.KEYWORD bluesync
.FLYINGHEAD PALMPOWER EXCLUSIVE
.TITLE Seamless information routing between PC and Palm OS
.OTHER
.SUMMARY We were intrigued by a new application called BluePaste for Palm that will grab, convert, and route text information from PC based programs to your Palm OS handheld device. We asked Deen Ferrell, Vice President of Business Development at Blue Squirrel, to tell us more about this product and how to get the most out of it.
.AUTHOR Deen Ferrell
.BEGIN_SIDEBAR
.H1 About this PalmPower exclusive
Here at PalmPower, we love to score exclusives. This month is no different. There’s a long-time PC developer, with the fun name Blue Squirrel, who offers a whole bunch of interesting software. Recently, they’ve started producing innovative software for the Palm OS. We’ve asked Deen Ferrell, one of their senior executives, to take us inside BluePaste, an unusual and potentially very useful utility. So, once again, here’s a PalmPower Exclusive for you to enjoy.
.END_SIDEBAR
One of the most exciting promises of the Palm OS handheld is its ability to provide mobile users immediate access to critical information resources. In the past, selecting and converting that information from PC based programs or the Web to a Palm OS accessible format has been somewhat laborious. We at Blue Squirrel, a Utah-based software developer, have sought to change that. We created a program called BluePaste for Palm that’s designed to allow you–with just one click–to grab, title, convert, and route text information from PC based programs or the Web to your Palm OS handheld device.
As Vice President of Business Development at Blue Squirrel, I was asked by the editors of PalmPower to provide some information on how, exactly, BluePaste for Palm works and how you can get the most out of it. You can find more information at http://www.bluesquirrel.com/products/bluepaste/.
.H1 How it works
BluePaste for Palm is a Windows-based program that allows you to specify a hot-key combination or to click on an icon in the Windows or Internet Explorer toolbar in order to instantly grab, title, convert, and route highlighted text. The size of document or article you can highlight is limited only by the available memory on the Palm handheld. Once you have selected text and either clicked the BluePaste icon or hit the selected hot-key, a blue splat of "paste" appears immediately on the screen. This confirms that the operation has been successfully completed, as shown in Figure A.
.FIGPAIR A A blue splat of "paste" signals the end of the operation.
Headers and footers are attached automatically to the text, and the text is converted to either a memo or Doc file as specified in the set-up options. The Palm OS accessible file is then automatically routed to the Palm Desktop’s install application directory for download to the Palm OS device during the next HotSync operation.
.H1 BluePaste set-up options
During program set-up, there are a number of options to help you customize the program, as shown in Figure B.
.FIGPAIR B There are a number of options available.
For example, you can specify whether you want to save text as a memo or as a Doc file. One setting allows you to save any files under 4k as a memo and over 4k as a Doc file. This ensures that if any file exceeds Palm’s 4K size limit for memos, it will be converted to a Doc file that can be read with any of the numerous Palm Doc Readers that are currently available.
You can also choose between a number of header and footer options, as shown in Figure C.
.FIGPAIR C There are a number of header and footer options.
Title headers can either be the first line of text, the date, or the application title if the document or text is grabbed from a specific Windows based application. Alternatively, you can specify a unique title such as "Competitor Info," etc. Footers can be disabled, or they can provide date, application title, or URL for text grabbed from the Web (you must be using Internet Explorer 5.5 or better for this function). You can also set your own hot-key and mouse click options for the program.
.H1 Information on-the-fly for your Palm OS device
BluePaste is a product that we hope will open the door for true on-the-fly information gathering to Palm OS devices. Whether grabbing directions or conversations from email, articles, or flight itineraries off the Web, a contract or Word document, or even excerpts of a digital book for reading or reference, the product should make selecting and routing the information to your Palm OS device quicker, easier, and relatively painless.
.BEGIN_SIDEBAR
.H1 Product availability and resources
For more information on BluePaste for Palm, visit http://www.bluesquirrel.com/products/bluepaste/.
For more information on Palm handhelds, visit http://www.palm.com.
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.END_SIDEBAR
.BIO Deen Ferrell is Vice President of Business Development at Blue Squirrel. Over the past year, he has been responsible for developing strong industry partnerships with corporations like Franklin Covey, Eastman Kodak, OhFish Communications, McGraw Publishing, and AI Soft Inc. (Seiko/Epson’s Japan subsidiary). He is a Brigham Young University graduate and completed additional studies at USC’s prestigious Annenberg School for Communications. He currently resides in Tooele, Utah with his wife and three children. He can be reached via email at deenf@bluesquirrel.com.
.DISCUSS http://powerboards.zatz.com/cgi-bin/webx?50@@.ee6fcce
