XXXXXX XXXXXXXX XXX XXX XXXXXX XX XXXXXXXX XXXXXXXX XX XX XX XXXX XXXX XX XX XXXX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XXXXX XX XXX XX XX XX XX XX XX XXXXX XXXXXX XX XX XX XX XX XXXXXX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX v 2.0 XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XXXXXXXX XX XX XXXXXX XX XX XX XXXXXXXX written by ___ /\ / / /\/ \ / / /X/ \ /\ / / /X/ /\ \ / \ / / /X/ ____ \/ \/ / /X/ / \X\ /\ / /X/__/ \X\__/\X\__/ /XX/ \XX/ \XX/ ~~~ ~~ ~~ Andrew Whiteley (c) July 1995 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Contact: c/o 104 Newbridge Hill ~~~~~~~ Bath, Avon, BA1 3QB England Fido: 2:440/20.0 ~~~~ Internet: Andy_Whiteley@junct9.demon.co.uk ~~~~~~~~ --------------------------------------------------------------------------- System Requirements: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ - 1 MB minimum - Battery backed-up clock - Hard Disk recommended ----- Introduction: ~~~~~~~~~~~~ After the fourth visit in less than a month to the local newsagents to buy a birthday card for someone the day after their birthday, I decided that it was about time that I got my diary into order and thereby avoid those uncomfortable 'what do you mean you haven't got my card yet?!!' 'phone calls. However, by the time I had got round to doing anything about it, I had missed another two birthdays and had made another couple of hurried visits to Smith's and the local post-box. As a result of my continual embarrassment, I decided to write a program which would make sure that I never missed another birthday again and after a while I sat down and programmed REMDATE. As I progressed I decided that it might as well remind me of any anniversaries and special dates (just in case I forgot Christmas again) and any important appointments that I might get. The first version did the job of reminding me of events in time, but that was about all. After a while of using REMDATE v1.0, I decided to rewrite it and add all the features that I thought would be useful to have on a diary type program. I hope that you find it as useful as I do - obviously it requires you to enter your data before it can work properly, but once it's in you can leave the worrying to REMDATE v2.0! ------ Overview of Features: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ REMDATE v2.0 ------------ - Unlimited number of entries for Birthdays, Anniversaries, 'Special Days' and Diary appointments - Easy to use Calendar display, accessible by mouse with keyboard shortcuts for all options - Address and Telephone book, with Search, Co-habitate and Print options - 'Quote for the Day' - 'What happened on this Day' - 'What happened in this Year' - Powerful Print Feature which allows you to print in a variety of styles on different paper sizes, including for personal organisers. Data from REMDATE v2.0 can be automatically incorporated into the print outs - Days until... calculator - Easy to use Search facility - Planner function summarises the events for the following days - 'Things to Do' organiser - Updateable with regular 'Supplement' files for Diary entries, Quotes, History events and additional Print Styles REMDATE WB ---------- - Compact program that can be run on start-up - Load every time computer is turned on / once a day - Automatically turns off after desired time, or stays on until quitted - Can access Addresses and 'Things to Do' from Workbench without having to load main program - Can display a 'Quote for the Day' - Display anywhere on your Workbench screen ----- Installation of REMDATE v2.0: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ HARD-DISK USERS --------------- If you have Workbench 2.04 or higher, run the 'Install_REMDATE' script which will ask you where you want to put the Programs before installing all the data files to your S: directory. If you rather install the files manually, please bear in mind the following: - The programs REMDATE and REMDATE_WB can be located anywhere - Once run, they look at all available devices for the data files. If they can not be found, a new data file will be created. Thus it is important to put the Data files (i.e. 'REMDATE.xxx') in a logical device such as DH0: or S: If you want to keep them elsewhere, ensure that REMDATE can find them by Assigning REMDATE: to their path - REMOVE THE INSTALLER DISK BEFORE RUNNING THE PROGRAM, or else it will use the data from the disk and not from where you have installed the data - You can move the data at any time, so long as the above rules are obeyed - If the data files are not found in the System Disk's S: directory, you must tell REMDATE_WB where you have put them with the '-P' command - see later FLOPPY-DISK USERS ----------------- - Ensure that you have sufficient room on your Boot disk for the data file, typically 5 - 20 K - Keep all the data files on the REMDATE disk ----- Running REMDATE v2.0: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ When run for the first time, a message will be displayed saying that REMDATE could not find any data, and a new file will be created. If you have been using REMDATE v1.0 then REMDATE v2.0 will ask you if you want the old data files translated into a compatible form. Clicking on 'OK' will save you having to re-enter them all again! You will then be told that a 'SUPPLEMENT' file is present and you will be asked if you wish to update the files. This Supplement contains certain dates for the rest of 1995 and other important days. If you click on 'OK' this will add them to your file. When you quit, don't forget to delete this Supplement file, else you may duplicate the entries. The Main Screen is then displayed. It is divided into 5 main areas: 1) Messages are displayed at the top of the screen. If there are no messages to be displayed, the date and copyright notice are shown. 2) The Calendar shows the current month. Today's date will be high- lighted in white. Any entries for that day will be shown in the display box underneath. Other entries will be shown by a colour code: Red - Birthday Light Blue - Anniversary Green - Special Day Dark Blue - Diary Entry You can look at any date by either Clicking on the date with the Left Mouse Button, or by using the Cursor Keys to move around. 3) The 'CALENDAR DISPLAY' allows you to select the Month and Year. Either click on the desired month and year or use the keys: F1 = January ...... F10 = October Del = November HELP = December The Year can be increased/decreased by using ALT and cursor keys. 4) The Display Box will show all the entries for the displayed date. 5) The Options are selected by either clicking on the required box, or by pressing the Right-Amiga button and the first letter of the option. The use of Right-Amiga + First Letter applies for all options throughout REMDATE v2.0. If you have installed the data files correctly, the options HISTORY and PRINT should be in white. This means that they are available for use. Similarly, if you have any reminders waiting, REMINDERS will be highlighted, until it is selected. Additional Options can be selected by either pressing down the Right Mouse Button with the Left Mouse Button, or by pressing the Right Shift Button with the Right-Amiga Button. Options Available: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ REMINDERS --------- Selecting 'REMINDERS' will bring up a screen with the entries that you need to have bought to your attention. The length of Warning you are given can be set (see EDIT). Press 'Esc' to Clear the List. If you have lots of reminders, you can scroll through the list using the cursor keys. TO DO ----- This Option brings up a screen which allows you to make a checklist of 'Things To Do'. Click on 'ADD' (or R-A + 'A') and a cursor will appear at the next free entry. Enter whatever you have to do and press enter. If you want to change its position in the list, select it by clicking on it or by using F1 - F10, then select 'MOVE' and select its new position. If you want to remove one or more entries, highlight the ones you want to remove and select 'DONE IT'. A requester will be brought up checking that you want to delete them. (See notes on Requesters) 'RESET' allows you to de-select all high-lighted entries. 'NEXT' will display the next page of 'Things To Do' if you really are that disorganised! All options available will be highlighted in white. Click on 'FINISH' (or R-A + 'F' or 'Esc') to return to the main screen. EDIT ---- If you select 'EDIT', a small Edit screen will scroll up from the bottom of the screen. This will show the Date selected, the first entry (if any) for that date, what type of entry it is (i.e. Birthday, anniversary etc) and how much warning should be given. To get a good idea how to use this screen follow the example below: Say you want to enter Fred Bloggs' Birthday. Make sure the cursor is flashing in the 'TEXT:' box. If it isn't, use the up and down cursors until it is. Enter the name i.e. Fred Bloggs [When editing text, you can use the Shift and Ctrl buttons with the left and right cursor keys to jump around the line more quickly] Then click on the type of Day it is i.e. Birthday. You can also use F1 - F4 to select the type of day. The amount of warning that will be given will change to the default value for that type of reminder (See Options). If you want to change this, you can alter the number when the cursor is flashing by it and you can cycle through days, weeks or months by clicking on the word Finally, alter the year to the year in which he was born. If you don't know for sure, then delete the year. When you've done all that, you have to select 'ADD' to tell REMDATE that you've finished. If you forget to do this, you'll be reminded. If you want to make any alterations to an entry, don't forget to click on 'ACCEPT' to register the changes. Once again, you'll be reminded if you try to leave without confirming the alterations. When you click on 'ADD' you will notice that the date on the Calendar will become coloured, depending on the type of Day selected. You will also notice that the 'NEXT' button will be highlighted. You can use the 'NEXT' and 'PREV' buttons to look through the entries for the selected day. Make sure that the Text line is empty before Adding a New entry - the 'NEXT' button will not be high-lighted and 'ADD' will be shown rather than 'ACCEPT' If you want to delete an entry, make sure that the Correct entry is displayed and then select 'DELETE' (or press the 'Del' key). A requester will confirm your choice and the entry will be deleted. If you wish to enter the Address for the person, you can click on 'SHOW ADDRESS' which will temporarily close the Edit window and bring up the 'Address Book'. (See 'ADDRESS BOOK' for details about this) If you want to alter the date to edit, you can click on the Calendar display and alter the date, month