User's Guide
TextPlusTM
v3.5 for the Palm OS
Topics
Introduction
TextPlus
TextPlus
is a Palm OS enhancement that can significantly improve the speed
and accuracy of text entry on your Palm device. TextPlus
supports intelligent dictionary-based suggestion of words and
phrases to speed up your text entry. When you enter one
or more letters of a word or a phrase in any Palm application,
a list of words and phrases that start with these letters is displayed.
When you tap on any of the words or any of the phrases, your choice
is automatically inserted at the current cursor location.
One unique feature of TextPlus is its frequency-based intelligent
search engine, which chooses only frequently used words and phrases
for suggestion. The frequency of each word and phrase is
updated automatically as you use TextPlus so that the speed and
accuracy of your text entry would increase over time. TextPlus
is comprised of two major components: the TextPlus text editor
allows you to enter long sentences and paragraphs and then paste
them to other Palm applications (copy is done automatically),
while the new TextPlus Anywhere (TM) technology allows you to
use frequency-based word and phrase suggestion in any Palm applications
with text fields. TextPlus also supports Graffiti Echo
so that you can see your Graffiti strokes as you write.
Features of TextPlus
-
Dictionary based word list
and phrase list help complete words and phrases after one
or more letters are entered.
-
Automatic update of the list
of suggested words and phrases whenever you enter a letter
or delete a letter.
-
Unique Frequency-Based Intelligent
Search Engine - the words and phrases displayed are always
optimal.
-
TextPlus
Anywhere (TM) technology allows you to use frequency-based
word and phrase suggestion in any Palm applications.
In addition to Graffiti, TextPlus Anywhere also supports the
system keyboard and most other character input devices and
programs.
-
Graffiti
Echo allows you to see your graffiti strokes as you write,
increasing text entry speed and accuracy.
-
Fully Customizable Dictionary
-
New words and phrases can
be easily added to the dictionary - double tap on a word
in any Palm application to add it to the dictionary.
-
The
update rate (0-10) of the dictionary can be adjusted.
-
The
amount of memory used by the dictionary can be limited
if necessary.
-
Flexible
database support allows you to compose in multiple languages
and/or multiple subjects.
-
Enhanced Sort Support - Word
List and Phrase List can be sorted by frequency, by length,
or by alphabetical order.
-
Complete Editing Support -
Undo, Cut, Copy, Paste, Select, Clear; Keyboard, Graffiti
Help; Auto Shift, Auto Insert Space, Auto Complete.
-
Font selection for Text Field,
Word List and Phrase List.
Purchasing
TextPlus
A
30 day demo version is available for download from www.smartcell.com.
The demo version has an evaluation license that is valid for 30
days after you have installed the application. You can order
the full license from our web site at www.smartcell.com.
If you are a registered user of any previous version of TextPlus,
version 3.5 is provided to you as a free upgrade and you can use
the same registration code to register TextPlus v3.5.
System
Requirements
Installation
How
to Install TextPlus
Important Notes
If
you have a previous version of TextPlus installed on your device,
you must remove it from your device before installing TextPlus
v3.5. Make sure that you disable TextPlus Anywhere and
Graffiti Echo before uninstalling the previous version.
If you want to keep your current vocabulary database, remove
and install the TextPlus PRC file only - do not install the
TextPlus PDB file.
To
avoid possible screen refresh conflict, disable any other Graffiti
Echo utilities you might have and use the Graffiti Echo feature
in TextPlus.
If
the TextPlus demo expires prematurely, remove the TextPlus application
from your device (do not remove the database) and reinstall
the TextPlus PRC file. This would allow you to have a
full trial period.
Installing
from a PC
The
following installation instructions are derived from the 3Com
Handbook for the Palm V organizer, "Chapter 3: Installing
and Removing Applications", page 42. If you are using
other versions of the PalmPilot, refer to your 3Com PalmPilot
Handbook for step-by-step instructions. If you are using
other installation utilities, please refer to those utilities'
instructions to install TextPlus.
-
If the file you have is a
ZIP file, double-click on it to unzip all the files.
-
Please read the Software
License Agreement in License.txt. By installing the
application you accept all the terms and conditions of the
Software License Agreement.
-
Click on the Windows Start
button. Select Programs, Palm Desktop, and Palm Install
Tool.
-
Select the user name that
corresponds to your Palm organizer in the user drop down
list.
-
You need to install both
the TextPlus PRC file and the TextPlusDB PDB file.
You can
Installing
from a Mac
The
following installation instructions are for users running 3Com's
MacPac v.2. If you are using other versions of the MacPac,
refer to your 3Com PalmPilot Handbook for step-by-step instructions.
If you are using other installation utilities, please refer
to those utilities' instructions to install TextPlus.
You can download a copy of MacPac v.2 from www.palm.com.
-
Locate the TextPlus PRC file
and the TextPlusDB PDB file on your Mac.
-
Double-click the HotSync
manager icon in the Palm folder.
-
Choose Install from the HotSync
menu.
-
Drag the TextPlus PRC file
and the TextPlusDB PDB file to the Install Palm Applications
dialog box.
-
Perform a HotSync operation
to transfer TextPlus to your handheld.
How
to Uninstall TextPlus
To
remove TextPlus from other models of the Palm devices, refer to
your 3Com Palm Handbook on "Removing Applications."
Quick
Start
Entering
Text in TextPlus Editor
After
the installation is done, tap on the Applications icon and select
All. Tap on the TextPlus icon and check the date shown in
the Confirm Current Date dialog box. If the date is not
correct, tap No and use the Palm OS built-in application Prefs
to set the correct date. Your evaluation license may expire
prematurely if the date shown is not correct. If the date
is correct, tap Yes and the TextPlus main display is shown.
In the main display, on the top of the TextPlus window is the
Title/Menu bar. Right below the Title/Menu bar are a few
buttons and a text field (editor) for displaying the text of your
composition. The four buttons above the editor field are
provided for easy access to editor features ('Sft' - Auto Shift,
'Cpl'- Auto Complete, 'Spa' - Auto Space Insertion, 'Clr' - Clear).
Below the edit field is the Phrase List (2 lines) that displays
suggested phrases. On the bottom of the main display is
the Word List (4 lines for 8 words) that displays the suggested
words. To enter text, use your stylus to write Graffiti
letters in the Graffiti writing area. As soon as the first
letter of a word or a phrase is entered, a list of suggested words
and a list of suggested phrases are displayed. If the word
or phrase you want to enter is displayed in the Word List or the
Phrase List, tap on the word or phrase and it will be automatically
inserted at the current cursor location. If the word or
phrase you want to enter is not displayed, keep on entering the
letters until the desired word or phrase is shown in the Word
List or the Phrase List. If the Auto Insert Space option is selected,
a space is automatically inserted every time a word is entered.
One space is also automatically inserted after a punctuation is
entered. If the Auto Shift option is selected, the first
letter of each sentence is always automatically capitalized.
If the Auto Complete option is selected, the shortest word in
the current Word List is shown at the current cursor location.
If the word is the one you want to enter, enter a space or any
punctuation marks and the word is automatically entered.
Otherwise, keep on entering the rest of the word until the desired
word is shown in the Word List. If you have already finished
entering the word, enter a Graffiti command shortcut '/' to stop
Auto Complete.
Since
only two phrases can be displayed at the same time, it is possible
that none of the two phrases displayed in the Phrase List is the
desired phrase, but one or both of them has the same starting
word as the desired phrase. Instead of entering all the
letters for the starting word, you should tap on the "M" (Move
to the next word) icon at the right hand side of the Phrase List
and the starting word is automatically inserted at the current
cursor location. Now you can keep on entering the letters
of the next word in the phrase until the desired phrase shows
up in the Phrase List.
Enabling
TextPlus Anywhere
To
enable TextPlus Anywhere, tap on the Options menu and select TextPlus
Anywhere. In the TextPlus Anywhere Options dialog, tap on
the Enable TextPlus Anywhere checkbox. In this dialog, you
can also select the number of words and the number of phrases
to display, and specify where they are displayed. If you
select the Show List at Bottom option, the list will always stay
at the bottom of the screen. By default the list is shown
on the left-hand side of the screen when the Show List at Bottom
option is selected. If you want the list to be shown on
the right-hand side, check the Use Righthand Side checkbox.
Enabling the Double Tap to Add Word option allows you to add new
words easily to the TextPlus dictionary when you are in any applications
other than TextPlus. You can also select the number
of characters that must be entered before the list is shown. Enabling
the Auto Insert Space option allows you to concentrate on the
composition, while the spaces after words and punctuations are
automatically inserted by TextPlus Anywhere.
Copying Text from TextPlus to Other Applications
Every
time you exit the TextPlus application, the text in the TextPlus
editor is automatically copied to the system clipboard.
Therefore, it is straightforward to use the text you entered in
TextPlus in other applications. After you have finished
entering the text in TextPlus, tap on the Applications icon and
switch to the application you want to insert the text. Tap
on the Menu icon, tap Edit, and select Paste. Now the text
you entered is automatically inserted at the current cursor location.
In most applications you can also use the Graffiti short cut /P
to paste the text.
Copying
Text from Other Applications to TextPlus
Copying
text from other applications to TextPlus is also simple and automatic.
In the application you want to copy text from, select the portion
of the text you want to copy and tap on the Menu icon, tap on
Edit, and select Copy. Now tap on Applications icon and
tap on the TextPlus icon. You can see the text you selected
is automatically transferred to TextPlus. In most applications
you can also use the Graffiti short cut /C to copy the text.
The capability of transferring text from other applications to
TextPlus is useful in a number of cases, especially when you need
to build customized word or phrase vocabulary from existing word
list or phrase list.
Registering
TextPlus
The
demo version of TextPlus has an evaluation license that is valid
for 14 days after you have installed the application. You
can order the full license from our web site at www.smartcell.com.
After your order is processed, your will receive a 9-digit registration
code. To install the full license, start TextPlus and tap
on the Menu icon, tap on Options and select Register. Enter
the registration code in the Register TextPlus dialog and tap
on OK. To determine if the full license has been installed
successfully, open the Register TextPlus dialog again and check
the Current License Type. If you have never performed a
HotSync operation on your Palm Device, the application will ask
to you to exit the application and perform a HotSync operation.
In order to install the full license successfully, the HotSync
user name you put in the license order form must match the HotSync
user name that is actually used on your Palm device.
Descriptions
of the User Interface
EDIT MENU
Undo
Cut
This
option copies and removes the currently selected text in the
editor to the system clipboard. This text can then be pasted
into a new location in the editor or into another application.
Copy
This
option copies the currently selected text in the editor to the
system clipboard. This text can then be pasted into a
new location in the editor or into another application.
Paste
This
option pastes the current contents of the system clipboard into
the editor.
Select All
This option highlights all the text in the editor.
Keyboard
This
option brings up the standard system keyboard for use in entering
text.
Graffiti Help
This
option brings up the Graffiti help dialog that shows the pen
strokes necessary to create letters, numbers, and other symbols.
WORD MENU
Add All Words in Text
This
option scans the words in the editor and adds all words that
are not in the Word Vocabulary to the Word Vocabulary.
Add Selected Words
This
option scans the words in the current selection and adds all
words that are not in the Word Vocabulary to the Word Vocabulary.
Delete Selected Words
This
option scans the words in the current selection and deletes
them from the Word Vocabulary.
Word Vocabulary Info
This
option brings up the Word Vocabulary Info dialog. The
dialog shows the total number of words in the word vocabulary,
the amount of memory used by the word vocabulary, and the maximum
word frequency of all words in the Word Vocabulary (word frequency
is a measure of how frequently a word is used in the composition).
PHRASE MENU
Add All Text As Phrase
This
option adds all the text in the editor as a single phrase to
the phrase vocabulary. A valid phrase can contain letters,
numbers, and punctuation marks. However, it must start
with a letter. In the TextPlus editor a phrase can contain
at most 100 characters, while in TextPlus Anywhere only phrases
with less than 40 characters can be displayed and selected.
Add Selection As Phrase
This
option adds the current selection as a single phrase to the
phrase vocabulary.
Add Each Line As Phrase
This
option adds each line of text in the editor as a single phrase
to the phrase vocabulary. Make sure to enter a HARD RETURN
after each phrase since the end of phrase is reached only when
a HARD RETURN is detected.
Delete Phrases
This
option brings up the Delete Phrase dialog. In the Delete
Phrase dialog you can enter the leading characters of the phrase
(or phrases) to delete. All the phrases start with these
characters will be deleted when you tap on OK. If you
don't wish to continue, tap on Cancel.
Phrase Vocabulary Info
This
option brings up the Phrase Vocabulary Info dialog. The
dialog shows the total number of phrases in the Phrase Vocabulary,
the amount of memory used by the Phrase Vocabulary, and the
maximum phrase frequency of all phrases in the Phrase Vocabulary
(phrase frequency is a measure of how frequently a phrase is
used in the composition).
