Introduction
Key Features
Licence
Usage
Troubleshooting
Tips
History
Contact

 

 

User's Guide

 

 
Introduction

VNC is a family of servers and clients that provide remote access to your Windows, Mac, or UNIX workstation over any TCP/IP connection such as an Internet connection. (For more information on VNC, see the VNC homepage.)

PalmVNC is the VNC client for the Palm OS® platform. It was originally written by Vladimir Minenko, providing black-and-white access to your PC from the original Palm Pilot platforms (Palm OS® versions 1.0 to 3.1). Harakan Software later took over the development of the program, to exploit the functionality of newer Palm models such as the Palm IIIc and Palm V series. (For more information, see the PalmVNC homepage.)

PalmVNC 2.0 is the latest evolution of PalmVNC. It adds support for the improved screen resolutions of the latest models from Sony and Palm™, and Palm OS® 5 compatibility.

Key Features
  • Ultra-thin client, uses only a few Kb of RAM.
  • VNC servers available for a wide variety of platforms
  • High resolution display on Palm OS® 5 and Sony Clié™ devices
  • Compatible with the virtual silkscreen of Sony NR and NX series for a display area of up to 320x450!
  • Desktop displayed in 256 colors on color devices, in greyscale on B&W devices
  • Supports server-side scaling to reduce bandwidth (*)
  • Full source code available under GNU GPL.
(*) Requires a VNC server with server-side scaling extensions


The following Palm OS® platforms and resolutions are supported:

Device Screen resolution Color depth API used

Sony Clié™NX series

320x450 or 320x320
(supports silkscreen minimizing)
256 colors Palm OS® 5 high density API
+ Sony silk screen API
Other devices with Palm OS® 5 and later 320x320 256 colors Palm OS® 5 high density API

Sony Clié™ NR series

320x450 or 320x320
(supports silkscreen minimizing)
256 colors

Sony high resolution API
+ Sony silkscreen API

Sony Clié™ N, T and SJ series

320x320 256 colors Sony high resolution API
Other color devices 160x160 256 colors Legacy API + direct screen access
Other devices with Palm OS® 3.5 and later 160x160 16 greys Legacy API + direct screen access
Other devices 160x160 4 greys Legacy API + direct screen access

 

Licence

PalmVNC 2.0 is distributed under the terms of the GNU General Public Licence (GPL). The full terms of this licence can be found here.

Basically, the GPL entitles you to use the software free of charge, to have access to its source code, and to make any further developments based on this source code, provided that the results are also distributed under the terms of the GPL.

However, if you use PalmVNC 2.0 and find it useful, you are kindly asked to register for a small fee.

  • to show your appreciation and support
  • to receive e-mail notification of updates
  • to get e-mail support

Usage

Connecting to a Server

To connect to a server, click the menu button (the lower left button on the silkscreen area, or the equivalent key if you have a keyboard) and then select Connect... from the Server menu.

If it is the first time you use PalmVNC, the Connection Properties will open, otherwise the list of available connections will be displayed.

To configure a connection, you must provide the following information:

  • Name: the name displayed in the list
  • Server address: the host name or IP address of the target server
  • Display: the display (screen) number. Usually 0 for a WinVNC server, 1 for a UNIX server.
  • Server password: press the button to set the password to use for this connection. If you don't provide a password here, you will be prompted for a password each time you connect to this server.

By clicking on the Advanced button, you can access advanced properties:

  • Begin at X, Y: the initial coordinates of the top left corner of the PalmVNC window
  • Scale: the default scale factor. Values other than 1 require the server to support server-side scaling.
  • NT user name / password: used for the NT Login function in the Send menu.
  • Base port: the base port used for network connection. Note that the actual port used is the base port + the screen number.
  • Enable desktop sharing: allows more than 1 VNC client to connect to the server.

To connect, select the connection you want to use, the press the Connect button.

When you have finished, use Disconnect to stop the VNC session, or Hang Up to stop the session and disconnect the modem.

Panning / Scaling

Once you have connected to the server, you will be able to see a portion of the desktop. To see more of the desktop, use the stylus to drag the black scoller box along the horizontal or vertical scrollbar.

You can also use the following buttons:

Button/Key Function
Scroll up Pan up
Scroll down Pan down
Button 3 (ToDo) Pan left
Button 4 (Memo) Pan right

Use the View menu to scale the desktop. This requires a VNC server that supports the scaling extensions (see the FAQ).

When using the Whole Desktop scale, tapping on the screen will zoom in on that point.

Mouse / Cursor Control

The stylus works like the left mouse button. Tap the stylus on the screen to single click. You can also double-click by tapping twice in rapid succession, or drag the stylus across the screen.

Pressing the PhoneBook button (button 2) will cause the stylus to act as the right mouse button. Press the DateBook button (button 1) for the middle mouse button.

Button/Key Function
Button 1 (DateBook) Simulate middle mouse button
Button 2 (PhoneBook) Simulate right mouse button

Note: it may be necessary to wait a few seconds after using the stylus before the screen is updated.

Text Entry

The Graffiti area may be used to enter text in the normal way, including the shift and shift-lock strokes. No shift state icon will be shown on the screen.

If you have a keyboard, you should be able to use it as well.

Special Functions

The Send menu allows certain special functions to be performed.

  • Palm Clipboard will transfer the contents of the Palm clipboard into the server's clipboard buffer.
  • Ctrl-Alt-Del will send the 'three key salute' to the server. This is only supported for Windows NT servers running WinVNC as a service.
  • Alt-F4 can be used to close applications running on Windows servers.
  • NT login will send the username and password specified in the Preferences dialog to the server. Logout, lock and reboot will perform the appropriate function on the server. You should send Ctrl-Alt-Del before using these commands. NOTE: this will only work on English-language versions of Windows NT
Special Keys

The "Special Keys" keyboard is a pop-up keyboard that will remain in the bottom-left of the screen, and allows keyboard controls to be used that are otherwise unavailable on the Palm. To show the "Special Keys" keyboard, either use Special Keys on the View menu or tap the "abc" or "123" dots on the Graffiti area. Repeating this will hide the keyboard again.

