Franklin SIDEKICK CONNECTIVITY User Manual
C
ONNECTIVITY
SOFTWARE
USER’S GUIDE
®
License Agreement
READ THIS LICENSE AGREEMENT BEFORE USING THE SIDEKICK CONNECTIVITY SOFTWARE KIT
YOUR USE OF THE SIDEKICK CONNECTIVITY SOFTWARE KIT DEEMS THAT
YOU ACCEPT THE TERMS OF THIS LICENSE. IF YOU DO NOT AGREE WITH
THESE TERMS, YOU MAY RETURN THIS PACKAGE WITH PURCHASE RECEIPT TO THE DEALER FROM WHICH YOU PURCHASED THE SIDEKICK
CONNECTIVITY SOFTWARE KIT AND YOUR PURCHASE PRICE WILL BE REFUNDED. SIDEKICK CONNECTIVITY SOFTWARE KIT means the software
product, hardware, and documentation found in this package and FRANKLIN
means Franklin Electronic Publishers, Inc.
LIMITED USE LICENSE
All rights in the SIDEKICK CONNECTIVITY SOFTWARE KIT remain the property of
FRANKLIN. Through your purchase, FRANKLIN grants you a personal and nonexclusive license to use the SIDEKICK CONNECTIVITY SOFTWARE KIT. You may
not make any copies of the SIDEKICK CONNECTIVITY SOFTWARE KIT or of the
preprogrammed data stored therein, whether in electronic or print format. Such
copying would be in violation of applicable copyright laws. Further , you may not modify,
adapt, disassemble, decompile, translate, create derivative works of, or in any way
reverse engineer the SIDEKICK CONNECTIVITY SOFTWARE KIT . Y ou may not export or reexport, directly or indirectly, the SIDEKICK CONNECTIVITY SOFTW ARE
KIT without compliance with appropriate governmental regulations. The SIDEKICK
CONNECTIVITY SOFTWARE KIT contains Franklin’s confidential and propriety information which you agree to take adequate steps to protect from unauthorized disclosure or use. This license is effective until terminated. This license terminates
immediately without notice from FRANKLIN if you fail to comply with any provision
of this license.
1
Contents
Welcome to the Sidekick Connectivity
software. This software will help you
exchange information between your
PC Sidekick and handheld Sidekick
quickly and easily .
This connectivity software is for use
with handheld BOOKMAN Sidekick
organizers and Rolodex
handheld Sidekick organizers.
®
Electronics
Note: this software was originally created for use with handheld BOOKMAN Sidekick organizers, so
whenever the term BOOKMAN Sidekick or BOOKMAN appears on the
screen, it refers to both handheld
BOOKMAN Sidekick organizers and
Rolodex Electronics handheld Sidekick
organizers.
Introduction and Getting Started....................................... 3
Connecting the Serial Cable ............................................. 4
Installing the Connectivity Software .................................. 5
Starting the Connectivity Software ................................... 6
T esting Your Connection .................................................. 7
Linking Files.................................................................... 8
Merging All Linked Files..................................................12
Advanced T ransfers and Merging ....................................15
Recovering Files .............................................................19
Backing Up and Restoring Files .......................................20
Solutions to Common Problems.......................................21
Your Notes .....................................................................24
Copyrights and Patents ...................................................25
Limited Warranty (U.S. only) ............................................26
Index .............................................................................27
2
Getting StartedIntroduction
The Sidekick® Connectivity software
is a powerful tool for sending information between your handheld Sidekick organizer and your computer .
Before you can send information,
you must first link the files that you
want to either transfer or merge.
The simplest and quickest way to
combine all your linked handheld
Sidekick and PC Sidekick files is to
use the Merge All option. T o perform
more complex transfers or merges of
individual pairs of linked files, use the
Advanced T ransfer option.
If you make a mistake when merging or transferring files, you can
easily recover your most recently
merging or transferring PC Sidekick
files. In addition, for storage and
safety, you can back up and r estore
all the files from your handheld
Sidekick to your computer , even if
you do not have PC Sidekick.
