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Making expansion cards work for you (continued)
Opening expansion media to all applications
Now that you have assembled your tools, you can make expansion media content available to all applications.
The first step is to decide the MSMount mount path. As shown back in Figure C, the default mount path for MSMount is /Palm/Programs/MSMount. I don't know of any practical reason to change this, but feel free if it suits your fancy.
Next, use your media manipulation tool of choice to create the MSMount directory. You can't modify the mount path with McFile or Filez while MSMount is enabled. Make sure MSMount is disabled while you're creating the mount path directory.
Finally, enable MSMount and load it up with files.
Other thoughts on expansion media
You can use the Palm Install Tool to move applications to the expansion media. However, not all applications like being installed on expansion cards. Some applications have been known to copy themselves to the handheld's memory after being run from the expansion media, leaving you with two copies. Applications installed under the MSMount directory shouldn't have this problem. Just remember to either move files or to delete them after copying them.
One reason I prefer the FlashGO! at this point in the process is that I don't have to transfer applications and data to the handheld before moving them to the expansion card. I can just drag and drop them directly from my Windows desktop. This is perfect for a highly loaded handheld or for large numbers of files.
"I encountered a bug of which you should be aware."
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I encountered a bug of which you should be aware, given the PDF earlier focus. If the size of a PDF or Acrobat PDB file is greater than the available memory on your PDA, you'll see them in the Acrobat Reader file list, but you get a NULL reference alert when you try to read them. This is a combination of a limitation of the technology and a probable bug in Acrobat Reader. I have submitted bug reports to Adobe.
Conclusion
Given the newness of the expansion media extensions for Palm OS, I'm not surprised to find limited application support and a few rough edges. A combination of perseverance, software, and a vision of its promise can yield exciting portable solutions. I would love to hear interesting uses people have for expansion media. You can contact me at steve@vance.com.
Product availability and resources
For more information on Adobe's PDF2PDB.EXE, visit http://www.adobe.com/support/downloads/detail.jsp?hexID=8a3e.
For more information on Adobe Acrobat Reader for Palm OS, visit http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/acrrmobiledevices.html.
For more information on Filez, visit http://www.nosleep.net/filez.asp.
For more information on the Imation FlashGO! Universal Memory Reader/Writer, visit http://www.imation.com/en_US/products/product_generic_1.jhtml?Id=IM_PRD334.
For more information on MSMount from PalmGear.com, visit http://www.palmgear.com/software/showsoftware.cfm?prodID=29216.
For more information on McFile, visit http://www.jade.dti.ne.jp/~imazeki/palm/McFL/index-e.html.
For more information on Palm handhelds, visit http://www.palm.com.
Easy, flexible article reprints
ZATZ now offers a quick, easy, flexible and inexpensive way to use article reprints in your marketing and promotion efforts. You can now get article reprints for a one-time fee of only $200. For details, visit http://mediakit.zatz.com/reprints.
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Stephen Vance is an independent computer consultant living in Troy, Michigan. He can be reached via e-mail at steve@vance.com.
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