Using &kpilot; Data Viewers and Main Window Interface
This chapter describes the usage of &kpilot;'s main window; as a viewer
application for data on the &handheld;, and its menu structure.
The main window of &kpilot; also contains
the &HotSync;-log, which can be useful when
debugging problems.
&kpilot; starts up with a splash screen, and then switches to showing the
&HotSync;-log, as shown here.
The Main Window&kpilot; Main WindowThe Main Window
The Main Window
The main window contains the application menu, which we will deal with here.
The file menu contains the synchronization menu items. Note
that these items do not start the sync process, they only select what the new
sync will be. To really start it, you must press the HotSync button on your
&PalmPilot;'s cradle (or on the &handheld; itself, when there is no cradle).
It is not possible to cancel a sync operation once the request has been made.
For more information regarding the synchronization functionality, please check the
Synchronization Chapter of this handbook,
where you can find detailed descriptions of the synchronization methods
and options offered by &kpilot;.
FileHotSync
Make the next sync a &HotSync;. For more information, please check the
Syncing your &handheld; data section of this
handbook.
FileFastSync
(not available with all installations)
Make the next sync a FastSync. For more information, please check the
Syncing your &handheld; data section of this
handbook.
FileFullSync
(not available with all installations)
Make the next sync a FullSync. For more information, please check the
Syncing your &handheld; data section of this
handbook.
FileBackup
Make the next sync a full backup of your &PalmPilot; data. This action can take
several minutes. For more information, please check the
Backing up your &handheld; data section of this
handbook.
The first thing you should do after starting &kpilot; for
the first time is make a full backup.
FileRestore
This copies all the data from a previous backup on your
PC to your &PalmPilot;,
replacing whatever data was there.
Use this if your &PalmPilot; suffers some from software or hardware failure
(or is replaced by a new one). For more information, please check the
Restoring your &handheld; data section of this
handbook.
Doing a restore will erase all data on the &PalmPilot;
before restoring the information from your
PC!FileCopy Handheld to PC
This runs all conduits and syncs all databases, but instead of merging the
information from both sources, it will copy the handheld data to the PC.
Use with care, as this option erases the changes
you made in your PC since the last sync.FileCopy PC to Handheld
This runs all conduits and syncs all databases, but instead of merging the
information from both sources, it will copy the PC data to the handheld.
Use with care, as this option erases the changes
you made in your handheld since the last sync.FileQuit
Quits &kpilot;, closing the main window and stopping the
daemon if that
configuration option
is enabled.
The Settings menu allows you to configure &kpilot; main
interface and fine-tune the synchronization process with the &handheld;.
SettingsShow Statusbar
Click this menu item to toggle &kpilot;'s status bar on and off, or in other
words, to show it if hidden, or to hide it if shown.
SettingsShow Toolbar
Click this menu item to toggle &kpilot;'s toolbar on and off, or in other
words, to show it if hidden, or to hide it if shown.
SettingsConfigure Shortcuts...
Displays &kpilot;'s shortcut configuration dialog, allowing you change or create
key bindings, which are associations between actions (for example, opening
&kpilot;'s configuration dialog) and keys or key combinations (for instance,
Ctrl + Shift + a).
SettingsConfigure Toolbars...
Displays &kpilot;'s toolbar configuration dialog. This dialog lists all actions
available for use on the toolbar, and the actions currently displayed, allowing
you to add or remove actions, and move the actions which already are on the
toolbar.
SettingsConfigure KPilot...
Displays &kpilot;'s configuration dialog, allowing you to match your hardware
with the configuration, so that &kpilot; can talk with your &handheld;, to
configure the way &kpilot; synchronizes your &PalmPilot; with your
desktop applications (through conduits) and the way it shows the data from your &PalmPilot; in the
built-in viewers. The
Configuring &kpilot; chapter of this handbook offers detailed information
about these configuration options.
SettingsConfiguration Wizard...
Displays &kpilot;'s configuration wizard dialog. The
configuration wizard helps you to set up
&kpilot; to communicate with the &PalmPilot; and to configure the conduits as
a group. It's a great start for new users, and you can always fine-tune your
preferences later, using the configure
dialog.
Built-in Applications
To select one of the Built in applications, just click its icon on &kpilot;'s
sidebar.
KPilot's SidebarKPilot's Sidebar
KPilot's Sidebar
Selecting one of the built-in applications
will cause that application to appear in &kpilot;'s main
window.
You may use the viewer applications to edit the information, by enabling
this option in the database viewer's
configuration dialog. The ability to view and edit private records is
configurable too.
