Welcome To KPilot v3.1
KPilot 3.1 is the latest version of the Desktop HotSync software for Unix. After several release and contributions from users KPilot, along with KOrganizer, has evolved into a rather complete replacement for the Windows Desktop provided by 3Com. KPilot offers a few internal tools for viewing and manipulating data, and a convenient API for developing ways of sharing data with other applications.
Once KPilot is installed it is rather easy to set up. Run kpilot from either the panel menu or from the command prompt and it will prompt you with a dialog box asking you to configure it for the first time. These options are the following:
Pilot Device: This
is the serial port that the cradle is connected to. By default it is
set to /dev/pilot
which should be a symbolic link to the proper serial
port. Make sure the serial port has
the correct permissions. It
must be read/write by all if KPilot is intended to be used by a
normal user! This is done by doing a chmod 666 /dev/____ where
'____' is the correct serial port.
Pilot User: This is the user name of the pilot. By default this name is the same as your log on name. When you first sync with the pilot KPilot will check to see if this name matches the one on the pilot. If they do not, you are asked to pick which you will use. If you pick the local name, the pilot will be changed to match. This is also used to store the information synced from the pilot. For example, if I were to hot-sync my pilot on your machine, it would store the data into a subdirectory named 'pilone'.
Sync Files: When this is enabled any files dropped into the file install (either the icon docked on the panel or into the file installer widget in KPilot) will be installed on the pilot during the next hot-sync.
Local overrides Pilot: When a record has been modified on both the Pilot and the local side, only one can be kept. By default KPilot assumes the Pilot has the most recent information and will keep that. By enabling this option KPilot assumes it has the most recent information and will overwrite the pilot's copy.
Start Hot-Sync Daemon at login: By enabling this a link to the daemon is placed in your autostart folder and will be started automatically. Note that this is not normally needed if the daemon is docked in the panel.
Start KPilot at Hot-Sync: When the hot-sync button is pressed on the cradle (assuming the daemon is running) KPilot can sync without actually starting up the GUI. However, by enabling this option the daemon will start up the KPilot GUI when the hot-sync begins.
You can safely ignore the Address Settings for right now. They are used for importing or exporting addresses from a text file.
Once KPilot is properly set up, pressing OK will bring up the main KPilot window. The first thing you should do is a Full Backup of the Pilot. Do this by selecting File->Backup. When you do, the status bar will ask you to press the hot-sync button on the cradle. Assuming everything is set up properly you should see the pilot begin to sync and a message box telling you what databases are being backed up. This will back up your entire pilot into your local directory. Note that this may take a little while, however a normal hot-sync is significantly faster.