To make a database that you can sync onto your Palm Pilot and use with HanDBase, use the Make PDB window. The Make PDB window is opened automatically when you start HDM. If it’s not in front, click on it to bring it to the front.
Input Options: The CSV File
To make a database, you must have a Macintosh text file in CSV format that contains the data that you want in your database. CSV files can be created by many other Macintosh applications, including databases such as FileMaker Pro, spreadsheets such as Excel, and the Palm Desktop software.
  Click here to read more about CSV format.
Start by dragging your CSV file from the desktop, and dropping it into the Make PDB window. If the drop is successful, the file’s name will be shown in the Make PDB window.
• If the drop does not work, your file is probably not marked as a text file. Try opening it in SimpleText and saving it to a new name, or go back to the application that created it and see if there is a text-format option you should be using when you export your data.
CSV files can vary in format. Some use tabs to separate fields, some use commas, some use other characters. Use the popup menu to select the separator character that is used in your CSV file.
CSV files contain one database entry per line, but in some the first line contains the field names instead of the contents of an entry. Check or uncheck the box labeled First Line Has Field Names to match your file.
If your database includes time or date entries and you are using a PDB file as a template (see below), then select time and date formats from the popup to match the ones in your CSV file. You can ignore this step if you don't have time or date fields, or if your database will include them only as text fields.
Output Options: Database Name and Auto-Install
Next you must give your database a name. This is the name you will see on the Palm Pilot after you have installed your database.
Warning: A bug in HanDBase version 1.1 and earlier limits database names to at most 15 characters. Do not use names longer than 15 characters unless you are certain you have a later version of HanDBase which fixes that bug. Otherwise you may experience crashes on your Palm Pilot. HanDBase Desktop for Macintosh will not permit you to enter long database names unless you click the Long Names checkbox.
Click the checkbox labeled Automatically Install For User if you want your PDB database automatically synced onto your Palm Pilot the next time you HotSync. Select the appropriate user name from the popup menu. (If you are the only person who uses your Palm Desktop software, then only your name will appear.) If you do not select this option, the output PDB file will be created but you will have to install it yourself using the Palm desktop software.
• The Automatically Install For User feature does not work with Palm Desktop 1.0, and will be disabled until you upgrade to Palm Desktop 2.1.
More Output Options: Field Formats and Template PDB files
HanDBase can create databases with many different field types, including text fields, checkboxes, popup menus, integer and floating point numbers, and others. Normally HDM can only create databases that have text fields. To use HDM to create a database that has these other kinds of fields, you must supply a template file created in HanDBase.
• Image fields cannot be translated by HDM, and will be empty in the output PDB file.
Using a template file is optional. If you don’t provide one, all fields in the database you create will be text fields.
  Click here to read about template files.
Making the Database
When you have dropped a CSV file into the Make PDB window and entered a database name, the Make PDB button will be enabled. Make sure that all your input and output options are correctly set, then click the Make PDB button. This acts like a Save As command: you’ll be asked where to create the output file and what to name it. Then HDM will read the CSV file (and the template PDB file, if you provide one) and create the output PDB file. If any errors occur, HDM will stop processing and tell you what the trouble was.
When the processing is complete, HDM will auto-install it for you if you selected that option. If not, use the Palm Desktop software as usual to install the file. Then the next time you HotSync, the file will be transferred to your Palm Pilot and will be ready for use.
