Once KPilot is installed it is rather easy to set up. Run KPilot from either the panel menu or from the command prompt and it will prompt you with a dialog box asking you to configure it for the first time. This configuration dialog can be requested later from the File menu or by starting KPilot from the shell as follows:
$ kpilot --setup |
A full description of the setup dialog can be found below.
Once
KPilot is properly set up, pressing OK
will bring up the main KPilot
window.
The first thing you should do is
make a full backup
of the Pilot.
Do this by selecting
File->Backup
or the toolbar icon
Full Backup
.
When you do,
the status bar will ask you to press the hot-sync button on the
cradle.
Assuming everything is set up properly you should see the
Pilot begin to sync and a message box telling you what databases are
being backed up. This will back up your entire Pilot into your local
directory.
Note that this may take a little while, however a normal
hot-sync is significantly faster.
This is a setup page that contains options pertaining to the Pilot hardware and to you, the user.
The General setup page
This is the serial port that the cradle is connected to. By default it is set to /dev/pilot which should be a symbolic link to the proper serial port. Make sure the serial port has the correct permissions. It must be read/write by all if KPilot is intended to be used by a normal user! This is done by doing a chmod 666 device where device is the correct serial port. See also the FAQ for more information about setting up the pilot device.
This indicates the speed of the serial connection to the Pilot. For an older model Pilot, choose 9600. Newer models may be able to handle speeds up to the maximum listed, 115200. You can experiment with the connection speed: the Pilot manual suggests starting at a speed of 19200 and trying faster speeds to see if they work.
This is the user name of the Pilot. By default this name is the same as your log on name. When you first sync with the Pilot KPilot will check to see if this name matches the one on the Pilot. If they do not, you are asked to pick which you will use. If you pick the local name, the Pilot will be changed to match. This is also used to store the information synced from the Pilot. For example, if I were to hot-sync my Pilot on your machine, it would store the data into a subdirectory named 'pilone'.
When this is enabled any files dropped into the file install (either the icon docked on the panel or into the file installer widget in KPilot) will be installed on the pilot during the next hot-sync.
When a record has been modified on both the Pilot and the local side, only one can be kept. By default KPilot assumes the Pilot has the most recent information and will keep that. By enabling this option KPilot assumes it has the most recent information and will overwrite the pilot's copy.
By enabling this a link to the daemon is placed in your autostart folder and will be started automatically. Note that this is not normally needed if the daemon is docked in the panel.
When the hot-sync button is pressed on the cradle (assuming the daemon is running) KPilot can sync without actually starting up the GUI. However, by enabling this option the daemon will start up the KPilot GUI when the hot-sync begins.
This option lets the daemon place a little hot sync icon in the KPanel. This icon has a menu that can be brought up with the right mouse button, for performing hot syncs and the like. Without this option, the daemon is not visible to the user at all.
The address page contains settings specific to the built in address book. Note that this address book has nothing directly to do with the KDE address book, your email address book, or anything else. Connections with those address books could be provided by conduits.
The Address setup page
KPilot can import and export the address database to or from a text file. These two fields determine the format the file is written in (for export) or must have (for import).
This set of radio buttons determines how addresses are displayed and sorted in the address book. This is similar to the setting in the Pilot itself where addresses can be sorted based on company or on last name.
Both the import and the export format are lists of field specifiers separated by some delimiter (usually a comma). Note that all fields must be separated by the same delimiter. For import formats: Field specifiers are three-character strings that begin with a %. Field specifiers %CC are used to indicate that in the imported data the data for the corresponding field is to be found there (as a string that does not contain the delimiter character). The following field specifiers are supported:
This page contains settings specific to the Pilot databases KPilot works with.
The DB Setup page
in your Pilot you can mark some records as "private." By default, KPilot does not display these records on the screen. If you want to see them, turn this option on.
This text field can be used to list databases that should not be synced, only backed up. Note that you have to fill in the database creator, not the name of the product, so for Handbase databases you fill in PmDB. Handbase in particular should be listed here, since its databases are corrupted by a standard sync. Multiple databases should be separated by commas. Note that it is a good idea to put lnch in the backup-only list as well, to avoid corrupting the applications-categories database.
This text field lists databases that should not be backed up nor synced, in the same format as the backup only field.
The About page isn't really a configuration page at all. It just tells you what version of KPilot you're using and some information about the authors. This is useful information to include when you're reporting a bug.
The About page