Diabetes Pilot for Palm Instructions

These instructions describe the various features in Diabetes Pilot for Palm OS.  Take a few minutes to look through the following pages to find out about the functions in the program and how to use them.

If you have questions that are not answered here, please visit our support center.

Entering Data

This section explains how to record your data in Diabetes Pilot. Diabetes Pilot can track your glucose, food, medication, exercise, and nearly any other type of information that you'd like to record.

Creating a new entry

Recording and Editing Data on the Details Screen

Food Records

Creating a new entry

To record a new data item, simply click on one of the buttons at the bottom of the main screen:

For more information on entering the details of these items see Recording and Editing Data below.

To edit an existing item, tap on the record:

When you enter a new item change an existing one, it may or may not be immediately visible in the list on the main screen. The display on the main screen depends on the filter settings that you have set - see Displaying Your Data for more information.

Recording and Editing Data on the Details Screen

Diabetes Pilot allows you to record information in as much or as little detail as you would like - it provides for both quick data entry as well as the ability to record additional details when needed.

When you create a new record, a detail screen will appear. The date and time will be set to the current time, and the value field will be highlighted. Enter the value for the item:

If you've set Diabetes Pilot to calculate insulin requirements (See Setting Preferences), the insulin calculation will be displayed when entering a glucose or food record. The calculation is updated when you write on the data entry screen using graffiti (handwriting) input.

You can enter notes in the space provided. When you enter a note with a record, a small icon that looks like a piece of paper will be displayed next to the record in the list on the main screen. If you are entering a note record, the first portion of the note will be displayed in the list on the main screen.

A category for each record can be also be selected. This category can be use to categorize records in any manner that is useful to you. You may want to use the category to identify records by time of day (breakfast, lunch, dinner, etc). The category list can be customized however you would like - select "Edit Categories..." from the list to change the items in the list.

Tap "OK" when you are done making your entry. You will return to the main screen. Tapping on "Cancel" returns you to the previous screen without saving your changes.

Tapping on the "Delete" button will delete the displayed record.

Food Records

When adding a food record, a button labeled "Build meal..." will appear on the details screen. Tapping on this button takes you to the Meal Details screen, where individual food items can be entered and the nutritional content of the meal will be calculated for you.

To build a meal, add a new food by using one of the tools at the top of the screen:

An extensive food reference is available by tapping on the "Lookup Food..." button. Find the food you are looking for by tapping on the appropriate categories in the list shown. An arrow to the right of an item means that there are more items listed under a category - clicking on the arrow will take you to the next level of detail. When you have found the food you are looking for, select it from the list and click "Use Food". You will be returned to the Meal Details form and the food will be filled in - just adjust the number of servings and click "Add to meal". See Using the Food Database for more information about the food database and how it can be personalized. Many of the food descriptions are abbreviated. This conserves your handheld's memory and allows the food descriptions to fit in the available screen space. You can get a list of the abbreviations here.

To see more of a food description that's larger than the screen, tap and hold the stylus on the item.

Foods can be quickly entered by selecting them from the "Favorites" dropdown list near the top of the screen. To use this feature, you'll need to mark some of the foods in the database as favorites. See Using the Food Database for more information.

Use the "Quick" button to quickly add a food to the list. (If you do this, you'll need to enter in the nutrition information yourself.)

After adding the food to the meal, adjust the number of servings by writing in a new value in the space provided or by using the "+", "-", and "+0.5" buttons. You can enter a decimal value ("0.5", "0.3", etc) for the values if needed.

To remove a food, tap on it to select it, then tap the "remove" button at the bottom of the screen.

There are three different views available in the "build meal" screen. Select the view by using the drop-down list (labeled "Show") near the middle of the screen:

The nutrition information related to the selected view is displayed near the bottom of the screen. The following information is shown at all times:

In addition, a drop-down list provides access to additional nutrition information. Use the drop-down list to select the additional nutrition information for viewing or editing. The following items are available:

To save a meal for future use:

  1. Tap on the "Meal..." selector in the lower right corner of the build meal screen.
  2. Select "Save this Meal" from the popup menu.
  3. Enter a name for the meal, then tap the "OK" button.

