Palm Desktop File Format Changes  

Palm Desktop File Format Change

Starting with Palm Desktop 4.1.2, palmOne has made incompatible changes to the desktop file formats. They no longer support directly reading and writing the desktop files. Consequently, our programs DIMEX, AIMEX, DesktopReminder, and DateBookArchiver will no longer work with Palm Desktop 4.1.2 or later. You typically see an error message like "datebook not found". Except for DIMEX (see below), we can no longer support or develop these programs.

Unfortunately, palmOne does not seem to have any plans to support third-party standalone applications to interact with Palm Desktop data. The only way for third-party tools to access the desktop data is via a Palm Desktop add-in, that is, a program that can only be started via Palm Desktop menu Tools - Add-Ins.

We have created a DIMEX Palm Desktop Add-In that supports export and import of calendar data. Due to issues with the Palm API, however, there are a few limitations (e.g. no new categories can be created at import) and bugs (e.g. a crash if you want to access or import an appointment on Jan 1st 1970).