User Guide NOTE: If magnetic materials are placed close to the underside of the Series 3a they may be affected by the speaker magnet. For this reason it is best not to keep your Series 3a in the same pocket as credit cards and/or travel passes with magnetic strips. WARNING : This equipment has been certified to comply with the limits for a Class B computing device, pursuant to Subpart J of Part 15 of FCC Rules. See the instructions overleaf if interference to Radio or Television is suspected. © Copyright Psion PLC 1991-1993 All rights reserved. This manual and the programs referred to herein are copyrighted works of Psion PLC , London, England. Reproduction in whole or in part, including utilisation in machines capable of reproduction or retrieval, without the express written permission of Psion PLC is prohibited. Reverse engineering is also prohibited. The information in this document is subject to change without notice. Psion and the Psion logo are registered trademarks, and Psion Series 3a. Series 3, SSD and Solid State Disk are trademarks of Psion PLC . Psion PLC acknowledges that some names referred to are registered trademarks. This PDF version by David Kimberlin-Wyer 2013 vl.0 Jul 93 English Part no. 6103-0044-01 FCC Information for the USA Radio and Television Interference This equipment generates and uses radio frequency energy and if not used properly — that is, in strict accordance with the instructions in this manual - may cause interference to Radio and Television reception. It has been tested and found to comply with the limits for a Class B computing device in accordance with the specifications in Subpart J of Part 15 of FCC Rules. These are designed to provide reasonable protection against such interference in a residential installation. However, there is no guarantee that interference will not occur in a particular installation. If this equipment does cause interference to Radio or Television reception, which can be determined by turning the equipment off and on, try to correct the interference by one or more of the following measures: • Reposition the Radio or TV antenna • Relocate the Series 3a Computer with respect to the Radio or TV • Move the Series 3a Computer farther away from the Radio or TV • If you are using the Series 3a Computer with a Mains Adapter, plug it into an outlet which is on a different circuit from that of the Radio or TV. If necessary, consult an authorised Psion dealer or an experienced radio/Television technician for additional suggestions. Important This equipment was tested for FCC compliance under conditions that included the use of shielded cables and connectors between it and the peripherals. It is important that you use shielded cables and connectors to reduce the possibility of causing Radio and Television interference. Shielded cables, suitable for the Series 3a Computer range, can be obtained from an authorised Psion Dealer. If the user modifies the Series 3a Computer or its Expansion Modules in any way, and these modifications are not approved, by Psion, the FCC may withdraw the user's right to operate the equipment. The following booklet prepared by the Federal Communications Commission may be of help: "How to Identify and Resolve Radio-TV Interference Problems". This booklet is available from the US Government Printing Office, Washington, DC 20402 Stock No 004-000-00345-4. Table of Contents 1 Getting started. 1 Where things are 2 Powering the SERIES 3a 2 Fitting the batteries - the first time 3 Screen and keyboard 5 Setting the Home City and Time 7 Moving the cursor and editing text 11 Help information 12 Notes on menus and dialogs 12 How information is stored 15 Displaying a status window 16 Changing the batteries 17 2 World............................. 21 Changing the displayed city or country 23 Summer times 24 Adding and changing information 25 3 The Calculator. 27 Calculator memories 32 Percentages 33 Very large and very small numbers 33 Decimal places and number formats 34 Other functions 35 Using your own OPL procedures 36 4 Time and alarms . 37 Alarms 39 5 The Database . 43 The structure of a database 44 Typing in entries 45 Finding an entry 47 Changing the way an entry is displayed 50 Managing your entries 51 Labels 52 Database files 53 Customising the ♦ list 56 6 The Agenda. 57 Day entries - appointments and notes 59 Birthdays and other anniversaries 62 To-do lists and other lists 64 Alarms in the Agenda 67 Changing an entry 69 Memos 70 Repeating an entry 72 The Week view 74 The List view 75 The Year view 76 Managing your Agenda 78 Defaults for new entries 79 Display functions 80 Entry management functions 81 Agenda files 83 Customising your Agenda 85 Example setups 87 Other editing features 88 Using the To-do view as a document manager 89 More about repeating entries 89 7 The Word Processor. 