Release Notes for Android Version 0.8.034
VERSION 0.8.034 (2021-08-26)
Includes fixes for:
- Restoration of StyleTap ability to install and export Palm applications and databases using directories outside of the StyleTap installation environment.
The directories created are now at
/Android/data/com.StyleTap.StyleTap/files/com.StyleTap.StyleTap/import
/Android/data/com.StyleTap.StyleTap/files/com.StyleTap.StyleTap/exportThis means that StyleTap can export databases for backup, and the Windows-based StyleTap Application Installer can be used to add Palm applications and databases to the device without using StyleTap Web Tools.
NOTE: It is unclear whether this is a temporary capability added for backwards capability that might then disappear in the future, or if it is a permanent update.
Release Notes for Android Version 0.8.033
VERSION 0.8.033 (2021-03-15)
Includes fixes for:
- Workaround for blank screen after Android 10/11 updates.
Android 11 (and apparently some manufacturers' implementations of Android 10) remove the ability for StyleTap to create directories outside of the StyleTap installation environment. This means that StyleTap can no longer create the /Android/data/com.StyleTap.StyleTap/import and related folders that StyleTap and the Windows-based StyleTap Application Installer use to add Palm applications and databases to the device.
NOTE: If StyleTap is already installed on the device and the folders already exist, Android allows StyleTap to continue using them. But if StyleTap is being newly installed, or re-installed, it can no longer create those directories.
This workaround makes StyleTap detect that the folders cannot be created and continues the startup process, instead of stopping with a black screen.
If the directories cannot be created, then users on Android 10/11 must use an alternate way, such as StyleTap Web Tools, to install and export Palm applications and databases.
Release Notes for Android Version 0.8.032
VERSION 0.8.032 (2018-05-30)
Includes fixes for:
- Fix for blank screen after Oreo updates.
Release Notes for Android Version 0.8.029
VERSION 0.8.029 (2018-04-05)
Includes fixes for:
- Samsung devices with 2 GB (or more) of RAM and running Oreo (Android 8). [NOTE: Some users report that after installing the new version they have to reboot their Samsung device to have StyleTap Platform display properly.]
- Huawei devices with 2 GB (or more) of RAM.
Release Notes for Android Version 0.8.027
VERSION 0.8.027 (2016-02-13)
Includes fixes for:
- running Interaction Diagram ACDI.
- Swiftkey keyboard BACKSPACE problem.
- Find function on Android devices with 2 GB (or more) of RAM and running Android 5 (Lollipop) or later.
Release Notes for Android Version 0.8.024
VERSION 0.8.024 (2015-12-30)
Includes fixes for:
- Additional fixes for potential memory problems on Android devices with 2 GB (or more) of RAM and running Android 5 (Lollipop) or later.
Release Notes for Android Version 0.8.022
VERSION 0.8.022 (2015-07-02)
Includes fixes for:
- A new StyleTapInit.ini option "AutoEnableKeyboard=yes;" which causes the Android keyboard to be automatically enabled when a Palm field is given focus. This is especially useful when using input from some barcode scanners.
- A workaround for a problem with the Satellite Forms extension SFE_SF-FTP where NetLibReceive was sometimes erroneously being called with a 0 buffer length.
Release Notes for Android Version 0.8.020
VERSION 0.8.020 (2015-03-31)
Includes fixes for:
- Fix to potential memory problem on Android devices with 2 GB (or more) of RAM and running Android 5 (Lollipop).
Release Notes for Android Version 0.8.018
VERSION 0.8.018 (2015-02-05)
Includes fixes for:
- A problem with entering special characters ("!@#$%^&*()") from a hardware keyboard or barcode scanner.
- A problem when calling MemMove with an invalid pointer and a zero length.
- Improved recovery from an invalid call to MemMove.
- A problem when using the StyleTap Android Wrapper SDK with Android Studio.
- A crashing problem when a program that uses a sound callback closed or deleted a sound stream.
- A problem where some changes to the shared filesystem (between device and the desktop when they are USB connected) were not visible from the desktop.
Release Notes for Android Version 0.8.015
VERSION 0.8.015 (2015-01-12)
Includes fixes for:
- A problem on Android devices with 2 GB of RAM or more running Android 5 (Lollipop) or later.
- A potential memory corruption problem when playing sounds or using Bluetooth.
- An enhancement to ARMlet/PNOlet support to be less restrictive to allow more Palm applications which use ARMlets/PNOlets to run.
