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Installation Issues

Why am I having trouble loading DateBk5 - HotSync often fails and hangs...?

If you have a PalmPilot (V-2 OS), most likely you have a problem with memory fragmentation. Remember that even though you may appear to have enough total memory, it may still be too fragmented to load a large application like DateBk5. Try running a defragger (such as Deskfree's Recycle - see documentation). Memory fragmentation is no longer a problem with the Palm III and subsequent models, but with earlier models, a defragger may be necessary. The manual has extensive advice on how to address this problem. 

If you are experiencing this problem, make sure that you have no other programs actively running on your desktop as it is possible that the hotsync process can timeout if other applications are stealing too much time.

If you are synching with USB and have the device plugged into a hub, plug it in DIRECTLY and not through a hub. A hub interferes with the timing and hotsync is very unforgiving and will often timeout as a result.

I just installed DateBk5 but it says the 45-day trial period has already run out - what gives?

The only way this can happen is if one of the three situations below has arisen:

• You previously loaded DateBk5 (or DateBk4) more than 45 days ago (or someone else did) - the 45-day trial period is a one-time deal. Keep in mind, that if you copied all your data files off another device where you had previously installed DateBk4/5, this also counts as a prior installation.

• You set the system date forward or backwards, installed DateBk5 and then reset the system date to today.

• You have a corrupt version of DateBk5 (download a fresh copy from: http://www.PimlicoSoftware.com/datebk5-v54a-s5.zip)

The program only complains on the last half of each month, so if you encounter this problem you would be best off waiting to the first of the month at which point you will get a full two weeks to do the evaluation. DateBk5 has a separate trial period from DateBk3, so you get a full 45-day trial period even if you are currently a registered DateBk3 user.

If you have registered and paid for DateBk5 and are waiting for receipt of your permanent registration code, but get this message when you enter your TEMPORARY registration code, then the problem is that more than 75 days have elapsed since the program was first installed. The temporary registration code only adds 30 days to the original 45-day trial period. Your permanent registration code typically arrives within 3-5 days after your receipt of the temporary registration code. 

Now that I've loaded DateBk5, can I get rid of the regular Datebook application?

Not unless you are a power user. The built-in datebook application is stored in ROM (Read Only Memory) and cannot therefore be easily removed. The only downside is that when you do a Find, the built-in datebook application will also insist on searching the same database, but no harm is done by that and you can use FindIgnoreHack (freeware from most Palm software archives) to prevent that. Note that if you start the search while DateBk5 is running, DateBk5 will ALWAYS search the Datebook database before the built-in datebook application. Warning: there are now some third party applications that can remove the built-in datebook application from devices with Flash ROM. However, we recommend that you carefully assess your ability to perform the procedure and also make yourself fully aware of the consequences (especially if you run into trouble with the procedure!).

Can DateBk5 run in flash ROM?

Yes - many people run Datekb5 out of Flash Rom. If you have FlashBuilder or FlashPro, you can load DateBk5 into part of the 750k or so that is unused in the Palm's Flash Rom. But do NOT put the DateBk5DB preference database into ROM - it is frequently updated and must therefore remain in RAM.

Why do I get a Null Handle/Disallowed Shortcut? error when I install DateBk5?

This error message indicates that there is some OTHER application installed on your device with the same CreatorID and type as DateBk5. At this point, there are only two things that are known to cause it:

1. A shortcut that is being generated by some new launcher (all existing launchers use small shortcuts that are not a problem).

2. You have a copy of DateBk4 or DateBk5 in Flash Rom that you have not removed. You must remove it with a flash utility as DateBk5 can only remove old copies stored in RAM.

I just got a color device, but I can't see any colors or colors act "funny" - why?

Colors can be applied to individual appointments or ToDo's by going into the DETAILS dialog, tapping on the FONT/Color selector and then selecting a color from the color palette. Colors can be assigned to categories in all four databases - appt, addr, Todo and Memo - for Appointments and ToDo's, select the item from the CAT. menu. For Addr/Memo categories, tap on SplitScreen DB Category in the split-screen menu (menu icon at top left). Tap on the [P] (profile) button to the right of the category name, and then tap on the Font/Color selector to set a default color for that category. There are other uses of color as well in DateBk5 so download the 110+ page manual and search for the word color to see all the other places where color is used.

Note that the Palm OS does not technically support color in tables, but DateBk5 employs some clever "tricks" to get color to display properly. However, one side effect is that while EDITING colored text, you will see the text switch to Black and White (and possibly only on one line). Don't be concerned: the screen is redrawn neatly the instant you finish editing.

Note that the Font option in the EDIT menu which sets a default font for ALL appointments and integrated ToDo's does NOT display the color palette as it would make no point really to set a default color for all appointments and ToDo's. 

I have a Handspring Visor and loaded dtbkplusstub.prc but my Visor instantly crashed, why?

You inadvertently corrupted the dtbkplusstub.prc program itself. Most likely you are a NetScape user as it appears that only NetScape users have this problem. I suspect that Netscape is defaulting unknown file types to text and as a result ends up wordwrapping the file which of course instantly corrupts a binary file. Make SURE that this file is treated as a binary file type.

Is there a program to edit the icons displayed in the monthly view - are there icon collections?

There are now dozens of icon collections available for DateBk5, both color and monochrome. You can always search the software archives at software archives like Palm Gear (www.palmgear.com) or Handango (www.handango.com) or you can try these:

Joby Icons by Andres Platonoff C, available from www.jobyland.com
ICON Editor by Shuji Fukumoto, available from www.wakuwaku.ne.jp/shuji/soft/IconEditor
IcoEdit available from: http://www.kagi.com/maple/
DBICED by Intertron software available from: http://www.inertron.com/palm/index.html
Icon Editor for DateBk5 by Toshiaki Yamazaki available from http://www.mapletop.com/  
Excel Macro Icon Editor by Leo Steindl available from: http://www.gorilla-haven.org/pimlico/iconedit.xls

There are also several websites which have icon collections. We ran across these sites recently which had icon collections:

http://www.twokidsinagarage.com
http://www1.sphere.ne.jp/robin/pilot/icon-e.html
http://www.javanet.com/~abdb/db3icons.html
http://members.eunet.at/patz/db3icons.html
http://www.geocities.com/sdgware/
http://sky.zero.ad.jp/~zaj58417/

How do I get the icons and/or Timezones installed?

There is now a simple utility that installs both the monochrome icons and the timezones for DateBk5. It is called dbSetup and can be downloaded by clicking here.

Save this program in the C:\PALM\ADD-ON directory. Then go to: START | PROGRAMS | PALM DESKTOP | PALM INSTALL TOOL and run the installation program. Click on the ADD button. Select dbSetup.prc from the directory, then click on DONE and click on OK. Then hotsync to transfer the program to your Palm Organizer. Tap on dbSetup in the main application screen and tap on the INSTALL NOW button to install the icons and timezones (if you don't want one of them, just uncheck the checkbox). After you do this, you can then remove the dbSetup program from your organizer as it is no longer needed.

Make sure that you do NOT delete the two memo pad records that dbsetup creates: DateBk3 and WORLD TIMEZONES as these two memos ARE used by DateBk5 for its data file to implement these two functions. Note that for compatibility with DateBk3, the memopad record is STILL called DATEBK3.

For the color icons, just install the file icons-DATEBK5.prc or any other color icon collection that is listed as compatible with DateBk5.

I'm using a UNIX desktop to sync my PalmPilot, using pilot-link (or do not hotsync). But I don't seem to have a HotSyncName - how can I get one so I can register your software?

Follow these steps:

1. Set PalmPilot in HotSync cradle
2. invoke install-user program, specifying serial port and HotSyncUser name as argument, like:
   % install-user /dev/pilot HotSyncName
3. Tap HotSync button
4. Remove PalmPilot from the cradle and check registered HotSyncName, with menu: Options|Register Software in DateBk5.

Alternatively, you can download the freeware application: Palmname.prc (available at most Palm Software archives) and install it on your Palm and that will allow you to set a UserName. 

I registered DateBk5 but now for some reason it says it's unregistered and telling me the 45-day trial is over

This will only happen if the DateBk5DB preference database (which is where your registration code is stored) is deleted. To fix this problem, just re-enter your registration code from your original registration. If you no longer have a copy of that, send a request to Pimlico Software customer support and ask for it to be sent to you again.