91 Basic use 92 Editing text 92 Using Bold, Italic and Underlined text 97 The saved file on the disk 97 Working with document files 98 Altering a paragraph's appearance 101 Example uses of the Word Processor 106 Advanced use 112 Paragraph styles 112 Managing styles 113 Managing emphases 116 Advanced editing 119 Outlining 121 Template files 123 Other file formats 125 Plain text files 125 Editing Rich Text Format (RTF) files 126 8 The Spreadsheet. 127 Quick start for experienced spreadsheet users 128 What are spreadsheets and worksheets? 130 Moving around and entering data 132 Types of data - text, number, formula 132 Editing data in cells 133 Formulae 133 Cell ranges 135 Functions in formulae 136 More ways to move around 136 Operators 137 Error messages when entering data 138 Deleting and moving data 138 Relative and absolute references 139 Recalculation 140 Circular references - the indicator 141 Moving data with 'Bring' 141 The file saved on the disk 142 Opening or closing a gap 143 The display of data 144 More operations on the worksheet 147 More operations on data 149 Graphs 150 Adding a new range to the current graph 151 Adding text to a graph 151 Changing the graph type 153 Other display options 154 Multiple graphs 155 Entering a database 156 Tables 159 Date and time functions 160 Financial functions 161 Mathematical and logical functions 164 Range functions 166 String functions 167 Statistical and database functions 169 Worksheet size 170 9 The sound recorder . 171 10 Dialling . 175 Setting up for dialling 176 Dialling from a Database or Agenda file 179 11 Printing . 181 Setting up the connection 182 Choosing the printer driver 183 Choosing the font 184 Character sets 184 Setting the page layout 185 Printing from the Word Processor 187 Printing from the Agenda 190 Printing from the Database 192 Printing from the Spreadsheet 193 Advanced worksheet printing 194 Print preview 195 Other printing information 196 12 Open files. 197 Internal memory and open files 198 Why open more than one file? 198 Exiting open files 200 13 Moving information with 'Bring'. ...... 201 How 'Bring' options work 202 Alternatives to 'Bring' 203 14 Files and disks . 205 Solid State Disks 206 Understanding files and disks 208 File lists in the System screen 208 File management 209 Using disks 210 Advanced use of Files and disks 213 Directories and file extensions 213 The file selector 214 File specifications 216 Copying a disk 218 Other advanced options 219 15 Security and backups . 221 Passwords 222 Setting the system password 222 Passwords on Spreadsheet / Word Processor files 223 Precautionary measures 224 Backups 225 Incremental backup 226 16 The System screen . 227 Icons in the System screen 228 New applications 228 Rearranging and grouping icons 229 Customising the System screen 234 System-wide settings 234 17 Troubleshooting . 237 General problems 238 'Memory full', 'No system memory' or 'Disk full' 239 Everyday use 240 The built-in applications 242 Resetting the SERIES 3a 244 A Character set. 245 B Specification . 249 C For Series 3 users . 251 General changes 252 The built-in applications 253 D Serial 3 Link . 257 Remote Link 258 The Comms application 258 The Script application 259 1 Getting started You should read this chapter first. It shows you how to start using your Series 3a. It also describes basic information on operating the Series 3a, which you need to know before you read the other chapters in this manual. Wherever there are things for you to do, the instruction(s) are indicated with numbers. Extra notes, which you may find useful, are indicated with a symbol. The different applications - Agenda, Database and so on - are described from chapter 2 onwards. The simpler applications are described first. Each chapter begins with the important information you will need for everyday use, before covering more detailed information. You can read as much as you like of these chapters, and read them in any order. The second half of the manual covers more general topics, including printing, tone dialling and security. If you have any problems, try looking up suitable entries in the index, or refer to the 'Troubleshooting' chapter. (Experienced Series 3 users may wish instead to read Appendix C, which lists the main differences between the two computers. 3 Link users should read Appendix D also.) 111 Where things are screen application mains power buttons light reset hole expansion mains socket socket Powering the SERIES 3a The Series 3a is powered by two ordinary AA batteries. It is best to use alkaline batteries - they should last for several months of normal use. A backup battery is also supplied with your Series 3a. This has the sole job of preserving your information when the time comes for you to replace the main batteries.