Release Notes for Android Version 0.8.013
VERSION 0.8.013 (2014-09-24)
Includes fixes for:
- When communicating with another device using the Bluetooth serial API,
if you know the Bluetooth address of the partner device,
you can bypass the Bluetooth partner selection dialog by specifying
the Bluetooth address in the serial open API call or by explicitly adding the following directive to the StyleTapInit.ini file:
PartnerBTAddress=xx:xx:xx:xx:xx:xx;
This can be useful in situations where the Palm application is hardcoded to use a serial cable. You can use a Bluetooth-to-serial cable on your peripheral device and in addition to specifying the Bluetooth address with the PartnerBTAddress= directive, you can also use the
AlwaysUseBluetoothSerial=yes;
StyleTapInit.ini directive to automatically redirect the serial traffic to Bluetooth.
To install the updated StyleTapInit.ini file, copy it to the /Android/data/com.StyleTap.StyleTap/import folder in the shared filesystem and it should be installed the next time StyleTap is started on the device.
- There are problems on some Android devices where long delays in synchronizing filesystem changes from Android to the underlying hardware resulting in potential data corruption problems. This fix synchronizes file changes every time an updated database file is closed.
Release Notes for Android Version 0.8.012
VERSION 0.8.012 (2014-01-05)
Includes fixes for:
- Fix for problem introduced in version 0.8.011 where extraneous keystrokes are fed to Palm application if a field has focus, the on-screen keyboard has been enabled and the device is rotated.
Release Notes for Android Version 0.8.011
VERSION 0.8.011 (2013-12-09)
Includes fixes for:
- Fix for crashing problem on startup on Android 4.4 devices.
- Fix for problem where backspace button is not recognized when using Latin on-screen keyboards on certain devices.
- Improvements to large and large bold system fonts.
Release Notes for Android Version 0.8.010
VERSION 0.8.010 (2013-07-26)
Includes fixes for:
- Fix for problem on many devices that connect to the PC using MTP, where folders and files created by StyleTap on the shared filesystem were not visible on the PC until the device was rebooted.
- Added a parameter check for a null buffer pointer being passed to NetLibReceive to prevent certain applications from crashing.
- In order for alarms to display, StyleTap normally overrides the screen lock. However, if you don't care about alarms, you can override this behaviour by including the text "EnableScreenLock=yes;" in the StyleTapInit.ini file. To install the updated StyleTapInit.ini file, copy it to the /Android/data/com.StyleTap.StyleTap/import folder in the shared filesystem and it should be installed the next time StyleTap is started.
- Some Palm games require the ability to detect multiple buttons being pressed simultaneously. This ability has been added for devices running Android 3.0 or greater (and the hardware supports multi-touch).
Release Notes for Android Version 0.8.007
VERSION 0.8.007 (2013-04-16)
New Functionality - Bluetooth Support
Added support for Bluetooth RFCOMM (serial over Bluetooth) accessed using the Palm serial API when the Bluetooth virtual port (sysFileCVirtRfComm) is specified (client only).
In previous StyleTap Android versions, whenever a serial API connection was started, GPS NMEA strings constructed from GPS information received from the Android Location Manager was sent to the serial port. This is still the case when the specifying any of the non-Bluetooth Palm virtual ports except for the case mentioned below.
This Bluetooth feature has been tested and seems to work with many Bluetooth GPS devices.
Bluetooth printing using both Stevens Creek PalmPrint and Bachmann PrintBoy also seem to work properly.
However, when the Datecs Print Manager is used and configured to use Bluetooth, it unfortunately tries to use lower level Bluetooth APIs that cannot be supported using the Android Bluetooth API. Fortunately there is a way around this. If you configure the Datecs Print Manager to use serial instead of Bluetooth, it will use the Palm serial API instead and if the StyleTapInit.ini AlwaysUseBluetoothSerial option is specified then StyleTap will redirect any Palm virtual port to the Palm Bluetooth port.
To do this, just use a text editor to create a text file named StyleTapInit.ini
containing the line
AlwaysUseBluetoothSerial=yes;
and copy this file to the /Android/data/com.StyleTap.StyleTap/import subdirectory in the shared filesystem.
The next time StyleTap is started, this file should be installed.
