ReadThemAll document reader for Palm-powered handhelds 
version 1.81
This program is freeware.
Original idea and development: Max Vlasov (max_vlasov@yahoo.com)
(c) 2001, 2002

Table of Contents
   - System/Intallation
   - Description
   - What's new / Version History
   - Converting Docs
   - Tips and tricks
   - Other software by the author

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System/Installation

System Requirement: PalmOS 2.0 and higher.
If you have a previuos version of the software no special operations are necessary before install.
Please mail your suggestions abd comments to max_vlasov@yahoo.com. 

In order to view a text file on your Palm you need to convert it to Palm Doc database (see "Converting Docs" section). You can also use plenty of texts already converted to Doc format available through the Internet (example link: http://www.memoware.com) 

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Description

ReadThemAll (RTA) is a document reader disigned primarily for hands-free reading, but it can also be used as a general-purpose reader.

/Auto-scroll/

RTA works in two modes - "read" and "pause". 
In "pause" mode a panel is popping up above the text. It shows a progress bar (you can tap it to set a position), a clock, percentage, and speed (in lines per minute) indicators.
In a "read" mode lines of text change automatically.

RTA has two kinds of auto-scroll:
- Screen-wrap scroll. This kind of scroll works on any Palm-powered device. A little pointer to right to the text indicates the estimated line of reading, while the dotted line demarcates old and new lines. To customize these elements use "Preferences" dialog.
- Spotlight-scroll. Presently this kind of auto-scroll works only on color devices. To enable this kind of auto-scrolling check the "spotlight-scroll" item in the "Preferences" dialog. For better viewing it is not recommended to use Pointer & Border with this kind of auto-scrolling, but if you forget to disable them, RTA will suggest it to you. After you start the scroll you'll see a portion of text smoothly changing the brightness. And you should just follow the spotlight! 

/Buttons, Page-by-page scroll/

By default only arrow keys are used to control reading. When paused, "Up" button decreases the speed, while "Down" returns to the "read" mode. When reading, "Up" button pauses reading, while "Down" button increases the speed.
You can also use any of the hardware buttons (DateBook, etc) as your "Pause/Continue" button (go "Preferences" dialog to do it). In this case the arrow buttons scroll page by page in "pause" mode and adjust the speed of auto-scrolling in "read" mode. If you want the button to launch previously assigned appplication push it and hold for a short period of time. 
Page-by-page scroll is always accessable with the stylus. Tap the lower or upper part of the text to scroll one page down or up. The middle part is for switching between the modes ("pause"/"read"). 

/Other operations/ 

Open another document: Use "Doc/Choose..." menu item and select the document you'd like to read.

This software has bookmarks support. To add a bookmark use "Add bookmark" menu item from the "Edit" main menu item. To jump at the bookmark or delete the one use "Boomarks..." menu item from the "Edit" main menu item.

Jog-Dial/Wheel support: RTA supports one-hand operations on Sony Clie and HandEra devices. Use Jog-Dial/Wheel to switch between "pause" and "read" modes, to scroll pages in a "pause" mode and adjust the speed in "read" mode.

Find: To find a string use Edit/Find and Edit/Find Next menu items. 

Copy: To copy a text fragment use Edit/Copy Text menu item. Additional buttons allow to navigate through the text.

Info: A menu item "Doc/Info" can be used for getting useful information of a document such as: How long does it take to read Doc (Entire and Remaining), current line/page and others.

Margins: There's a field in the "Preferences" dialog called "Margins". Setting it to non-zero makes the text width lower. This can help the eye to catch a whole text line at a time with no necessity to move eyes in horzontal direction.
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What's new / Version History

- v1.81 (Last)
  - Fixes: mounting software compatibility (AutoCard, MSMount etc), "Pointer" placement (UI)

- v1.8
  - Bookmarks support added.
  - Speed can be set accurately through the "Preferences".
  - "Margins" field added to the "Preferences" (useful for easier reading)
  - Several minor bug fixes. 

