FSCommander User’s Guide

Freedom Scientific BLV Group, LLC.
May 2005

PUBLISHED BY

Freedom Scientific BLV Group, LLC
11800 S. 31st Court North
St. Petersburg, Florida 33716-1805
USA
http://www.FreedomScientific.com

Information in this document is subject to change without notice. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or any means, electronic or mechanical, for any purpose, without the express written permission Freedom Scientific.

Copyright © 2005 Freedom Scientific BLV Group, LLC, All Rights Reserved.

Introduction

FSCommander is a PAC Mate utility program that allows you to use your PAC Mate to run remote controls that come with many electronic devices, such as televisions and VCRs. This software is free from Freedom Scientific. There is no limit to the number of devices that you can program.

To learn more about using FSCommander, select a topic from the list below or continue reading:

Installation
Using FSCommander for the First Time
Learn Mode
Adding a New Remote Control
Deleting a Remote Control
Using FSCommander
Changing Key Assignments for Commands
Quitting FSCommander

Installation

After you have downloaded FSCommander, connect your PAC Mate and establish a Standard or Guest partnership using ActiveSync. On your desktop or laptop computer, use Windows Explorer to locate the FSCommander installation file and press ENTER. ActiveSync will then ask if you want to install FSCommander on your PAC Mate. Follow the prompts.

To start FSCommander on your PAC Mate, open the Start menu and choose Programs, FSCommander.

Using FSCommander for the First Time

Learn Mode

When you add a new remote control, FSCommander automatically switches to Learn mode. To toggle Learn mode on or off for the currently active remote control, press ALT+L (DOTS 1-2-3-8) or choose Learn Mode from the Tools menu.

After you switch to Learn mode, do the following to assign a button function on your remote control to a key on your PAC Mate:

1. Press the key on the PAC Mate that you want to assign to the remote control function.
2. Point the remote control at your PAC Mate’s infrared (IR) port.
3. Press the button on the remote control that you want to assign. The PAC Mate announces that it received the command. If the PAC Mate is unable to interpret the key, you will receive an error message asking you to try again.

Note: Your PAC Mate may stutter when the infrared command learning begins. This happens because top priority is being given to the infrared port while listening for the incoming data, so that your remote is learned as accurately as possible. The stuttering is completely normal.

4. Type a name for the key assignment, such as "Volume Up" or "Channel Down."
5. If you want to assign another key, press ENTER to activate the Next button. If you are finished assigning remote control functions, press the TAB key (DOTS 4-5 CHORD) until you select the Finish button, then press the SPACEBAR.

Tip: Test each key assignment using the PAC Mate to make sure that all the keys you programmed work for the actual device.

Adding a New Remote Control

To add another remote control configuration, do the following:

1. If the Select Remote Control dialog is not open, press ALT (F2), choose Tools, and then choose Select Remote Control.
2. Press ALT, choose Tools, and then choose Add Remote Control.
3. Type a nickname for the remote control and press ENTER to activate the Learn button.
4. The PAC Mate switches to Learn mode so you can assign remote control functions to keys on your PAC Mate.

Deleting a Remote Control

To delete a remote control configuration that you have created, do the following:

1. If the Select Remote Control dialog is not open, press ALT, choose Tools, and then choose Select Remote Control.
2. Use the arrow keys to select the remote control you want to delete.
3. Press ALT, choose Tools, and then choose Delete Remote Control.

Using FSCommander

FSCommander is simple to use. To control a particular device, choose Select Remote Control from the Tools menu. Select the remote control you want to use from the list of those you have programmed and press ENTER. Then, use the keys on the PAC Mate keyboard to operate that device.

Tip: You can return to the Select Remote Control dialog at any time by pressing ALT+M (DOTS 1-3-4-8).

If you forget which remote controls you have set up, do the following to review them at any time.

1. If the Select Remote Control dialog is not open, press ALT, choose Tools, and then choose Select Remote Control.
2. Use the arrow keys to navigate through the list of remote controls.
3. Press ENTER to activate the selected remote control configuration, or press ESC (F1) to exit.

Changing Key Assignments for Commands

If you don’t like the keys that are assigned to remote control commands, you can change them.

1. In the Select Remote Control dialog, select the remote control from the list and press ENTER.
2. To see the list of keys that have been assigned to a particular device, press ALT, choose Tools, and then choose Reassign Keys. A list of assigned keys appears. From this same dialog, you can select a new hot key or change the name of the command.
3. Use the arrow keys to select the assignment you want to change.
4. Press the TAB key until you move to the Hot Key edit box. Press the new key you want to assign.
5. If you want to change the name you assigned to the command, use the TAB key to move to the Command Name edit box and then type a new name.
6. When you have finished, use the TAB key to move to the OK button and press the SPACEBAR to save your changes.