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SplashShopper for BlackBerry User Guide

 

 

Table of Contents

Introduction
Installation
Registration
Quick Start
Lists
List View
Menu Options
QuickLists
Preferences
Item Details
Stores
Coupons
Deleting Items
SplashShopper Desktop
Synchronize
Copy/Paste
Printing
Import/Export
Backup and Restore

Pearl

 


 

Introduction

SplashShopper is a shopping list application for BlackBerry that is perfect for keeping lists of groceries to buy, movies to rent, CDs to buy, books to read and more! You can create an unlimited number of lists, and each list can be customized to record and display only the information that is relevant. And data can be easily synchronized between SplashShopper on your BlackBerry and SplashShopper on the desktop (Windows only).

SplashShopper on the BlackBerry and SplashShopper Desktop are virtually identical. This user guide focuses on the features in SplashShopper on the BlackBerry. You may prefer to do most of your data entry in SplashShopper Desktop, however, since it's faster and easier with a keyboard, and then synchronize the data with your BlackBerry.

Installation

Launch the SplashShopper Installer and follow the on screen instructions. You will be required to connect your BlackBerry to complete the installation. The installer installs the following files:

  • SplashShopper.alx - Helper file to install the handheld application.
  • SplashShopper.cod - The handheld application.
  • SplashShopper Desktop -- A desktop application (for Windows) used to view and edit information on the desktop.
  • Sample Shopping Lists - Sample shopping lists to help you get started with SplashShopper.
  • SplashShopper User Guide - This User Guide.
  • SplashShopper Read Me.txt -- License agreement, system requirements, and copyright info.

Launch SplashShopper

After the application is installed on the BlackBerry, go to Applications and select the SplashShopper application icon to run.

Quick Start

Following is a quick overview of how SplashShopper can be used as a tool for grocery shopping:

  1. Launch SplashShopper. You're presented with a number of sample shopping lists in the Home Screen. 
  2. Open the Grocery list by selecting it, clicking the nav selector, and selecting Open. The All View is displayed, which shows a list of commonly purchased grocery items.
  3. Mark the items you need by pressing the enter button -- enter. A cart icon -- -- will appear next to the items, indicating that they are needed.
  4. Once you're done marking the items you need, press the menu key, then select Need View. This will display a list of only the items marked as needed. 
  5. Now go shopping and mark items completed by pressing the enter button -- enter. As you check things off they will be removed from the Need list. Once all the items are gone, you're done!

That concludes the Quick Start. Read on to learn more about the individual features of SplashShopper.

Lists

Home View
Home View

List Info
List Info Dialog

 

Home
When you first launch SplashShopper you are presented with the Home View. The Home View displays several sample Shopping Lists. The number of needed and total items for each list are displayed on the right. Select a list and press the nav selector to open it.

Editing Lists
You may create new lists or edit existing ones, as follows:

  1. Select a list.
  2. Choose Edit List or New List from the menu to open the Edit Lists Dialog.
  3. The List Info Dialog appears (see next).

List Info
You can create an unlimited number of lists. Each list includes:

  • Name - The name of the shopping list (e.g., Groceries, Books, Music, etc.).
  • Store Menu - The name of the Store Menu (e.g., Store, Author, Artist, etc.). See Stores for more details.
  • Custom 1 - The name of custom field 1 (e.g., Description, Author, Artist, etc.).
  • Custom 2 - The name of custom field 2 (e.g., Aisle, Publisher, Record Label, etc.).
  • Tax Rate - Enter a tax rate (optional), if you wish to calculate tax into the Total cost (Qty x Price x Tax Rate) for all items marked as taxable in Item Details.
  • Icon - Select Change Icon from the menu to select a custom icon for the List.
  • Track Per-Store Prices - Select this option if you wish to track separate prices for each store in the Multiple Stores dialog (see Stores for more details).

List View

All View
All View
Need View
Need View
 

Select a list in the Home View and select Open from the menu to open the List View. The List View displays items in a list format separated into two tabs - All and Need. The following options are available in the List View:

  • Stores - Use the Store menu on the top left to filter the view by Store. 
  • Categories - Use the Category menu on the top right to filter the view by Category. 
  • All View - The All View displays all the items in the list. Items that are needed are marked with an icon -- Cart Icon. Select an item and press the enter button -- enter -- to mark an item as needed.
  • Need View - The Need View displays only the items that are marked as Needed in the All View. The far left column displays a checkbox allowing you to check off items as they are purchased.
  • Total - Displays the Total price of all the items currently in view. Note: You can choose to show or hide the Total in Preferences.

