Shadow Plan is an checklist, outliner and tasklist for Palm OS.

1. What handheld devices does Shadow Plan work on?
2. Does Shadow Plan take advantage of high res, wide screen, virtual grafitti and other handheld-specific features?
3. Is there a list of all the keyboard and grafitti shortcuts?
4. Trouble getting landscape and full screen on the Palm Tungsten T|T3
5. Trouble "going to links" on the Palm Tungsten T|T3 and Tungsten T|E devices?
6. I just purchased/registered Shadow Plan and received my registration key-code via email. What do I do with it? How do I use it?
7. I've renamed my device, or moved to a new device. Am I still registered?
8. I'm a registered Shadow Plan customer; is my wife or husband also registered?
9. Inline edit? Fullscreen edit? Mini editor? Whats up!?
10. Does Shadow 3.0 have repeating items?
11. Shadow Plan 4.0 and international character sets?
12. Is a desktop application available for Windows? Mac? Unix? Linux?
13. I've just installed a new Shadow Plan or Desktop using the setup.exe installer, and I see two conduits listed in Hotsync Manager's Custom settings!
14. Can I put the main Shadow Plan application on an expansion card such as Memory Stick or Compact Flash or Secure Digital card?
15. What is this ShadowSync application on my handheld? Can I delete it?
16. I'm storing some files on expansion media and they don't seem to sync? Is this true?
17. (Shadow Plan 3.1 and earlier only; Shadow Plan 4.0 fixes up this issue.) I'm changing an item in Shadow Desktop, but its notbeing changed in the handheld. What gives?
18. What is the "Sync" checkbox on the List Preference dialog on the handheld? Do I ever need to push the "Send to handheld" button on the Desktop? How do I make files synchronize?!
19. How do I request a feature or register a bug?
20. Is there an easy way to import long .txt files into Shadow Desktop?
21. How do I get my Shadow databases to my desktop during a Hotsync? What can I do with them?
22. How do I edit or print my Shadow files on my desktop?
23. How do I syncronize To Do and Datebook items with my desktop PIM? (like Outlook)
24. If I check/tick an item, its outline progress jumps to 100%. If I then go into Item Details, it is still at whatever my old percentage was. What gives?
25. Does Shadow Plan work with Action Names (Agendus) and DateBk4/DateBk5 (and others?)
26. Is my data safe?
27. Why can't I have the same filename in two different categories?
28. Why do Shadow File links use filenames and not the hidden database IDs?
29. Can I beam my Shadow Plan files to others?
30. Why is Shadow Plan so large? (around 300k for Shadow Plan 4.0!)
31. Can I use my palm folding keyboard with Shadow? What about my Visor Storaway keyboard?
32. How big can my Shadow files be?

1. What handheld devices does Shadow Plan work on?

Shadow Plan will work on pretty much any modern Palm OS based device. The only devices Shadow Plan will not work well on are the original Pilot and Pilot Professional (Palm OS 2.0 and earlier) from many years ago. Palm Tungsten and Zire units, Sony Clie units, Handera, Dana, you name it and Shadow Plan will run on it!

2. Does Shadow Plan take advantage of high res, wide screen, virtual grafitti and other handheld-specific features?

Sure does! Shadow Plan is very versatile -- it can work in low res (160x160 Palm OS standard resolution) as well as the various high resolution standards (320x320 and 320x480 Palm high density, 320x320 Sony high res, 320x480 Sony hires plus, 320x480 Palm OS 5 virtual grafitti, 240x320 Handera, 560x160 Dana Widescreen, etc etc etc, you name it.)

3. Is there a list of all the keyboard and grafitti shortcuts?

Someone kindly typed one up for us -- thanks Jean! You can find it here: here. Note that Shadow Desktop 4.0 and later include a built in keyboard reference under the Help menu.

