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Backdrop EZ for the Palm OS 	
Release 1.2
October 30, 1999

written by Josh Freeman

(c) 1998-99,
Twilight Edge Software

includes TrapWeaver 1.06 (10/04/99)

Email: software@twilightedge.com
Web: http://www.twilightedge.com
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README.TXT CONTENTS:
	 1) ABOUT BACKDROP EZ
	 2) SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS
	 3) DISTRIBUTION
	 4) DISCLAIMER
	 5) BACKDROPEZ.ZIP ARCHIVE CONTENTS
	 6) QUICKSTART
	 7) BACKGROUND BRIGHTNESS & CONTRAST
	 8) CHOOSING APPLICATIONS/INCOMPATIBILITIES
	 9) SELECTING THE BACKGROUND
    10) DELETING IMAGES
	11) SCREEN SETTINGS
	12) WHERE TO FIND BACKGROUND IMAGES
	13) CREATING YOUR OWN BACKGROUNDS
	14) REGISTERING
	15) SITE LICENSES FOR ORGANIZATIONS
	16) KNOWN INCOMPATIBILITIES/BUGS
	17) VERSION HISTORY


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1) ABOUT BACKDROP EZ
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	Backdrop EZ is an application for the Palm OS which places an image in 
the background of your Palm device's screen. The background image stays 
in place when other apps are running, though you may set Backdrop EZ to 
remove it for certain programs. The background image is customizable, as 
Backdrop EZ will read images saved in the ImageViewer format.
	Backdrop EZ is based off of Backdrop, the background program for the 
Palm III and earlier devices. If you have one of those devices, please
download and run Backdrop instead - Backdrop EZ won't run on devices that 
don't have the DragonBall-EZ chip. Backdrop EZ's main improvement over 
Backdrop is that it can display backgrounds in 8 grey-levels, thanks to 
the EZ chip's improved LCD controller.
	If you're already familiar with Backdrop and have read its 
documentation, the relevant sections of this file are 7 and 11. These 
sections discuss features which have changed between Backdrop and 
Backdrop EZ.


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2) SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS
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	Backdrop EZ requires a Palm device with a DragonBall-EZ chip, (current
models include the Palm IIIx, IIIe, V, Vx, current VII, IBM Workpad c3,
and the Handspring Visor - if you have a Palm III, VII (early model), or 
previous device, you will need the original 'Backdrop').
	TrapWeaver is also required to install Backdrop EZ; TrapWeaver is a 
system utility which prevents patching conflicts between applications that 
patch system traps. The latest version is included in this archive. For 
more information on TrapWeaver, please download the standalone TrapWeaver 
archive from the Twilight Edge Software homepage. 
('http://www.twilightedge.com')
	Backdrop EZ uses 120K of memory. This includes the Backdrop EZ and 
TrapWeaver applications, as well as the memory Backdrop EZ uses when it 
installs its system patches. Running Backdrop EZ with less free memory may 
cause your Palm device to crash).


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3) DISTRIBUTION
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	Backdrop EZ and TrapWeaver are shareware. This archive may be freely 
distributed, provided its contents are not changed in any way. If you 
distribute this archive on a website or with a software collection, please 
notify the author at the email address above. Any form of distribution that 
charges the user a fee, such as a commercial software collection, must 
clearly state that the user is purchasing unregistered copies which will 
require additional payments to register.


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4) DISCLAIMER
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	All software contained in this archive is provided as is, and is not
guaranteed to be free of bugs. The author assumes no responsibility for 
problems resulting from the use of this product. Installing and/or 
executing this software means you agree to the above terms.


If you find a bug, please report it to 'software@twilightedge.com' along
with the following info:

- Pilot model
- System version
- Amount of free memory
- List of apps installed (if possible)
- Special options (Palm III upgrade, TRG memory card, pager card, etc.)


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5) BACKDROPEZ.ZIP ARCHIVE CONTENTS
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readme.txt          - this file
BackdropEZ.prc      - Backdrop EZ application
TWeaver.prc         - TrapWeaver application (required to run Backdrop EZ)
earth.pdb           - sample 4-greylevel image


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6) QUICKSTART
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If you have previous versions of Backdrop EZ or TrapWeaver on your 
Palm device, please uninstall them before installing the new versions.