DateBk5 runs great on my Palm Organizer, but I don't see the icons and combined ToDo views on the desktop

DateBk5 is a program for the Palm Organizer, not your desktop. DateBk5 is 100% compatible with any desktop program that synchronizes with the built-in  Datebook application so you will see all your data normally on the desktop, but you won't see some of DateBk5 special features, such as icons, time-zones and categories (although categories are now supported by PocketMirror and DesktopToGo with MS Outlook and GroupSync also supports categories as well).

Where can I get the manual/documentation on DateBk5?

There is a 110+ page manual on DateBk5 that you can download/print/read from:

http://www.PimlicoSoftware.com/datebk5-v54a-manual.zip

This file is in PDF format (stored in the zip achive)  and can be read with Adobe Acrobat Reader - a free application available from www.adobe.com and in wide use by many software companies for their electronic documentation. Chances are that you already have a copy of Acrobat reader on your desktop.

How do I make the Datebook button bring up DateBk5 instead of the regular Datebook application?

A dialog appears when you first run DateBk5 (or whenever it has to rebuild the preference database) asking you if you want DateBk5 to be the default datebook application and run when you tap the Datebook button. If you responded NO to that question initially, then as noted in the alert, you can simply go into the PREFS application (main screen with all the icons, tap on PREFS), tap on the popup list at top right to select BUTTONS and then select DateBk5 in the popup list next to the datebook button. This is a standard Palm OS function that allows you to have any button run any application (see also note, however, about DateBk5 using these buttons to open up split-screens). 

Can I put DateBk5 on an expansion card instead of main memory?

Yes. But there is a significant issue with alarms. The Palm OS does not send alarm notifications to applications stored on memory cards (Note: Handera's version of the Palm OS apparently addresses this issue). This means that if DateBk5 is not running, no alarm will sound. There are two ways to tackle this particular problem:

(1) Uncheck the box: DateBk5 Handles Alarms in the ALARMS tab of Datebk5's Main Preference panel (options | Preferences in any view). Alarms will then sound as they will be handled by the built-in datebook application. However, you will then lose the ability to put alarms on ToDo's, to use custom alarms (i.e. an alarm for a specific event) and DateBk5's snooze handling.

(2) Use a launcher which takes care of this particular problem by forwarding alarm notifications to applications stored on an expansion card. Pi-Direct is an example of a launcher that apparently has this capability.

You should also be aware that with an application stored on a memory card, no notifications will be sent to it. This means that it will not be able to receive beamed events, and will not respond to things like the global find, or time changes etc.

Also, you will not be able to have the Datebook button launch DateBk5 unless you use a third party launcher that has a "shortcut" function (a "shortcut" is a small stub in Ram that can be assigned to a button and then used to launch the actual application off the memory card).

Compatibility Issues - Software

Will DateBk5 work with the Palm Desktop and other Desktop Software?

Yes. DateBk5 uses the IDENTICAL Databases to the built-in Todo and Datebook applications, so BY DEFINITION it is 100% compatible with any desktop or server application that properly synch's with the standard Datebook and Todo Databases in the Palm Organizer. The only known incompatibilities involve the optional use of categories in the datebook database in conjunction with the application JetPilot or the desktop app DayTimer2000. Categories are a STANDARD feature of ALL Palm OS database, regardless of whether the associated application chooses to make use of them or not. JetPilot does not use the Palm OS API to read the datebook database, but instead reads it in binary mode and then gets confused by the presence of categories which it is not expecting. If the program is revised to use the Palm OS API that problem will be eliminated. Some users of DayTimer2000 have reported a problem where it gets confused and ends up duplicating events. This may just be a common bug as is often seen with early versions of conduits (early versions of PocketMirror had the same problem), but appears to be specific to using categories. Some problems have been reported with CompanionLink although this appears to be due to a flaw in that conduit encountering some unusual, but perfectly legal entries in the Datebook database. Some users have reported a problem with DateBk5's link tags in the note field in conjunction with Lotus Notes (possibly Notes is thinking these links are for it and it does not perform proper syntax checking, or?? This is still under investigation).

There are no other known issues at this time

There are advanced features in DateBk5, such as categories, timezones, alarms on ToDo's and appointments spanning midnight which are typically NOT supported on the desktop either because the desktop lacks that functionality, or because the conduit does not know how to map the functionality. We were pleased to see that both Chapura and DataViz have released versions of their conduits (Chapura: PocketMirror <V-2.0.2>, Desktop To Go V-2.501 <build 120>) which support DateBk5 categories with MS Outlook and hope to encourage other conduit writers to provide similar functionality. DateBk5 categories are also supported by GroupSync.

Is DateBk5 compatible with the new PalmOne LiveDrive?

Yes. This device for the most part is the same as the Tungsten T5. The latest release of DateBk5 (S4 as of this update) uses the proprietary calendar, memos and contacts databases in order to largely avoid the PalmOne DataManager patch software which is both very slow and unstable on these NVFS devices.

Note that the LifeDrive, like several other newer PalmOne devices has proprietary PIM apps and databases, not the standard PalmSource PIM apps and databases that have appeared on all other Palm OS devices since the inception of the Palm OS some nine years ago. Datebk5 is compatible with these new devices, but there are some very small issues relating to the different ways that PalmOne implements some things. For example, the proprietary tasks application has some functions that now parallel DateBk5, but they are implemented with PalmOne's proprietary databases, and PalmOne's conduits obviously do not provide compatibility with the standard PalmSource ToDo database which does not have those features. So the new features of repeats and alarms on Tasks in PalmOne's database will not "sync" with what DateBk5 uses, even though DateBk5 has always had similar features. So in those few instances, you may have to add that functionality within DateBk5 as well on the desktop. This will be a non-issue for the vast majority of Palm OS users.

Is DateBk5 compatible with the new V-5.0 Palm OS?

Yes. You do need to be using at least V-5.1b (or later). DateBk5 runs on all versions of the Palm OS from 2.0 to 6.0 and will be updated for OS releases beyond that. The only known issue at this time is that DateBk5 does include a couple of menu shortcuts that require two strokes in graffiti 2 and some early OS/5 devices had a bug in the Palm OS whereby they don't handle two-stroke menu shortcuts. This bug is fixed in all the very latest Palm OS devices. With the latest Tungsten/T5 and Treo-650, you must be using V-5.4a or later of DateBk5 due to some serious bugs in those devices which require the workarounds added into the V-5.4a release.

Is DateBk5 compatible with language hacks for Japanese, Chinese, Korean, Hebrew.... etc.?

Yes with a few exceptions. The initial release does have some support for non-Roman languages and in particular you must check the option Display uses non-Roman Chars in the Preferences item of the Options menu in the second weekly view in DateBk5 to ensure that character strings are output as a single unit as there are optimizations for Roman characters that interfere with the special hacks that display non-Roman characters. There are also a few minor usability issues regarding accented and non-Roman characters in searching through the addressbook database. Further support will be forthcoming in subsequent maintenance releases. DateBk5's use of color in the day view is NOT necessarily compatible with right-to-left reading language hacks that force right-alignment on all text in Palm OS fields and tables, although Hebrew is now supported in this area. There is a preference option in the Advanced Settings dialog (bring up the menu while in the DateBk5 preference panel to get to this dialog) to declare that the text reads right-to-left for right-to-left reading languages. This issue may also be addressed in a subsequent maintenance release.

Can DateBk5 read the Franklin Covey Task List instead of the regular ToDo's?

No. The Franklin Covey Task List is stored in a proprietary database, the format of which has not been published (to the best of my knowledge). It is not clear that reverse-engineering of their database format would be permitted and even if it were, it would require a completely separate version of DateBk5 to manage it.

But all is not lost. What you may find useful is the idea of using ToDo CATEGORIES to store the various Franklin Priorities and assign a default icon to each category to identify those TODo's wherever icons are displayed. A DateBk5 user, John G. Faughnan (who has an excellent web page on the Palm) has provided these bitmaps that you may incorporate into the DATEBK3 memo that contains the icon definitions if you are using monochrome icons. 

 

A1	006692f292970000
A2	006791f794970000
A3	006791f791970000
B1	00e692f292e70000
B2	00e791f794e70000
B3	00e791f791e70000
C1	00e6828282e70000
C2	00e7818784e70000
C3	00e7818781e70000

If you are using monochrome icons, it's relatively simple to use an icon editor like dbIcon to create the A1, A2, A3 icons (especially if you have a high resolution screen and use high-density icons).