In addition to the serial manager API, the following Palm Bluetooth Library calls are supported:
BtLibOpen
BtLibClose
BtLibRegisterManagementNotification
BtLibUnregisterManagementNotificiation
BtLibStartInquiry
BtLibCancelInquiry
BtLibDiscoverSingleDevice
BtLibGetRemoteDeviceName
BtLibAddrBtdToA
BtLibAddrAToBtd
Includes fixes for:
- As mentioned in the section on Bluetooth support (see above), whenever the Palm serial manager API connection is used to open with a non-Bluetooth virtual port, GPS NMEA strings constructed from GPS information received from the Android Location Manager is sent to the port. A bug in constructing the NMEA strings when the "system locale" was not English has been fixed.
- Fix for getting keyboard input on some Motorola devices (e.g. Motorola Pro+)
- Various fixes to support some applications (e.g. ChessMaster) reported by users
Release Notes for Android Version 0.8.005
VERSION 0.8.005 (2012-11-28)
Includes fixes for:
- Fix for applications that use ARMlets/PNOlets such as Handheld Basic apps, games such as Bike Or Die and others
- Fix to match PalmOS behavior for out-of-memory pointers
Release Notes for Android Version 0.8.003
VERSION 0.8.003 (2012-10-05)
Includes fixes for:
- Several issues that could cause StyleTap to crash or hang
- Fixes to functions HwrGetROMToken, LstDrawList, LstPopUpList, FrmReturnToForm
Release Notes for Android Version 0.8.002
VERSION 0.8.002 (2012-08-17)
New Functionality
Added "Export Databases" function to StyleTap Launcher "Options" menu:
Copies all Palm databases (both .prc and .pdb files) to /Android/data/com.StyleTap.StyleTap/export folder
so that they will be visible when connected to desktop.
This allows databases to be copied/backed up to the desktop file system,
where they can also then be processed by desktop applications.
After processing, updated databases can be placed in /Android/data/com.StyleTap.StyleTap/import folder
to be re-imported when the device is disconnected and StyleTap is started again.
Note to developers: The Export Databases function can also be called from your application via the StyleTap API.
Contact StyleTap by email to obtain the latest header file.
Includes fixes for:
- Several issues causing registration status to be reset and/or unpredictable
- Issue with WebTools using wrong IP address
- Certain games doing direct screen writes outside screen boundaries
- Various other minor display and keyboard fixes
Release Notes for Android Version 0.8.001
VERSION 0.8.001 (2012-07-18)
Initial Preview Version
Includes fixes for:
- Keyboard fix for space bar on devices such as ASUS TF101
- Several fixes for older version of Android
Release Notes for Android Version 0.8.000
VERSION 0.8.000 (2012-07-12)
Initial Preview Version
StyleTap Platform for Android� is the newest member of the StyleTap Platform family of products, which include versions of StyleTap Platform for Windows Mobile�, iPhone� and Symbian OS�. StyleTap Platform is the leading cross-platform software product that allows users to run applications originally written for Palm OS� on non-Palm OS devices.
Supported application functionality:
- TCP/IP networking
- Audio recording and playback
- Support for a "virtual memory card" (applications using VFS), for very large application databases and files (e.g. medical apps, dictionaries, bibles, etc.) that won't fit in main memory. (On earlier Android devices, the "virtual memory card" may be an SD card, but on later Android devices, this may be part of the device's Internal Memory)
- Cut/Copy/Paste. Text can be exchanged between Palm OS applications and Android native applications as well as between Palm OS applications.
- Support for the Android GPS. StyleTap provides Location information to applications as standard GPS NMEA strings through the Palm OS serial API.
- ARMlets/PNOlets (i.e. sections of applications written in ARM native code)
- Vibration (on devices equipped with the appropriate hardware)
- Initiating phone calls (phones only)
- Invoking internet browser
Restrictions:
- Palm OS applications do not appear in the Android application list and can only be started using the StyleTap Launcher.
- Bluetooth/Infrared/Beaming not supported. However, Bluetooth RFCOMM support is planned for a future release.
- Limited serial API support. When a Palm OS serial port is opened, GPS NMEA strings will be generated and can be received through the serial port. Serial connectivity through the USB or headphone connectors is not currently supported.
- vCards (i.e. contacts), vCalendar events and Memos cannot be exported to the Android native applications at this time, since there are no APIs for doing this. However, if a Palm application tries to export one of these object types, the user is given the option to export these items to the /StyleTapPimExport subdirectory on the virtual card as vcf, vcs and txt files. The user can then download them to their desktop computer using StyleTap Web Tools or cut-and-paste (see below).
