Kpilot
The kpilot program is the KDE Desktop
system's answer to the PDA sync problem. It consists of two parts, a daemon
(called, not unexpectedly, kpilotDaemon), which
may be run to constantly watch for synchronizations, and a GUI client program
called kpilot. You control the settings of both
programs through kpilot.
The kpilot program is a bit more complete
than pilot-manager in that it provides built in viewer/editor screens for
certain standard palm databases. When you start kpilot, you get the screen
shown in
If you haven't already set up kpilot, you
must do so by selecting File -> Settings. That will pop up the dialog box in
that this dialog box has four tabs. This one, the likely default, allows you to
set baud rates, port, and daemon preferences. (As an aside, kpilot is probably
the poorest at dealing with USB cradles, but it is very good in other respects,
as you will soon see.)
Kpilot-Settings�General.
The second tab, which looks like
export format for your address book using a series of macros that correspond to
the data fields in the standard palm addressbook application.
Kpilot-Settings�Address.
The remaining tabs, DB Specials and Sync, allow you to specify
databases to be backed up only or to be skipped altogether, and to specify
alternative sync behavior (such as always having the desktop override the
pilot, or to do a full backup instead of only a sync). It is left to you to
explore these options in depth if you have need of them.
kpilot includes native conduits for three applications: Memos,
Addressbook, and File Installer. You may access these under the Conduits menu
entry, or by the dropdown list on the top right of the main application screen.
Let's take a quick look at each. The Memos conduit provides a
desktop view of the memos in your palm. It allows you to view, export, import,
and delete memos. In other words, it is very like the Windows-based Palm
Desktop software for the same purpose. When you have a memo on the screen, you
can click on the memo and edit it.
The Address Book conduit looks like
are where that Address Settings tab we showed you earlier come into play. As
you can see from the other buttons, you can edit, delete, and create new
entires.
The File Installer looks like
opens the standard KDE file selection dialog box. Pressing the Clear List
button will, of course, clear the list. Tricky, that. Files specified here will
be loaded into the palm on the next sync.
All of that is always built into the kpilot application. But,
just as with the pilot-manager application, it is possible to write additional
conduits for kpilot. Several have been included with kpilot as distribuited by KDE.org.
You access them from the Conduits menu (
get the screen shown in
As you can see, I have the KOrganizer Calendar Conduit
working. That means my appointments in my Palm Datebook are kept in sync with
those in my KDE Korganizer application. To make one of these conduits active,
drag and drop it from the Inactive entry to the Active entry. Likewise, to
deactivate one, drag and drop from Active to Inactive.
To configure one, simply click on it. For
example, clicking on the KOrganizer Calendar Conduit brings up the screen shown
in
you can see, this conduit is set up to store appointments in my Korganizer
Calender file (mike.vcs), and it is set to
prompt me before making changes to it.
During an actual sync operation, a small
window showing current activity opens.
So, if you happen to be a KDE user, you might
find that kpilot is one of the best choices for synching your PalmOS PDA. Because
of its daemon-based sync listener, however, it is a poor choice for USB-based
Handspring users.
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