Why don't I see alarms and repeats on tasks from Outlook (or links from Outlook)?

Because these items are NOT synchronized from the Outlook database to the Palm database. DateBk5 merely uses whatever data is present in the Datebook and ToDo database. Since the native database has no method of storing alarm or repeat information on ToDo's (and no linking information in the Appt database), you will not see this information in DateBk5. If you set this information in DateBk5, it will make the round-trip through Outlook without losing anything, however. 

How can I extract journals if I have a MAC?

DateBk user Jan Erik Moström has written a program that will extract the journals on a MAC running either the Palm Desktop or Now Up-To-Date. Information on this is available at: http://www.mostrom.pp.se/info/palm/scripts/scr0001.html.

I don't see any birthdays entered from the contacts database on a newer PalmOne device

Unlike all other Palm OS devices, PalmOne uses proprietary PIM applications and databases on their newer devices along with a big patch (the "DataManager Patch") which patches the Palm OS to try and provide compatibility with regular Palm OS devices. In this case, their proprietary calendar application reads the birthday field in their proprietary contacts database - these features do not exist in the standard PalmSource PIM apps and databases used on all other Palm OS devices.

DateBk5 has its own birthday/anniversary handling feature which is described in the DateBk5 user manual:

110+ page Manual: www.PimlicoSoftware.com/datebk5-v54a-manual.zip
Windows Executable: www.PimlicoSoftware.com/datebk5-v54a-manual.exe

(Just search for the word anniversary). If you put the 4-digit year anywhere in the description field of a yearly repeat event, DateBk5 will then display how old the person is or what the anniversary year is for the item. You can also create custom, saved views of just the upcoming birthdays, etc.

If you enter a lot of birthdays, it will likely be worth setting up a Call/Action template so you can insert a birthday with just a few taps and also have it automatically linked to the contact with the same name. Note that PalmOne's conduits have some bizarre kludge to avoid duplicate entries for birthdays whereby they automatically delete ALL prior appointments that have the word 'birthday' in the description field (!). See: this link at PalmOne for details on this kludge.

Current plans (already implemented) are to incorporate support for this field on newer PalmOne devices in the next major release of DateBk5.

Does DateBk5 works with Luach, LapTopHack, Select Day Hack or other Date Picker hacks?

Yes, but you need to set a preference option to use the standard OS Date Picker rather than the enhanced date picker now built-in DateBk5. Go to the Date/Time tab of the main preferences panel and tap on the popup list underneath the Custom pushbutton which normally reads: DateBk5 all days and change it to read OS Date Dialog and your hacks will now work as designed.

Compatibility Issues - Hardware & Devices

Unless otherwise noted here, there are no compatibility issues to report. In general, all standard Palm OS functionality is always available. Proprietary features on devices are less likely to be supported, although this also depends on the popularity of the device and the efforts required to support them.

Vibrating/flashing alarms supported on OS4/5 devices

DateBk5 handles the Vibrating and Flashing Alarms itself in conjunction with the standard alarm manager, and not with the new Attention Manager of V-4.0 (which is incompatible with all Prior OS releases). Since it is not possible to support both the Alarm Manager and the Attention manager at the same time (there is not enough space in the first 64k segment), at this time, only the Alarm Manager is used and DateBk5 operates the Flashing LED and vibrating alarms at the same time the normal audible alarms would be generated. So don't expect the operation of DateBk5 to be identical to the manner in which the built-in datebook application handles alarms under OS 4.0. In particular, the option to handle vibrating/flashing alarms is in DateBk5's Alarm Preferences  - the system preference setting is ignored (this allows these alarm settings to be included in saved views and easily turned on and off).

Sony UX-50 Clie

You must run the V-5.1b release or later as the UX-50 is not backwards compatible with other Clie's and so custom Clie code in V-5.1a was crashing on the UX-50.

Tungsten T5 and Treo650 Devices

You must run the latest V-5.4a release (or later) as the T5 has serious problems with the "DataManager patch" (see note below on T3). With the non-volatile memory on the T5 (and Tre650), the DataManager patch is now unacceptably slow. It is also buggy and will randomly crash underneath any earlier version of Datebk5 (and many other third party apps too), so using V-5.4, s4 or later is important. This release talks directly to the proprietary Calendar, Contacts and Memo databases, thereby bypassing the patch code and provides good performance and stability. It is not practical at this time to deal with the proprietary ToDO databases, although this will be addressed in the near future to provide better compatibility with PalmOne's proprietary databases.

It is, however, also essential that you go to PalmOne's website and download their latest set of fixes for bugs in the ROM and check back on a regular basis for other fixes for that device.

The VFSDBCache.c error is a bogus error that occurs due to a bug in the PalmOne DataManager patch. The V-5.4a release now sidesteps all of these problems.

If you are upgrading from a prior device, and following the upgrade procedure in PalmOne's documentation, note that it is IMPERATIVE that you rename the Backup Folder before attempting to synchronize with an existing profile (this information was omitted from some versions of PalmOne's directions that I have seen!).

If you upgrade using a version of DateBk5 prior to V-5.4, p5, you may find that the Phone button gets "hijacked" by DateBk5 with no obvious way to reset it. If this happens, download the P5 (or later) release (see right-hand sidebar on DateBk5 web page: http://www.PimlicoSoftware.com/datebk5.htm) and run the applet resetphonebutton.prc (in the AdvancedStuff.zip archive that is in the main DateBk5....zip download) to re-assign the phone function to that button.

If you have a problem synching the calendar and other PIM databases on a Verizon Treo-650, the problem is that with Verizon's 'Wireless Sync' app, you have to make sure that under connection settings - advanced - that 'enable other sync apps' is checked.

Tungsten T3 and TE and issues with their proprietary PIM databases

With a T3/TE, you will want to be using no version earlier than V-5.1b, s7. This includes support for the portrait and landscape modes on the T3. It also prevents most duplicate alarms on both the T3 and the TE AND solves the Palm Compatibility layer flaw of not properly synching records. A download link for the latest step preview is always displayed in the right-hand sidebar of the DateBk5 web page.

The T3 & TE also come with new PIM databases and applications and a huge patch to the Palm OS (The "DataManager Patch") which attempts to provide backwards compatibility with existing third party apps, but it is not all that reliable and can cause both crashes and synchronization problems. This will of course result in problems with any third party app that works with the PIM databases. The most recent V-5.1b release manages to sidestep most (if not all) of the flaws in Palm's compatibility/mirroring code. Sometimes the DataManager patch can cause a delay exiting DateBk5 (and also a strange "clicking" sound).  V-5.4a significantly reduces all these problems by completely bypassing the DataManager patch for most operations, so you should definitely install this release.

PalmOne has also just released an updated DataManager patch for the Tungsten E and T3 and the Zire-72 and Zire-31 and it is strongly recommended that you download and install this patch to improve the reliability of your device (in particular, it fixes the serious bug of getting stuck in endless Dmwrite Error loops): http://www.palmone.com/us/support/downloads/pim_update.html. THere is a similar fix for the T5: http://www.palmone.com/us/support/downloads/tungstent5/tungstent5update.html

Also, the new PIM Databases have some new fields in them (such as the Location field in the calendar database). At this time (V-5.4a, s5) there is some preliminary support for the Location field. Full support including the ability to display and edit other fields in PalmOne's proprietary Calendar database is expected in the next major release of DateBk.

T3 or E crashing on Global Find? This is a known bug in DocumentsToGo - go to DataViz and download a later version with the fix.

ToDo's crossed-off in DateBk5 not crossed off on desktop? The conduits that are shipped on your installation CD are defective. You need to replace them right away by downloading the latest version of the Palm desktop (V-4.1.4) from the PalmOne website. This will correct the problem of crossing off ToDo's failing to get crossed-off on the desktop.

If you use Journaler.exe, you will need to export the calendar file in the Palm desktop into a Datebook Archive type file (*.dba) for Journaler to be able to read it (be sure to export as a Datebook archive and NOT a calendar archive!).

The new V-5.4a release of Datebk5 (see DateBk5 web page) will run much faster and more reliably on the newer PalmOne devices (Tungsten T3, E, T5, Zire-72, 31, Treo650), so you will likely want to install this new release.

