Launch ‘Em 3

Launch ‘Em 3.9

Instructions for Use

Zero-Sixty Corporation

Portions copyright Synergy Solutions, Inc.

1. Overview

Launch ‘Em is the most advanced applications launcher available for the Palm Computing Platform. Its purpose and function is to help you organize the applications and databases on your Palm handheld and provide a quick and easy method for launching them. Launch ‘Em provides ease of use as well as a set of powerful features that combine to make it the great application that it is. Now use Launch’Em to organize and manage applications on your SD cards.

2. Installation

The first thing you need to do after you download Launch ‘Em is to install it onto your Palm handheld. There are extensive installation instructions on our web site at the following address: http://www.synsolutions.com/support/. There are also installation instructions in your Palm handheld’s handbook/instruction manual.

For a quick install simply unzip or unstuff the downloaded file and use your Palm desktop tool to install all files ending in .prc and .pdb. The remaining files include the manual and readme files.

** IMPORTANT UPGRADE NOTICE **

If you are upgrading from Launch ‘Em 3.0.2 or above, please read this:

Launch ‘Em 3 will install easily over any version of Launch ‘Em 3.0.2 or above. Your preferences, tabs, and settings will be preserved. Before installation, make sure to turn off the "Always Use Launch ‘Em" preference in the Launch ‘Em General Preferences. If you are using version 3.5 or above, this function is disabled by Failure to do so will result in the new versions of the plugins to NOT be installed onto your handheld.

If you use LaunchEmAppHack, you MUST go to the HackMaster application and deactivate LaunchEmAppHack by making sure that it’s UNCHECKED before installing a newer version. Failure to do so will result in a crash, and your upgrade may not work.

If you are upgrading from any version of Launch ‘Em 2 or below, read this:

You must uninstall Launch ‘Em from your device before upgrading. To do this you must first make sure to turn off the "Always Use Launch ‘Em" preference in the Launch ‘Em General Preferences. Then go to the Applications application and delete Launch ‘Em via the Delete Menu.

If you use LaunchEmAppHack, you MUST go to the HackMaster application and

deactivate LaunchEmAppHack by making sure that it’s UNCHECKED before installing a newer version. Failure to do so will result in a crash, and your upgrade may not work.

3. Getting Started

3.1. Starting Launch ‘Em

NOTE: Launch ‘Em operates on both color and grayscale (and black & white) handhelds.

Once you have installed Launch ‘Em you should see its icon in the applications launcher when you tap the silk-screened applications (or home) button. The Launch ‘Em icon looks like this:

Figure 1: Launch 'Em Icon

Tap on that icon. The first thing you will see is this screen:

Figure 2: Welcome Screen

You have the option of importing the category settings from the built-in applications launcher. Choosing ‘Yes’ will create a Launch ‘Em tab for each category you have set up, and place the icons for those applications in the corresponding tab in Launch ‘Em.

After you tap Yes or No you may be prompted to soft reset your handheld. This will not harm anything on your handheld. Simply perform the soft reset and you will see a screen that looks similar to this:

Figure 3: First View of Launch 'Em

The screen may not look exactly like this based on which handheld you have and what applications you have installed on it. (For example, on Palm VII handhelds there will be another tab called "PQAs.")

3.2. Tour of the Main Screen

There are three parts to the main screen: the Tabs, the Databases Window, and the Toolbar.

Figure 4: Tabs Figure 5: Databases Window Figure 6: Toolbar

3.2.1. Tabs

The Tabs can be positioned to the left of the Databases Window (as shown) or to the right, above, or below. This can be set by going to the menu and selecting OptionsàLayout. The different Tabs (Apps, Games, Unfiled, System, Main for example) are used for filing away your various applications and databases. NOTE: Launch ‘Em displays not only applications but also any type of database you choose provided they are in RAM and not on MMC/SD cards. This means that you can show ListMaker databases, HackMaster Extensions (HACKs), DOCs, and PQAs (For Palm VII and other wireless handheld users). You can make new tabs, rename tabs, delete tabs, and set a tab’s view preferences all from the Tab menu. You can access the contents of a tab by tapping on the tab. You can drag-and-drop tabs to rearrange the order of the tabs. Read more about tabs in section 4.

3.2.2. The Databases Window

The Databases Window is used to show all of the databases that are being displayed in the current tab. From this window you can launch an application by tapping on it.

