KLM HP Jornada

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Tips

  • [Backup] - Backing Up Your Pocket PC & Storage Cards!

    • Remember to take the time at least once a month or whenever you add or delete programs from your PPC to backup your PPC main memory using ActiveSync and copying your storage cards to your hard drive and also on a CD if you have one.  Once you do a full main memory backup (which will take a some time) you can do the incremental backup (takes a lot less time, only copies changed files).  Remember to click the back up now button and not the ok button to start the backup.

    • Warning:  If you do not take the time to backup your PPC and Storage cards, you will regret it when you have to do a hard reset when your PPC locks up and the soft reset doesn't work.

  • [Battery] - Replacing Battery.

    • If you decide to change the battery, it is a simple procedure:

      • Take the 4 screws out of the back cover and remove the cover.

        Caution:  the screws are very small and easily lost or stripped.  If you loose a screw or damage one, you can get replacement ones at any optical store, such as Wal-Mart Optical.

        Screw size = M1.60 x 2.0 ->> 

      • Unplug the white connector from the main board, located just above the top right hand corner of the battery.

      • Reverse the steps to install.

      • KLM Note:  The white plug goes in only one way so don't force it.

      • KLM Note:  If you need to purchase a battery they sell on the below listed HP Website link for around $35.00 plus about $15.00 Shipping and Handling.

        http://partsurfer.hp.com/cgi-bin/spi/main?sel_flg=modinfo&model=J540

  • [Buttons] - Make Those Buttons Work for You.

  • In Start > Settings > Buttons, you can configure the settings for all the buttons on your Pocket PC. That means you can turn them into quick launch buttons for the applications you use the most often. (PPC Magazine Tip). 

  • [Buttons] - Button Damage.

  • Warning:  If you push down on the buttons too hard, especially the power button, you will pop loose the button circuit board, which is located just below the battery (See battery info above).  This will cause your PPC to fail to turn on or worse.

  • To fix, remove battery and pop back in. 

 

  • [Cables] - Serial/USB Cable.

     

    • The HP Jornada 520 & 525 come with a serial port sync cable only (serial port sync cradle is optional), they do not support a usb cable or usb sync cradle.

     <->

    • The Hp Jornada 548 comes with a usb sync cable and supports a usb sync cradle. (Click on photo below to see expanded view of usb cradle)

    • However, Belkin makes a serial port to usb cable that I purchased for under $30 new/$10 used that connects to the serial port end of the 520/525 sync cable and lets you then plug it to a usb port in your computer.  You have to install the drivers and follow the directions to ensure it works right, but I have used it with good results.

    • KLM Note:  The Belkin part number for this cable is F5U109.  (Click on photo below to go directly to Belkin F5U109 web page).

  • [CF Card Reader] - Compact Flash Card Reader for Desktop Computer.

     

    • I highly recommend that you buy a CF Card Reader for you Desktop Computer.  They allow you to:

       

      • Virus check your CF Cards using you Desktop PC (DTPC) Virus Program because the DTPC recognizes the CF Card Reader as another Drive.

      • Defragment your CF Cards using you Desktop PC (DTPC) Defragment  Program because the DTPC recognizes the CF Card Reader as another Drive.

      • Transfer files from you DTPC to your PPC faster than MS ActiveSync.

      • They allow you to copy fonts to your CF Card and then to you PPC Windows\Font Directory.

  • KLM Note:  However you cannot use the CF Card Reader to install programs to your PPC.

  • [Cover] - Screen Cover.

    • I recommend that you buy the hard metal cover to protect your screen.  You can get them at your local Office Depot or other stores that sell the HP 525 accessories or from the Internet.  Inside the hard cover there is a storage slot for one HP Jornada 520-548 stylus.

      • Warning:  If you have the Cover on your PPC, then do not put it into the leather pouch that came with the PPC, it will fit, but it is too tight and will damage the cover's plastic hinges, causing the cover to come off every time you open it.  It will also cause the stylus slot in the cover to dent your PPC where it touches between the bottom buttons and sometimes on the top too.

