How do I use the 5-way navigator?
You can play single-handedly using your 5-way navigator. Press left or right on the 5-way navigator to show possible moves. Press the center to move selected cards. Press up to undo moves.
To request a Sparkle Hint (AcidSpider only), press the down button.
How do I add picture backgrounds?
JPEG images on your memory card or stored in RAM can be used as backgrounds. You can install JPEGs onto your memory card using the Palm Install Tool or Quick Install.
Once the JPEGs are on your memory card AcidSolitaire will find them and make them available as a background.
JPEGs will automatically be scaled to fill the screen. If a background image is very tall or very wide, some of the image will be cropped off. You can resize the image to fit the screen better using image editing software if you like. If the image is small (less than 2/3 the size of the screen), it will be tiled instead of scaled up to fit the screen.
If your handheld has a built-in camera, you can take a picture of anything and use it as a background. Just save the picture from your camera, start-up AcidSolitaire and select the picture from the "Select Background..." dialog box.
Note that JPEG background support is only available on handhelds with Palm OS 5 or higher and a color screen.
The Instruction Manual is available for additional information.
How do I transfer my game statistics to another device?
Your stats file is backed on on your desktop computer along with the rest of your PDA files each time you HotSync. To locate your stats file, search for SolitaireStats.PDB on your computer. Install the SolitaireStats.PDB file on your new handheld just as you would any other software.
All all Palm OS games winnable?
AcidSolitaire: No. In fact if you are playing Deal 3 mode, quite a few deals are not winnable. The object of AcidSolitaire is to win, but it's not always possible.
AcidFreecell: Almost all deals are winnable, that's what makes AcidFreecell fun. Every game that we thought was impossible has since been won. If you've got one you think is unwinnable, let us know and we'll post the game number to see if anyone can get it.
AcidSpider: All games in AcidSpider are winnable. They may not be easy, but they can be won. If you've got one you think is unwinnable, let us know and we'll post the game number to see if anyone can get it.
How do cards know when to move automatically?
If you have the "Auto-Move" option turned on, cards will automatically move to home cells when they are no longer needed. A card will move if it is no longer strategically valuable in the game. For example, if all of the cards in the game that could have been legally placed on top of a particular card have already been moved to home cells, that particular card has no strategic value and will also be moved to its home cell as soon as it is free to move.
I can't win this game. How do I start a new one?
Tap the Menu icon in the lower-left hand corner of the Graffiti area, or tap the yellow Menu icon in the top-center of the playfield.
Why aren't the cool visual effects aren't working for me?
Many cool features, like JPEG backgrounds and translucent cards, are only available on handhelds with Palm OS 5 or higher. Older handhelds don't have enough processing power to handle the new features, but the game still works great (and fast) on older devices with Palm OS 4 or earlier.
I've downloaded the background packs and the images are tiled.
You are probably viewing low resolution background images on a high resolution screen.
You need to download the hi-res backgrounds available here:
Hi-res backgrounds for OS 5+ handhelds
Hi-res backgrounds for older handhelds
How do I use the full screen on my Tungsten T3?
You may need to install two update files from palm to use the full screen on your T3.
The palm Tungsten T3 has a retractable "virtual" graffiti area that allows applications to use the full 320x480 pixel screen. The Palm OS standard for accessing this area was still being defined when the T3 shipped, so palm included non-standard support for this feature. A Tungsten T3 right out of the box doesn't have full, standard support for the retractable graffiti area.
Detailed information is provided here: Palm OS Lab Report > T3 Full Screen
My Sony Clie shows a black screen when I start AcidSpider?
All you need to do is disable high-resolution assist. On the CLIEs if you enable hi-res assist, it causes AcidSpider to do the black-screen at startup.
To fix this, go to Prefs and under the "HiRes" panel, check "AcidSpider" as one of the applications that should not have High Resolution Assist enabled.
What is the NVFS flash memory?
The NVFS system essentially backs up the system at all times to flash memory, so even if the battery runs completely down, the data remains. It really is much more like having a hard drive in the system, as opposed to RAM that needs to be kept alive by the battery.
Detailed information is provided here: Palm OS Lab Report > Flash Memory