Menu Options

Menu Options
Menu Options

 

When you press the nav selector, the following menu options will appear:

  • All View / Need View - Switches between the views described above.
  • Add Item - Adds a new item to the list.
  • Edit Item - Opens the selected Item Details.
  • Delete Item - Delete the selected item from the list.
  • QuickList - Opens the QuickList menu - More Info.
  • New QuickList - Creates a new QuickList from the current Needed items.
  • Mark All as Needed - Marks all the items in the All View as Needed.
  • Mark All as Unneeded - Marks all the items in the All View as Unneeded.
  • Delete Unneeded - Deletes all the items in the All View marked as Unneeded.
  • List Info - Displays the List Info dialog.
  • Preferences - Opens the Preferences dialog.
  • Show Columns - Customize List View in SplashShopper by selecting which columns are displayed.
  • About - Displays version info for SplashShopper.
  • Back - Return to the Home View.

QuickLists

Quicklist Menu
New Quicklist

Edit QuickLists
QuickList Menu

 

QuickLists allow you to quickly mark a set of predefined items as needed. When you select a QuickList it will add the set of predefined items to your Need list. You can create an unlimited number of QuickLists for everything from "Weekly Groceries" to "Chicken Cacciatore ingredients" to "Bathroom supplies".

To use a QuickList, just select the QuickList from the menu and select the QuickList you want. The predefined set of items will be marked as needed and added to the Need View. Note: the QuickList items will be appended to the Need View along with any other items that are in the Need View. In this way, you can select multiple QuickLists, like "Weekly Groceries" and "Bathroom Supplies" to add the items from both QuickLists to the Need View.

Creating QuickLists
To create a new QuickList:

  1. In the All View, mark a number of Items as needed.
  2. From the Menu, select New QuickList.
  3. Enter a name for the QuickList and press OK.

Editing QuickLists
To delete or change the name of a QuickList:

  1. From the Menu, select QuickList.
  2. Select a QuickList name and select Rename or change the name or Delete to delete it.

Updating QuickLists
To add or remove items from an existing QuickList:

  1. In the All View, mark a number of Items as needed.
  2. From the Menu, select QuickList.
  3. Select a QuickList name that you wish to update and select Update from the menu.

Preferences

Preferences
Preferences

 

You can customize many options in SplashShopper. Press Menu > Preferences to access the following options:

  • Show Completed in Need View - Select this option if you wish to show completed items in the Need View. Note: if you select this option, you must manually clear the completed items from the Need View by selecting Clear Completed from the menu. Otherwise, when this option is turned off, items are automatically cleared from the Need View when you check them off as completed. 
  • Sort Completed Items at Bottom - Select this option if you wish to sort completed items at the bottom of the Need View. Note: You must be showing Completed Items in Need View (see above) for this option to work.
  • Show Decimals in Price Column - Deselecting this option will hide the decimal display in the price column, thereby reducing the size of the price column in List View. Note: the actual price is still used to calculate the Total, even when the decimals are hidden.
  • Show Total - Displays the Total of the currently displayed items (Quantity x Price x Tax Rate). See Total for more info.
  • Mark Edited Items as Needed - If this option is selected, any items you edit (by opening the Item Details dialog) will be marked as Needed.
  • Mark New Items as Taxable - If this option is selected, any new items you create will have the "Tax" checkbox pre-selected in Item Details. Note: The Tax Rate is specified in the List Info dialog. The tax rate will be calculated into the Total for any Items that have the Tax checkbox selected.

Item Details

Item Details Dialog
Item Details Dialog

 

To create an Item, select Add Item from the menu in the List View. The Item Details dialog appears. You may fill in the following fields:

  • Item: Enter a name (e.g., Bread, Milk, Eggs, etc.) in the Item field using your keyboard/keypad.
  • Store: Select or enter a Store (e.g., Albertsons, Costco, Safeway, etc.) in the Store field or select --MULTIPLE-- if the Item is available at multiple stores (see Stores for more info).
  • Category: Select or enter a Category (e.g., Dairy, Fruits, Vegetables, etc.) in the Category field.
  • Custom 1: Enter a name (e.g., a description like Whole Wheat, Low Fat, Large, etc.) in the Custom 1 field.
  • Custom 2: Enter a name (e.g., an aisle number like 1A, 3B, 3A, etc.) in the Custom 2 field.
  • Qty: Enter the quantity you wish to purchase.
  • Unit: You may select a unit description from the popup list, or edit the list of choices by selecting Edit Unit.
  • Price: Enter the unit price of the item. The total price of the item will equal Price x Qty.
  • Coupon: Select this checkbox to indicate that you have a coupon for the item. If you are showing the Coupon column, a "Yes" will be displayed next to the Item in the List view (see Coupons for more info).
  • Auto-Delete: Normally items that are marked as completed in the Need view are removed from the Need view but remain in the All view so that you can mark them as needed again in the future. Select Auto-Delete if you want to automatically delete the item once it has been marked as completed in the Need view. This is convenient for one-time purchase or on-sale items.
  • Tax: Select this checkbox to indicate that the Item is taxable. Note: You must set a Tax Rate in List Info, if you wish to calculate tax into the Total cost (Qty x Price x Tax Rate) for all items marked as taxable.
  • Note: Enter a text note if you wish.

