The Sticke Suite is a set of PalmPilot programs that assist data collection activities through the design of data collection templates and the ability to record and view structured notes based on these templates. A template contains a set of fields that consist of a name, type, and various other type-dependent attributes. For example, a template for recording giraffe sightings may include fields for time, location, habitat type, behaviour, and general notes.

The suite consists of three programs:

• StickePlates. To create and edit template designs.

• StickePad. To create and edit structured notes based on a template.

• StickeMap. To visualise on a map display notes that have a location field.

• Palm OS 2.0 or greater device. The software will not function correctly on Palm OS 1.x devices.

• A PC with Microsoft Windows 95, 98, or NT (only if you wish to download notes recorded on a PalmPilot to a desktop computer).

Use the PalmPilot install tool supplied with the PalmPilot desktop software to install the three PalmPilot program files (StickePlates.prc, StickePad.prc, and StickeMap.prc). After installation the applications can be accessed from applications screen on the PalmPilot.

To download notes from a PalmPilot to a PC you must first install the desktop sticke suite software by taking the following steps:

1. Copy the StickeConduit.dll file into the Pilot directory on the harddisk of your desktop computer, e.g. C:\Pilot.
2. Double click the StickConduit.reg file (this will add the sticke suite settings to the PalmPilot desktop software’s registry entries). The next time you perform a hotsync all your StickePad data will be downloaded (provided you have the sticke suite installed on your PalmPilot).
3. Copy the StickeStore.exe file to the Pilot directory on the harddisk of your desktop computer. This program allows you to view and export notes that have been downloaded from your PalmPilot onto your desktop computer.

The StickePlates program allows you to create and edit a set of data collection templates rather than to collect the actual data itself. Before collecting data in the StickePad program you must first design at least one template in the StickePlates program in order to define the structure of the notes that you wish to record.

To launch the program select the ‘StickePlates’ icon from the PalmPilot’s applications screen. The first time the application is launched you will be presented with the following screen:

Normally the template selector will provide a pop-up list of the templates that can be edited. However, as this is the first time the application has been started there are no templates, indicated by the none entry in the template selector.

To create a new template tap on the New button. You will be prompted to enter a name for the new template, which will then be added to the template selector. This is all that is required to create a template. However, to be of any use we need to add some fields in order to define the data requirements of this data collection template.

Type the name of the field and then define its data type by making the appropriate selection from the Type pop-up list. Checking the part of quick view option indicates that you wish this field to form part of a summary view (or ‘quick view’) of a note that is used for display purposes in the StickePad program.

Tapping the Details button invokes another dialog into with which you can further refine attributes of the particular type you have selected, as shown below:

To find out more about the various attributes that can be defined tap on the i icon in the top-right corner of the type details dialog. A description about the various settings and what they are for will then be displayed. The settings are always initially set to ‘sensible’ default values.

After tapping OK on the type and field details dialogs the new field will be added to the template. The process of adding a field can then be repeated until you have defined a complete set of fields. The StickePlates screen will then look similar to this:

In this version of the software the following data types are supported:

• Bearing: direction or angle measurements.
• Boolean: yes/no true/false or on/off states.
• Date: calendar date.
• Line of Text: single line of text.
• Location: geographic location.
• Note Pad: up to 4kb of textual data.
• Number: numeric data.
• Pick List: user definable lists of names, e.g. giraffe behaviours = feeding, ruminating, walking.
• Sub-note: nested notes or groups of notes.
• Time: time data.

To edit a field simply select the relevant field name in the main StickePlates screen. The field details dialog (as was initially seen in creating the field) will then be displayed for you to edit any of the field’s properties.

To delete a field select it from the StickePlates main screen, as if to edit it, and then tap the Delete button in the field details dialog. Confirmation will be sought before proceeding with the deletion.

There are two menus available from the StickePlates main screen:

Template Menu:

• New Template: same effect as tapping the New button.

• Rename Template: prompts you for a new name for the current template.

• Delete Template: will delete the current template and the fields therein.

• Move Item: allows you to alter the sequence of the fields by entering the current position of a field and then the position it should be moved to.