To Install & Turn On Backdrop EZ:
------------------------------
    1. Install 'BackdropEZ.prc' and 'TWeaver.prc' on your Palm device.
    2. Run TrapWeaver
    3. Press the 'Engage' button

   The following step will reset your Palm device:
    4. Press the 'OK' button on the 'Engage TrapWeaving' dialog
    5. Run Backdrop EZ
    6. Press the 'Turn On Backdrop' button

To Turn Backdrop EZ Off:
---------------------
    1. Run Backdrop EZ
    2. Press the 'Turn Off Backdrop' button

To Uninstall Backdrop EZ:
----------------------
    1. Turn Backdrop EZ Off 
    2. Delete Backdrop EZ

To Uninstall TrapWeaver:
------------------------
    1. Turn TrapWeaving Off
    2. Delete TrapWeavr


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7) BACKGROUND BRIGHTNESS & CONTRAST
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	When you first turn on Backdrop EZ, or switch to an extremely light or 
dark background image, the background may either be too light to see it
clearly, or too dark, in which case it obscures what's in the foreground. 
You can change the background's brightness level, but the method for doing 
this depends on whether you're using a 2-level or deeper (4 or 16) level
image as your background.
	If it's not apparent whether your background is 2-level or deeper-level,
you can tell by the text at the bottom of the 'Background On' form or the 
'Screen Settings' form: 

- For 4- or 16-level images, it will read: 
	'Use contrast control to lighten/darken'.

	Using your Palm device's contrast control is the only way to lighten 
and darken deeper-level backgrounds. Move your device's contrast control 
to make the background as dark as possible while still allowing you to 
comfortably read the foreground text. (If the screen is inverted, make the 
background as light as possible).

- For 2-level images, it will read: 
	'Use scroll buttons to lighten/darken'.		

	If you are using a 2-level background, you can change the background
level from within the Backdrop EZ application, but before you do this, you 
need to make sure the screen's contrast is set properly; Follow these steps
to find your 2-color background's correct level:

	1. Turn off Backdrop EZ. (Makes it easier when adjusting the contrast).
		(If you have a IIIx running OS 3.1.1 or later, don't do this step,
		since turning off Backdrop EZ will revert the contrast setting).

	2. If you have an application that uses greyscale mode, switch to it.
		(Greyscale mode is better for adjusting contrast, since it's
		easier to pick up subtle changes than in black-and-white mode)

	3. Adjust your screen's contrast using the contrast wheel.

	4. Turn on Backdrop EZ.

	5. Press the 'up' or 'down' scroll buttons to lighten or darken the 
		background level. (You can see what the current background level 
		value is by pressing the 'Screen Settings...' button. You can still
		adjust the background level from the 'Screen Settings' form.)
		Make the background as dark as possible, but not so dark that you 
		can't comfortably read what's on the rest of the screen. (If the 
		screen is inverted, make the background as light as possible).

	6. Switch to an application that fills the screen with text, such as 
		Memo Pad, and make sure the foreground is legible. If not, go
		back to Backdrop EZ and lighten (inverted: darken) the background.
		

	Once you find the correct background level, you can then adjust the 
background's brightness using only the contrast wheel.

	
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8) CHOOSING APPLICATIONS/INCOMPATIBILITIES	
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	Some applications draw directly to the screen: Drawing apps, image 
viewing apps, some games, etc. These apps won't update properly with 
Backdrop EZ installed. Other applications rely on speed, (some games, etc.), 
and may run noticibly slower with Backdrop EZ on. Backdrop EZ uses 12.5K of 
dynamic memory when it is displaying a background; There are a few apps 
which won't run properly with such a large chunk of memory used up. This 
can show up in the form of 'Not-Enough-Memory' error messages, erratic 
behavior, or, in some cases, fatal errors, resulting in a reset. (If you 
find that an application crashes because Backdrop EZ is installed, please 
notify me at 'software@twilightedge.com').
	In order to deal with these problems, Backdrop EZ provides a way for you 
to temporarily turn off the background when certain apps are running, 
solving the incompatibilities in most cases: From the 'Backdrop On' form, 
press the 'Applications...' button to go to the 'Backdrop Applications' 
form. You will see a list of applications installed on your Pam device with 
checkboxes next to the app names. In order to remove the background when an 
app is running, uncheck the box next to the app's name. You may notice that 
some app names have no checkboxes next to them - this is because Backdrop EZ 
has a default list of incompatible apps, and it won't give you the option 
of turning on the background when one of them runs.
	If you have a Hack which does not update properly with Backdrop EZ 
installed, first make sure that it was installed before Backdrop EZ: Turn 
Backdrop EZ off then back on and see if that solves the problem. If it still 
doesn't run correctly, the Hack is probably drawing directly to the screen, 
and won't work with Backdrop EZ. Please notify me as well as the author of 
the Hack.