  • [Files] - The "My Directory" folder gotchas...

  • A significant number of PocketPC programs, notably Word, Excel and Media Player among others, cannot see any files that are not placed in a root folder named "My Documents".

  • This is true for files kept in the "main memory" as well as files stored on a Compact Flash "Storage Card".

  • A folder named "My Documents" must exist on the Storage Card's root directory for these apps to be able to see their file types stored on the card. (Beverly Howard Tip).

  • [File Explorer] - PPC File Explorer - Shortcuts.

  • For the new owners of the HP 520-548.  Please note that you cannot create shortcuts with the file explorer that comes with WinCE on your PPC.  I recommend that you download the Advanced Explorer (which you can find on the Programs page) which will allow you to copy the .exe file and paste it as a shortcut (using the stylus hold/right click pop up menus or the toolbar options) where ever you want it.

  • If you do not want to go that route, the only other option you have is to use the MS ActiveSync explorer button (PPC must be sync with desktop to use) which will let you create shortcuts like you do on the desktop by right clicking (Click on photo below to enlarge for explorer button location).

  • KLM Note:  If you just want to delete shortcuts or other files with the default explorer program on your PPC, then you must click and hold the stylus down on the file or shortcut name to enable the popup menu to appear then choose delete.  If you do not do it right, such as just clicking it once and not holding the stylus down, the file or program will try to open itself.

  • [File Transfers] - Transferring Files To/From PPC.

    • For MS Word & Excel files you must transfer them to and from your PPC thru MS ActiveSync because they must be converted.

     

    • However for most other files, such as Music, Graphic, Adobe Acrobat Reader, MS Reader, and other files that do not need to be converted you can just transfer them to your CF card or Desktop by using a CF Reader attached to you Desktop.  They will transfer much faster this way.

  • [Flash Player] - Flash Player for Jornada.

    • I have yet to find a version of the Macromedia Flash Player that works on the 520/525.

  • [Fonts] - How to Add/Remove Fonts.

    • You can use any TrueType fonts that are available for the desktop versions of Windows. All you have to do is copy the *.ttf file(s) to the folder \Windows\Fonts on your Pocket PC.

    • Fonts take a lot of memory, though. To get rid of a font on the Pocket PC, find the \Windows \Fonts folder by opening File Explorer, tapping My Documents at the top of the page, then tapping My Device in the popup menu.  Tap and hold on the font you want to remove and choose Delete from the popup menu. (PPC Magazine Tip).

    • KLM Note:  In order to copy the fonts from your desktop to your PPC, you must first copy them to your CF Storage Card, using a CF Reader attached to Desktop, then copy them from CF Storage card to you PPC \Windows\Font\  directory.  I could not just copy them from the Desktop to the PPC windows font directory using the Desktop Explorer or the MS ActiveSync Explorer.

  • [Install] - Installing Programs.

    • Remember that most programs for PPC are downloaded in one of 4 formats: 1) .exe; 2) .zip; 3) .lzh; & 4) .cab.  On the .exe just download and run the program or copy to PPC and run.  On the .zip & .lzh you must unzip files and then run .exe install program or copy .cab file to PPC and run from there.  On the .cab just copy file to PPC and click it will auto install, then you can try to move program to Storage Card and change shortcuts.

    • KLM Note: Not all Sh3 processor programs will work on the HP Jornada 520-548.  You just have to download and try to install them.  Usually when installing the program on your PPC, the install program will let you know that it is not compatible with your PPC.

  • [Install] - You've Installed a Program and it Doesn't Work.

    • Make sure you're downloading programs for the correct processor.  Different Pocket PCs and Handheld PCs use different processors.  Sometimes a particular program isn't available for all processors; the developer's site should provide details.  The HP Jornada 520-548 use the "SH3" processor.  (PPC Magazine Tip).

    • KLM Note: Not all Sh3 processor programs will work on the HP Jornada 520-548.  You just have to download and try to install them.  Usually when installing the program on your PPC, the install program will let you know that it is not compatible with your PPC.