To recall a previously saved meal:

  1. Tap on the "Meal..." selector in the lower right corner of the build meal screen.
  2. Select "Load a saved meal" from the popup menu.
  3. Select the meal you wish to recall, then tap the "Use meal" button.

To delete a previously saved meal:

  1. Tap on the "Meal..." selector in the lower right corner of the build meal screen.
  2. Select "Load a saved meal" from the popup menu.
  3. Select the meal you wish to delete, then from the menu at the top of the screen, choose "Delete Selected Meal"

Displaying Your Data

This section explains how to control the display of your data in Diabetes Pilot. Diabetes Pilot provides several different filtering options for displaying your data. This allows you to focus on the information that is important to you at a particular moment, without being distracted by other data that you may have recorded.

Display Filters

Scrolling the Display

Display Filters

The controls at the top of the main screen control which records are displayed in the list.

Records can be filtered by type by tapping on the "G", "F", "M", "E", "B", and "N" buttons located in the upper right corner of the main screen. Tapping each button turns it on and off. The buttons can be selected in any combination:

Tapping the "All" button toggles the display of all of the record types.

The dropdown list near the upper left corner of the screen controls the date range that is displayed in the list. Select the timeframe that you would like to display from the dropdown control - the corresponding records will be displayed in the list.

The dropdown list near the upper right corner of the screen controls the record category that is displayed. The records that match the selected category are displayed in the list. You can use this to look at data for only a particular category - you might, for example, be interested in looking at all of your "after dinner" glucose readings. To display all of the categories, select "All" from the list.

Scrolling the Display

If you've selected more records that can fit on a single screen, a scrollbar will be visible along the right side of the record list. Slide the bar up and down or tap on the bar's arrows to scroll the list and view all of the records.

Setting Preferences

Diabetes Pilot allows you to set several different options in the program. These options can customize the behavior of Diabetes Pilot to your needs and help save you time while entering data.

Accessing the Preferences Functions

General Preferences

Insulin Calculation Settings

Customizing the Medication and Exercise Lists

Accessing the Preferences Functions

Many features in Diabetes Pilot (including the preferences functions) are accessed through menus. The menus are located in the standard location for Palm software. The following steps should help you find the menus in both Diabetes Pilot and in many other Palm programs:

  1. Launch Diabetes Pilot on your handheld. You should be on the main screen of Diabetes Pilot to start.
  2. Tap on the "menu" button on your Palm to display the menus. On most Palm handhelds, this button is painted on the screen near the lower left corner of the writing area. This will display the menus across the top of the screen.
  3. Tap on the menu that you'd like at the top of the screen, then tap on the item in the menu. The preferences functions are located in "tools" menu.

General Preferences

To set general program preferences, select "Preferences..." from the "Tools" menu. The general preferences screen allows you to set several options that determine how Diabetes Pilot works:

Insulin Calculation Settings

Diabetes Pilot can calculate an estimated insulin dose when you are entering a glucose reading or a meal. These calculations are based solely on parameters that you enter. To use the insulin calculation features, these parameters must be configured for your personal needs, and the feature must be turned on.

The insulin calculation feature is provided as an educational tool that some people may find useful. It is not appropriate for everyone or for all circumstances. THE INSULIN CACLULATION FUNCTION IS A SIMPLE CALCULATION, MUCH LIKE YOU MIGHT PERFORM YOURSELF USING A POCKET CALCULATOR - IT IS NOT INTENDED AS MEDICAL ADVICE AND SHOULD NOT BE USED AS SUCH. If you do not understand this feature, please do not use it. If you do not understand what values to use on the configuration screen, please consult your doctor. In any case, by using Diabetes Pilot, you agree to assume full responsibility for your health care and you agree that Diabetes Pilot and its authors are not liable for any direct or indirect consequences of any results (correct or incorrect) returned by the program.

ALWAYS VERIFY THE CALCULATIONS WITH YOUR PHYSICIAN OR HEALTH PRACTITIONER.

Please note that the insulin calculations presented by the program when you are making glucose and meal entries consider only the current entry. The calculations do not consider any other factors, such as exercise, previous doses, previous food, or other circumstances that could significantly affect the amount of insulin that is required. You must use your own judgment to account for these various factors.