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9) SELECTING THE BACKGROUND
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	Backdrop EZ will read images in ImageViewer format. You can find image 
files in this format on the net, (see 'WHERE TO FIND BACKGROUND IMAGES' 
below), or create your own (see 'CREATING YOUR OWN BACKGROUNDS' below). 
	16-color Image Viewer images are now supported by Backdrop EZ, however,
only 8 levels of grey can be used by the background, so 16-color images will
be downsampled to 8 colors.
	The preferred image size is 160x160; Backdrop EZ won't read images 
smaller than this, and if they are much larger, they may take up too much 
memory to load. (Unlike the ImageViewer app, Backdrop EZ uses only dynamic 
memory for loading images, which means it has a smaller maximum image size).
	To select a background, press the 'Backgrounds...' button on the 
'Backdrop On' form. This will bring you to the 'Choose Background Image' 
form, which will display a list of the available image files installed on 
your Palm device. 
	If the selected image is larger than 160x160, an 'Align' button will 
appear on the right side of the form. Pressing this button will bring you to
the alignment screen, where you may drag the image with your stylus to 
center it. Once you are done aligning, tap the graffiti area or press any of
the hardware buttons to return to the 'Choose Background Image' form. 

	In general, lighter images with large areas of white pixels, such as
drawings or logos, make the best backgrounds. If you have a darker image,
you might make it show up better by inverting the background. If your dark
image is a photo or illustration, which appears odd when inverted, inverting 
both the screen and the background will probably give you the best results.


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10) DELETING IMAGES
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	If there are images you want to delete, select 'Delete Images...' from
the 'Options' menu to go to the 'Delete Images' form. Click on an image's
name in the list to delete it. (You will be given a chance to confirm this).


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11) SCREEN SETTINGS
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	Press the 'Screen Settings...' button in the 'Backdrop On' form to go to
the 'Screen Settings' form. Here, you'll see several controls:

- 'Reinstall On Reset' Checkbox
	When this box is checked, Backdrop EZ will automatically reinstall
itself when the device is reset; Otherwise you will have to manually 
turn Backdrop EZ back on.

- 'Display As Startup Screen' Checkbox
	This option will delay drawing the foreground when the device gets
turned on, showing only the background image. This background startup 
screen will only display when the device has been turned on from the 
power button, and not from any of the other buttons. The user can choose 
how long to display the startup screen by selecting from the 'Delay:' 
drop-down menu. To instantly bring up the foreground while the startup 
screen is being displayed, tap the screen or press a button.

- 'Invert Screen' Checkbox
	Checking this box will invert your screen - this exchanges black for 
white and white for black on your display. It will also cause your 
background image to appear as a negative of itself. (If you wish to fix 
this, you can invert the background as well by checking the 'Invert 
Background' checkbox).

- '(Disabled Apps, Too)' Checkbox
	The screen will only stay inverted while running apps for which you
haven't disabled the background. Checking this box will leave the screen
inverted while running disabled apps as well.

- 'Invert Background' Checkbox
	Checking this box will invert only the background image.
	
- 'Invert Backlight' Checkbox
	This option will invert the current screen setting when the backlight
is turned on. This allows the Palm V's backlight to illuminate the light 
parts of the screen instead of the dark ones.
	
- 'Use OS 3.1.1 Streaking Fix With Disabled Apps' Checkbox
	This option only affects the Palm IIIx: Palm OS version 3.1.1 includes
a fix for the IIIx's streaking problem with its LCD screen. Unfortunately,
this causes the background to shimmer when enabled, so Backdrop EZ turns
the fix off. Checking this box will turn the fix back on for disabled apps 
which don't use the background; However, due to the nature of the streaking
fix, you will then have to manually change your contrast each time you 
switch between disabled apps and Backdrop EZ apps.

- 'Force 2-Color Background' Checkbox
	Using a deep-color background will slow screen updates slightly more than
when using a 2-color background. If you prefer to use 2-color mode, checking 
this box will force deep-color backgrounds to be displayed in 2 colors.


	If you are in 2-color mode, you will also see text displaying the 
current background level. (Background level is irrelevant for deep color 
backgrounds). You may notice that the background level value changes when 
you invert or uninvert the screen; Since the best value for the background 
level depends on whether or not the screen is inverted, Backdrop EZ saves a 
different value for each option. (In practice, the best background value for
the inverted screen is usually one level greater (darker) than the correct 
value for the normal screen, though individual devices may vary - see 
'BACKGROUND BRIGHTNESS & CONTRAST' above for finding your screen's correct 
background level value). 