Any changes you make to the &PalmPilot; databases with
the built-in applications (such as deleting a memo)
do not take effect on the &PalmPilot; until the next HotSync.
If the Make internal viewers editable option is
not enabled, the changes in the viewers are not synchronized with your
&handheld;, and will be lost. In recent versions of &kpilot; it is not possible
enable this option, and therefore, to edit the databases with the viewers.
The Todo Viewer
The todo application allows you to view the tasks from your &PalmPilot;,
add new tasks and edit or delete existing ones. The changes you made
are applied to the &handheld; the next time you &HotSync;.
Todo Viewer ApplicationThe Todo Viewer Application
The Todo Viewer Application
The todo application has a drop down box
for the memo categories defined in the &PalmPilot;.
In the screenshot, category All is selected.
Underneath the drop down box is a list of todo entries, with a check box
indicating if they are completed or not. You can click the check box to toggle
the todo item between completed and not completed status. Clicking on one of the
todo items in the list will display its details in the text box labelled
Todo info: to the right.
If you have the Make internal viewers editable option
enabled in the viewers configuration page you
can use the buttons Edit Record...,
New Record... and Delete Record
to edit the todo data from your &handheld;, and sync the data in the next
&HotSync;.
The Edit Record... button opens a dialog where you can
edit the details of the currently selected todo item, including description,
priority and end date. Click the New Record... button to
open the same dialog, but instead of editing the current selected record, a new
todo will be added to the list. And finally, click the
Delete Record button to remove the selected todo record
from the list.
The Address Viewer
The address viewer lets you view, create, delete and edit addresses
from the &PalmPilot;, and synchronize changes back. The addresses can be
sorted and viewed in the "Last, first" or "Company,
last" format, depending on your
viewers configuration.
The Address Viewer ApplicationThe Address Viewer Application
The Address Viewer Application
The address application resembles the todo application;
the drop down box, buttons, list and text area function exactly
the same, allowing you to select, view and edit an address
as on the &PalmPilot;.
The Edit Record... dialog allows you to edit the
Last Name, First Name,
Company, &etc; fields, just as if you where using your
&handheld;. Click the New Record... button to
open the same dialog, but instead of editing the current selected record, a new
address will be added to the list. Click the
Delete Record button to remove the selected address
from the list.
The Memo Viewer
The memo application allows you to view the memos on your &PalmPilot;,
export them to text files, import new ones to be installed the next
time you &HotSync;, or edit existing ones.
Memo Viewer ApplicationThe Memo Viewer Application
The Memo Viewer Application
The memo application has a drop down box
for the memo categories defined in the &PalmPilot;.
Here category All is selected.
Underneath the drop down box is a list of memo titles.
These are the first lines of the memos, just like
in the &PalmPilot; memo application.
Clicking on one of the memo titles in the list
box will display it in the text box labelled
Memo Text: to the right.
When a memo is selected, you can use the buttons
Export Memo... and
Delete Memo
to export the selected memo to a file
or to delete the selected memo.
Exporting a memo requires
you to give a filename; the memo
is written to that file.
Take care not to overwrite existing files with this action.
Deleting a memo does not affect the &PalmPilot;
until the next &HotSync;.
The
Import Memo...
button allows you to read a text file and
add it — as a memo — to the &PalmPilot;.
Importing a memo does not take effect until
the next &HotSync;.
The Generic DB Viewer
In short, databases are all files stored in your &handheld;. A database
can be either a record database, which stores dynamic information created by the
user (for instance, the addresses or the todo information), or a resource
database, which tend to be static (for instance the applications).
The Generic DB Viewer is a tool to view and analyze databases stored on
your handheld, especially record databases. It helps a lot creating new conduits
and to debug existing ones.
While it is possible use the database viewer to edit, add and delete records, you
should really know what you are doing, otherwise you may damage your data. Use
the viewer applications or conduits to edit your &handheld; data instead, in a
normal usage scenario.
The Generic DB ViewerThe Generic DB Viewer
The Generic DB Viewer
The File Installer
Just hit the
Add File... button to add a file to the
Files to Install: list. These files will
be installed on your &PalmPilot; during the next &HotSync; if
Sync Files
is checked in the conduits section of the
configuration dialog.
If you choose not to
install these files on the &PalmPilot;, just hit
Clear List
to remove any pending files.
If you are using the &HotSync; Daemon you may drag and
drop files or &URL;s
onto the docked icon on the toolbar. The file installer application also
supports dragging and dropping into the Files to Install:area.
Provided Sync Files is checked in the
settings dialog they
will be installed the next time you HotSync.
An internal copy of the
file is kept, so you can even drag and drop &URL;s from
&konqueror;!
The File InstallerThe File Installer