Getting Started

Vade Mecum (pronounced "VAY-dee MEE-cum", which is Latin for "go with me") is the first-ever Plucker document viewer for the Pocket PC. It is a complete redesign and rewrite of the original PalmOS version of the viewer, and includes many features that do not exist in the PalmOS version. This document explains some of the basics of using Vade Mecum.

Vade Mecum is available for download here at the project page at sourceforge.net.  Please be aware that Vade Mecum is in alpha release.  There may still be bugs, and it may cause problems with your handheld device.  However, many people have used it successfully without any (major) problems.

There are two packages 1) a stable release 2) an experimental release.  The stable release has features that have been well tested.  Most people will want to download the most recent stable version, 0.6.3 .  The experimental release has new features that are still in development.  Choose the stable release if you don't want to fight with software.  Choose the experimental release if you enjoy pushing the limits and are willing to do some testing of new features.

Copy the .cab file to your handheld device. You can do this by exploring the device with Activesync. Then run the .cab file with the File Explorer on the handheld. 
Problems:
Be aware that some other programs use the same libraries as Vade Mecum.  These programs may not install correctly while it is running.  If problems occur, exit Vade Mecum and try again.

There are hundreds of books available in the Plucker format.  One place to download them is http://www.memoware.com/ . 

You can also create your own documents from text files, RDF, RSS, PDFs, or html. Several solutions exist for converting WWW documents to Plucker databases:

• The free distiller from the Plucker project— PyPlucker— is available either as a command-line tool, or with the friendly GUI frontend—Plucker desktop. They're all wtitten in Python and thus are cross-platform.

  If you're using Linux or *BSD, check your distro first, if there's no prepackaged Plucker distiller, go to the download site.

  If you're a Windows or Mac OS X user, proceed to the download site mentioned above and grab the appropriate package for your system.

  The help provided with the Plucker desktop will explain how to create these documents.

• There is also a popular freeware (but not free) Windows-only distiller called SunriseXP. Read more here, or read an excellent tutorial here.

A word of warning: SunriseXP has known problems with support for charsets other than Latin-1, so if you are planning to convert non-Latin-1 HTML pages, better try Python Plucker distiller.

1. Use Activesync to copy the files to your handheld or put the files on a storage card.  Then add the folder where the files are to Vade Mecum's library:
2.  Select "Settings" from the library page. 
3. On the tab that says "Library", select "add" under "Document Paths". 
   
4. Choose the location of your files. 
5. Select "ok".You should see the path in the "Document Paths" box.
6.  Select "OK".  You should see your documents listed.

Alternately, you can tap and hold on the document title and select "Read".  The document will open to place you were last at.  To read through the document, you can drag the bar on the side or use your jog dial, or use your up or down button.  You can also use autoscroll described below.

To return to the library, select the icon that looks like a file folder.

Autoscroll moves the text on the screen at predefined rate.  This allows you to read a document without needing to push page down. 

1. Select the down arrow from the menu bar. 
2. Select "autoscroll".  The text will begin to move. 

Tap the screen or push any button to end the scrolling.

A bookmark marks a place in a document you want to return to.  To set a bookmark:

1. Open the document to the place you want the bookmark to refer to. 
2. Select the bookmark icon.  (It looks like a forward slash with a shadow.) 
3. Select "Add Bookmark".  Enter a name for the bookmark.

Copying text allows you to take a passage from a document and copy it to the clipboard to be pasted in a different application.  To copy text, select the text you are interested in.  Select "Copy" from the pop up menu.  The text is now copied to the clipboard.

1.  Select the text you want to highlight.  A pop up menu will appear. 
   
2. Select "Highlight" from the pop up menu. 
3. Select the foreground (text) color and background color  you want and tap "OK". 
   
4. The text will now be highlighted. 
   

Alternately, select the text you want to highlight.  Select "Quick Highlight" from the pop up menu.  It will highlight the passage in whatever highlighting color was selected last.

Annotating allows you to make a comment or note about a passage in the document. 

1. Select the text you want to annotate. 
2. Select "Annotate" from the pop up menu. 
3. Write your note in the text box.
    
4. Select "ok" to make the annotation.  Select "X" to cancel. 
5. Select the background and text colors as you do with highlighting. 

To view an annotation, tap and hold on the highlighted text.  Select "Edit Annotation" from the menu.  The "Edit Annotation" box will appear and you can read or change the annotation as desired.

To find a phrase in a document, select the icon that looks like a magnifying glass.  Enter the text in the "Search:" box and select "Go".  The results will appear in the box below.  To go to one of the results, select the result; then select "ok".

1. From the Library page, select "Settings". 
2. Select the "Font" tab.
   
3. In the "Font Size" drop down box, select the font size. 
4. Press "ok".  The font size will change.  This change will affect all the documents in the library.

From inside a document, select the down arrow on the tool bar.  Then follow steps 2 - 4 above.