How to Create a PDA-Compatible Web Site, for Free!
Ravindra Prasad, MD
Department of Anesthesiology
University of North Carolina School of Medicine
Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27599-7010
© 2001 – all rights reserved
Introduction
Modern medicine requires a commitment to ongoing education. Furthermore, today’s clinical practices require distribution of constantly changing (updating) logistical information. Finding an efficient method to distribute these types of data is vital, especially in a busy clinical specialty such as anesthesiology. The combination of the world wide web (WWW) and personal digital assistants (PDA’s) is an example of such a method.
Access to the internet (and WWW) is almost omnipresent. The hypertext format of WWW pages, where key information is a button-click away, facilitates information distribution. Storing data in one location (the web page server) allows easy updating, while preserving widespread access through the internet. PDA’s are also becoming quite widespread. Their ability to store and “surf” web pages while offline (not connected to the internet) ideally complements the WWW for use in data distribution.
This poster reviews a simple (and free) method of creating a PDA-compatible web site. It is based on the author’s site, found at and uses that site as a model.
Creating the Site
Creating the site involves several steps, detailed below. In general terms, one must first design the site. This can be done with pencil and paper, or perhaps Post-it ™ notes - simply outline what will be on the site and how it will be organized. Then, design a simple prototype of the site and test it; change the organization until it is “perfect.” Remember to design for viewing on both a large desktop computer screen and the tiny PDA screen. Finally, put the site up, keep it updated, and enjoy!
Designing a Web Site
What Will the Content Be?
Educational Material
–Current Knowledge
–recent journal article summaries (“Articles”)
–case or question of the month (“Question”)
–will be updated periodically
–Basic Anesthesia Information (“Basics”)
–management of emergencies
–normal hemodynamic parameters
–specific subject reviews or summaries (“Barash”)
–usually added to, not changed
–Institution-Specific Information (“UNC Way”)
–admission/scheduling criteria
–anesthetic protocols
–epidural management
–room setup standards
–departmental memorandums
Logistical Information (Restricted areas: “UNC” and “Residents”)
–Call, conference schedules (“Calendar”)
–Phone lists
–May need some level of security (e.g., password protection), depending on the type of data being published
Miscellaneous
–Pointers to other useful web sites (“Links”)
–Helpful files or programs (“Downloads”)
–Research protocols, contact numbers
Include a “What’s New” page to help users get to the latest additions
How Will Content Be Organized?
Make a Flow Chart (also called “Site Map” or “Site Tree”)
–Goal: make it easy to find information
–Minimize the number of links to get to the information
–Decide who will be using the site, and how best to present the information to them
–Compromise between number of pages and subjects per page
–Many pages, a few subjects per page: easy organizational structure, but information will be buried several levels deep; users will need to follow a large number of links and may lose interest or give up.
–Many subjects on few pages: reviewing data will involve significant scrolling. This is more of a concern on the small screens of most PDA’s.
–May vary page format within the site if some areas (e.g., “Downloads”) are meant to be viewed primarily online, while the rest of the site can be viewed on a PDA.
Each Page – plan specifics
–How will content be positioned?
–More information can be displayed on a full size monitor.
–However, on a PDA screen it may be more useful to display a list of topics, and link to the actual data (either on that page or on another page)
–What kinds of navigation aids would be helpful?
PDA Caveats
–Small screen size, limited memory
–PDA-based browsers can surf the web directly, if there is a live internet connection.
–More commonly, they are used to browse web sites offline – they save all relevent pages on PDA.
–For offline browsing, you will specify the number of links to follow from the home page
–So, you will need to design site so that all the information you want loaded onto the PDA, and no more, is within the same number of links in the chain from the home page.
–For example, in the site shown above an extra layer has been added (“Downloads divided by type – applications or docs/memos”) in order to prevent all the downloads from being put on the PDA. In this case, actual content is 3 links from the home page (Home --> Downloads: apps or memos --> List of available downloads --> actual downloads). Everything else in the site is within 2 links of the home page (e.g., Home --> Basics: variety of subjects, with lists of available pages --> content pages).
–May need to modify design slightly to make site navigation easy and intuitive
Testing the Site
How to Create a Web Page
Netscape Composer
–Free
Netscape Communicator 4.7x
–Easy to use: What You See Is What You Get (WYSIWYG), sort of. That is, the page appears as you see it for simple pages including text, hyperlinks, and images. When tables are used, appearances are slightly different in Composer than in web browsers.
