Town Compass® DataViewer

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What is DataViewer?

DataViewer by Town Compass is an application that stores, retrieves and displays content stored in .pdb (Portable Database) files. It allows for convenient information retrieval through a table of contents, an index, and keyword search. In addition, navigation to this information uses a three-tier approach so information is quick and easy and never more than three levels deep.

Note:You receive the DataViewer program when you purchase an application from Total Compass. Full support for DataViewer is built into your PAC Mate.

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Installing DataViewer

The DataViewer engine and one sample database, Town Compass US Constitution, are included on the PAC Mate Documentation CD.

  1. Ensure that Active Sync is installed on your desktop computer, and that the PAC Mate is connected to your computer with either a standard or guest partnership.
  2. Insert the PAC Mate Documentation CD into your PC's CD-ROM drive.
  3. Use Windows Explorer to navigate to the Documentation CD and open the 3rd_Party_Programs folder.
  4. Navigate to and open the Town Compass DataViewer folder.
  5. Press ENTER when the file, _setup.exe is selected. This will begin the installation process and open the installation wizard.
  6. When asked what you want to install, choose both components, the Town Compass DataViewer engine and the US Constitution database.
  7. When the installation completes, you will find DataViewer in the Programs submenu of the Start Menu.

Note: If you purchase additional information databases from Town Compass, do not install the main DataViewer application again. Make sure that when you run the _setup.exe program that only the information database, i.e., the .pdb file, is selected.

Many of the large databases cannot fit into the available storage space on your PAC Mate. The following describes how to install an encyclopedia or other large database on a CompactFlash® card.

  1. Ensure that your PAC Mate is connected by means of ActiveSync to your PC.
  2. Insert a CompactFlash card with enough space to store the database file on your PAC Mate.
  3. Start _setup.exe, being sure to choose only the database file for installation.
  4. When the installation wizard prompts you to install to the default location, press the SPACEBAR to uncheck this option.
  5. In the dialog that appears when you press ENTER on the OK button, choose "Storage Card" or "Storage Card2," depending on which location you want to use.
  6. Press ENTER and the database file will be installed to the selected CompactFlash card.

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Using DataViewer

DataViewer is designed to take you from the general to the specific through a series of menus. When you open DataViewer, you will see the most general topics. Select a topic and press ENTER to go to a list of subtopics. At this point, make a selection and press ENTER to get to the most specific information.

If you have more than one database installed, press the LEFT ARROW key to switch from one to another. Depending on your location within a database, you may need to press the LEFT ARROW key more than once. You will see a list of installed databases. Select the one you want to open and press ENTER.

To perform a keyword search, press ALT to open the Menu Bar. Select Search and press ENTER. Type the word or phrase you want to search for and press ENTER.

To use a database's index, press ALT to open the menu, select Index, and press ENTER.

To move backward one level at a time in a database, press ALT to open the menu, select Back, and press ENTER. To return to the database's starting point, select Home on the menu and press ENTER.

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