High resolution (320x320 & 320x480) screens on new Palm OS devices (including Tungsten T3)

DateBk5 supports small and tiny fonts on 320x320 screens on both Palm OS 5.0 and OS 4.0 devices which support hi-rez screens (Clie, TungstenW). On OS4 Clie devices, small/tiny fonts are not available in the day view because the Clie does not support the use of these fonts in editable fields. 

There is full support in V-5.1b for the collapsible graffiti area on the Garmin iQue-3600, ALL Clie devices OS4, OS5 and in addition, landscape mode on UX-50/UX-50, portrait and landscape mode on the T3 and TapWave. Collapsible graffiti on Handera is not currently supported and there are no plans at this time to support it.

Garmin iQue3600 GPS enabled Palm device

Be sure to download the interim release in the right-hand sidebar to gain support for the collapsible graffiti and also sidestep a few anomalies in the Garmin Palm OS (such as the graffiti area getting unexpectedly erased on exit from the preference dialogs.

Alphasmart Dana

There is no wide-screen support at this time for the Alphasmart Dana. I intend to look into this more closely when addressing the similar wider-screen support issue in the UX-40/UX-50 Clie devices.

Kyocera 7135 Palm Phone

The only known issues are as follows: if an alarm goes off while a call is in progress, the phone can crash. This appears to be an issue only with early firmware releases of the phone as it does not appear to happen on currently shipping phones. The custom alarm sounds on the 7135 using mp3's are not supported at this time by DateBk5. Dialing is not supported directly from DateBk5, although the latest step release of DateBk5 (http://www.PimlicoSoftware.com/datebk5-v54a-s5.zip) supports the third party application TAKEphONE which provides for dialing from the Address Details screen. Vibration is implemented with undocumented, proprietary routines and not the standard Palm OS API's (which are available in that version of the OS), so vibration is not available through DateBk5 (but can be made available by disabling DateBk5's alarm handling - ALARMS tab of the main DateBk5 Preference panel (Options | Preferences in any view).

Samsung SPH-I300/I330 Palm Phone?

DateBk5 has native support for dialing the Samsung phone from within DateBk5 dialogs. There is no support for the 160x240 screen.

Handspring TREO?

There is an issue with the placement of the Datebook+ button which, unlike most other Palm OS devices, has its default position now on the Second button. In the main preferences panel in DateBk5, tap on the VIEWS tab and change the entry in the popup list to the right of the DATE button to read 2 (for the 2nd button) rather than the normal 1. You can then define which of the other 3 hardware buttons (if any) are to be used for opening up split-screens.

The TREO 600's vibrating alarm feature is NOT Palm OS compatible and but IS nonetheless nicely supported by DateBk5 (including the ability to specify the number of times it vibrates). DateBK5 also supports vibrating and flashing LED alarms on any OS 4.0 and later device where the support is provided by the Palm OS.

DateBk5 V-5.1a fixes the problem with floating events (completed floating events could get moved to today's date if the built-in Datebook app was run), duplicate alarms, and also permits the use of digits in the time selection dialog without setting numeric mode.

You will definitely want to use the very latest release of DateBk5 with a Treo-600 as extensive support has been added for the one-hand navigation feature on that device.

Handera 330?

DateBk5 makes use of the high resolution fonts in the second weekly view (starting with V-4.0e). If you are seeing strange drawing problems, make sure that you have the SYSTEM PREFERENCES set for SCALE TO FIT mode, as if you use the top left/center options, the screen may not draw properly in certain circumstances (viz. alarms). The high resolution font is optionally enabled in the second weekly view with the 'Cond./Alt. Font' option in the PREFERENCES dialog of that view. When checked, DateBk5 will use the high resolution font to display seven lines per day in the weekly view and three lines per day in the two-weekly view. But there are a few cosmetic display issues due to the non-integral scaling (1.5x) on that device. DateBk5's icons and some other bitmaps, plus vector-drawn items are a bit distorted by non-integral scaling. However, this does not affect the performance of the program and is largely a cosmetic issue. At this time, there are no plans to support the resizable graffiti area as that would require extensive code changes.

DateBk5 also has extensive support for the Jog Wheel (much more than in Handera's own modified, standard DateBook application).

There are two known flaws/anomalies in the Handera Palm OS: the last few items on the OPTIONS menu in DateBk5 are not immediately accessible (the menu just closes up without selecting an item). To access those items, tap on a menu item HIGHER up in the options menu and SLIDE the stylus down to select an item. Handera has already fixed this problem and the fix will be present in the next OS release. There is also a problem with the buttons on the bottom row sometimes getting overwritten by items in the Day View table. This is also a bug in the Handera OS and their latest OS release fixes most (but apparently not all) of these issues.

Handspring Visor Edge

Handspring's flashing LED alarm feature is NOT Palm OS compatible and requires proprietary code to support it, so it is not supported at this time by DateBk5. 

Kyocera QCP-6035 Palm Phone

There are a few anomalies that have been reported due to some conditions that only occur on Kyocera's implementation of the Palm OS:  there appears to be some issue with alarms that I'm waiting for more information/confirmation on (alarm does not go off if flap is closed? - apparently there is some custom hook in Kyocera's datebook app to handle this? Finally, the problem of the DateBook button not properly cycling through the views occurs in the regular datebook application as well and is a bug confirmed by Kyocera tech support. Some Kyocera users are reporting problems with erratic digitizers - this would not be a DateBk5 problem.

Jog Dial on the Sony Clie/Navigator on Tungsten with DateBk5

DateBk5 has extensive support for the Jog Dial and Navigator buttons. You can select items in the day and list views and pop up notes, links, details on the item, select days in the month, 4-month and yearly view and popup the list of items on that day, etc.

Why don't I see PCM sounds on OS5 Clie devices?

DateBk5 supported PCM sounds on OS4 Clie devices, but when OS5 was released, Sony removed their PCM sound library and provided developers with no information on how they were now handling PCM sounds. In early May, 2003, (under pressure from developers it would appear!), Sony then released some documentation on how to drive the Yamaha sound chip. However, this is a completely new and rather low level API for handling these sounds which will require a fair amount of work in DateBk5 to support. In general, I do not include large amounts of code to support proprietary features on Palm OS devices when the OS itself has more than adequate support using standard Palm API's that work on multiple Palm devices. I may make an exception in this case due to the popularity of Clie devices, but any support will not appear until after the next release of DateBk5.

Upgrades, Other Versions, Future Releases

Can I be a beta tester for future releases of DateBk5?

Yes. you can  sign up for the DateBk5 Beta mailing list. You will then be notified about the beta test. The only requirement to be a beta tester is that you be a registered user of DateBk5. 

Are there versions of DateBk5 in languages other than English?

Yes. There are links to those versions from the DateBk5 web page (go to http://www.PimlicoSoftware.com/datebk5.htm and see the top right). Right now German, French and Chinese are supported. Dutch is being worked on and there has been interest in Italian and Spanish, and Portugese although work has not started yet on the last three. The German and French versions are marked as a Preview because there is still a bit more work to be done on refining the translations, but the program itself is completely stable...

DateBk5 has suddenly become unregistered and says the trial period is over, why?

There are two possibilities here:

1. Your registration code is no longer in your DateBk5db preference database - most likely because this database was deleted or not restored after a backup. If DateBk5 finds this database missing, it automatically regenerates it, but without your registration. If this is the case, just re-enter your registration code into the REGISTER SOFTWARE dialog of the OPTIONS menu in any view.
   

2. You have changed your HotSyncUser name. Your registration code is specifically tied to your HotSyncUser name, so if you change it, you will need to get a new registration code.  You can request a new code from Pimlico Software by sending an email to Pimlico Software Customer Support with your old user name and your new user name (include as much information as possible for fastest processing - including your original order # will always speed up the process). Another simple solution is to just reset your HotSyncName back to its original value:

The following procedure will allow you to change your HotSync Name without affecting anything you have installed on your Palm Organizer:

1. Run the Palm Desktop application
2. Select USERS from the TOOLS menu
3. Tap on your HotSyncID in the list to select it
4. Tap the RENAME button.
5. Type in your new/correct HotSyncID now very carefully
6. Tap OK to return to the USERS Dialog
7. Tap OK to exit out of the USERS Dialog
8. Exit out of the Palm Desktop Application
9. Do a regular HotSync - this will copy your corrected name down to your Palm Organizer.

You will now be able to insert your original registration code.

Note:: on a MAC, you will need to make this name change in the HotSync application itself rather than the Palm Desktop Application, but the steps will be similar to the one's above!

Note: Changing the user name does have some consequences if you're a user of Pocket Mirror though - nothing syncs afterwards. As it turns out, there's a Note folder added to Outlook called Pocket Mirror. The note contains the user name as it was originally set up in the Pilot. Deleting the note and then having Outlook overwrite the Pilot fixes things. There's a note about it at the Chapura web site. 

All my preference settings from DateBk3 seem to be lost when I upgraded, why?

DateBk5 is a completely separate program from DateBk3 and has its own set of preference settings which are not compatible with DateBk3. In the same way that DateBk3 maintains separate preference settings from the built-in datebook application, DateBk5 maintains separate settings from DateBk3. So you will need to re-enter all your preference settings including information in Category profiles (such as icons, show/hide etc.). 

What do upgrades cost and is the upgrade to DateBk5 free?

DateBk5 is priced at $24.95 with an upgrade price of $10 for existing, registered DateBk3 users and $15 for existing, registered weekview users. V-5.0 of DateBk5 is a free upgrade for all registered DateBk4 users. Not all major upgrades are guaranteed to be free. However, in those cases where there is an upgrade cost, there may be, for a limited time following the release, a free, automated upgrade system which you will be able to use IF you can provide the specific information in the Pimlico registration database (check with the Pimlico Home page to see if such an arrangement is still available). Note that neither Handspring's Datebook+ application (present on all Handspring devices) nor the built-in datebook application (present on ALL Palm devices) qualify for any special upgrade pricing. Special upgrade pricing is specifically for users who had previously purchased Pimlico Software products.

How do I get on the notification list - I haven't been notified of some releases?

If you are a registered user of DateBk5, you will not be notified of releases unless you specifically sign up for the DateBk5 mailing list. You can do that from the DateBk5 Support Page. This is a user-managed list - so you can change your email address, or remove your name whenever you want. I intend to do a one-time mailing to all registered DateBk5 users reminding them of this fact as this is a change from past policy. With the ever-increasing amount of unwanted email, I prefer to have an opt-in mailing list rather than send out hundreds of thousands of notifications, many of which may not be appreciated for whatever reason.

Problems, Bugs, Odd things

Why does the system date sometimes fails to advance on my Palm Organizer?

This is a known flaw in the Version 3.1 Palm OS that runs on Palm IIIx, IIIe and V organizers. This problem has now been acknowledged by Palm Computing and has NOTHING to do with any third party software. 

There are conflicting reports from Palm Computing about this problem. Sometimes, Palm claims that the date slipping problem has now been fixed in an OS V-3.11 update - You can download the update from Palm Computing's web page on this: www.palm.com/custsupp/downloads/upd311.html
You will need to do a hard reset and then install this upgrade. 

My screen has split with Addresses showing (or memos or ToDo's) - how do I close it?

If your calendar now shows your addressbook or memos in split or full screen and you don't know how to get rid of it, tap the down arrow at top left and select Close Window.

A new problem has appeared -- the alarm does not sound unless my unit is powered on. Why is this?

This is a known flaw in the Version 3.1 Palm OS that runs on Palm IIIx, IIIe and V organizers. This problem has now been acknowledged by Palm Computing and have NOTHING to do with any third party software.

This problem has NOT been fixed. Palm Computing does know about this issue. A discussion with some OS programmers at Palm indicates that the problem is caused by the Palm OS thinking that the battery level is much lower than it really is. As a result, the Palm OS thinks there is insufficient power to turn the machine on or ring the alarm and intentionally avoids doing that as a power-conservation measure.

It appears that this is less likely to happen if you keep the batteries charged up (which is probably why Palm V users see this less often as they tend to top up their Lithium Ion battery all the time). A soft reset will temporarily "fix" the problem, but it will come back. OS 3.3 definitely has the same bug. Hopefully, Palm Computing will release an OS update fix for it at some point in the future. If you do a soft reset, make sure the batteries are FULLY CHARGED first.

My alarms are erratic - sometimes they go off, sometimes they don't or DateBk5 crashes shortly after displaying an alarm, why?

Most likely this is a problem with a hack. The problem can be due to a bug in a hack, a hack that consumes too much stack space, or some other unspecified interaction problem which may not necessarily be a flaw in the hack itself, but rather just an irresolvable, incompatibility problem. To see if this is the problem, do a WARM RESET (hold the up button while poking Reset). This prevents the Reset message from going out to all loaded applications (in particular, Hackmaster will not see the reset and will therefore not reload all the hacks). Run for a while to see if the alarms are now running reliably - they probably will be. Add your hacks back in one by one until you find the culprit. Any alarm that plays around with the timer or the clock is a likely candidate for causing the problem.

There is also a serious bug in all versions of the Palm OS relating to alarms: under low memory conditions, the application underneath the alarm dialog may be told to redraw its screen but without access to all that application's memory and that can easily crash the application below. There is no workaround for this problem and no available solutions at this time. There is also a further problem with alarms in OS 3.5 that has not been resolved - but neither of these problems are likely to be seen during normal usage.

I have a Verizon Treo-650 and it won't sync the calendar

The problem lies with Verizon's 'Wireless Sync' app. You have to make sure that under connection settings - advanced - that 'enable other sync apps' is checked. Then it works fine.

USA has changed DST rules for 2007 - what do I need to do if I'm using TimeZones?

All you need to do is edit the WORLD TIMEZONES memopad record that has all the timezone information including the rules for handling Daylight Savings in different parts of the world. The default data in that record uses rule 'A' for the USA and for 2007 it should be defined as:

.A 2103 1111 US Std. - for 2007                  (old value was: .A 1104 L110 US Std.)

2103: The '2' says the "second" day of the week, the '1' indicates Sunday, and 03 indicates the month of March. 1111: The '1' says the 'first' day of the weeks, the '1' indicates a Sunday, and 11 indicates the month of November. So DST runs from the second Sunday in March through the first Sunday in November for 2007.

You can also just download the current release of DateBk and unzip the dbSetup.prc file and run that to re-install the World Timezones database as that now includes the correct information for 2007.

The conduit software is hanging or crashing when it reaches the Calendar Database (PalmOne devices only)

There is a known bug in all PalmOne devices that feature the proprietary PIM databases rather than the traditional PalmOS PIM databases. PalmOne has a huge patch to the Palm OS (The DataManager Patch) which attempts to provide compatibility with the traditional Palm OS PIM databases, but this patch has stability issues and several known flaws. One of these flaws is that certain types of events in the PIM databases can cause the DM patch software to hang up the conduit. To fix this problem, either set the conduit so the desktop overwrites the handheld, or, if you cannot afford to lose the latest events on the handheld, consider purchasing the very latest version of DbFixIt (http://www.PimlicoSoftware.com/dbfixit.htm), as it can fix and repair the database for you. DbFixIt is a very useful utility that can also remove duplicate entries in the PIM databases, etc.

Treo-650/700 is unexpectedly turning itself on

First, if this happens right around the end of the year, it may be the problem with alarms set on birthday contacts - this is not a Datebk issue - it is covered in Palm's FAQ's and is a problem they have yet to resolve in their devices.

A second cause is if the Treo is powered on, and you have ENABLE NETWORK TIME checked, and you are in a marginal service area where the device is trying to connect to the digital network rather than roam. When this happens, the device will broadcast a date/time change to all apps whenever it manages to momentarily connect to the digital network. However, to avoid duplicate alarms from the built-in calendar application, DateBk5 has to turn on to squash alarms set by the built-in application and this is what can cause the device to power back on. The only resolution to this issue is to either uncheck the box to enable network time, or to uncheck the box DateBk5 handles alarms in the alarms tab of the main DateBk5 Preference panel (Options | Preferences in any view) and let the built-in calendar app handles alarms, although you will then lose some of DateBk5's nice snooze handling, etc. Unfortunately, further testing has shown that there is apparently a bug in that even though you UNCHECK the box to enable network time, the telephony routines are still issuing a system-wide broadcast for the time change (even though it's not supposed to under these conditions).

I'm getting duplicated Alarms, why?