3.2.3. The Toolbar

The Toolbar is the command center of Launch ‘Em. It shows all kinds of relevant information and houses the gadgets. There are many parts to the toolbar. All of the parts show when the toolbar is expanded, some show when it is compact and none show when it is hidden.

Expanded Toolbar

Figure 7: Expanded Toolbar

The two icons above are buttons, the "toolbar hide" (left) and "toolbar compact" (right) buttons. If you tap on the "toolbar hide" button, the toolbar will switch to hidden mode. If you tap on the "toolbar compact" button, the toolbar will switch to compact mode.

Included in the toolbar is the Date/Day display. On the picture of the toolbar above, you only see "Friday" but if you tap on that section of the toolbar, it will toggle to display the date (in long format)

The toolbar also includes the Time display.

The three pictures above are the battery and memory meter. There are four modes to this meter, battery percentage, battery volts, memory percentage, and memory kilobytes. When a handheld with a rechargeable battery is in the cradle being charged, both battery meters will show "Chrg." instead of the percentage or volts. (This is also the case on the Palm OS Emulator.) On color handhelds, the meters will change from green to yellow to red depending on the level of the meter. You can tell whether the battery or the memory meter is being displayed based on the little icon to the left of the meter:

The picture above shows the gadgets section of the toolbar. All ten (10) gadgets show when the toolbar is expanded. See the section below on gadgets for more information on gadgets and plugins.

Compact Toolbar

Figure 10: Compact Toolbar (Color, Grayscale, Black & White)

Hidden Toolbar

Figure 11: Hidden Toolbar (Color, Grayscale, Black & White)

If the toolbar is hidden all you will see is a line and a triangle like you see above. If you tap on any part of the hidden toolbar, the toolbar will switch to compact mode.

3.3. Organizing Databases & Tabs

Now that you have all of these icons in the Apps tab, you will want to make new tabs and file your icons away.

Launch ‘Em supports drag-and-drop all over the place. You can drag databases to new locations in the database window, to new tabs, and to certain gadgets. You can drag tabs to new tab locations as well.

Make a New Tab

Choose "New Tab" from the Tab menu. A New tab will be made and you’ll see the Tab Settings screen. Enter a new name for the Tab and tap OK. For more information on the tab preferences see the Tabs section.

Moving Databases

To move a database to a new tab, simply drag it to the desired tab and drop it there. You can choose to have the databases sorted alphabetically in a tab or you can sort them manually. If the tab is sorted manually then you can rearrange the icons in a tab by dragging them in the Databases Window. A rectangular outline will appear around the spot where the icon will be moved.

Moving Tabs

To move a tab to a new location, drag it there.

3.5. The Tour Continues...

There are four menus in Launch ‘Em, File, Tab, Palm and Options:

Figure 12: Launch 'Em Menus

NOTE: To access the menus, tap on the menu button, which is to the left of the graffiti area, just below the home or applications button.

File Menu:

Card Info displays about information the Removable media card that you have inserted in your handheld. It tells you the amount of memory used and still free.
Beam Launch’Em allows you to beam a demo of Launch ‘Em to your friends, family, co-workers, or anyone else with a Palm handheld (with an Infra-Red port). Use this feature liberally; send Launch ‘Em out over the light waves as much as you can!
AppHackInfo
Soft Reset will reset your Palm device. This is not dangerous. It is just the same as resetting your Palm handheld with a paper clip in the back.
Quit Launch’Em allows you to exit Launch’Em and return to the built in Palm applications launcher.

Tab Menu:

New Tab will create a new tab called "New Tab." The new tab will be made as the last tab. The Tab Preferences screen will automatically come up so you can change the name and view settings of the tab.

Delete Tab will delete the current tab.
Tab Settings takes you to the tab settings window allowing you to customize the look of your tabs.

Palm Menu:

Applications will launch the built-in applications launcher on PalmOS 3.0 and above devices and the Memory application on PalmOS 2.X and below devices. There is no way to go directly to the Delete, Info, or Beam menu choices of the built-in applications launcher from Launch ‘Em.

Preferences will display the system preferences.
Security will launch the security application.
HotSync will launch the HotSync application.

