PowerRun 1.2 question

[clieShadow]

some questions regarding PowerRun 1.2 though... id like to learn as much about it before installing it on my NX...

1) is PowerRun 1.2 compatible with Launcher X? i mean, since Launcher X is able to let you run apps from the card (by using "shortcuts") by first transferring apps to RAM; wouldnt this be in conflict with what PowerRun is supposed to do? wouldnt there be any incompatibilities, etc.?

2) though it is noted that PowerRun is incompatible with DocumentsToGo (ver 5.0), ive read that some have actually found a way out of this... i would really appreciate it anyone could verify what ive done with my NX in regard to this (before i install PowerRun)...
                   a.) first installed DocsToGo on my handheld
                   b.) using a file manager (McFile), i moved the main applications - WordView+, SheetsToGo to MS (.../palm/launchers directory); with DocsToGo remaining in RAM
                   c.) now whenever i open a file in the DocsToGo (which is in RAM), then the appropriate app (either WordView+ or SheetsToGo) would be called from the MS

                   * would this configuration then be compatible with PowerRun?

3) could i make PowerRun selective on what apps to move back and forth between RAM and MS? and let the others be handled by the built-in launcher of OS5?

thanks in advanced for any help regarding this matter...

:)

[applejosh]

1) PowerRun does not put stuff in the /Palm/Launcher directory. LancherX does. They kind of end up with the same result, but do so in different ways. LauncherX (and now native OS4+ launchers) can launch prc files out of the /palm/launcher directory. They do not put (usually) the data files in that directory. When yoiu launch the program, LauncherX copies the program over to RAM to run it. LauncherX shortcuts basically allow non-VFS aware programs (eg. most conduits) to access the program on the MS via this shortcut. PowerRun will copy the prc and all associated pdb files to a special directory under /palm/programs/powerrun. Each application that you move (using the PowerRun app) to the memory stick will have it's own directory under the one mentioned above. At run time, PowerRun copies all the files in that directory to RAM. When you exit the program, it copies them all back to the directory on the stick. A stub (similar to a LauncherX shortcut in functionality) is placed in RAM since the files are not copied over to the standard /palm/launcher directory. The stub is what you see in your launcher, and it calls PowerRun to load the corresponding app into memory for execution.

2) I don't use PowerRun for Docs To Go. I just copy the Wordview+ and SheetToGo prc's to the /palm/launcher directory. The documents prc remains in RAM and can handle the rest.

3) Yes. You have to specifically tell PowerRun which apps you want to run off the memory stick. It won't automatically copy everything over the stick for you. Some programs still don't work well off the memory card (eg. Life Balance cannot be sync'd when running of the memory car via PowerRun - not sure about the LauncherX shortcut method).

Cheers!

(Hopefully this was somewhat clear (and accurate). I'm tired, and I'm peeved at my hosting company because I haven't been able to reach anyone there in a couple of days.)

[clieShadow]

thank you very much for the reply... and now do i have an inkling of what everything means...
ive just installed powerrun, and used it to move WebProV (a much better browser), and NetFront (for me to read japanese web pages) to RAM... however, im still using the LauncherX's shortcut method for DocsToGo, and other apps that need conduits (like ShadowPlan)...
thanks again...

[euroclie]

Originally posted by joshsm
LauncherX shortcuts basically allow non-VFS aware programs (eg. most conduits) to access the program on the MS via this shortcut.
Basically, this is true, I just wanted to give further (technical) explanations:

Unless I'm mistaken, the "shortcut" feature of LauncherX does two things:

1) it contains a small routine that will fetch the application file from the memory card, and copy it to RAM, then launch it, and when you exit the program, it will move the application back to the memory card if needed.

2) since the "stub" has the same Creator ID and Type than the original application, it will allow the associated conduit to operate during hotsync.

I've not studied hotsync process in detail, but from what I could gather, during the hotsync, each conduit first checks (in the PDA RAM) the presence of the associated application (using its Creator ID and Type information), and if the application is present, then the conduit does something with the databases which are associated to the application.

If you copy the databases on the stick as well with PowerRun, chances are that even if it finds the stub in RAM, the conduit won't be able to get the database in PowerRun's directory, and nothing will actually happen (except maybe error messages) with that conduit...

Some apps & conduits are "clever" enough to handle databases which reside on the memory card, though, but usually only if they are in the application's dedicated directory, not in PowerRun' s directory.

This is the reason why moving apps+databases with PowerRun may prevent the conduit to work. Otherwise, if you move just the application with PowerRun it will sync allright, as PowerRun also creates a stub with the same Creator ID and Type than the original application).

If I remember correctly, if you move an application to the memory card using PowerRun, and then move the databases back in RAM using a file manager, then PowerRun will understand that it must NOT put those databases on the memory card when exiting the application...

That being said, joshsm's post is very clear, informative and well written! :D