Handyshopper Integration on Pocket PC?

[Magic Speller]

Can someone tell me if it's possible to integrate PDACookbook on the Pocket PC with HandyShopper? I could swear that I

read this somewhere (maybe in a feature list?), but I can't find it now.

As I understand it, on the Palm you export to a memo and then import the memo into HandyShopper2. Is that right?

I believe that on the PPC you can export to a note, but I don't see any way in HandyShopper3 for the PPC to import a note.

Thanks for your help.

[Support]

We can export for import into HandyShopper on the Palm, but not the Pocket PC - at least we have not tested or advertised that.

I can add this to our suggestion list to be looked at, however.

[Magic Speller]

Thanks, Shawn.

I appreciate it.

[Magic Speller]

Shawn,

Just discovered this 3-year-old post of mine! Now that I've registered the software, can you tell me if anything has come of this suggestion?

Thanks!

[mstevens]

We can export for import into HandyShopper on the Palm, but not the Pocket PC - at least we have not tested or advertised that.


Well, you sort of have. Under PDACookbook Plus at it says:

* Plus - All LITE version features shown below.

Then under PDACookbook Lite it says:

* Shopping List - our most popular feature. Add items from any recipe to the shopping list. Add misc items to the shopping list. Export to HandyShopper2 or SplashShopper. Remove items quickly as you purchase them.

My wife and I might not be able to function without HandyShopper2 on her Palm and my PPC. When I read the above, I certainly interpreted it as meaning that we'd both be able to export shopping lists to HS2 on our handhelds. We're considering moving from Living Cookbook, which we absolutely love, to PDACookbook Plus largely because of the potential to integrate with HS2.

I can add this to our suggestion list to be looked at, however.

I'm guessing feature requests aren't acted very fast?

[Support]

Those exports are for the Palm OS, where HandyShopper is very mature and stable. HandyShopper for Pocket PC is still in beta and has not been updated since 2005. They are not written by the same person for Palm & PPC.

Some features are added more quickly than others. It depends a lot on the complexity and popularity of the feature.

Right now, we are in the middle of a major rewrite of all apps for Windows Mobile and Vista. This is a time consuming effort, but will include many new features as well.

Since HS for the PPC does not appear to be actively developed since 2005, it won't be a high priority for us.

Thanks.

[Magic Speller]

Shawn,

It's true that HandyShopper for the Pocket PC is officially still in alpha and that it hasn't been actively developed for some time. However, it is extremely stable and well behaved. Chris Antos, the developer, has stated that he uses the Pocket PC version himself, and in several months of following the discussions in the Yahoo Groups HandyShopper list, I didn't see a single report of problems with it. It is compatible with Pocket PC 2003, Windows Mobile 5, and Windows Mobile 6 (at least).

Based on my experience, there is little need for active development other than to add new features. In fact, the Pocket PC/Windows Mobile version is version 3 (as opposed to version 2 on the Palm), and is in general more advanced than the Palm version.

[mstevens]

I do think HandyShopper development is ongoing and current: the current PPC version, 3.03, was released 8 June, 2008 and the current Palm version, 3.0.1, on 20 April 2008. These are release, not prerelease, versions.

I suppose it's *possible* that Chris Antos isn't maintaining both, but as far as I can tell he is. Both versions are hosted on his website, in any event.

No intention of throwing rocks here, but I think the current PDA Cookbook Plus version appears to date from last year so in a way could be said to be in less-active development than HS3.

As I said, HandyShopper export is probably the primary reason for us to purchase PDA Cookbook Plus instead of using our current desktop software (Living Cookbook).