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SilverScreen User Guide
Welcome Getting Started Managing Applications Advanced Features
Welcome to SilverScreen, the world's best-selling application launcher for Palm OS. With meticulously designed themes and custom icons, SilverScreen transform the graphical interface into a veritable feast for the eyes. Underneath the knock-out looks is a full-featured launcher that retains the elegant simplicity of the Palm OS while adding an array of powerful and intuitive tools. SilverScreen supports any Palm® OS device with OS 3.0 or above and 250K of free memory. The SilverScreen application can be downloaded from the internet in either .zip or .sit compressed format. If the file doesn't automatically de-compress onto your PC, please refer to your Web browser's instructions to obtain the necessary plug-in. Once you have the Silver folder on your desktop computer you will find a file within called silver.prc as well as a number of (theme).pdb files. The silver.prc file is the main SilverScreen application and is installed onto your Palm OS handheld with a HotSync operation. OS 5: For double-density (320 x 320) support hotsync the os5.pdb file (included with the SilverScreen download) onto your OS 5 device. Once the os5 file is installed any of the OS 5-ready themes may be used with SilverScreen. High Resolution: For pre-OS 5 Sony Clié high-resolution support (320 x 320 and 320 x 480) hotsync the hires.pdb file (included with the SilverScreen download) onto your color hi-res device. Once the hi-res file is installed an option for small icons will appear under Silver Prefs > General > Advanced. Upgrading to the latest SilverScreen is as easy as installing the latest demo version over your previously registered copy. Your registration information will be retained and the new full version automatically enabled. Users upgrading from from version 1.x to 2.x must first purchase an upgrade code.
Once you have installed the silver.pdb file on your device locate the application "Silver" listed under the All category in the Applications Launcher. Tap the icon to enter the SilverScreen environment. The application may take a few seconds to initialize as it catalogs the various files on your device. Once launched SilverScreen will appear similar to the screenshots below depending on what applications you have installed on your device. The following section details the enhanced features offered by SilverScreen. Icon View: You will notice right away similarities to the default Palm OS launcher, including the general layout which displays three columns and four rows of large application icons.
List View: The List view shows applications in sortable columnar format. The List view has all of the same elements as the Icon view and the following additional features.
Pop-up sheets are the magic behind SilverScreen's incredibly powerful and easy-to-use interface. Tap the hold the stylus on the Corner button to bring up a pick list with sheet choices. A quick tap on the Corner button will toggle the current sheet up and down. Tools: The Tools sheet consists of four icons and two Hot Spots.
Tabs: The Tabs sheet provides an easy way to navigate between categories, create new categories and assign categories.
Ticker: The Ticker sheet shows the days appointments and to do items in a handy scrolling format. Tap on the top half of the ticker to launch the Date Book application and the bottom half to launch the To Do application. If you have used the Buttons dialog (in the Prefs application) to assign the Date Book or To Do hardware buttons to other applications the ticker will launch these instead.
To set Ticker sheet preferences open the Silver Preferences dialog and tap the Ticker option. Check the Activate Ticker at Start of Day box to have the Ticker automatically displayed the first time you use SilverScreen each day. The Ticker Speed setting is mainly applicable to b/w devices where it may be easiest to read at the Slower speed. Pix: The Pix sheet makes it possible for up to eight of favorite color or grayscale pictures to be displayed in a slideshow within the launcher environment. On standard resolution devices a 152 x 32 pixel picture may be shown. Hi-res devices support 304 x 68 pixel resolution pictures. To use your own images with the Pix sheet follow the steps below:
1) Download Firepad's FireViewer™ and install the application on your handheld device. 2) Upload .gif or .jpeg files (152 x 32 or 304 x 68 pixel resolution) at fireviewer.com and follow the directions to save the resulting .pdb files to your desktop computer. To preserve the exact colors with 8-bit images use the Web palette and turn off compression when converting the file. 3) Hotsync the .pdb files to your device. 4) Use the FireViewer application to preview and re-name your images. The first image must be named "ss1" and the next "ss2"... on up to "ss8." Hi-res images should have an "hr" appended to the name (for example "ss4hr"). 5) In SilverScreen use the Read Pix command to load the images into the Pix sheet. Note: FireViewer will not automatically overwrite older files with the same name. You must manually delete the older files for the new ones to be recognized with the Read Pix command. The menu bar is activated by tapping the Menu icon to the left of the Time tab. The menu choices are described below. Options Menu: The Options menu provides the means to set preferences within SilverScreen and to register, query or exit the software.
