This book covers every model of PalmPilot through June 1999, from the original Pilot model to the Palm VII. It takes you much deeper into the device’s built-in programs than the manual does—and takes you far beyond them, into worlds the manual doesn’t even mention, such as graphics, music, e-books, databases, spreadsheets, and the World Wide Web. The book is divided into parts, as follows:
- Part I
Chapter 1, is an introduction to the hardware itself—screen, stylus, buttons, batteries, and so on.
Chapter 2, tells you how to tailor the PalmPilot’s preferences to suit your style and gives you a step-by-step walk-through of the PalmPilot in action.
Chapter 3, answers the question, “If the PalmPilot has no keyboard, how do you enter text?” (By writing on its screen using the special Graffiti alphabet.) This chapter shows you how to get the most speed, accuracy, and comfort in writing in Graffiti and reviews several alternative writing systems.
Chapter 4, explores in depth the Memo Pad, Address Book, To Do, and Date Book programs, plus other tricks and tips.
Chapter 5, covers the PalmPilot’s less frequently discussed software: The Calculator, Find command, Expense tracker, and Security application, plus Giraffe and other games.
- Part II
Chapter 6, explores the hardware and software that let your PalmPilot talk to your desktop computer—which is one of its most important features.
Chapter 7, shows you how to add new programs onto the PalmPilot—and how to remove them again—using a desktop computer as a loading dock.
Chapter 8, describes the functions and features of the PalmPilot’s sister software, Palm Desktop, Windows version.
Chapter 9, describes the functions and features of the PalmPilot’s sister software, Palm Desktop, Mac version—part of 1999’s long-awaited MacPac 2, which is included on this book’s CD-ROM.
- Part III
Chapter 10, explains how, thanks to programs like AportisDoc, the PalmPilot makes the perfect pocket novel or teleprompter.
Chapter 11, details how, much to most people’s surprise, the PalmPilot excels as a painting, drawing, photographic, and musical prodigy, using the software included with this book.
Chapter 12, reviews the leading database and spreadsheet software for the PalmPilot—and shows how you can synchronize it with your PC or Mac’s database and spreadsheet programs.
- Part IV
Chapter 13, explains how you can use your PalmPilot to do email, either directly via the Internet or using your PC as an intermediary.
Chapter 14, explains how to use the PalmPilot to surf the Web, complete with graphics, bookmarks, and other niceties.
Chapter 15, shows how, for a computer with only one port, the PalmPilot is surprisingly adept at sharing its data.
Chapter 16, is exclusively for lucky owners of the Palm VII. This chapter guides you through writing and sending email, using PQAs (Palm Query Applications, which are web search mini-programs), and more—all wirelessly.
- Part V
Chapter 17, is the place to turn on those rare occasions when something goes wrong with the PalmPilot.
Chapter 18, covers the specs and upgrade options of each model.
- Part VI
Appendix A, details 100 of the best of the thousands of Palm software programs out there.
Appendix B, covers hardware add-ons for your PalmPilot: business-card scanners, global-positioning satellite systems, carrying cases, and more.
Appendix C, is a listing of some of the most important web sites, discussion groups, and software archives for Piloteers.
Appendix D, leads you through creating your own PQAs (Palm query applications), the tiny programs used by the Palm VII to search specific Web sites.
Appendix E, reviews some of the leading programs that connect the PalmPilot to Unix and Linux machines.
Get PalmPilot: The Ultimate Guide, Second Edition now with the O’Reilly learning platform.
O’Reilly members experience books, live events, courses curated by job role, and more from O’Reilly and nearly 200 top publishers.
