Review

TealAlias, an inexpensive and easy-to-use program from TealPoint Software, will help Palm OS device users make the most of expansion memory.

It doesn’t take long to fill up the memory of most Palm OS devices on the market today. When you do, you have to learn how to move files and programs to the memory card supported by your device.

There are many free or shareware programs such as Filez for viewing and moving files, but it’s a more difficult step to get the device to recognize and launch a program stored on a card. This problem had me stumped. Real geeks probably are born knowing three free ways to launch PDA programs, but I wasn’t, and I didn’t have time to read the discussion forums for help. So, I did what I usually do, forgot about the problem for awhile and lived with the limitations. Then, I found myself standing around at a conference deleting Monopoly and other games just so I could load the conference schedule onto my Tungsten T. I drew the line at deleting Scrabble. Never! Fortunately, soon after that awful experience, TealAlias came to my attention and solved my problem.

TealAlias is a simple program that helps you set up little launcher programs to point to the programs or files on your expansion card that you want to use. These “alias” programs take up little space, but automatically launch both the applications and their data files. Also, if you have a card-based application, such as a dictionary or a game, you can use TealAlias to set up a launcher for it on one of your Palm launcher screens (i.e., “Main,” “Games,” etc.). 

You can download the program and test it out before purchasing, so there literally is nothing to lose by trying it out. Installation is via hot-synch.

If your goal is to free up space on your device, then before you set up the alias files, you should move non-critical applications and data to your memory cards. Let’s say you like Monopoly, but don’t play it all the time, so you want to move it to a card. You can do this in Palm OS by tapping “Apps” and then “Copy.” You then copy it to a card. (Later, check and make sure the program and its data files or dictionaries all are on the card before you delete them on the handheld.) Using Cardinfo or FileZ, you can name your cards to help you keep things in order. I moved Monopoly to a card called “Games.” I named another called “E-Books” and moved all my ebooks and other documents to it.

To create the alias file that will launch the program, tap the TealAlias icon. Select “new.” Select the “target application,” in this case, Monopoly. Give the alias a name, say, Monopoly. Select the “launch mode,” which is how you want it to launch (normal, open database, or go to record). For a game like Monopoly, the selection should be “normal.” If there are any data files that go along with the program, select those as well, and hit “add data.” TealAlias finds the icon file for the program automatically, or you can select a different icon. Then, tap “OK.” The new launcher program you just created is listed under “application aliases.” It’s that simple.

TealAlias puts an asterisk (*) next to the alias file name. In my Games list, I now see Monopoly*. This serves as a reminder that when I want to play the game, I need to have my Games card in the SD card slot. To play, I simply put in the card, click on Monopoly*, and TealAlias starts up and asks me to select either “register now” or “I will soon.” Once I purchase and register TealAlias, I will no longer see that screen, but will go directly to the game.

TealAlias also can be used to create a launcher to quickly open a document, or go to a record in a database with a single tap. There probably are many more ways to use this simple, but highly versatile program, than I have described here. A manual for program documentation comes with TealAlias, but I did not need to look at it to set up alias programs.

Pros:
Inexpensive program.
Easily set up alias files to launch programs stored on memory cards.
Helps you free memory on your device and make effective use of memory cards.

Cons:
None.

Bottom line:
TealAlias is an easy-to-use, inexpensive program to manage and launch programs and files on your memory cards. If you have run out of memory on your PDA, move your files to cards and get TealAlias.

Purchase Information:
TealAlias may be purchased for $14.95, from  www.tealpoint.com. Handango also offers TealAlias with VersionMaster for $19.99. VersionMaster will automatically obtain updates for all of your TealPoint software and is a $10 value.