System Requirements
To use the Sidekick Connectivity software you need the following:
• The Sidekick Connectivity kit, which includes the following: The Sidekick PCconnect serial cable and the Sidekick
Connectivity software. (This is packaged with certain handheld Sidekick organizers and available only through
Franklin Electronic Publishers, Inc.)
• An IBM PC Compatible, 386 processor or higher .
• Microsoft Windows version 3.1 or
later , or Windows 95.
• Minimum of 2 MB RAM.
• Minimum of 2 MB hard disk space.
• One available communications
(COM) port on your computer .
• One 3.5” high density floppy disk drive.
System Recommendations
It is recommended that you have the
following:
• PC version of Sidekick 2.0, Sidekick
95, Internet Sidekick, or Sidekick 97.
• Minimum of 4 MB of RAM.
3
Getting Started
Connecting the Serial Cable
If you have questions about any version of PC Sidekick, read its User’s
Guide or call Starfish Software. For installation or initial configuration questions, call 1 (970) 522-4610. For all
other questions, call 1 (800) 953-9995.
Or visit the Starfish Software web site
http://www.starfishsoftware.com
at
To obtain or inquire about the Sidekick
Connectivity kit or the latest version of
the connectivity software, you can call
1-800-266-5626 or visit our web site at
http://www.franklin.com
➤
Using This Software Without
PC Sidekick
If you do not have a copy of PC
Sidekick (Sidekick 2.0, Sidekick 95,
Internet Sidekick, or Sidekick 97),
do not worry . As long as you have a
computer which has Windows version 3.1 or later , or Windows 95,
you will still be able to use this software to back up your handheld
Sidekick organizers files on your
computer. To learn how, read
“Backing up and Restoring Files.”
.
.
Before you can start using the Sidekick Connectivity software, you must
first connect the Sidekick PC-connect
serial cable between your handheld
Sidekick organizer and your computer.
Warning! Using a different serial cable
may damage your handheld Sidekick
files, as well as your handheld Sidekick
organizer itself or your computer.
1. T urn of f your computer.
2. Locate a free COM port on the
back of your computer .
To lear n how, read the user manual
for your computer .
Caution: Even though you can
plug the serial cable into a COM
port, it may not be available for use.
Certain internal devices may “invisibly” using the port. For more information, read “Solutions to
Common Problems.”
3. Insert the 9-pin plug into the
COM port.
Note which port you used (for example, COM1).
4
Connecting the Serial Cable
Installing the
Connectivity Software
4. Turn on your computer.
5. Turn off your handheld Sidekick.
6. Firmly insert the 3.5 mm plug
completely into the serial port
on the right side of your handheld Sidekick and turn it on.
serial port
Caution: Make sure the serial
cable plug is pushed all the way into
the serial port on your handheld
Sidekick organizer. If the cable is
only partially installed, you will not be
able to send files between your
handheld Sidekick and the computer.
To disconnect your handheld Sidekick, it is recommended that you remove the 3.5 mm plug from your
handheld Sidekick and leave the 9pin plug inserted in the COM port.
Here is how to install the connectivity
software for Windows version 3.1 or
later, or Windows 95. This section assumes a basic understanding of the
Windows environment.
Note: If you upgrade your version of PC
Sidekick at a later date, you must reinstall the connectivity software and select
the appropriate version of PC Sidekick.
Caution: After you have installed the
connectivity software, you will be
prompted to reboot Windows.
1. Insert the Sidekick Connectivity
software disk into a floppy disk
drive.
2. If you are using Windows 3.1 or
later, select Run from the File
menu in the Program Manager.
If you are using Windows 95,
select Run from the Start menu.
3. Type a:\setup and then click OK
(with a:\ being the letter of your
3.5” floppy drive).
4. At the installation screen, click OK.
5. Select the version of PC Sidekick
that is installed on your com-
5
Installing the
Connectivity Software
Starting the
Connectivity Software
puter and then click OK.