Options Menu:

Layout allows you to customize the layout of your Launch’Em interface.
Preferences allows you to customize Launch’Em preferences.
Gadget Settings allows you to choose which gadgets and plugins are in each position in the toolbar. There is more on this below.
DB Placement brings up the default database placement settings screen. There is more on this below.
About Launch’Em brings up the Launch ‘Em information screen. Use this to find out what version you’re using. You can also use it to find out what stellar programmers put this thing together. You can also read copyright information and other legal mumbo-jumbo.

4. Tabs

4.1. Tab Basics

Figure 13: Tabs

The tabs are the part of the picture above that is not grayed out. There are four tabs in this picture: "Apps," "Games," " System," and "Main" Tabs are used to store your different databases (icons). You can create as many tabs as you like. You can rename existing tabs.

Use the Tab menu to create and delete tabs and change the settings for a tab. When you choose "New Tab" from the tab menu you will be presented with the Tab Preferences screen where you will be prompted to enter a name for the new tab.

To access the contents of a tab, tap on that tab. In the picture above, the "Apps" tab is the current tab. All of the icons showing are in the "Apps" tab.

4.2. Tab Preferences

The Tab Preferences screen looks different on a color handheld than it does on a grayscale handheld because, on the color handheld, you have the option to choose a tab’s color and text color.

Figure 14: Color Tab Pref Figure 15: B&W, Grayscale Tab Pref

There are seven attributes of a tab that are common to color and grayscale handhelds.

Tab Name: The name of the tab

View Type: You can choose Large Icons, Small Icons, List View

Columns: The number of columns of icons the tab will display or the number of columns in the list view

Label Font: This is the font that will be used for the icon names

Show Label: Whether or not to show the icon names

Hidden Tab: This determines whether or not the tab will be hidden when private records are hidden.

Sort Order: Choose between Alphabetical or Manual.

4.2.1. Colors

(If you do not use a color handheld, please go to section 4.2.2)

On color handhelds you can also change the color of a tab and the text color in a tab. If you tap on the colored squares next to "Tab Color" and "Text Color" you will see a color picker screen that looks like this:

Figure 16: Color Picker Screen

If, for example, you choose blue for the "Tab Color" and orange for the "Text Color" your tab will look like this:

Figure 17: Blue Tab with Orange Text

As you can see, the tab border color matches the text color. Also, "legacy" icons like the "HackM…" icon in the picture will also draw in the text color. Legacy icons are older black & white icons that do not have colored or grayscale versions created for them.

NOTE: Some icons, like the "Applica…" and "MagicT…" icons in the picture above, will have a white rectangle around them. This means that they were not created with a transparent color. This is not a Launch ‘Em error.

However, we have included a gadget plugin called ‘Icon Transparency’ that attempts to make the app icons transparent to fix this problem in older applications. To fix the icons, simply tap the ‘Icon Transparency’ plugin and it will fix all icons on the device.

4.2.2. View Type, Columns, and Labels

There are three choices for View Type: Large Icons, Small Icons, and List View. You can choose from 1 to 5 columns for icon views and from 1 to 3 columns in list view.

The picture below shows a tab displaying large icons in 3 columns.

Figure 18: Large Icons, 3 Columns

You can change to small icons now and you will see the following view.

Figure 19: Small Icons, 3 Columns

As you can see, showing small icons in three columns is not very viewable. So let’s change it to two columns.

Figure 20: Small Icons, 2 Columns

Now we can change to list view to see some more information about the databases.

TIP: If you are currently showing in either icon view, you can tap on the currently active tab (in this case "Apps") to toggle to list view.

Figure 21: List View, 2 Columns

Now you can see two column headings, "Name" and "Size" and the corresponding information for all of the databases.

The triangular trigger next to the word "Size" is a trigger for a pop-up list that lets you display other types of information about the databases.

Figure 22: List View Column Types

As you can see, you can display the Size, Version, Modification Date, Type, and Creator of the database. You can change the information displayed by tapping on the pop-up trigger to pop up the list seen above and choosing another item from the list. Here is a list with the Version information showing.

Figure 23: List View, Version Displayed

You can sort the list on any column by tapping on the header of the column. Tap on the "Name" header and it will change the alphabetical sorting to reverse-alphabetical.

