Twilight Edge Software - Backdrop EZ Documentation

Backdrop EZ Documentation
Software Version 1.31
Released March 27, 2002

Written by Josh Freeman
©1999-2002, Twilight Edge Software
All Rights Reserved

About Backdrop EZ
System Requirements
Archive Distribution
Disclaimer
BackdropEZ.zip Archive Contents
Download
Quickstart
Selecting A Background
Background Brightness & Contrast
Backdrop EZ Settings
Choosing Applications
Where To Find Background Images
Creating Your Own Backgrounds
Deleting Images
Registering Backdrop EZ
Known Incompatibilities/Bugs
Version History
Twilight Edge Software Contact Info

About Backdrop EZ
Backdrop EZ is an application for the Palm OS which places an image in the background of your greyscale device's screen. The background image stays in place while other apps run, though you may set Backdrop EZ to remove it for certain programs. Backdrop EZ reads images in the FireViewer format, which has several utilities for converting from popular formats such as BMP, GIF & JPEG.

System Requirements
    Backdrop EZ requires a greyscale Palm OS device with a DragonBall-EZ or DragonBall-VZ chip. Currently supported models include the Palm m100, m105, m500, IIIe, IIIx, IIIxe, V, Vx, VIIx, WorkPad c3, c500, Handspring Visor, Visor Deluxe, Visor Platinum, Visor Edge, Sony PEG-S300, PEG-S320, and the TRGpro. The Handera 330 is not supported.
     If you have a color device, you need to use Backdrop GC, and if you have a Palm VII, Palm III, or previous device, you will need the original Backdrop.
     TrapWeaver is also required to install Backdrop EZ; TrapWeaver is a utility which prevents conflicts between applications that patch the OS. For more information on TrapWeaver, see the TrapWeaver documentation.
    Backdrop EZ uses 130K 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 instability.

Archive Distribution
Backdrop EZ and TrapWeaver are shareware. The 'backdropez.zip' archive may be freely distributed, provided its contents are not changed in any way. If you distribute the archive on a website or with a software collection, please notify the author. 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.

Disclaimer
All Twilight Edge software titles are provided as is, and are not guaranteed to be free of bugs. The author assumes no responsibility for problems resulting from the use of these products. Installing and/or executing this software means you agree to the above terms.

If you find a bug, please report it, along with the following info:

- Device type
- Palm OS system version
- Amount of free memory
- List of apps installed (if possible)
- Special options (Springboard module, memory upgrade, etc.)

BackdropEZ.zip Archive Contents
BackdropEZ.prc - Backdrop EZ application
TWeaver.prc - TrapWeaver application (required to run Backdrop EZ)
earth.pdb - sample 4-greylevel image
bdez_docs.html - Backdrop EZ Documentation

Download
Backdrop EZ, Version 1.31

Quickstart
If you have previous versions of Backdrop EZ or TrapWeaver on your Palm device, please uninstall & delete them before installing the new versions.

To Install Backdrop EZ:

    1. Download 'BackdropEZ.prc' and 'TWeaver.prc' to your Palm device.
    2. Run TrapWeaver
    3. Press the 'Install' button

The following step will reset your Palm device:

    4. Press the 'OK' button on the 'Engage TrapWeaving' dialog
    5. After reset, run Backdrop EZ
    6. Press the 'Install' button

To Uninstall Backdrop EZ:

1. Run Backdrop EZ
2. Press the 'Uninstall' button

If you wish to delete Backdrop EZ or TrapWeaver from your device, please uninstall them first. Deleting the apps without uninstalling them will leave their system patches and functionality in place until the device is reset.

Selecting A Background
    Tap the 'Background' tab if it is not already in the foreground. When the 'Background' tab is selected, a list of available images on your device will be displayed. Select an image's name from the list to install it in the background.
    Backdrop EZ reads images in FireViewer format. You can find image files in this format online, or create your own. 16-color FireViewer images are 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.
    If the selected background image is bigger 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 main 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.

Background Brightness & Contrast
    The brightness of the background image can be adjusted in order to keep it from affecting the legibility of the foreground. This may be done by pressing the 'Adjust Background Brightness...' button which appears at the bottom of both the 'Background' tab and the 'Settings' tab.
    Pressing the 'Adjust Background Brightness...' button will bring up different adjustment dialogs depending on the depth of the background image:
    For backgrounds of 2- or 4-bit depths, pressing the button will simply bring up your device's contrast adjustment dialog. This is the only way to adjust the brightness of deeper-level backgrounds.
    For backgrounds of 1-bit depth, pressing the button will bring up the 'Adjust Background Level' dialog. This dialog has a 'Contrast' button so you can first properly adjust the screen's contrast, then you can change the background level by pressing the arrow buttons or using your device's hardware scroll buttons.
    In either case, adjust the background brightness to the darkest level that will still allow you to comfortably read the foreground. You can adjust the background level anytime Backdrop EZ is not running by using your device's contrast control.

