WORD PROCESSING ON YOUR ORGANIZER!!!
 Get QED - the ORIGINAL word processor for PalmOS® compatible organizers!

INSTRUCTIONS

NEW!!! See the comprehensive illustrated manual: ENGLISH or GERMAN


SKIP TO:
1.Introduction    2.Installation    3.Compatibility    4.Purchasing    5.Legal    6.Author    7.Usage Instructions    8.PC Document Exchange    9.Advanced (Beam/Print/Clip/Backup)    10.Bookmarks    11.Technical Notes    12.Trouble Shooting

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INTRODUCTION    TOP

Take meeting and class notes, carry and revise large business documents, even maintain source code and web pages on the go with QED!!!

The MEMO application in PalmOS® compatible organizers has a tiny limit on document size making it useful only for short notes. QED in contrast lets you view and edit text documents OF UNLIMITED SIZE.

QED reads and writes standard DOC format files. This is a standard used for large text documents on PalmOS® compatible organizer. The format optionally compresses the contents using dramatically less of the organizer's memory. Such files are also called "e-texts". VAST ARCHIVES of ready made e-texts are available FREE for reading with QED!

QED boasts a comprehensive set of features. For more information and a free trial download please visit http://visionary2000.com/qed


INSTALLATION    TOP

  1. DOWNLOAD QED.zip NOW.

  2. Open the .zip file and extract the contents to a temporary directory.
    Alternately you may simply double click QED.PRC in the .zip to install immediately. If your computer cannot open the .zip file you may need WinZip. Mac users may need ZipIt. If you cannot use the .zip file (which includes a copy of the instructions) you may download or open the directly installable Palm program file here.

  3. Install QED.PRC on your organizer.
    Use the standard desktop install tool on your PC. In most cases you need simply click on the QED.PRC file.
QED can be used freely as a DOC reader. When used to edit however QED will occasionally nag you to register. If you're like me you'll quickly see that QED is a dream come true... View and edit any size text documents on your organizer! Easy to use, extremely stable, and CHEAP!!! So come to http://visionary2000.com/qed to register now!

After registering, you'll receive by email a registration code keyed to your organizer's HotSyncID. HotSyncID is the "user" name for your organizer, maintained in the organizer's desktop program on your PC. HotSyncID is NOT the same as the "owned by" name set in your organizer on the Applications/Preferences/Owner screen. To confirm your HotSyncID simply download and install QED. Run QED, tap MENU, OPTIONS, REGISTER and your HotSyncID will be shown.


COMPATIBILITY    TOP

QED has been extensively tested and works perfectly on most PalmOS® compatible organizers.

QED works well with compatible keyboards including StowAway and GoType.

QED has been confirmed to work with some memory expansions (such as TRG and others) but may not work with every Flash or ROM product. If you NEED to use a memory expansion to store documents you can install QED and test it yourself free. Due to the diversity of storage expansion devices, no warranty is assumed or implied as to compatibility with any extended memory products.


PURCHASING    TOP

The free download of QED allows customers to confirm that QED is satisfactory and compatible with their organizer prior to purchase. This IS the distribution version and has no demo function limits whatsoever. It just nags occasionally until purchased.

To register QED and stop the nagging go to http://visionary2000.com/qed and fill in the order form.

On the order form, HotSyncID is the "user" name maintained in the organizer's desktop program on your PC. It is shown on the QED Options/Register menu. Simply install and run QED, then tap MENU, OPTIONS, REGISTER.

For fastest processing, enter a credit card order on our standard or secure forms. There are no other purchase options. We do not accept checks, phone or fax orders.


LEGAL    TOP

QED is copyright 1999-2001, Kurt Schuster, all rights reserved. The trial version file may be freely distributed in unmodified form. The QED executable may be used freely by individuals assessing it's suitability for purchase. No other use, distribution, reproduction or modification whatsoever is permitted.

