Life in Seville: Basic information and helpful advice about Sevilla

Sevilla on your PDA

I try to have fun with this site and I own a Toshiba e740 PocketPC, so I experiment with downloading content to this device a lot. So this is a work based on my personal interest and I've probably lost too much time just figuring out the basics of design and usability for mobile devices. In other words, I have a long way to go to offer advanced content. Secondly, I don't know whether I should call this content for the PocketPC or content for the PDA. In theory my content should work on both the Palm and PocketPC, although I only have the luxury of using my Toshiba, so I can't check it well on other platforms. Anyway, this is a work in progress - some of the content may have a few bugs and the maps are not tagged pdf's. Still, it's not rocket science as they like to say, and I have some information on how to download the files and use them - any feedback is more than welcome.

Topics in this section

Web Content ¦ Maps ¦ How to download content on your PDA

Web Content

Currently I only have a few sections in suitable formats for PDA. I will soon add more for you to download and take on the road. Graphics and photos are minimal and some content has been abbreviated for ease of use. For those of you familiar with Avantgo you'll need to create a custom channel. Or you can use Internet Explorer's (versions 5.0 and later) Create Mobile Favorite option. Of course if you are connected to the internet on your mobile device then you're all set - just point to the page below. If you don't know how to do either see the Downloading content to your PDA section below.

Dining Out International & Vegetarian
Link depth: 1
Approximate channel/page size: 50K

Observations
Link depth: 0
Approximate channel/page size: 50K

Semana Santa Processions by day
Link depth: 1
Approximate channel/page size: 50K

Seville Bullfight Schedule 2004
Approximate channel/page size: 50K

Maps

These maps are in Adobe Acrobat format and require that you download the reader for the PocketPC (download here) or Palm OS (download here). Again, these files are not tagged, which makes for easier reading on mobile devices. Still, they are highly detailed on my Toshiba and when you zoom in they are also very easy to read.

Sevilla
Centro, Macarena, La Cartuja (pdf - 223 KB)
Santa Cruz, Arenal, San Bernardo, Triana, Los Remedios, El Porvenir (pdf - 477 KB)
City Map of Sevilla Highways and Main Roads (pdf - 299 KB)

Córdoba
City Map of Córdoba (pdf - 531 KB)

Granada
City Map of Granada (pdf - 575 KB)

Jerez
City Map of Jerez (pdf - 322 KB)

Madrid
City map of Madrid N: Quevedo S: EstSur Autobuses E: Retiro W: Palacio Real (pdf - 309 KB)
City map of Madrid N: Ventas S: Vallecas E: M-30 W: Retiro (pdf - 483 KB)
City map of Madrid N: Chamartín S: Av America E: Parque Berlin W: 4 Caminos (pdf - 109 KB)
City map of Madrid N: Noviciado S: Embajadores E: Cibeles W: Opera (pdf - 75 KB)
City Map of Madrid Highways and Main Roads (pdf - 701 KB)

Toledo
Toledo City Map (pdf - 307 KB)

How to download content to your PDA

Web Content
In general you'll have two choices for downloading the web content: use Avantgo and create a custom channel for the page or use Internet Explorer's mobile favorite command. Either way you have to make sure you adjust your settings to download all of the content, which is in general just a few easy steps. I will assume you are already an Avantgo user, but if not you can learn more and sign up for free at Avantgo.com. I have used the Dining Out page as an example, but you can follow the links to the other pages mentioned above in Web Content and use the same instructions.

Using Avantgo

Log-in to Avantgo and look for the box with three tabs on the right side of the page. Click on the My Account tab.

Under Subscriptions click on the Create a custom channel option

Provide the following information (leave other options as is, or to your preference):

Channel Title

Title: Explore Seville (or what you want to call it)

url: http://www.exploreseville.com/pda/bars-rest-alt-pda.htm (Int'l & Vegetarian Dining Page)

Channel Size

Maximum Channel Size: 50k

Link Depth: 1 (very important or you will only get the home page)

Include Images select Yes (I use only one image of very small size)

Channel Refresh

Select your preference here - the page will be updated every few months.

Using Mobile Favorites Option in Internet Explorer

Go to the following page in Internet Explorer on your PC or Mac : http://www.exploreseville.com/pda/bars-rest-alt-pda.htm

In Internet Explorer select: Tools > Create Mobile Favorite...

Select your preference for Update and click OK

In Internet Explorer select: Tools> Synchronize... You will see a list of Mobile Favorites you have created.

Select Life in Seville Int'l and Veg. Restaurants.url and then click on the Properties button.

On the Download tab change the link depth to 1. Click OK and and then Close on the next window. That's it!

PDF Content
Once you have installed the reader on your mobile device (PocketPC: download here; Palm OS: download here) you can selecting one of the maps below by clicking on the link. Once you have opened the file in Adobe Reader on your PC or Mac you can then save it to your hard drive. I will assume (again) that you are familiar with how to load a file onto your mobile device. Once you have done that Adobe's reader will recognize all readable file formats (ie: these maps in pdf format) on your device, so you don't have to go searching for them. A compact flash or other memory card helps if you do not have a lot of memory on your device. Please take into account the file sizes and your device's available memory.