4. Trouble getting landscape and full screen on the Palm Tungsten T|T3

Did you install the compatability .prc libraries? Palm released the T|T3 device before PalmSource finalized the operating system, and so for any 3rd party application to take advantage of the enhanced display, you need two files installed. They are included in the distribution for your conveniance, though they're Palm files. Look for Palm_T3_Enhancement.zip.

5. Trouble "going to links" on the Palm Tungsten T|T3 and Tungsten T|E devices?

With Shadow Plan, you can link an entry to the ToDo or Datebook applications (or 3rd party replacements). This lets you do synchronization of Shadow items with Palm Desktop or MSOutlook or the like, but also lets you jump from a Shadow Plan item right to the corresponding item in (say) Datebook. On the T|T3 device, some people report it just comes right back to Shadow.. and not Datebook. This is because PalmOne has new applications on that device instead of ToDo and Datebook, so you need to tell Shadow Plan to use them instead of the normal PIM applications Palm OS usually includes. If you don't tell Shadow Plan to use the new applications, it may not be able to find the old ones :)

1. Pull down the Help or Tools pulldown menu
2. Tap on Preferences (to pull up the global preferences options)
3. To the right of the "tabs" you'll see some arrows; tap the right arrow until the "Apps" tab shows up. Tap on the App tab to make it active.
4. Beside "Datebook", there is a popup list of applications on your device; tap the popup-arrow and scroll down to find the Calendar application.
5. For ToDo, find the Tasks application
6. Hit OK to store your changes
7. When you try and "goto" a Datebook or ToDo link, Shadow will now use Calendar or Tasks as appropriate, instead of Datebook and ToDo like it normally would.

6. I just purchased/registered Shadow Plan and received my registration key-code via email. What do I do with it? How do I use it?

After purchasing at the webstore of your choice, you should receive an order confirmation. Soon afterwards (depending how long it takes the store to get Codejedi the sales information) you will receive an email containing your registration code. The code is entered into Shadow Plan on the handheld, in either the File Selection screen or the List View screen. Hit the "menu" silkscreen button to get the menu bar and choose the "Register" item from the "Help" or "Tool" menu (which you see depends on which screen you're in.) You can enter your registration key there. (You must enter your registration key *exactly*. Be careful of "I" and "l" (ell) being mixed up! Your Hotsync ID will be in the key's email, so that you know which palm you are registering. If you change your ID, your regkey will nolonger work!). If you get stuck, or change your Hotsync ID, you will have to contact support@codejedi.com to get things worked out. Fear not! You are never alone! If you've paid, you will get registered! We will help you!

7. I've renamed my device, or moved to a new device. Am I still registered?

Yes! If your hotsync ID hasn't changed, your registration code should continue to work. If you registered in two steps (a Handheld Only and then an Expansion Pack for example), you'll need to register each piece in order -- register the handheld side, and then the expansion pack. If you're stuck, just contact us at support@codejedi.com

8. I'm a registered Shadow Plan customer; is my wife or husband also registered?

Each handheld requires a purchased registration code; two people with one handheld each means two registration codes need to be purchased. Remember that one desktop registration is good for you wherever you may sit down (desktop, laptop, home, work, wherever), but each handheld needs its own registration.

9. Inline edit? Fullscreen edit? Mini editor? Whats up!?

There are many approaches to outlining, with two main schools of thought being "item context" and "list context". Item context is where you see all the details about an item, and we offer this in our full screen Details window (the default editor for items). List context is where you see an item only in terms of the list -- you can edit the title of the item, but you don't see its other data at the same time. This is "inline editting". We try to offer the benefits but dodge some of the negatives of this by offering the "mini editor", a little pop up window that lets you edit the title of an item and at the same time pull up the full screen details window. We don't offer an inline edit mode (where the cursor shows up in the list itself) because Palm OS simply cannot offer that edit field in all resolutions that Shadow Plan supports. We may investigate a true inline edit when you are in those resolutions that support it, but we currently offer the mini editor and full screen editor modes only.

