Using Palm Buddy
With Palm Buddy's Finder-like interface, the hierarchy of your PalmPilot contents are presented in a list format -- just like a standard MacOS window that displays the contents of a folder -- and are then organized into five folders: System, Preference Panels, Built-In Applications, Other Applications, and Other Databases.

Each folder can be expanded to list its contents, such as the individual application and database (or .PRC/.PDB files) files pertaining to that application.

To keep your Palm device organized, Palm Buddy lists third-party applications in their own folder within the "Other Applications" folder, as shown in Figure A. This allows a quick and simple backup of your Palm device in these ways: individual or by folder, full or incremental.

FIGURE A

The Palm Buddy interface shows an expanded Other Applications folder and its contents. Click picture for a larger image.

Getting started
Before you can backup or install a file with Palm Buddy for the first time, you need to install a small 10K file on your PalmPilot through a traditional HotSync install session. This file will direct the flow of information between your desktop computer and your PalmPilot.

Doing a backup
After installing this small, 10K file on your Palm device, Palm Buddy is ready to install a file, backup a file, get information on a file or database, or backup your entire PalmPilot -- including the new Palm III Flash ROM -- with a point, click, drag, and drop.

Backing up your entire Palm computer with Palm Buddy gives you two options. The first is a full backup, which includes both application program files and database files (like, for example, the Hi-Note application along with Hi-Note's database files). The downside to a full backup is the extra time consumed by synchronizing the application's program files in addition to the database files. The upside is in the event you need to restore your entire PalmPilot, you can ideally restore your PalmPilot with a single drag and drop to the Palm Buddy window.

The second option is an incremental backup. The incremental backup will only backup your third party, built-in, ROM database files, (plus the Flash ROM for Palm IIIs), and will not back up the various application's program files. So, in the event you need to restore your entire Palm computer, you will need to locate your original files and install them separately. Nonetheless, the installation is as simple as drag and dropping to the Palm Buddy window.

With both options, full or incremental backup, you have the option to select what is backed up: non-Palm databases flashed in ROM, and the built-in appslication's databases. You can see this clearly in Figure B. In addition, you can select an option to "Delete extra files from your backup destination folders" which keeps your backup folder on your desktop fairly organized, keeping only the most-recent files backed up.

FIGURE B

The "Backup Options" window is where you select the type of backup and which files are to be backed up. Click picture for a larger image.