The PIMnet Conduits for HotSync Manager perform a mirror synchronisation between the handheld and the desktop. The information is stored in the PIMnet open XML format. All 4 main palm applications are supported, datebook, addressbook, todolist and the memopad application.

Once you have successfully synchronized your Palm with PIMnet data, you can work with your data using one of PIMnet's other tools. The PIMnet Services for eXchaNGeR allow you to use the eXchaNGeR framework as a more flexible and extensible substition for the Palm Desktop application. Or, you can use the PIMnet Web Interface to access your Palm data from a web browser.

To use PIMnet Conduits for HotSync Manager, first install Java Component Manager if you haven't already. This in turn will require Palm's HotSync manager to be installed, as well as Palm's Jsync framework for conduits written in Java.

Then, visit the PIMnet Downloads page and download the .jar files for the specific conduits you want. Run Java Component Manager and use its "Add" menu item to add the conduit you have downloaded. You can now push the HotSync button on the Palm cradle, and the new conduits will run. For more detailed instructions, see the Usage document for Java Component Manager.

The XML conduit creates 2 files on the desktop, a XML '.xml' file which contains the latest status for the desktop application and a XML '.sync' file that contains a snapshot from the last synchronisation.

The '.sync' file is used to compare the handheld and desktop data to the last synchronised data. This allows for full mirror synchronisation of the data and simplifies changing the desktop data.

The next table shows how the conduit handles addition and deletion:

.xml	.sync	Handheld	Result
EXISTS	EXISTS	EXISTS	DO NOTHING
EXISTS	NOT EXISTS	NOT EXISTS	ADD TO HANDHELD
EXISTS	EXISTS	NOT EXISTS	REMOVE FROM DESKTOP
NOT EXISTS	EXISTS	EXISTS	REMOVE FROM HANDHELD
NOT EXISTS	NOT EXISTS	EXISTS	ADD TO DESKTOP
NOT EXISTS	EXISTS	NOT EXISTS	DO NOTHING
EXISTS	NOT EXISTS	EXISTS	ILLEGAL

The next table shows how the conduit handles changes:

Desktop	Handheld	Result
NOT CHANGED	NOT CHANGED	DO NOTHING
CHANGED	NOT CHANGED	CHANGE HANDHELD
NOT CHANGED	CHANGED	CHANGE DESKTOP
CHANGED	CHANGED	SAVE BOTH

To change the information in the .xml file a couple of rules need to be followed.

Addition:

Create a new element with the correct structure but don't add the index and id attributes. (These will be filled in by the conduit and this mechanism is used to identify a new element.) Add this element to a category element.

Removal:

Remove the element from the category, the conduit will remove the element from the handheld.

Change:

Change the element information, the conduit will change the information on the handheld.

Adding a category:

Create a new category according to the category structure but don't add the index and id attributes. (These will be filled in by the conduit and this mechanism is used to identify a new category.) Add this category to the root element.

Removing a category:

Remove the category, the conduit will remove the category from the handheld.

Change a category:

Change the category element, the conduit will change the information on the handheld.

Every XML conduit module has a .dtd file that describes the structure and can be used for validation.