10. Does Shadow 3.0 have repeating items?

Not yet; this is something we're working on, but it needs definition and research before we attack it. We need to nail down what everyone really needs here, first, so please email us and let us know. For instance, if you were to set a daily repeat on an item and then go away for a week, and open the list... should there now be 7 copies of that item (and all its children) all in a row? Or should we just push its target date 7 days ahead? Or should Shadow wake up each night and update the date and any links? Having a list of hundreds of duplicate repeating items just doesn't seem really useful, so we've skipped it so far. One cool thing you can do to simulate it is this, however: Link an item out to your favourite Datebook application; they can do repeats, since they specialize in calendric operations, and repeating on a calendar makes sense. Then set Shadow to auto-import new items from the datebook, and voila.. your Shadow list will now pick up these new repeating items for you. Control the repeat from the datebook, but have it show up in Shadow. A handy workaround for some.

11. Shadow Plan 4.0 and international character sets?

Shadow Plan handheld has always worked with all languages on all Palm OS devices. Shadow Plan 4.0's desktop will also work with international languages such as Hebrew and Greek (and more of course) with full synchronization. One caveat is that for 4.0 the actual outline filenames should be comprised of latin characters (English, French, German, and some others), as some Palm OS devices have errors moving international characters to expansion media and perhaps some other complications. We will be supporting international filenames in the near future (perhaps 4.1 or 4.2?), but for now in 4.0 full international content within the outlines is supported.

12. Is a desktop application available for Windows? Mac? Unix? Linux?

Yes! We support all the major platforms!
A breakdown follows:

Windows XP, Windows ME, Windows 98, Windows NT, Windows 2000, etc. | Fully supported with a synchronizing desktop. Make new lists, edit existing lists, export to CSV, text, html, etc, and print. Everything you need, and growing every release!
Windows 95 | Unsupported, but it should work for most people. Same installation as other Windows.
Mac OSX | An all new Mac OSX application is coming very soon - middle of 2004. There is also an old application that may or may not prove useful for you. See the Download section of the website.
Mac OS 8, Mac OS 9 | Unsupported. We'll see.
Linux | An all new Linux application is coming very soon - middle of 2004. There is also an old application that may or may not prove useful for you. See the Download section of the website.
Unix (FreeBSD, AIX, Solaris, etc) | FreeBSD is expected to be supported once the Linux public beta comes to fruition. Other Unix's .. please contact support@codejedi.com and ask.

13. I've just installed a new Shadow Plan or Desktop using the setup.exe installer, and I see two conduits listed in Hotsync Manager's Custom settings!

Don't worry, this is entirely normal for the very recent Shadow Plan installers when upgrading from an older Shadow Plan installation. Most people would never notice this since it is self-correcting! Due to increased flexibility and new features, we've had to upgrade how our conduit is installed. If your current installation is using the old installer, and you use a new installer, you'll see two Shadow Plan's listed in Hotsync Manager until you reboot after having synced. Don't worry, it will never sync twice or have any problems.. just do your first sync, and restart Hotsync Manager or reboot your computer, and the old installer's conduit will have removed itself. We envision few will ever notice this slight oddity, as it causes no problems and takes care of itself.

14. Can I put the main Shadow Plan application on an expansion card such as Memory Stick or Compact Flash or Secure Digital card?

Sure, but of course! You've always been able to place Shadow Plan's main application (Shadow.prc) onto any media you like, however prior to Shadow Plan 2.6 you could not sync Shadow if it was hidden away on a card. We have improved our synchronization system and you can now place Shadow.prc anywhere you like to save that precious internal memory on your handheld. Sync will proceed perfectly as long as you leave "ShadowSync.prc" in main memory, which shouldn't be a problem as it is only about 4K or so. See the next question.

