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Battery Swap Time
Assuming the default power saving parameters and battery reserve level have not been altered, battery swap time is a minimum of 4 minutes — you will not lose data if the battery is replaced within this time frame.
To protect data, the safest place to store data is on a microSD memory card or externally on a USB memory stick or on a PC. You can also save data in the “Application” (Flash Disk) partition of the file system.
Refer to
Suspend Threshold and Estimated Battery Backup on page 4-6
for details about reserving battery power for data backup purposes.
The Suspend Threshold adjustment in the Power Properties tab allows you to determine the battery capacity at which the Workabout Pro4 will be shut down. If left at the default value, Maximum Operating Time, the unit will run until the battery is completely empty; the RAM is only backed up for a short period of time. If you choose
Maximum Backup Time , the Workabout Pro4 shuts off with more energy left in the battery so RAM can be backed up for a longer period of time.
IMPORTANT If your Workabout Pro4 fails to power up, consider the following troubleshooting options:
The battery may be overheated (>60C°), a non-Zebra battery may be installed, or the
battery may have fallen below the configured Suspend Threshold. See Suspend Threshold and Estimated Battery Backup on page 4-6 for details.
To switch on the hand-held, you will need to replace the overheated battery.
However, if you supply AC power to the Workabout Pro4 with a battery that falls below the configured Suspend Threshold, the unit will switch on.
Charging the Battery
IMPORTANT RISK OF EXPLOSION IF BATTERY IS REPLACED BY AN INCORRECT TYPE.
DISPOSE OF USED BATTERIES ACCORDING TO INSTRUCTIONS.
Batteries shipped from the factory are charged to approximately 40% of capacity. Lithium-ion battery packs must be fully charged before use. These batteries can be charged with a variety of chargers and docking cradles. For detailed information about these accessories, please see
Chapter 5: Peripheral Devices & Accessories .
Normally, it takes 3 to 4 hours to charge a battery.
IMPORTANT To avoid damaging the battery, chargers will not begin the charge process until the battery temperature is between 0°C to 45°C (32°F to 113°F).
The Keyboard
Keyboard options varied depending on the Workabout Pro4 model
Workabout Pro4 Version
Workabout Pro4 Long
Workabout Pro4 Short
Keyboard Type Available
Alphanumeric only
Numeric or QWERTY
Getting to Know Your Workabout Pro4 2 - 3
This hand-held is equipped with a [Power] button in the lower left corner of the keyboard.
The [FN/BLUE] modifier key provides access to additional keys and system functions. These functions are colour coded in blue print above the keyboard keys.
NOTE Almost all keys can be reprogrammed to suit your requirements.
The [Power] Button
The [Power] button in the lower left corner of the keyboard switches the unit on and off.
Standard Keys
The [ENTER] Key
The [ENTER] key is used to execute the usual Enter keyboard functions.
The [SHIFT] Key
The [SHIFT] key is used to display uppercase alpha characters and to provide access to other symbols and functions on the numeric keyboards. Press the [SHIFT] key to turn the shift state 'on' (it will be represented in the shift-state indicator in the navigation bar at the top of the screen), then press another key to access the shifted function of that key.
Press the [SHIFT] key twice to lock the shift state on (the shift-state will be outlined in a black frame to indicate it is locked ‘on’). It is now in CAPS LOCK mode. Press [SHIFT] again to turn the shift state off.
The Arrow Keys
The [Arrow] keys are located near the top of the keyboard, and are represented on the keyboard as triangles pointing in different directions. The [Arrow] keys move the cursor around the screen in the direction of the arrow: up, down, left and right. The left arrow key should not be confused with the [BACKSPACE] key which is depicted as a left arrow. The cursor is the flashing box or underline character that indicates where the next character you type will appear.
The [BACKSPACE/DEL] Key
The [BACKSPACE] key (represented on the keyboard as an arrow pointing left) moves the cursor one character to the left, erasing the previous key stroke.
The [DEL] key ([FN] +[BACKSPACE]) erases the character at the current cursor position.
The [CTRL] and [ALT] Key
The [CTRL] and [ALT] keys modify the function of the next key pressed and are application dependent.
Pressing either key twice locks it 'on'. Pressing the key once again unlocks it.
The [TAB] Key
Typically, the [TAB] key moves the cursor to the next field to the right or downward.
The [ESC] Key
Generally, this key is used as a keyboard shortcut to close the current menu, dialog box, or activity.
The [SPACE] Key
The [SPACE] key is represented on the keyboard by a long, horizontal line bracketed by a small vertical line on each side. Pressing this key inserts a blank space between characters. In a Windows dialog box, pressing the
[SPACE] key enables or disables a checkbox.
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The [SCAN] Key
The Workabout Pro4 is equipped with a single [SCAN] key at the top of the keyboard and two [SCAN] buttons located on the left and right sides of the unit. [SCAN] keys activate the scanner beam. For units that do not have internal scanners, these keys can be remapped to serve other functions.
Volume Control – [UP ARROW] [DOWN ARROW]
The volume keys are located above the [UP ARROW] and [DOWN ARROW] and are labelled with blue icons - the [UP ARROW] is labelled with a plus (+) symbol indicating volume increase while the [DOWN ARROW] is labelled with a minus (-) symbol indicating volume decrease.
• To increase the volume, press the [FN/BLUE] key followed by the [UP ARROW] key.
• To decrease the volume, press [FN/BLUE] followed by the [DOWN ARROW] key.
Modifier Keys
The [SHIFT], [CTRL], [ALT], [FN/BLUE] and [FN/ORANGE] keys are modifier keys. Pressing a modifier key changes the function of the next key pressed. For example, on a Workabout Pro4 Short Qwerty keyboard, a bracket is printed in orange print above the [U] key. Pressing the [FN/ORANGE] key followed by the [U] key displays a bracket rather than the letter U.
