Quick Tips
& PC Companion Tricks

by Jim Christian

Associate Editor, Handheld PC Magazine; Sysop, CompuServe's Windows CE Forum; Associate Forum manager, MSN's Windows CE forum.

How fast is your Internet connection?

Just because you have a built-in 56 Kbps modem, it doesn't mean that you've got a 56 K internet connection. Static electricity caused by radio signals, power lines, and other sources can interfere with modem signals, as well as the telephone company's line amplifiers and call switching systems. All told, these interferences can force 56K modems to fall back to speeds of 33.6Kbps and lower.

Computing Central has a Web page that lets you test the speed of your Internet connection. Connect to your ISP, open Pocket Internet Explorer and go to the following Web address:

http://computingcentral.com/topics/bandwidth/
speedtest50.asp#ISPProblem

This will automatically test the speed of your connection. Don't get your hopes up, though. My HP Jornada 680 has a built-in 56K modem, but the test indicated a 27.2 Kbps connection speed. Ugh!

Word and Excel templates from Microsoft

Microsoft's MS Office Web site is an excellent source of useful information and downloads for users of the MS Office applications. Most of it deals with the desktop PC versions of the Office applications, but the download sections include templates that can be used with Pocket Word, Excel, Access, and Powerpoint. Here's what you do.

1. Go to http://officeupdate.microsoft.com/default.asp

2. Click on the desired application in the left banner (Word, Excel, etc.).

3. Then click on "downloads." You're taken to a list of add-ins, documents, updates, and document TEMPLATES.

4. Select the desired template and click on "download." An executable file is downloaded to your computer.

5. Click on the file in Explorer and the executable file will install the template in the appropriate folder on your desktop PC. [Important note: The executable must be run on the desktop PC ­ you cannot download this .exe file to your H/PC and run it there.]

Once the template is installed on your desktop PC (C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Templates), you can copy it over to your H/PC and open it up in the appropriate application. H/PC users need to use ActiveSync to translate the template to Pocket format. H/PC Pro users can copy the files over directly, without translating them. If you have an H/PC Pro, it's better not to translate the templates to, or save them in Pocket Word or Excel format. You can lose some of the special formatting.

I downloaded the Microsoft Word 97 Customer Invoice template and the Press Release templates. The Invoice templates let you quickly create a standard invoice form with built-in fields for quantity, unit price, description, and total amount. It automatically calculates and fills in the total amount based on the values you enter in the quantity and unit price fields. The PR templates (see Screens 1 & 2) are really three press release templates. They included placeholder text, titles, and graphics, and come with step-by-step instructions.

Screen 1: This screen shows the MS Word 97 Press Release template displayed on a desktop PC. Notice the bold arrow separating the heading from the body of the press release.

Screen 2: The same Press Release template displayed on a HP Jornada 680 H/PC Pro, without translation to Pocket Word format. Notice that Pocket Word cannot display the bold arrow. However, it is still there. Change the text in this press release document and save it as a Word 97 document, and then copy it back to your desktop PC. The special formatting should print fine.

Among the interesting templates found on the Excel page include a Loan Manager Template, which lets you amortize loans and view different payment scenarios; and a Business Planner Template, which lets you analyze a business' current financial situation and helps forecast its future cash flow.

These templates are designed to work with the full desktop PC versions of the MS Office applications. Not all of the formatting or features may translate to the Pocket applications. You may have to modify templates for your H/PC.

Keep track of your significant other with Calendar

My wife Pat's working schedule varies from day to day and week to week. Consequently, it's hard to keep track of what days and hours she will be at work. I need to do this to coordinate my activities with hers. After I got my first Palm-size PC I figured that I could use the Calendar program to keep track of Pat's work schedule. But having her work times showing up as appointments on my schedule was confusing.

The first thing I tried was to write down her work schedule in the Note Taker application. This worked, but it was cumbersome having to switch back and forth between applications. Next, I tried adding her work schedule to my task list. This allowed me to see when she was working by looking at the Active Tasks list on my Active Desktop. The trouble with this approach was that I had to mark each task as done at the end of the day. Since it wasn't really a "task" that I was performing, this bit of daily maintenance got to be annoying after a while.

I was still looking for a better solution when Calendar reminded me of my mother's upcoming birthday. I'd set up birthday reminders for the important people in my life as repeating all-day events in Calendar. They appear as nice little headings at the top of the Day view of Calendar. I realized that this was a much better way to keep track of Pat's work schedule. An all-day appointment shows up on the day it's scheduled and it disappears automatically after the day is over. I never have to go in and explicitly mark it as completed.