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12) WHERE TO FIND BACKGROUND IMAGES
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	There are some sample ImageViewer images at: 
http://www.twilightedge.com/images.html

	If you have custom images or a link you would like to see displayed on 
the images page, please send a file or URL to 'software@twilightedge.com'.


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13) CREATING YOUR OWN BACKGROUNDS
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If you have a PC:
	The Image Viewer application by Art Dahm comes with a Windows app 
	called Image Converter, which will convert several image formats, 
	including GIF and JPEG, into Image Viewer format, ready for installing 
	on your Palm device. You can download Image Converter from Dahm's page 
	at 'http://palm.dahm.com/viewer.html', or you can get it at 
	'http://www.palmgear.com'.
	
	(For best results, don't use the 8-color option when saving a 16-color
	image: Even though Backdrop only uses 8 colors for the background, 
	Image Viewer images saved in 16 colors will show up better than images 
	saved in 8 colors.) 
	
	
If you have a Mac:
	You can use the shareware program, Graphic Converter to save to 
	ImageViewer format. You can get Graphic Converter at 
	'http://www.lemkesoft.de/us_gcdownload.html'
	
	To save to ImageViewer, select 'PDB' as the format from the
	'Save As...' dialog. If you are saving a 4- or 16- color image, press
	the 'Options' button on the dialog and make sure you have checked the 
	box next to version 1. For black & white images, check version 0.

	
	As mentioned above, the preferred size for a background is 160x160; 
Backdrop EZ won't read anything smaller than this.
	If you've created a custom background you'd like to share, please send
the image or its URL to 'software@twilightedge.com', and I'll post it on the 
sample images page.


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14) REGISTERING
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	Backdrop EZ is shareware. If you decide to keep it, please register it. 
Registration will remove the 'UNREGISTERED' message in the background and
also entitles you to future versions of Backdrop EZ, free of charge.
	Registration is $18, and is currently only available through 
PalmGear H.Q. They can take orders either through their secure server online,
or over the phone at (800) 741-9070. Their page for ordering Twilight Edge 
Software titles online is:
http://www2.viaweb.com/pilotgearsw/twiledsof.html

	Make sure you include your correct, case-sensitive Pilot username (this 
will be used to generate the registration code), and your email address.
	Once your registration has been processed, you should receive your code 
by email within a few days. Enter the code in the registration window by 
selecting 'Register...' from Backdrop EZ's 'Options' menu. Please save your 
code, as you will need it for future versions, or if you have to reinstall 
Backdrop EZ after a hard reset.


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15) SITE LICENSES FOR ORGANIZATIONS
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	Do you have a logo that you'd like to display on the screens of the 
members of your group, organization, or company? Backdrop EZ is available at 
a reduced price with your custom logo as the default background. (Custom 
logo version won't allow the background to be changed). You may also specify 
a default set of blocked applications to save your members time.
Please email 'software@twilightedge.com' for more details.


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16) KNOWN INCOMPATIBILITIES/BUGS
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The following software is known to be incompatible with Backdrop EZ:

- Fitaly Keyboard: Keyboard won't show up when background is in place.
	Workaround: Disable Backdrop EZ on apps with which you use the keyboard.

- TealEcho Hack: Graffiti won't erase properly. 

- EVEdit Hack: Fatal error when using Graffiti Echo. 
	Workaround: Disable the Graffiti Echo (uncheck the box in the prefs)


If you find a bug, please report it to 'software@twilightedge.com' along
with the following info:

- Pilot model
- System version
- Amount of free memory
- List of apps installed (if possible)
- Special options (Palm III upgrade, TRG memory card, pager card, etc.)


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17) VERSION HISTORY
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1.2		(11/01/99)
		- Startup screen option
		- Reinstall on reset option
		- Compatible with OS 3.3
        - Updated new Twilight Edge email address in docs & about box.

1.1		(06/19/99)
		- 8-color backgrounds: Now reads 4-bit Image Viewer images
		- Faster screen drawing routines
		- Reduced memory requirements by 20K (Now 120K)
		- Fixed background shimmering on the Palm IIIx with OS 3.1.1
		- Updated new Twilight Edge homepage info in docs & app dialogs

1.0 	(03/31/99)
		- Initial release


Enjoy the program!

Josh Freeman
