Plucker
Plucker is a free open source ebook and web clipping program.
Installing Plucker
To install the Plucker Desktop and handheld software (Palm OS), first download the installer here:
You can save the installer to your desktop and then double-click it to run. During the setup process, you will be asked several questions. Unless you have reason to do otherwise, just ok the default choices.
This is a useful Plucker utility called CleanPlkr that clears out preferences, temp files and the doc list. If you have problems with Plucker crashing on the handheld, this utility often resolves the problem without having to reinstall everything.
Using Plucker Desktop
The Plucker Desktop program is a tool you can use to download web sites to your handheld or to convert ebooks to Plucker.
This program is used to create “channels” (or documents) for Plucker. It does this by processing HTML documents and converting them into Palm .pdb files that can be viewed on your handheld with Plucker.
To add a web page to Plucker on your handheld:
- Launch the Plucker Desktop tool.
- From the File menu, select Add a new channel using wizard...
- Give the channel a name, and click Next. (This is what will show up in the library listing.)
- Select to start with a website URL, and paste in the URL of the page you want. Click Next.
- Set your maximum link depth. (This is how many layers will be gathered. Setting this to 1 will take just the starting page. Setting this to 2 will take the starting page plus one more level of links. The higher the number, the larger your file will be. It is recommended that you start with 1 or 2.) Click Next.
- Select the handheld that this channel is to be sync'd to.
- Click Finish.
- Before syncing, the channel needs to updated. (This is the process through which the content is gathered and converted.) To do this, go to the Update menu and update the appropriate channel(s).
- Sync your handheld to transfer the information.
To create an ebook for Plucker:
- Create an HTML file of your ebook.
- Launch the Plucker Desktop tool.
- From the File menu, select Add a new channel using wizard...
- Give the channel a name, and click Next.
- Select to start with a local file. Click Choose file..., and locate your HTML file. Click OK.
- Update your channel and sync.
Creating Plucker Ebooks With Word
A very quick, easy way to create HTML documents for Plucker ebooks is to use Microsoft Word.
If you are running a version of Word that is prior to Office 2002, you will first need to download and install the Office 2000 HTML Filter 2.0 first.
Here are the steps to follow:
- Create your ebook content in Word. You may include pictures and hyperlinks if you like.
- Save the document as filtered or compact HTML:
- If you are running Office 2002 or later, do a Save As and choose the Save as type to be Web page, filtered.
- If you are running an earlier version of Office or Word, use the Office 2000 HTML Filter 2.0.
From the File menu, choose Export to -> Compact HTML. - Then use the Plucker desktop tool as described above. When entering the starting page for the channel, choose Start on a local file, and click Choose file... to find the HTML file you exported from Word. If you included web links, make sure to specify a link depth of at least 2.
Using Plucker on Palm OS handhelds
To begin using Plucker, go to the home screen, and tap the Plucker icon.
By default, the last document (ebook or web page) you were reading will be opened. If no document was being read, the library of available documents will be shown.
Once you have a document open, the main display will look like this:
There are several options for turning pages:
- One of the best is to configure the program so that tapping the bottom half of the screen will go forward a page and tapping the top half of the screen to go forward a screen. To do this, go to the menus, and under the Options menu, Select Preferences. Then in the upper-right corner, select Control from the drop-down menu. Then set Regions 1 and 2 to be Full page up, and set Regions 3 and 4 to be Full page down.
- Use the up and down scroll buttons. This will advance you a full page back or forward respectively.
- Use auto-scrolling.
- Use the on-screen scroll bar. (This is the least preferable because of the lack of control.)
Plucker and Pocket PC
There is a Plucker viewer for Pocket PC called Vade Mecum. We have not done extensive testing of this at this point, but you can download it here.
FAQs
Can you beam documents in Plucker?
One of the best things about Plucker is the ability to beam documents. To do this, go to the Library, and just tap and hold on a document title. You will then get a drop-down menu of choices and may beam the document.
How can I beam the Plucker program?