15. What is this ShadowSync application on my handheld? Can I delete it?

ShadowSync is the handheld side of Shadow Desktop. It is very small so that it can be left in your units main memory. As of summer 2002, it is 4k. If you wish to sync with Shadow Desktop, you must leave this little application in main memory (and you can offload the main Shadow Plan shadow.prc to anywhere you like as a result). Due to the importance of keeping ShadowSync in main memory, it will attempt to hide itself from your Launcher. If you delete it or move it to expansion media, Shadow Desktop will be unable to complete a synchronization. You cannot operate ShadowSync yourself.. it is purely a library of utilities for the sync conduit.

16. I'm storing some files on expansion media and they don't seem to sync? Is this true?

As of Summer 2003, this is still true; Shadow Plan itself may be anywhere you like (including expansion media), but Shadow Plan datafiles kept on expansion media will not sync. This is on our todo list.

17. (Shadow Plan 3.1 and earlier only; Shadow Plan 4.0 fixes up this issue.) I'm changing an item in Shadow Desktop, but its notbeing changed in the handheld. What gives?

If some item's changes sync ands others item's changes don't, then you know the sync system is all set up -- so read on. But if no Shadow Desktop changes sync over to the handheld, your first suspicion should be to make sure your hotsync is set up correctly! Assuming some items sync correctly, it is likely the problem item or items are also linked to Palm ToDo or Palm Datebook. When you link an item over to those two built in PIM applications, you're telling Shadow that when an item is saved we need to update those other guys, and when we open the item we need to check those other guys for changes. However, those Palm databases do not include information to tell us they've been changed or not, so we must always assume they have changed when we open an item. So if you open Shadow handheld, we pick up the linked external data and use it for the Shadow item. If you change it, we update them on close. Perfect. This does create a problem for Shadow Desktop, however... you change the item there, and sync, and the changes come straight to Shadow Handheld. But when you then open the item in the handheld, we must pull an update from the external ToDo or Datebook item, since you've got a link. As such, if a Shadow item is linked to ToDo or Datebook, you'll need to edit it either on the handheld or from Palm Desktop (or Outlook, etc); Shadow Desktop changes will be lost unfortunateloy, due to the limits of those external databases. We are investigating work arounds for this problem.

18. What is the "Sync" checkbox on the List Preference dialog on the handheld? Do I ever need to push the "Send to handheld" button on the Desktop? How do I make files synchronize?!

(Please note that all Shadow Plan datafiles will be backed up during every Hotsync session, regardless of this checkbox!) Any file that is on your handheld (or on your handheld and your desktop) will synchronize with Shadow Desktop if you have Shadow Desktop fully installed, and if you have checked the "Sync" checkbox on List Preferences, and you have not told Hotsync Manager to skip Shadow. (Open a list, pull down the menus, pick the List menu, and hit Preferences -- look on the middle right). When you push the Hotsync button on your cradle (or invoke a Hotsync from your handheld any other way), Shadows conduit will scan through all your files looking for this checkbox, syncing any file that has it checked. You will virtually never need to ask the Desktop to "send a file up to the handheld" except when a file is only on the desktop, and not just created. For example, if you've been syncing a file between the handheld and the desktop, it must exist on both sides. If you then delete it from the handheld, it exists solely on the desktop. Since you deleted it on the handheld, the conduit will know enough not to send the desktop's copy back up to the handheld (since that would defeat your deletion, wouldn't it?). However, some day later, if you want the file on your handheld again, then you would need to use the desktop button "Send to handheld" to get it back up there. Furthermore, if you wish that file to sync after it has been sent up, you must ensure its "Sync" checkbox in List Preferences has been set! So, in essence, just set that Sync checkbox if you wish a file to synchronize! Of course, files newly created on the desktop will automatically be sent up to the handheld!

19. How do I request a feature or register a bug?

Send email to support@codejedi.com and let the author of the software know your ideas for new features, or new ways to use the software, or if you find a bug. Also check the "Bugs!" webpage (see the sidebar) for a listing of existing bugs. Also see the "Mailing Lists" sidebar link to find out how to join our mailing lists for support from the author and other Shadow users.

20. Is there an easy way to import long .txt files into Shadow Desktop?

Shadow Desktop 4.0 and later have simple importing functions built in!