Options Menu:

• About StickePad: displays version, author, and copyright information.

The StickePad program allows you to record data in the form of a structured note that is based on one of the templates previously created using the StickePlates program. The program has two modes of operation: normal (the default) and one-handed mode (for one-handed operation of the software). This section describes the normal mode of operation, and the next section of manual describes the one-handed mode.

To launch the program select the ‘StickePad’ icon from the PalmPilot’s applications screen. The first time the application is launched you will be presented with the following screen:

This screen will normally display a list of notes that have been recorded but as this is the first time the program has been started all that is visible is the New button.

To create a new note simply tap on the New button, which will result in a display similar to the one below:

The StickePad will initially assume that you wish to create a note based on the last used or edited template. This is why a Giraffe note has been created in the example above – because this was the last used template (created in the explanation of how to use the StickePlates program). This default template selection may be changed by choosing an alternative template from the template selector. If any data has been entered into the note then you will be warned that this will be lost if a different template is selected. The template can only be changed when creating a note, and not when subsequently editing a previously created one.

From the figure, above, we can see that some of the fields of the note already have a value. The ID Number and Height number fields were assigned an upper and lower limit in the StickePlates type details definition, so their default values become their lower limit rather than zero. The Location field takes its default value from the current location extracted from a GPS receiver or sets it to zero if a GPS receiver is not connected.

To record data tap on one of the note’s fields and you will then be presented with a field editing dialog, such as the one illustrated below:

The field editing dialogs are custom designed for each different type. Tapping the i icon in these dialogs will present instructions on the features available. For example, in the numeric dialog in addition to typing a number you can also use the hardware page-up and page-down buttons to increment and decrement the number by the step amount defined in the template. Or, in the location dialog, the Here button can be tapped to update the location value with the current reading from a connected GPS receiver.

The StickePad enforces any constraints placed upon individual fields or general data types. For example, in a numeric field it will prevent a number outside the upper and lower limits from being entered, or in a location field it will prevent invalid locations from being entered (e.g. latitude 100 degrees North).

Tapping on the OK button in these field editing dialogs will save the details that have been entered into the field, whereas Cancel will abandon any changes that have been made in that edit. After all the data has been entered the whole note can be saved by tapping the Done button.

After a few notes have been entered the StickePad main screen will look similar to this:

To edit one of these notes simply tap on it and you will be presented with the same note editing screen as was first used in order to create the note. However, there is one difference: the template name is displayed but there is no selector to change it. After the initial creation of a note the template should not need to be changed, therefore the template selector is removed during the editing process as a precaution against losing previously recorded data. Apart from this small difference the process is identical. Note that the main screen display is customisable, more information is presented on how to do this later in the manual.

If you wish to delete all the notes present on the PalmPilot then select the Purge Notes option from the Sticke menu of the StickePad’s main screen. After requesting confirmation this command will proceed to delete all the notes recorded on the device but will leave all the templates intact. Templates can only be deleted from the StickePlates program.

Each note stores internally its own copy of the template from which it was created. Therefore, editing the templates with the StickePlates program will have absolutely no effect on the notes that have already been recorded. Of course, any new notes created will use the new template definition. After selecting Done when creating a note in the StickePad there is no way to change its template structure.

As was mentioned earlier, if a GPS receiver is connected to the PalmPilot it will automatically extract location data from it. To connect the GPS receiver it must be set up to output NMEA 0183 2.0 data at 4800 baud. Other data formats and speeds are currently not supported. To physically connect the two devices together a cable is required that makes the following connections:

• GPS(Rx) – PalmPilot(Tx)
• GPS(Tx) – PalmPilot(Rx)
• GPS(GRD) – PalmPilot(GRD)

All the required components to make up a GPS-PalmPilot cable can be acquired from the GPS side of a GPS-PC cable and the PalmPilot side of a PalmPilot modem/hotsync cable. No supplier of a pre-made GPS-PalmPilot cable is currently known.

If a GPS receiver is not being used then it would be wise to disable this feature as when any notes with location fields are created the StickePad will try and obtain the current location from a GPS receiver. This can cause a delay of 1 or 2 seconds before the note can be edited.

