FAQ:

• How-to: Modify which Outlook folders are synchronized to my BlackBerry?
  1. From the home screen, select the Messages icon and click the track wheel.
  2. In messages, click the track wheel and select Options from the menu and click the track wheel .
  3. Select Email Settings and click the track wheel.
  4. While in Email Settings, click the track wheel.
  5. From the menu select Folder Redirection and click the track wheel.
  6. Expand sub folders using the track wheel menu or by pressing the space key.
  7. To add or remove a folder for redirection, use the track wheel menu or the space key to add and remove a check mark from each available folder.
  8. When you are done, click the Escape key and select Save.

   

• How-to: Modify Security Timeout? (The device keeps prompting me for my password to access it.)
  1. From the home screen, select the Options icon and click the track wheel.
  2. In Options, select Security Options from the list and click the track wheel .
  3. Select General Settings and click the track wheel.
  4. While in General Settings, select the Security Timeout value and click the track wheel.
  5. From the menu select Change Option and click the track wheel.
  6. Select the value you wish to use (60 Minutes is the maximum and the recommended value to use) and click the track wheel.
  7. When you are done, click the Escape key and select Save.

   

• What attachment types can I open, by default, on my Blackberry?
   
  • .ZIP
  • .HTM
  • .HTML
  • .DOC
  • .DOT
  • .PPT
  • .PDF
  • .WPD
  • .TXT
  • .VCF
  • .XLS
  • .BMP
  • .GIF
  • .JPG
  • .PNG
  • .TIF

   

• Message Reconciliation/Synchronization between Outlook and my Blackberry doesn't seem to be working properly.     

  Troubleshooting:Open "Messages" from the home screen --> Click the track wheel --> select "Reconcile Now." If your changes synchronize, reconciliation is working correctly.
  
  Potential Issues

  1. Synchronization of deleted and modified items on either the Blackberry or in Outlook may take up to 45 minutes to occur (with the exception of new, incoming messages).
  2. If you delete messages in Outlook and immediately empty your Deleted Items folder, synchronization of those deleted items to your Blackberry device will NOT occur.
  3. By default, only your Inbox, Sent Items, and Deleted Items folders are synchronized. See the "How-To" above to modify which folders are syncronized.
  4. In order for synchronization to occur, the following options must be set for Email Reconciliation:
      
     • From the home screen, select the Messages icon and click the track wheel.
     • In messages, click the track wheel and select Options from the menu and click the track wheel .
     • Select Email Reconciliation and click the track wheel.
     • Delete On: Mailbox & Handheld
     • Wireless Reconcile: On
     • On Conflicts: Mailbox Wins
     • When you are done, click the Escape key and select Save.

 

TIPS - TRICKS - GENERAL SHORTCUTS

Important Keys

ALT key = has half moon on top of it. left side of keyboard below the A.
CAP key = bottom right key (AKA SHIFT key)



In General

1. Hold the key while you roll the thumb-wheel to scroll horizontally in any field where you can enter or view text.
    
2. Hold the key while you roll the thumb-wheel to scroll through a field to view options.
    
3. Hold the key while you roll the thumb-wheel to select multiple items in a list.
    
4. +Escape - Allows multitasking, brings up Task bar on any screen. Similar to Windows ALT+TAB
    
5. + - Turns on CAPS lock. Hold first then press . An oval with an up arrow shows up in the upper right corner of the screen.
    
6. + - Turns on NUM lock. Hold first then press . A # sign shows up in the oval in the upper right corner of the screen)
    
7. Type the first letter of an item in an options list or menu to jump directly to that item.
    
8. Type the first letters of a name or the initials separated by a to find a contact in the Address Book screen.
    
9. Press C to compose a new message from the home screen or within Messages. (If this does not work, make sure Phone->Options->"Dial From Home Screen" is turned off. This re-enables key press shortcuts for icons from the home screen.)
    
10. Press + to key lock your BlackBerry quickly from the home screen. (Alternate key press is just press K, but this only works if "Dial From Home Screen" is disabled)
     
11. Rearrange the ribbon: In the Home screen (ribbon), hold the key and click the thumb-wheel to bring up a menu. You can then select Move Icon, Hide Icon, or Show All. If you hide an icon, to show it again click Show all and it will appear with an X over it, bring up the menu on it and uncheck hide icon.
     