21. How do I get my Shadow databases to my desktop during a Hotsync? What can I do with them?

All the databases created by Shadow have the "backup flag" set on. This means the Hotsync Manager on your desktop is free to download your files at its discression. If you are using a recent Hotsync Manager (any of Palm Desktop 3 or later is new enough), it will automatically backup all of your Shadow files each hotsync. If your Hotsync Manager is old, and not downloading your Shadow database ".pdb"'s, try getting a newer version by downloading Palm Desktop from Palm. Shadow Plan 2.0 and later include a synchronizing conduit. In your Palm Desktop User Directory (find "hotsync.exe", then find your user name directory in the same place, and look for the ShadowPlan160 directory inside of that) you will find ShadP-YourListName.XML files, one for each list on your device (as long as you set the Sync flag). This .XML file is in the industry standard XML file format, so feel free to play with it in XML applications. Lastly, Shadow can link to other databases, export to memos, and export to DOC files. Shadow list items that are linked to ToDo and Datebook will sync to your desktop PIM and be changable there. Exported lists to memos will sync to your PIM and be available there (and also importable from memos, so you can actually edit indirectly on your desktop, though its a bit of work). Lastly, you can export a Shadow list to a Palm Standard .DOC file, which can be editted or printed on the Palm or desktop easily.

22. How do I edit or print my Shadow files on my desktop?

If you have purchased Shadow Desktop just set your desired files to synchronize, let them download to your desktop computer during Hotsync, and then open them with the Shadow Desktop. You can print from there! Shadow version 1.3.0 and later support both Import and Export via memos, and Shadow Plan 1.5.0 allows you to export via .DOC format files as well. Lastly, don't forget that ToDo and Datebook linked items will automatically syncronize! Exporting allows you to write your shadow databases out to the Palm memopad application database or a .DOC file, in various text formats or HTML. Shadow can import these (or modified) memos (or those of other Palm Outliners!) and turn them back into Shadow files for use. Simply go to the "file selection screen" (hit Done if you are viewing a list), go to the pulldown menu called "Transfer", and hit the "Export" option of choice. From there you can choose to export as text in various ways, or as HTML, at your discression. HTML allows you to print or edit from a browser (like Netscape or IE). Text allows you to edit or print from a word processor like Word or whatever you may use.

23. How do I syncronize To Do and Datebook items with my desktop PIM? (like Outlook)

Shadow supports linking of list items to other palm databases like the ToDo or Datebook applications (or others, but those are mainly for reference.. the ToDo and Datebook links self-updating). You can create a Shadow item, and then link it to Datebook, for instance. Next time you sync to your PIM, the entry will show up. If you change it, and sync again, the change will show up in the Datebook application. Next time you open your Shadow file with the link, Shadow will import the changes automatically! So in essence, its effortless auto-syncing Shadow changes will find their way to the desktop in the same manner, of course.

24. If I check/tick an item, its outline progress jumps to 100%. If I then go into Item Details, it is still at whatever my old percentage was. What gives?

Rather than lose your %age completion by accidentally tapping on the tickbox I chose to just have the display and progress calculations take the tickbox into consideration. So even though you have ticked the box, your entry retains its value, though it will display as 100%, and be considered 100% for purposes of averaging its parents completion %age. If you wish to go back to your old value, just untick it. It makes sense, and saves memory, though I admit it may be a little confusing to some.

25. Does Shadow Plan work with Action Names (Agendus) and DateBk4/DateBk5 (and others?)

Yes! Shadows links to the built-in To Do, Datebook, Address, Memos, etc. Other applications that also work with these databases will tie into Shadow nicely.

