Handspring Visor Prism Handheld User Guide

							Chapter 1 Page 21
Customizing your handheld
You can customize your handheld by using the Preferences 
application. You can enter personal information such as your name 
and address; change the time and date; view different date and time 
formats when you travel; turn off sounds; and configure your 
handheld to work with a modem or network. See Chapter 9 for more 
information on customizing your handheld.
To open the Preferences screens:
1. Tap the Applications icon  . 
2. Tap the Preferences icon  . 
3. Tap the category pick list in the upper-right corner of the screen.
4. Tap the Preferences category you want to view.
The following procedures for setting the time and date give you an 
example of how to customize your handheld. You make changes to 
the time and date in General preferences.
To set the current time:
1. Tap the Set Time box.
  
2. Tap the up or down arrows to change the hour.
3. Tap each minute number, and then tap the arrows to change them.
4. Tap AM or PM.
Note:
Your handheld can also display time based on a 24-hour 
clock. See “Formats preferences” in Chapter 9 for more 
information. 
5. Tap OK.
Tap here 
						

							Page 22  Introduction to Your Visor Handheld
To set the current date:
1. Tap the Set Date box.
2. Tap the arrows to select the current year. 
3. Tap a month.
4. Tap the current date. 
Palm Desktop software
Palm Desktop software includes the same main applications as your 
handheld:Date Book, Address, To Do List, Memo Pad, Expense, and 
desktop e-mail connectivity. You can use the HotSync feature of this 
software to back up and exchange data between your handheld and 
your computer. It is a good idea to back up your data in case 
something happens to the data on your Visor handheld. Changes you 
make on your handheld or Palm Desktop software appear in both 
places after you synchronize.
With Palm Desktop software, you can do the following:
nWork with your Visor handheld applications on your computer. 
Palm Desktop software duplicates the Date Book, Address, To Do 
List, Memo Pad applications on your handheld, so you can view, 
enter, and modify any data stored on your handheld.
nBack up the data stored on your handheld with HotSync 
technology and synchronize the data on your Palm Desktop 
software. Synchronization is a one-step procedure that ensures 
your data is always safe and up-to-date. See “Exchanging and 
updating data: HotSync operations” in Chapter 5 for details. 
nImport and export data, so you can easily transfer data from other 
desktop applications into any of your main applications. See 
“Importing data” in Chapter 2 for more information.
nPrint your Date Book, Address, To Do List, and Memo Pad 
information on any printer.
Tap arrows to select year
Tap to select month
Tap to select date 
						

							Chapter 1 Page 23
Installing Palm Desktop software
The following instructions guide you through installing Palm 
Desktop software. After installation, refer to the online Help in Palm 
Desktop software for information about how to use the software.
Note:
You must install the software that comes with your Visor 
handheld even if you already installed Palm Desktop software 
for a previous Palm OS handheld.
To ensure a safe and uninterrupted installation of Palm Desktop 
software, please do not
 simply copy the Palm Desktop software files 
to your computer’s hard disk. You must use the installer to place the 
files in their proper locations and to decompress the files. 
To install Palm Desktop software:
1. Exit any open programs, including those that run at startup such 
as Microsoft Office, and disable any virus-scanning software.
2. Insert the Palm Desktop software CD-ROM into the computer’s 
CD-ROM drive. 
3. When the menu screen appears, click the name of the product you 
purchased to begin the installation process.
4. Follow the onscreen instructions to complete the installation. 
Using your handheld with Microsoft Outlook 
The software that comes with your Visor handheld includes 
everything you need to synchronize your handheld with Microsoft 
Outlook. If you already have Microsoft Outlook installed on your 
computer, the installation program prompts you to choose the 
Microsoft Outlook synchronization option.
Using your handheld with another PIM
If you prefer to use another personal information manager (PIM), such 
as Lotus Notes, you can use it if third-party connection software, 
called a conduit, is available for your PIM. You must install the 
software that came with your Visor handheld along with the conduit 
for your PIM to synchronize the data between your handheld and 
your PIM. For information on conduit software, go to this web site: 
www.handspring.com. 
						

							Page 24  Introduction to Your Visor Handheld
Installing a Springboard module
Springboard expansion modules enable you to extend the functions of 
your handheld. To install a Springboard module, simply remove the 
slot protector and insert the module in the Springboard expansion slot 
until the connectors are secure. 
						

							Chapter 2 Page 25
Chapter 2
Entering Data in Your
Visor Handheld
This chapter explains how to enter data into your Visor handheld 
computer, by writing with the stylus in the Graffiti® writing area, by 
using the onscreen keyboard, by using the computer keyboard, by 
using an external keyboard, or by importing data from another 
application.
Using Graffiti writing to enter data
Chapter 1 introduced Graffiti writing and briefly described how to use 
it to enter text in your applications. In this section, you learn the 
procedures for creating letters, numbers, punctuation, and symbols as 
well as some Graffiti tips and tricks.
Writing Graffiti characters
Most people find they can enter text quickly and accurately with only 
minutes of practice. Graffiti writing includes any character you can 
type on a standard keyboard. The Graffiti strokes closely resemble the 
uppercase letters of the regular alphabet, which makes Graffiti writing 
easy to learn. 
There are four basic concepts for success with Graffiti writing:
nIf you draw the character shape exactly as shown in the tables later 
in this chapter (like the shapes shown in the following diagram), 
you achieve 100% accuracy.
nThe heavy dot on each shape shows where to begin the stroke. 
Certain characters have similar shapes, but different beginning 
and end points. Always begin the stroke at the heavy dot (you 
should not create the heavy dot; it is only there to show you where 
to begin the stroke). 
						