12. The Blackberry display can be backlit to allow reading messages in the dark. To get the light to come on, hit the back light button usually in the lower right of the keyboard. Hopefully you have a backlit keyboard as well so you can type in the dark.
     
13. Turning the radio off and back on when coverage is spotty and you've lost signal seems to help. Also going into network and selecting register now will help. And if you have a phone/combo BB then on some you can go into network and select Scan for networks. then select the network you are on, for example T-mobile, then save. After doing this the radio will reset and you may receive a register message and a new service book, which you can accept from the service book menu in options.
     
14. Password protect your BB. To set a password, go to the Options menu to the Security item. Set the desired timeout (I use 15 minutes) and enable/set a password. In conjunction with this, you should also go to the Options menu to the Owner item, and enter your name, phone number, etc. When the password protection kicks in, this is what is displayed on the screen.
     
15. After five incorrect attempts at typing in your password, the password starts echoing (figuring you really need all the help you can get). After ten attempts, it performs a lobotomy on itself and almost all data is cleared. The Memo database, however, is retained and visible.
     
16. To support more than one signature. Wipe out your auto-signature in the Redirector of the Desktop Software and just use 'Auto Text' to configure alternate signitures

In the Message List

(Some of these work in tasks, memos, and appointments also)

Sorting:

1. +I - show only incoming mail
    
2. +O - show only outgoing mail (messages you have sent - i.e. checkmark icon)
    
3. +P - show phone log messages
    
4. +S - show SMS messages
    
5. +V - show VoiceMail messages

Navigating:

1. T - go to top of message listing
    
2. B - go to end/bottom of message listing
    
3. - close message listing and return to home screen (ribbon)
    
4. - page down
    
5. + - page up

Deleting multiple messages at once:

1. Highlight a date (i.e. Fri, Oct 05,2001) in the message list, hit the thumb-wheel and select delete prior. All messages prior to that date will be deleted.
    
2. Hold down the key and use the thumb-wheel to scroll up or down to select messages. Click the thumb-wheel and select 'Delete Messages'. Combine this with a sorting tip to make it even more useful (i.e. To delete the last 5 messages that you have sent (checkmarks), press then the letter 'O' (for outgoing) this will show all of your sent messages, then per this tip scroll down and select the last five.

While In A Message

Navigating:

1. or - scroll down a page/screen at a time
    
2. + or + - scroll back a page/screen at a time
    
3. B - scroll to end of page
    
4. T - scroll to top of page
    
5. U - jump to closest unread message
    
6. N - jump to next message
    
7. P - jump to previous message
    
8. - close message and return to message listing

Reply-to/Forward:

1. R - reply to or answer this message
    
2. F - forward this message

Select Text (OS v2.1+):

1. Press the key and then scroll the thumb-wheel to select. If you release the key and scroll the thumb-wheel you will select entire lines. Press the key again at any time to start selecting by character again.
    
2. Hold down key + CLICK the thumb-wheel (click it don't hold it down), release the thumb-wheel and then use it to scroll whole lines. You can press and hold the key at anytime to start selecting by character again.
    
3. Click scroll wheel and select SELECT from the menu. scroll wheel to select entire line. click scroll wheel again and select copy.

With either method, click the thumb-wheel and select 'Cut Selection' or 'Copy Selection'... to paste, open a new message or whatever, click the thumb-wheel, and then select 'Paste Selection'.



Composing Message

1. Press and hold a letter to capitalize it (with Key Rate enabled).
    
2. Press the key twice to insert a period and capitalize the next letter.
    
3. Press the key to insert the "@" and "." characters in an Email field. Backspace and type again to over-ride this like you would with 'autO text'
    
4. Press and hold a letter key and roll the thumb-wheel to scroll through international/accent characters, equation symbols and other marks.

Calendar (from Agenda screen)

1. Press T to go to "Today" in the Calendar screen.
    
2. Press G to go to a specific date in the Calendar screen.
    
3. The default date range for Calendar synchronization in Desktop Manager may not suit most people. While configuring the Calendar synchronization, click the Advanced button and specify the desired range.

