit if you need to, using a text editor or WYSIWYG HTML editor, and then transfer the file to your device. Then open File Explorer and tap on the HTML bookmarks file. When it opens up in Pocket Internet Explorer, make it one of your Mobile Favorites:
Tap on the Favorites icon
Tap the Add/Delete tab
Tap Add...
This doesn't replace your current Mobile Favorites; it just adds a new page with links to all of your desktop favorites.
There are several freeware/shareware converters out there that will automate the conversion of bookmark files for you; I use the shareware program Bookmark Converter (www.magnusbrading.com/bmc/).
Matt Arant
When install won't install
Some freeware and shareware programs come without automatic installation routines. In these cases, you have to copy the downloaded .exe program file directly to the Pocket PC's /Windows/Start Menu/Programs folder. Then it will appear in the Programs menu on your Pocket PC.
The way you can tell is this: If you download a Pocket PC application to your desktop PC, click on the .exe file to install it, and get an error message, it probably needs to be copied directly to the Pocket PC.
Good support Web sites for the Casio E-200
When I was using a Cassiopeia E-200 I found that far and away the BEST Casio Web site was Casio New Zealand (http://casio.monacocorp.co.nz/cassiopeia/). They had everything long before the U.S. site did—if it even appeared on the U.S. site. Another valuable source of E-200 news is Dave's E-200 Web site (www.nrdp.net/e200/).
Newst
Pocket PC magazine user forums
Auto-directing files to save on storage card
If you create long documents on your Pocket PC (Word, Excel, Notes, voice recordings, etc.), you might want to set up your Pocket PC to save them to a storage card instead of main memory. Here's how you do it with voice recordings—the process is similar in other applications:
Open Notes from the Start menu (if it's not there, check Programs).
Tap on the Tools menu and select Options.
Tap on the "Save to:" pull-down menu and select Storage Card.
Finish by tapping OK.
Note that you must have a storage card in the slot or Storage Card will not appear as an option.
Alternative voice recorder for Pocket PC
NoteM (www.geocities.com/zavorine/wince/mp3.htm) is a freeware alternative to the voice recorder built into the Pocket PC. The main difference is that it saves its voice recordings in MP3 format instead of WAV. It gives you approximately 5.5 compression rate (for the Low bit rate option) as compared to Notes' default recording mode (8-bit 11.025 kHz mono PCM), with the same (or even better) perceptual quality. Higher bit rates are also available (you can even record music). The user interface was designed to be as similar as possible to the Notes interface.
NoteM is a free voice recorder for the Pocket PC that saves its files in MP3 format.
Cheat at Solitaire!
Do you play the 3-card version of Solitaire on the Pocket PC, get down to the end, and find yourself losing? If you've selected the 3-card option, but want to switch to the 1-card option in the middle of a game, pop up the soft keyboard and tap on Ctrl-Shift. Now they come out of the chute one at a time!
If you want a perfect hand dealt to you, with all the cards in order, tap on Ctrl-Shift and then New. Cards will be grouped so that within a few minutes you will have the game finished.
Pocket View
Microsoft, Software Developers: You Can Do Better!
Hal Goldstein
Executive Editor/Publisher
Pocket PC magazine
[email protected]
Normally Pocket PC installation goes smoothly. Even so, I've wasted countless hours with errant software installation. Most of that waste could have been avoided had there been better standardization from Microsoft and more consideration from software developers.
A software installation process should consist of the following five steps:
Connect your Pocket PC to a desktop PC running ActiveSync.
On a web site locate the software you wish to install and "open" it to start the installatio
n process. Or...
Use Windows Explorer to locate previously downloaded software on your desktop. Click on the software file to start the installation process from your desktop PC.
Follow on-screen instructions for installing it.
Follow any on-screen instructions on the Pocket PC, and then register the software.
In practice there are many variations on each of the above steps. Here are some gotcha's I've encountered and some tips for avoiding problems.
Getting ActiveSync to work
Although ActiveSync doesn't always work properly, it's getting better with each new version. We review the latest, ActiveSync 3.7. If you don't have it, you can download it from Microsoft's Web site (www.microsoft.com/mobile/pocketpc/downloads/activesync37.asp). If, after installing the most recent version of ActiveSync, you still have problems connecting your Pocket PC with your desktop, try some combination of unplugging and plugging the USB cable, doing a soft reset on the Pocket PC, and rebooting your desktop PC. In most cases one of these tactics will make ActiveSync work properly.
Installing software on your Pocket PC
Pocket PC software usually comes as a single installation file with a .zip or .exe file extension. In most cases, this file contains within it a collection of files that need to be installed. An installation file with an .exe extension is a "self-extracting" file—click on it and it automatically extracts the necessary files, copies them into a folder on your desktop PC, and then installs them on your Pocket PC. An installation file with a .zip extension needs to be "unzipped" first with WinZip or a similar program.
When you download an installation file (or click on it on a CD), you will be asked whether you want to save the file or open it. Unless you want to install the program later or keep a backup copy of the installation file, it's easier to open and install the file immediately.
Poorly designed installation software doesn't give you a choice—it forces you to install the program into the main system memory. In addition to this, some inconsiderate software developers decide for you that the startup icon for their software should appear in the Pocket PC Start menu. I have even seen cases in which you cannot remove this icon by using Settings > Personal > Menus. Some game vendors install their startup icons in the Programs rather than the Programs > Games menu, and some developers install their icons into both the Start and Programs menus.
