Entering text on a Pocket PC can be pretty tiresome. The easiest way to solve the problem is with an external keyboard. But it's not always easy to carry one around with you. Fortunately, there are things you can do that don't involve this.
Because the on-screen keyboard and other Software Input Panels (SIP) are relatively slow, Microsoft include a "word completion" feature in Windows Mobile, which uses a built-in "word completion dictionary" (WCD) to display an on-screen list of words that start with the same letters you've already entered on the SIP. When you see the word you are trying to enter, you simply tap on it and word completion finishes entering it for you.
By default, this dictionary is stored in ROM. It contains thousands of generic words in the language of the operating system. In addition to the built-in dictionary shipped with the operating system, there is also a custom one, which gradually fills up with the words the user enters that are not already in the main dictionary. The OS stores the custom dictionary file (dyncompdict.dat) in the RAM, in the \Windows folder. The custom dictionary file can be freely created/copied/overwritten. The main dictionary is stored in Read-Only Memory (ROM) and cannot be modified.
The file size of the custom dictionary may not exceed 9000 bytes—roughly one thousand seven-letter words. This really isn't much. Therefore, third-party solutions that aren't so restricted are worth investigating. These include solutions that are extensions to the WCD framework available to the standard SIP's, and solutions that involve third-party SIPs with their own, independent dictionary. This article reviews some of these.
Applications that let you easily mass-import words
TextPlus
http://www.smartcell.com
TextPlus is a predictive input tool available for both the Pocket PC and Palm OS devices. It's unique in that it is the only third-party solution with a dictionary file that can be accessed by the Pocket PC's built-in word completion feature.
The TextPlus word completion dictionary can be used by the built-in on-screen Keyboard.
Its custom dictionary can be huge. In addition, you can import large word and phrase lists into the TextPlus dictionary. It even comes with several built-in dictionaries (13 European-only languages and a medical/military/Bible dictionary) that you can start using right away.
Some users have complained that the program can be unstable, and a few don't like the 999 KB dictionary file size limit. You can read more user comments in the TextPlus review posted on the PocketPCThoughts Web site (http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=373951). Please also read my more thorough review/tutorial on the Smartphone & Pocket PC magazine blogs (http://www.pocketpcmag.com/blogs/index.php?p=258). It will give you more information, especially the way you can add custom dictionaries to it.
Transcriber
Transcriber, the handwriting recognition software built into all Windows Mobile Pocket PCs, has its own customizable word completion dictionary. It uses an open dictionary format and you can create your own dictionaries in Notepad on your desktop PC. (Open a blank Notepad document, enter each new word on a separate line, and save the document with a .dct file extension.) Copy the new .dct file to your Pocket PC's \My Documents\Dictionaries folder. Activate the new dictionary from within any application that accepts text input, as follows: Select Transcriber as your SIP; open the SIP options menu; tap on the Options button; select the Advanced tab; tap on the Settings button associated with the Dictionaries option; tap on the check box next to the new dictionary. (If it's not listed on this screen, you didn't put it in the right folder.)
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