Frequently Asked Questions
- What versions of the program are available?
The StyleTap Platform program is distributed as a trial version that you can evaluate for 14 days before purchasing a license. If you purchase a license at our website, you will receive a Registration Key that, when entered into the registration dialog, will enable you to use the program after the 14-day trial period.
- Where can I find out more about StyleTap Platform?
Check our website at www.styletap.com.
- Will StyleTap for Android be sold through application stores such as Google Play or Amazon Appstore ?
Once StyleTap for Android is no longer in beta, it will be submitted to the major Android app stores.
- Does my Android device need to be rooted ?
No. This is not necessary.
- How can I obtain and install StyleTap Platform for Android?
Using the web browser on your Android device, go to www.StyleTap.com and download the latest StyleTap for Android package (an .apk file). Once it is downloaded, open the .apk file from your downloads folder which should cause StyleTap to be installed.
- How do I run a Palm OS application with StyleTap Platform?
Tapping the StyleTap icon will run StyleTap Launcher from the Android application list. Any installed Palm OS applications will appear in the StyleTap Launcher.
- What do the buttons do in StyleTap?
- While running a StyleTap application, use "Quit" button to jump back to the StyleTap Launcher. In the StyleTap Launcher, the "Quit" button terminates StyleTap.
- Use the "Menu" button to show/hide the current application menu.
- the keyboard button brings up/down Android keyboard. You can scroll the screen up/down using the Top/Bottom buttons which appear when the keyboard is displayed.
- the five way buttons (4 arrows and a square button) correspond to the 5-way buttons on a Palm OS device.
- the F1, F2, F3, F4 buttons correspond to the four hardware buttons found below the screen on Palm OS devices are used by many application for games (developer note: vchrHard1 - 4).
- Installing additional Palm OS applications for StyleTap Platform?
There are currently three ways that you can install new Palm OS applications and databases for StyleTap Platform:
-
Using Web Tools. From StyleTap Launcher, run the Web Tools utility. You can then install applications using a web browser (Internet Explorer, Safari, Firefox, etc.) from your desktop PC/MacIntosh/Linux machine. WebTools on Android does not support Bonjour/zeroconf, so the IP address and port must be specified in the webbrowser, and must match the corresponding values displayed when WebTools is started on your Android device (i.e. it states "Browse to x.x.x.x:ppppp").
For more information, see the Web Tools page on the website, and see the installation guide for screenshots of installing a Palm OS application.
-
Using USB and Desktop File Explorer Copy and Paste. When StyleTap starts up, it tries to create the subdirectories "/Android/data/com.StyleTap.StyleTap/inbox" and "/Android/data/com.StyleTap.StyleTap/import" as well as the file "/Android/data/com.StyleTap.StyleTap/StyleTapInstallInfo.txt" in the part of the filesystem which can be accessed by both Android applications and from the desktop. On some of the earlier devices, this is the SD card, but on later devices this is somewhere in internal memory.
StyleTap looks in the import subdirectory when it starts and installs any files there to the database subdirectory. They do not necessarily have to be PRC or PDB files. This allows the overwriting of things like StyleTapInit.ini and the easy installation of multiple PRC/PDB files using copy-and-paste from the desktop.
If the Android device is pre-version 3.0 then it is uses UMS (USB Mass Storage) and the sharing has to be explicitly enabled on the device by the user (an exception to this is the Kindle Fire which automatically enables sharing when the USB connection is made. The user cannot do anything on the device, however, until the sharing is turned off). When this sharing is enabled, StyleTap cannot access this part of the filesystem, so UMS should be turned off when StyleTap is run. On both Windows and MacIntosh, when the device is connected and UMS is turned on, the shared filesystem should work automatically.
If the Android device is version 3.0 or later, it probably uses MTP (Media Transfer Protocol). On Windows, generic MTP drivers are provided with all versions of Windows Vista and Windows 7; however, Windows XP users must have Windows Media Player 10 (or later) to get these drivers. Furthermore, you may have to install additional desktop software from the Android device manufacturer to complete the driver setup. On MacIntosh, you have to download and install the drivers from www.android.com/filetransfer. Once these drivers are installed, the filesystem sharing should work automatically when the USB connection is made without the user having to explicitly enable it. StyleTap can also access the shared filesystem when the connection is active.
Using USB and the StyleTap App Installer. Once the shared filesystem is accessible from the desktop as described in the previous option, the Windows user can run the StyleTap App Installer to install applications to the device instead of using copy-and-paste. The StyleTap App Installer can be downloaded from www.styletap.com.