Figure 24: List View, Sorted Reverse-Alphabetical

If a list is sorted alphabetically and you tap on the Name column, it will be sorted reverse-alphabetically. If you tap on a column that is not currently being sorted on, it will sort the list on that column. If you tap on the same column again it will sort it in reverse.

You can resize a column by tapping dragging the border between the headers to the right or to the left. You cannot move the far left or far right ends of the column headers.

Figure 25: Resizing a Column Figure 26: Resized Column

If you show three columns in the list view you will get another column that you can set to display any of the five choices above. The first column will always display the icon and the name; you cannot change that.

Fonts

There are four fonts available on handhelds with Palm OS 3.0 and above. If your handheld has a version of Palm OS less than 3.0, you may not see all four font choices.

If you change the font in the list view it may look like the following picture.

Figure 27: List View, Large Font

Let’s go back to large icon view and uncheck the "Show Labels" option. As you can see below, none of the database names are displayed.

Figure 28: Large Icons, 2 Columns, Labels Not Shown

As you can tell by now, there are a lot of different ways that you can display the databases. Now you can experiment with the options and find your favorite.

4.2.3. Sort Order

You can choose to have a tab sorted alphabetically or manually. Additionally, the list view allows for other sort orders.

List View Sorting

You can sort the list on any column by tapping on the header of the column. If a list is sorted alphabetically and you tap on the Name column, it will be sorted reverse-alphabetically. If you tap on a column that is not currently being sorted on, it will sort the list on that column. If you tap on the same column again it will sort the list in reverse.

Manual Sorting

You can also sort a list manually, meaning that you can drag and drop the icons and put them in any order you choose. To do this, choose "Manual" from the Sort Order pop-up list in the Tab Preferences screen and tap the OK button.

To move icons to other positions in the tab, simply drag-and-drop them to the desired position in the list. The following four pictures show how to move "SlideShow Commander" to the top left position in the tab.

Figure 29: Moving Icons: Figure 30: Selecting

Initial View SlideShow Commander

Figure 31: Dragging Figure 32: Moving Icons

SlideShow Commander Final View

When in manual sort mode, you will see outlines of the icon positions drawn as you drag a database over them.

4.2.4. Hidden Tabs

If you check the "Hidden Tab" option in the Tab Preferences screen, that tab will be marked private and will be hidden when private records are hidden or masked. Use the "Hide/Show Private Records" gadget or the Security application to hide and show private records.

4.3. Tab Sequence

You can change the order of the tabs by dragging and dropping them in the desired location.

5. Layout

The layout dialog lets you determine Launch ‘Em’s look and feel.

Figure 33: Layout

Note: Background Color and Toolbar Color choices are only options on color handhelds

5.1. Tab Location

The tab location determines where the tabs will draw. Choose up, down, left, right, or none. See examples:

Figure 34: Tabs Up Figure 35: Tabs Down

Figure 36: Tabs Left Figure 37: Tabs Right

5.2. Screen Depth

This setting allows you to set the screen depth used in Launch ‘Em. The screen depth is the number of colors that the screen displays. Some handhelds will only have "Black and White" as an option, others will have more choices. The number of choices depends on the type of handheld you have.

This setting determines which depth Launch ‘Em will use while it is running. Launch ‘Em will remember the screen’s setting before it is launched and set it back when you quit Launch ‘Em.

NOTE for Handspring Visor Prism users (and other devices that display more than 256 colors): The color picker in Palm OS 3.5 does not work unless the screen is set to display 256 colors. It will crash if the screen is set to 65k colors (16-bit color) or more. Therefore, Launch ‘Em only allows the use of a maximum of 256 colors (8-bit color).5.4.

5.3. Colors

(If you do not use a color handheld, please go to section 5.4)

There are two color settings in the TabàTab Settings and the OptionsàLayout. The following picture is what a yellow background and a orange toolbar looks like. The Tab color (red here) is determined in Tab Settings.

Figure 38: Red Background, Orange Toolbar

5.4. Scrollbar Location

The scrollbar can be either on the left or on the right side of the main applications window.

Figure 39: Scrollbar Left with ColorTheme™ Active

6. Preferences

In the Preferences dialog you determine how Launch ‘Em behaves

Figure 40: Preferences

6.1. Copy/Move Icons Between Tabs

This option determines how Launch ‘Em will act when you drag and drop icons to other tabs. If you have "Copy" selected, a copy of the dragged icon will be made in the destination tab. If you have "Move" selected, the icon will be moved to the destination tab (and removed from the source tab). If you have "Ask" selected, Launch ‘Em will ask you if you would like to copy or move the icon each time you drag one to another tab.

