Handspring Visor Prism Handheld User Guide

							Chapter 1 Page 11
Tapping and typing
Tap with the stylus to get things done
Like using a mouse to click elements on a computer screen, using the 
stylus to tap elements on your handheld screen is the basic action that 
gets things done on your handheld.
The first time you start your Visor handheld, setup instructions 
appear on the screen. These instructions include a calibration screen, 
or digitizer. Calibration aligns the internal circuitry of your handheld 
with its touch-sensitive screen so that when you tap an element on the 
screen, the handheld can detect exactly which task you want to 
perform. 
Important
:
Always use the point of the stylus for tapping or making 
strokes on the handheld screen. Never use an actual pen, 
pencil, or other sharp object to write on the handheld 
screen.
With your handheld turned on, you can tap the handheld screen to 
perform many operations, such as the following:
nOpen applications
nChoose menu commands
nInitiate a global Find operation
nSelect options in dialog boxes
nOpen the onscreen keyboards
Just as you can drag the mouse to select text or move objects on your 
computer, you can also drag the stylus to select text. You can also use 
the stylus to drag the slider of any scroll bar. 
						

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Elements of the handheld interface
Menu bar
A set of commands that are specific to the application. 
Not all applications have a menu bar.
Command 
buttonsTap a button to perform a command. Command 
buttons appear in dialog boxes and at the bottom of 
application screens.
Icons
Tap the icons to open applications  , menus  , 
Calculator  , and to find text anywhere in your data 
.
abc
With the cursor in an input field, tap the dot to 
activate the alphabetic keyboard.
123
With the cursor in an input field, tap the dot to 
activate the numeric keyboard.
Check box
When a check mark appears in a check box, the 
corresponding option is active. If a check box is 
empty, tapping it inserts a check mark. If a check box 
is checked, tapping it removes the check mark.
Pick list
Tap the arrow to display a list of choices, and then tap 
an item in the list to select it.
Menu 
bar
Command 
buttons Icons
Pick list
Check 
box 
						

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Opening applications
You can use the Applications Launcher to open any application 
installed on your handheld. You can also open the four main 
applications — Date Book Plus, Address, To Do List, and Memo Pad 
— with the application buttons on the front panel of your handheld.
Tip:
When you press an application button on the front panel, you 
have instant access to the selected application. You don’t even 
need to turn on your handheld first. 
In addition to providing a way for you to open applications, the 
Applications Launcher displays the current time, battery level, and 
application category. Next/
previous 
arrowsTap the up and down arrows to display the previous 
and next page of information; tap the left and right 
arrows to display the previous and next record.
Scroll bar
Drag the slider, or tap the top or bottom arrow, to 
scroll the display one line at a time. To scroll to the 
previous page, tap the scroll bar just above the slider. 
To scroll to the next page, tap the scroll bar just below 
the slider.
You can also scroll to the previous and next pages by 
pressing the scroll buttons on the front panel of your 
handheld.
Scroll 
bar  Previous/next 
arrows  
						

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To open an application:
1. Tap the Applications icon  . 
2. Tap the icon of the application that you want to open. If you have 
many applications installed on your Visor handheld, tap the scroll 
bar to see all of your applications. 
Tip:To find an application quickly, you can write the Graffiti 
character for the first letter of its name. The Applications 
Launcher scrolls to the first application with a name that 
begins with that letter. You can also assign application icons to 
different categories. See “Categorizing applications” in 
Chapter 3.
Using menus
Menus on your handheld are easy to use. Once you have mastered 
them in one application, you can use them the same way in all other 
applications. 
The menus of each application are illustrated in the section on that 
application in Chapter 4. The Edit menu is described in “Editing 
records” in Chapter 4. 
To open the menu bar:
1. Do one of the following: 
nOpen an application (such as Memo Pad) and then tap the 
Menu icon  . 
nTap the inverted tab at the top of any application’s screen 
(except Calculator).  
						

