System Options

This page discusses some system options available in the software to support different hardware configurations and different operating situations.
Hardware
 The basic system requires one or more Pocket PCs and a desktop or laptop PC. However, there is also a software module that allows the use of desktop, laptop, or tablet PCs instead of (or in addition to) the Pocket PCs. This module, called WnRCapture, operates the same as the PPC module and has the same features and options. It can be used, for example, to equip all the PCs in a wired or wireless network with Write-n-Record capability. Usually, one of the network PCs would be designated as the host for the system, although that capability could also be distributed among a number of computers on the network.
Communication
The complete system specification calls for both Bluetooth and WiFi capability to be available in all PPCs. With both, a wireless handheld barcode scanner can be used with the PPC, and completed sessions are automatically transferred at the end of the session to the host computer for archiving. However, all wireless can be eliminated with the following system restrictions:

Bluetooth: Without this, your only choice is to use a barcode adaptor installed in the expansion slot, or you must operate without barcode scanning at the PPC. The disadvantage of using an expansion-slot scanner is that the slot is used up, so it is not available for memory expansion, which is probably the more important use of the slot. The absence of scanning is provided for in the Setup dialog of Write-n-Record software on the PPC. In the no-scan mode, the PPC will automatically generate a unique session number for each session. The rest of the system will still operate normally, but you do not have the automatic coordination with handwritten notes provided by the barcode.

WiFi: This is the principal means of communicating session data to the host PC. Even when WiFi exists in the hardware, there is always the possibility that the PPC will be out of range of the host PC and communication is impossible anyway. The PPC software provides for the out-of range situation by offering a feature that transfers sessions to a storage card installed in the expansion slot. You can even set it up to always transfer to a storage card, which is how you must operate if you have no WiFi at all. With no WiFi, storage cards must be physically taken to the host PC. The PC software provides the ability to transfer sessions from a storage card, using a card adaptor in the PC.
If the case is that you are simply out of range, the PPC will keep the sessions in its own memory for transfer at a later time when you are in range. The need for transfer is remembered and the opportunity to transfer is available whenever you open the New Session dialog. The transfer dialog also gives you the choice between transferring to the host or to the local storage card. Of course, if you do not transfer, any new session will not have as much memory available for its recordings.
Storage
 Storage is complicated by the limited RAM memory of the PPC. The 64 MB RAM specification, which is common, allows at most one hour of sound recording. The section above on WiFi discussed the options that are available in Write-n-Record to handle the various situations you may get into. As you can see, the principal savior is the storage card option in the PPC. That is why it is desirable to not use up the expansion slot with anything else while using Write-n-Record.
With the SD slot type, which is most common to PPCs, you can have storage cards up to 512 MB (at this time; the number is likely to grow in the future). With a SD slot, card capacity can go up to 4 GB, although this is very expensive at this time (likely to come down in the future.)
Archiving
 Archiving is the process of permanently storing session data in a format where it can easily be retrieved. This is accomplished in the host PC by having one or more "Archive" directories that store session data. Each archive directory contains a database that holds data about each session in that archive. Sub-directories in the archive hold other data types, such as sound recordings, pictures, documents, etc.
Session retrieval is accomplished by searching the database with the session name (obtained by scanning the barcode on any sheet of the session's notepaper, for example), or searching on other fields of the session data, such as the date and time, client name, etc.
Individual archives can be backed up to other computer hard drives or CD-ROM. There are many uses for having multiple archives. For example, an archive can be closed before it reaches a size that would not fit on a single CD. You might want to set up separate archives for each of your users. Archives can be made "private", so they are accessible to only the designated user.
Digital Camera
 Adding photographs to a Write-n-Record session is an important feature to many users. There are several ways to do this. The most convenient way would be to add a digital camera adaptor to the PPC and have photos taken while a session is running go directly into the session and be transferred with the other data at the end of a session. Although we have studied this, we have chosen to not support it at this time. The reasons are:
  • A digital camera takes up the expansion slot, which is important for storage card use as explained above.
  • PPC digital cameras have low resolution, which would not be acceptable for many uses.
  • They place a substantial drain on the PPC's limited battery capacity.
  • If you are sound recording at the same time as picture-taking, the movement of the PPC required to point and focus the camera will add undesirable interference to the sound.

There are other ways to get pictures into a session, using any digital camera at any quality level. Pictures taken with a separate digital camera can be moved manually to the host PC and then inserted one at a time into the session using the Add Picture dialog of the Write-n-Record PC program. There is also a feature (under development) that will allow a batch of pictures taken during a session to be added all at once to the session by matching the time stamps on the pictures with the session time scale.
Another use for a digital camera, especially when barcodes are not used, is to photograph any written notes taken during the session and include them in the session as photographs.

Barcode

 Barcodes are an important element in the coordination between paper notes and computer data such as sound recordings and pictures. However, they don't have to be used to gain most of the other features of Write-n-Record. The key requirement is that session names must be unique. This applies whether they are represented as barcodes or they are simply automatically generated numbers. In both cases, Write-n-Record takes care of maintaining the necessary uniqueness. In the case of barcodes, you can print your own using the Print Barcode feature. This will print your notepaper with guaranteed unique numbering, operating the same as the automatic numbering option in the PPC software that you can use if you don't have a barcode scanner with the PPC. The computer simply generates a new sequential number for every instance of a session name.

With barcoded notepaper, there can still be a duplication if the same piece of notepaper is used more than once to begin a session. Since that step occurs on the PPC, which may or may not be in communication with the host PC, it is impractical to always check the uniqueness of names at the time of starting a new session on the PPC. What Write-n-Record does instead is to check session uniqueness when each session is transferred to the PC to be processed into the archive database. If a duplicate session comes in, it is not entered into the database but instead it is copied to a special "Repair" directory. Items in this directory can be fixed by renaming files with a unique session name before processing them through into the actual database and the file archives. A special routine will do that. (This routine is not yet implemented.)