  • [Keyboard] - Control Button on Keyboard.

    • Control Clicks are vital on a desktop machine to allow the picking of multiple random items in a list such as picking a series of files to copy or delete.  I quickly found out how the <Tap-n-Drag> to mark sequential items, but it took a long time to discover that if I tapped the <Ctrl> key on the keyboard, it would "stick" and I could proceed to tap multiple items for subsequent actions.  (Beverly Howard Tip).

  • [Pocket Word] - Editing HTML Files in Pocket Word.

    • Contrary to what I had thought until today, you can edit HTML files in Pocket Word without first changing the file extension in Windows Explorer. Go to Tools > Options > Display In List View (in Pocket Word), and select Known Types. After you've done so, any .html files in the My Documents folder will show up in the list of editable documents for Pocket Word. No need for a third-party HTML editor (although some of them can make the specialized task of HTML editing much easier).

    • You can't open a new document and save it with an .htm extension, but if you keep a blank .htm document in My Documents, you can open that, edit it, and save-as, and it will retain the extension.

    • This tip was gleaned from recent posts by Thom Dodge and Ed Hansberry on the microsoft.public.pocketpc discussion group. (PPC Magazine Tip).

  • [Pocket Word] - Format your desktop PC Word documents to look better on your PPC.

    • The Palm-size PC is a great way to have important information with you, to access wherever you are. You can even take Word documents with you and open them in Note Taker to read or modify. To do this, however, you have to use ActiveSync to copy them from your desktop PC to your P/PC and translate them to Note Taker format.

    • The only drawback is that sometimes the converted Word document doesn't display well on the 240 x 300 pixel screen of the P/PC. This is especially true if you have a lot of formatting in the document. To deal with this problem, I created a "blank note" for my desktop PC version of MS Word. I use this note when I'm creating documents on my desktop PC that I know I will copy over to my P/PC. Here's how you do it. (I used Word 2000's default metric units.)

      • Open a new blank document in MS Word on your desktop PC

      • Go to 'Page Settings'

      • Change Page margins to:

        • Upper Margin = 0 cm.  (Note: choose "ignore" when a message appears about the upper margin)

        • Lower Margin = 0 cm.

        • Left Margin = 0.2 cm.

        • Right Margin = 0.2 cm.

      • Change Page Size to:

        • Width = 6.4 cm.

        • Height = 5.5 cm.

      • Leave the settings menu.

      • Change the font to TAHOMA and Font size to 8.

      • Choose Save As, go to the Save as type: field and select Document Template from the pull-down list.

      • Save the document as "Blank Note."

     

    • Any time you want to create a Word document that is formatted correctly for Note Taker on your P/PC, go to Word's File menu, select New and open the Blank Note template. When you're finished, save the document under a different name. When you use ActiveSync to copy it to your P/PC and translate it to Note Taker format, it will display properly. (PPC Magazine Tip).

  • [Pocket Word] - Reading and Editing Text (.txt) Files with Pocket Word.

    • To set Pocket Word to associate, list, view and edit Text (.txt) files, you must do the following:

      • Open Pocket Word.

      • While in list view click on "Tools" at the bottom of screen.

      • Then click on "Options" on the pop up window.

      • Then on the "Display in list view" drop down menu, select "Pocket Word & Text".  (Note: To save files on the storage card, under "Save to" drop down menu, select "Storage Card 1 (if available)).

    • Congratulations, now when you click on text (.txt) files in explorer they will automatically open in Pocket Word.  This only took me 2 years to figure out.

  • [Power Supply] - Power Cord.

    • Be very careful wrapping your power cord around the itself.  This will stress the cord at the plastic boot where it goes into its built-in square transformer causing it to break inside or at the boot.  If your power cord stops working and it did not smoke or smell burnt, then this is probably the reason it stopped working.  You can fix the cord, but it is not pretty.  You have to crack the square cover off the transformer next to the plug along the seem, then unsolder the cord connections from the circuit board and then cut the cord back a few inches to get past the break, then re-solder the wires back to the circuit board and tape or glue the cover back together and it should work.

