MobileWrite 3.3.1 User Guide

Version 3.3.1, updated on Sept 12, 2004

 

Introduction

MobileWrite makes it easy to enter text and data in to your favorite Palm OS applications using your handwriting. It is an alternative to the Graffiti and Graffiti 2 software. This handwriting recognition software supports Graffiti letters and standard English letters, numbers, symbols, accented letters and other letters used in European languages.

 

Installation

If you are upgrading to a new version, disable the current version by deselecting the Enable Checkbox, otherwise, the new version may not install properly. There is no need to delete the existing version, the new version will replace the old one.

Important: This program works alongside with Graffiti and Graffiti 2 software. But if you have installed another handwriting recognition application besides Graffiti or Graffiti 2, or another program which processes strokes written on the screen, please turn it off first. More than one program which processes strokes written on the screen, will cause a conflict.

Quick installation

Double click on the mobilewrite.prc file. This will automatically load it into the Palm Desktop software. An install dialog window should pop up. Put your handheld into the cradle, and perform a HotSync. This will install MobileWrite on to your handheld.

Manual installation

 

After Installation

To run MobileWrite, press the large red "M" icon in the Applications Launcher. Press the ReadMe button for important tips, then press the Tutorial button to try the characters. The "Show" button in the Tutorial shows all the supported characters through animation. The buttons below each letter will animate only that letter. The online help only lists the important tips, refer to this manual for detailed information.

Purchase/Registration

MobileWrite has a 15 day evaluation period, after this period, the software will stop working. To continue using this software after the evaluation period, it must be purchased. After purchasing this software, a registration code (also called a Serial Number) will be emailed to you. Simply enter this registration code in the Register screen to unlock this application.

You will be asked your HotSync user ID during the purchase. A HotSync ID is a name you have given your handheld when it was first setup. This ID can be found on the Registration screen in the MobileWrite application and also in upper right corner of the HotSync program screen. This ID is case sensitive, so it must be entered as exactly as shown. There is no need to download another version for registration, however you may want to check for updates to this product.

Options On the Main Screen

Enable MobileWrite Checkbox - This checkbox must be enabled to use MobileWrite.

Enable After Reset - If this is set to "Yes", MobileWrite will be automatically enabled after a system reset. If it is set to "Ask", a popup window will be displayed after a reset. If too many resets are performed, one after another in a short period of time, MobileWrite will not re-enable itself.

Change Mode - This pops up the "Where To Write" screen.

The Word option allows a word or several characters to be written across the screen, as it is done on paper.

The One Letter option is used to enter one letter at a time. If you are used to writing one letter at a time on your PDA, you may prefer this option.

The Graffiti option selects the Graffiti letter set instead of the regular letters.

When using the Word mode, write letters on the lower half of the screen, numbers, symbols on the upper half of the screen. For many letters, the size determines if the letter is uppercase or lowercase, as is done on paper. For uppercase, write it an inch or larger. This height can be reduced by selecting the "Smaller capitals" option. In the Graffiti input box, write letters on the left, and numbers, symbols on the right side.

When writing several letters across the screen, a gap must be present between each letter.

When using the One Letter Mode, write on the left side for lowercase, center for capitals, right side for numbers and symbols.

In Graffiti mode, write lowercase letters on the left side. If the "Write capitals in center" checkbox is set, writing in the center of the screen will produce capital letters. If not set, use the "Shift" stroke or the "Lock" strokes to capitalize. These strokes are displayed in the Gestures window on the Tutorial screen. The Lock strokes are used to set the shift lock. To get out of the Shift Lock setting, write the Shift stroke again. In the lower right corner, a shift and a shift lock indicator is displayed, so you can tell if the next character will be capitalized. These indicators look like small arrows pointing up.

Punctuation and Gestures may be written anywhere.

Write on screen Checkbox - If this option is selected, the strokes drawn on the screen will be recognized.

Write in Input Box Checkbox - Some PDAs and Smartphones have a Graffiti input box below the screen. If this checkbox is selected, the strokes in this box will also be recognized.

Show Ink Checkboxs- There are two checkboxes. One turns on/off the the temporary trail of ink from the stylus on the screen, the other one is for the strokes drawn in the Graffiti Input Box.