To configure the insulin calculation feature, select "Insulin Calculation..." from the "Tools" menu on the main screen. The configuration screen will be displayed:

Customizing the Medication and Exercise Lists

When you make a medication or an exercise entry you can select the type of medication or exercise from a popup list on the details screen. These lists can be customized to meet your needs. Select "Edit Medication List..." or "Edit Exercise List..." from the "Tools" menu on the main screen.

The list will be displayed, along with four buttons:

Using the Food Database

This section explains how to use the Diabetes Pilot food database. The food database provides reference information on thousands of foods. You can add your own foods to the database and customize it to meet your needs.

Accessing the Food Database

Finding Foods

Adding New Foods and Groups

Marking Foods as Favorites

Organizing the Database

Backing Up the Food Database

Accessing the Food Database

The food database can be accessed in two different ways:

  1. From the main screen, select "Food Database" from the "Tools" menu. This will display the food database and allow you to look up food information and do things like add, edit, and organize the foods and mark foods as favorites.
  2. When you are building a new meal entry (see Food Records) tapping on the "Lookup food..." button will display the food database. You'll be able to do all of the functions listed above. In addition, you can select a food from the database and tap the "Use food" button to add it to the meal.

Finding Foods

You can locate foods in the food database in several different ways:

In many cases, the food list will contain more items than can fit on a single screen. If this is the case, small arrows will appear near the upper right and lower right of the list. Tap these arrows to scroll the list. Or, for a faster and easier way to scroll the list, use the "up/down" buttons on your device (these are located at the bottom center of most handhelds).

To select a food, simply tap on it in the list. The selected food will be highlighted. After the food is selected, you can:

To see more of a food description that's larger than the screen, tap and hold the stylus on the item.

Adding New Foods and Groups

To add a new food or group to the food database, start by browsing to the location where you would like the new item added (see Finding Foods above). The new item will be added to the location that is currently displayed on the screen, in alphabetical order.

To add a new group, tap on the "New Group" button, enter a name for the new group, and tap "OK".

To add a new food, tap on the "New Food" button. On the screen that appears, enter a name for the new food and the nutritional information for the food (you can always leave some of the nutrition items blank if you don't need accurate information for them). Tap "OK" when you're done.

Marking Foods as Favorites

When a food is marked as a favorite, it will appear in the quick-access dropdown list on the "Build Meal" screen. It will also appear with a star (*) next to it in the food database list. To mark a food as a favorite:

  1. Find the food in the database (see Finding Foods above).
  2. Select the food (by tapping on it to highlight it)
  3. Tap the "Favorite" button.

To remove a food from the favorites list, select it and tap the "Favorite" button. The food will be removed from the list. If you are trying to remove a food from the favorites list, you may find it convenient to display the items in the list by selecting "Show Favorites" from the "Foods" menu.

Organizing and Customizing the Food Database

Several functions are available to help you organize and customize the food database.

To delete a food from the database:

  1. Find the food in the database (see Finding Foods above).
  2. Select the food (by tapping on it to highlight it)
  3. Select "Delete Selected Item" from the "Foods" menu.

To copy a food to another category:

  1. Find the food in the database (see Finding Foods above).
  2. Select the food (by tapping on it to highlight it)
  3. Select "Copy item" from the "Foods" menu. (Note: you can also select "Cut item" to move, rather than copy, the food to the new category).
  4. Browse to the category where you'd like to put the food
  5. Select "Paste item" from the "Foods" menu.

To edit the name or data associated with a food or group:

  1. Find the food in the database (see Finding Foods above).
  2. Select the food (by tapping on it to highlight it)
  3. Select "Edit Selected Item" from the "Foods" menu.
  4. Make the changes that you desire to the food or group data.
  5. Tap the OK button.

Backing Up the Food Database

If you are using Diabetes Pilot Desktop along with Diabetes Pilot on your Palm: The food database will be synchronized with your desktop data each time you do a HotSync.

If you're not using Diabetes Pilot Desktop: the food database is normally not backed up during a HotSync. This is because the food database is very large and backing it up during every HotSync would make the HotSync unnecessarily slow. However, you can (and should) back up the the food database periodically so that your customizations will be saved if anything should happen to your handheld. Here's how:

  1. Start at the main screen in Diabetes Pilot.
  2. Select "Backup Food Database..." from the "Tools" menu. This queues the database for one backup during the next HotSync.
  3. Run a HotSync by putting your device in its cradle and pressing the HotSync button.