Stores

Multiple Stores
Assigning Multiple Stores to an item

Multiple Stores
Multiple Stores with "Track Per-Store Prices" On

 

The Store Menu is similar to the Category menu, in that it can be used to filter the view to only show Items assigned to a specific Store. But unlike Categories, you can assign multiple Stores to a single Item. For example, an Apple can be assigned to only one category (Fruit) but it can be assigned to multiple Stores (Safeway, Albertsons, Costco, etc.). In addition, if desired, you can track prices on a per-store basis, in order to determine which store offers the best overall value.

To assign an Item to multiple stores, select "--MULTIPLE--" from the menu to display the Stores dialog where you can assign up to eight stores for an item. If you select "Track Per-Store Prices" in the List Info dialog, additional columns will appear allowing you to track Aisles (Custom 2) and Prices on a per-store basis.

You may use the Store Menu on the top left of the List View to filter the list by Store. When viewing All Stores, and "Track Per-Store Prices" has been selected in List Info, the lowest priced entry (Store name, Aisle and Price) will be displayed. If you select a specific Store from the Store Menu (e.g., Safeway), the list will display only Items available at that Store, and the selected Store's Aisle and Price will be displayed.

 

Coupons

You may select the Coupon checkbox in Item Details to indicate that you have a coupon for an item. If you are showing the Coupon column, a "Yes" will be displayed next to the Item in the List view. You may use the Coupon checkbox as a general means of marking items that are on sale or, if you are tracking prices, you can use the coupon to track the amount of the discount as follows:

  • For general purposes: Mark an existing item with the coupon checkbox, then show coupons in the List View as a visual reminder that you have a coupon for that item.
  • Or, for tracking the amount of the discount: Create a new Coupon Item (e.g., Cola Coupon) with a negative Price (this will reduce the Total amount displayed at the bottom of the List View). You may also wish to mark the Item as Auto-Delete, since the coupon will no longer exist once you use it.
  • Or, for recording the amount of a discounted item: Create a new Item (e.g., Cola) and give it a price equal to its normal price minus the discount. You can mark the Coupon checkbox as a visual indicator that you have a coupon or it's on sale, and you may mark the Auto-Delete checkbox, since the item will no longer be on-sale once you redeem the coupon.

Deleting Items

Normally, items are not deleted from SplashShopper and remain in the All View so that you can easily add them to the Need View in the future. However, you may delete items that you no longer want to keep in the All View, as follows:

Deleting a single Item
Select an item in the List View, then select Delete Item from the menu.

Deleting a group of Items
You may delete all items that are not needed, as follows:

  1. In the All View, select a category that contains the items you want to delete.
  2. Mark the items you want to keep as needed, and the items you want to delete as unneeded. 
  3. Select Delete Unneeded from the menu.

Auto-Delete
Normally, items that are marked as completed in the Need view are removed from the Need view but remain in the All view so they can be marked as needed again in the future. Select Auto-Delete in the Item Details dialog if you want to automatically delete the item from the All view once it has been marked as completed in the Need view. This is convenient for Items purchased once only, or on-sale Items.

SplashShopper Desktop

SplashShopper Desktop

SplashShopper Desktop is a Windows desktop application that provides identical functionality to SplashShopper on your BlackBerry plus some added features. Information is synchronized between SplashShopper on the BlackBerry and SplashShopper Desktop. You may find it more convenient to enter your items in SplashShopper Desktop using your keyboard and mouse, and then synchronize the data with SplashShopper on your BlackBerry. SplashShopper Desktop is very similar to SplashShopper on the BlackBerry, with the added ability to copy/paste, print and import/export as described below.

Synchronize

To synchronize data between the handheld and the desktop in SplashShopper, click Sync on the menu bar in the SplashShopper desktop when your device is connected.

Copy/Paste

You can select multiple Items in SplashShopper desktop by clicking Items while holding down the control or shift key. Then you may copy the Items to the clipboard and paste them into another list. Or you may copy/paste Items between Users if you are syncing multiple BlackBerry devices with the same desktop by switching between users in the User Menu.

Printing

You may print your shopping lists from the desktop by selecting Print from the File Menu. SplashShopper will print whatever is displayed on screen. You may wish to customize the print format by hiding or showing columns or adjusting their width.