							Page 26  Entering Data in Your Visor Handheld
nMost characters require only a single stroke. When you lift the 
stylus from the Graffiti writing area, your handheld recognizes 
and displays the text character immediately. To accomplish single 
strokes, some Graffiti strokes are portions of the regular alphabet 
equivalents.
nThe Graffiti writing area is divided into two parts: one for writing 
the letters of the alphabet and one for writing numbers. The small 
marks at the top and bottom of the Graffiti writing area indicate 
the two areas.
To write Graffiti letters:
1. Tap the screen where you want your text to go. 
Note:
You need to tap above the Graffiti writing area, and must 
see a blinking cursor before you write the text.
2. Use the tables on the following pages to find the stroke shape for 
the letter you want to create. For example, the stroke shown below 
creates the letter “n.”
Note:
There are two different stroke shapes available for some 
letters. For these letters, choose the one that’s easiest for 
you.
As you’ll see later, you use the same shape to create both the 
uppercase and lowercase version of a letter.
Write letters here Write numbers here
Division marks
Start stroke 
at heavy dotLift stylus 
here 
						

							Chapter 2 Page 27
3. Position the stylus in the left-hand side of the Graffiti writing area. 
4. Start your stroke at the heavy dot and draw the stroke shape as it 
appears in the tables.
5. Lift the stylus from the screen at the end of the stroke shape.
That’s all there is to it! When you lift the stylus from the screen, your 
handheld recognizes your stroke immediately and prints the letter at 
the insertion point on the screen.
As soon as you lift the stylus from the screen, you can begin the stroke 
for the next character you want to write.
Important:
You must begin the character strokes in the Graffiti 
writing area. If you do not make Graffiti strokes in the 
Graffiti writing area, your handheld does not recognize 
them as text characters.
Graffiti tips
When using Graffiti writing, keep these tips in mind:
nAccuracy improves when you write large characters. You should 
draw strokes that nearly fill the Graffiti writing area.
nTo delete characters, simply set the insertion point to the right of 
the character you want to delete and make the backspace stroke 
(a line from right to left) in the Graffiti writing area.
nWrite at natural speed. Writing too slowly can generate 
recognition errors.
nDo not write on a slant. Vertical strokes should be parallel to the 
sides of the Graffiti writing area.
nPress firmly. 
						

							Page 28  Entering Data in Your Visor Handheld
The Graffiti alphabet
Letter Strokes Letter Strokes
AN
B
   O   
CP    
D    Q
ER
    
F    S
G
   T
HU
IV
   
JW
KX
   
LY    
M    Z
Space Back Space
Carriage
ReturnPeriodtap twice 
						

							Chapter 2 Page 29
Writing capital letters
You make capital letters with the same stroke shapes as the basic 
alphabet characters. To make capital letters, you must first “shift” to 
caps — just as you press the Shift key on a keyboard — and then write 
the character strokes.
Note:
Graffiti writing includes a feature that automatically 
capitalizes the first letter when you create a new sentence or a 
new record (by tapping New or a blank line). 
To draw the first letter of a word as a capital letter:
nUse the Caps Shift stroke:
Tip:
When Caps Shift is active, an “up arrow” symbol appears in 
the lower-right corner of the handheld screen. If you 
accidentally activate Caps Shift, backspace will cancel it.
To enter only capital letters (Caps Lock):
nUse the Caps Lock stroke:
Tip:
When Caps Lock is active, an underlined “up arrow” symbol 
appears in the lower-right corner of the handheld screen. To 
return to lowercase, make the Caps Shift stroke.
Writing numbers
Writing numbers with Graffiti writing is similar to writing letters of 
the alphabet, except that you make the character strokes on the right-
hand side (numbers side) of the Graffiti writing area.Caps
Shift
   
Caps
Lock   
Caps Shift
Caps Lock 
						

							Page 30  Entering Data in Your Visor Handheld
Graffiti numbers
Writing punctuation marks
Graffiti writing can create any punctuation symbol that you can enter 
from a standard keyboard. All punctuation marks begin with a single 
tap on the Graffiti writing area. When you make this tap, you activate 
Punctuation Shift and a dot appears to show it is active. The next 
stroke you make with the stylus creates a punctuation mark.
Note:
When Punctuation Shift is active, you can make a symbol 
stroke anywhere in the Graffiti writing area (the letters or
 
numbers side). Number Strokes Number Strokes
0
    5    
1 6
27
 
38    
4    9
Punctuation Shift