Handheld Headlines/RSS lets you download and read news from various websites on Palm Powered™ handhelds. Any RSS-enabled website can serve as a news source.

There are thousands of these sites published every day on the interent. For a list of RSS sites, visit www.syndic8.com or www.oreillynet.com/meerkat/.

1.1. Included Files

If you've downloaded the Windows installer, you'll just have a single program, HandRSS.exe. Running this will properly configure Handheld Headlines/RSS on your handheld, as well as properly configure the conduit. If you've downloaded the ZIP archive, or on a Mac, you'll have the following files in your archive:

File/Folder	Purpose
Readme.txt	Explains how to register and order the software.
HandRSS.prc	The Handheld Headlines/RSS application for your Palm Powered™ handheld. Install this using the Palm Install Tool.
HandRSS Conduit	This is the HotSync conduit. See below for instructions on installation.
Order.html	Automatically establishes link with Standalone, Inc. website. Places Handheld Headlines/RSS in your shopping cart. (If this does not happen automatically, click the Click to order link to go to our website.)
License.txt	Contains the software license agreement. Please read this before using the software. By installing, copying, or otherwise using this software, you agree to be bound by the terms of the license agreement.
Manual	Contains the HTML version of this manual. The images subfolder contains the graphics for this manual.

Table 1 Handheld Headlines/RSS Files and Folders

1.2. System Requirements

Palm OS version 3.0 is required. Visit http://www.standalone.com/palmos/ to obtain an updated list of supported Palm Powered™ devices. This manual refers to any compatible device as a “Palm Powered™ handheld.”

Desktop address book software such as Microsoft Outlook or the Palm Desktop is required to synchronize Handheld Headlines/RSS with a desktop computer. Read your Palm Powered handheld documentation for procedures to set up this software.

1.3. Registering Handheld Headlines/RSS

Handheld Headlines/RSS is shareware, software that you can download and try for free. The time-limited demo version of Handheld Headlines/RSS includes all of the features available in the official version. After 30 days, the demo version will only work with a valid registration code.

There are several ways to order your registration code:

· Order online at our website. This is the easiest way to register. The online shopping cart uses security features that are supported by current Netscape or Internet Explorer browsers (version 4.0 or higher).

· E-mail your registration information to sales@standalone.com. We will send the registration code.

· Fax your order to us at (773) 477-2579.

1.3.1. Necessary Information

Have the following information ready before you register:

· Your exact name as it is entered in your Palm Powered™ handheld, including spaces.

· The complete list of programs that you wish to register.

· Payment information. We accept Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Discover and personal checks. To pay with a credit card, provide the card number, the expiration date, and the type of card.

· Contact information. Please provide an e-mail address, mailing address, and phone number.

1.3.2. Entering the Registration Code

Do the following to enter the registration code before the 30 day evaluation period has expired:

1. Open Handheld Headlines/RSS from the Applications menu. The start screen appears.

2. Select Options → Enter Registration Code from the menu. The Enter Reg Code screen containing a numerical keypad appears. The Name field shows your name as it is entered into your Palm Powered™ handheld.

3. Tap the numerical keypad to enter the registration code.

4. Tap the Register button.

Do the following to enter the registration code after the 30-day evaluation period has expired:

5. Open Handheld Headlines/RSS from the Applications menu. The registration information screen appears.

6. Tap Enter Registration. The Enter Reg Code screen containing a numerical keypad appears. The Name field shows your name as it is entered into your Palm Powered™ handheld.

7. Tap the numerical keypad to enter the registration code.

8. Tap the Register button.

If you have any questions about registration or our registration policy, please feel free to e-mail us at sales@standalone.com.

1.4. Contacting Stand Alone, Inc.

There are several ways to get in touch with us. E-mail is preferred. If you have any questions, comments, or suggestions, please do not hesitate to contact us.

1.4.1. Business Hours

Stand Alone is open from 9 AM to 5 PM Monday through Friday. We are closed on Saturday and Sunday. These times are CST and GMT -5.

1.4.2. E-mail

Internet: info@standalone.com

1.4.3. Fax

Fax: (773) 477-2579

1.4.4. Regular Mail

Stand Alone, Inc.
3862 N. Lincoln, Suite 2
Chicago IL, 60613
USA

1.4.5. World Wide Web

http://www.standalone.com

1.5. Customer Support

Please e-mail us at techsupport@standalone.com if you have problems starting or running Handheld Headlines/RSS. Include the following information to help us isolate and identify the problem:

The type of Palm Powered™ handheld that you are using (example: Palm IIIx)
The software name and version number. Select Options → About Handheld Headlines/RSS from the menu to view the software name and version number (example: Handheld Headlines/RSS for Palm OS®, version 2.0).
Any error messages that accompany the problem.
A brief description of how we can recreate the error.
Your name and e-mail address.

