CONFIGURING THE DESKTOP MANAGER

After the installation is done and you launch the Desktop Manager for the first time, you might have to provide additional information or want to change some of the settings. The following sections cover some of the most common scenarios.

SETTING THE COMMUNICATIONS PORT

Your handheld must be connected to your computer via a USB or serial cable for the Desktop Manager to do anything with it. When you install the Desktop Manager, the default port may be incorrect. If you get a dialog similar to the one shown in Figure 3.6, you need to change the connection settings.

Figure 3.6. The Unable to Connect message means the port that is selected is not the one that communicates with your BlackBerry.

You can change this by selecting the Option menu, and then the Connection Settings menu item. That will display a dialog similar to the one seen in Figure 3.7.

Figure 3.7. The Connection Settings dialog enables you to correct the port setting.

You should know how your handheld is connected to the desktop PC, but generally speaking, most newer devices use USB to connect. If your handheld uses a serial cable, make sure you know which COM port it is connected to. You can change the connection in the Connection drop-down list. If your device is already plugged in to your desktop PC, you can click the Detect button and allow the Desktop Manager to attempt to find it. The Maximum speed setting is used with serial connections, but generally you should not need to change it. Lastly, if your device uses a USB connection, but your desktop PC does not have a USB port, you can buy a USB-to-serial converter. If you have this, you should check the Enable USB-to-serial Converter Compatibility check box.

CONNECTING TO THE EMAIL SYSTEM

If you are integrating with an email system, the Desktop Manager will attempt to connect to that email system when it is launched. You will see a dialog telling you that the connection is being established.

When connecting to a Microsoft Exchange server using Outlook, you will have to choose the profile that will be used for the connection. In this case, a dialog like Figure 3.8 will be shown. Generally, there will be only one profile in the list and you can simply use that. However, if there is more than one listed and you do not know which one to use, you should ask your IT department.

Figure 3.8. The Connection Settings dialog.

OTHER CONFIGURATION OPTIONS

There are only two other things that you can configure in the Desktop Manager without using one of the applets. The first is the view style of the icons. Like Windows Explorer, you can view the icons of the applets as Large or Small. You can change this setting through the View menu by selecting either the Large Icons or Small Icons menu items.

The other option you can configure is the location of the files that the Desktop Manager creates during the Intellisync process and for configuration files.

Click the Options menu and select the Data Folder Settings menu item. The dialog, shown in Figure 3.9, shows the current folder being used. To specify another directory, click the Use This Specified Folder radio button and click the Browse button to select a different folder.