Vehicle Manager For Windows Mobile

Transcription

1 Vehicle Manager for Windows Mobile And Windows Desktop User s Guide Copyright 2007 iambic, Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction, adaptation, or translation of this manual is prohibited without prior written permission of iambic, Inc., except as allowed under copyright laws. iambic is a registered trademark of iambic, Inc. All names of persons and companies contained herein are fictitious and have been designed solely for use in documenting iambic products. Document Version 1.00 USER S GUIDE 2007 iambic, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 1

2 Using Vehicle Manager on a Mobile Device Manual Overview Welcome. This guide describes iambic Vehicle Manager for Windows desktop, Windows Mobile Pocket Edition, and Windows Mobile Smartphone Edition devices. This first section covers running Vehicle Manager on mobile devices. Please see the second section for information about using the Windows desktop version. Windows Mobile or Windows Mobile Smartphone? Windows Mobile devices include Pocket PCs, Pocket PCs Phone Edition, and Smartphones. The most visible difference is touch-screen support. Pocket PC and Pocket PC Phone Edition devices have touch-screen, while Smartphone devices do not. Pocket PC phone devices may have a thumb-pad keyboard, but the presence of a touch-screen and stylus indicates that they can run our Windows Mobile Pocket PC version. Windows Mobile devices can also be known as Windows Mobile Professional devices. All Smartphones have phone capabilities. They typically come with a smaller set of built-in applications, but you can add applications such as iambic Vehicle Manager to them. Some Smartphones come with small thumb-pad-type keyboards, and some have the twelve phone-style buttons. Again, a defining characteristic of Smartphones is the absence of a touch-screen and stylus. For all three types of devices, Vehicle Manager requires Windows Mobile 5 or later. Vehicle Manager also supports landscape screen orientations on devices that have this configuration. Most of the features described in this User s Guide will be common to both platforms, but when a difference exists between the versions, it will be noted. Types of Installation iambic offers two types of installers for Vehicle Manager for both Pocket PC and Smartphone devices: a Windows Desktop Installer and a.cab installer. The Windows Desktop Installers are labeled Desktop PC Setup on the download pages on our website. The Windows Installer is a program that you download to your PC and run to install the application on the device. This installer runs ActiveSync during the installation process and may be most familiar to Pocket PC users. The.cab installers do not require ActiveSync, but they do require some method of getting the.cab file onto the device. On our website, the.cab installer is labeled Mobile Ready Setup. A.cab installation involves copying the.cab file to memory or the storage card, finding it in File Explorer on the device, and doing a center press of the directional-pad to start the installer. The link to download the.cab installers can also be sent as an SMS message or as an . In each case, the process of finding the.cab file and center-pressing it to start the installer applies. USER S GUIDE 2007 iambic, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 2

3 Demo and Activation Codes When you first install Vehicle Manager on your mobile device, you will be able to run it for three days before you will need to enter a demo or activation code. A demo code extends the trial period, while an activation code permanently enables Vehicle Manger on your mobile companion. If you downloaded the program under the Download Trial link at our website, a demo code was ed to you. This code may be entered in the About screen to start a full-featured trial of the program. Please note that if the trial ends before you decide to purchase Vehicle Manager, your data is still preserved. You will not lose any of the information previously entered into the program. Integration with iambic Vehicle Manager for Windows Although Vehicle Manager for Windows Mobile is entirely usable when installed on just the handheld, if you decide to also purchase Vehicle Manager for Windows, Vehicle Manager s data and updates will synchronize between the handheld and Windows applications. Vehicle Manager for Windows adds a reporting capability it can sort, filter, and export your data to Excel spreadsheet format. Also, special bundle pricing for both applications is available on our website. For more information about the Windows desktop version, please see the second part of this User s Guide. USER S GUIDE 2007 iambic, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 3