Registration entitles the purchaser to a single user license to use QED on a single organizer. No other use is permitted. Changing an organizer's HotSyncID or installation on multiple organizers may require the purchase of additional registrations.

Purchasers may freely download future updates and will be able to use their existing registration number. This policy may not continue indefinitely.

It is assumed that the purchaser has evaluated QED prior to purchase and accepted it as satisfactory. This, our low margin, and the fact that a registration code cannot be "returned" leads us to require a no refund policy.

Though tens of thousands of users have shown QED to be stable and safe, no program is perfect. The purchaser must be aware of the possibility of data loss connected with the use of any program.


AUTHOR    TOP

QED was created and is maintained by Kurt Schuster who resides in Weiden in North Bavaria. Please direct correspondence to qed@visionary2000.com though you may also send praise, problem reports, or questions to the author at kurt.schuster@t-online.de You may also visit Kurt's home page at http://home.t-online.de/home/kurt.schuster


USAGE INSTRUCTIONS    TOP

Screen buttons:

The screen buttons are as follows:
  1. Create new document.
  2. Open a document.
  3. Search (top half of icon) / Search Again (bottom half of icon)
  4. Replace (top half of icon) / Replace Again (bottom half of icon)
  5. Bookmark functions. Add, edit, reorder, etc.
  6. Vertical / Horizontal navigation toggle.
    Changes the scroll bar and cursor buttons between up/down and right/left.
  7. Scroll Bar.
    Tap the head or foot of this scrollbar to skip to the top / bottom, or left / right side of the document.
  8. Cursor movement buttons.
  9. Column/Row/Page scroll buttons.

Note that the small SEARCH icon mentioned above searches only the current DOC. For a GLOBAL FIND through all DOCs in the currently selected category tap the organizer's built-in FIND button. To search all DOCs, select the category ALL from the file list.


File Manager:

The buttons on the file dialog are as follows:

1. Category functions.
Select which category's documents are currently listed above, and maintain the database of categories.
2. File Functions.
By default, this menu is set to select a file to load. Simply select a file and click OK. To change the category of a document, or to delete or rename a document, tap the desired function then tap a document name. You will be prompted to confirm a rename or delete.
3. Cancel/OK.


FILE menu
The FILE menu includes the expected OPEN, NEW, SAVE, RENAME, DELETE, and INFO commands. NEW creates a blank document, either compressed or not depending on your default preferences. SAVE and CLOSE are not really necessary on an organizer where there is no disk drive, and they both simply perform a buffer flush. INFO shows the document size and name. SAVE AS allows you to make a copy of a DOC, optionally with a different compression from the original.


EDIT menu
Standard CUT, COPY, PASTE and UNDO operations. Also includes FIND and FIND AGAIN for searching the current DOC. For a GLOBAL FIND through all DOCs in the currently selected category tap the organizer's built-in FIND button. BOOKMARK displays the bookmark menu, described later.


OPTIONS menu
Use the REGISTER menu to stop the nags after you have purchased your QED registration. Tap MENU, tap OPTIONS, tap REGISTER and enter your registration code.


DEFAULT PREFERENCES controls how newly loaded or created documents will be configured. There are settings for creating new documents compressed or not, as well as defaults for all the DOC PREFS shown below.


DOCUMENT PREFERENCES controls settings for a given DOC including SCREEN WIDTH, FONT, EDITABLE, RULED, BACKUP and PRIVATE. SCREEN WIDTH is one of QED's best features. QED uses a wide "virtual screen" where a user can pan left and right. The width is specified in pixels, from 160 to 1200. Your document will be word wrapped at the specified width. The organizer screen is 160 pixels. Use this setting for reading bulk text such as books. Use higher settings for documents such as lists, source code, and documentation where wide formatting must be retained. EDITABLE is an important flag. If a document is left not editable it is "read only". In this mode QED operates like older DOC viewers. A document can be browsed by tapping the screen to scroll. The Ruled option displays the dotted screen lines. You may also select a FONT from any of the standard proportionally spaced ones, the large extremely readable one, or a special mono spaced font perfect for programmers. If marked PRIVATE a document is only shown on file lists when the organizer's security is set to show private records. The BACKUP flag indicates that a document has been changed and will be copied to the PC during the next HotSync. Use this to manually force or prevent a backup.


