Pocket PC magazine, October/November 2004

by MS Reader version $5. 99

  PocketPC Addict

  http://www.pocketpcaddict.com

  Brad Isaac’s Pocket PC Addict site has been around for several years and continues to be a good source for news, forums, and downloads. The "Addict Tip of the Week" section of the forum has some very helpful walkthroughs, complete with screen shots, for common situations such as backing up and restoring with ActiveSync, removing obsolete shortcuts from your programs screen, and clearing out unneeded files to recover internal memory.

  (above) The PocketPC Addict forum has a "Tip of The Week" section.

  Pocket PC Insider’s Online Training

  http://home.comcast.net/~a.ashby

  Pocket PC Insider offers online training that includes some useful guides, such as one that shows how to add photos to your contacts. Other guides include backing up data, changing and making themes, and syncing via infrared. There’s also a section of Windows Media Player video guides that go over basics such as changing application buttons, changing start menu programs, and closing all programs. (Editor’s note: These video guides will play on the desktop PC version of Media Player, but not on the Pocket PC version.)

  Some of the content on the site doesn’t seem to have been updated since late 2002, but a fair amount of the information is still valid.

  Pocket PC Central Help Center

  http://www.pocketpccentral.net/helphow2.htm

  Pocket PC Central has a Help Center with a small collection of general FAQs as well as FAQs specifically for iPAQ, Dell, and HP’s older Jornada models. Their menu suggests that they’ll be adding FAQs for Toshiba, Samsung, Audiovox, and NEC models.

  Their general FAQs cover basic areas such as resetting your Pocket PC, moving files to your device, and installing software. In some cases the link takes you to a FAQ on another Web site.

  PurePockets FAQs

  http://www.purepockets.com

  PurePockets is a Web site with forums and reviews. It also has a collection of FAQs that answer questions about connectivity, ActiveSync, remote syncing, VPN connections, and more. They also have a section covering basic questions, such as

  What can I do with my Pocket PC?

  What can I do with my Wi-Fi Pocket PC?

  What are the must-have applications for my Pocket PC? (A good starting point for new users.)

  WindowsCE.Net

  http://www.cewindows.net

  Chris De Herrera’s CEWindows.Net must certainly be one of the earliest collections of FAQs related to Windows CE mobile devices. Chris is another Microsoft MVP and his extensive collection covers the earliest devices using Microsoft’s mobile OS (known then as "Windows CE"). For this reason, you may want to view the site by clicking on the By Device link at the top of the page so that you’ll only see material related to the latest Windows Mobile devices.

  Pocket PC Passion’s FAQs

  http://www.pocketpcpassion.com/ws_display.asp?filter=FAQ

  Pocket PC Passion’s FAQ page has a link to an impressively detailed collection Q & A on the Samsung i700 Pocket PC. (Look for the "Pocket PC FAQs" link.) Many of the questions apply to other models as well. The site also has a link to an older FAQ (http://www.pocketpcpassion.com/archive/General/GeneralFAQ.htm). Some of the information in this older FAQ is still useful.

  The Handango Glossary

  http://www.handango.com/Glossary.jsp?siteId=1#top

  If you’re stymied by unfamiliar terms, such as GSM, DRM, Bluetooth, WAP, SDK, etc., you might want to check out Handango’s collection of terms and acronyms frequently used in descriptions and discussions of mobile devices.

  (above) Handango has an online glossary of mobile computing terms.

  Free reference eBooks from Pocket PC Louisville

  http://www.pocketpclouisville.com/reference.php

  The Pocket PC Louisville Web site of the Louisville user’s group offers two free eBooks on their Reference Web page: Pocket PC Fundamentals and Pocket PC Tips-n-Tricks. Each of them looks like quite a good resource. When you click on the link to the Fundamentals book, an online tutorial pops up providing new Pocket PC users with important information to help them get started with their new device. The Tips-n-Tricks eBook has scores of tips, many of which have been gathered from other Web sites.

  (above) The Pocket PC Louisville Web site offers a free downloadable eBook titled Pocket PC Fundamentals.

  Pocket PC magazine

  Our very own Pocket PC magazine (http://www.PocketPCmag.com) is also a good place to stop if you want help. Note that the sites mentioned in this column are all listed in the Support section of our Best Sites page (http://www.PocketPCmag.com/bestsites.asp). We also have a large selection of tips in our "Tip of the Week" archives (http://www.PocketPCmag.com/tiparchives.asp).

  Thanks to Microsoft and other generous individuals and organizations for putting all this great information online. It will help you avoid frustration and get the most out of your Windows Mobile device.

  * * *

  Jim Karpen, Ph.D., is on faculty at Maharishi University of Management in Fairfield, Iowa. He has been interested in the revolutionary consequences of computer technology ever since writing his Ph.D. dissertation–a study of the "digitized word" that anticipated the Internet revolution. He has been writing regularly about the Internet since 1994. His Web site, http://www.jimkarpen.com, contains selected Internet columns written monthly for the Iowa Source magazine. Contact Jim at jim_karpen@PocketPCmag.com.

