BostonPocketPC

 

 

 

 

A problem I've had when updating the ROM on my devices or recovering from a hard reset is having access to my SMS messages and call logs.  Many messages that I receive have important information in them and my call log is important as it allows me to keep track of my my calls for billing purposes.  I would like to have access to this information after my device has been cleared and I would like to have access to this information from my computer, plus I would like to have this all do without user intervention.  Sprite Archie does just that. 

 

Installation of Sprite Archie takes up about 1.2 MB of space on the device.  The installation is quick and straight forward.  Launching the program for the first time will get you a screen like this.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After tapping Yes on the above screen you will be taken to a screen to select how outgoing messages are handled.   Basic settings like the account, e-mail address and the associated display name can all be set here.  If you use a mail client with rules you could set the display name to something useful then apply rules in your mail client to deal with the message as you please.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Once your account options have been set you are brought back to the main screen.  Notice each item has a circle with a slash through it?  This means that the archiving of those items have been disabled.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If you tap on the circle you will be shown an image of a envelope which means that item will archive to the e-mail address you set earlier. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Another tap will show an image of a file which means the selected item will archive to a file locally on the device. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

You can mix and match archival options for each category if you with so if you didn't care about sent SMS's but wanted incoming SMS's to be archived on the device while having your call logs e-mailed it's all possible.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The location of the archive can be set to any place on the device (even the storage card) within the options menu and can be appended to an existing file or completely overwrite an existing file.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Not only can the location of the file be set but also the file type.  Sprite Archie supports exporting to Plain Text, Xml and Csv files which can either be saved on the device or embedded in an e-mail.  Because the information will be embedded in an e-mail and not as an attachment you will need to copy the information from the e-mail and put it into a file that you can work with but the formatting has already been done.  Files archive to the device appear in the correct file extensions so no copying needed. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here's a portion of an Xml export on the device

<SmsSent EntryType="SmsSent">
          <Date>2008-01-31 14:05:13</Date>
          <Message>Are you going to be at the shop today?

-E-</Message>
          <Recipient>Greg &lt;(201) 555-1212&gt;</Recipient>
     </SmsSent>

 

Sprite Archive is very versatile, you can manually export the items you need or have it setup as a scheduled task.  For initial installations I suggest doing a full export then set the scheduled task to handle things afterwards.  The export screen gives plenty of options to work with. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

You have a choice of what you wish to export, the destination, format and time frame.  Once selected tap ok and your items will be archived via e-mail or a file. 

Now doing manual exports is fine for initial installations but I'm too busy to be thinking about archiving my items everyday and of course the day you forget to archive is the day something terrible happens to your device.  Well Sprite Archie has a scheduled task option that will export your items for you at whatever times you set.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After selecting option you wish to automate, you will be presented with those familiar options from the export screen with an additional schedule item to tell Sprite Archie when you want it to archive to take place.  As you can see you have the option to archive immediately, daily or weekly.  Choosing the Immediate option is nice for local file archiving but for e-mails this will fill your inbox quickly depending on the frequency of events and will also cause a big spike in data usage if you are using direct push.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I set my schedule to archive items to e-mail me towards the end of the day but the choice is always up to you and Sprite Archie gives you the options that let you customize the archive settings however you want. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sprite Archie is a great program that once set, allows me to be assured that my items are safe in the event of total data loss on the device.  There are a few options that I would love to see in a future release of Sprite Archie.  One options is a way to restore information back to the device.  This would be handy when you switch devices and you want to keep the data consistent.  The other option is to have an attachment for e-mail archives instead of the embedded information. 

If you have a need to archive SMS's and call logs then Sprite Archie should be on your list of software to check out.  Sprite Archie is available directly from Sprite Software for $14.95