To disable the GPS function select the GPS option from the StickePad’s Options menu on the main screen. This presents a simple dialog, as shown above, in which the GPS functionality can be toggled on or off.

The StickePad’s note display consists of several rows of notes that are divided into columns that can display different types of information about a note. When first installed the StickePad’s default settings are to display the sequence number of the note, the time is was created, and its template name. However, the items displayed and the widths of the columns can both be changed by selecting the Columns item from the StickePad’s Options menu.

Using the dialog illustrated above, up to five columns may be defined to display various data about the note. The width of a column is defined as a percentage of the total screen width, and the data that is displayed can be one of the following types:

• Sequence No: The position, in terms of creation order, of a note in the set of notes.
• Time: The time at which the note was created.
• Date: The date on which the note was created.
• Template: The name of the template.
• Quick view: Displays all the fields of the note that are marked as part of quick view in the note’s template.

A quick view column is useful to present a summary of the recorded notes’ most pertinent fields in the StickePad’s main screen. Continuing the giraffe note example, it may be more useful to display the sequence number, template name, and quick view rather than the StickePad’s default column settings, as illustrated below:

There are two menus available from the StickePlates main screen:

Sticke Menu:

• Purge Notes: removes all the notes - see ‘Deleting a Note’, above.

Options Menu:

• GPS: toggles GPS on/off – see ‘Not Using GPS’, above.

• Columns: defines the columns used to display data in the StickePad’s main screen – see ‘Customising the StickePad’s Main Screen’, above.

• One-Hand Mode Toggle: please read the next section of this manual: ‘The StickePad Program (One Handed Mode)’.

• About StickePad: displays version, author, and copyright information.

Unlike the normal mode of operation described in the preceding section, which uses a conventional PalmPilot user-interface, the one-handed mode of operation provides a custom interface that is optimised to allow use of the software with one hand.

The interface is designed so that whilst holding the PalmPilot in the palm of either hand you can use the thumb of that same hand to operate all of the commonly executed StickePad functions. This is generally implemented through the use of over-sized buttons that can be easily selected with one’s thumb.

Selecting the One-Hand Mode item from the Options menu (both modes retain identical menu structures) toggles the mode, e.g. one-handed mode to normal, or vice versa. However, selecting an item from the PalmPilot’s menu is not easily done with one-hand, so a complementary one-handed method of toggling modes is provided. This is activated by dragging the thumb from above the title bar of the StickePad to approximately two-thirds the way down the screen.

The difference between modes is immediately apparent from the first screen. Instead of the normal mode’s list of notes, a main menu consisting of three over-sized buttons is presented, as shown below:

These three buttons represent the three main functions possible in the one handed interface: creating notes, editing notes, and deleting notes.

Unlike the form-like interface provided in normal mode, pressing the New button initiates a sequence of screens into which you can enter the various details about the new note. Firstly, the template with which to construct the note can be selected by using the up and down arrow buttons to scroll through the set of available templates. To choose a template press the template name button, see below:

Alternatively, it is possible to abandon the creation process by selecting the <escape> entry in the list of templates.

Having selected a template, data for the each field is entered through a series of over-sized editing controls. The figure below illustrates and describes the operation of all these controls:

It also possible to move through the set of fields in different directions and not just follow the linear one-way sequence described thus far. This is achieved by the ability of the selection button to recognise double-presses (akin to a double-click of a mouse button), treble-presses, and quadruple presses, which have the following semantics:

• 1 Press: save and proceed to next field.
• 2 Presses: save and return to previous field.
• 3 Presses: save and return to the first field.
• 4 Presses: save and jump to the last field.

The note may also be abandoned at any point in the editing sequence by performing the same drag stroke that toggles normal/one-handed modes when performed in the main screen, i.e. dragging your thumb from above the StickePad title bar to about two thirds of the way down the screen. Abandoned notes will be saved but only up to the field that was reached in the editing sequence.