The Plucker program cannot be beamed through the normal Palm beaming method. However, you can beam it be using a file utility like FileZ.
When I try to open a Plucker document, I get an error that says “This device cannot handle Zlib compressed documents.” What is the problem?
The Plucker Viewer requires the ZLib file. If you don't have it, you'll get an error when launching Plucker. If you install the program the normal way, you should have this, but if not, you can download it here: ZLib for high res handhelds or ZLib for low res handhelds
When I download a web page through Plucker Desktop and sync, nothing shows up on my handheld. What happened?
There are several possible problems. The first things you can check are that you have updated the channel (in Plucker Desktop, highlight the channel and update), that your handheld user name is specified as a destination (in Plucker Desktop, double-click the channel, and check the Destination tab), and that you have sync'd after this.
If none of these seem to be the problem, update the channel again, and read the bottom of the details to see if the update was successful or if there was an error. Some web pages don't work with Plucker (see below for more information).
What kinds of web pages don't work well on handhelds?
Some web sites are more or less “handheld-friendly” than others. Web sites with movies or other highly-interactive content will not work with Plucker. In addition, some web sites don't display well on a small screen.
If the web page you are working with has a “printable page” option, use this page for Plucker. These printable pages generally have frames, tables, and certain extraneous information stripped out for a simpler page.
Often, the process of setting up channels is an iterative one. You configure and sync the channel and then view it on the handheld screen to see how it displays. (If you are a web site designer, you might want to think about how your web site will look on a small screen.)
Does Plucker support frames or tables?
Frames are not supported on Plucker. You can sometimes open a frame in a new window by right-clicking the link and opening in a new window. The resulting page can then be sent to Plucker, because it is no longer in a frame.
Tables are supported, but you need to check the tables option in the Formatting tab when you configure the channel. Results may be unpredictable.
How do I get back to the beginning of a document or web page?
Many Plucker documents consist of multiple linked pages. If you get lost, just tap the Home icon in the upper-right hand corner of Plucker to return to the top of the first page of the document.
Can you copy a part of a Plucker document to another application?
Yes. To do this, go the part of the page you want and then use the View menu, and tap Export to Memo. This will export the current screen to a memo.
Can I add notes to a Plucker document?
You can't add notes to a Plucker document, but you can export a section of a page to a Memo and then add notes to that. To do this, go the part of the page you want and then use the View menu, and tap Export to Memo. This will export the current screen to a memo. In Memos, you can then add notes if you like.
I got a message that says “Sorry, the link you selected was not downloaded by Plucker.” What does that mean?
This means that the destination link was not downloaded to the handheld. This is most likely related to the link depth selected or the fact that the link was off-site. Remember that with Plucker, you aren't viewing the whole Internet, just the downloaded pages.
How can I configure my own preferences?
Under the Options menu, select Preferences to set a variety of configuration options. The list in the upper-right corner contains various areas you can configure. Setting the Control preference to configure tapping to advance a page is particularly useful.
Should I use the high or low res version of Plucker?
There are high res and low res versions of Plucker. Make sure you use the correct version for your handheld. Here are some handhelds that have high resolution (320 x 320 or higher) screens: Palm Tungsten handhelds, Palm Zire 71 and 72 handhelds, and most Sony Clie handhelds.
Here are some handhelds that have low resolution screens (160 x 160): Palm Zire 31, Palm m-series handhelds, Palm III and V handhelds, and Handspring Visor handhelds.
How can I get maps and directions (like MapQuest) to Plucker?
We have found that the Yahoo! Maps has a format that is very compatible with Plucker. After you have Plucker installed, go to Yahoo! Maps and get the directions or maps you want. Then choose the link that says “Printable version.” Copy the URL from this page into Plucker Desktop when you create a new channel.
Where can I download more ebooks?
Here are some good web site for downloading free ebooks:
Here are some web sites for commercial ebooks:
Where can I get more information about ebooks?
More information on ebooks is available at www.k12handhelds.com/ebooks.