Use the "Remove Icon From Tab" gadget to remove copies of icons form tabs. See the Gadgets section for more information.

6.2. Start on Last Tab / Start on Same Tab

If you have Start on Last Tab checked then Launch ‘Em will remember what tab you were on whenever you leave Launch ‘Em and bring that tab up when you next use Launch ‘Em. If you have Start on Same Tab checked then Launch ‘Em will start on the tab you specify every time you use it.

6.3. Level Display

This setting lets you decide which of the four meters you would like to see in the toolbar. Choose the battery percentage, battery volts, free memory in kilobytes (or megabytes), or free memory as a percentage of total memory.

6.4. Use Scroll Buttons to Switch Tabs

If this is checked then the hard scroll buttons (the physical buttons on your Palm handheld) will rotate through the tabs rather than scrolling the databases window. If you have a Sony Clie (or another Palm handheld with a jog dial) the jog dial will act the same as the scroll buttons.

6.5. Cycle Date

If this is checked then the date field in the toolbar will cycle between date and day of week when the toolbar is expanded and date, day of week, and time when the toolbar is compact.

6.6. Tab Shading

Tab Shading is used to make the current Tab a little more obvious. It makes all other Tabs a little darker, regardless of their color. This is mostly useful if you keep your Tabs in the same or a similar color.

Figure 41: Tab Shading On Figure 42: Tab Shading Off

6.7. Card Related Preferences

For the preferences Scan Cards, Handle Card Insertion and Launch Info please refer to section 9.5. Card Related Preferences, which deals with removable media and is only important for devices that use SD/MMC cards. If your device cannot use those cards you can skip that section.

7. Default Database Placement

You can set which tabs new applications and databases will be placed in when they are found by Launch ‘Em. This settings screen is the place that you set this up. This is also the way to have other types of databases shown in Launch ‘Em. The screen looks like this:

Figure 43: DB Placement

This is the default setting. This means that databases of type ‘appl’ and with any creator (any application) will be shown in Launch ‘Em and they will be placed in the Apps tab whenever new ones are found. To find the Type and Creator identifiers for a specific application or database, simply use the GetInfo gadget.

Add a few more:

Figure 44: More DB Placement

These settings specify that:

Any databases with a creator ‘SSlm’ will show in Launch ‘Em and will be placed in the tab called "ListMaker" The creator ‘SSlm’ is for ListMaker databases.

Any databases of type ‘appl’ and with any creator (any application) will be shown in Launch ‘Em and they will be placed in the Apps tab whenever new ones are found.

Any databases of type ‘TEXt’ and creator ‘REAd’ (DOCs) will show and will be placed in the "DOCs" tab.

Any databases of type ‘pqa ’ will show and be placed in the "PQAs" tab.

The order of these settings is important because when Launch ‘Em is filing databases into tabs, it stops at the first Default Placement setting that is appropriate for a given database. Use the small circle to the right of the items to drag them to a new position.

Preference panels (e.g. Buttons, Owner, etc.) are also supported in Launch 'Em (2.13 and later), enabling instant access to your Palm settings.

Use the popup trigger at the left side of an item to choose a built-in type/creator combination.

Use the popup trigger at the right side of an item to choose the tab.

You can enter any type and creator into a default setting. Leave a field blank to use it as a wildcard.

For more information on this feature and applications that support the sysAppLaunchCmdOpenDB feature, please see this page on the Synergy Solutions web site on the internet:

http://www.synsolutions.com/software/launchem/launchcommand.html

Also note that applications or databases residing on external media like SD/MMC cards are not supported at this time.

8. Gadgets

8.1. Overview

The gadgets are located in the right side of the toolbar. The expanded toolbar shows 10 gadgets and the compact toolbar shows 4 gadgets. The gadgets perform helpful tasks.

You can determine which gadgets you would like to display in the toolbar by using the Gadget Settings screen.

Figure 45: Gadget Settings

Tap on a gadget position and a popup trigger will appear below. Choose a gadget from this list to have it appear in the chosen spot.

Remember that only the four gadgets on the bottom right will show when the toolbar is compact.

