Tips and Tricks

Basic Tips

Setting the default phone number for a Contact

By default, the built-in Contacts application displays the work phone number of a contact in the main list view. If other contact information is associated with the item, such as mobile phone, work fax, e-mail address, etc., you can tap on the contact name to display a full screen view containing that information.

Fig. 1: Contacts main view presents a list of your contact names along with a phone number.

Fig. 2: You can specify which phone number to display in Contacts list view by selecting it from a pop-up list.

However, you can change which phone number is displayed in the main list view. For example, if you always contact a particular associate via his cell phone, you want his mobile telephone number displayed.

To change it, follow these steps:

1. Find the individual's name in your Contacts list view. (The type of phone number being displayed is indicated by the letter to the extreme right of the phone number. In the example shown in Fig. 1, the “w” to the right of “(123) 456-7890” indicates that this is a work telephone number for a gentleman named “Klaus Voorman.” )
2. Tap on the single letter to the right of the phone number and list will pop up displaying the phone number and e-mail addresses associated with the name. (As you can see with the example screen we show (Fig. 2), there can be quite a few phone numbers and e-mail addresses associated with each contact. However, in most cases, there are only a few.)
3. In the pop-up list that is displayed, tap on the phone number (or e-mail address) you want displayed. The pop-up list will disappear and the phone number or e-mail address you have selected will be displayed next to the name. The single letter to the right of the phone number will change, indicating the type of number (work, home, etc.) that is now being displayed.

As mentioned, the default is to display the work phone number. You can change each contact individually, but you cannot apply a change to the entire list.

Shutting down all applications

When you want to shut down an application, you tap on the “X” icon located in the upper right corner of the display. For example, when I've finished working on this “Tips and Tricks” article for the next issue of Pocket PC magazine, I'll tap on the “X” and Microsoft Word will ask me if I want to save the changes to the document. I'll select “Yes,” the document will save, and Word will close down.

This is not the way it works on the Pocket PC. You will find the little “X” icon in the upper right corner of the applications. But when you tap it, all it does is go back to the previous application you were using, or ultimately the Today screen. The point is that all the applications you've opened are still running in the background, occupying your device memory and slowing things down. To close them down completely, follow these steps:

1. From the Start menu, go to the Settings > System folder.
2. Tap on the icon labeled “Memory” and select the tab labeled “Running Programs.” You should see a screen similar to the one in Fig. 3.
3. From the Running Program List, highlight the program you want to stop, and tap on the Stop button at the bottom of the screen.
4. If you want to close down all of the programs in the list, tap on the Stop All button.