Friday, July 16, 2004
Print like a Pro with ActivePrint 3.0
Posted by Zack Mahdavi in "SOFTWARE" @ 09:30 AM
Print Queue
ActivePrint installs a small program on your Pocket PC, which must be installed in your main memory. When you first start up the program, you’re presented with a very simple interface.
Figure 4: The interface is simple, which makes navigating around ActivePrint quick and easy.
The most important menu is the “File” menu. You can add files to your print queue by selecting “Choose File”. The “Type” drop down box stores a listing of the file types you selected during the ActivePrint installation.
Figure 5: These are the file types I selected to print with.
As an example, I’m in the mood for printing some driving directions I saved using Mapopolis. To print the directions, you need to select the “html” file type. Then you can add the file to your queue.
Figure 6: My Mapopolis directions are now queued for printing.
At this point, you can change the print setting for the file by clicking “Choose Printer” in the “Printer” menu. You are given several useful options. I am glad Pocket Watch thought to include this feature with their program. I have found it to be very handy many times.
Figure 7: You can edit a number of options in the "Choose Printer" dialog box.
Printing
To print your document, you need to set up an Activesync session. This could be a remote network session, a Bluetooth session, or even a regular USB session. Once the ActiveSync session is established, ActivePrint starts printing each document by launching the default desktop program that corresponds to the document’s file type. It then tells the program to print. Once the print is complete, the document is closed. The whole process was extremely simple.
On the down side, some file formats did not print at all. However, the kind folks at Pocket Watch Software resolved my file format problems within 24 hours. Their support and patience with my requests was definitely world-class.
Competition & Pricing
HP offers a free Mobile Printing solution for Pocket PCs, but their software only supports Ethernet and Bluetooth printers. Buying the right adapters or printers to enable network printing can cost easily $150 or more. ActivePrint 3.0 allows you to print to any printer, even a printer that is physically connected to your computer. I think that alone justifies the somewhat high $39.99 price. In addition, ActivePrint is built for the future; Pocket Watch Software just announced Windows Mobile 2003 Second Edition support for ActivePrint.
Conclusion
The ease of use of ActivePrint and top-notch support from Pocket Watch justify the higher than usual price. I highly recommend this program for the mobile professional who's been looking for the ideal Pocket PC printing solution.