Figure 46: The 4 Gadget Positions That Show In A Compact Toolbar

Some gadgets are built into Launch ‘Em and others are plugins. Plugins can be found on the Synergy Solutions web site and are also bundled with Launch ‘Em.

Some gadgets can be tapped, some gadgets can have databases dragged onto them, and some can do both. You can find out if you can drag a database onto a gadget by dragging a database to the gadget area.

If the gadget’s name appears in a pop up box when you drag over it, you can drop the database on it to perform the function.

8.2. Description of the Built In Gadgets

Launch ‘Em has 14 built-in gadgets. Any other gadgets are plugins. Shown in the list below are the three possible gadget icons (color, grayscale, black & white) [Icons], the name of the gadget [Name], the description of the gadget [Description], and whether or not you can tap [T] and/or drag [D] on the gadget.

Icons	Name	Description	T	D
	AppMap	Allows you to choose which application will be used to open a given type of database. Drag a database onto the gadget to choose the application you want to open the database. You will need to know the application’s creator code which can be found out by using the GetInfo plugin gadget or the list view.		•
	Apps List	Tap to bring up a list of the most recently used apps and the most commonly used apps.	•
	Backlight Toggle	Turns on and off the backlight on grayscale and black & white handhelds.	•
	Copy Me	Allows you to copy or move applications from RAM to Secure Digital Card and vice versa. This will not work on MemPlug SD/MMC modules. To copy or move an SD/MMC card based app drag & drop it.		•
	Gadget Settings	Brings up the Gadget Settings Screen	•
	Graffiti Reference	Brings up the Graffiti Reference Screens	•
	Hide/Show Private Records	Toggles between hiding and showing private records. Requires your password if you have it set.	•
	Launch’Em Quick Menu	Pops up a list of useful functions	•
	Power Off	Turns off the handheld	•
	Power Off & Lock	Turns off and locks the handheld	•
	Remove Icon From Tab	Removes an icon from a tab. If the icon is the only instance of that database, this gadget will do nothing.		•
	Rename Icon	Allows you to rename any icon. To rename an SD/MMC card based app drag & drop it.		•
	Spawn	‘Proxy’ taps and drags via this gadget. If you TAP the spawn gadget, a list of all installed tap-able gadgets will be shown, allowing you to choose any of them. If you DRAG an item to Spawn, a list of all available drag-able gadgets will be shown. This allows you to tap or drag to a gadget without that gadget being visible on the toolbar.	•	•
	Trash Can	Drag to delete a database. Tap to bring up a list of all databases on the handheld to delete. To delete an SD/MMC card based app drag & drop it.	•	•

8.3. Plugins

When you install plugins for Launch ‘Em they will appear in the popup list in the gadget settings screen.

There are 6 bundled plugins that Synergy Solutions has created. Shown in the list below are the three possible gadget icons (color, grayscale, black & white) [Icons], the name of the gadget [Name], the description of the gadget [Description], and whether or not you can tap [T] and/or drag [D] on the gadget.

Icons	Name	Description	T	D
	BeamMe	Drag an icon to beam the database to another handheld. Tap to bring up a list of all databases on the handheld to beam.To beam an SD/MMC card based app drag & drop it.	•	•
	Brightness / Contrast	Brings up the brightness slider on color handhelds and the contrast slider on certain grayscale handhelds. Does on pre-Palm OS 3 handhelds.	•
	Get Info	Drag an icon to get lots of information about the database. Tap to get system information. To get info on an SD/MMC card based app drag & drop it.	•	•
	LaunchIt	Assign a database to the gadget which will be launched when you tap the gadget. . To assign an SD/MMC card based app drag & drop it.	•	•
	Network Panel	Brings up the network preference panel.	•
	Screen Depth	Use to change the screen depth (number of colors displayed) on the handheld.	•
	Icon Transparency	Removes the white background displayed by some icons in a non-white Launch ‘Em tab.		•

To delete Launch ‘Em plugins, tap on the "Delete Plugins" button. This will bring up a list of the installed plugins. Tap on the plugin you wish to delete and tap the "OK" button to delete it. This is the recommended way to delete Launch ‘Em plugins. If the plugin cannot be deleted, reset your handheld by choosing "Reset" from the Launch ‘Em menu and trying again.