4 Getting Started The real value of Vehicle Manager is apparent after you have used the program for some time and have accumulated some history about your car. The first step is to enter the details about the vehicles that you will track. Setting up Your First Vehicle At first run, the Pocket PC version will ask you if you wish to create a new database file in which the program will keep your vehicle information or use an existing one. The Smartphone version will not ask this, but will create the database automatically in your My Documents folder on the device. A good second step is to set preferences for distance and volume. This is done by selecting Menu : Options. After doing this, the program will display There are no items in this list. This is normal. Then add your first vehicle to the program by selecting New : Vehicle. The screens are slightly different on the Pocket PC and Smartphone versions. Here s the New Vehicle screen on a Pocket PC device. Use the tabs below the entry field to navigate between the different entry pages. If you do not have access to all the information, don t worry. You can come back later and enter any missing items. The Smartphone screen is similar, but is labeled Vehicle Properties. The vehicle Details, Insurance, Dealer, and Notes entry fields are all on the same page. Scroll down using the D-pad to find the other fields. If a rightward-pointing arrow is present, you may also press the center button of the D-pad to go to a full screen editor. USER S GUIDE 2007 iambic, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 4

5 When you ve entered the basic information about your vehicles, you can start to use the program to manage your vehicles. Here s what the start-up screen looks like on a Smartphone after some vehicles have been added. The Pocket PC screen is very similar. Entering Different Types of Information Vehicle Manager allows you to record vehicle expenses, fuel entries, repair and maintenance cost, track business and personal mileage, and set handy reminders for when maintenance is due to be performed. Creating Fuel Entries To create a fuel entry, select the desired vehicle on the start-up screen and then select New : Fuel Entry. You can record fuel quantity, cost, total cost, and specify the fuel vendor. You may also optionally create a note about the refueling event to append to the entry. On the Pocket PC, a prefilled drop list of some common vendors is available. You can tap the field to add more. On Smartphones, select the Vendor field and then press Menu : Select Vendor to get the prefilled list, or simply enter your desired vendor name directly into the field. In both the Pocket PC and Smartphone versions, expense amounts entered here are factored into Quick Statistics calculations. If you are using Vehicle Manager on a Smartphone with a numeric keypad rather than a QWERTY thumb pad, you may be wondering how to enter a decimal point. (The program automatically changes the input mode to numeric when the focus is on a numeric field.) To enter a decimal point, press and hold the # (pound) key for about two seconds and then select the decimal symbol from the popup dialog. On Smartphones with QWERTY keyboards, it may be necessary to press and hold the function key while selecting the letter button that has the period or decimal point as an alternate character. USER S GUIDE 2007 iambic, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 5

6 Calculating Fuel Economy Vehicle Manager calculates fuel economy by dividing the distance traveled by the amount of fuel that you report using when you fill up. You may wonder if the program may benefit from having some sort of flag to set to indicate the fueling was to the top-off point rather than a partial fill. Actually, this is not required. The program does not care about the size of your car s fuel tank, but for consistency, it s a good idea to always fill up, particularly if you are tracking mileage expenses. Let s look at an example. Let's assume that on June 1st your odometer was at 20,000 and you had 10 gallons of fuel in the tank. Vehicle Manager does not yet have enough information to calculate your fuel economy because no fuel has been consumed. On June 5, your odometer is 20,100 and you fill up with 5 gallons. Vehicle Manager will figure that you used up 5 gallons to travel 100 miles, and thus your fuel economy is 20 miles per gallon (100 divided by 5). Creating Maintenance or Repair Entries To record a repair or scheduled maintenance done on your vehicle, select New : Repair or Maintenance. The Description field on the Pocket PC version contains some pre-filled common events, and you can tap to add more. In the Smartphone version, choose Menu : Select Descriptions to get to the Repairs and Maintenance pre-filled list of common events, or enter your own description in the Notes field. Expense amounts entered here are also available in the Quick Statistics calculations. Creating Trip Records Trip records are an important part of vehicle use, particularly if you are being reimbursed for business mileage. Vehicle Manager makes keeping track of trip expenses easy. To the left is the Smartphone screen, and to the right is the Pocket PC screen. USER S GUIDE 2007 iambic, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 6