The food database will be copied to your desktop computer for backup purposes.

Reports - Analyzing Your Data

Diabetes Pilot provides several methods for you to review your data and assess your blood sugar control over time. These reports can be selected from the main screen under the "Reports" menu.

Averages Report

Range Report

Category Report

Medication Report

Food Report

Glucose Graph

Export to MemoPad

Averages Report

This report shows your average blood sugar for the past 7, 30, 60, and 90 days. This report should not take the place of tests recommended by your doctor such as glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c).

The report will also display a rough "best guess" estimate of your HbA1C. Because this estimate is based only on the data that you've entered, it may be inaccurate in certain circumstances depending on your data entry patterns. It's intended for informational purposes only - you shouldn't rely on it for medical decision-making purposes or as a substitute for actual HbA1C testing.

Range report

This report shows the portion of your glucose measurements that fall within the ranges that you've specified in the Preferences screen. Note that the total of the percentages shown may not add up to 100 percent because you may have some readings that are neither high, low, nor in your specified target range.

You can specify the date range to analyze by tapping on the "Start Date" and "End Date" items.

Category Report

The category report analyzes your readings based on their category. If you have been using the category feature to categorize your records as you enter them, this report may help you find patterns in your readings. See Recording and Editing Data for more information on using categories.

Use the "Show" dropdown list next to select the measure that you are interested in. You can choose from the following items:

You can specify the date range to analyze by tapping on the "Start Date" and "End Date" items.

Medication Report

The Medication Report shows the totals of each of your medications over a selected date range.

To adjust the dates that are included, use the date controls located near the top of the screen.

Food Report

You can create a report that shows the nutritional content of the meals you've entered. To do this, choose "Food Report".

To adjust the dates that are included, use the date controls located near the top of the screen.

Glucose Graph

To create a graph of your glucose readings, choose "Glucose Graph" . A line graph of your glucose readings will be displayed.

To adjust the dates that are graphed, use the drop-down list located above the graph.

To find out the details about a graph point, tap and hold your stylus on the graph points - the details will be displayed below the graph.

Export to MemoPad

Selecting either "Export Data to MemoPad" or "Export Meals to MemoPad" will copy the your records to a Palm MemoPad note. The records are exported in a comma-separated format that is suitable for importing into a spreadsheet program such as Microsoft Excel or other software.

This feature is intended for experts or those with special circumstances. Transferring your data to your desktop computer is much simpler with our Diabetes Pilot Desktop software. We recommend using the Desktop software to transfer your data, rather than this export function.

The date, category, and record type filters at the top of the main screen determine which records will be exported. Adjust these filters as desired before selecting the export command.

The "Export to MemoPad" function allows you to transfer your data from your handheld to other programs on your desktop computer. This feature is useful for showing the data to your doctor, printing it, analyzing it, graphing trends, making a backup or permanent record of the data, and other purposes. For more detailed instructions on this feature, click here.

Backing Up and Restoring Your Data

A backup of your data can be useful in many situations. For example:

We recommend backing up your data periodically. There are several different methods for backing up your data:

Each of these methods is described below.

Using Diabetes Pilot Desktop to back up your data

When you use our Diabetes Pilot Desktop software (sold separately), your data can be synchronized automatically the Palm and Desktop software each time you HotSync. This gives you a copy of your data that you can access directly on your desktop computer. This is particularly useful if your handheld should become lost or damaged. Click here for more information on using Diabetes Pilot Desktop with your handheld.

Backup with a third-party backup program

You may wish to use a third-party backup program to back up all of the data on your handheld. "Backup Buddy" is one such program - it's available at www.backupbuddy.com. We have no relationship with the manufacturer of this program, but have had good experience with it.

Typically, Palm backup programs will copy your data when you do a HotSync. The data is stored on your computer as a Palm database file that can be reinstalled to your handheld, but cannot otherwise be used on your desktop computer.

This backup file for Diabetes Pilot is called "Diabetes_Pilot_Data.pdb". The exact location depends on the particular configuration of your computer and software. Typically, the file will be located in a subfolder of where your Palm desktop data is stored. If you should ever need it, the easiest way to find this file is to use the file search function on your computer (on the PC: from the "start" button select "search", then "files or folders") and search for the file "Diabetes_Pilot_Data.pdb".