26. Is my data safe?

Shadow Plan tries very hard to keep your datafiles safe, and each release is thoroughly tested by hundreds of your peers. Each release will go through many Alpha test stages where adventurous people will work over new features and test existing features. After awhile, the release will go to Beta test, where it is open to the public for testing, commenting on, playing with, etc. Only after Alpha and Beta testers all agree that a release is worthy and solid is it released and announced to the world. Furthermore, your data is backed up by your hotsync manager (Shadow Plan asks this to be done, if your Hotsync Manager is new enough), and if you're using the Shadow Desktop you can have XML backups of your data as well. You can also do your own backups via memo files, .DOC files, etc. The Shadow Desktop conduit is very careful about protecting your data, and the more recent versions will survive machine crashes, power failures and other bizarre and awful circumstances. It is darned near impossible to damage or lose your Shadow Plan data. Of course, there is always the risk of accidental deletion through human error, and there are occasional bugs in the releases, so be sure to Hotsync at least once in awhile!

27. Why can't I have the same filename in two different categories?

Palm OS only allows about 30 characters in a filename. I have to put something unique at the beginning of the filename, to make sure they don't get clobbered by some other program, and to make everyones life easier recognizing who built what. A category can be pretty long, too. So if I stucked the category name into the filename, to allow unique filenames in a category, you'd only have a very small filename allowed. We like big filenames.

28. Why do Shadow File links use filenames and not the hidden database IDs?

A Shadow File link is a filename, with some context information (like target entry, where available). I have the choice of using the filename, or using your palm local database ID, or other nasty little tricks. Using a local ID means that if you rename a shadow file, everything still works. Handy. But at the same time, the database ID can change if you restore from backsup, or if you beam the files, or other high level operations.. like copying files around and renaming them. They're also out of user control, which could lean to confusion. What happens i you beam a file to someone else, and they *have* a Shadow file with the same ID, and the link ends up pointing wrongly to it? So I use filenames.. if you beam a file, amd forget to beam the links, Shadow will pop up a box suggesting the user find the missing file. On a rename, Shadow will have to climb through all the files on the palm renaming links... cumbersom, but most people do not in practice rename files too often. We shall see how it goes.

29. Can I beam my Shadow Plan files to others?

You can beam your files from within Shadow Plan itself, or use third party tools and file sharing applications to do so through infrared, bluetooth or email, right from your handheld! Shadow Plan will include a fair amount of information in the file, so that others who receive it can probably see it just as you intended. However, some meta-data will not be transferred in this way.. in particular, "tags" and "links" will not be sent. (For example, if you have a list with items linked to an Address Book item and then beam the list, they will not receive your Address Book item! This would be a big security risk!)

30. Why is Shadow Plan so large? (around 300k for Shadow Plan 4.0!)

Shadow Plan is one of the most comprehensive outliners and task managers for the Palm platform. Of course, more features are coming, so I will soon start providing plug-in modules so you can get the features you want, and ignore the features you do not want. Also, Shadow Plan includes images for all displays on the various Palm OS devices. This means its got a set of icons for black and white, for different depths of grayscale, and for colour, as well as code for supporting each of these displays. Further, Shadow has a bit of extra code to make future expansion very easy, which should mean faster and more regular feature updates and bug fixes! Shadow is a very comprehensive program with many features.. and this takes space.

31. Can I use my palm folding keyboard with Shadow? What about my Visor Storaway keyboard?

Yes! Apparently the drivers that ship with the keyboard are not very good (1.0). Upgrade to version 1.1 of the drivers and everything should work well. Get them at here. Apparently there are some good drivers for the Stowaway as well.. see here

32. How big can my Shadow files be?

Shadow files can be *very* large as of Shadow 1.2.0. Earlier releases had issues with documents as largwe as 50-100k. In more modern versions of the application, each document can grow to 800k-4MB with no problem, though getting into the 1MB+ range slows a lot of operations down as Shadow tries to stretch your palm resources. A more practical estimate is that any palm should support hundreds of items. A new palm can support thousands of items. As your document approaches a few hundred K, consider turning off "save changes immediately" and "sort after changes", since they will do a lot of work after each change. In versions after 1.3.0, there will be speedups applied in order to better handle massive files.

Send email to Jeff Mitchell at support@codejedi.com