  Tips and Tricks

  Edited by Rich Hall

  BASIC TIPS

  Customize sounds on the Pocket PC

  Tired of the same old alarm and notification sounds on your Pocket PC? WAV is a format for storing sound that was developed jointly by Microsoft and IBM. It is the default sound standard for Windows PCs and Windows Mobile Pocket PCs. You can import a WAV-formatted sound file, save it in the Pocket PC’s Windows folder, and use it instead of the default sound.

  TIP 1—Changing Clock alarms.

  Open the Clock application on your Pocket PC (Start>Settings>System>Clock) and select the Alarms tab (Fig.1).

  (above) Fig. 1: The Alarms screen of the Pocket PC’s Clock application lets you set four notification alarms.

  To customize the sound for each alarm, tap on the bell-shaped icon on the right-hand side of the screen and the alarm customization dialog box will appear (Fig.2).

  (above) Fig. 2: Select the Clock alarm sound you want from the drop-down menu.

  Check the box labeled "Play sound" and select the name of the sound (WAV file) from the list in the drop-down menu to the left. This list will contain all default sounds and any WAV files you have copied to the /Windows folder.

  If you want the alarm to repeat, check the option box labeled "Repeat sound."

  TIP 2—Changing Notification sounds.

  You can also customize the sound used to notify you about different events, including establishing and disconnecting from a connection, receiving an e-mail, and any reminder. Here’s how you do it:

  From the Start menu go to Settings>Sounds & Notifications and then select the Notifications tab.

  Select the event you want to customize from the drop down list (Fig.3).

  (above) Fig. 3: The Sounds & Notifications screen lets you customize the sounds used by the Pocket PC to notify you of incoming e-mail, MSN messages, and other events.

  Select the sound you want used for the notification, from the second drop down list on that page. As with Clock, this list will contain all default sounds and any WAV files you have copied to the /Windows folder.

  Tap on OK until you leave the Sounds & Notifications dialog box.

  TIP 3—Find custom WAV files.

  When you go looking for WAV files, remember that you are looking for sounds to replace short notification alarms. The largest default WAV file on your Pocket PC is around 25 KB. Using a 100 or 200 KB WAV file for a short notification sound doesn’t make much sense.

  The best place to find WAV files in on the Web. Plug "WAV file" into your favori
te search engine and you’ll find sites specializing in sound effects (breaking glass, creaking doors, sirens, etc.), clips from movies and old TV shows, and more.

  TIP 4—Create your own WAV files.

  You can also create your own WAV files on your Pocket PC using the voice record feature. Follow these steps:

  Hold down the e record button on your Pocket PC and create a short recording of your voice, someone else’s voice, some music, a sound effect, whatever. (Warning: Don’t use Notes to record the sound. When you do that, the sound is embedded into a note file and you can’t use it for these purposes.) Also, a few Pocket PCs do not have the voice record feature assigned to a button. If this is the case for your device, you have to go to the Start>Settings>Buttons screen and assign the voice record feature to a button before you can create a standalone WAV file recording.

  Use File Explorer to find that recording (it should be in you’re My Documents folder).

  The Pocket PC will assign it a default name (Recording1, Recording 2, etc.). You might want to change the name of the file to something that more accurately describes the sound (e.g., CarHorn, Meow, Laughter, etc.).

  Copy that file into the Windows folder and it will appear in the drop down lists described earlier.

  Note that there are third-party programs that can help you customize the sounds on your Pocket PC. Applian’s Sound Effects (http://www.applian.com/pocketpc/SoundEffects/index.php) includes over 50 custom sounds for 16 different system events (Fig. 4). Programs like ProTone Voice Recorder (http://www.poccosoftware.com/protone.html) and Resco Audio Recorder (http://www.resco-net.com/audiorec.asp) give you greater control in making voice recordings on your Pocket PC.

  Customize the look and feel of the Pocket PC

  The Pocket PC is a highly customizable device and elements of the user interface can be modified to suit your needs and personal taste.

  TIP 1—Add applications to and delete from the Start menu.

  Many Pocket PC owners use only a few applications. For example, 90% of the time, I use Contacts, Calendar, Internet Explorer, Word, Excel, File Explorer, and a couple of games. You can modify your Start menu so that it only displays your most used applications. Follow these steps:

  Make a list of your most-used applications.

  From the Start menu, go to the Settings>Menus screen (Fig. 5).

  (above) Fig. 5: The Menus dialog box lets you select the applications that will appear in the Start menu.

  Go through the list, check the applications you want to see in the Start menu, and uncheck the ones you don’t want to appear.

  Tap on OK.

  From then on, only the selected applications will appear in the Start menu (Fig. 6). You are limited to 9 items in the Start menu. Any item you unchecked will now appear in the Start>Programs folder.

  (above) Fig. 6: The customized Start menu displays your most-used applications.

  TIP 2—Customize the New menu.