–Can quickly create a web page: all HTML coding is done by the program – simply start a new page (hit the “New” button at the top), enter the text you want, and format as you would like it to appear (figure).
–To create links…
–to another page in your site: hit the “Link” button, which will bring up another window. Hit the “Choose File” button, and simply browse to the file of the page you are linking to
–to a different location (your “target”) on the same page: first, go to your target, hit the “Target” button, and pick a unique name. Then, go back to where you are creating the link, and follow the directions above. Instead of choosing a file, however, make sure the Show targets in “current page” button is set, then choose the target you just created!
–to another web site: hit the “Link” button as above, then just enter the URL for the site (easiest to browse to the site in your browser, copy its location, then paste into the appropriate spot in the “Link” window in Composer)
Other specific web-development programs and/or HTML Editors
–Microsoft FrontPage, Macromedia Dreamweaver, Adobe InDesign
–More powerful, more flexible. More expensive.
–Can create a web site, and make later changes, more easily than with Netscape Composer
Create a Prototype
A SIMPLE model of site
–Text only; can use place markers for images if necessary
–Include navigation links: make it easy to browse through the site pages
WWW: at top of or side of the page is most common
Palm: at top? at bottom? Position depends on layout and site design.
Minimal content (figures show sample pages)
Organize according to your site map (folders, pages, etc.)
Test Your Site
Goal: identify problems
Test on a desktop browser and on the Palm (emulator)
–Try it yourself
–Get non-anesthesiologists and web novices to try it. Give specific tasks:
How easy to find information?
How many clicks to get there?
Modify design/layout as needed
Testing for the Web
Use your favorite browser
Run off the hard drive: just double-click on your starting page (name it index.html or default.html); whichever program is set as the default web browser will open the page. Or:
–Netscape Navigator: while looking at your main (index) page in Netscape Composer, just hit the “Preview” button.
–Internet Explorer or Navigator: Drag the icon for your index page to the browser window.
Testing for the Palm
PDA – install the appropriate applications and test on your own PDA
Palm Emulator
–
–Will need the ROM Image from your Palm; follow installation instructions from the site.
–HotSync
–The Emulator allows you to sync just like a real Palm
–
–
–
–Configure the HotSync application: follow the instructions given in the User Guide found in the emulator folder you downloaded above (in the “Modifying the Runtime Environment: Using the HotSync Application with Palm OS Emulator
–” section)
AvantGo
–
–Sign up as a New User: you should set up a new account, different from the one you use on your PDA. Download the installer and follow installation instructions – the installer will automatically install the software onto both your PDA and the Emulator the next time you sync:
–for the Emulator: run the HotSync application. You must configure the settings first, as noted above.
–for the Palm: just hit the sync button
–After installing the software, make sure the AG Connect application settings are correct
–If Avantgo.com is not selected as the server, change settings as shown
–Server address: sync.avantgo.com, User Name: whatever name you have chosen for your Emulator
–Sync (using the HotSync application) to load whatever channels you selected in AvantGo
Distributing Your Data
Put Your Site on the Web
Get web space: see your computer support department
–They will provide a physical space to save your files, and a web address for that site
–You will also get an ID and Password, and an internet address to transfer files using FTP
File Transfer Protocol (FTP)
–The standard internet protocol for transferring files between locations
–Several programs are available designed to use this protocol, with various user interfaces
–WS_FTP LE (shareware)
Netscape Composer
–If you want to put pages up as you develop them, or will have just a few pages to put up at any time, can simply use Composer
–Publish feature: Choose the “Publish” button, enter the appropriate information (ftp location, user name and password) and hit “OK”
Put Your Site on Your Palm
AvantGo
–Follow installation instructions from the site, as noted above
–Choose any “channels” or web sites you are interested in, through the AvantGo site.
–To add specific web sites, such as your own, either
–choose “Create Channel” from the “My Account” area, and enter the URL and other required data; OR
–use the channel wizard ( which will walk you through the process.
Sync! Whatever channels you have chosen will automatically be put onto your PDA!
References
Schmeiser, Lisa. Test Drive Your Web Site. Macworld, May 2001.