"How to" questions

[Anonymous]

I figured it would save Mike some trouble if he answered some here, rather than via support.

Here's one about backing up:

I have a Tungsten E. I know I can export a file, but the Tungsten backs up other stuff when it synchronizes, don't my flashcard/custom entries get included in this?

 

[mikelove]

If you created them with version 1.0, then yes, otherwise you'll want to download the free utility Filez (http://www.nosleep.net) and use that to set the backup flag on "PlecoDict User DB C-E" and "PlecoDict Flashcard Database" - there was a bug in versions Beta 3 and earlier which prevented that flag from being properly set when the file was created, and without it set the files are not automatically backed up.

But exporting another backup copy is a good idea too, especially if you have a lot of flashcards.

 

[Anonymous]

I've just bought my first PDA - a Tungsten T5 so I could use the excellent Chinese dictionaries you have developed for it and the flash card application. I downloaded the PlecoDict Version 1.0 documentation and followed the Windows - Manual Install instructions. My desktop pc runs Windows XP.

Unfortunately the HotSync failed with the following message:

Install failed
c:\ProgramFiles\palmOne\bryant\Install\ABC.pdb.
The memory in your handheld maybe full. To check the available memory, select...
Install syncronisation failed.

But when I tap the clock at the bottom of the screen Available Memory shows 157.2MB and 52.6MB.

Are there any instructions on how to load the dictionaries onto a T5 - I am really keen to the flash card application.

 

[Anonymous]

I think I've got it working now. Have just tried the Drive Mode feature of the T5. Created a directory /Palm/Programs/PlecoDict as suggested in one of your posts and just used Windows Explorer to copy the ABC dictionary to that directory.

I then deleted the ABC dictionary from the QuickInstall window. Everything left in QuickInstall synced and ABC cycles up as one of the dictionaries. Is there anything else I should do? All those previous posts on the Bug Report Thread for Judy were very helpful - many thanks to both you and Judy

 

[mikelove]

That should fix it, yes.

This is related to a very annoying design flaw that affects the T5 and other PDA's of its generation; even though they may have 32MB or more of internal flash memory, files installed by a HotSync have to fit into a 10MB file cache before they can be written to that memory - thus, the 17MB ABC dictionary database file will refuse to install to the main memory of a T5 even if you've got plenty of free space available.

If we'd had any inkling that Palm was going to do this when we started designing PlecoDict, we probably would have designed a system to split dictionaries into multiple data files in order to keep everything under 10 MB, but with PlecoDict 1.0 released we're not likely to overhaul the file system again anytime soon.