7 The Category field, which is on the main screen on the Smartphone and on the Expense tab on the Pocket PC version, allows you to specify business or personal use for the trip. The various views in the main display pane for each vehicle can be sorted by this category. Mileage Rate in the Expense section refers to the per mile or per kilometer rate you want to use as an expense for the trip. For example, if you were being reimbursed or could deduct $0.35 per mile, it would be entered in the Mileage Rate field and then total expense would be generated when you enter the distance and select Calc. Entering Service Reminders A handy feature of Vehicle Manager on handhelds is that it keeps track of total mileage entries for each vehicle and can display user specified reminders at a certain mileage or on a certain date (whichever comes first). USER S GUIDE 2007 iambic, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 7

8 Using Main View Features After you have collected your data for a particular car, Vehicle Manager provides many different ways to sort and view that data on the main screen for each vehicle. Filtering Searches First, what do you want to view? If you would like to start by looking at your fuel costs, maintenance and repairs, trips, or other expenses, you can choose one type of entry as a search filter by selecting Menu View Entry Type. Setting Sort Order Next, how do you want to order it? You can sort or rearrange entries displayed in your main view. Your sorting preferences are remembered until you change them and are restored each time the program is restarted. Quick Statistics Menu Quick Stats from the main view for a particular vehicle takes you to the Quick Statistics screen. Also included are Total Fuel Expense, Fuel Consumption Rate, and Cost of Ownership. These are computed on the fly at the time the statistics are generated. USER S GUIDE 2007 iambic, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 8

9 Using Vehicle Manager on a Windows Desktop PC Vehicle Manager for Windows is a perfect complement to Vehicle Manager running on a Windows Mobile handheld. It is also useful by itself, particularly if you carry a laptop when you travel. This portion of the manual will help you install Vehicle Manager on your PC and optionally set up automatic data synchronization with your mobile device. Installing Vehicle Manager Vehicle Manager for Windows is available as a Windows Installer. It can be obtained by going to the product page on the iambic website and clicking on the Download link. If you fill in your address and then some basic information, the iambic server will send you a demo activation code to enable a full-featured trial. We suggest that you save the installer file to your Windows desktop. Once the download completes, make sure that all mobile devices are disconnected, and then double-click the file to start the installer. Follow the prompts to install the program. A note about installing under Windows Vista: if your version of Vista does not have the Windows Mobile Device Center application, you may want to find it at the Microsoft website and download it before installing Vehicle Manager for Windows. Although Active Sync Providers setup in Vista, as in previous versions of Windows, is automatic, the Device Center is the only visible access to the Vehicle Manager conduit (and other conduits) that Windows Vista provides. The following dialog box is presented when you first run the program on your PC. Please make sure that Create a new database file is selected and then click OK. USER S GUIDE 2007 iambic, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 9

10 You will then be asked to select a location to store your Vehicle Manager s database file. This is the single file in which all your vehicle s information is stored. We suggest that you select a location that is easy to remember and backup. By default, the program suggests creating the My Vehicles.dat file in your My Documents folder. You are free to rename this file to anything you want, but if wish to sync Vehicle Manager with you handheld, you should keep the default file name. You will now need to set your preferred units for distance and volume. Please click Tools : Options and make the appropriate selections. Please note that the units should not be changed once data has been entered in the program. Therefore, it is very important to make the correct selections now. At first run, the program will display several empty lists, as pictured above. This is normal, as you have not yet entered any vehicles or data. Do you already have vehicle data on your mobile device? If so, you can exit Vehicle Manager now and then sync your mobile device. (As a general rule, data flows from and to one device to USER S GUIDE 2007 iambic, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 10

11 another, but this only happens during sync. Please disconnect your mobile device before starting Vehicle Manager on your desktop.) A note for wireless users: since this the first time we are syncing Vehicle Manager, the device must be physically connected to the desktop by USB or serial port. If you connect using a WiFi or Bluetooth network connection, Vehicle Manager s status in ActiveSync will show Attention Required and you will be unable to set up synchronization at this time. ActiveSync may also present this dialog: The most appropriate choice is usually Replace the items on my device with the items on this computer. However, if you ve been using Vehicle Manager on your mobile device for some time and Vehicle Manager for Windows is empty of data, you can select Combine the items on my device with the items on this computer. You are now ready to start using Vehicle Manager on your Windows or Windows Vista PC. Did you sync to an existing Vehicle Manager database on your mobile device? If so, start Vehicle Manager and you should see your vehicles and other data already imported. USER S GUIDE 2007 iambic, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 11

