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Text File | 1997-08-05 | 10.4 KB | 253 lines

P I L O T E X P L O R E R =========================== Author: Scott Powell (scottpowell@kagi.com) Version: 1.4 Date: 04/08/1997 Copyright Notice ================ Copyright(c) 1997, Scott Powell. Install Notes ============= Simply use 'instapp' to install the 'explorer.prc' & 'pimapps.prc' files onto your pilot. There should also be other .PRC files. These are standard 'Plugins' (see below), which are optional add-ons which you can install if you like (using 'instapp'). Instructions ============ Explorer gives you a 'tree view' of your data. If you have used any modern Graphical User Interface (GUI's) you will probably have seen a 'tree' view like this. Basically objects are represented in a hierarchy, shown by indentation, ie. objects owned by another are shown underneath their 'parent' and indented (to the right). Each object is displayed in the following format: [ICON] [Tree text] | [Size/other-info Text] The icon will show what type of object it is (ie. Memo, Address, etc.) and the 'Tree text' is some identify text of the object. The text to the right varies depending on the type of object. For group objects it is usually the number of child objects it owns. Objects that hold 'child' objects are termed as 'group' objects. These can have a '+' or '-' displayed inside their icon which indicates whether they can be 'expanded' or 'collapsed'. If you tap on the 'Tree text' part of the object, or on the 'size' text, then the default action is performed on that object. These are: for group objects - 'toggles' branch, ie. expands or collapses for non-group objects - launches 'viewer' for object. If you tap on the icon of the object you get its 'context menu'. These have the full list of actions you can perform on the object. At the top right corner of the screen are three radio buttons, for controlling the current 'mode' of operation. These are explained below: Select - Normal mode, where you can expand/collapse branches, and select object's context menus. <-> - select this mode when you wish to move the vertical bar left and right. Once in this mode, just drag the pen on the screen to move the bar. Scroll - when in this mode, the pen being held down will cause the tree to scroll up (if the pen is in the upper half of the screen), or down (if the pen is in the lower half) Graffiti Key Strokes: * Backspace - If you type this the current (highlighted) object becomes the PARENT of the current object. This is very handy for collapsing the current branch you are on. * <Alpha> - If you type an alphabetic character, the current object becomes the FIRST CHILD object that starts with that letter. Very handy quick search (esp. in the address book) Hardware Buttons: * Up & Down - These buttons scroll the tree up and down. (like in 'Scroll' Mode) NOTE: These buttons may do different things when a dialog box is currently being displayed. Some of these are: Find Dialog: Scrolls the hit-list up and down. Address View: Flicks between the top & bottom page of the address details. Memo View: Scrolls the memo text up and down. At the bottom of the screen is the 'status line'. This is a multi-purpose area for helpful information, or short-cuts to your favourite commands. See below for more about the status bar. Plugins & Status Bar!! ====================== Explorer now supports 'Plugins'. These are add-on modules which provide access to 3rd party databases, and/or provide helpful status-bar displays (see below). Please contact the author of your favourate apps for them to provide a Plugin for their data. Plugins can optionally have support for Folders! If the Plugin provides this, then you can create/move/edit/delete objects of its types inside Folders! Three standard Plugins are provided (along with source code, for interested developers). These are 'Clock-Plugin', 'Battery-Plugin' and 'Trash-Can Plugin'. These are examples of what can be done with the status line. They aren't, however, examples of 3rd party database access. If there isn't enough room on the screen for all the 'applets' then scroll arrows come up, letting you scroll the status bar left & right. NOTE: Access to the PIM objects (Memo, Address, Datebook & ToDo) is now provided through a Plugin called 'PIM-Apps' (pimapps.prc). The status bar is completely 'open ended', and there are many possibilities for 'applets' to put there. If you have something you would dearly love to have on the status bar contact me and I'll consider writing a Plugin, or have a go at writing one yourself by using the source code of one of the samples. Folders!! ========= The last object under the 'root' object ('Pilot Desktop') is the root branch of the 'Folders' area. This is a new concept to Pilots. Here you can create your own Folders (or directories, if you like) using the 'New...' action in the context menu. Here, you can have any number of sub-folders, and folders in folders. You can also create, move or copy any PIM object (Memo, To Do, etc.) here. Have a play with them, I'm sure you'll find them very useful. NOTE: not all of the above features are completed yet, but will be very soon. NOTE: For standard PIM objects, they are still stored under the usual application's databases, but are put in an 'unused' category. See below for more on this topic. Standard PIM Objects (Memo's, To Do's, etc.) ==================== For the 'Memo', 'Address' & 'To Do' application entries in the tree, you can now select their 'view/edit' action. This pops up a dialog asking you for your preferred 'unused' category for that application. As the PIM objects can be moved to or created in a Folder they must be 'marked' as being in a Folder (NOT a category). So, you must nominate ONE of your categories (in each application) to be the 'unused' one. By default this category is the 'Unfiled' category (for all PIM apps). This is why you may have noticed some of your records don't show up. Just select a category (must be empty) and Explorer will automatically update all existing Folder objects of the application type you are modifying, to the new 'unused' category, and mark all new and moved objects from that application with this category. Select the Datebook's View/Edit action to pop-up it's configuration dialog. Here you can select whether you want the appointments to be displayed in ascending or descending order (ie. from oldest->newest, or newest->oldest). Known Bugs ========== Various functions aren't implemented yet. You will see a dialog box when you select such a function. Below is a list of known problems: - To Do details dialog doesn't show or update due date. - Setting an appointment with an Alarm will not cause an alarm to be issued. This will be implemented soon! - Some users have noticed conflicts with the 'Hack Extensions' - Low memory conditions can cause problems in redrawing. - There is currently a limit of 512 elements on the size of the whole tree. If this is reached a fatal error is issued. This will be improved shortly, automatically collapsing branches that are not in use. If you discover new bugs please contact me by Email at: scottpowell@kagi.com Future Directions ================= * With the open-endedness of Plugins, there should be (hopefully) many interesting and usefull extensions available in the near future. * Backup/Restore of Folder database. Revision History ================ 04/08/1997 1.4 - Minor touch-ups: screen blank at startup in shareware version now fixed vertical separator goes all the way to the left sometimes, now puts it back to the right when this is detected. 07/07/1997 1.3 - Added expiry reminder at start of program. 23/06/1997 1.2 - Added 'History List', last 10 objects viewed, accessable from Status Bar icon. Moved PIM object access to a Plugin, pimapps.prc. Can now create and update Address & Datebook objects. Datebook now has configuration dialog (select it's View/Edit action). Can now view appointments in ascending or descending order. Improved dynamic heap usage, less memory being used. Wrote simple 'calculator' plugin. 15/06/1997 1.2pr - Added comprehensive Plugin sample (for developers) Fixed Datebook date display error 13/06/1997 1.1 - Added 'Select Unused Category' functionality (launched from PIM app's 'view/edit' action) Can now create To Do's (from 'New..') Fixed problem when creating new PIM object, then updating (need for synchronization could be missed) Extra capabilities for status bar applets - can now capture pen input if they want - can handle 'drag & drop' events (TrashCan is example of this) Implemented scrolling of status bar. 10/06/1997 1.0 - Commercial release Finished functionality of Folders (new/move/delete) Created 'Plugin' interface. Created status bar interface. Created Folder soft-type interface. 03/06/1997 0.1b - Initial version (beta) Credits ======= thanks to: - John J. Lehett for the GNU 'C' port. - Wes Cherry for 'PILRC' Standard Disclaimer Stuff ========================= This program is presented 'as is'. I take no responsibility in any loss of data or productivity in case of operating failures.