Create Projects Skills Buy Support Partners Contact Home
   

Pocket PC Creations
Free Trial
Editions
Custom Points
Upgrade News

Site
About
Search
 
 
 
 
Copyright
Disclaimer
CreativityCorp

 

Pocket PC Creations Skills - Page 5

Pocket PC Creations Skills - Installation
Installing and Using Projects, Printing and Synchronising Session Data

Installing Projects and software to Pocket PC  

Once design of a project is completed using Pocket PC Creations on a desktop PC, the project or application can then be installed on a Windows Mobile Smartphone or Pocket PC. The project files are only small in size, most being less than 30KB, so many projects can be loaded onto a Pocket PC. For example, a project with the descriptions and costs of 1000 products in a sales catalogue would hardly impact on the memory of the Smartphone or Pocket PC.  These are the simple steps to install a project:

  1. Connect the Pocket PC to the desktop or laptop PC, following the instructions provided by the manufacturer, probably using either a USB or Serial cable.
  2. Verify that the Pocket PC has been recognised by the desktop PC. If necessary, locate the Microsoft ActiveSync or Mobile Device Center program on the start menu and follow its procedures for connecting the mobile device.
  3. Open project (examples at C:\Program Files\Pocket PC Creations\Examples) in 'five icons' view and double click the Install icon in the project window.

Pocket PC Creations will install the project on the mobile device. This will also prompt installation of the Pocket PC Creations software, running as Mobile Data, if it isn't already installed. Follow prompts to install to main memory (Default, and recommended) or SD and CF cards.

If there are any problems at this point, it is likely to be with the communications between the Pocket PC and desktop PC. Troubleshooting help is available with Microsoft ActiveSync and Mobile Device Center.  Note, Windows XP, Vista and 7 Installation may require administrative privileges if software cannot be installed from a 'user' account. Log on to Windows as an 'administrator' before installing Pocket PC Creations.

Installing the software - Unit ID

After Pocket PC Creations software has been installed for the first time (when the first project is installed), a dialogue box will appear requesting assignment of a name or Unit ID to the particular Smartphone or Pocket PC to which the project has been installed. This Unit ID is attached to any project sessions initiated on that Pocket PC, and can be used to identify where each set of project sessions came from if multiple Pocket PCs are used from a single desktop PC. There is flexibility for using any Unit ID, for example - numbers (eg 01), a name (eg JillSmith), business (eg CreativityCorp), business unit (eg Engineering); however there must be 'nospace'.

Installing Modified/Updated Projects

When installing to update a modified project, 'Finish' or close any session open on the Pocket PC and close the project via Menu and 'Back to Main' before installing the updated project via Install from the desktop PC. The wireless functions of Pocket PC Creations (see page 6) have advanced features for remote detection of updates and installing updated projects.
 

Using Projects on Pocket PC

(Please scan images below before reading steps 1 to 11)

Now that the project/application has been installed on the Pocket PC, it can be used in the field. These are the simple steps to use a project:

  1. Pocket PC Creations is selected from the Start menu on the Pocket PC.
  2. If only one project is installed, the first screen will be the Session window (see image below), tap New to open a Session to collect data.  If more than one project is installed, the first screen will be the Project window (see image below), single-tap a project with the stylus to select and launch it. Single-tap and hold will bring up the Project menu with options: Synchronise (see Wireless on page 6), Backup Data to make backup of project sessions, Restore Data to recover the backup, Delete to delete the project, Wireless Options (see Wireless, page 6), Request Assistance via wireless connection (see Wireless, page 6) and Exit to close Mobile Data.
  3. Backup Data and Restore Data should be used for extra security before synchronising or transferring data from the Pocket PC to the Pocket PC Creations server. It only takes seconds to backup a days work.
  4. With a session open, the first page of the project will appear on-screen, exactly as it did in the design window on the desktop PC. 
  5. Tap points to enter observations, and the keyboard or character recognition icon, which will display the Pocket PC input panel for entry of text and numbers.
  6. On completion of the session, tap Menu and Finish Session at the bottom of the screen. The project session will be saved and the program will return to the session window showing the date of the session and time it was commenced and information set for Session List Columns.
  7. A list of sessions performed with the  project will appear in the Session window. To display a name and other data for a session, in project Design select Session List Columns via Project > Properties > Options.
  8. Another important session management tool is to tap either Menu or tap and hold one or more of the sessions icons down the screen, displaying the Session menu with session management options: Send Now (for wireless dispatch, see Wireless page 6) Duplicate, to generate a unique copy a session, Delete, Export HTML (see below) Mark for Send (for wireless dispatch, see Wireless page 6), Unmark of session, Synchronize for wireless dispatch of marked sessions, Lock Columns to set the width of Session List Columns, and Back to Main to return to the Project Window and close the open project. A number of sessions can be selected by dragging the stylus through the sessions in the Session window.
  9. Sessions arriving on a Pocket PC from a desktop PC or server, either via ActiveSync or wirelessly, are identified by a red project icon (see Project screen below), and red session icons (see Session screen below).
  10. To Sort sessions in the Session screen/window, tap the column header.  The width of columns can be adjusted by dragging the frame, it is preserved when leaving the Session list to go to the Projects display screen (preservation process, not by opening a New session), and the width can be set using Lock Columns in the Session menu.
  11. To close a project, tap Menu and Back to Main. 

