BitPal is a well-designed, intuitive, and powerful personal assistant. BitPal makes it possible to easily enter, edit and manage information.
You'll find handy features such as an address book and ToDo list. Future versions will include a Calendar, Household Budget Manager, Tax Manager, and Wedding Planner - to name just a few. BitPal is easy to use, flexible and can be customized to meet your needs.
Managing Contacts
Add a new contact: To add a new contact single click on the + sign in the lower left hand corner of the BitPal window or use the Contact Menu. The new contact will automatically open in Edit mode. You can either Tab to through each field entering information as you go or single click with the mouse. When you are finished entering information click the Save button in the lower right hand corner of the BitPal window.
Edit an existing contact: To edit an existing contact, select the contact's name and click the Edit button in the lower right hand corner of the BitPal window.
Choosing or changing an Icon: If you are not already in Edit mode, click the Edit button in the lower right hand corner of the BitPal window. If you are already in Edit mode, single click on the existing Icon to the left of the contact's name. A separate window will open up, scroll through and choose an Icon. Click once on the Icon, the window will close and the new Icon will automatically appear.
Add Your Own Icon: Icon must be a .jpg file and must be 70x70 pixels. In the BitPal folder there is a Icons folder, simply drag and drop your Icon to the folder. To use your Icon, run BitPal, add a new contact or select an existing contact and click Edit. Single click the existing Icon, scroll through and click on your newly added Icon. Your Icon will automatically replace the preexisting Icon.
Delete a Contact: To delete an existing contact highlight the contact's name and then click the - button in the lower left hand corner of the BitPal window or use the Contact Menu.
Scrolling through contacts: You can scroll through your contacts by using the scroll bar to the right of the contacts' names, by using the up, down, right and left arrows, or using the Next and/or Previous Contact buttons.
Preferences: To change your preferences click on the Edit menu (on Windows) or Application Menu (on the Mac) and select Preferences.
Change Text Size: To change your text size, click on the Edit menu (on Windows) or Application Menu (on the Mac), select Preferences and click on the pop-up menu.
Resize Text while expanding window: To resize the text while expanding the BitPal window click on the Edit Menu (on Windows) or Application Menu (on the Mac), select preferences and then check the box marked Resize Text while expanding window.
Resize the BitPal window: Click on the right hand corner of the BitPal window and drag it to the desired size. To resize the text while expanding the BitPal window click on the Edit Menu, select preferences and then check the box marked Resize Text while expanding window.
Importing Contacts
To import contact info from another program, you must first use that program to create a delimited text file. That's just a file where a certain character separates each field, and a linebreak character separates each record. Like this:
Chris TAB Smith TAB csmith@aol.com LINEBREAK
Sarah TAB Thompson TAB sarah@aol.com LINEBREAK
or this:
Chris | Smith | csmith@aol.com LINEBREAK
Sarah | Thompson | sarah@aol.com LINEBREAK
...and so on. At the end of each row, the file will have some flavor of linebreak character. The exact type depends on the type of computer that created the file. If you're unsure which to select, just try each one until you see some data appear in the Record Data column.
So, step 1: go create the file.
Step 2: Click 'Browse' and locate the file.
Step 3: Choose the field delimiter for your file.
Step 4: Choose the record delimiter for your file.
Step 5: Assign fields. Since BitPal has no way of knowing what order your data is in, you must tell it. So if your first field is the contacts first name, select the first field, then pull the popup menu to First Name. Click 'Set' to assign it. Repeat as necessary for the rest of the record.
Step 6: You're done! Just click 'Import'.
Exporting Contacts
To export contact info to another program, you must first use BitPal to create a delimited text file. That's just a file where a certain character separates each field, and a linebreak character separates each record. Like this:
Chris TAB Smith TAB csmith@aol.com LINEBREAK
Sarah TAB Thompson TAB sarah@aol.com LINEBREAK
or this:
Chris | Smith | csmith@aol.com LINEBREAK
Sarah | Thompson | sarah@aol.com LINEBREAK
...and so on. At the end of each row, the file will have some flavor of linebreak character. The exact type depends on the type of computer that created the file..
So, step 1: Choose the character you want to be your field delimiter (Tab is a common format).
Step 2: Choose the character you want to be your record delimiter. This should match the type of computer you're exporting to.
Step 3: You're done! Just click 'Export' to save the file. Your file is now ready for importing into another program.
Managing To Do Tasks
Add a new Task: To add a new Task click on the + button in the lower left hand corner of the BitPal window or click on the Tasks menu option. The new Task will automatically open in Edit mode, enter the information and either click the Save button or hit Return.
Delete a Task: Select the Task and click the - button located in the lower left hand corner of the BitPal window or use the Tasks menu option.
Mark a Task as Complete: To mark a Task as complete check the box to the left of the Task
Delete all completed Tasks: Selected all completed Tasks by checking the box to the left of the Task(s) and click the "Delete All Done Tasks" button.
Sorting Tasks: To sort Tasks by priority, click the Priority button; Tasks can be sorted either ascending or descending. To sort Tasks alphabetically, click on Items; Tasks can be sorted either A-Z or Z-A.
Preferences
To change your preferences click on the Edit menu (on Windows) or the Application Menu (on the Mac) and select Preferences.
Change Text Size: To change your text size, click on the Edit menu (on Windows) or Application Menu (on the Mac), select Preferences and click on the pop-up menu.
Resize Text while expanding window: To resize the text while expanding the BitPal window click on the Edit Menu (on Windows) or Application Menu (on the Mac), select Preferences and then check the box marked "Resize Text While Expanding Window".
BitPal + USB Pen Drive = Goodness
Like chocolate and peanut butter, BitPal and USB Pen devices go well together! Take your BitPal information wherever you go. Never worry about loading personal information and data on your work computer. Simply plug your USB Pen Drive into any USB port and run BitPal from there.
Loading BitPal onto a USB Device: To load BitPal onto your USB device simply plug in your USB device and drag and drop the BitPal folder onto the USB device. All your data goes with you!
Where to buy a USB device: Amazon.com has a nice list here. Even the $20 models (16 MB) will work well, since BitPal only needs 5 MB. Get yourself one and enjoy true data mobility!
