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Columbia User Guide Welcome Requirements Installation • Images Registration • Updating Getting Started
Welcome Columbia supports any Palm® device with OS 4.0 or later and 7 MB of free memory. A color device and expansion card is recommended. The Columbia application and databases can be downloaded from the internet in .zip compressed format. If the file doesn't automatically de-compress onto your computer, please refer to your Web browser's instructions to obtain the necessary plug-in. Inside the Columbia folder are three files: cce.prc, cce_text.pdb and cce_images.pdb. These files can be installed on either the handheld device or an external memory card. The most common method is to install the prc file onto the device and the pdb file onto the memory card (SD Card or Internal Hard Drive). The files should be placed in the /PALM/Launcher or the /Applications directory of the memory card. If you install via HotSync, this will be occur automatically. Images: Additional image files may also be installed on either the handheld device or an external memory card. Once you have purchased Columbia you will receive a registration code with your receipt. Launch the Columbia application on your device and tap the Columbia titlebar to display the menu. Select Options > Registration... to activate the Registration dialog. Enter your code on the dotted line labeled Registration code. Tap Register to activate the software. Be sure to store your registration code seperately as it will no longer be displayed within the application. Updating: Updating to the latest version of Columbia is as easy as installing the current demo version over your previously registered copy. Your registration information will be retained and the new full version automatically enabled.
Getting Started
Articles are arranged alphabetically from A to Z. There are a number of ways to locate a specific article. Title Field: Enter an article's title in the rectangular text-entry field to advance to that part of the index. Tap the circular button with an "X" to clear the entry field or the circular down-arrow button to see the history menu of past searches.
A-Z Tabs: Along the right side of the word index you will find tabs AB, CD, EF...through WZ. Tap a tab to instantly "open" the encyclopedia to that letter range. You will note that the tabs themselves are mapped such that if you tap on the top part you will enter the early part of the letter range and the bottom portion of the tab will take you to the last part of the letter range.
Thumb Wheel: The thumb wheel behaves exactly like those found on some tape editing machines. Tap and hold the thumb indent on the thumb wheel and drag down slightly to start marching through the article index. Drag down further to speed up the pace through the list. Moving the thumb indent back up toward the neutral position will slow you down again. Tap the arrows above and below the thumb wheel to proceed through the entries one at a time.
Custom Lists: Tap the List button to choose from articles you have assigned to either the predefined categories or to ones you set up yourself (see Article Manager > Editing an Entry).
Person of the Day: Tap the "rising sun" button to the left of the List button to view the Person of the Day.
Search: Tap the square button with a magnifying glass symbol to activate the search dialog. Enter the word you wish to find in the Search For field. You may clear the current word by tapping the "circled x" button. Tap the round GO! button to generate a list of the search results. Use the pick list to choose the search type.
Tap the A-Z button (found between the name field and the search button) to activate a pick list of the available indexes in Columbia. Each body of knowledge is color coded. When viewing the All Articles index you can quickly identify an article's type by the color of its bullet.
History: Articles about the people, places and events that shaped history. Here you can learn all about the kingdom of Two Sicilies, Four Freedoms, Five-Power Treaty, Ten Years War, Twenty-one Demands,Thirty Year War and Forty-seven Ronin.
Geography: A notoriously weak subject for most, now you can appear as knowledgable as Marco Polo. Here you will learn that Abidjan's port is on an island connected with the rest of the city by two bridges, Abilene was first settled by buffalo hunters, and Abu Dhabi is the capital of the United Arab Emirates.
Humanities: Authors, architecture, art and artists of all stripes. Read up on Gaudí's startling designs paralling the development of art nouveau or modenismo and his creative use of color and mixed materials.
Social Sciences: Religion, sports figures, court cases, universities and more. Read up on Yale University, yeti, the YMCA, yoga, Yom Kippur and Brigham Young.
Life Sciences: More flora and fauna than you can shake a stick at. Biology, zoology, anatomy and more. Krebs cycle, kwashiorkor, kumquats, kiwis and kangaroos.
Physical Sciences: Rocks for jocks...and physics, chemistry and astronomy. Here you will find the ozone layer, Paleozoic era, transducer and transformer. Inventions, gadgets galore and the people that invented them.
Sample Article
In the above example the 1) subject is history, 2) article title is Thutmose, 3) pronunciation is either [Thuhtmohz], [tuhtmohz], [Thahtmeez], or [tohtmehs], 4) hyperlinks are to Egypt, Amenhotep I, Nile and Euphrates, 5) sub-entries are Thutmose I and Thutmose II. aa as in bar [baat] th as in father [fahther]
Article Manager In any index you may tap the colored square proceeding the entry to edit that particular article. Use the picklist in the upper-right corner to assign the item you are editing to a category of your choosing. Media: All articles allow you to attach a WAV sound file or JPEG illustration from your memory card. For hi-res devices the optimal size is 264 x 170 pixels and for lo-res devices, 132 x 85. If the image is larger than the screen size it will automatically be scaled. Simply press the Load button to choose a sound or image to attach.
Frequently Asked Questions Customer: I don't see any illustrations. Where are they? Sensei: Not every entry is illustrated for memory conservation. While Columbia comes with thirty or so illustrations, you may add your own JPEGs as outlined in the guide or upload our complimentary image packages for even more pictures. Customer: Where on the SD card can I install my data files like leaders.pdb and other add-on media packages? Sensei: If you are installing data files via HotSync, then the default location will work automatically. If you want to install the files into a directory, then you may use: root or "/Applications" or "/Palm/Launcher" as a valid directory. Customer: I installed the Wild Kingdom image package, but I still don't see any pictures. Sensei: If you have installed Wild Kingdom to the SD card please make certain that the files are installed the correct directory (see above). Customer: When I go to an article with an image, it says "Loading Image..." but doesn't finish. Sensei: In order to show images, there must be sufficient free space available on the device. If you are using an 8MB Palm device, Sensei strongly recommends that you use an SD card. Customer: I have a grayscale device. Can I use Columbia? Sensei: You bet. It just won't appear in those wonderful earth tones. |