The special keys work as follows:

  • ESC: This is the "Escape" key on a normal keyboard. Tapping this button will send the Escape keycode to the remote server immediately.
  • SHIFT/CTRL/ALT: These keys simulate the shift, control, and alt keys. A single tap will depress the key, and it will remain latched until the key is tapped again. NOTE: The shift key will NOT modify numbers or punctuation characters, as these vary depending upon the keyboard layout used. Lower-case letters will be converted into upper-case, however.
  • FN: This key behaves in a similar manner to the SHIFT/CTRL/ALT keys. However, when this key is pressed, writing the numbers 1 through 0 on the Graffiti area will send the function keys (F1 through F10) to the remote server.

All special keys will automatically be disabled when the keyboard is hidden, and re-enabled when the keyboard is shown again.

 

Troubleshooting

Connection problems

Symptom Cause Resolution
Can't connect to server, error message: "Cannot resolve <hostname>" The hostname you typed cannot be mapped to an IP address (DNS error)

Make sure that you did not mistype the hostname.
Make sure that the DNS servers are set correctly in your network configuration

Can't connect to server, error message: "Unable to connect to <hostname>:<port>" The target host does not exist or can not be reached

You can try to "ping" the target host to see if it can be reached:

  • Activate your network connection
  • Menu Server / Network prefs
  • Menu Options / View log
  • Enter "ping <hostname> <CR>" where <hostname> is the target host name, and <CR> is a carriage return (stylus stroke from top right to bottom left
There is no VNC server running on the target host

Make sure a VNC server is installed and running on the target host.
Make sure you use the correct display number (normally 0 for a WinVNC server)

The target host is behind a firewall that blocks traffic on the specified port.
This could be the case if you're trying to connect through an internet connection over GSM/GPRS.
Configure the firewall so that it allows incoming traffic on port 5900/TCP to the target host.
If you don't have control over the firewall settings, see below.

Try to use a different port number than the default (5900).
Usually port 80 is a good choice (if you are not already running a web server on the target host) because it's normally used for HTTP, and so it will most probably not be blocked by your network operator.

  • On the client, in the advanced connection properties, change the port number to 80.
  • On the WinVNC server, you need to use regedit to manually edit or add some values under HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\ORL\WinVNC3:
    • AutoPort: 0
    • PortNumber: 80 (decimal)

 

Usage problems

Symptom Cause Resolution
When I try to set the scale to anything but 1:1, I get a "Connection Lost!" message The server you are using does not support server-side scaling.

You need to upgrade your server to one that includes server-side scaling, such as the Ultr@VNC server included in the binary distribution of Palm VNC 2.0.
Some clients support client-side scaling. The fact that these clients may work with your server does not indicate that the server has scaling extensions.

The screen looks garbled (using a scale other than 1:1) The most likely explanation is that your desktop is set to 256 colours. The scaling extensions assume that the desktop is in 15-bit colour or higher. Set your desktop to a higher colour depth to correct this problem.
PalmVNC is slow The network bandwitdh (connection speed) is too low Use a faster connection. If you're using a GSM data connection, consider switching to GPRS.
The image being transmitted is too complex

Reduce the complexity of the display. The following hints will help to achieve this (in approximate order of effectiveness):

  • Use a solid colour for your backdrop. Images or patterns on your desktop slow down PalmVNC dramatically.
  • Keep unused windows minimised. This will reduce the amount of "background clutter" that has to be transmitted when scrolling.
  • Turn off "Smooth edges of screen fonts". Font smoothing has no beneficial effect when viewing your desktop through PalmVNC. In addition, font smoothing will reduce the readability of the screen when using the scaling extensions.
  • Set your titlebars to a single colour (Windows 98/2000 only).
  • Turn off "Show icons using all possible colors".
  • Turn off all effect for menus and lists
I need to pan around too much Desktop resolution is too high The best settings to use for the desktop is 800x600 and 32-bit colour. This will give you a reasonable panning area and optimal server-side scaling performance.

 

Tips

My server does not have a fixed IP address; how do I set up VNC to access it?

This is typical with DSL connections, where you get a different IP address each time you connect. The best way to work around this is to subscribe to a dynamic IP publishing service. Many of them have a free basic service.

  1. Register for the IP publishing service; you will be asked to choose a hostname for your PC (within predefined top-level domains).
  2. Download and install the appropriate updater software from the IP publishing service web site. It's a small utility that will run in the background, and update the published IP address associated to your hostname whenever it changes.
  3. Configure PalmVNC to use the hostname you chose at step 1 in the "Server address" field of the connection properties. The hostname will be dynamically resolved at connection-time to the current IP address of your server.

Some sites that offer such service are:

History
  • July 2003 - PalmVNC 2.0.2 is now bundled with state-of-the-art Ultr@VNC server
  • December 2002 - PalmVNC 2.0 adds support for high-resolution and Palm OS 5
  • January 2001 - PalmVNC 1.40 released, adding improved performance and conenction handling, multiple server support, and a full installation package.
  • July 2000 - PalmVNC 1.3f released, adding enhanced keyboard control and navigation, and various bug fixes.
  • January 2000 - Harakan Software began development of PalmVNC 1.3 to support 16-shade greyscale.
  • 1998 - Vladimir Minenko released PalmVNC 1.1

 

Contact

Questions, comments, feedback: olivier@palmattitude.org

 
 


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