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3. Using the program

3.1 Can I specify a default database to load on startup?

Just give the pathname of the database file to load on startup on the command line, e.g. pi-address /path/to/AddressDB.pdb. (Thanks to Jon Lasser for suggesting this.)

Create an alias like alias pi-address="pi-address /path/to/AddressDB.pdb" if you want to load the program the default database any time you start the program.

Another possibility is to specify the default database in the configuration file with an entry like:

DefaultDB = /path/to/AddressDB.pdb

3.2 Where does pi-address look for the database files?

If you try to open a database file using File / Open pi-address will start searching in the following directories (in the shown order):

Of course you can change directories at your will in the file selection box.

3.3 Can I display the contents of a "Note" in the main window?

As of V0.1.5 the contents of a Note can be displayed in the main window by specifying ShowNote = Yes in your configuration file (defaults to No).

3.4 How to import existing data?

Importing records is done by selecting File / Import as CSV. Select a file in the file selection dialog. The records in this file will be merged into the currently opened database, if any.

The format of a CSV-file is the same like the one of pilot-addresses from the pilot-link package. To see an example create a new database (File / New), add a new record and specify a unique entry for every field. Export this database as a CSV-file (selecting File / Export as CSV) and look at the file with your favorite text editor.

If you currently maintain your address records with another program, export the records from this program as a text file, write a small converter with your favorite scripting language which converts this text file to CSV format. Import the converted file into pi-address, that's it.

3.5 How can I specify the device used for the Pilot?

The default device name for communication with the Palm Pilot is /dev/pilot. If you have a symbolic link to the actual device used, you are done.

You can specify a different device name in the configuration file with an entry like:

DeviceName = /dev/name

3.6 Can I change the configuration file at runtime?

As of V0.2.1 there is a new entry in the menubar File / Reread configuration file. If selected, the user configuration file will be reread and evaluated, changing the corresponding values in the program.

3.7 Can I change the fonts used in the various windows?

As of V0.2.2 the user can configure the fonts used in the various windows through variables in the configuration file. The following variables are recognized:

ListFont

Font used for listing of all records in left window (Default: fixed).

RecordFont

Font used for display of a single record in right window (Default: Helvetica).

EditFont

Font used for displaying fields in edit dialog (Default: fixed).

The main purpose of this is to provide the user a possibility to display address databases with non ISO8859-1 character sets. There is still a lot of work to do for this, but itīs a beginning.

3.8 Printing

Can I print my records?

Yes, as of V0.1.2 there is rudimentary support for printing address records.

Just select the category for which you want to print the records and choose File / Print from the menu bar. This will print all records selected through the category using a default value for formatting each record.

As of V0.1.3 there is also a toolbar button for printing the selected address records. Pressing this button activates the same function like choosing File / Print from the menubar.

You can modify the way the records are printed in changing the following values in the program's configuration file (see Section Where to put the configuration files for more information on configuration files):

PrintingFontName

The font to use for printing (Default: Helvetica, valid font names: Helvetica, Times, Courier)

PrintingPointSize

The point size for printing (Default: 8)

PrintingFormat

Which fields to print (Default: %l %f %p1 %p2 %p3 %c1, see the following explanations for the encoding)

PrintTo

Where to print to (Default: Printer, valid entries: Printer, File)

PrintFileName

The default print filename if printing to a file (Default: pi-address.ps)

How is the encoding for the field names for printing?

The key PrintingFormat in the configuration file defines which fields will be printed for each record. The encoding of the fields follows:

Beginning with V0.1.3 the user can specify an optional width for each column (e.g. %20l).

When specified it is used to calculate the width of the column by multiplying the specified width (= no. of characters to print for this column) by the no. of pixels of the widest character for the font in use. So there is always enough room to print width characters though in most cases there can be printed one or two characters more as specified.

If no width is specified a default value of 20 will be used.

Restrictions and known bugs on printing

Expect these restrictions to be solved in future versions.

Can I print to a file?

If you want to print to a file instead directly to a printer, choose File / Print from the menu bar and make the corresponding entries. You only have to set the Combobox Print to: to file, a default filename pi-address.ps in the current directory will be used if none is given in the setup dialog.

You can specify the default destination for printing in your configuration file. Set the following if you want your default to be printing to a file:

PrintTo = File

You can change the default printing filename from pi-address.ps by setting:

PrintFileName = /path/to/file-name

3.9 Why are there sometimes mixed languages in the menus/dialogs?

People using a german version of the Palm Pilot OS will see mixed german/english text entries in some menus/dialogs. This is because the label names for the record fields are stored in the database file. If you open such a database file, the corresponding field names (e.g. Category, Last name, etc.) will be updated and will be shown in the language the database was created with.


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