Note: Plugins not included in this distribution or from third parties might not be compatible with Launch ‘Em and should not be used unless specifically certified for Launch ‘Em 3.5.

9. Removable Media

Launch ‘Em supports removable media such as Secure Digital® Cards, the Handspring 8MB Flash Module and compact flash units on a TRG Pro using AutoCF. Launch ‘Em will also support other forms of removable media providing they are transparent to the system.

9.1. Secure Digital® and MultiMedia Cards:

Figure 47: Applications on SD Cards

Applications that are located on your SD/MMC Cards will appear in Launch’Em with a small colored square to the lower right of the application’s icon (It is typically blue, but can vary if you have ColorTheme installed for example). Figure 46 shows "ListMaker," "MagicText," and "SlideShow Commander" which are located on SD Cards. To Copy and Move applications back and forth between RAM and your SD Cards use the "CopyMe" Gadget or a tool like Filez or FileMan. Note: "CopyMe" copies and moves applications, but not databases (See section 7 of this manual for more information about this gadget). If you remove the SD Card, the locations of the applications on the SD card will be saved for the next time you insert the card.

9.2. Card Insertion/Removal:

Several applications today are not yet fully compatible with external media like cards and might crash when active while a card is inserted or removed. Keeping Launch ‘Em active while exchanging cards is usually a good idea. Removing cards during any kind of card-related activity (i.e. copying/moving data or when Launch ‘Em presents its "Reading default directory…" message) can result in a damaged card. Also, it is generally not a good idea to switch cards while the current application is in a dialog.

9.3. Card Info:

The Card Info dialog (under the File menu) provides some information and a couple of options for dealing with SD/MMC cards.

Figure 48: Card Info Dialog

If you have any cards installed, this dialog will provide some information about the amount of space left and the kind of cards. The Card popup trigger lets you choose between different cards, should your device support more than one. You also can tap the Rename… button and change the name of your card. Note: The Card Info dialog is not available if no cards are installed or if the device cannot accept SD/MMC cards. Also, on MemPlug SD/MMC modules the Rename… button is not available.

9.4. Custom Path:

The Apps Dir… button opens the Custom Path dialog in which you can override the default applications directory usually found on cards. This is not something you should change under normal circumstances.

Figure 49: Custom Path

There are, however, some devices that set the applications directory to a different path than /PALM/Launcher/. Specifically some SONY devices use /PALM/PROGRAMS/MSFILES/. If that is the case Launch ‘Em will not list those applications and you might want to set a custom path here. This is a global option and will determine how Launch ‘Em looks for applications on all cards. If the Enable Custom Path checkbox is checked the new setting will take effect the next time Launch ‘Em is started.

9.5. Card Related Preferences:

There are also several options in the Preferences dialog that have an effect on the way Launch ‘Em works with SD/MMC cards.

Figure 50: Preferences Dialog

Scan Cards determines whether Launch ‘Em reads inserted cards at all.
Handle Card Insertion means that Launch ‘Em will start itself when a card is inserted. For some read-only cards like Game-Pak® by Palm or Backup Cards also by Palm this option should not be checked. Also MemPlug modules for SD/MMC cards work better with this option not checked.
Launch Info provides a status dialog for applications launched from cards, since depending on their size it might take a couple of seconds to load. Leave this option unchecked if you don’t want any notification.

Figure 51: Launch Info

9.6. Handspring 8MB Flash Module:

If the Handspring 8MB Flash Module, for example, is inserted for the first time, Launch ‘Em will be launched and will scan for applications on the flash module. If applications are found they will be filed into tabs using the default database filing rules (see above). You can move these new applications to other tabs as you like. If you then remove the flash module, the locations of the applications on the flash module will be saved for the next time you insert the module. So, if, for example, you have an application called ListMaker on the flash module and you store it in a tab called "Synergy," that location will be saved if you remove and re-insert the flash module.

9.7. TRG Pro AutoCF users

At the time this was written, databases that are stored in compact flash (CF) cannot be beamed and the BeamMe plugin does not allow them to be beamed. This is not a Launch ‘Em problem. This is an issue with CF.

NOTE: This feature has a side effect. If you delete an application from your handheld its location will be saved if you ever happen to install that application again. So if you install an application and it doesn’t appear in the default tab, you may have had it on your handheld before and it’s back in the tab you used to store it in.