Selecting Edit Note from the main screen presents an over-sized control from which you can select a note to edit. Use the scroll arrows to browse the list of notes (which are displayed in a summary form defined by the StickePad’s columns setting), as illustrated below:

Selecting a particular note will invoke a sequence of over-sized controls that are navigated or manipulated in exactly the same way as when first creating the note. Alternatively, selecting the <escape> entry will abort the edit operation.

Selecting Delete Note from the main screen presents an over-sized control from which the appropriate note can be selected in exactly the same manner as if selecting a note to edit. If a note is selected for deletion then a conventional dialog (i.e. not a one-handed mode one) seeks confirmation of this action. A conventional dialog is used to prevent deletions through mistaken or accidental button presses.

Refer to menu commands section of StickePad normal mode documentation (commands are identical).

The StickeMap provides a geographical visualisation of the recorded set of notes through a map-like interface. However, unlike the StickePad or StickePlates programs, its function is simply to view data rather than to record or structure it.

To launch the program select the ‘StickeMap’ icon from the PalmPilot’s applications screen. The StickeMap main screen will appear similar to below:

The StickeMap displays a grid at a user defined scale and spacing, and plots the current location (the cross hair icon) and position of any notes (the note icons) lying within the display area. The current location is ascertained from a connected GPS receiver or can be entered by hand, and a note’s location is derived from its first location field (notes without location fields are not displayed on the map). The top right corner above the title bar indicates how many out of the total number of notes recorded are displayed on this screen.

The buttons along the bottom of the screen control all the updating and zooming functions of the StickeMap as follows:

• Curpos: attempts to update the current position by extracting a location from an attached GPS receiver.
• Re-Centre: presents a dialog in which the co-ordinates of the map’s centre can be modified manually or updated automatically from an attached GPS receiver.
• +: Zooms the map in a level.
• -: Zooms the map out a level.

To see more information about a particular note then tap its icon. This will invoke the StickePad and automatically load the appropriate note for inspection.

The GPS connection can be switched on or off using the GPS Options dialog that is accessed through the GPS menu item in the Options menu. Turning the connection off will provide a slight speed increase for those without a GPS receiver attached. The current position cursor indicates the GPS state by displaying a cross hair icon when not in use (or not working properly) and a filled circle when it is in use.

Various properties of the map display can be customised by selecting the Map menu item from the Options menu. This will invoke a dialog as illustrated below:

The Show Track and Track Length options are currently not implemented. Scale is used to specify the width of a screen pixel in units of longitude minute thousandths. The Grid Spacing property uses the same units to specify the distance between grid lines.

There is only one menu on the StickeMap:

Options Menu:

• GPS: toggles GPS on/off – see ‘Enabling the GPS’, above.

• Map: customises the map display – see ‘Customising the Map Display’, above.

• About StickePad: displays version, author, and copyright information.

The StickeStore program is used to open a file of notes downloaded from the PalmPilot and to export them to tab delimited file suitable for importing into a spreadsheet or database. More advanced note viewing and editing facilities will be added in later versions of this software.

When first started up the StickeStore program will appear as shown below:

If the desktop software is correctly installed then any notes stored on the PalmPilot will all be downloaded to a file called StickeNotes2.stk during a hotsync operation. This file can be found in the in the StickeNotes folder within your PalmPilot user directory. For example, a user called ‘Jason’ who has the PalmPilot software installed on the c:\Pilot directory of his computer can expect to find the notes file in c:\Pilot\Jason\StickeNotes\.

To open the StickeNotes2.stk file select the Open button in the StickeStore program and locate the file using the standard Windows file-open dialog box. The notes will then be loaded into the StickeStore program and will be displayed in the large list box.

Each row of the listbox represents a note, displaying the template name, the creation sequence number, the number of fields it contains, and the time & date that it was created. The list can be sorted on any of these attributes by clicking on the appropriate column-title button. The icon next to the note’s template name also indicates if it is a template (a note icon with shapes cut out) or a note (a note icon with lines written on it).

To export notes to a tab delimited file select the relevant notes and click the export button. Enter the destination file name and folder details in the export dialog and then press OK to export them. The StickeStore program extracts the field names from the first note selected and uses them to generate a heading line at the top of the export file.