DOCUMENT EXCHANGE WITH PC    TOP

Win95 users can use QEX, our PC/QED Document Exchange Utility. QEX registration is free with the purchase of QED. Download from http://visionary2000.com/qed/qex.htm

For the most current list of converters:
Visit MemoWare's HOW TO page at http://www.memoware.com/mw-helpm.htm

M.S.Word and other similar high end programs store documents in complex binary formats. To convert a file for use on your organizer it must first be saved as text. In Word for example, one must use SAVE AS and select TEXT as the TYPE. Similarly, the document once converted back from QED is a simple text file. It can be opened in Word or Notepad for example. QED works fastest on DOCs which will be edited, if they are prepared without compression.


ADVANCED    TOP

BEAMING
Use BeamBox to send DOCs by infrared between QED on two organizer. QED and BeamBox must be installed on both organizers.

CLIPBOARD LIMIT
Though QED has no document size limit, the PalmOS® clip board has a limit of only 1K! That's just a few screens full. The program ClipHack increases this limit to 28K and is compatible with QED.

BACKING UP
QED is certified to work well with the popular BackupBuddy program to preserve the entire contents of your organizer's memory.

PRINTING
To keep the program compact, printing is not included in QED. You can transfer a document to your PC then print using BigDoc or PalmDocs. OR install a third party DOC printing utility on your organizer such as PrintBoy or DocPrint.

NO HOTSYNC ID
Some rare users (such as those connecting to Linux servers) may not have a HotSyncID to register QED. Such users should manually set the ID in their organizer using the free PalmName utility.


BOOKMARKS    TOP

QED is compatible with DOC standard bookmarks. The bookmarks feature has several distinct usages:

  1. An author may include bookmarks in a PC source document.
    This is done by placing a special character between <> symbols (less than / greater than) at the end of a file. Example (as the last line in a document):
    <*>
    Then, place that mark (without the <> symbols) at the start of lines in the content. Convert the file and view it on your organizer. In QED, tap BOOKMARK, SCAN (if not set to auto-scan). The DOC is scanned and the marked points are automatically added to the bookmark list, using the text after the mark as the bookmark name. Many DOC files come with bookmarks included in this way.

  2. A user may add bookmarks while viewing a document.
    While viewing a document, tap the bookmark symbol (paper clip), tap add, and enter a name when prompted.

  3. A user may manually insert bookmarks using QED.
    Like the PC method, a user can manually type bookmark characters such as * in a DOC, and append a <*> at the end. Running SCAN would then find and record these.
Technical notes:
In may sometimes be necessary to manually tell QED the bookmark character if the automatic scan does not work right. Get to the end of the document. Mark and Edit/Copy the bookmark character (the character between the < > marks). Bring up the Options/BookChar field, pop up the keyboard and Edit/Paste the character in. Then use Bookmark/Scan.

The DOC format stores the list of bookmarks in a table of data appended to the end of the document text. This occurs when a DOC is scanned, or if bookmarks are added when viewing. QED adheres to this format.

This can be troublesome for authors. If a DOC is edited and bookmarks are added, then the DOC is converted back to PC text (using QEX for example), the PC file will appear to have lines of garbage appended to the end. This chunk may be safely marked and deleted off. Alternately, do not use the bookmark feature in documents being editing.

Also, do not attempt to reinstall a file with bookmarks taken from a user's backup directory. It has been reported that the appended bookmark data will cause unintended results if reused as an original DOC file PDB.


