Generic EPOC databases (e.g. Book/video collections, etc.) need to be 'Exported as text file', choosing suitable delimiters (which will probably depend on the sort of textual information in your file itself, i.e.quote and comma characters). Either reimport this text file into Palm Desktop (if you want the info in your Address Book) or import it into a PalmOS third party database application using their supplied import tool.

To export from a Palm OS database, use the conversion tool supplied with your Palm application. This will export as either a tab or comma-delimited file, which you'll be able to easily import into Data.

This is slightly more limiting. When working with both devices, make the Palm the master, as you can beam appointments and To Dos one at a time directly from the Palm into the Psion Agenda (but not the other way around).

Take a look at VCAL, from FreEPOC, which lets you perform a one-way export of all Agenda entries into a generic file for import into Palm Desktop.

Apart from this, you need to use desktop tools to achieve proper synchronisation. To go from EPOC to Palm, one possible solution is to use one of PsiWin's synchronisation filters to get your appointments into a PC-based PIM (e.g. Outlook) and then use PocketMirror (on the Palm Desktop CD) to HotSync the information through to your Palm's Date Book. To go the other way, just reverse the process.

All a bit of a hassle though, you might find it easier to either enter appointments, To Dos and anniversaries manually or to just accept that Agenda/calendar information exists only on your main PDA (which is always with you).

The Palm organisers don't come with a spreadsheet, alas, so you'll have to go third party here for sure, and use Microsoft Excel as the intermediary.

Despite the cost, I'd recommend CES's Quicksheet or iambic's TinySheet, both of which have transparent two-way synchronisation with Excel on the desktop.

If you're determined to keep your sheets on both handheld platforms, you'll be severely restricted in terms of formatting flexibility and functionality - the two stage conversion process will weed out everything but the simplest spreadsheet constructs.

One limitation here may be the 4k restriction for Memo Pad entries under PalmOS. There are also no styling or emphases of any kind. To get more, you'd have to go third-party, into something sophisticated such as WordSmith.

There are various ways of getting text onto a Palm:

• If the amount of text is small (1k or less), insert it into a Contacts entry's Note field and beam it across to Address Book, where it can be copied out to Memo Pad or similar.
• If between 1k and 4k, use PsiWin on the desktop to convert your EPOC Word files to plain text and then paste them into Memo Pad entries on Palm Desktop.
• If more than 4k worth and you can live without formatting, do the PsiWin conversion as above and then use MakeDocW or any other DOC conversion tool to make a compressed Palm OS DOC etext, which can be viewed in any number of free and shareware viewers. In addition, CES's SmartDoc and QED allow full editing of these files.
• If more than 4k and you want to keep basic styling and formatting, your best bet is WordSmith or DataViz's Documents To Go Professional. Your desktop intermediate format can then be Microsoft Word or Rich Text Format, with the Palm OS application maintaining much of your rich text information.

Your only option here is to go down a tortuous email synchronisation route. I know there are people who have got all this working, but for every one of those, I've seen ten who've wasted hours fiddling around.

Best advice is to just use the Palm or Psion for occasional 'away on holiday' use, logging into your POP3 mailbox using a standalone email client (such as MultiMail Pro on Palm OS, now part of Palm's Mobile Internet Kit) to check for urgent items. Trying to synchronise and maintain full email operation on a keyboardless PDA is strictly for masochists. And trying to keep two PDAs synchronised to a desktop's email system is probably nigh on impossible!

You'll want Jotter information mapped to Palm OS's Memo Pad. About the best that you can do, long-winded though it might seem, is to paste essential information into a Data file and then use the techniques above, finally importing from a delimited text file into Palm Desktop's Memo Pad module. PsiWin offers a Jotter to text conversion, but this doesn't really help.

Photos, doodles and sketches can all be converted via PsiWin to standard Windows BMP format and thence into TealPaint or Fire Viewer or Album to Go formats via their respective desktop import utilities. Screen size may well be an issue here though.

If your sketches are very simple and you have access to a Palm m100, note that the new Palm OS Note Pad application can provide a quick way to get black-and-white doodlings on the Palm backwards and forwards to the desktop and into other applications.

Luckily, virtually all EPOC third party applications and games have equivalents on PalmOS, though many are slightly simpler and more restrictive, usually because of lack of keyboard or screen limitations.