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In this example, three menus are available: Record, Edit, and Options. 
The Record menu is selected and contains the commands New Memo, 
Delete Memo, and Beam Memo.
Choosing a menu
After you open the menu bar for an application, tap the menu that 
contains the command you want to use.
The menus and menu commands that are available depend on the 
application. Also, the menus and menu commands vary depending on 
which part
 of the application you’re using. For example, in Memo Pad, 
the menus are different for the Memo list screen and the Memo screen.
Graffiti menu commands
Most menu commands have an equivalent Graffiti Command stroke, 
which is similar to the keyboard shortcuts used to execute commands 
on computers. The command letters appear to the right of the 
command names. To use the Graffiti menu commands, the menu bar 
must be closed.
Tap the Menu icon
Tap inverted tab
Command letters Menu commands 
						

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To use the Graffiti menu commands:
1. In the Graffiti text area, draw a diagonal line from the lower left to 
upper right. 
The Command toolbar appears for about four seconds.
2. Immediately write the corresponding command letter in the 
Graffiti letter area.
For example, to choose Select All in the Edit menu, draw the 
Command stroke, followed by the letter “s.”
Tip:
If you wait more than three seconds to write the menu 
command, you need to redraw the Graffiti Command 
stroke to redisplay the Command toolbar.
Command toolbar
The Command toolbar provides quick access to frequently used menu 
commands. The commands available vary based on the active screen.
To use the command toolbar:
1. In the Graffiti text area, draw a diagonal line from the lower left to 
upper right. 
The Command toolbar appears for about four seconds.
2. Tap the icon for the command you want. 
Tip:
If you wait more than three seconds to tap the icon, you 
need to redraw the Graffiti Command stroke to redisplay 
the Command toolbar.
Displaying online tips
Many of the dialog boxes that appear on your handheld contain an 
online Tips icon in the upper-right corner. Online tips anticipate 
questions you have in a dialog box, provide shortcuts for using the 
dialog box, or give you other useful information.
Command toolbar
Command toolbar 
						

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To display an online tip:
1. Tap the Tips icon  . 
2. After you review the tip, tap Done.
Four ways to enter data
There are four ways to enter data into your Visor handheld:
nUsing Graffiti writing
nUsing the onscreen keyboard
nEntering or importing data in Palm Desktop software and then 
synchronizing with your handheld
nUsing an external keyboard
Graffiti writing
Your Visor handheld includes Graffiti writing software as the primary 
system for entering text and numbers. With Graffiti writing, you write 
simple strokes with the stylus and they are instantly recognized as 
letters or numbers. 
Write letters here Write numbers here
Division marks 
						

							Page 18  Introduction to Your Visor Handheld
Your Visor handheld also includes Giraffe, a game you can use to 
practice Graffiti writing. See “Installing and removing applications” 
in Chapter 3 for installation instructions. The Memo Pad application 
is ideal for practicing Graffiti writing. This section explains how to 
open Memo Pad and use it to practice Graffiti writing.
To open Memo Pad:
1. Press the Memo Pad application button  . 
2. Tap New.
Note:
A blinking cursor appears on the first line of the new memo to 
indicate where new text will appear. 
 
See “Using Graffiti writing to enter data” in Chapter 2 for more 
information.
New 
memo 
cursor
Tap 
New 
Write in Graffiti area  
						

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Onscreen keyboard
When you create or edit a record in an application such as Address, 
you can open the onscreen alphabetic and numeric keyboards to enter 
data.
 
After a keyboard is open, you can tap to open any of the other 
keyboards, including the international keyboard. See “Using the 
onscreen keyboard” in Chapter 2 for more information.
Note:
You cannot enter Graffiti characters while using the onscreen 
keyboard.
 
Tap here for 
alphabetic keyboardTap here for 
numeric keyboard
Backspace
Carriage return Tab
Caps lock
Caps shift
Tap here to display 
alphabetic keyboard 
Tap here to display 
numeric keyboard Tap here to display 
international keyboard 
Alpha 
Numeric 
International 
						

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Using Palm Desktop software
If you have new records you want to add to your Visor handheld and 
prefer to use the computer keyboard rather than the onscreen 
keyboard, enter the data in Palm Desktop software or the PIM you 
have installed to use with your handheld. 
After the information is in Palm Desktop software, perform a HotSync 
operation to synchronize your handheld with your computer. See 
“Exchanging and updating data: HotSync operations” in Chapter 5 for 
more information.
Importing data
If you already have data in a database on your computer, you can 
import it into Palm Desktop software. You can import data stored in 
computer applications such as spreadsheets and databases, or data 
from another Palm OS handheld. When you import data, you transfer 
the records to your Visor handheld without having to enter them 
manually. See “Importing data” in Chapter 2 for more information.
Using an external keyboard
You can connect an optional keyboard accessory to the connector on 
your handheld so you can type data directly into your handheld. 
External keyboards are very helpful when you need to enter large 
amounts of data quickly and accurately while you are away from your 
computer. For more information about external keyboard accessories, 
go to the web site: www.handspring.com.
HotSync 
button