After a hotsync or reset, the built-in datebook application is run by the palm OS to reset its alarms. Normally this is not a problem as DateBk5 will override the Datebook alarms. However, if the next alarm was entered on the desktop, the datebook application will sound its alarm and DateBk5 will not be aware that this has happened. To avoid duplicate alarms, just make sure that you run DateBk5 immediately after you do a hotsync.

If you have a Handspring Visor, you may be getting duplicated alarms from the Datebook+ application as versions of DateBk5 prior to V-4.0d did not know about that application. If you are have a Visor Deluxe or other Visor running OS 3.1H, you can solve this problem easily by installing the Dtbkplusstub.prc application in the DateBk5.zip archive and that will completely silence the DateBook+ application. Do not install this stub with Visors running OS 3.5 or later (Prism, Platinum, Edge, etc.) as it will have no effect.

If you have a Tungsten E or T3, you may be getting a duplicate alarm from the proprietary Calendar application on that device which earlier versions of DateBk5 are not aware of. In that case you will need to download the very latest version of Datebk5 (consult right-hand sidebar on DateBk5 web page for latest release).

There is also a small applet called dbAlarm which will automatically silence the alarms in the built-in datebook applications. However, it is important not to blindly delete this application with the Palm launcher as in order to work it must have the SAME creatorID as the built-in datebook application which means that the Palm launcher would also remove your built-in datebook with all your calendar data. There is no problem using this applet provided that you read the READ-ME-FIRST... file for the directions on how to uninstall the applet (should you ever need to do that).

On a Clie, I get this message: DateDB.c, Line:2537, An earlier alarm was found in skipped records

This is a known bug in the Intellisync Lite conduit. If you run dbScan, you will typically see that there are records out of order because the conduit did not put them in the correct chronological order.

There are two solutions you can use here:

(1) Replace Intellisync Lite with Chapura's PocketMirror - a more robust and mature conduit that does not have these kinds of elementary bugs.

or,if you wish to continue using Intellisync Lite...

(2) Go into the APPTS tab of the main preference Panel in DateBk5 (Options | Preferences in any view) and check the SORT DATABASES option. This option is only in DateBk5 for one reason - to RE-SORT the database after a hotsync in  order to correct bugs in faulty conduits. Most likely if you do that, it will sidestep this problem. But it will also mean that it will take several  seconds longer for DateBk5 to first run after a hotsync.

I get a DmWrite error constantly and cannot use DateBk5 (Tungsten/E, T3 only)

All these types of DmWrite errors come from the PalmOne DataManager Patch which always sits underneath any application that accesses the standard PIM databases. They HAVE fixed this bug in the DataManager patch that ships on the new Zire-72 and 31, so they certainly know about the bug! A fixed DataManager patch for the Tungsten/E and T3 has now just been released: http://www.palmone.com/us/support/downloads/pim_update.html. Installing this is highly recommended for all Tungsten E and T3 users!

The precise problem: the PalmOne code crashes if there are any deleted, but not archived, records in the classic PIM databases. A feature has been added to the dbScan utility to go through all four PIM databases and remove all deleted records, and then their code does not crash.

You will DEFINITELY want to be using the latest release of DateBk5 (go to http://www.PimlicoSoftware.com/datebk5.htm to see what the latest version is).

This version works around several other serious bugs in this device (DataManager patch causes autoshutoff to fail in some cases, items do not synchronize properly to the desktop, screen redraw issues, etc.). It also supports the portrait and landscape modes of this device.

Take the version of dbScan (V-1.7d) that is in the AdvancedStuff.zip archive and do not invoke the scan, but rather use the item in the Options menu to remove all deleted records, and the DmWrite errors will go away in almost all cases. If you STILL have a problem, you may need to delete the DatebookDB database (using a third party file utility like FileZ) on your handheld and set the conduit so the desktop overwrites the handheld. You can download FileZ from: http://www.PimlicoSoftware.com/filez.prc

There is still an issue that crossing off ToDo's in DateBk5 sometimes does not synchronize to Outlook, but PalmOne has released their new V-4.1.4 desktop where they have FINALLY fixed that bug as well, so you may want to download that right away as it also fixes several other bugs as well.

If you use ANY backup program, be aware that none of them were compatible with the proprietary databases on these devices and specifically cause the DmWrite Errors that you were seeing when attempting to restore the databases. Even if the errors do not occur, the clash between the proprietary and regular databases can result in lost data, etc. So be SURE to update to the very latest version of any such backup program (Backupman, BackupBuddy, etc.).
 

My ToDo/Addr/Memo buttons no longer run those apps while DateBk5 is running - why?

This is covered in a preference option in the PREFERENCES dialog that you reach through the VIEWS tab of the main preference panel (in the popup list for each button assign a number from 1-4 to designate which physical button you want to use, or a hyphen if you want to ignore it). Note, however, that if you leave DateBk5 in control of those buttons, you can STILL access the original application assigned to that button by simply pressing the button twice, quickly (you can also adjust the time between key presses to do this by a preference option at the bottom of the dialog). But if you uncheck this preference option, you can still open the windows by tapping on the split-screen menu icon and selecting the database you want to open.

The Datebook button does not cycle through the views as documented - why?

There are four possibilities here: (1) you do not have the BUTTON USES preference option (PREFERENCES, Day View) set to cycle through the views (highlight all views you want to cycle between, or (2) you are using AppHack and have not programmed all the secondary key presses to also invoke DateBk5, or (3) you did not enable the use of the Datebook button (VIEWS tab of main preference panel, make sure the right number is in popup list next to date - normally '1' if the Datebook button is the left-most button, but it would be '2' on a Treo, or '3' on a Sony UX-40/50 etc.), or (4) you have a Tungsten or other OS5 device and are not using V-5.1b.

Why does the monthly view not show untimed events?

It does - but you have to set the preference item in the monthly view to display them - just like the regular datebook application. DateBk5 now defaults all these settings to on.

Why does the monthly view not show icons associated with categories or timezones?

It does - but you have to set the preference item in the monthly view to display them. Go to VIEW DISPLAY OPTIONS (in the OPTIONS menu) and check the box: Show category/timezone icons

How do I get standard holdays into my calendar?

There are many hundreds of calendar collections for the Palm OS available throughout the internet that you can download and install (since Datebk5 uses the same database as the built-in calendar application, any such collection that works with a standard Palm OS device will by definition work fine with Datebk5. If you use MS Outlook, that program already has a feature to import standard holidays. A typical freeware collection of US holidays can be downloaded by clicking here.

I keep on getting the same icon on all my appointments (or ToDo's) even though I don't assign one?!

This means that you have assigned a default icon to either your default creation category or timezone. First go into the OPTIONS menu and tap on Appt Categories (Show/Hide Category in earlier versions of DateBk5) and then see if that icon appears to the left of UNFILED (or if you use categories, your default creation category). If there is nothing there, go to the ZONES tab in the main preference panel and tap on Current  Zone and see if you have any icon attached to a timezone. When you find the icon in either case, tap on it to bring up the ICON dialog and then tap the REMOVE button to remove it.

I am having difficulty with hi-rez icons (no display in small/tiny mode, not changing, crashing, etc.)

First, high-density icons are only supported on V-5.1a or later. If you have V-5.0b, you will have to upgrade to use high-density icons.

An icon is *NOT* just a single bitmap. It is a collection of bitmaps which may have one or more bitmaps. Typically when using hi-rez icons, you may also have LOW-REZ versions of the icon in that same bitmap collection (you can access these individually in IconMgr with the popup list on the top line).

In small/Tiny mode, DateBk5 draws a half-size icon by one of two different techniques. If there is a low-rez version of the bitmap for that icon, then that bitmap is used for the display. If there is no low-rez version available, AND if you have an OS5 device, then DateBk5 will automatically rescale the hi-rez icon to half-size for display. On an OS4 device, nothing will display if there is no low-rez bitmap. If you have an OS4 device and see no icons in small/tiny mode, this is because you have no low-rez versions of your icons - those you will have to create.

If the issue is that you have changed your high-density icons but it appears the same in small/tiny mode, the reason the icon did not change is that your change was only made to the hi-rez version and not the low-rez version. If you have an OS5 device, you can choose to simply delete all the low-rez versions and just have DateBk5 automatically construct the low-rez version from the hi-rez version (obviously the automatic construction will not be as good as a hand-tuned low-rez icon). Or, and you will have to do this on an OS4 device, you can edit BOTH the hi-rez and the low-rez versions of the icon.

