A brief look at the PSION Organiser II CM/XP (1)

A brief look at the PSION Organiser II CM/XP (Part 1)

OK, let's start from the very beginning...

Tear down the cover, you'll see the keyboard. Now go on tearing, the cover will separate from the org2. At the bottom, you'll see the battery cover. Remove it and put in a fresh 9V battery. Now turn the org2 around. What you'll see is the two expansion slots. This is the place where RAM-, Data- or Program packs reside.

Its time to turn the thing on!!! (Press the [ON] (CLEAR) button) Now you'll be confronted to a display that usually says:

[FIND SAVE DIARY]
[CALC PROG ERASE]

What you see is the main menu.

At any menu:

cursor keys: navigate (not all entries fit on the screen)
[EXE] selects the marked item (i.e. start the application)
any character key:
- if only one item is starting with that letter: start the application
- mark next item starting with that letter

The next two keys only work with the main menu:

[MODE] enter a new item
[DEL] delete an item.

The initial items of the main menu are:

FIND	find a note
SAVE	save a note
DIARY	the appointment pad
CALC	the calculator
PROG	the programming utility
ERASE	erase a data file
TIME	the built-in clock
INFO	memory information
ALARM	the alarm clock
COPY	copy data files
RESET	erases all data and programs in main memory (even PSION recommends to [DEL]ete this item so you cannot use it accidentally!)
OFF	let org2 sleep

Before we discuss the items in detail, some concepts must be understood:

The org2 has about 8 to 96 KB available main memory (depending on model and OS version) which is referenced as pack A:
Pack A:'s memory is not only used as program workspace but also for data and program code storage. If you store too much data on A: the memory might get too low for some programs.
Packs in the two expansion slots at the backside are referenced as pack B: (upper slot) and pack C: (lower slot).

There are 4 types of packs to be used at B: and C:

RamPacks: 32k of battery buffered RAM (Warning: As these packs might have been produced in the 80's the battery may be low by now - in this case the data is only kept as long the pack stays in a powered org2)
DataPacks: 16, 32, 64 or 128 k of non-volatile data storage memory. In fact these packs are using EPROMs (electrically programmable read only memory). The org2 audibly uses huge amounts of power to write to a datapack, but the data can't be lost. The disadvantage is that once written data is burned into the datapack forever (if you don't tear off the cover and erase all data with a strong UV-light source). Even if you delete a file on a datapack it will keep occupying it's datapack space!
Flashpacks are very much like Datapacks but can be erased by the organizer itself.
ProgramPacks are usually read-only copy-protected Datapacks.

The main menu options in detail:

INFO:

Displays amount of free main memory and pack space usage. As the bottom line does not fit on the screen, it is scrolled. Scrolling can be controlled with [LEFT][RIGHT]keys. [ON] acts as escape key (return to main menu)
SAVE:
```
        [SAVE A:         ]
        [                ]
```
If you have packs fitted, you can select the pack to store your note by pressing the [MODE] key.
```
        [SAVE B:         ]
        [                ]
```
Now enter the text (max. 254 characters, max. 16 lines). Use [DOWN] to change the line. shift[UP] (CAP) toggles capital letters, shift[DOWN] (NUM) toggles numeric keyboard. [EXE] saves the text.
The data entered with SAVE is stored in a file called MAIN (which is automatically created on every pack).
FIND:
```
        [FIND A:         ]
        [                ]
```
[MODE] changes the pack. Enter a search text and press [EXE]. You'll see the first entry matching the search text. Other matching entries are accessed by pressing [EXE] again. Enter no search text to see all notes. To change a note, press [MODE]. Deleting a note is done by [MODE] (change to edit mode), [ON] (clear entry) and finally [EXE].
COPY:

Lets you copy datafiles to another pack. You have to enter the pack and the source filename (e.g. A:MAIN), press [EXE] and enter the destination pack.
```
        [FROM A:MAIN     ]
        [TO B:           ]
```
You may also specify a (different) destination filename. If you omit the source filename, all datafiles on the pack will be copied. If a destination file exists, the copied data is appended to the existing file.
ERASE:

Deletes a file. Keep in mind that files on datapacks are NOT physically deleted but only marked as deleted (still using space).
TIME:

Shows time and date. To change the setting, press [MODE], select the field to change with [LEFT] or [RIGHT] and change the value with [UP] or [DOWN].
Unless you have a very new OS, you won't be able to set a date later than DEC 31, 1999 but don't worry, there is a workaround! Press [EXE] to store the new settings or [ON] to quit.
ALARM:
```
        [1) FREE         ]
        [press EXE to set]
```
Use cursor keys to select one of the 8 alarms Press [EXE] and set the alarm as described in TIME. For repeated alarms press [MODE] and position the R under the day, hour or minute for weekly, daily or hourly. Press [EXE] to set the alarm, [ON] cancels.

DIARY:

        [JAN:01:SAT:00:30]
        [                ]

On activation, the next full half hour is displayed. Set time and date for an entry with cursor keys: [UP][DOWN] change hour, [LEFT][RIGHT] change day After selecting day and time press [EXE] to enter text, after pressing [EXE] again you'll be asked if the organiser should sound an alarm and if yes, how many minutes before the entered time. Pressing [MODE] brings up a menu:

        [PAGE LIST FIND ]
        [GOTO SAVE TIDY ]
         RESTORE DIR
         ERASE

PAGE:	show last edited entry
LIST:	lists all entries
GOTO:	set a date with cursor keys
FIND:	find an entry (like FIND for datafiles)
SAVE:	save the diary (used with RESTORE to maintain more than one diary)
TIDY:	delete all outdated entries
RESTORE:	load a previously saved diary
DIR:	lists all saved diary files
ERASE:	deletes a diary file

CALC: The built in calculator.

Enter a calculation end press [EXE]. The result is displayed in the second line. You can then use the cursor keys to edit the calculation and recalculate it. Valid operators: +, -, * ,/ ,** (raise to power) Set number of decimals: enter FIX=2 for 2 dec. or FIX= for the default setting. The % sign does not produce percentages, but is the ASCII-prefix (e.g. %A results 65), $ is the prefix for HEX (e.g. $A1 results 161). All numeric OPL-functions can also be used (even user defined ones), here are the most important (replace n with a number):
PI, 3.14159...
SQR(n), square root
SIN(n),COS(n),TAN(n),ATAN(n) trigonometric functions (n must be in radians)
RAD(n),DEG(n) convert degree to radian and vice versa

OFF:

Lets org2 sleep, any alarm and the [ON]-key wakes it. After 5 min. without a keypress it automatically goes to sleep.

In Part 2 we take a brief look at some programming.

If you have any comments or questions don't hesitate in contacting:

Boris Cornet

These pages should be viewed using Netscape 4.03 or Microsoft Internet Explorer 3.02 at 800x600 pixels.
	Brief Look Intro	~ Homepage ~	Brief Look, Part 2