What "hidden" shortcuts are available for developers?

The Palm OS ™ (2.0 and higher) responds to a number of "hidden" shortcuts for debugging your programs. You generate each of these shortcuts by writing characters on your device, or by writing them in the Palm OS Emulator if you are using that for debugging your application.

To enter a shortcut, follow these steps:

1. On your device, or in the emulator, draw the shortcut symbol. This is a lowercase, cursive "L" character.

2. Next, tap the stylus twice, to generate a dot (a period).

3. Finally, write the shortcut character. See the table below for the different shortcut characters that you can use.

Character Description Notes
1 The device enters debugger mode, and waits for a low-level debugger to connect. A flashing square appears in the top left corner of the device. This mode opens a serial port, which drains power over time. You must perform a soft reset to exit this mode.
2 The device enters console mode, and waits for communication, typically from a high-level debugger. This mode opens a serial port, which drains power over time. You must perform a soft reset to exit this mode.
3 The device's automatic power-off feature is disabled. You can still use the device's power button to power it on and off. You must perform a soft reset to exit this mode.
4 Displays the user's name None
5 Erases the user's name and User ID. Warning! When the device is next synchronized after using this shortcut, the HotSync Manager application thinks that it has never been synchronized before. This means that records will be duplicated unless you first perform a hard reset (press the reset button while holding the power key).
6 Displays the ROM build date and build time. None
7 Switches between NiCd and Alkaline battery curves to allow adjustment of when the battery warnings appear. Of limited effectiveness. Low battery warnings do not work well with NiCd batteries.
8 Toggles the backlight mode on a Palm IIIx or Palm V. One mode is the default backlighting mode of the Palm IIIx and Palm V where the display is inverted when the backlight is turned on. The other mode is the default backlighting mode of the Palm III where the display is not inverted when the backlight is turned on.

NOTE Restoring a Palm IIIx or Palm V from an existing user may overwrite the shortcut database and cause this shortcut to be lost.
t Toggle IR test loopback mode. This mode is useful for debugging applications that beam data. Enabling this mode causes beamed data to be immediately received on the same device (ie: the IR hardware is bypassed). This is useful for testing your beaming or exchange manager code.

NOTE Enabling this mode will cause more stack space to be used than a normal beam.
i Initiates a beam receive. Using this shortcut will cause the device to begin waiting for a beam.
s Infrared serial mode toggle This shortcut toggles the output port of infrared data between the built-in IR port and the built-in serial port.

NOTE Many of the debugging shortcuts leave the device in a mode that requires a soft reset. To perform a soft reset, press the reset button on the back of the handheld with a blunt instrument, such as a paper clip.