Review of PhatPad v1.1 [Archive] - Thoughts Media Forums

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Tim Allen

01-02-2004, 07:00 PM

I have a guilty secret to confess. Sometimes I write things down on paper. You know, a quick reminder, a few things I need to buy, to do, to remember. I have a pocket computer costing hundreds of pounds that's capable of storing a vast quantity of information in a variety of structured formats, but the simple truth is that sometimes I just find it quicker and easier to scribble short snippets of information down on paper. To cap it all, I usually then re-enter these scribblings into the Pocket PC, sometimes only a few minutes later. What I need is a Pocket PC application that, well, acts like a piece of paper. Nothing has yet come close enough to totally stop me reaching for the pen, but PhatPad, the latest contender, looks like it might be in with a chance. <img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/allen-dec03-phatpad-teaser.gif" /> <!> PhatPad from PhatWare Corporation is on the face of it a simple note taking tool along the lines of the built-in Notes application. However, on closer examination it has enough additional features and usability enhancements to make it a far more useful application. I looked at version 1.1. Note Files and Formats PhatPad notes are stored in files using its own proprietary file format. Each note can consist of up to 1,000 virtual 'pages' of handwriting, and the number of notes you can have is only limited by your storage memory. If you're launching PhatPad for the first time, or after manually shutting it down (there's no Exit option), then you're presented with a new note automatically. Otherwise you get the file browser. <img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/allen-dec03-phatpad-browser.gif" /> Figure 1: The file browser; PhatPad notes can be stored anywhere. PhatPad allows you to create notes with a variety of resolutions ranging from the actual screen size up to 1024 by 1024, and comes with enough zoom options to make the most of them. There's no wordwrap though as you zoom in and out. <img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/allen-dec03-phatpad-zoomopt.gif" /> Figure 2: The different zoom levels. Handwriting The key to PhatPad is its so-called digital ink technology, which makes handwriting on the screen very smooth. There's no jerkiness and no delay between moving the stylus and something appearing on screen, which is a marked improvement over Pocket PC's built-in Notes app. It does almost feel like writing on paper as you can scribble things down very quickly indeed. <img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/allen-dec03-phatpad-handnote.gif" /> Figure 3: Your handwriting with PhatPad will only be as good - or bad - as your writing with paper. You can also choose to write in a variety of colours and line thicknesses to simulate your favourite pen. <img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/allen-dec03-phatpad-colopt.gif" /> Figure 4: Ink settings. Editing You can switch to 'Erase' mode and every line you touch with the stylus is magically deleted. This works in a fairly intelligent fashion, to the extent that you can delete most words with a single swipe. <img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/allen-dec03-phatpad-erase.gif" /> Figure 5: Rubbing out a word in erase mode. There's also a 'Select' mode, with the usual Cut, Copy and Paste options, but you can only copy and paste from one page to another; there's no way to re-position the 'cursor' elsewhere on the same page. Similarly you can't drag and drop the selection. Other editing features include Undo and Redo and the ability to Clear or Delete the current page. Text Note Each PhatPad note can also optionally include an additional single text note, which consists of text either typed using the soft input panel (SIP) or recognised from your handwriting - more on this later. <img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/allen-dec03-phatpad-textnote.gif" /> Figure 6: The text note; the divider can be moved up or down. You can choose whether to show or hide the text note. <PAGEBREAK> Handwriting Recognition If you have Calligrapher, not surprisingly also produced by PhatWare, then you can get PhatPad to attempt to recognise your handwritten scribbles (note that you can't use Transcriber for this, you do need Calligrapher). <img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/allen-dec03-phatpad-textrecogopt.gif" /> Figure 7: Selecting how the recognition should work... <img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/allen-dec03-phatpad-textrecog.gif" /> Figure 8: ...and the finished result. I tested the recognition with the new Calligrapher 7, and it works pretty much as you'd expect