.KEYWORD filepoint
.FLYINGHEAD PRODUCT REVIEW
.TITLE Organize your handheld with FilePoint Pro
.OTHER
.SUMMARY David Silver follows up his original review of the file management program FilePoint with a look at FilePoint Pro.
.AUTHOR David Silver
The previous release of FilePoint was already a fantastic program (see the review at http://www.palmpower.com/issues/issue200201/filepoint001.html). Filepoint Pro, by Bachmann Software (at http://www.bachmannsoftware.com/filepointpro.htm) expands on the already great program by adding many new features, most notably desktop support. FilePoint Pro has a desktop conduit that enables you to synchronize your folder tree with the desktop and then edit the folder tree. You can also add files and file them directly on your PC! The Palm OS program itself hasn’t changed very much, so I’ll only go over it briefly. For a more detailed review, follow the above link.
.H1 The FilePoint Conduit and Desktop: a mixture of past, present, and future
The FilePoint Pro Conduit enables you to edit your files on the PC. At each HotSync operation, the Conduit synchronizes your Palm handheld’s files with your desktop’s folder tree. You can then categorize any file on you Palm handheld. The FilePoint Pro Desktop is shown in Figure A.
.FIGPAIR A FilePoint Pro Desktop, your home away from home.
You can specify which program you use to view desktop documents, whether it be WordSmith (at http://www.bluenomad.com), QuickOffice (at http://www.quickoffice.com), Documents to Go (at http://www.dataviz.com), or Adobe Acrobat Reader for Palm OS (at http://www.adobe.com). Then, you can drag those files to the FilePoint window to have them automatically installed. From the desktop you can also delete any file, although that can get dangerous if you delete any important files. It’s also dangerous on the Palm handheld, but that’s a little more secure.
One of my favorite features of FilePoint Pro is file linking. If you’ve installed a Microsoft Word file on your Palm handheld using one of the above programs, you can have FilePoint Pro link that icon to that document so that, when you click on the icon, the document will open. You can do it with any icon, although it’s more useful on some files than others. Linking a source file, for instance, won’t do very much good in most circumstances.
.H1 On the Palm handheld
FilePoint on the Palm handheld is even more useful than FilePoint on the desktop. Since the program hasn’t changed much since the previous review, this is only going to be a quick one.
If you have a device with expansion capability, at the top of the screen there will be an option to display the files in RAM, the current expansion card, or both.
The FilePoint folder view, shown in Figure B, is a split screen view. On the left is your folder tree. On the right are the contents of the selected folder or filter.
.FIG B The Split Screen View allows you to see your folder tree.
The views are changed by a set of icons in the upper right-hand corner of the screen. The second icon shows the files in the current folder or filter (you must select the folder in the split screen view), as well as each file’s size and other details, which you can see in Figure C.
.FIG C The File Detail view is a must if you want to see the size or other details of all your files at a glance.
The third icon is the icon view. It displays the contents of the current folder or filter. Again, you must change the folder in the split screen view.
The utility bar is at the bottom of the screen. The first icon allows you to create a new document in any of the supported applications. The second allows you to open the selected file. The third allows you to print any document supported by Bachmann’s Printboy (at http://www.bachmannsoftware.com/products-printboy.htm). The next one beams, the fifth one deletes, and the last two move the file to and from the inserted expansion card. After that are the filter box and the scroll arrows.
.H1 Conclusion
FilePoint Pro is an indispensable tool if you find the Palm handheld’s screen too cramped to effectively manage your files. It does have some bugs though. I had to spend quite some time telling it that I deleted an application.
FilePoint’s integration of a launcher and a File Manager is surprisingly useful. The File Manager, though, does miss a few features like editing file attributes. For this, you still have to rely on the application Filez (at http://www.freewarepalm.com/utilities/filez.shtml). I do find the program a little slow, but, then again, I have a Palm m105, not one of the newer, faster devices.
Overall, FilePoint Pro adds the convenience of the desktop computer to File Management. If you just want a basic launcher or file manager, you’re looking at the wrong program. However, if you want a powerful combination, FilePoint just may be your thing.
.BEGIN_SIDEBAR
.H1 Product availability and resources
For the article, "Put your files in folders with FilePoint," by David Silver in the January 2002 issue of PalmPower, visit http://www.palmpower.com/issues/issue200201/filepoint001.html.
For more information on Filepoint Pro by Bachmann Software, visit http://www.bachmannsoftware.com/filepointpro.htm.
For more information on WordSmith, visit http://www.bluenomad.com.
For more information on QuickOffice, visit http://www.quickoffice.com.
For more information on Documents to Go, visit http://www.dataviz.com.
For more information on Adobe Acrobat Reader for Palm OS, visit http://www.adobe.com.
For more information on Bachmann’s Printboy, visit http://www.bachmannsoftware.com/products-printboy.htm.
For more information on Filez, visit http://www.freewarepalm.com/utilities/filez.shtml.
For more information on Palm handhelds, visit http://www.palm.com.
.H1 Easy, flexible article reprints
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.END_SIDEBAR
.BIO David Silver lives in Nevada. He can be reached at dws90@yahoo.com.
.DISCUSS http://powerboards.zatz.com/cgi-bin/webx?50@@.ee701c1