Import/Export

You can share information with other SplashShopper Desktop users by exporting and importing your SplashShopper records. Records can be exported/imported in several formats:

SplashShopper vSH
You may import and export SplashShopper records in SplashShopper virtual shopping list (vsh) format, which allows you to easily export and import shopping list items and share them with others. vsh files are a convenient way to share records with a coworker or spouse by exporting a vsh file and then emailing the resulting vsh file to the recipient. You can even use the vsh format as a backup mechanism by periodically exporting all of your lists in vsh format and archiving them on a backup disk.

To create a vsh file, simply display the Items that you wish to export (e.g., All View, Need View, a specific Category or Store, etc.), then select Export/vsh from the File Menu. In addition to the Items that are exported, all of the List Preferences (columns shown, field names, tax rate, etc.) are also contained in the vsh file. The recipient of the vsh file may open the file by double-clicking it or selecting Import/vsh from the File menu. When importing a vsh file, you have the option of creating a new list (which contains all of the pre-defined preferences) or importing just the records into an existing List.

You can download and upload sample vsh files as well as share tips and tricks with other SplashShopper users on the SplashData User Group at:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/splashdatablackberry/

CSV
You may also import and export SplashShopper records in CSV format. CSV stands for Comma Separated Values, and is a common file format readable by most spreadsheets, databases and word processors. If you wish to import a CSV file, the data must be in the following format:

Needed, Item, Store, Category, Custom1, Custom2, Qty, Unit, Price, Coupon, Auto-Delete, Tax, Notes

  • Needed = N for Needed, C for Completed, or blank for neither.

  • Coupon, Auto-Delete and Tax are marked with an X if the value is true.

  • Store, Custom2 and Price may contain multiple values separated by semi-colons (;) if that Item is assigned to multiple stores.

It is easy to create the above format in Excel by creating a spreadsheet with 13 columns (as described above) with one record per row. Then save the file in CSV format.

Third-party import filters
You may easily import data from another app by using one of the provided third-party import filters as follows:

  • HandyShopper PDB -- To import a HandyShopper PDB file, simply select Import/HandyShopper PDB from the File menu in SplashShopper Desktop, then select the HandyShopper PDB from the C:\Palm\<username>\Backup\ folder. SplashShopper will create a new SplashShopper List from the HandyShopper PDB.

  • HandyShopper CSV -- To import a HandyShopper CSV file, create a HandyShopper CSV file using the HandyShopper hs2convert.exe following the instructions provided with that application. Then, import the CSV file by selecting Import/HandyShopper CSV from the File Menu on SplashShopper Desktop.

  • HandyShopper TXT -- To import a HandyShopper text file, choose Export to MemoPad from within HandyShopper to create a MemoPad export file. Then synchronize with the desktop so the MemoPad file is copied to the desktop. Then, copy the text from the MemoPad file on the desktop and paste it into a new Text file. Last, import the Text file by selecting Import/HandyShopper TXT from the File Menu in SplashShopper Desktop. Note: The HandyShopper Export to MemoPad feature does not export Stores. If you wish to import Stores from HandyShopper, you must use the HandyShopper PDB or CSV option above.

  • PDA Cookbook TXT -- To import a PDA Cookbook text file, create a HandyShopper MemoPad Export file using the instructions provided with PDA Cookbook. Then synchronize with the desktop so the MemoPad file is copied to the desktop. Then, copy the text from the MemoPad file on the desktop and paste it into a new Text file. Last, import the Text file by selecting Import/PDA Cookbook TXT from the File Menu in SplashShopper Desktop.

Note: When importing a file, you are asked whether you want to create a new list from the file, or import the data into an existing list.

Backup and Restore

SplashShopper data is stored on both the BlackBerry and the desktop, and each acts as a backup of the other. So, in theory, if you lose the data on one of these devices through a catastrophic event (e.g., hard drive failure), the data will be restored to that device from the other device during your next sync.

Manual vsh Backups
It is recommended that you perform a manual backup of your data by selecting Backup from the File menu. This will export your SplashShopper List in vsh format to whatever location you select.

Restore
Select Restore from the File menu to restore a vsh file that has been backed up either automatically or manually as described above and you will be prompted to either import the data into an existing list or create a new list from the data.

Desktop
The SplashShopper Desktop database files are automatically saved to the SplashShopper directory on your hard drive each time you exit the application. Each List is stored as a separate file. You may back up these files as an added precaution in case of a hard drive failure. To restore one of these backed up files simply copy it back into the SplashShopper directory. Then the next time you launch SplashShopper it will open the file. These files are stored here:

  • My Documents\SplashData\SplashShopper\<DeviceID>\