There are a number of other quirks associated with the installation process. For example, sometimes when you run an installation program, it copies the necessary files to the desktop PC but then stops. If that happens, you have to use Explorer to locate the folder containing the files (usually in /Program Files). Then sometimes you can get the installation going again by double-clicking on an .exe or .zip file. If that doesn't work, you should take a look at any README files you find or check the developer's Web site for instructions.
In a few cases, which usually involve freeware, installation can be a do-it-yourself adventure requiring you to use the ActiveSync Explore feature to copy .exe or .cab files to your Pocket PC. Sometimes you even have to create a start program icon and place it in the Pocket PC's Windows/StartMenu/Programs directory. Normally, these steps are documented on the developer's Website.
A final installation challenge, which can be both serious and confusing, occurs when the program you are installing asks if it can replace a .dll or some other shared file on your Pocket PC. How on earth can the average user decide whether to replace a .dll file dated November 2002 with one with the same name but dated February 2001? When queried during installation, I choose the one with the latest date and pray.
Registering software is not always easy
Registering software is often neither easy nor straightforward.
The first challenge is to find the registration option. I have found it buried variously in the Help, About, Files, and Tools menus. In the case of one game, only starting a new game would cause the registration option to appear.
Next, you have to get and enter the registration code. Some of them are generated by the developer using the specific owner name on your Pocket PC. That means that your owner name had better not have an extra space in it. It also means a hassle if you ever decide to give or sell your Pocket PC and software to someone else. I once wanted to add "Reward" to the owner name on my Pocket PC so it would show up on my Today screen. However, software developers held my owner name hostage, and it was too much of an effort to go back to each vendor to get a new code. Other software developers make you contact them for a new code every time you remove and re-install their software. Finally, there are developers that force you to enter a 16-digit alphanumeric registration code on your input-challenged Pocket PC, and some of these don't allow you to cut and paste the code from an e-mail message or wallet program.
Removing and reinstalling software
The Tools > Add/Remove Programs option in ActiveSync is a great idea, but the implementation could be improved. When this option is invoked, ActiveSync displays a list of the software that is or can be installed on your Pocket PC. The names of the installed programs are checked and the software that is available for reinstallation is unchecked. Unfortunately, this info is not always correct. For example, sometimes you can't install an unchecked program, which may indicate that you had encountered a problem during a previous attempt to install that software.
What I especially dislike is that the more software you have installed on your Pocket PC, the longer it takes for the Add/Remove checkbox list to show up. This is particularly irritating if you wish to do multiple installations or removals. No matter how many boxes you check or uncheck for installation or removal, ActiveSync seems to be able to process only 2 or 3 programs at a time. Unfortunately, when those 3 have been processed, the Add/Remove list screen goes away, and you have to run Add/Remove again and wait again to install or remove more software. Note that I have found Add/Remove in the Windows Mobile 2003/Activesync 3.7 combination to be much faster and more robust (see review).
Software can be removed using ActiveSync's Add/Remove feature or from the Pocket PC using Settings > System > Remove Programs. Unfortunately, in a significant proportion of cases, some incomprehensible or vague error message appears which states that the software can't be removed, or that some of the files couldn't be deleted and must be deleted manually. Sometimes error messages are given during installation telling you that installation has failed and that you should delete the software and try again. Sometimes you can't delete it, which means you can't reinstall it. Another Pocket PC clutter-removal problem is that uninstalling a program often leaves behind templates or configuration files, with no indication of what they're named or where they reside.
More tricks
Store your user name and registration code information in one of the excellent electronic wallet programs. (I use eWallet from www.iliumsoft.com.) That way registration info is easily available and can usually be cut and pasted into a registration screen. Secondly, use a program, such as Pocket Controller (www.soti.net), that lets you access your Pocket PC screen from your desktop. Usually, it's easier to perform final installation steps and registration from a desktop. Third, reboot (soft reset) your Pocket PC before installing, and especially before removing, software.
Need strict, enforced standards!
Microsoft should strictly define and enforce installation, removal, and registration standards, perhaps through the help of independent parties such as Handango or ourselves. The Add/Remove function should be made quicker, more accurate, and more user-friendly. Finally, software developers should be more considerate of end users and more aware of the total environment in which their products reside.
Pocket PC User Groups
If you are interested in participating in a Pocket PC user group, e-mail the contact in your area, listed below. These individuals are user group contacts only and cannot provide technical support for your Pocket PC.
If you are starting a Pocket or Handheld PC user group, or would li
ke to have an existing one listed here, please e-mail:
[email protected]. Include the information in the format you see below. If your group has a Web site, include that as well.
NORTH AMERICA
Albuquerque, NM Pocket PC Users Group
Contact: Dale Coffing,
[email protected]
www.pocketpcpassion.com/General/UserGroups/Abq/ABQUserGroup.htm
Atlanta, GA: North Atlanta Pocket PC Users Group
Contact: Tom Owens,
[email protected]
Atlanta, GA: Club Pocket PC Atlanta
Contact: Eddie Hines,
[email protected]
www.pocketpcatlanta.com
Austin (TX) Pocket PC Users Group
Contact: Ellen Beeman,
[email protected]
www.austinconnect.com
Baton Rouge, LA: Cajun Clickers Computer Club, Pocket PC Special Interest Group
|Contact: SIG leader, Sherry Zorzi,
[email protected]
www.clickers.org
Boston, MA: New England Pocket PC User Group
Contact: Mike Massaro,
[email protected]
Pocket PC Magazine, November '03 Page 20