-
- How can I purchase a license and register my copy of StyleTap?
After installing StyleTap Platform and testing to be sure your applications run as you expect, you can purchase a license on the StyleTap website. Go to the "About StyleTap Platform" screen, which is presented every time you run the program during the trial period or whenever you tap the About StyleTap Platform command on the Tools menu, and go to the registration Info screen. There, carefully note the string of letters and numbers that appear below Product Key.
Follow the instructions on the purchase page at the website and enter the Product Key from the registration screen on your device. When your purchase is processed, you will be given a Registration Key, which is carefully entered into the space provided on the Registration Info screen. Then tap Done and your copy of StyleTap Platform is now registered and licensed.
Remember that this Registration Key only works on your particular mobile device. It cannot be used to unlock StyleTap Platform on any other device.
- Can I transfer my license to another device?
You cannot use the same Registration Key on another device.
- What if I lose or break this device?
Provided that you uninstall StyleTap Platform on the first licensed device (or if the device is destroyed), you can go to the replacement key page on the website, and follow the instructions there to request a courtesy replacement key. In most cases, once we can identify your original purchase we can send you a replacement key for your new device.
- How can I uninstall StyleTap Platform from my Android device?
Run Settings on your device, and then "Applications" or "Apps". It will show a list of installed applications, choose "StyleTap", then "Uninstall".
- Where can I find applications to run with StyleTap Platform?
Applications can be downloaded from many sites, including
- http://www.palmgear.com
- http://www.handango.com
- http://www.freewarepalm.com
- http://www.mobihand.com
NOTE:StyleTap Inc. and StyleTap Platform are not affiliated with, nor authorized, endorsed or licensed in any way by these websites, their affiliates or subsidiaries.
TECHNICAL NOTES
- Display Sizes
This version of StyleTap provides a 320 x 320 display.
- Color modes
StyleTap Platform lets you choose the default color mode, which is used when an application is first launched. StyleTap Platform supports 1, 2, 4, 8 and 16 bit color modes. Normally, you do not have to change the color mode from the default 8 bit mode. However, some older applications (written for Palm OS before version 3.5) assume that the color mode is already set to some other value and write directly to the screen. These applications may not display properly unless you change the default color mode to match the mode expected by the application. Choose the "Color Mode" menu option in the StyleTap Launcher to make this change.
- Private records
Private records are supported. The record security level is specified by choosing the "Record Security" menu option in the StyleTap Launcher.
- Overlay support
This version of StyleTap Platform is an English-only version. However, overlays are supported. Whenever an application is launched, StyleTap Platform tries to load an application overlay that matches the language and country specified in the Settings application on your device. If that particular overlay is not found, it tries to load an English US overlay. Note that some applications will not run unless an appropriate overlay is installed.
- StyleTap API (for developers)
StyleTap provides additional functions for applications that are Styletap-aware. If you wish to learn more about the StyleTap API, please refer to the "Developer Information" section in the Support KnowledgeBase at our website (http://styletap.com/support.php?page=wiki).
The following StyleTap API functions are supported:
- LoadNativeLibrary
- GetNativeLibraryFunctionAddress
- CallNativeLibraryFunction
- UnloadNativeLibrary
- StpAcceptRegistrationKey
- StpGetProductKey
- DatabaseFlush
- DatabaseFlushAll
- StpExit
- StpGetRegistrationState
- StpGetRegistrationKeyFromServer
- StpRefreshDisplayWindow
- StpUnloadDatabase
- StpUnloadDatabases
- StpPostDatabase
- StpGetDatabase
- StpUpdateDisplayBuffer
- StpSpecialEffectRoutine (Vibration supported; LED blinking not supported)
- StpGetRegistrationKeyFromServerExt
- StpIsCharEncodingAvailable
- StpSetCurrentCharEncoding
- StpGetCurrentCharEncoding
The following StyleTap API functions are not supported (i.e have no effect):
- GetDesktopIpAddress
- BringToForeground
- GetMainWindowHandle
- StpPPPConnect
- StpPPPHangUp
- StpPPPConfig
- StpSetSerialPortMapping
- StpGetSerialPortMapping
- StpSetFastScreenMode
- StpSetSipScreenPosition
- StpGetObexReceiverInstallStatus
- StpSetObexReceiverInstallStatus
- GetNativeLibraryFunctionAddressByOrdinal
