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Jan 09, 2005

Graffiti 1 on Tapwave Zodiac

The Tapwave Zodiac is a very cool PalmOS handheld, but unfortunately for us old-school Palm users, it comes with the one and two-stroke Graffiti 2 handwriting input system, rather than the original elegant one-stroke Graffiti 1.

Fortunately, it is possible to add Graffiti 1 to the Zodiac. All of the HOWTO's I found on the net were a bit cryptic, so here's how I got it to work for me.

NOTE: I do not warranty this procedure at all. It worked for me, but might not work for you. I am not responsible for any problems or damage this may cause.

1. HotSync your Zodiac to ensure a current backup on your PC
2. Download and install the freeware PalmOS file management program FileZ to your Zodiac
3. Download the graffiti1.zip file from Zan's Stuff (thank you Zan for providing this!)
4. Unzip the graffiti1.zip file on your desktop. DO NOT FOLLOW ANY OF THE INSTRUCTIONS INCLUDED IN THE graffiti1.zip FILE!!!
5. We need to trick the Zodiac in to installing these files, so we'll disguise them as MP3s. Rename the files Graffiti_Library.PRC to Graffiti_Library.mp3 and Graffiti_Library_enUS.PRC to Graffiti_Library_enUS.mp3. DO NOT USE THE FILES THAT END IN .PDB!!! DO NOT INSTALL THE zboxz.prc APP!!!
6. Open the Palm Install Tool on your desktop
7. Drag the 2 newly named .mp3 files in to the Palm Install Tool (don't double-click them or you might launch a Media Player accidentally)
8. In the Palm Install Tool, click Change Destination
9. You'll see two columns in the Change Destination screen. On one side, in the drop down menu, choose Internal File System, and on the other choose Secure Digital (SD) Card
10. Move the 2 graffiti (.mp3) files from the SD Card to the Internal File System by selecting them and clicking the << or >> button.
11. HotSync now!
12. After HotSync'ing is complete, grab the Zodiac and find and launch the FileZ app
13. Select View and Edit Files and find the two graffiti (.mp3) files in the tree Internal > AUDIO
14. Select both files, open the FileZ menu bar and choose Copy…
15. Copy the files to the other Internal folder (the one that probably doesn't have submenus)
16. Open the other Internal folder and find the two files named Graffiti Library and Graffiti Library_enUS
17. Select the file Graffiti Library, tap the Details button, and make sure the Type is libr, Creator is grft. Change the Version ID to 525 and tap the Save button
18. Select the file Graffiti Library_enUS, tap the Details button, and make sure the Type is ovly, Creator is grft, and Version ID is greater than 2 (will likely be 3)
19. Soft-reset the Zodiac by inserting the stylus tip into the reset pinhole on the back of the Zodiac
20. Congrats! You now have Graffiti 1! Note that the ABC text entry box will likely not work, but the abc and 123 boxes will work fine

If something goes totally haywire, you'll need to do a hard-reset to restore the Zodiac to its original state. To do a hard-reset, hold down the Power Button, press the reset button (the one in the pinhole on the back), wait a second, then release the Power Button. A screen will ask if you want to erase all of your data (or something to that effect). Say yes. Your data should be restored the next time you do a HotSync, provided you did a HotSync before things went awry.

I recommened downloading and installing Graffiti Anywhere. Graffiti Anywhere allows you to use the full screen for Graffiti input, rather than just the abc or 123 input areas, and it works with many (if not most) PalmOS apps. On the Zodiac, this allows you to keep the virtual graffiti area closed, and have apps run in landscape by default.

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