Note: If you are using Windows 95,
you are not necessarily using Sidekick
95. Make sure that the correct version
of the connectivity software is installed.
If you do not have a version of PC
Sidekick installed on your computer,
Sidekick not installed on PC
select
This will allow you to only backup
and restore your files.
6. Type the destination drive and
directory and then click OK.
Or just click OK to select the default directory,
7. Click OK.
8. Click Y es to r eboot Windows.
If you do not click
stallation and startup files will not be
activated until you reboot Windows.
➤
About Connectivity Help
You can view a help message at virtually any window in the connectivity software by clicking
Use the scroll bars to read the help
message. To exit help, click
C:/BOOKSDK
Yes
, certain in-
Help
on your computer.
Close
.
Once you have connected the serial
cable and installed the Sidekick Connectivity software on your computer ,
you can start using it.
1. On your computer , start the
Sidekick Connectivity software.
If you are using Windows 3.1,
.
double-click the Sidekick Connectivity icon in the BOOKMAN window.
If you are using Windows 95, select
Programs/Bookman/BOOKMAN
Sidekick Connectivity
Start menu or double-click the Sidekick Connectivity icon in the
BOOKMAN window.
Note: If you close the BOOKMAN
window in Windows 95, you can
find it again in
C:\Windows\Start
Menu\Programs\BOOKMAN
2. When the Sidekick Connectivity
main window appears, click the
COM port pull-down menu to
match the COM port to which
you connected the serial cable.
.
6
from the
.
Starting the Connectivity Software
Testing Your Connection
If you forget which communications
port you are using, you can find it
Test
by clicking
“T esting Your Connection.”
3. On your handheld Sidekick, press
MENU, highlight PC Connect on
the Setup menu, and then press
ENTER.
The handheld Sidekick remains in
this state until you start linking,
transferring, or merging.
4. You now can test the connection.
➤
Shutoff During Connection
If your handheld Sidekick automatically shuts off while connected to
your computer, do not worry. Simply
turn your handheld Sidekick back on
and then select
the Setup menu to reconnect.
. T o lear n how read
PC Connect
from
You should test the connection when
you first connect or reconnect your
handheld Sidekick to your computer
for the first time, whenever you disconnect the serial cable, or if you forget
which COM port you are using.
Note: When you test the connection, you
do not need to select a COM port on the
Sidekick Connectivity main window.
1. At the main window of the
Sidekick Connectivity software,
click T est.
2. Click Start.
If the Status box says that your handheld Sidekick is not detected on any
communications port, make sure that
the serial cable is fully inserted in the
serial port and that you have selected
PC Connect
your handheld Sidekick. Then, test
your connection until it works. For
more help, read “Troubleshooting.”
3. Click OK when finished.
4. Make sure the selected COM
port matches the port found by
the test.
from the Setup menu of
7
Linking Files
Linking Files
Before you can merge or transfer files,
you must first link them in pairs. When
you link a pair of files, you create a
connection between a handheld Sidekick file and a PC Sidekick file. Note:
You need to link only the files that you
want to merge or transfer .
You can link files in thr ee ways:
• Link an existing handheld Sidekick
file to an existing PC Sidekick file.
• Link an existing PC Sidekick file to a
new handheld Sidekick file.
• Link an existing handheld Sidekick
file to a new PC Sidekick file. This
can only be done with cardfiles.
New files, regardless of database type,
will not be created on either the handheld
Sidekick or the PC Sidekick until a merge
or a transfer takes place. Any new Sidekick files that have not yet been created
will be double-bracketed (<<sample>>).
Cancel
If you click
double-bracketed files will be removed.
Caution: If your handheld Sidekick
and your computer are not properly
at any time, all
connected, you will not be able to link
files. Read “T esting Your Connection”
for more information.
To Link Cardfiles
1. On the Sidekick Connectivity
main window, click Link.
The Link Databases window appears.
You can exit this window by clicking
Cancel
. This will remove all links which
were selected since you clicked
2. Click the Database Type
pull-down menu to select Cards,
if needed.
8
Link
.
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