12 Setting up Your First Vehicle If this is a new installation and you don t have a handheld device, or you don t have vehicles and other data recorded in Vehicle Manager on a handheld, the next step is to select File : New : Vehicle and enter your first vehicle. The Vehicle Properties dialog has four panes that look like this: If you do not have all the requested information at this time, don t worry. Just provide what you can at this time you can come back later and add more information. If you have a particular photo or picture that you would like displayed in Vehicle Manager (Windows version only), you can click the symbol and select the picture. USER S GUIDE 2007 iambic, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 12

13 Entering Different Types of Information Vehicle Manager for Windows allows you to record vehicle expenses, fuel entries, repair and maintenance cost, track business and personal mileage, and set handy reminders for when maintenance is due to be performed. This is done through a set of dialogs accessible as icons in the Vehicle Manager s toolbar. Creating a Fuel Entry To create a fuel entry, select the desired vehicle on the start-up screen and then select New : Fuel Entry. You can record fuel quantity, cost, total cost, and specify the fuel vendor. You may also optionally create a note about the refueling event to append to the entry. A prefilled drop list of some common vendors is available under the down arrow. You can also edit this list to add or remove vendors by clicking to bring up the Edit dialog. Clicking the Calc button makes the program compute the total cost of the purchase by multiplying gallons times costs per gallon. If you have the receipt, of course, you can simply enter the total cost yourself. USER S GUIDE 2007 iambic, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 13

14 Creating a Maintenance or Repair Entry To create a maintenance or repair entry, select the desired vehicle on the main program screen and then click the wrench icon or select File : New : Repair or Maintenance. The Other Expense dialog, accessible by clicking the envelop icon or selecting File : New : Other Expense is very similar to the Maintenance or Repair dialog. Towing would be an example of an Other Expense event. Creating a Maintenance Reminder A handy feature of Vehicle Manager is that it keeps track of total mileage entries for each vehicle and can display user specified reminders at a certain mileage or on a certain date (whichever comes first). Reminders are set up by clicking the calendar icon in the toolbar or selecting File : New : Reminder. Creating a Trip Entry Trip records are an important part of vehicle use, particularly if you are being reimbursed for business mileage. Vehicle Manager makes keeping track of trip expenses easy. USER S GUIDE 2007 iambic, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 14

15 To create a trip record, first select the desired vehicle and then click the clock icon or select File : New : Trip The resulting dialog has three panes. Mileage Rate in the Expense section refers to the per mile or per kilometer rate you want to use as an expense for the trip. For example, if you were being reimbursed or could deduct $0.36 per mile, it would be entered in the Mileage Rate field and then the total expense for the trip would be generated when you enter the distance and select Calc. The Category: field on the Expense tab allows you to specify business or personal use for the trip. Category is also a filter category, and when used to sort, is handy when you want to export your data to Microsoft Excel and sort by business and personal use. USER S GUIDE 2007 iambic, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 15

16 Using Main View Features After you have collected your data for a particular car, Vehicle Manager provides many different ways to sort and view that data on the main screen for each vehicle. Quick Statistics Always available on the main screen view, Quick Statistics are updated on the fly as you make fuel, trip, expense, and odometer entries. Filtering and Sorting Filtering and Sorting options are available through the View menu. There you can filter what the main list will display by date or date range and/or by type of event. Tapping Date, Description, Odometer, or Amount at the top of the list columns will sort the list by those particular criteria. Exporting to Excel If you select the green arrow icon in the toolbar or click Tools : Export to Excel, the default application on your PC that handles spreadsheets should be launched. The resulting spreadsheet will contain all the fields that have been tracked for the selected vehicle. These include, in order, Date, Type, Odometer, Vendor, Description, Fuel Qty, Fuel Price, Start Odometer, End Odometer, Category, and Notes. Sorting the sheet by the Category field will allow you to list all the business and pleasure use of the vehicle. USER S GUIDE 2007 iambic, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 16