Now, when Pat tells me her schedule for the coming week, I just enter each day as an all-day appointment with no reminder. The description is something like "Pat works 12-5 PM" (see Screen 3). On days when Pat does not work at all, I just omit the all-day appointment altogether. This way, I can tell at a glance whether she's working today, and if so, what her working hours are. It's also easier for me to check whether she'll be working on a day that's coming up in the future, too. I simply go to the calendar page for that day and look for a heading at the top of the page.

Screen 3: All-day events in Calendar can be used to display any information associated with that day, including the schedule of your significant other. Shown here, the event reminds the owner of the Palm-size PC that his wife, Pat, works from 12-5 pm.

I don't know if my wife thinks I'm any smarter now that I'm keeping better track of when she works, but at least now she only has to tell me once.

DBCleaner deletes old database files

Any database application stores its data file in your PC Companion's "Databases" folder. This is a unique folder that contains all the databases available on your PC Companion. When you uninstall a database program from your PC Companion, the process does not always remove the data file. If you install and uninstall a lot of applications, you may wind up with a collection of useless databases data files in this folder, causing you to run out of storage space on your PC Companion. DBCleaner is software that facilitates the user to remove such unwanted databases from Win CE devices and helps you to get the maximum out of your device. Get it at www.palmix.itil.com/ newpalmix/products/dbclean_home.htm.

Need to synchronize folders?

You can not only synchronize Outlook data between your PC Companion and desktop PC, you can synchronize the contents of an entire file folder. For example, let's say you keep important company data in Word or Excel files on your desktop PC. Further, let's say you update these files frequently. You can keep these files in a specific folder on your desktop PC and automatically synchronize these files with their counterparts on your Handheld PC. There are two ways to do it.

1. Your PC Companion has a file folder named "Synchronized Files" in your "My Documents" folder. When you check the "Synchronize Files" option in ActiveSync, the files in your PC Companion's Synchronized Files folder are synchronized with their counterparts on your desktop PC's, found in the "Synchronized Files" folder found in your desktop PC's "My Documents" folder.

2. Use Tascal Folder Sync to synchronize any folder on your desktop PC. It works by checking the file modified time with the FAT's file system's time. Download Tascal Folder Sync at the following Web site: www2r.biglobe.ne.jp/~tascal/down load/wce/tfsynce.htm.

Get a bigger external keyboard for your PC Companion

Check out the following solutions:

Hewlett-Packard External Keyboard ­ HP is now shipping an external keyboard that will work with any of its Windows CE devices running Windows CE 2.0 or higher. This includes the HP 320LX (upgraded to CE 2.0), 360LX, 620LX and 660LX as well as the Jornada 420/430se Palm-size PCs and the Jornada 680/690 H/PC Pros. The HP 420/430se Palm-size PC requires that the keyboard be plugged into the data cradle. More information is available at: www.hp.com/jornada/accessories/680/ex_keyboard.html.

Newton Keyboard ­ I have installed the small Newton Keyboard to my HP 660LX and it works near flawlessly. One needs to buy a keyboard from any Newton newsgroup for around $40, a cable and driver from PDA Concepts (http://www.pda-concepts.com) at 801-965-9141 for around $20. Here's a summary.

1. Small footprint but near-fullsize key keyboard.

2. It will take probably a little more battery current to power.

3. One must touch the H/PC screen every 5 minutes or so, so to keep the H/PC live, as it doesn't detect activity.

4. Great airplane work can be done.

5. All will fit in a mini briefcase and weighs around 2 lbs.

6. I installed the small driver to my Start menu (it was a minimized task icon upon reboot) but took it out after a while due to small use & I run lean and mean. I have a Start-->Program-->Utilities folder that I put it in.

7. It will work on most H/PCs and some P/PCs I have been told.

8. $70 max gets one a full-size keyboard on a H/PC (not bad!), and it's sort of fun too.

Check the following: MacWorks (www.macworks.com), Shreve Systems (http://www.shrevesystems.com/), Small Dog (www.smalldog.com), and Mac Rescue (www.macresq.com) as well as any Newton newsgroup for Newton keyboards. Get Newton keyboard drivers at http://cecon.cjb.net.

Casio E-100/105 Palm-size PC external keyboard ­ Casio will soon make an external keyboard available for its color-screen Palm-size PCs. The keyboard will be a version of Landware's GoType keyboard, modified to work with the E-100/105. When it's available, you should be able to get it through Casio dealers or from the Accessories page of Casio's Mobile info devices Web site at www.casio.com/accessories/index.cfm.