  Tap on the word "New" in the lower left of the Today screen (Fig. 6) and a menu pops up that lets you quickly create a new appointment, contact, Excel spreadsheet, e-mail message, note, task, or Word document. You can customize this menu to display the items you wish to see.

  Go to the Start>Settings>Menus screen.

  Select the New Menu tab.

  Uncheck the items that you do not want to appear in the New menu (Fig. 7).

  (above) Fig. 7: You can customize the items that appear in the New menu.

  The New menu allows you to display the 7 items shown in Fig. 7, plus additional items associated with third-party software.

  By default, this menu shows up in the Today screen only. Tap on New in other applications and a new item data entry screen for that application pops up. For example, tap on New in Contacts, and the data entry screen for a new contact is displayed.

  If you check the box labeled "Turn on New button menu" in the New Menu tab (Fig. 7), a small up-arrow icon will appear in some applications, next to the word "New" in the lower left. Tap on this arrow icon and the New menu will appear.

  TIP 3—Customize Today screen information.

  Finally, you can customize the items that appear in the Today screen. By default, the following items are displayed: date, owner information, calendar appointments due, unread Inbox items, and tasks that have not been completed. You can change this as follows:

  From the Start menu, go to the Settings>Today dialog box.

  Select the Items tab.

  Make sure the items you want displayed in the Today screen are checked (Fig. 8).

  (above) Fig. 8: You can customize the Today screen to display the items of your choice.

  TIP 4—Third-party applications that customize the Today screen.

  A variety of third-party programs can help you customize the Today screen to display the information you want. Take a look at Dashboard (http://www.snoopsoft.com), or Battery Pack Pro and Journal Bar (http://www.omegaone.com). Other Today screen plug-ins are listed in the Utilities/Today screen Plug-in section of our Encyclopedia of Software and Accessories (http://www.PocketPCmag.com/encyclopedia.asp).

  What to do if your Pocket PC won’t let you delete a file

  If you find that you can’t delete a file on your Pocket PC, the problem is almost always caused by the fact that the file is already open or in use. The solution is to close the file or the program using it and then delete it.

  The problem is caused by the way the Pocket PC handles open programs. For example, if you are in Word working on a document and switch to Contacts to get a phone number, Word and the document you were working on are still open. If you then went to File Explorer and tried to delete, rename, or move that Word document, the system wouldn’t let you do it.

  You might also run into this problem when you try to delete a program. For example, let’s say you downloaded the demo version of a game, installed it, played with it a while, and decided that you didn’t want to keep it on your Pocket PC. You delete programs from the Start>Settings>System>Remove Programs utility. But if you don’t shut the game down completely, the system might not let you uninstall all of its components (you’ll get an error message to that effect).

  Note: tapping on the "X" in the upper right corner of the screen does not shut down an application. For example, if you are in Contacts, get bored and decide to have some fun. You open a game and relax a while. When it’s time to get back to work, you tap on the "X" in the upper right corner of the game screen and are taken back to the previous application you had running—Contacts. However, the game was not shut down; it’s still open, running in the background.

  The quickest and easiest way to shut a program down completely is to do a soft reset of your Pocket PC. This procedure varies with different models, but usually involves sticking the stylus tip into a small hole on the side edge or back of the Pocket PC. You can also completely shut down an application from the Start>Settings>System>Memory> Running Programs dialog box.

  Selecting multiple files or list items

  You can select multiple files in any File Explorer folder by placing your stylus on a file in the list, and dragging your stylus up or down the list. The selected files will be highlighted as you drag your stylus across them. After the files are selected, you can cut, copy, or delete them. Lift the stylus tip off the screen and then hold it down on any of the selected files. When the edit menu pops up, select the action you wish to perform (Fig. 9).

  (above) Fig. 9: Select files in a list by dragging the stylus across them. Tap and hold to cut, copy, delete, and more.

  You can also use the Ctl (Control) key on the soft keyboard to select multiple files. Open the soft keyboard and tap on the Ctl key. Then, go through the list and tap on the files you wish to select. If you wish to select all the files in a folder, tap on the Ctl and then the A key. You can also use these techniques to select list items in Contacts, Tasks, and Inbox.

  ADVANCED TIPS

  Tricks to customizing the Today screen image

  To use J
PEG or GIF formatted images as the background to your Today screen:

  Copy the image to your Pocket PC.

  From the Start menu, go to Settings>Today.

  Check the box labeled "Use this picture…" located at the bottom of the screen.

  Tap on the Browse button and select your image.

  Tap on OK.

  Two problems are associated with this approach. First, if the picture is larger than the 240x320 pixel screen, only a portion of it will display (usually the upper left corner). In addition, the picture appears faded out and is hard to see. There are a couple of solutions to this problem.

  TIP 1—Use Pictures application to save JPG image as Today screen wallpaper.

  Instead of using the previous steps to import an image as a background, use the Pictures application. This simple image viewer is built into Windows Mobile 2003 Pocket PCs, allowing you to view JPG-formatted images in thumbnail and full view. The major limitation to this approach is that it only works with JPGs. With the JPG image copied to your Pocket PC, follow these steps: