DocReader is a Windows application to read Palm Doc-formatted files and unencrypted Peanut Press files* on the PC.
* Formatting is removed from Peanut Press files
Note: if you're entirely new to the Palm computers, or don't know what a Doc file is, click here.
See a screen-shot
See a Japanese screen-shot
Download the full program (zipped, 262k)
Download the runtime-packages version (zipped, 33k): requires you to have the Delphi 4 runtime package library vcl40.bpl; if in doubt get the full program instead.
Sure, there are other good Doc readers out there, but most I've seen are in Java, and are slow, don't let you change the font, don't let you resize the window, etc. This is a Windows application, that acts like a Windows application. It supports drag-and-drop, printing, and loading/saving Docs or text. It also keeps a list of the most-recently-used documents. You can change the font, the default document directory, colors, and of course the window size.
This is a stand-alone program: no registry changes (by default), no shared DLLs, etc. The only thing it writes to your disk is an .INI file in its own directory (NOT the Windows directory) so removing it is a snap. You can even run it from a floppy.
I also have the source (Delphi 4, zipped, 41k) if you want to contribute or simply learn. Of particular interest are the TPalmDatabase and TPalmPDB classes, they may be useful for other applications. Also, the TDocFile class has the compression and decompression code, if you’re interested in how it works.
Update: The Franklin eBookMan supports Doc files! You can send Docs you create to your eBookMan. These are super cheap; I got one for $40 at Costco. The screen is bigger than the Palm's, too. I'm not crazy about MobiReader, but it's decent. Maybe CSpotRun could be ported? Anyway, check it out!
Suggestions or comments are welcome, Michael.Pickering@alltel.com
Some people have reported problems when using DocReader as a right-click option in Windows Explorer. I am running NT 4.0 and have never had any of these problems. Please send me info on your system configuration and a sample Doc if you can't read a Doc file for any reason.