if you've used Calligrapher or Transcriber before - that's to say, generally fairly accurate depending how good your writing is. One key difference however is that the recognition in PhatPad is done as a batch operation rather than the real-time approach employed when using Calligrapher as the SIP. This means you also make corrections in batch at the end, rather than as you are writing. I found this way of working preferable as it makes the actual writing part more flowing and continuous, although to be honest the recognition aspect isn't a critical feature for me, as I'd envisage mainly using PhatPad for quick handwritten notes that I don't intend to convert to text. Text Searching Cleverly, PhatPad can also search your handwritten text, but this is very slow as it inevitably has to recognise it on the fly (and hence you need Calligrapher for this feature to work as well). However, this operates across notes so it's a very powerful feature if you have hundreds of notes and can't remember which one contains some specific text you're after. <img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/allen-dec03-phatpad-search.gif" /> Figure 9: Searching for handwritten text. Diagrams Now writing is all well and good, but sometimes you also need to do quick sketches, maps, diagrams, etc., and PhatPad supports this by default, as you'd expect in a free-form notes application. <img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/allen-dec03-phatpad-diagram.gif" /> Figure 10: A diagram, with rather wobbly lines. However what you might not expect is that PhatPad can also recognise and correct some simple shapes, namely rectangles, circles and triangles, as you draw them. This works reasonably well, but your hand-drawn shapes need to be pretty close to the real thing for the recognition to work, and you can't use it whilst writing as it will try to convert your letters into shapes. Also I did experience a couple of lock-ups with this feature turned on, requiring a soft reset. <img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/allen-dec03-phatpad-shapes.gif" /> Figure 11: Shapes, most of which have been corrected for me. The variety of colours and line thicknesses available also enables you to draw simple pictures. <img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/allen-dec03-phatpad-pic.gif" /> Figure 12: Yes but is it art? Reminders As a bonus PhatPad also allows you to create reminders which display specific text at the appointed time. <img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/allen-dec03-phatpad-remind.gif" /> Figure 13: Setting up a reminder, using Calligrapher to enter the text. Export Options Notes can be saved as bitmaps/jpegs, emailed as an attachment or beamed via IR to another Pocket PC. <img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/allen-dec03-phatpad-exportopt.gif" /> Figure 14: Export options. Gotchas<li>The shape recognition mode can hang the Pocket PC and can't be used whilst writing. <li>It can be laborious to switch between Draw and Erase modes via the menu options; I'd prefer to see dedicated toolbar buttons for this. <li>There's no way to move text around within a note page. <li>If you create a new note but don't close or save it, and let the PPC power off, then on powering back on and closing the note it doesn't appear in the file list - you have to manually refresh it. <li>PhatPad should prompt you for a filename on closing a new note, instead of forcing you to accept the default name and then manually rename it later. <li>I'd like the option to always start a new note when I switch to the app. <li>There's no voice recording facility. Where To Buy The software can be <a href="http://www.handango.com/brainstore/PlatformProductDetail.jsp?siteId=311&productId=83676">downloaded from Handango</a> and purchased for $14.95 (affiliate link), or half this if you buy Calligrapher at the same time. A trial version is also available. Specifications This program will run on Pocket PC 2000 or later and takes up about 300 Kb of space. Conclusions PhatPad makes handwriting noticeably smoother than the built in Notes application, and has a good choice of line colours and thicknesses, note sizes and zoom options, and the multi-page format allows you an almost unlimited amount of writing per note. In addition, PhatPad provides some powerful add-on features such as handwriting recognition and searching, shape recognition and reminders, although some of these require the use of an external tool, and the shape recognition is flawed. Overall I found PhatPad very useful for jotting down quick notes when I didn't want to fire up a full-blown text-based application such as a word processor or list manager. Ultimately for me PhatPad does the job - I just need to think twice before reaching for a pen.