OPTIONS MENU
Word List
This
option brings up the Word List Options dialog. In the
Word List Options dialog you can select the font for the Word
List (standard or bold), the sort method for the Word List (word
length, word frequency, or alphabetical order), and the sort
direction (ascending or descending).
Phrase List
This
option brings up the Phrase List Options dialog. In the
Phrase List Options dialog you can select the font for the Phrase
List (standard or bold), the sort method for the Phrase List
(phrase length, phrase frequency, or alphabetical order), and
the sort direction (ascending or descending).
Vocabulary
This
option brings up the Vocabulary Options dialog. In the
Vocabulary Options dialog you can select the memory limit for
the combined vocabulary (10k to 999 k), the vocabulary update
rate (0 to 10), and the Minimum Word Length (2 to 5), enable/disable
the Ask When Add Word option, enable/disable the Backup Database
option, and select the current vocabulary database.
TextPlus
Anywhere
This
option brings up the TextPlus Anywhere Options dialog.
In the TextPlus Anywhere Options dialog you can enable/disable
the TextPlus Anywhere option, enable/disable the Show Word at
Bottom option, enable/disable the Use Righthand Side option,
enable/disable the Double Tap to Add Word option, select the
number of words and the number of phrases to display and the
number of characters to trigger suggestion.
Graffiti
Echo
This
option brings up the Graffiti Echo Options dialog. In
the Graffiti Echo Options dialog you can enable/disable the
Graffiti Echo option and select the Graffiti Echo Line Width
(1-4 pixels).
Register
This
option brings up the Register TextPlus dialog. The Register
TextPlus dialog shows the current license type, the HotSync
user name, and the 9-digit Registration Code.
About TextPlus
This
option brings up the About TextPlus dialog. The TextPlus
dialog shows the copyright and version information of the TextPlus
application.
Advanced Topics
Customizing
Vocabulary
TextPlus
for Palm v3.5 comes with a built-in vocabulary database (TextPlusDB),
which contains about 4100 frequently used words and 196 frequently
used phrases in American English. Since it is likely that
the default vocabulary only covers part of the words and phrases
you need to use, you may want to customize the Vocabulary and add
in words and phrases that are important to you, but are not part
of the default Vocabulary. You can either add the new words
and phrases to the default database, or you can create new customized
databases for your personal use. A customized database can
be either used for a different language or for a special subject.
To create a new database, tap on the Menu icon, tap on Options and
select Vocabulary. Set Current Database to New Database and
tap on OK. You will be asked to enter the name of the new
database. We suggest that the name of a customized database
contain "TextPlusDB" and at least another three characters
at the end to differentiate it from other TextPlus Databases, e.g.,
the name "TextPlusDBGer" should be used for a German database
and the name "TextPlusDBFre" should be used for a French
database, etc.
Adding
Words to the Vocabulary
In
any Palm applications other than TextPlus, you can double tap on
a word to add it to the TextPlus vocabulary database. Inside
TextPlus the most natural way of customizing the Word Vocabulary
is simply using the editor to enter the text containing the words
to be added. Whenever a new word is entered in the TextPlus
editor, a dialog box will pop up and ask you if you want to add
the word to the vocabulary. If you tap yes, the word is added
to the vocabulary. You can also disable the pop-up dialog
box so that every new word is always added. It is also relatively
straightforward to add a large number of words to the vocabulary
by using an existing word list or a text document containing these
words. To transfer the word list or the text document on your
desktop computer to your palm device, create a new memo using the
Palm Desktop application on your desktop, and cut and paste the
word list or the text document into the new memo. Perform
a HotSync operation and open the Memo Pad application on your palm
device. Open the memo containing the word list and tap on
the Menu icon, tap on Edit and select Select All. Tap on the
Menu icon again, tap on Edit and select Copy. Now open the
TextPlus application and the word list is shown in the editor.
Tap on Word and select Add All Words in Text. Every word in
the word list is added to the vocabulary if it is not already in
the vocabulary.