17 Advanced Export to Excel Options The advanced export to Excel options dialog is found under Tools : Options : Excel Export Settings If these settings appear to be Greek to you, you probably don t need to change them! However, if you are an expert user of your spreadsheet program, you can make any customizations of the formatting that you like here. And if you fall somewhere in between, you can click the links at the bottom of the dialog to go a page at Microsoft s website that explains these options. USER S GUIDE 2007 iambic, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 17

18 Additional Product Information and Support Options Looking for additional information or usage tips? Please find below a number of pointers to online resources which will allow you to get the most out Vehicle Manager: - Knowledge Base: - Users Community: - Upgrade to the latest version: Should you run into technical problems whose solution is unavailable through the online resources mentioned above, we welcome you to get in touch with our Technical Support Department by visiting: and clicking on the Submit Ticket link Thank you for using Vehicle Manager! We look forward to your feedback and suggestions! About iambic, Inc. iambic is a leading provider of innovative productivity-enhancing software applications that help individuals and business organizations everywhere save time, manage their activities more effectively and get the most out of their handheld computers (smartphones and PDAs). The company s product line includes the award-winning, fully integrated, personal information manager Agendus Professional, Agendus for Windows, Agendus Mail and YourCall. Founded in 1994, iambic is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California. More information is available at USER S GUIDE 2007 iambic, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 18

19 iambic Software License PLEASE READ THIS LICENSE CAREFULLY BEFORE USING THE SOFTWARE. BY USING THE SOFTWARE, YOU ARE AGREEING TO BE BOUND BY THE TERMS OF THIS LICENSE. IF YOU DO NOT AGREE TO THE TERMS OF THIS LICENSE, PROMPTLY RETURN THE PRODUCT TO THE PLACE WHERE YOU OBTAINED IT AND YOUR MONEY WILL BE REFUNDED. 1. License. The application, demonstration, system, and other software accompanying this License, whether on disk, in read only memory, or on any other media (the Software ), the related documentation and fonts are licensed to you by iambic, Inc. You own the media on which the Software and fonts are recorded but iambic Software and/or iambic Software Licensor(s) retain title to the Software, related documentation and fonts. This License allows you to use the Software and fonts on a single handheld computer Product (which, for purposes of this License, shall mean a Palm OS based handheld), and make one copy of the Software and fonts in machine-readable form for backup purposes only. You must reproduce on such copy the iambic Software copyright notice and any other proprietary legends that were on the original copy of the Software and fonts. You may also transfer all your license rights in the Software and fonts, the backup copy of the Software and fonts, the related documentation and a copy of this License to another party, provided the other party reads and agrees to accept the terms and conditions of this License. 2. Restrictions. The Software contains copyrighted material, trade secrets and other proprietary material and in order to protect them you may not de-compile, reverse engineer, disassemble or otherwise reduce the Software to a human-readable form. You may not modify, network, rent, lease, loan, distribute or create derivative works based upon the Software in whole or in part. You may not electronically transmit the Software from one device to another over a network. 3. Termination. This License is effective until terminated. You may terminate this License at any time by destroying the Software and related documentation and fonts. This License will terminate immediately without notice from iambic Software if you fail to comply with any provision of this License. Upon termination you must destroy the Software, related documentation and fonts. 4. Export Law Assurances. You agree and certify that neither the Software nor any other technical data received from iambic Software, nor the direct product thereof, will be exported outside the United States except as authorized and as permitted by the laws and regulations of the United States. If the Software has been rightfully obtained by you outside the United States, you agree that you will not re-export the Software nor any other technical data received from iambic Software, nor the direct product thereof, except as permitted by the laws and regulations of the United States and the laws and regulations of the jurisdiction in which you obtained the Software. 5. Government End Users. If you are acquiring the Software and fonts on behalf of any unit or agency of the United States Government, the following provisions apply. The Government agrees: (i) if the Software and fonts are supplied to the Department of Defense (DoD), the Software and fonts are classified as Commercial Computer Software and the Government is acquiring only restricted rights in the Software, its documentation and fonts as that term is defined in Clause (c)(1) of the DFARS; and (ii) if the Software and fonts are supplied to any unit or agency of the United States Government other than DoD, the Government s rights in the Software, its documentation and fonts will be as defined in Clause (c)(2) of the FAR or, in the case of NASA, in Clause (d) of the NASA Supplement to the FAR. 6. Disclaimer of Warranty on Software. You expressly acknowledge and agree that use of the Software and fonts is at your sole risk. The Software, related documentation and fonts are provided AS IS and without warranty of any kind and iambic Software and iambic Software s Licensor(s) (for the purposes of provisions 6 and 7, iambic Software and iambic Software s Licensor(s) shall be collectively referred to as iambic Software EXPRESSLY USER S GUIDE 2007 iambic, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 19