fireflyrsmr

01-02-2004, 07:24 PM

I've been using this software for several months now. It works. I like the way you can scroll a big "piece of paper" if need be. When speed, focus on the conversation, and the ability to draw are upmost important - this is my go to Ap.

yvilla

01-02-2004, 07:30 PM

The thing that bothers me about this is that the basic note pad features, very nice ones, I agree, have historically been an integral part of Calligrapher, up to version 6.52. Now, they have been removed in the latest version of Calligrapher, 7.0. Obviously, that is to promote sales of PhatPad as a separate app, and Phatware has every right to do that I guess, but it is very disappointing to a longtime Calligrapher user. It is a real disincentive to upgrade Calligrapher, in fact.

Ed Hansberry

01-02-2004, 07:43 PM

I too really dislike the bundling effect of Phatware's software. Not only is it costly, it takes up so much space.

1. I messed up and purchased PhatPad before I realized it didn't do what I wanted. I had tried it earlier and uninstalled it but it left something on my machine because when I reinstalled it months later, it said the trial had expired. I just forked over $10. My mistake. I uninstalled it within 20 minutes of getting my reg key. I wanted something that I could take notes with using FITALY. I hate HWR mainly because FITALY is faster and my HW is pathetic. Even so, transcriber does a good job for me, but give FITALY is faster, I just don't do HWR much.

2. It requires Calligrapher to work completely. This makes PhatPad a $45 app. 8O

3. Calligrapher 6.5 doesn't work with the iPAQ 2215. Well documented bugs in device power on issues - just like the Stowaway 1.x driver. So, if you purchesed both and got a 2215, you either dealt with the issues or uninstalled Calligrapher 6.x, meaing PhatPad is cripled. :evil: Presumably this was fixed with Calligrapher 7, but that came 4-6 months after the 2215 was launched.

I just want a basic note taking app that allows scribbles, drawings and SIP/keyboard based text with some of the features of Phatpad and without relying on other input methods.

huangzhinong

01-02-2004, 07:47 PM

QYV

01-02-2004, 08:54 PM

I love Transcriber (never forked the cash for Calligrapher), but the one thing that keeps it from perfection is that post-recognition, it does often require some editing. Granted, I can do the editing quickly, but when you are taking notes in a meeting, even a few seconds can be significant. What I have wished I could find for several months now is an application that would allow me to write at length without recognition. Then, at my leisure, I could return to the desktop and activate the recognition software to translate my handwriting into text. But, the key is that it would have to preserve the handwriting itself, because I would need to figure out the recognition errors without the immediate context of what was being said - that way I could do the obvious corrections myself, but still look up the handwritten version in case I got a word so badly mangled that the context didn't make it clear.

All that to say: does anyone know if this application will keep a copy of your handwritten notes after you use the recognize feature? :mrgreen:

Tim Allen

01-02-2004, 09:02 PM

All that to say: does anyone know if this application will keep a copy of your handwritten notes after you use the recognize feature? :mrgreen:

Yes, PhatPad does do that, as the recognized text is added to the 'text note' without affecting your original handwriting.

Fzara

01-02-2004, 10:36 PM

OT-Tim Allen? Is this a joke? Why is there a Tim Allen posting on PPCT?
LOL!

Oh yeah-um, interesting app. ;)

GadgetMan

01-03-2004, 12:35 AM

I just want a basic note taking app that allows scribbles, drawings and SIP/keyboard based text with some of the features of Phatpad and without relying on other input methods.

Doesn't built-in Notes application meet your needs? You can write, draw, type (with any SIP tool), record voice notes, move drawings around, scroll (incl. autoscroll) and - what is very important to me - synchronize with Notes module of desktop Outlook.

I honestly do not see any compelling reason to replace Notes with PhatPad....

Cheers,

Steven Cedrone

01-03-2004, 02:50 AM

Tim Allen? Is this a joke? Why is there a Tim Allen posting on PPCT?

Maybe because that's his name and he is a member of the Review Team???

Steve

cludwig

01-03-2004, 03:56 AM

More than a little off topic...

It's a shame that PhatPad can't be "Newton Notes" in disguise. It's no secret that Caligrapher / Transcriber is the same basic engine that the Newton had (all of the same options / issues).

Newton's notetaking capabilities where just so much more natural for me than anything I've used since. I of course love my PPC (now my girlfriend's) and PPCPE and certainly wouldn't carry around a huge Newt these days, but the interface was just so elegant compared to the "windows menus" that we're saddled with today.

I loved being able to start a new note by just drawing a line across the page. I loved that all your notes in the same category were visible at once... just keep scrolling. I love that it was easy to make lists with checkboxes and heirarchical nesting in the built-in app. I loved that recognized text remembered what the ink looked like so that when you corrected you'd see what it was originally. I love that you could drag stuff around easily. You switched between recognizing shapes / letters with just a little toggle. Same for font size, shape, & other text features. So clean. Ah well. I think those guys were really on to something, and it's just a shame that I guess nobody wants to associate with it...

There's something wrong when you realize that the quality of the recognition with this engine has improved only incrementally and that the notetaking experience is actually worse than with a 20Mhz ARM in 1993. Sigh.

OK, to be fair, I didn't like when it would hassle me because the note reached 4k... that was kinda lame ;-)

iPaqDude

01-03-2004, 04:02 AM

I have been using PhatPad 1.0 for some time and like it - quick, allows me to organize notes better, and the ability to switch between the drawing and writing is great. I probably have over a thousand notes from meetings done in PhatPad, as well as reminders - although I use PI's alarm notes feature for reminders most of the time.

I do have a problem in that unless you use Calligrapher to decipher the notes over to text, the notes are not interchangable with anything else (sure, I could do the image save but then only image software can open them). I have emailed and asked the development team to at least look at a port between PhatPad and MS One Note.

This was the first post I saw about there being a bug in Calligrapher 6.5 on the 2215. Perhaps this has something to do with the number of times I have to soft reset just to get the dang thing on..... I will look into this one.

Ed Hansberry

01-03-2004, 07:35 AM

This was the first post I saw about there being a bug in Calligrapher 6.5 on the 2215. Perhaps this has something to do with the number of times I have to soft reset just to get the dang thing on..... I will look into this one.That's the bug. Uninstall 6.5 and your 2215 will turn on and off normally. Stowaway's 1.7 driver did the same thing. Fixed in Calligrapher 7 and Stowaway 2.

iPaqDude

01-03-2004, 04:57 PM

That's the bug. Uninstall 6.5 and your 2215 will turn on and off normally. Stowaway's 1.7 driver did the same thing. Fixed in Calligrapher 7 and Stowaway 2.

Well, shoot. I do use Calligrapher but with the issues that everyone says it is causing for the 2215, it's gone. I can't justify the upgrade to 7.0 after just having done the upgrade to 6.5 less than a year ago (but outside of the free upgrade period). <sigh> It's not a lot of money, but a couple of bucks here, a couple there.... it doesn't take long before my wife is thumping the credit card bills and doing the questioning thing... :(

One step forward, a quick slide backwards....

Phoenix

01-04-2004, 12:32 AM

I always liked dNote. You can still find it on Handango, but I think the developers have just forgotten about it, which is too bad because it was a great note taking app.

The last time they submitted anything, it was 2001. It's too bad when good apps like this are abandoned.

Ripper014

01-04-2004, 01:30 AM

Is this what your looking for...

http://www.derago.com/Files/DownL_e.htm

Seems like it is up to version 3.5

Len M.

01-04-2004, 01:49 AM

Once I've got a handwritten note in PhatPad, how do I print it?

Len M.

lapchinj

01-04-2004, 02:17 AM

I must say that PhatPad is like magic. IMHO it must rate in the top ten for all time PDA apps. Let me explain before everyone flames me. I have a great wife in all aspects except for one and that she is far from being computer literate. The only reason that she knew what side of the PDA to look at is that there was a bunch of “stuff” on the screen.

Anyway, I gave her my V37 and then I sat down with her for a couple of hours over a couple of days. The app I showed her was PhatPad, and it actually WORKED :shocked!: :onfire: she's using it for all her lists. She’s constantly making lists for everything and for the past few years I always bugged her about using a PPC (in the beginning it was a Palm :oops: ) because she would take the wrong list or forget to take a list altogether and all I ever got from her was an “OK”. Now because of PhatPad everything goes onto that PPC. She has lists of lists and she finally admits that this “thing” is great tool for almost anything. So there is hope for her after all. Now that she’s hooked I have to work on the small issues like recharging the battery and taking it with her. :frusty:

Now people will ask “couldn’t I have used notepad or something else like it”. All I can say is that over the past few years I’ve tried (real hard – honestly) but each time met with failure. PhatPad together with Calligrapher was the magic that made this a true success story. Maybe they’ll write it up in Reader’s Digest.

Jeff - :clap:

Tim Allen

01-04-2004, 11:21 AM

Once I've got a handwritten note in PhatPad, how do I print it?

I think the only way to do this is to save it as an image, sync it over to your PC and print it from there in your favourite graphics app.

Len M.

01-04-2004, 03:27 PM

Ugh -- I'd rather use paper than go through all of that!

Anyone have another idea how to print the PhatPad handwritten notes?

I'd use PhatPad to take orders out in the field, but then I have to print them to get them to the order department. Can't I do that from the PocketPC PDA?

Len M.

tanalasta

01-12-2004, 02:11 PM

Is there any way of integrating the phatpad with the notes feature found in PI? I just downloaded the trial for phatpad but i'm really hesitant to purchase it as the PI notes application works well for me. Especially the way it integrates with my hardware buttons and PI. Plus I don't want to have two seperate applications....