How can I get the most out of the Psion S3a emulator?
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Contributed by Sam Williams 

Psion's little S3a Emulator program, so generously released free to the
public, is, in my opinion, one of the true hidden jewels in this forum's
libraries! It's main drawback is its DOS interface (mainly because everyone is
more used to Windows nowadays). The enormous benefits, however, of duplicating
the Psion's capabilities, interface, and file structure on your PC, in my
opinion, far outweigh this forgivable limitation. And remember, you can't get
a better price!! 8-)

For what it's worth, here are a few tips that might make the Emulator's DOS
interface a little more user-friendly:

Firstly, and this may be obvious, but let's start off simple -- label your PC
keyboard or a suitable template, if possible, so that you can immediately see
which PC keys replicate the Psion menu buttons/keyboard options. For example,
label the function keys (F1, F2, ... , F10, F11, F12) with the words "System
button", "Data button", "Word Button", ... , "Help", "N/A", "Diamond key".
Then label your PC's <Alt> key with the word "Psion" or the Psion symbol, and
your key with the words "Shift-System". It can get quite frustrating punching
keys looking for a particular function when you don't have a printout of the
Emulator's README.TXT file handy.

Second, change the size of the screen displayed to 640 X 480 pixels if a full
PC-sized screen would be more appealing to you than the Psion-sized screen in
the upper left hand portion of the PC screen. Simply edit the numbers in the
SERVER_PARAMS line of the HHSERVER.PAR file in the Emulator's default
directory to display 640 X 480 pixels. The edited line should read as follows
(ignore the indention):

   SERVER_PARAMS -X640 -Y480 -D

Third, create a batch file (e.g., PSION.BAT) that will automate the Dos
"SUBST" commands required to sets up the PC drives & directories that the
Emulator looks for when it starts up. For example, one possible substitute for
the Psion's M:, A:, and B: drives would allow you to quickly check data in
files stored in your PsiWin's backup directories. This could be programmed as
follows (ignore all indentions and remarks): subst m: c:\@psion\[user_name]\i
REM user-definable directory setup (e.g., PsiWin backup directory) subst a:
c:\[directory_for_a:_drive]   REM user-definable (e.g., PsiWin backup archive
#1 directory) subst b: c:\[directory_for_b:_drive]   REM user-definable (e.g.,
PsiWin backup archive #2 directory) cd\[emulator_directory]   REM default
Emulator directory s3aemul.exe   REM starts the Emulator program

Fourth, create a "Psion Series 3a Emulator Configuration" menu option in your
PC's start-up configuration files ( AUTOEXEC.BAT and CONFIG.SYS) which would
give you the option of booting-up in Dos and starting the Emulator
automatically. This would streamline the process of exiting Windows and
starting up the Emulator, by allowing you to simply re-boot your machine and
choose the Emulator configuration option. You need to be familiar with
multiple configuration set-ups in Dos in order to do this, but it's not that
difficult. See your Dos user manual for further details. (In the MS-Dos 6.2
manual, it's described in Chapter 4, Configuring Your System, Using Multiple
Configurations).

And finally, if you really want to automate your set-up, you should be able to
mimic the exact interface of your actual Psion by using a modified version of
Tom Dolbilin's "INSTALL.MCR" Macro file, which is one of the example macros
that comes with the Macro program. This will allow you to recreate your
preferred set-up from the default interface. (NOTE: This suggestion should
work, although I haven't personally tried it yet. WARNING: The "INSTALL" macro
MUST be customized for your particular set-up, SO TREAD CAREFULLY HERE! The
macro itself contains the following warning remarks: "This macro is a sample
System Screen installer. Provided ONLY as an example. Do NOT use without
making modifications.)

That's all I can think of for now. I hope this might help ease some
frustrations regarding the lack of a suitable Windows-based emulator for the
Psion. :-)

Hope this helps. 

Sam 

(Quoted with kind permission) 
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