Battery

1. The largest draw on battery life is the transmitter, so if you are transmitting a lot, you can expect reduced battery life. And the back light
    
2. Being in fringe or no coverage areas will eat up your battery as it attempts to transmit. If you're in an area that is out of range, turn your BB's radio off manually or use Options / Auto On Off to conserve battery life.

Geek Tips

1. Rather than looking at the bars, you can change the display of the 'signal strength' to read in real numbers.
   While at the home screen (ribbon), hold down the half moon key while you type NMLL. The bars should change to read numbers. For the 'signal strength', if you are in the 100 area (that means -100 dBm), you will be transmitting at maximum power (2 Watts), and since coverage is hit and miss at this weak a signal, you may end up transmitting many times before the packets make it through. This might help explain any poorer than normal battery life. I consider anything at -90 to -50 excellent.
    
2. To get the bars back: While at the home screen (ribbon), hold down the half moon key while you type NMLL again.
    
3. Hold down the half moon key -AND- the key at the same time, then the letter 'H'. This brings up the "Help Me!" screen that lists version, app version, pin, imei, uptime, signal strength, battery level, file free, and file total.
    
4. Hold down the half moon while you type LGLG. This brings up the event log where you can clear events (frees some memory) or view them or copy the contents to mail to someone.
    
5. ++ will reboot your BB.
    
6. If you would like to have delivery confirmation for your regular outgoing emails on your BlackBerry, add "<confirm>" to the beginning of your subject line. You must include the brackets. You will get an email back confirming delivery of your message.

BlackBerry Calendar Tricks

It is now a misconception that BlackBerry PIM is inferior compared to Palm/Pocket PC's default PIM. This used to be true, but is NOT true anymore. Keep in mind BlackBerry OS 4.0 now has categories, filters, multiple address per contact, and more fields - putting the PIM roughly on par with other PDA's. The advantage of the marriage of a full thumb keyboard and a scroll wheel, allow the BlackBerry to be much faster to operate than a Palm/Pocket PC'S once you become experienced and memorize the below tricks.

Although BlackBerry Calendar may not look too fancy at first sight, there are a lot of hidden features, and is surprisingly efficient once you are used to it and that you've become a fast thumb typist. Experienced BlackBerry can easily out-schedule a Palm/Pocket PC'S user, and less prone to mistakes such as accidental stylus taps which occasionally require multiple steps to correct your mistakes caused by accidental taps.

The BlackBerry PIM is surprisingly efficient if you learn a few tricks. These tricks work under both BlackBerry OS 3.7.x, 3.8 and 4.x, although one or two key press shortcuts might only work under 3.8 or 4.x.

Note: These tricks apply only to the full-keyboard BlackBerries and may not work with the 7100x series condensed keyboard.

QUICKLY ADDING APPOINTMENT
1. Spin scroll wheel to select the time (to nearest previous hour)
2. Begin typing name of appointment and hit Enter (Done! That's it! No need to click scroll wheel!)
(If you need to modify further such as more options such as different reminder duration than default reminder, or need a more exact time, just hit Enter a 2nd time)

QUICKLY ADDING APPOINTMENT THAT ENDS IN :15 :30 :45
1. Spin scroll wheel to select the time (to nearest previous hour)
2. Begin typing name of appointment
3. Before you hit Enter, hold ALT and spin the scroll wheel This cycles between :15 :30 :45. Then hit Enter.
(If you need to change length of appointment, spin scroll wheel without holding ALT, before you hit Enter.)

QUICKLY MODIFYING/RESCHEDULING APPOINTMENT
In the Calendar, spin the scroll wheel to select the time of an existing appointment and then hit Enter (or double click scroll wheel). Now you can easily edit the name of the appointment. Or modify the time or date. Or amount of advance notice reminder. To quickly change the time or date of the appointment, select the time digit and then hold ALT+scroll wheel to cycle through a new time/date value quickly. (This trick works in Agenda view too!)

QUICKLY CHANGE DISPLAYED DATE IN CALENDAR
Just hold the ALT key while you use the scroll wheel to flip through the dates instantly.
You'll zoom through the whole calendar in no time flat, cycle 1 day back/forward with each click of the scroll wheel If your cursor is on top of the date instead of elsewhere in the Calendar, you can quickly change the month and year too, rather than cycling back/forward 1 day at a time! You can even hit Spacebar to scroll forward by 1 day, if you prefer to do that than using the scroll wheel

QUICKLY DELETE APPOINTMENT
Spin the scroll wheel to select the appointment and hit backspace.

VIEW AGENDA SCREEN
Like a "Today" screen on Pocket PC'S Click scroll wheel and select "View Agenda". If you want this screen to be the default Calendar view when you launch Calendar, go to Calendar Options and change default view.

KEYPRESS SHORTCUTS FROM VIEW AGENDA SCREEN
You can hit "D" from the Agenda screen to go to the day view mode so you can quickly add appointments using the quick method. Or use "C" to add new appointment in detailed mode, "D" goes to day view, "W" goes to week view, "M" goes to month view, "T" goes back to current day, and there's other key press shortcuts.

VIEW WEEKLY / MONTHLY CALENDAR
If you don't use the Agenda screen as the default view, then simply click scroll wheel and select "View Day", "View Week" or "View Month". These now look roughly similar to those found on modern PDA's such as Pocket PC'S and Palm now.

CHANGE DEFAULT REMINDER
If you permanently prefer a 30 minute or 60 minute default reminder every time you quickly add an appointment,
go to Calendar -> Options. Then you can change this, among other parameters.

Once you know these tricks and become a good thumb typist, you can add and modify appointments much faster than you can with a Palm or Pocket PC'S
 

 

MYTHS

MYTH: RIM is only good for email
That used to be true, but not anymore. Yes, email is a excellent application. RIM used to be very far behind in everything else except a "great wireless email device". But that's no longer true.

MYTH: Blackberry has poor quality screens
That used to be true, but not anymore. If you see one of the newer models (Model 7290, 7250, 7520, or 7100 are the BRIGHT-screen models), you will be impressed at the screen quality which is much more on par with Pocket PC's and Palm's today.
Note: Bright-screen 7520 model should not be confused with dim-screen 7510
Note: Bright-screen 7290 model should not be confused with dim-screen 7280

MYTH: BlackBerry has poor PIM
That used to be true, but not anymore. There are several third party PIM's such as PocketDay and eWorks. You now have multiple addresses and categories. Plus, it's faster to update information on a BlackBerry than on a Pocket PC or Palm, with tips like BlackBerry Calendar Tricks.

MYTH: BlackBerry can't do Internet applications
Not true. It used to be true that you required a BlackBerry Enterprise Server in your environment and MDS, but not anymore. With BlackBerry OS 4.x you can even use certain models of BlackBerry as a modem for laptop.

MYTH: BlackBerry does IM poorly
Wrong again. You can get a great third party program called Verichat, the exact same thing now available for TREO devices. Verichat is actually more responsive on some BlackBerry handheld's than on a TREO. Verichat on a BlackBerry is now more reliable than Sidekick/Hiptop, especially if you have Version 1.91 or later.

MYTH: Not Much BlackBerry Software
That used to be the case, but not anymore. There has been an amazing explosion of BlackBerry software in 2004 and 2005. There are now over 1,000 programs. As an example, at the start of 2004, there were only 2 chat programs for BlackBerry devices and today there are over 20. Java J2ME MIDP 2.0 is now supported in the BlackBerry OS 4.x and later.
 

• Longer battery life: Blackberry consistently lasts longer than other handheld's such as Treo or iPaq.

• Durability: Blackberry handheld's survive drops much better than other handheld's such as Treo or iPaq.

• Data Loss Prevention: You can yank the battery out of your BlackBerry for a full week and put it back in one week later, all your data is still there. Everything is written to flash ROM on the fly, even your email drafts, so you don't need to make backups like you would with Palm or iPaq.

• Security: All connections to BlackBerry devices are encrypted with 3DES. Blackberry requires cryptographic signing by RIM (the maker of BlackBerry) before any application has access to the BlackBerry operating system or databases, which makes it much less likely that a virus can be written for the BlackBerry which can compromise the data or security of the device. In connection with the RPI BES Service, BlackBerry devices can be remotely locked and/or wiped clean of sensitive data if your Blackberry is ever lost or stolen. Many consider other devices, which offer cameras and Secure Digital (SD) card slots, security risks.

• Stability: Up-times well over 60 days are more common on BlackBerry than on other handheld's, usually because of the nature of third party applications installed on these other devices in order to fully enable the features on those devices.

• Always On, No Connecting Needed: The BlackBerry is like a wireless Cable/DSL connection. It's always there. No connecting needed. Most other devices require you to manually reconnect especially after they have been in standby mode for a while, or you turned it off.

• Simplicity: On average, out of the box, it takes 20 minutes to completely set up and begin using a BlackBerry device. Unlike Pocket PC and Palm OS based PDA devices, there is no additional software required to connect to your RPI Exchange E-mail. Pocket PC based PDA devices require additional server side options enabled, which, currently, are not installed or enabled, in order to use their full functionality.

• Support: DOT CIO, in conjunction with departmental administrators, fully support BlackBerry devices and service to connect to all aspects of your Exchange mailbox. On the other hand, DOT CIO does NOT provide support for non-BlackBerry devices.

Exchange Mailbox Size Restrictions:

NOTE: Users are encouraged to manage their e-mail so that the system restrictions on mailboxes are not reached. It is important for users to understand that the mailbox size directly effects the performance of the e-mail client and the network, especially in situations where users are retrieving e-mail from off campus. Below are the current restrictions on mailbox size for your Exchange account.

1. Users will receive notification of mailbox size limit reached beginning at 190mb.
2. Users are prevented form sending e-mail, but may continue to receive e-mail above 200mb.
3. Users are prevented from sending and receiving e-mail above 225mb.

Recipient Limit:

NOTE: This is the limit imposed on the number of recipients a user can send an individual e-mail message to. E-mail groups in the Global Catalog / Address List are for interdepartmental distribution of e-mail messages, and are not intended to be used in conjunction with other e-mail groups to distribute e-mail messages to larger groups of recipients. There are alternatives for users wishing to send announcements to large groups of campus members, including List-Proc lists, web pages, and distributed memos, all subject to the campus policies on distribution such information. Below is the recipient limit for your Exchange account.

1. The maximum number of recipients per message is currently set to 100 users.

Message Size Limit:

NOTE: This is the limit imposed on messages and associated attachments. Message size greatly impacts the overall performance of the e-mail system and the network as well as the connect between client and server and the client retrieving e-mail. Large attachments cause system wide slowdown when combined with high numbers of recipients. There is a noticeable delay in retrieving e-mail at the client end when large attachments are received or sent, especially when doing so over slower connections such as dial-up. In order to provide a reliable and relatively fast service, we impose the message size limit to what we believe our system and most connected clients can reasonably handle .Please keep in mind that systems other than the Exchange service at RPI may have smaller limits for message size, and as a result, you may be limited by the system on which the recipient of your messages resides. Below is the size limit for messages and your Exchange account.

1. The maximum message size, including any and all attachments, is currently 25mb

Outlook Web Access Timeout:

NOTE: This is the period of time which you will remain authenticated to our Exchange service, using Outlook Web Access (OWA), without activity. The timeout period depends on how you chose to log in to OWA. From the login page, you have two options as to how you can proceed:"PUBLIC or SHARED COMPUTER" or "PRIVATE COMPUTER" login types. Each is set differently and is designed to log you off in the event you have walked away from your computer and forgotten to log out. On public machines, this timeout period, is set very low, so that when you walk away from a public workstation, you do not inadvertently leave your e-mail session to Exchange open, allowing another individual to access your personal information. On a private workstation the timeout value is set relatively high. This assumes that the workstation is in a fairly secure location and the chances of someone sitting down at an unattended session and gaining access to your personal information is low. It is recommended that no matter your intent, that you always log off any secure session prior to leaving your workstation. Below are the timeout values for OWA sessions.

1. After signing in at the login page, the default setting of "Public or Shared Computer" the session will timeout after an inactivity period of 15min.
2. After signing in at the login page and selecting "Private Computer" the session will timeout after an inactivity period of 24 hours.