Backdrop EZ Settings
Tap the 'Settings' tab if it is not already in the foreground. When the 'Settings' tab is selected, a list of customizable settings will be displayed:

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

- Display As Startup Screen
This option will delay drawing the foreground when the device gets turned on, displaying the background image as a startup screen. The startup screen will only be shown when the device has been turned on from the power button, 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
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).
The screen will only stay inverted while running apps for which you haven't disabled the background. Checking the (Disabled Apps, Too) checkbox will leave the screen inverted while running disabled apps as well.

- Invert Background
Checking this box will invert only the background image.

- Invert Backlight
This option will invert the current screen setting when the backlight is turned on. For devices with inverse backlights, this allows the light parts of the screen to be illuminated instead of the dark parts.

- Force 2-Color Background
Using a 16- or 4-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.

- Force Enabled Apps To B&W
    Backdrop EZ currently only displays a background when the system is in black & white (1-bit) mode. If an application switches the system to a deeper grey mode, Backdrop EZ will detect it and hide the background while the app runs.
    When this box is checked, Backdrop EZ will prevent enabled apps (apps that have the boxes checked next to their name in the 'Apps' tab) from switching to a deeper mode. This allows some apps which would previously run with the background hidden to now run with the background image visible.
    Please note that using this option will cause some greyscale apps to crash. The workaround is to uncheck the boxes next to their names in the 'Apps' tab, or to disable this setting.

Choosing Applications
    Backdrop EZ lets you choose the applications for which a background image will be displayed. This allows you to remove the background for incompatible apps or to improve legibility.
    Tap the 'Apps' tab if it is not already in the foreground. When the 'Apps' tab is selected, a list of all the applications installed on your device will be displayed. To hide the background when a certain app runs, simply uncheck the box next to its name in the list.
    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.

Where To Find Background Images
There are some sample FireViewer images at the Twilight Edge Sample Images Page. If you have custom images or a link you'd like to see displayed on the images page, please send in a file or URL.

Creating Your Own Backgrounds
Backdrop EZ reads images in the FireViewer format. There are several utilities listed below which will allow you to convert images from other popular graphics formats such as BMP, GIF, and JPEG.

Limitations
There are some limitations on the types of FireViewer images that Backdrop EZ can use for backgrounds:

Size: The preferred size for a background image is 160x160; Backdrop EZ won't read anything smaller or too much larger than this.

Depth: The image must be converted to 4-bit greyscale or less. Color images are not supported.

Compression: Backdrop EZ cannot read images converted with FireViewer's high compression. Please convert your images with standard or no compression.

Image Conversion Utilities
There are several utilities for converting images to FireViewer format:

On the Web: You can use FirePad's online image converter. Please make sure that the compression option is unchecked and you choose a color depth of 16-level grey or less.

On your Mac: You can use Lemke Software's Graphic Converter. To convert, select 'FireViewer PDB (*.PDB)' as the format from the 'Save As...' dialog. Verify that you're saving to the correct depth and compression type by pressing the 'Save As...' dialog's 'Options' button.

On your PC: You can use FirePad's FireConverter.

If you've created a custom background you'd like to share, please send in the image or its URL for posting on the sample images page.

Deleting Images
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).

Registering Backdrop EZ
    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. If you upgrade to a color device, your registration code will also work to unlock Backdrop GC for color devices.
    Backdrop EZ may be registered for $15.99 through our Web Store or by using PayPal. When purchasing, please make sure you include your correct, case-sensitive HotSync username, as this will be used to generate the registration code.
    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.

Known Incompatibilities/Bugs
    Backdrop EZ does not support a foreground depth greater than 1-bit. Applications that force the device into a deeper grey mode will temporarily disable the background until the 1-bit foreground mode is restored. (The Force Enabled Apps To B&W setting will allow the background to display behind some of these apps by preventing them from changing the screen mode).
    If an application or hack draws directly to the screen instead of using the Palm OS drawing APIs, Backdrop EZ will not properly update the foreground; Please notify support, as well as the author of the app or hack.

    The following software is known to have issues with Backdrop EZ:

- SilverScreen: Switches into a deeper grey mode which automatically disables the background.
Workaround: Use the Force Enabled Apps To B&W setting.

- Sony Clie's App Launcher & Address Book: Switches into a deeper grey mode which automatically disables the background.
Workaround: Use the Force Enabled Apps To B&W setting.

- 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, along with the following info:

- Device type
- Palm OS system version
- Amount of free memory
- List of apps installed (if possible)
- Special options (Springboard module, memory upgrade, etc.)

Version History
1.31 (03/27/02)
- Compatible with OS 4.1
- Supports FireConverter 6.0 (Standard or No compression only)

1.3 (09/11/01)
    - Redesigned UI
    - Added option to lock foreground to B&W mode for compatibility with some greyscale apps
    - Compatible with OS 4.0

1.25 (11/20/00)
- Compatible with OS 3.5
- Minor bug fixes

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 (now FireViewer) 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

Twilight Edge Software Contact Info

Twilight Edge Software Home Page
Software Support