back lighting M500

[geraldine]

The back light on the M500 worked fine when I first purchased after I did the first hot sinc (loading the software fro the palm, supplyed by Palm) the back light appears to be in the front of the screen thus, keeping the PDA screen hard to view. I must turn off the back lighting to see the screen. This works fine if there is sufficient light. around, I need the back light to work in low lite. The unit is fully charged, and I have not added any 3rd party items. Is there a solution to this? I inquired of Palm on their site at Palm.com They had no answer. However I thought I saw smothing regarding a solution to this problem. thanks

[NickC]

One of the big weaknesses of B/W Palms IMHO is the backlighting. I'd prefer to have a nice Indiglo-style backlight.

In any case, I think you're referring to the regular or inverse backlight mode. In one, the background is light while the display is kept dark. The opposite is where the picture/text is lit. To switch between the two, open a new memo and type in shortcut .8 -- That is, the shortcut stroke like a lowercase cursive L, dot-dot for period, and then the number 8.

[DrMud]

Just a note of warning.
NickC's answer should help you but the means to switch the back-light by the a series of simple graffiti strokes can be a little dangerous; let me explain.If you make the same set of strokes but you end with the numbers 1, 2, 4 or 5 you can lock your Palm up. In some cases not an easy fix even with a hard reset.
The number 6 is fun as it will show you your Palm's birthday. With that knowledge you will have another reason to miss work once a year.
DrMud

[NickC]

That's true - you do have to be careful. Fortunately, I never screwed up when I did that. And of course, now that I have a Clie T615, I don't need to mess with it! :D

You can do the same thing with a hack such as Backlighthack (use it in conjunction with Hackmaster or X-master)

[geraldine]

What is a hack or a hacklight? where is this available?

[DrMud]

A "Hack" is an application that as part of its design goes directly to an aspect of the operating system without talking to the interface. It does as the name implies, it hacks or cuts right into the operating system. Such applications require another application such as XMaster to enable the hack to access the Operating System (OS). There are many really exciting Hacks. Many people use hacks without a problem. Others find they cause the operating system of their Palm to become unreliable.
You can find Xmaster and others Hacks at PalmGear.com. Simply enter "Hack" into the search window and you will be amazed at all the hacks.
DrMud
PS: Before you get really obsessed with the capabilities of a hack you should be aware that if you move to a new Palm with OS 5.0 that hack will most likely not work. Palm has warned developers that OS 5 will not be hack friendly.

[NickC]

You can even find lots of cool hacks right here on palmblvd.com - go to the software section under "Utilities" There is a subsection called "Hacks"

As Dr. Mud said, a hack usually works on something within the OS; it's not a standalone program. For example, I have several hacks on my Clie: one removes those dotted lines on the Datebook, To-Do, and Memo sections. Another changes fonts. Another turns the Graffiti area into three sections: lowercase, caps, and numbers.

Not having hacks has really bummed me about OS5. I hope it has the functionality of the really useful hacks built in.

[PCnotPC]

Can't you just hold down the power button for a couple of seconds and the unit will switch the backlight mode on or off?

:confused:

[NickC]

The discussion is about the method of backlighting. b/w Palms have two modes of backlight: one where the pixels themselves are lit and the background is dark; the other where the background is lit and the pixels are still black.

[PCnotPC]

I have not been able to put my m500 into the "black pixel/lit background" mode you speak of. The only backlight my unit has is the inverse mode where the pixels are lit on a black background. This mode is achieved by pressing and holding the power button for two seconds, or by using the "shortcut.8" method you described. It is turned off by repeating the same process. If you could direct me to achieving this "black pixel/lit background" mode you speak of, I would surely appreciate it.

By the way, on Palm's site you can download a "Backlight Utility" which will remember which backlight mode (on or off) your m500 was in when it was shut off and start back up in that same mode. This might be what Geraldine is looking for to power her unit up with the backlight already on. It can be found at the link below:

http://www.palm.com/support/m505/backlight_utility.html

[PCnotPC]

Okay, I get it!

What "shortcut.8" calls "Inverse Backlight" is the "black pixel/lit background" mode, and "Normal Backlight" is what is more commonly referred to as "Inverse Backlighting" or "lit pixel/black background"!

You are right, and I think the Palm Backlight Utility should be just what Geraldine needs to keep her backlight lit!
:rolleyes:

[DrMud]

PCnotPC,
Here we go:
go to the Memo pad, open a new memo, make the Grafitti shortcut stroke (lower case cursive "L"), tap twice (Grafitti period), make the number 8 in the Grafitti number area. You should then see the Message [Inverting Backlight]. Hold down your power button until the backlight comes on. Now you should see the dark ground with light letters.
Doc

[PCnotPC]

As evidenced by my previous post, I had already figured out my problem with the "shortcut.8" method, mainly being Palm's nomenclature for the two modes.

What I would like to know is why it is not easier to achieve the mode of backlighting you prefer, without resorting to undocumented shortcuts or hacks?

:(

[DrMud]

Sorry for the belated post. I probably had an unrefreshed page showing on my PC when I wrote my post.

PCnotPC,I'm with you. Palm should have given the option to swithch the backlight from the preference panel.
DrMud