Adding
Phrases to the Vocabulary
Adding
phrases to the vocabulary is similar to adding words. However,
since a phrase can contain a number of words as well as punctuation
marks, the end of the phrase must be well defined before it can
be added to the Vocabulary. To add a single phrase to the
vocabulary, simply enter it in the TextPlus editor and highlight
it. Tap on Menu icon, tap on Phrase and select Add Selection
As Phrase. If the phrase is the only text in the editor, then
it is not necessary to highlight it. Simply tap on the menu
icon, tap on Phrase, and select Add All Text As Phrase. The
first character of each phrase must be a letter, but the rest of
the phrase can contain any valid letters, numbers, and punctuation
marks. Therefore, it is possible to define a complete sentence
as a phrase. Currently there is a length limit on phrase -
the total number of characters in a phrase can not exceed 100.
To add a number of phrases to the Vocabulary, tap on the Menu icon,
tap on Edit and select Select All. Now all the text in the
editor is erased. Enter the phrases to be added in the editor,
and make sure to insert a HARD RETURN after each phrase. Note
that the text wrap performed by the editor is not considered as
a HARD RETURN. Thus each phrase can be displayed on multiple
lines in the editor. To add the phrases to the Vocabulary,
tap on the Menu icon, tap on Phrase and select Add Each Line as
Phrase. If you need to add a large number of phrases to the
Vocabulary, you may find it is better to create it on the desktop
and then transfer the phrase list to the Palm device. You
can use the Palm Desktop application to create a new memo that contains
the phrase list, and perform a HotSync operation to transfer it
to the Memo Pad application on the Palm device. After you
have copied and pasted the phrase list into the TextPlus editor,
tap on the Menu icon, tap on Phrase and select Add Each Line as
Phrase. Again, a HARD RETURN is required at the end of each
phrase.
Setting
the Vocabulary Update Rate
Every
time a word or a phrase is used in the composition, its frequency
is increased and the amount of increase is dependent on the Vocabulary
Update Rate, the value of which ranges from 0 (slowest) - 10 (fastest).
The Vocabulary Update Rate determines the relative importance of
the words used recently versus the words used in the past.
In other words, the larger the Update Rate, the faster a word or
phrase is considered obsolete since its last use. Setting
the Update Rate to 10 will give recently used words and phrases
great advantage and they will show up in the Word List or the Phrase
List immediately after their first use. Setting the Update
Rate to 0 will lead to a slowly evolving vocabulary - a recently
added word will have to be used many times before its frequency
is increased to a significant level. The default value of
Update Rate is 5, which represents a reasonable compromise between
the fast adaptation to new words and the relative stability of the
Vocabulary. It is recommended that you set the Update Rate
to 10 before you add any words or phrases that you think would be
of great importance to you.
Limiting
the Amount of Memory Used by the Vocabulary Database
As
you add new words and phrases to the Vocabulary, the amount of memory
used by the Vocabulary database increases. Depending on the
size of available memory on your Palm device, you may choose to
limit the amount of total memory taken by the Vocabulary.
The memory size limit can be any value between 10 K and 999 K, and
the default value is 999 K. A very small memory limit (less
than 50 K) is not recommended since this will severely reduce the
number of words and phrases available for the frequency-based search.
You can check the Word Vocabulary memory size using the Word Vocabulary
Info option in the Word menu, and the Phrase Vocabulary memory size
using the Phrase Vocabulary Info option in the Phrase menu.
The memory limit you set in the Vocabulary option of the Options
menu is the sum of the Word Vocabulary memory size and the Phrase
Vocabulary memory size plus a small database overhead (about 3 K).
If a new word or phrase need to be added when the memory limit is
reached, a search will take place to find a infrequently used word
and the word will be removed to free up space for the new word or
phrase. The search process may be repeated if the amount of
memory freed is not enough to accommodate the new word or phrase.
Therefore, if the memory limit is reached, you may experience some
delay when you add words or phrases to the vocabulary.
How to Contact
Us
Web Site
Visit
our web site at http://www.smartcell.com
for general information and software upgrades.
Questions about Your Order
Send email to sales@smartcell.com.
Technical Support
Send email to support@smartcell.com.
Comments, Suggestions, and Bug Report
Send
email to feedback@smartcell.com.
TextPlus
is a trademark of SmartCell Technology. 3Com, Graffiti,
and HotSync are registered trademarks and Palm III, Palm IIIx, Palm
V, Palm VII, Palm OS, and PalmPilot are trademarks of 3Com Corporation
or its subsidiaries. Visor is a trademark of Handspring and
Workpad is a trademark of IBM.
Copyright
(c) 1999, SmartCell Technology.
All rights reserved.
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