You may notice the illegibility of the screen shot from PalmVNC. To get that view, I used the View menu shown in Figure J and chose the Whole Desktop item.

FIGURE J

The PalmVNC View menu lets you access server scaling settings.

The scaling extensions make VNC much more usable from the handheld's limited screen. However, attempting to use the scaling features against the standard VNC server (without scaling extensions) will break your connection in my experience.

To complete the tour of PalmVNC, Figure K shows the Send menu.

FIGURE K

The Send menu lets you send special character sequences.

Through this menu, you can send special character sequences like Ctrl-Alt-Del and Alt-F4, similar to the context menu back in Figure D.

Additional Tips
The main tip I want to deliver here answers the question of how to connect to your server when it's not on the same network as your viewer. VNC conducts its communication over a single TCP/IP port. If your server is behind a router or firewall, you can forward the VNC ports to it, allowing access from the Internet at large. Beware, this also lets anyone else get through your firewall on this port and that any text sent from the client will be unencrypted plaintext, including passwords and other potentially critical data. Unfortunately, I am unaware of any IPsec or SSH (Secured Shell) tunneling implementations for the Palm OS.

Now that you have been appropriately warned of the security risks, VNC uses a port range starting at port 5900. Remember the number associated with the server connection above? Add that number to 5900, and you get the port that a given connection will use. You can use this fact to forward different connections to different machines on your internal network. I use this technique through my broadband router, which also explains why I use the IP address from the Internet.

The other tip seems patently obvious, but is worth pointing out. Graffiti works! You can use graffiti, the virtual keyboard, the Palm Portable Keyboard, or your other favorite text entry mechanism to enter text on your server. I wouldn't want to write an article that way, but you can't beat it for a little remote administration.

Conclusion
PalmVNC adds another tool to the road warrior's arsenal of tricks. Yes, your handheld has a small screen, but in this case it may save you from having to haul your laptop on the next business trip or consulting engagement. Many places that require property passes or have severe restrictions on laptops will conveniently ignore your handheld. PalmVNC increases the power and versatility of your handheld in a very useful way.

Steve Niles is Senior Editor for ZATZ Publishing. He is also an independent filmmaker and freelance writer. For more information, visit http://www.sn-films.com.