   

            Pocket PC Project window                      Pocket PC Session window

When deleting project sessions using the Delete button, a cautionary prompt will appear. Deleted sessions cannot be recovered.

Tips for Using Projects in Mobile Data      

Gain maximum value from use of projects running in Mobile Data in the field by:

  • using Session List Columns for identification of sessions (set up in Design mode via Project > Properties > Options)
  • using a Contents Page for navigation and links to it from each page (set up in Design mode via Edit > Add Contents Page)
  • always using Backup Data on Pocket PC before synchronising with server/desktop PC (via Project Menu > Backup Data)

Export HTML for Printing

(Note Print point on page 4 of Skills is another mode for printing.)

The Export HTML option in the session menu enables output of session data to a HTML template which generates HTML pages available for printing with third party software, such as PIEprint. The HTML pages can also be attached to emails.

A HTML template suitable for use with Pocket PC Creations is a standard HTML file, with one important exception: - whenever Pocket PC Creations detects a tag of the form
<%pointIDname%>, it will replace the entire tag with data from the named point, where point ID Name is the name of the point, eg Customer, Company.

The Export HTML menu presents fields for location of the template file on the Pocket PC, which can be browsed to locate, and for folder to save generated HTML pages (eg \My Documents\Print, could hold both the template and HTML generated).

The default file name for the HTML output is %.date% %.time%.htm which will produce files date and time stamped. Data from specific points in the project can be used for file names using %pointIDname%, where point ID Name is the name of the point, eg Customer, Company.

The Open File control will immediately display the generated HTML file in Internet Explorer.

Test the Save HTML function, the Sales Force project has a HTML template that can be copied from desktop to Pocket PC from:
C:\Program Files\Pocket PC Creations\Examples\SalesForceTemplate
include GIF images, and save to a new Print folder My Documents\Print on Pocket PC, then follow the simple Save HTML set up menu.

Sketch point images (eg signatures) will be output within HTML pages, these should be deleted from the Pocket PC periodically, so they don't use excess storage space.

Synchronising Pocket PC with desktop PC  

Having completed project sessions on the Pocket PC, the session data can then be transferred to a desktop PC/server for storage and analysis, either by standard ActiveSync or Mobile Data Center USB cable connection or wireless TCP/IP communication (page 6). Session information can also be sent to Pocket PCs from a desktop PC/server, either by cable or wirelessly.

These are the simple steps to synchronise a project:

Synchronising by Cable (USB or Serial using Microsoft ActiveSync or Mobile Device Center)

  1. Finish or close any project session on the Pocket PC. Backup Data sessions on the Pocket PC via the Project Menu before synchronising.
  2. Open Pocket PC Creations on the desktop or laptop PC, and the relevant project for receipt of the session data.
  3. Connect the Pocket PC to the desktop or laptop PC, following the instructions provided by the manufacturer, probably using either a USB cable.
  4. Verify that the device has been recognised by your PC. If necessary, locate the Microsoft ActiveSync or Mobile Device Center program on the start menu and follow its procedures for connecting the mobile device.
  5. Double click the Synchronise icon in the project window. This process will remove all relevant project sessions from the Pocket PC and transfer them to the Data Pathway.
  6. Sessions from the Data Window on the desktop can also be sent to the Pocket PC to set up sessions for the field, either via Wireless TCP/IP (see page 6), or via ActiveSync or Mobile Device Center connection.

The wireless or TCP/IP functions of Pocket PC Creations are superior to standard ActiveSync or Mobile Device Center for transfer of session data, see page 6/Wireless of Skills.
Auto Load Projects
The Auto Load function enables projects to be automatically opened whenever the Pocket PC Creations program is opened on the desktop PC or server, see dialogue box below. This function is particularly useful when there is a continuous stream of session data being returned from Pocket PCs in the field, perhaps wirelessly. It is also convenient if there are projects used frequently. Access the Auto Load function via Tools on the main control menu of Pocket PC Creations server.


 

Language Translation  
The Pocket PC client side controls can be translated (see below) and the translated file can be offered wirelessly to clients via an option in the server side wireless options (via Tools, Server Online, see page 6/Wireless). This allows the language translation file, and any updates to it, to be distributed automatically. The ClientLanguage.ini file is found in C:\Program Files\Pocket PC Creations on the server and can be edited in Notepad. If the translated file is manually copied into the Pocket PC via ActiveSync, it should be renamed to Language.ini and copied into the Program Files / PPCC folder.
 


 

Previous Page 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 - 7 - End Next Page