TECHNICAL NOTES    TOP

QED compresses "on the fly" if a memory page has changed when the cursor is moved off that page (not equivalent to a screen page) or when a different program is invoked. Compression time is therefore not dependent on document size.

QED has been confirmed to work with some memory expansions (such as TRG and others). You may store documents or QED itself in Flash. To store a DOC in Flash you must first UNCHECK it's EDITABLE flag under MENU, OPTIONS, DOC PREFS. Then it can be moved out of RAM.

QED works well with keyboards including StowAway and GoType. Almost all functions have keyboard shortcuts.

The QED program is incredibly small, requiring only about 32K of your organizer's memory.

You may view QED's revision history here.

We recommend taking a full backup of your organizer occasionally using a program such as Backup Buddy. QED is Backup Buddy certified, meaning it only causes a document to be copied to a PC on HotSync if the document has been changed.



TROUBLE-SHOOTING    TOP

Q. QED documents do not appear on the PC after HotSync.

If you change a document in QED it will be transferred to the PC on next HotSync. You may also set the backup flag on the OPTIONS/DOC PREFS menu to force a document to be backed up on next HotSync. HotSync will copy it to the desktop user backup directory on your PC. This may be something like: C:\PILOT\<abbreviated user name>

Problems with a file not appearing on the PC after HotSync are almost certainly due to one of these issues:
A1. The desktop program HotSync settings are wrong.
Run the desktop program, click the HOTSYNC menu, then CUSTOM. The SYSTEM CONDUIT must be set to HANDHELD OVERWRITES DESKTOP.
A2. When HotSyncing with multiple PCs, the DOC only automatically copies to the first PC.
This is because the transfer resets the backup flag. QED considers it backed up and will not copy it again until some change is made or you manually set the backup flag.
A3. A newly converted document loaded to QED from a PC does not HotSync back.
Nor will it HotSync to another PC until some change is made or you manually set it's backup flag. QED considers the document unchanged, and thus there is no reason to HotSync it to the PC.
A4. You are running some third party backup program or HotSync conduit.
Consult the documentation or support for that product.
A5. The DOCs are being copied to the PC but to a different directory than you expect.
After HotSyncing (with all the above conditions met) use the FIND function on your computer to search for files modified today. Under Windows click START, FIND, FILES, named *.PDB, look in C:\, include subdirs, date modified between today and today. This should reveal your HotSync directory.

Once transferred, use a program such as QEX to convert it out of the user backup directory and into a PC editor usable file. For QED documents, usually the file name is the document's title, with underscores instead of spaces. Do not use characters in a document title which are possibly not valid file name characters, such as any punctuation or symbols.


Q. QED says "no valid username".
A. Some rare users (such as under Linux) may need to manually set the HotSyncID in their organizer using the free PalmName utility.


Q. QED immediately crashes when run.
A1. QED is not compatible with the obsolete 1000/5000 model organizers.
A2. Download and install the latest version.
A3. Make sure you have some reasonable amount of RAM free.


Q. QED crashes on certain documents.
A1. Delete and reload the DOC from an original source. Download the DOC again if necessary. If the file still will not open it is not a valid DOC file and should not be used.
A2. If the problem persists or spreads, your organizer's memory may be corrupt. This can occur from prior organizer crashes or loading invalid files. QED has never been known to cause this problem. Fully backup your organizer. Hard clear the organizer (reset button while holding power button). Reload contents USING ORIGINAL FILES wherever possible rather than copies from the user backup directory, which may be corrupt. Do not attempt this if you do not understand these instructions. Install QED and only load those other programs you really really need. Always use the most current QED release.


Q. All the documents disappear sometimes.
A. Do not delete DOCs using the organizers built-in memory management tool. That deletes all DOCs. Delete DOCs ONLY using QED's DOC management screen.


If you have carefully reviewed the above and still need help email qed@visionary2000.com with a full description of your hardware, software and symptoms.

Forgot your registration code?

To download and register QED visit visionary2000.com/qed