PalmLog Pro introduces an important enhancement that allows you to tailor the logbook to your specific needs. First, there are 72 fields with customizable labels. Next, you can design up to 6 pages of information in Layout mode. The layouts and field labels are saved in 2 databases on the palm device (NPLP-StdDB.pdb and NPLP-AltDB.pdb). If you have designed the perfect layout for your flying situation, you can share it with others. If they load your layout file(s) onto their palm, it will overwrite theirs and they will have the new layout. This does not change any of the data that has already been saved.
If you have a layout that you would like to share with others, send it to PalmLog@nomadtech.com with the subject Layout. There will be a section of the website that will host layout files in different languages and for different jobs. A couple notes are in order here:
Layouts have the database names in the files, so changing the filename will not work to make a layout Std instead of Alt. There is a button on the Field database edit page that lets you swap the layouts.
Loading a layout database completely overwrites the old layout database. Make sure that is really what you want before you load it.
Simply changing the layouts does not change entry data. Additionally, if you use the button mentioned above to swap the layouts, the aircraft default labels sets are not changed.
Now, on to how to set them up.
You can enter layout mode in two ways. Either the Layout button on the Preferences page, or from the main screen, tap the menu silkscreen then choose Setup->Edit Form Layout.
The buttons at the top right of the page allow you to switch between the two layouts. The layout is a 3 x 8 grid of fields per page. The top two rows do not change from page to page. Tap on a field area and it will bring up a list of possible fields. This is where the columns setting in the field definition comes into play. If the column is more than one, it will stretch to fill the columns next to it subject to a couple rules:
A field won't stretch across another non-blank field next to it.
The column setting is actually a MAX. For example a 2 column field in the first column will not stretch into the 3rd column.
There is also one special case. If you place a field on the left and one on the right with a blank in between AND both fields have the same number of columns set, they will each cover half the screen. For example, a 2 column field in the first column and a 1 column filed in the last won't split the screen, but if they were both 2 column fields, they would.
Placing the "Note" field anywhere on the page clears out the entire bottom section of the page and sets "Note" in the upper left.
Placing a duplicate field on a page will clear the other instance.