General: Two checkboxes are presented. The first controls whether items marked as Hidden (in the item's Information dialog) will be shown. The second check box allows you to choose if you want the "All" category to be included when you tap on the Home button to cycle through categories.
The Stroke of Genius is a short downward stroke of the stylus across the double-pixel line that separates the time, battery and category field from the rest of the screen. Use the pick lists to assisn seperate functions to the Stroke of Genius and two Hot Spots. Advanced: These settings do not apply to all devices. Bit Depth can be set to 16-bit on color devices that support it, but performance will slow down slightly with the change from 8-bit. High resolution devices will display a second option for small icons to be used in the Icon view. Using small icons allows up to 40 applications to be displayed at once. Sheet Menu: The Sheet menu provides the exact same functionality as the sheet pick list that is activated by a tap and hold of the corner button.
Device Menu: The device menu provides functions governing shut down and a easy way to launch some of the basic System applications.
Managing applications and databases within SilverScreen is patterned after the drag-and-drop functionality of your desktop computer. There are a number of possible destinations for dropping an item. These include any of the tools on the Tools sheet, the tabs on the Tabs sheet, either Hot Spot and the QuickSilver icon. Use the corner button or the Sheet menu to activate the Tools sheet. Drag an application (or database) to the Info tool (the first of the four large icons shown on the Tools sheet) to bring up the item's Information dialog.
Size is displayed as the application size + associated database size. Date refers to the application creation date and not data. Tap the application's icon to access the Replace Icon dialog. The Backup Bit checkbox interacts with your PC HotSync settings to determine if an item will produce a backup copy on your desktop. Re-naming Applications: Tap the application's name in the Information dialog to select it and then use the graffiti area to edit the name. Hiding Items: Tap the Hidden check box to select it. When an application or database is Hidden it will not be displayed within SilverScreen unless the Display Hidden Items check box (in the Silver Prefs > General dialog) is activated. There are four different methods for categorizing applications within SilverScreen. The first method is to use the Category pick list in the application's Information dialog (shown above). The second method is via the Category dialog which is accessed by tapping the Category tool on the Tools sheet. The third way to categorize an application is to drag and drop it on the Category tool. The application's current category will be highlighted on the pick list that comes up. Tap a different category to re-catogorize the application or tap outside of the pick list to cancel the operation.
Expansion Media: When applications in RAM are dragged to the Category tool the pick list will display options to Copy or Move the item to expansion media (if it is available on the device). Once the application is transferred to the expansion media it is displayed with a little card icon in the corner of its large icon.
Tabs Sheet: The last method of categorizing apps is to drag and drop them on the desired category tab on the Tabs sheet. If you have more than six categories defined it may be necessary to hold the application over the Nav tab to advance to the desired tab.
There are two methods for initiating application beaming within SilverScreen. The first is to tap the Beam tool to access the Beam dialog. The second method is to drag and drop an application onto the Beam tool. This will automatically initiate beaming. Beaming Databases: Change to the List view. Tap the list-expander button to display databases. Drag the database you want to beam onto the Beam tool.
Items to be deleted need to be dragged to the Trash tool on the Tools sheet. The items will remain in memory until the Trash tool is directly selected to call up the Trash Bin dialog and the Empty Bin button is selected. Deleting Databases: Change to the List view. Tap the list-expander button to display databases. Drag the database you want to remove from the device onto the Trash tool.
There are three ways to launch applications. The first method is simply to tap the application's icon in either the Icon view or List view. Hot Spots: Drag and drop an application onto a Hot Spot to assign its launch to that button.