      • KLM Note:  When you remove the wires from the circuit board, make a note which wire went where-the two wires are marked differently.

      • KLM Note:  Recommend you use electrical tape in case you have to do it again.

       

    • The best way to preserve your cord is to use twist ties or tie downs and cinch the cord together (like it was when you got it new out of the box), leaving enough to plug it in where your recharge it.  Or you can buy a new one from HP for around $35.  Your choice. (Brian Jenkins Tip).

  • [Power Supply] - Using Transformers to Recharge PPC in Europe.

    • Warning:  Do Not  take your PPC to Europe and attempt to plug it into their power outlets using just an adaptor or a transformer.  You Will Fry Your Power Cord & Possibly Your PPC.  Unless your PPC specifically states it is auto dual voltage, which the HP 520-548 are not. (Brian Jenkins Tip).

  • [Screen] - Cleaning the Screen.

    • Clean the screen by spraying eye-glass (or similar cleaner) on a soft cloth (i.e. baby wash cloth or towel) and then cleaning the screen.

      • Warning:  Do Not spray cleaner directly onto screen the liquid could seep through the sides into the inside and short your PPC out!

  • [Screen] - Scratching the Screen.

    • Try to avoid sliding your stylus on the screen.  Try to find programs that do not require you to tap and slide. 

      • Warning: Sliding the stylus on the screen will more than likely permanently scratch your screen! 

       

    • KLM Note: Most of the programs I recommend do not require you to slide your stylus on the screen!

  • [Screen] - Screen Alignment.

    • When you notice that your stylus is not very accurate, you can fix this by re-aligning the screen.  To do this, just push and hold down the power button until the re-alignment screen pops up and follow the instructions.

  • [Screen] - Screen Protectors.

    • 'Fellowes WriteRight Micro-Thin Screen Protectors' for the Compaq iPAQ will work on your HP Jornada 520-548 screen, with just a little bit of trimming on one of the long sides.  I highly recommend them.  I was skeptical at first but after a little bit of wrestling to get it trimmed and lined up right, I'm a believer in them.  They do not obstruct your view at all.

  • [Soft Reset] - Setting Options after Soft Reset.

    • After a soft reset, you will notice that the brightness & other Settings selections go back to the default.  So you will need to go to the appropriate settings and change them back (i.e. disable record button, brightness & contrast, etc.).

  • [Soft Reset] - Soft Resetting to Free up Memory.

    • Periodically you will need to soft reset your PPC to free up memory that some programs do not free up after you close them or if a program or installation causes your PPC to lock up.  Do not worry, you will not loose any programs of files that you have successfully installed or saved.

    •  However, you will notice that your start menu buttons do not show and the WISBAR settings have defaulted after a restart.  Ignore this tip if you use WisBar Advance.

    • To get them back the way they were, go to Start Menu-Programs-Settings-Menu Buttons and select and unselect an item then ok back to Today Screen - this should fix your Start Menu Buttons.

  • [Soft Reset] - Resetting Tdlaunch Shortcut Icons After Modifying the Today Settings.

    • You will notice that after you add, delete shortcuts to the Tdlaunch program from the Today Settings Screen, the portion of the screen where the shortcut icons display will turn black or become unreadable.  To fix this you must do a soft reset.  I love this program and there is a new version out, but it is not for the Jornada.  I hope a new compatible version will come out soon.

  • [Start Menu Buttons] - Start Menu Buttons after Soft Reset.

    • After a soft reset, you will that the Start Menu Buttons do not show.  To get them back the way they were, from the Today Screen, Click on Start Menu-Settings-Menus and then select and unselect a menu item then OK back to the Today Screen.

    • The Menu buttons should appear correctly again.

    • Ignore this tip if you use WisBar Advance.

  • [Storage Card] - Using CF Storage Cards to Save Memory.

    • I recommend that you buy a CompactFlash Card (At least 32mb or larger) and store as many programs as you can on the card instead of the PPC's main memory.

