For many people their Palm device is their primary way to access data when away from the desktop. Part of the beauty of a PDA is the constant availability of addresses, phone numbers, and important appointments or reminders wherever you go. This is even more significant when you have a wirelessly connected device where you can keep your device constantly in sync with changes. But the default software doesn’t give you any way to keep copies of critical documents, spreadsheets, or presentations with you on your PDA.

To solve this a number of companies have come up with methods of displaying documents on your Palm. These applications convert Word or other document files into a format for display on the Palm and offer an ability to edit the files (editing options are sometimes very limited). Of these, Documents To Go 7.0 has been among the best, and with the latest version (7.0) they have improved their lead by including the ability to support Word, Excel, and Power Point files in their native format.

When you install Documents To Go 7.0 from your desktop, it installs the desktop application and sets up a Hotsync download for the handheld applications. These consist of a front end application and the sub-applications Word To Go, Excel To Go, etc, as well as a mail reading application Inbox To Go, which syncs with your desktop inbox (more about this later).

Documents To Go 7.0 is a very tidy set of applications. On your desktop it consists of a very nice download application that offers you the choice to add documents or pictures to be downloaded during your next Hotsync. The application is clean, easy to understand, and resembles any normal Windows application so cleanly that instructions are pretty much unnecessary (there is a Mac version as well). You can elect whether you want to transfer the document in the To Go format or as in native format as well as whether you want it to be saved on the handheld’s memory or onto a data card. After that, all that is required is a Hotsync to make your files available on your handheld. During Hotsync files that are set to be used in To Go format are converted while native .doc or .xls files are transferred as is. Converting to To Go format saves space and loads up more quickly on your handheld, but native format documents remain compatible with full versions of Word and Excel. In either case changes on the handheld can be synced back to the original copy on your desktop.

On the handheld, Documents To Go is launched by an icon called Documents on the your handheld. This opens a main application that lists available files. From this application you can click on and open any Word, Excel, or Power Point document you have transferred, as well as pictures in most common formats. The application allows you to create new documents in the To Go format (Word To Go, Sheet To Go, or Slideshow To Go) or native Word or Excel documents, open existing files, beam files to other handhelds, as well as mail or print existing documents (if your device has support for mail or printing). You can also select whether changes to a file will be synced to the desktop as well as managing files by moving their location from card to handheld or vice versa.

Files are opened in separate, hidden applications. Pics To Go is simply a picture viewer, while Excel To Go, Word To Go, and Slideshow To Go are editors that contain all of the critical functionality to edit and maintain documents while away from the desktop.

All of these display very clearly on my Zire 71. Three zoom levels allow you to view and edit at a magnification that is comfortable for you, and even at the Small zoom level, where a spreadsheet shows about 24 rows with the task bar hidden, the font is crisp and readable.

These applications are full-featured enough that you can realistically expect to create or update documents or spreadsheets on your handheld. Word To Go supports embedded graphics and tables, so even reasonably complex documents work just fine. Excel To Go doesn’t handle macros, so complex spreadsheets with automated functionality may not work correctly. Documents in Word To Go generally display well, though often are not completely What You See Is What You Get. Some forms I grabbed from my documents folders displayed very strangely because long lines of underline characters were used to designate where the user was expected to input text. Still, these applications are quite capable for most common uses.

In addition to the many benefits of being able to view and edit these files on your handheld, the ability to easily move documents to the SD card or to beam files makes Documents To Go an excellent way to carry commonly-needed files with you and transfer them to another handheld or laptop when someone else needs them (or to a laptop to be displayed on a projector for meetings). Since files can be stored on your handheld in their native form, the files can be opened in the normal Office applications on any laptop or desktop.

As mentioned above, another nice application is bundled with Documents To Go: Inbox To Go. This application syncs with the mailbox on your desktop and allows you to read mail while on the go and to draft mail that will be sent through your desktop account next time you sync. Simply put, this is the easiest to set up, easiest to use inbox program I have seen. Unlike most inbox apps that take forever to setup and get working correctly, this one worked right as soon as I’d synced it, with no intervention or hand-holding.

One annoying oversight is that while Documents To Go includes Inbox To Go, the Send option in the main Documents app doesn’t allow you to send docs directly. You can create a new mail from inside of Inbox To Go and attach a document, so why can’t the Send button in the Documents application allow you the option to send through Inbox To Go?

Despite that minor gripe, I was very impressed with Documents To Go Premium Edition 7. At $49.99 it’s a lot of functionality for the money. Anyone who produces or uses Office documents will find this a very valuable addition to their Palm. Be sure to take advantage of their 30 days Free Demo Code you wont be disappointed.

Tucker Hatfield
--Technology Editor

Documents To Go Premium Edition 7.0
Palm OS (5.0 or later) and Windows
Documents To Go 7.0 Free Demo Code
$49.99