I have timezones installed but the system clock did not change when Daylight Savings changed?

The timezone feature does not automatically change the system clock when Daylight Savings Time changes. There are hacks that will do that if you need it, or you can just set two yearly alarms to remind you of that change. The new V-4.0 Palm OS now supports timezones and future versions of DateBk5 will take the timezone information from the Palm OS so it will be up to the Palm OS to handle this (which is where it should be handled anyway).

Why are time bars being displayed in the day view even though the option to display them is unchecked?

That is intentional. Time bars are ALWAYS shown if there is an overlap of events on that day, even though the preference option is unchecked.

Why does the week number always display as 0 or display the wrong number?

Either you picked a custom week number and failed to update it for the current year, or you inadvertently switched from Palm Std.# to the Custom week number. Go into the main preference panel (Options | Preferences in any DateBk5 view) and select the Date/Time Tab. Then select Palm Std. or toggle Custom and specify the starting week for the current year and for the next year. Palm Std. matches the built-in datebook application, but may not necessarily match the week number that you wish to use (which is why there is that custom option).

Why does the day in the weekly and monthly views flash rapidly and then slow down (or stop blinking altogether)?

Because it is supposed to! By blinking rapidly, it gains your attention. However, it is visually disturbing to have it continue to blink at that rate, so after one second it slows down to a gentle blink rate. If you don't like that, you can double-tap the graffiti area (as if you were writing a period) and that will toggle the display between blinking the date and just reverse-highlighting it). There is also a preference item in the VIEWS tab of the main preference panel.

Aaargh!! - ALL my appointments have DISAPPEARED (or only appear when I tap the screen)!! What happened?!?

This crops up quite frequently. Chances are that you have selected a single category for display and forgotten about it, so all the "hidden" appointments are just in a category that is not currently set for display. Pick Appt Categories  in the OPTIONS menu and then tap on the ALL button. All your appointments will now "magically" re-appear! Also, if a new year has just started, remember to look in the correct year (!)

If you have just upgraded to DateBk5 from an earlier version of DateBk4 it is possible that the preference item that selects the history database has inadvertently got set. This is very obvious as the day view will show the legend OLD on what is normally the NEW button. If this is the case, tap on SELECT DATABASE in the MISC menu and then tap on CURRENT to display the normal database. If you are using saved views, you may need to call up each view, change this preference setting and then re-save it.

Aaargh!! - ALL my ToDo's have DISAPPEARED!! What's happened?!?

This also crops up quite frequently. If the ToDo's are visible in the regular ToDO application, then the only issue here is that you have overlooked a preference option for displaying them.

Go into the TODO tab in the main preference panel and make sure that the three checkboxes on the line that starts out Hide: are UNCHECKED. Then go into ToDo Categories in the Options menu to make sure that every ToDo category has the number '5' next to it - indicating that ALL priorities in the range 1-5 are to be displayed. You should now see all your ToDo's.

Finally, make sure that you are not hiding ALL ToDo's: go into VIEW DISPLAY OPTIONS in the OPTIONS menu of the Day View and look at the popup list at bottom right. If it says "Hide", change that to TOP or BOTTOM. That particular option can also be toggled quickly with Command/W or HIDE/SHOW TODO'S in the MISC menu.

Aaargh!! - Some of my preference settings keep on disappearing or changing!!!

Saved views will be the issue here. Almost EVERYONE who uses Saved Views fails to realize the full ramifications of having ALL the preference settings saved and restored when a view is invoked. This includes preference settings for OTHER views and global preference settings, and even the definitions of category names. Make sure that any time you make a permanent change to some preference settings that you update your saved views to include those changes.

All my past events are disappearing - only today's and future events appear. Why?

Most likely you have a Sony Clie and installed the Intellisync Lite conduit for Outlook. For some peculiar reason, this conduit often seems to install with the preferences set to ONLY sync future events. With this setting, any events prior to today will be purged. Just go into the preference settings in Intellisync Lite and make sure that it is set to sync ALL events in the Datebook database.

If events more than say a week or two weeks old are getting purged, then it may be because you have the Auto-Archive setting wrong in MS Outlook. Go into TOOLS menu| OPTIONS| OTHER tab | AUTOARCHIVE and make sure that it is not unexpectedly archiving all events more than some number of days old...

All my events have shifted by some number of hours in the database - what happened?

This is not a DateBk5 problem. The following Q&A is quoted verbatim from Palm Computing's own FAQ's on the Palm Organizer:

Question: I do some traveling and I usually change my laptop PC's regional time zone settings according to where I am. I have noticed, however, that whenever I change the time zone on my computer and I check my Date Book on Palm Desktop, several strange things might happen. The times and dates of some of my events will have been shifted strangely, some of my repeating events will have simply disappeared, and there are sometimes discrepancies between the events in the Date Book on my 3Com® connected organizer and the Date Book on Palm? Desktop. What is going on?

A: Changing the time zone in the Windows Regional Settings on the PC that you synchronize with is not recommended. Doing so can cause unexpected results with your Date Book and To Do List information on both your Palm Desktop software and the organizer that you synchronize with.

Changing the time zone in your Windows Regional Settings to its original setting (that you would normally use your organizer with) should reverse the adverse effects.

When traveling, it is recommended to change the time and date on your 3Com connected organizer to synchronize with your local time zone, and not the time zone in the Regional Settings for your Windows computer.

All my completed, floating events have moved to today's date - what happened?

This issue only occurs on Handspring devices or on Palm devices running a very old version of DateBk3. The problem is that you ran DateBook+ (or old DateBk3) after installing DateBk4/5 and when you do this, DateBook+ gets confused and thinks that completed floating events are in fact incomplete and moves them to today's date (so it is actually DateBk3 that moves them, not DateBk4/5). If you HIDE all your completed, floating events, there will be no problem, and that may well be a satisfactory solution for most people.

Unfortunately, Handspring also made a change to their 3.5 version of the OS that makes it technically impossible to mask or hide their built-in applications, so DtBkPlusStub (whichtook care of this problem nicely on OS 3.1H) will not work on an OS 3.5  Handspring device). The only solution right now is to make sure that DateBook+ is not run: (1) uncheck the Float Advance at Midnight checkbox in the Display Options dialog of the PREFERENCES dialog; (2) If you have a Handspring device OTHER than a TREO Communicator, set the default Datebook to DateBook and not Datebook+ (Options | Default Datebook in either application). Make sure the datebook button is set to run DateBk5 and not Datebook (Prefs | BUTTONS in popup list at top right, set DateBk4/5 from popup list next to Datebook button); (3) move the Datebook+ icon off into a separate category that you don't normally use (say, set up MAIN and move everything into it except Datebook+, and then set the option to remember the last category) - or use a third party launcher that will hide it completely; (4) If you use hacks and have hackmaster or Xmaster, install FindIgnoreHack as you can use this to prevent redundant searches of the built-in datebook and Datebook+ (which you might inadvertently tap on and thereby launch the application). . Also running Datebk4/5 after every hotsync will eliminate duplicate alarms.

There was a buggy version of the Entourage conduits released for the MAC that overwrote some bits in the Datebook database record headers that could cause this same problem (although in that case, it affected ALL events, not just floating events). These conduits were quickly pulled when I pointed out that this flaw would wreak havoc with all Handspring devices, and I assume they were subsequently replaced with corrected versions.

NOTE: This problem of Datebook+ moving floating events no longer occurs in V-5.1b.

Why do I get "Unnamed" entries the Addressbook database - or why does it not find entries when I use graffiti?

You have a bad preference setting. Go to the split tab of the main preferencepanel and then uncheck the box with the legend: Addr DB is sorted first/last. That option should only be selected when you are using a third-party addressbook replacement program that has the option to sort the database that way (the built-in addressbook does not have the option to do that).

I get an "Address Database does not exist" when trying to open up split-screen

This can occur on a newer PalmOne device such as the Tungsten T3, T5, E, Zire-72/31 or Treo-650 due to a bug in the PalmOne DataManager patch. It's trivial to fix - just do a soft reset and the DM Patch will then properly re-create the Addressbook database and populate it with all the same data present in the contacts database.