     

    • Remember:  You only have 16mb of memory/storage space on the PPC and for some programs you need up to 9mb or more free in order for them to run (i.e. Snails requires 9mb free).

     

    • Warning:  If your PPC locks up or gets very confused and you have to do a hard reboot (restoring the factory settings) your will loose any programs you have installed, unless you have them installed on a Storage Card or backed up on another computer.

  • [Storage Card] - Backing up CF Storage Cards.

    • When you perform a backup of your PPC, your files on the Storage Card are not backed up, just the files on the PPC are backed up.  So remember to manually back up your files from your Storage Card  onto another computer preferably using a CF reader attached to your desktop and not by using MS ActiveSync, because transferring files thru ActiveSync takes allot longer that using a CF reader.

  • [Storage Card] - Inserting and Removing CF Cards.

    • On the HP Jornada, the unit will turn itself on whenever a CompactFlash card is inserted into or removed from the slot—even if you had just turned the unit off specifically in order to remove or insert a card! The lesson is this: Unless you are in the middle of a file transfer to or from the card or using an application that's installed there, you can "hot swap" cards into and out of the CF slot without hurting anything. (PPC Magazine Tip).

  • [Today Screen] - Today Screen Graphic Display after Soft Reset.

    • After a soft reset, you will notice that the graphic you had displayed on your Today Screen does not show up.  To fix this go to Start Menu-Settings-Today, then OK back to the Today Screen, you should now see your graphic.

  • [Today Screen] - Optimize Today with Options.

    • Your Today screen is supposed to be information central on your Pocket PC. Here are a couple of things you can do to optimize its usefulness: Go to Start > Settings > Personal > Today > Items.  This screen allows you to customize the content of your Today screen. 

      • Make sure that the items that are checked are the ones you really want to show up on your Today screen. For example, I don't like my Inbox cluttering up my Today screen, but your preferences may be different. 

      • If you have Tasks checked, highlight it. You'll notice that to the right there is an 'Options..' box—tap it. In the window that appears, select whether you want high priority tasks, tasks due today, and/or overdue tasks to show up on your Today screen, and then tap OK (in the upper right) to exit that screen. 

      • If you have Calendar checked, go to its Options screen as well, and choose to display just your next appointment or all upcoming appointments, and whether to show all day events. Tap OK (in the upper right) to exit that screen. 

       

    • Now, when you look at your Today screen, you'll see what you need to see and no more.  (PPC Magazine Tip).

  • [Voice Recording] - Voice Recording: Fidelity vs. File Size.

    • Recently on the microsoft.public.pocketpc newsgroup, a question came up about the storage of voice recordings on the Pocket PC: How many minutes of recording will fit on a 32Mb CompactFlash card?

  • Microsoft MVP Ed Hansberry responded, pointing out that the answer will depend on your setting for voice input (Settings > Input > Options > Voice Recording Format). If you were to set it at the lowest fidelity, 0.7Kb/sec, you could squeeze 13 hours into 32 megabytes. (Actually, more like 12 hours, since you don't really get 32 megabytes of memory on a 32Mb card.) .

  • As you would expect, the quality isn't very good at that setting, but if you're just trying to capture information in a quiet environment, it's probably good enough. If you need better fidelity, try a higher setting--the higher the ratio of Kb to seconds, the higher the fidelity. When I record a Note, I'm usually driving, and if I have the voice input set at 0.7Kb/sec, the road noise causes it to be so garbled that I can't understand it when I play it back. Since my Notes are usually short and I usually erase them after a short time, I can afford the luxury of 31Kb/sec, which works beautifully. Experiment and see what works the best for you. (PPC Magazine Tip).

  • [WISBAR] - WISBAR after Soft Reset.

    • After a soft reset, you will notice that the WISBAR settings go to their default settings.  To fix this, just click on the WISBAR settings and click apply and return to the Today Screen.  Your WISBAR should now look like you had it before you reset it.

    • Ignore this tip if you use WisBar Advance.