The Tungsten T3 has several User Interface “enhancements” that aren’t always apparant. One great example has to do with the “Virtual Graffiti” or “Digital Input Area” (DIA). Learn how to change the Digital Input area!

By default, the Virtual Graffiti area on the Tungsten T3 displays the “standard” Graffiti entry area surrounded by four “buttons”. Did you know that you can change the look and function of the Virtual Graffiti area? You probably know that the “arrow” icon on the lower right of the Status Bar controls whether the Virtual Graffiti area is visible or not. This allows you ro “expand” the screen area as needed for those applications that are full-screen compliant. But, did you know that if you tap-and-hold the arrow, a small “popup” will display giving you the option of selecting among three input area styles? This includes the “standard” layout, an on-screen keyboard, and an “enhanced” layout.

We all know what the Standard layout is, and you should be familiar with the On-screen Keyboard layout, but what about this “Enhanced” layout? Well, it divides the Graffiti entry area into three sections: “lowercase”, “uppercase”, and “numeric”. In the Standard entry area, you write letters on the left and numbers on the right. Letters are in lowercase. If you write your letters OVER the line separating the two sections, the letters will be in uppercase. Sometimes, this can be confusing and prone to errors. The Enhanced input area segregates the three areas, each tuned for its type of input. This makes uppercase and lowercase entry more reliable. The only down side is that you lose the four user-definable application “buttons”. It’s a trade-off, but a good example of some of the enhanced built-in flexibility.