I can't sync the Datebook database - the desktop crashes on the Datebook conduit or does not sync at all

There is a known bug in the Palm Desktop for Windows that can cause corruption in the end date of repeat appointments. Such corrupted dates instantly crash the HotSync conduit (usually with a fault in the DATSCN.DLL module). If this happens and you have not yet overwritten the good version of your database on your Palm Organizer, you can trivially solve this problem by just setting the datebook conduit to overwrite the desktop and hotsync. If you have inadvertently destroyed the only good copy on your organizer, your best bet may be to try the Datebook Repair Tool offered by another party: http://oetiker.ch/dtbrc.cgi 

If  you are using some other desktop PIM and conduit software, download dbScan, install and run this application and let it remove any errors that you may have in your organizer database (you will probably have to disable the datebook conduit temporarily to get dbScan installed). After dbScan indicates the datebook database is clean, try having your Palm Organizer overwrite the desktop. If that does not correct the problem, you should contact the vendor of your conduit software and/or desktop PIM for further assistance.

If you have a Verizon Treo-650, the problem is that with Verizon's 'Wireless Sync' app, you have to make sure that under connection settings - advanced - that 'enable other sync apps' is checked.

I'm getting duplicated events on my Palm, why?

Duplication of events is always a conduit issue, as it is your conduit software that duplicating events, not DateBk5. Duplication of events is most common with third party conduits and desktop Software - there are virtually no reports of this ever happening with the standard Palm Windows software. First, contact the vendor of your conduit software and make sure you are using the very latest version as this problem is a common bug in early versions of conduit software. Second, you should be aware that if you set an alarm on an event in MS Outlook and acknowledge it, that will mark the event as having been modified. If that event is then touched in any way on your Palm organizer, it will then duplicate as the conduit will think it has been modified on both platforms since the last hotsync. Remember too that floating events get modified every day on your organizer as DateBk5 changes the start date of the event, so any modification to a floating event on the desktop is guaranteed to cause the conduit to duplicate the event. It is possible that more intelligent conduits in the future will address these particular type of problems. If you have a massive number of duplicated events, look for the program UnDupe, available on most shareware archives, which is designed to remove duplicate records.

Why is there funny stuff (like: ##@@@@@@@) in the Note Field:

This is normal if you look at an event on the desktop or in some other application. Information is encoded in the note field to track information for each event (Category, Icon, timezone, float/done, appt spanning midnight, etc.). It is hidden of course in DateBk5. See the appendices in the DateBk5 User Manual for technical  information on the tag formats. This is the ONLY way that DateBk5 can add functionality beyond that provided for in the Datebook database while still maintaining 100% compatibility with the Datebook database and all third party applications that use it. Links are also stored in the note field and will appear something like: [LINK A 1234,e4F3].

If you want to avoid seeing these tags, you will need to refrain from using those DateBk5 advanced features that cause the tags to be generated. The features that require the use of tags are: Custom fonts · custom alarms · custom colors · advances · timezones · categories · appts spanning midnight · floating events · icons · links.

How can I speed up the start of DateBk5?

On startup, DateBk5 has to scan the entire Todo database. Some people never clean up their todo database and may have hundreds of completed todo's that have never been archived. We suggest that you archive off the older todo's to keep your todo database smaller. If the Todo database has only 50 or todo's, for example, DateBk5 only takes about an extra 1/4er of a second to start up. Note that you can always selectively purge  Todo's that are older than a specified date. Second, run DateBk5 immediately after you do a hotsync, to get the SORTING message out of the way. Third, use the Floating Advance Time feature in OPTIONS | PREFERENCES | DATE/TIME panel to trigger the scan during the early morning hours when you are asleep - that way you will NOT see it when you power on your Palm handheld first thing in the day. Also, starting in split-screen mode with the addressbook open can take more time if you have an exceptionally large addressbook database.

Why is the Datebook database searched twice and is there anything you can do about it?

When you do a global find, the Palm OS runs every loaded application (including the built-in applications) to search their database. Since DateBk5 and Datebook point at the same database, the database is searched twice. You can prevent this behavior with the useful program FindIgnoreHack available at PalmGear (www.palmgear.com). This can also be used to prevent the ToDo application from searching the database as DateBk5 will search both the Datebook and ToDo databases.

I ran dbSetup to load the icons, but I don't see any, why?

The display of icons in DateBk5 views is typically a preference option. So tap on the menu button, tap on OPTIONS and then tap on VIEW DISPLAY OPTIONS and check the box for the display of icons in each view where you want to display icons.

I can't run DateBk5 because I get: Bad Icon String.  DATEBK3 memo record has syntax error in icon strings at #a

This just means that you inadvertently or intentionally modified the DATEBK3 record in your MemoPad database and have now corrupted the precise syntax required in that file. If you cannot quickly see what is wrong on the specified line, press the MEMO button and just DELETE that memo and you can then at least run DateBk5 (if you have difficulty doing that, just poke the reset button with a pin and then delete it). Then use the dbSetup.prc application that is in the ZIP archive (or download another copy from the DateBk5 web page and run it to re-create the icon (and timezone if desired) memopad records.

I get: "An unexpected system problem has appeared" when running DateBk5

This indicates that the DateBk5Db preference database has been corrupted somehow (failed hotsync, partial deletion, accidental overwrite, etc.). To recover, just delete the DateBk5DB database from the main app screen with the icons and run DateBk5 to create a new default database. After doing that, you will need to re-enter your preferences into DateBk5 and also your registration (if you are registered user). 

How can I get a special event to show up first in the monthly icon view ahead of others?

Well in theory there is no way to do this, but in practice there is a clever trick: repeat events always appear BEFORE non-repeat events, so if you mark it as a repeat event, it will appear before untimed non-repeat events and floating events. How do you do this? By making it a daily repeat event that ends on the same day it starts. You can save this as a template to make it easier to insert in the future! Note that the current release of DateBk5 now supports the coloring of the day numbers in the month and 4-month views - just set a bold font on the item whose color you want to propagate to the day number.

Why am I having trouble getting to the day view by double-tapping a cell in the monthly view?

I am having trouble storing beamed events from the regular Datebook application- why?

Most likely, you have your insert pointer in an event. If you do that, DateBk5 is not able to close the Datebook Database and since the regular Datebook application will grab the beamed event, it is not able to store the event (and rather curiously does not even bother to put up an error dialog indicating the problem!). Just tap elsewhere on the screen so that no item is currently selected and the beamed events will be received normally.

Can I put the start and end times in different timezones - like for an airplane flight across time zones?

No - you can only associate one time zone with an event. For a flight across timezones (about the only place you would even ever use such a feature), you can either:

(a) put the start/end times in a single event and then change the zone to ALL TIME ZONES, so your airplane times are ALWAYS shown at the correct local time (probably the best solution), or.

(b) separate out the arrival from departure into two separate events and place them in their own respective zones.

Keep in mind the usefulness of the ALL TIME ZONES assignment when you are not interested in knowing the native time of an event. For an airplane, if you think about it a bit, you'll realize that you only ever want to know the local times (i.e. when do I need to get to the airport by, and when should someone arrive at the destination to meet me).

Why am I getting an INSUFFICIENT MEMORY error followed by a NULL HANDLE Error in DateBk5?

Most likely, you have a color icon file with more than 606 icons in it. The very first release of DateBk5 does not check for this condition and as a result of a flaw in the Palm OS, this crash can occur. The solution right now is to call up the icon file into dbIcon and then save it so it only has the first 255 icons. A maintenance release of DateBk5 to be posted shortly will include a check for this condition, and a subsequent maintenance release after that one will likely increase the limit on the number of icons.

How do I schedule an event that repeats on every other day of the second-to-last week of every month that has a new moon in the first two weeks of that month, (but not if there is a lunar eclipse in that month)?

In DateBk5 only, press the UP and Down Buttons simultaneously while stroking the Kanji character for the Moon in the 17th pixel row from the top of the repeat dialog, then press all four silkscreen buttons for 273 seconds and a dialog will open allowing you to enter this event (Be sure to check the box saying 'skip event if new moon coincides with lunar eclipse'). And time it carefully as if you hold the buttons down for more than 275 seconds it causes a hard reset and engages the normally unused stepup transformer that converts the 3v AAA output into 440V at 10 amps which can cause a bit of a surprise to the unsuspecting novice).

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