Power User Tip: Launch ‘Em saves 100 removed database locations. The list of these databases is stored in a database called "LERemoved." The value (100) is stored in a resource in the Launch ‘Em application database which is called "LaunchEm." You can change this value by using a resource editor. The value resides in resource 'RQSZ' ID 1000.

9.8. MemPlug SpringBoard Module for SD/MMC Cards

In order to use SD/MMC cards with the module one must register it online and download PiVFSMgr (version 0.5beta as of this writing) and install it. Only when PiVFSMgr is installed and enabled will Launch' Em recognize cards. For best compatibility the option "Handle Card Insertion" in Launch ‘Em’s Preference dialog should be disabled. When installing Launch' Em on a HandSpring device equipped with a MemPlug module the applications listed below will become usable right away and indicate with a colored dot that they are external to the device. They are in fact on the module itself. Also these applications will appear to be located on the inserted card and become unavailable once the card is removed. Disable PiVFSMgr to make these applications available while no card is in the module. The applications that appear to be on card after installation and enabling of PiVFSMgr are: CSpotRun, gMovie, PiBackup, PiDirect, PiMover, PiPrefs, PiViewer.

Note:

The MemPlug SD/MMC module is NOT compatible with copyright protected SD/MMC cards (i.e. GamePak and others by PALM, Inc.) or Backup Card by PALM, Inc. and will crash upon insertion. Since the necessary software for this module is still in beta and constantly revised some problems are to be expected.

10. Launch ‘Em App Hack

The Launch ‘Em App Hack is a HackMaster extension that will bring up a list of recently used and commonly used applications and databases, even if you are not in Launch ‘Em! This is one of the most popular features of Launch ‘Em. To use the App Hack, install the "LaunchEmAppHack.prc" file. You also have to have a Hack Manager like HackMaster installed. If you don’t have one, please install HackMaster from the CD or download file you received or go to http://www.daggerware.com/ to download it. Once the App Hack and HackMaster are installed, run your Hack Manager and check the check box next to LaunchEmAppHack.

Figure 52: Launch ’Em App Hack

Now the extension is enabled. Once it’s enabled all you have to do to invoke it is start the pen on the applications button and drag it about an inch upward into the screen and let go. The list of "Most Recent" and "Most Common" applications used appears. NOTE: In order to make the most recent and most common lists more useful, Launch ‘Em will not place applications linked to the hard buttons or silk-screen buttons in these lists. This list will otherwise consist of all applications in RAM that were launched by Launch ‘Em.

Another feature of the Launch ‘Em App Hack is to switch to the last application you were using. To do this, start the pen on the applications button and drag it down to the menu button and let go.

Dragging the pen from the Applications button to the RIGHT (in the Graffiti Area) and letting go will display a list of ALL applications installed in RAM on your Palm OS Device. You can choose an item from the list to run it, or simply enter the first letter of the name of the application you want to run, and the list will auto-scroll to that item.

AppHack only recognizes applications in RAM.

11. Compatibility

11.1. Overclocking

Launch ‘Em is compatible with Afterburner III and FastCPU. A known problem with both exists however on very high settings where on-screen form items like buttons and lists become somewhat non-responsive.

11.2. Running from External Media

Launch ‘Em should never be run from SD/MMC cards.

11.2. High Resolution

Launch ‘Em cannot be run in extended mode on SONY devices, but will work fine in regular mode. On HandEra 330 devices Launch ‘Em works best when set to Scale To Fit in the Applications preference.

11.3. Pre-configured SD/MMC Card

Some applications on write-protected SD/MMC cards will not launch correctly due to their copyright protection scheme. The indication for this is usually that an application pops up a registration dialog or simply exits with a message. If you use a lot of these cards you might want to consider leaving the option "Handle Card Insertion" in Launch ‘Em’s Preferences unchecked. In that mode Launch ‘Em will let the built-in launcher take over on card insertion and you can get back into Launch ‘Em any time by tapping the Home icon.

12. Conclusion

Please email support@synsolutions.com with any comments/suggestions/praise. Please see our web site for technical support: http://www.synsolutions.com/support/. Don’t forget to look to the Launch ‘Em homepage for information and additional plugins:

http://www.synsolutions.com/software/launchem/

Thanks for using Launch ‘Em!