Technical Notes

Open File Warnings

Occasionally, during file linking between the PC to the Zoomer you will experience a warning that you cannot complete the linking because the file you want to copy is in use. There are two instances of this: One in which you are prompted to let the system attempt to close the file and try again, and the other will simply refuse to proceed. In the first case, it is always safe to let the system force the application closed and proceed. In the latter case, you must break the connection between the two machines and force the application closed manually.

What is an "Open" application? On the PDA, it is a feature that as many applications remain open, or active, as memory allows. This lets you cycle between your Datebook and Address Book, for example, without waiting for the applications to load each time. Since only one application can be on the screen and active at a time, the other applications you are using are "cached". This means that certain parts of the application and data remain in memory waiting to be called on. While they are in the cache they are still technically "open". Applications which have been recently visited remain in the cache until they are forced out by another application by opening a new one not already in the cache. The most recently active application moves into the cache, and the earliest cached application(s) is closed to make the necessary space.

To Close the Application Manually on the PDA: Link connections to the PC must be closed before any application file can be opened. In order to close an application and its data file you must force them entirely out of the cache. The easiest way to do this is to open one or more of the larger applications, such as America Online, the calculator, or Pocket Quicken. No, there is no way to know if the file is actually closed.

Once the file is pushed out of the cache, and closed, re-link between the PC and the PDA and retry linking the file in question.

Alternate method 1: You can cause a file to close by renaming it via the File Manager. Highlight the name of the file, tap the File menu at the top of the File Manager screen (tap the menu icon at the bottom of the screen if menus are absent), and select Rename.

Alternate method 2: Open the offending application. Tap File at the top of the screen and choose Switch Document. When the "New/Open" dialog box comes up tap "Open: Open an existing document" and choose a different file for that application, if you have one, or tap "New: Create a blank, empty document" to create one. Give the new document a conspicuous name. In either case, the previous data file will have been closed, allowing it to be copied. The problem with creating a new document is that it takes up memory space, so you may want to delete it later on.

Of course, on the PalmConnect side, you can close any application by clicking in the upper-left corner.

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