© 2000-2003 Michael J. McCollister
E-Mail: ScreenPrefs@MikeMcCollister.comScreen Prefs sets the default screen color/gray scale depth and color scheme for your Palm OS device.
Installation of Screen Prefs is just like any other Palm program. If you have a device that supports high resolution screens and Palm OS 5 or greater (i.e. the Palm Tungsten T), install ScreenPrefsHR.prc to get the full effect of your display. This program shows up in your Palm Preferences application (known as "Prefs") and not in the application launcher.
Requires Palm OS 3.0 or greater. 51 Kbytes of free memory on the Palm is required for ScreenPrefs.prc and 160 Kbytes of free memory for ScreenPrefsHR.prc.
ScreenPrefs.prc | The Screen Prefs application that you install on your Palm OS device. | |
ScreenPrefsHR.prc | The Screen Prefs application, with included high-resolution bitmaps, that you install on your Palm OS device. | |
README.htm | This file. |
Once installed, open up the Palm Preferences application and select "Screen" from the pull down menu at the upper right portion of the screen. On some devices Screen Prefs will be shown as "Screen" in the "Other" section of the Palm Preferences application.
Once Screen Prefs is started you will be presented with the current screen mode and color scheme. Select the default screen mode that your hardware and Palm OS version will support. If you device is a color device, you can set the color scheme.
If the high-resolution version of Screen Prefs is installed, tapping on the bitmap will make the photograph switch to low-resolution mode. This will only work with devices that conform to the Palm OS 5 high-resolution API.
Your Palm OS device may operate slower and decrease battery life when using anything but the default mode.
Below is a table showing what modes are supported for given Palm OS versions and devices (some devices may not be listed).
Palm OS Version | Palm OS Device (Partial List) | Supported Modes |
---|---|---|
1.x, 2.x | All | Not Supported |
3.0, 3.1, 3.2 | All | Black & White (1 -bit) 4 Grays (2-bit) |
3.3 | Palm III PalmPilot with III Upgrade Card |
Black & White (1 -bit) 4 Grays (2-bit) |
Palm IIIx, Palm V, Palm Vx | Black & White (1 -bit) 4 Grays (2-bit) 16 Grays (4-bit) |
|
3.5 | Palm III, PalmPilot with III Upgrade Card | Black & White (1 -bit) 4 Grays (2-bit) |
Palm IIIx, Palm IIIxe,
Palm V, Palm Vx, Palm m100, Palm m105, Handspring Platinum, Handspring Edge, Handspring Visor Pro, Handspring Visor Neo, Sony Clié PEG-S300, TRG Pro, HandEra 330 |
Black & White (1 -bit) 4 Grays (2-bit) 16 Grays (4-bit) |
|
Palm IIIc, Sony Clié PEG-N710C | Black & White (1 -bit) 4 Grays (2-bit) 16 Grays (4-bit) 256 Colors (8-bit) |
|
Palm m505, Handspring Visor Prism | Black & White (1 -bit) 4 Grays (2-bit) 16 Grays (4-bit) 256 Colors (8-bit) 65,536 Colors (16-bit) |
|
4.0 | Palm m125, Palm m500, Sony Clié PEG-S320 | Black & White (1 -bit) 4 Grays (2-bit) 16 Grays (4-bit) |
Palm m505, Sony Clié PEG-N610C | Black & White (1 -bit) 4 Grays (2-bit) 16 Grays (4-bit) 256 Colors (8-bit) 65,536 Colors (16-bit) |
|
4.1 | Palm m130, Palm m515, Palm Tungsten W, Sony Clié PEG-N760C | Black & White (1 -bit) 4 Grays (2-bit) 16 Grays (4-bit) 256 Colors (8-bit) 65,536 Colors (16-bit) |
5.0, 5.1, 5.2 | Palm Tungsten T, Sony Clié PEG-NX60, Sony Clié PEG-NX70V | Black & White (1 -bit) 4 Grays (2-bit) 16 Grays (4-bit) 256 Colors (8-bit) 65,536 Colors (16-bit) |
As shown in the table above Screen Prefs, running on a Palm IIIx running Palm OS 3.1, will only allow a maximum of 4 grays even though the hardware supports 16 grays. To get Screen Prefs to support 16 grays, then upgrade to Palm OS 3.3 (or higher). You can find the Palm OS upgrades from palm.com. A Palm III (no "x", "xe" or any letter) will only support 4 grays regardless of Palm OS version due to hardware limitations. If your hardware does not support color, then Screen Prefs will not give your device color. I'm an engineer, not a miracle worker.
Some third party applications take advantage grayscale mode while others simply break. If your application breaks to the point that your Palm device no longer responds, then reset your device by pushing a paperclip into the reset button on the back of your device. This will put your device into its default color mode if you have not checked "Survive Reset". If a third party application does not work in grayscale mode, make sure you have the latest version. Launcher III 1.52 is known not to work in grayscale or color mode so be sure to update to version 2.0 of Launcher III.
Using Screen Prefs in 16 Grays (4-bit) mode on Palm OS 3.5 is the best looking option on a non-color device. The built-in icons use grays and a few user interface components take advantage of grayscale.
On the color Palm IIIc, there seems to be no speed improvement by setting your default mode to anything but color.
Since your Palm will be displaying more shades of gray, then your battery usage will increase.
Some devices, such as Handspring's Treo 90 and Treo 270 will display only 4,096 colors (12-bit) when 65,536 colors (16-bit) is selected. This is a limitation of the device. Refer to your hardware manual for details.
Register Screen Prefs for just $7 at MikeMcCollister.com/palm/. Registration entitles you to personal use of Screen Prefs on one Palm OS device, free upgrades and support via e-mail. By registering Screen Prefs, the option of the screen mode surviving a reset becomes available. When you register please provide the program name (Screen Prefs), the user name and the registration code. The registration key that you will receive is based on your Palm user name.
If you have further questions about registration, such as volume discounts, please send e-mail to ScreenPrefs@MikeMcCollister.com.
This program is provided AS-IS; there is NO WARRANTY, express or implied. The user assumes full responsibility and liability for any use of this program. All Rights Reserved by Michael J. McCollister, except as noted below.
Permission to distribute this package complete and unmodified for personal use via the Internet for no charge (other than reasonable connection charges) is granted to the public. Distribution for commercial purposes via any other medium, including but not limited to CD-ROM, floppy, or printed material, in whole or in part, requires express permission from the author, Michael J. McCollister (ScreenPrefs@MikeMcCollister.com).
Only unmodified versions may be distributed with this notice intact.