- v1.7 
  - Spotlight-scroll introduced (color devices only).
  - Hardware arrows and Jog-Dial/Wheel work in "Copy text" window. Scrolling in the windoe now works without flickering
  - Jog-Assist compatibility for Sony Clie devices with PalmOS 4.0 and higher

- v1.65
  - Status panel redesigned to add one more line in "pause" mode.
  - Hardware buttons (DateBook, AddressBook, etc) can be used to pause and continue reading. The arrow buttons scroll in "pause" mode and adjust the speed in "read" mode in this case. Long press for launching the app.
  - Minor bugs fixing. 

- v1.61
  - "launchable" Doc databases support (with Launcher III, Launch'Em, etc)
  - bug fix: error might occur on PalmOS 2.0 - 3.1 if no documents were installed.

- v1.6
  -Power managment significally improved. Up to four times longer automatic reading with a battery charge
  -"Pointer & Border" dialog added. Several new types of them introduced.
  -"Copy text" command added. A new dialog introduced with the standard memo field so you can temporally edit the text or use hacks that works with the memo field. See "Tips and tricks" section for the additional details.
  -Extra size optimization (25k executable is smaller than before)

- v1.5 
  -Page-by-page scroll implemented (stylus + keys). Switching between keymappings with a key assigned to launch RTA.
  -PalmOS support starting version 2.0
  -"Choose..." dialog redesigned for ease of use
  -"Doc Information" window added indicating: How long does it take to read the Doc (Entire/Resting), total lines, total 
pages, current line, current page
  -HandEra and Sony Clie one-hand operations support with Jog-Dial/Wheel
  -Menu shortcuts added. 
  -Status panel slightly redesigned.
  -Screen layout improved

- v1.02 text searching is implemented.
- v1.01 RTA overrides system auto-power-off behavior when reading. In other modes it acts as usually.
- v1.0  Initial Release

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Converting Docs

There are plenty of doc converters for different platforms. For Windows my personal recommendation is DocReader by Michael Pickering. Find it at http://www.geocities.com/mpicker0/DocReader/DocReader.htm. It's a free, and thanks to Michael, is an open source application so you can modify it for your needs.


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Tips and tricks

- Never delete a Doc with the standart launcher "Delete" menu item. You can lose all your docs in that case. Always use "Delete this Doc..." menu command in RTA.

- "Copy" dialog was made with the standart PalmOS memo field so you can use all those cunning hacks that works with it. For example, excellent dictionary software KDIC has additional module KDIC DA for quick querying a word even without selecting it. You can just set the cursor inside a word to query it. Also, the memo field is editable so you can temporally form a quote before copying the whole text. Additionally the dialog has buttons to adjust the position of the page (Page Up, Page Down, Line Up, Line Down)

- Since there are several types of Border and Pointer in RTA, consider trying different ones for your personal convenience. Note that the comfortability of reading with a set of them can vary from time to time. If you interest, the personal author's set of Pointer & Border are "Pointer: None / Border: Partly erased row".

- "Info" window (available through the Doc menu) allows you to plan your reading time. You can always see the time remaining or whole Doc time with the current speed.  

- You can use RTA as a battery meter for your device. Choose a big doc and simply force RTA to "reading" mode. "Info" window will give you exact time (with a current speed) passed from the start so you don't need to use additional stop watch.    

- RTA auto-scrolling saves much power contrary to some of other kinds of auto-scrolling. It allows you to auto-read one hour a day during a month with a battery charge (This statistics are based on measurements made with Palm IIIxe with fully charged 550 mAH NiMH batteries).

- Some texts and e-books have extra breaks between paragraphs. My experience tells me that this kind of formatting is harder to "auto-read" then the one that uses "fitted" paragraphs. Additionally such texts eat more space on small Palm screen. 

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Other software by the author:
- /JogDaily hack for Sony Clie devices/
http://maksee.narod.ru/soft

- /WindleBug for Windows/ allows you to view, save and copy sketches made with DiddleBug, a great sketch-drawing program for Palm Handheld by Mitch Blevins, on Windows PC. Find it at http://maksee.narod.ru/palm/wb/index.htm
If you don't know what DiddleBug is go to:http://blevins.simplenet.com/palm. 

- /Wident expert for Delphi/ If you develop with Borland Delphi, Wident Expert might significally increase your productivity. It's also free and uses another original idea. You can find it at http://maksee.narod.ru/Wident/index.htm. 
Note that Wident is a part of GExperts package starting version 1.1 (www.gexperts.org)