QuickSilver: In the top-right corner of the screen you will find QuickSilver icon. Tap the icon to display a pick list of up to ten of the most recently used applications. Tap on any application in the list to launch it. Drag and drop an application on the QuickSilver icon to add it separately to the QuickSilver list as one of My Picks. Repeating this operation will remove the item from My Picks.
SilverScreen has many advanced features that allow you to customize the appearance of the launcher environment. This includes a wide range of theme, font and icon selections. Themes are the key to making SilverScreen sparkle! Themes can replace the battery meter, ROM applications, and the pop-up sheets with custom graphics.
Installing/Removing Themes: Themes come in [theme name].pdb file format. You may HotSync themes as you would any other item. Once installed the theme will be listed in the first pick list of the Theme dialog. (To access the Theme dialog first select Options from the menu bar, then choose Silver Prefs > Theme.) To remove a theme first tap the list-expander button to display databases. In the expanded list SilverScreen themes are indented under the entry "Silver Data" in the All category. Drag the theme file you want to remove onto the Trash tool on the Tools sheet. Scroll Bar: Four custom scroll bar designs are offered in addition to the standard b/w scroll bar. Mulholland and Sunset are very contempary in appearance with subtle shading, whileVine and Wilshire are more traditional. Choosing the Theme option will display a scroll bar in the style of the choosen theme or auto select the best match from the five built-in styles. Options are also provided for choosing different fonts for application and category labels.
Built-in Fonts: Three built-in fonts are available. Cagney is essentially the smallest possible legible font and is intended for displaying the greatest amount of text within a given space. Stewart is simlar to Cagney in width but is as tall as the standard Palm font. Hepburn is a stylish script font.
FontBucket: Download and install FontBucket™ by Hands High® Software to access your library of third-party fonts within SilverScreen. The FontBucket option always appears as the last choice in the Tab Font and Icon Font pick lists. Use the corner button or the Sheet menu to activate the Tools sheet. Drag an application (or database) onto the Info tool (the first of the four large icons shown on the Tools sheet) to bring up the item's Information dialog. Tap the icon that appears in the upper left corner to access the Replace Icon dialog. Use the pick list to select an icon set and then drag the desired icon on top of the old icon to replace it.
Installing/Removing Icon Sets: Icon sets come in [icon set].pdb file format. Before color icon sets may be used the chroma.pdb file must be installed. HotSync the icon set file as you would any other. Once installed the icon set will be listed in the pick list of the Replace Icon dialog. To remove an icon set first tap the list-expander button to display databases. In the expanded list SilverScreen icon sets are indented under the entry "Silver Data" in the All category. Drag the icon set you want to remove onto the Trash tool on the Tools sheet.
The Sensei is in! Find answers to all of the most frequently asked questions regarding SilverScreen and Hi-Res It! Try the links on the Customer: I have a hi-res device but SilverScreen is telling me hi-res themes cannot be displayed. Why? Sensei: You must first install HiRes to enable high resolution support within SilverScreen. Customer: I have moved applications to my Memory Stick and SilverScreen cannot see the files. I used MSGate to move the applications from my CLIE to the Memory Stick. Sensei: You must use SilverScreen to move applications from the handheld to the Memory Stick. Then choose the Copy or Move command. Memory Sticks have a directory structure just like floppy disks and hard drives. SilverScreen uses the same directory naming convention used by Palm OS 4.0. SilverScreen will recognize files that are placed in the directory /PALM/Launcher. Early versions of MS Gate move files to /PALM/PROGRAMS. Customer: How do I restore a third-party application back to its original icon? Sensei: The changes you make in SilverScreen overwrite the third party application's icon of the same bit depth. The b/w icon is unaffected. The overwritten icon is not stored anywhere and cannot be restored (i.e. just like replacing an icon on your desktop computer). To bring back the original icon the application in question needs to be installed again. Customer: Why can't I replace the icons of the built-in applications? Sensei: Icons for built-in appication are assigned using the Theme dialog. Customer: Can I make my own icons and themes? Sensei: We do not offer an icon editor for general use, but we are now providing instructions on theme design and will compile the best entries for publication at our Web site and the author's use. Complete details are available at: |
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