Show Alternates checkbox - Allows alternate letters to be displayed in the upper left corner, described below.

Int'l Letters checkbox - Enables/disables the International letters. Turning off International letters, will slightly improve speed and accuracy.

Your writing speed slider - Your Writing Speed slider is used to adjust the time limit for completing multi-stroke characters. If you need more time, move the slider to the left. If you want to write faster, move it to the right.

 

Supported Characters

All the supported characters and commands can be viewed in the Tutorial screen by pressing the "Show" button. Individual characters can be viewed by pressing the button below each character. The circular heavy dots indicate the start of a stroke. Notice the number of strokes required for each character and the direction of travel.

Using MobileWrite

To begin, tap on the Enable checkbox, to enable MobileWrite. After enabling, MobileWrite runs in the background, so you can switch to another program, and start entering data in to that program using your handwriting.

To start entering text, set the focus in the field you want to enter text or data into, by tapping on it. When the foucs in on a field, you will see a blinking cursor inside the field.

Entering a period or a Dot - When writing on the screen, a period or a dot is only recognized if it is written immediately following another character. This restriction enables taps on the screen to select buttons, checkboxes etc. In the Graffiti input box, this restriction is not there, so a dot or a period can be entered at any time. Alternate ways of writing the period and the colon are available. To see how to write these alternates, press the button below the letters on the Punctuation Tutorial screen.

Temporarily turning the recognition off - A text field or a table with an input focus is required for MobileWrite to be active on a screen. Therefore, it will not interfere with graphics and other programs where the stylus is used for other purposes than entering text into input fields and tables. But if you need to temporarily turn it off or back on, on any particular screen, hold the stylus steady in the lower left corner of the screen for half a second. When the current program exits, recognition is turned back on again.

Entering a shortcut - The shortcut name has to be entered after writing the shortcut stroke. Shortcuts can be added/edited/viewed in the "Prefs" PalmOs program.

Entering a Palm OS Command - There are one letter commands, written next to the menu items on the pulldown menus of many applications. This program however, does not have any, but many others do. To execute one of these commands using those letter as shortcuts, draw the command stroke and then write the one letter command. On most PDAs, a toolbar is displayed after the commnd stroke is drawn, in this case, instead of using the one letter command, the command can be selected from the toolbar instead

Replacing a letter with an alternate - Alternate letters are displayed in the upper left corner. These letters will only appear if there are alternate characters to display. This feature will make it easier for the writer to complete an entire word and correct any problems later, instead of inspecting each letter. To make a change to a previously entered letter, first move the cursor behind the letter that needs a change. Then select one of the alternate letters in the upper left corner by tapping on it. Tap on the first letter to toggle upper/lower case. Tap on the second to replace with a close match.. This is limited to the last 10 letters entered.

Highlighting Text - To highlight a section of text in an input field, hold the stylus down for 1 second (until a clicking sound is heard) and then drag it over the text. To highlight a word, double tap on top of it. To highlight a sentence, triple tap on top of it. The highlighted text has a different background color than the regular text.

Cut/Copy/Paste - These strokes are displayed on the Gestures screen in the tutorial. Before using these strokes, the text must be highlighted as described above.

Writing accented letters - Accents are added to the previous letter if written immediately (within 2 seconds) after entering the letter. The accents must be written in the same area as the symbols, this area depends on the options selected on the "Where To Write" screen. See above. The Palm OS Keyboard popup shows which letters can take accents.

Improving accuracy

 

Troubleshooting

 It is difficult to enter data in small popup windows

MobileWrite does not recognize any letters

Recognized characters are totally wrong

Handheld occasionally resets

Can't enter a period or a dot

A particular character is not recognized

The trail of ink on the screen is not smooth

 

History

 Version 3.3.1 - 9/12/2004

 

Version 3.3 - 7/26/2004

 

Version 3.2.1 - 5/14/2004

 Version 3.2 - 5/10/2004

Version 3.1 - 3/10/2004

Version 3.1 - 3/4/2004

Version 3.0 - 12/26/2003

Version 2.2 - 11/28/2003

Version 2.1 - 10/28/2003

 Version 2.0 - 9/5/2003

Version 1.0 - 8/9/2003

 

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