20 DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. IAMBIC SOFTWARE DOES NOT WARRANT THAT THE FUNCTIONS CONTAINED IN THE SOFTWARE WILL MEET YOUR REQUIREMENTS, OR THAT THE OPERATION OF THE SOFTWARE WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED OR ERROR-FREE, OR THAT DEFECTS IN THE SOFTWARE AND THE FONTS WILL BE CORRECTED. FURTHERMORE, IAMBIC SOFTWARE DOES NOT WARRANT OR MAKE ANY REPRESENTATIONS REGARDING THE USE OR THE RESULT OF THE USE OF THE SOFTWARE AND FONTS OR RELATED DOCUMENTATION IN TERMS OF THEIR CORRECTNESS, ACCURACY, RELIABILITY, OR OTHERWISE. NO ORAL OR WRITTEN INFORMATION OR ADVICE GIVEN BY IAMBIC SOFTWARE OR AN IAMBIC SOFTWARE AUTHORIZED REPRESENTATIVE SHALL CREATE A WARRANTY OR ANYWAY INCREASE THE SCOPE OF THIS WARRANTY. SHOULD THE SOFTWARE PROVE DEFECTIVE, YOU (AND NOT IAMBIC SOFTWARE OR AN IAMBIC SOFTWARE AUTHORIZED REPRESENTATIVE) ASSUME THE ENTIRE COST OF ALL NECESSARY SERVICING, REPAIR OR CORRECTION. SOME JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OF IMPLIED WARRANTIES, SO THE ABOVE EXCLUSION MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU. 7. Limitation of Liability. UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE, SHALL IAMBIC SOFTWARE BE LIABLE FOR ANY INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES THAT RESULT FROM THE USE OR INABILITY TO USE THE SOFTWARE OR RELATED DOCUMENTATION, EVEN IF IAMBIC SOFTWARE OR AN IAMBIC SOFTWARE AUTHORIZED REPRESENTATIVE HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. SOME JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW THE LIMITATION OR EXCLUSION OF LIABILITY FOR INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES SO THE ABOVE LIMITATION OR EXCLUSION MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU. In no event shall iambic Software s total liability to you for all damages, losses, and causes of action (whether in contract, tort (including negligence) or otherwise) exceed the amount paid by you for the Software and fonts. 8. Controlling Law and Severability. This License shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the United States and the State of California, as applied to agreements entered into and to be performed entirely within California between California residents. If for any reason a court of competent jurisdiction finds any provision of this License, or portion thereof, to be unenforceable, that provision of the License shall be enforced to the maximum extent permissible so as to effect the intent of the parties, and the remainder of this License shall continue in full force and effect. 9. Complete Agreement. This License constitutes the entire agreement between the parties with respect to the use of the Software, related documentation and fonts, and supersedes all prior or contemporaneous understandings or agreements, written or oral, regarding such subject matter. No amendment to or modification of this License will be binding unless in writing and signed by a duly authorized representative of iambic Software. USER S GUIDE 2007 iambic, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 20