1.6. Installing the Conduit

If installed, the Conduit will automatically refresh your subscriptions at each HotSync. If you're on a Windows machine, you'll need to run the HandRSS.exe application to install the conduit. On a Mac OS X computer, copy the HandRSS Conduit file to your /Library/Application Support/Palm HotSync/Conduits folder. There's only one option in the conduit. Just select it and you're done.

2. Using Handheld Headlines/RSS

RSS Newsfeeds are the newest way to download and read news stories on a variety of subjects, from all over the internet. Handheld Headlines/RSS allows you to download these news feeds, either via a HotSync, or using a direct internet connection on your Palm Power Handheld, and then read them later.

After opening Handheld Headlines/RSS, you'll be presented with the main viewing panels. If you've not downloaded any articles, you'll need to set up your subscriptions before proceeding.

2.1. Setting up your Subscriptions

Your subscriptions control what gets downloaded whenever an update is run (either directly on your Handheld, or via a HotSync.) To edit them, select "Subscriptions..." from the "Options" menu. You will be presented with the Subscriptions list:

Check off those items you'd like to update when connecting on your Palm. When you perform a HotSync, if your desktop computer is connected to the internet, every subscription will be updated. If you'd like to update a site right now, tap the button. To edit a particular subscription, tap its name in the list:

The "Update Locally" checkbox is the same as that on the main list. Certain RSS feeds embed more information in different tags. If a site doesn't seem to be offering you enough information, you may want to check the "Read content: tags if available" checkbox, as that may offer better results.

The Frequency picker lets you control how often the Subscription is checked for changes. Finally, the Updated and DL'd times let you know when the last time the site was checked, and the last time a new version was actually downloaded, respectively. If Handheld Headlines/RSS looks at a site and sees that it's not chanced since the last time it was downloaded, it will not redownload the content.

If you've come across a site that's not in the list, tap the "Add Site" button and fill out the form that appears:

When entering in a new site, you do NOT need to enter the http:// portion of a URL.

Once you've selected the sites you'd like to update, you can close the Subscriptions window. Now you'll need to download your selected Subscriptions. If you handheld has direct internet connectivity, (such as a WiFi connection or a modem, or even a Palm VIII), select "Update All" from the "Options" menu. You'll see the Update window appear, and your subscriptions will be downloaded:

Otherwise, make sure you've installed the HandRSS conduit and perform a HotSync.

2.2. Reading News

Now that you've updated your Subscriptions, you can read the articles. Select the Subscription you'd like to read from the picker in the upper right corner of the screen ("BBC News | News Front" in the image below.) A list of articles appears in the top pane, and the article text shows up below. A bubble () indicates that an article has not yet been read.

If you tap and hold on an article, you'll get a popup menu with more options:

Locked items will not be deleted when you clear out old items. Hidden items will not show up in the list. Selecting "Mail Article" will use your built in Mail program (if you've got one) to mail the current article (and any associated link) to a given address. You can configure this behavior by selecting "Defaults..." from the "Options" menu. If you have a web browser installed, you'll be able to launch it from this menu as well.

Your messages will be addressed to whatever you enter into the "Email Address" field of the Defaults screen. This is useful if you'd like to mail sites to yourself to view on your desktop machine at a later date.

2.3. Organizing and Cleaning Up

After you've read some articles, you may want to clean up the clutter a bit. You can do this by either Hiding or Deleting old articles. Hidden articles can be easily unhidden later, however deleted articles are gone for good. There are several menu options to help you do this, accessed via the "Issue" menu.

3. Deleting the Handheld Headlines/RSS Software

To permanently remove Handheld Headlines/RSS and all its data files from your handheld, go into the Palm Launcher, select "Delete...." from the menu, and tap on HandRSS. Note that you will lose ALL of your downloaded articles if you do this.

3. Glossary

Term	Definition
Article	A single downloaded item from a subscription. Usually contains a title, some content, and a link for more detail.
Issue	Your downloaded content (articles) from a Subscription.
Menus	To access the menu, tap the menu bar or the menu button in the lower left corner of the screen:
RSS	A format for syndicating and distributing news content on the web.
Subscription	Sometimes called a Feed, this is a website that serves up data in RSS format. It's in standard URL format (http://...), usually ending in either .xml or .rdf.

Table 12 Definitions and Terms

HotSync, Palm Powered, and Palm OS are registered trademarks of Palm, Inc.