The [SHIFT], [CTRL] and [ALT] keys operate much like a desktop keyboard except that they are not chorded
(two keys held down simultaneously). The modifier key must be pressed first followed by the key whose function you want modified.
Activating Modifier Keys
When a modifier key is pressed, it is represented in the shift-state indicator icon in the navigation bar at the top of the screen, making it easier to determine whether or not a modifier key is active. For example, when the
[FN/BLUE] key is pressed, it is represented in blue in the shift-state indicator icon at the top of the screen.
Figure 2-1 Shift-State Indicator Icon
Shift-state indicator icon
Locking Modifier Keys
When a modifier key is locked ‘on’, it will remain active until it is pressed again to unlock or turn it off.
To help you identify when a modifier key is locked ‘on’, the key is represented in the shift-state indicator icon with a black frame around it.
Getting to Know Your Workabout Pro4 2 - 5
Figure 2-2 Shift-State Indicator Icon – Locked/Unlocked Modifier Key
Shift-state indicator icon
Unlocked modifier key indicator
Locked modifier key indicator
Once a modifier key is unlocked or turned off, it is no longer displayed in the shift-state indicator icon.
NOTE The locking function of the modifier keys can be changed so that pressing a modifier key once will lock it ‘on’.
If you disable the ‘One Shot’ function of the key, pressing it once will lock the key ‘on’. Pressing
the same key a second time will unlock or turn it ‘off’. Refer to OneShots on page 4-35
for details.
Function Keys and Macro Keys
In addition to the standard keyboard functions, the Workabout Pro4 supports Function keys and Macro keys
(Macro keys are only available on Workabout Pro4 Long units).
All function keys and macro keys can be custom defined for each application.
Function Keys
Function keys perform special, custom-defined functions within an application. These keys are accessed by pressing one of the dedicated function keys on the keyboard, or through the appropriate [SHIFT] or [FN] key sequence, depending on the keyboard variant being used.
All Workabout Pro4 keyboards are equipped with a total of 14 function keys. Function keys [F1] to [F4] located near the top of the keyboard are directly accessible – a key combination is not required. Ten additional function keys from [F1] to [F10] are colour coded in blue print on the unit body; these keys are accessed by executing a key combination, [FN/BLUE] followed by the appropriate key.
For example, to access [F6] on a QWERTY keyboard:
• Press the [FN/BLUE] key followed by the [F] alpha key – the alpha key to which function key [F6] is mapped.
Macro Keys (Workabout Pro4 Long only)
IMPORTANT Refer to
Macro Keys on page 4-36
for details about creating macros.
Workabout Pro4 Long units are equipped with 10 Macro keys. Workabout Pro4 Short hand-helds are not equipped with these keys. Macro keys can be programmed to replace frequently used keystrokes, along with the function of executable keys like the [ENTER] key, the [BACKSPACE] key, any function key and arrow key, etc.
Alphanumeric keyboards have ten macro keys: [M1] to [M10]. These keys are colour coded in orange print above the numeric keys.
To access a macro key:
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• Press the [FN/ORANGE] key followed by the appropriate numeric key from [1] to [0].
For example, to access macro key [M1], press [FN/ORANGE] [1].To access macro key [M2], press [FN/ORANGE] [2], and so on.
Whether your keyboard does or does not have macro keys physically stamped on the keyboard, up to 15 macro functions can be added using the Scancode Remapping function. Refer to
Scancode Remapping on page 4-38
for details about mapping keys.
Numeric Keyboards — Accessing Alpha Keys
On Numeric Workabout Pro4 keyboards, all alphabetic characters are printed on the unit plastic in blue typeface above the keys. Alpha characters are accessed by pressing the [FN] modifier key, then pressing another key on the keyboard.
Alpha Modified Numeric 789 keyboards have each blue alphabetic character assigned as a single [FN]-shifted character on individual keys.
Numeric 123 keyboards have telephone-style alphabetic keys, with the blue alphabetic characters located in groups of 3 or 4 above each of the numeric keys. To access characters on these keyboards, a few extra steps are needed, as described below.
Choosing a Single Alpha Character
NOTE The following examples assume that the [FN/ORANGE] key is enabled as ‘Lock’ mode in the
‘One Shot’ screen (accessed by choosing Start>Settings>Personal>Buttons icon). In ‘Lock’ mode, pressing the [FN/ORANGE] key once locks it ‘on’. Refer to
OneShot/Lock on page 4-36
for details.
The examples below illustrate how to access A, B and C, all of which are printed in blue characters above the numeric key [2] on a numeric keyboard.
IMPORTANT The letters you choose appear in the shift-indicator icon at the top of the screen, providing a visual indicator of which letter will be displayed on the screen.
To choose the letter ‘a’:
1. Press the [FN/ORANGE] key, and press the numeric key [2].
2. Press the [FN/ORANGE] key again to unlock or turn it off.
NOTE To choose the second, third or fourth alpha character assigned to a numeric key, you may want to lock the [FN/ORANGE] key ‘on’. Remember that depending on how your Workabout Pro4 is set up in the ‘One Shots’ tab, you may find that you need to press the [FN/ORANGE] key twice to lock it
‘on’. Refer to
OneShot/Lock on page 4-36
for details.
To choose the letter ‘b’:
1. Lock the [FN/ORANGE] key ‘on’, and press [2] twice.
2. Press the [FN/ORANGE] key again to unlock or turn it off.
To choose the letter ‘c’:
1. Lock the [FN/ORANGE] key ‘on’, and press [2] three times.
2. Press the [FN/ORANGE] key again to unlock or turn it off.
