Direct serial communications avoided having to have the Palm software/HotSync/conduit system installed and, in theory, works anywhere that Notes works. This technology also opens up some interesting possibilities I haven't had a chance to look at yet -- such as data gathering, security applications and generally talking to other serial devices (i.e., A/D converters, bar-code/magnetic strip scanners and terminals -- Linux anyone?)

This article describes how to set up such a direct link with my Palm device/USER.ID system as an example. To accompany this I've created an example database with all the code and declarations listed. The address for this and other resources are at the end of the article.

Setting up a Notes test system
Before you can use any of the information in this article, you must enable the appropriate PC COM port (I've assumed COM1) by selecting Tools->User Preferences->Ports from the File menu, and have it enabled in your current Location document. For a Direct Connection, select the "Null Modem" modem type in Additional Setup, as shown in Figure A

FIGURE A

For a Direct Connection, select the "Null Modem" modem type in Additional Setup. Click picture for a larger image.

Getting ready to test
You might also find it useful to download some tools to make sure you can see all the data, including control characters going across the port. I found a little Windows application called Portmon that seemed to do the job. You'll need a test environment, consisting of Notes Client 4.x a serial cable and some sort of Palm device. Mine consisted of Notes 4.63 Client and my PalmPilot IIIx in its cradle with a freeware terminal program called Pilot VT100 installed on it. If you have the Palm Desktop software installed, then you will have to close the HotSync Manager to use the port.

For different hardware systems, you might need to modify the initial Notes settings to work with your hardware; the Pilot VT100 software only runs up to 19,200 BPS, and you saw, back in Figure A, that I set that as the maximum port speed in Notes. You might need to close Notes and restart it before it takes notice of new settings.