The food database is backed up separately. To find the food database file, search for the file "Diabetes_Pilot_Foods.pdb", following the instructions above.

If you wish to maintain periodic backups from further back than just your last HotSync, we suggest that you make a copy of the backup file to another location occasionally. We recommend that you copy the backup file to another location (such as a floppy disk or another folder on your desktop computer) before upgrading to a new version of the program.

Restoring your backup data

Once you have located this file, it can be installed to your handheld. This will restore your Diabetes Pilot data. To install the backup file and restore your data, follow the instructions with your backup software. Or, with some setups, you can follow the steps below:

  1. Open the Palm Install tool. (This is usually located on your computer in the Start Menu, under "Programs", then under "Palm Desktop".)
  2. In the Palm Install Tool, click on "Add..." You will be prompted for a file. Locate the backup file and select it. Click "Open".

Depending on the circumstances, you may also need to restore the Diabetes Pilot program file and food database in addition to restoring your data. Click here for instructions on downloading and installing the program and original food database.

If you have a backup copy of your personal food database, you can restore it by following the instructions above with the "Diabetes_Pilot_Foods.pdb" file.

Backing up your data by exporting it

Diabetes Pilot also allows you to back up your data by exporting it to the Palm memo pad. This type of backup is useful because it provides you with a copy of most of your data in a format that you can read completely independently of Diabetes Pilot. Exporting your data is also a useful way to get the data into other programs for analysis and sharing with your doctor. However, this method of backup will not allow you to restore your data in Diabetes Pilot.

This feature is intended for experts or those with special circumstances. Transferring your data to your desktop computer is much simpler with our Diabetes Pilot Desktop software. We recommend using our Desktop software to transfer your data, rather than this export function.

Diabetes Pilot allows you to transfer your data from your handheld to other programs on your desktop computer. This feature is useful for showing the data to your doctor, printing it, analyzing it, graphing trends, making a backup or permanent record of the data, and other purposes.

The export functions allows you to get the data out of Diabetes Pilot and into any other program. Here is one way that these feature can be used:

  1. Launch Diabetes Pilot and display the records that you want to transfer by using the filter controls at the top of the main screen.
  2. Choose "Export Data to MemoPad" or "Export Meals to MemoPad" from the reports menu. Select the details you would like included in the message box that appears. The records will be exported to the Palm MemoPad.
  3. HotSync your handheld with your computer. This will transfer the memopad entry to the corresponding location on your computer. The exact location will vary depending on your particular setup. If you're using the standard "Palm Desktop" program (or an equivalent), it will be in the memo portion of the Palm Desktop program. If you've set up your palm to sync memos with Outlook or another program, then you should find the memo in the memo section of that program.
  4. Find and open the memo on your computer (see above).
  5. Highlight all of the text of the memo. Then, select "copy" from the edit menu. Alternately, (this is generally easier) click on the highlighted text with the right mouse button and select "copy".

Now, you can paste the data into whatever desktop program you would like. Microsoft Word or Excel are good candidates, but there are many other possibilities. We generally prefer Excel for working with data tables, but there's nothing wrong with using Word (or any other program) if you're more familiar with it.

Here are some specific instructions for these programs:

Microsoft Word

  1. Start Word. Select "Paste" from the "Edit" menu. The data will be pasted into your document.
  2. If you'd like to format the data as a nice table, highlight the text you just pasted (by holding down the mouse button and dragging) and go to the "Table" menu. Select "Convert", then "Text to Table".
  3. A window will appear. Choose "Separate text at commas" and click ok. Your data should be formatted into a nice table. You can then edit, print, and save the document however you'd like.

Excel

  1. Start Excel. Select "Paste" from the "Edit" menu. The data will be pasted into your document. Excel should paste the data should into individual cells automatically. You can then edit, format, print, and chart the data however you'd like.
  2. If for some reason the data is not automatically separated into individual cells when you paste it, highlight the pasted data in Excel. Then, from the "data" menu, select "text to columns". Choose "delimited", then "next", then "comma", then "finish". The data will be separated into cells.