and year. The entries for the new date will then be displayed. When you have finished editing the data, select 'FINISH' (or 'Esc') to return to the Main Screen. OPTIONS ------- This brings up a screen of available preferences. On the left are the default values for the length of warnings for the different types of days. On the right hand side are some further options: Speech - REMDATE will speak the reminders etc. Load Once - REMDATE will only load once a day. This is useful if you want the main program loaded each day, i.e. if you place it in your WBStartup Drawer, but you don't want it loading every time you turn on Auto-quit - REMDATE will display all relevant reminders for 10 seconds and then turn itself off. The countdown can be aborted. Confirm Deletes - Turn this off at your peril! All File deletions etc will be performed without checking with you first. Deleted data can not ne reclaimed. At the bottom, you can select your own personal choice of font. REMDATE will check to see if it is suitable. If it isn't, the selection will return to 'Default'. Click on 'SAVE' to keep your changes permanent. 'FINISH' will not save the changes but use them until REMDATE is quitted. HISTORY ------- REMDATE will search through its data files and look for all the events that have happened on the selected day. A box will appear with the entries listed chronologically. If there are a lot, use the cursor keys to scroll through; Pressing 'SHIFT' will scroll 5 lines at a time, whilst using 'CTRL' will go to the top or bottom of the list. Select 'FINISH' (or 'Esc') to return to the Main Screen. PRINT ----- The 'PRINT' option allows you to print off a variety of useful diary and reminder styles in various different formats. A requester will ask you if you are using a Dot Matrix or Layout compatible Laser Printer, before searching through the Print File to find which formats are available. A list will be presented which you can scroll through. Each entry will show what size of paper it is meant for, followed by a brief description of what will be produced. If you select an entry, a fuller description will be provided. Depending on what you decide to print, REMDATE will ask you for relevant information, before giving you the final decision to print. N.B. The Print-Outs have been tested on as many Dot Matrix Printers as possible and have worked on all of them. I can not guarantee that they will work perfectly on other types of printer, though I have made them as non-printer specific as I can. If you have any difficulty, please send me examples of what your printer produces together with the type of printer and printer-driver you are using and, if possible, a photocopy of your printer commands (from the printer manual) and I will try to update the files and send you them once completed. ADDRESS ------- Selecting 'ADDRESS' from the Main Screen will bring up the 'ADDRESS BOOK'. If you select it from the Edit Screen, then REMDATE will automatically try to find the address for the person who you are editing. 'ADD' - Select this and then enter the name, address and 'phone number as prompted. You can use the cursor keys to alter the data. Once you have finished, the entry will be automatically saved. The 'ADD' option will now change to 'ALTER' 'ALTER' - Select this and then you can alter the data as for 'ADD' 'DELETE' - This will Delete the currently displayed name and address. If there are more than one person living at that address (see 'CO-HABITATE') then REMDATE will display how many people are left there 'FINISH' - Select this to return to the Main Screen 'NEXT' - If you are searching for an address (see 'SEARCH') then this will display the next possible match. Also, if you have an address displayed and you want to clear it to ADD a new one, select 'NEXT' until the screen clears, then select 'ADD' 'PRINT' - Allows you to Print entries from the Address Book. (See also PRINT options available from Main Screen) 'CO-HABITATE' - If you know two or more people living at the same address, you can use this option instead of typing the address in repeatedly. Once you have entered the first person, as described above, use 'SEARCH' to enter the next persons name. When it is not found, select 'CO-HABITATE'. REMDATE will ask you to enter part of the name OR address of the person that already lives there. Once you have confirmed the correct address, the two people will 'share' that address 'SEARCH' - This allows you to Search for a certain name or address. Select 'SEARCH' and then enter part of the required name. Any matches will be displayed; use 'NEXT' to look through them until you find the one you want. N.B. When calling the address book from the 'EDIT' Screen, it is important to remember that the address will be found if the Name is spelt the same in the Data Entry and the Address Book. You may find it easier, therefore, to enter the address from the 'EDIT' screen as you enter the data. QUIT ---- Selecting 'QUIT' allows you to leave REMDATE v2.0. REMDATE will check to see if there are any 'out of date' diary entries that need to be deleted as well as seeing if you need to save any altered data. (THE FOLLOWING OPTIONS ARE SELECTED BY PRESSING THE RIGHT MOUSE BUTTON OR RIGHT SHIFT BUTTON WHEN MAKING THE SELECTION) PLANNER ------- You can list all entries for the next x days, regardless of how much warning you have asked to be given, by selecting 'PLANNER'. You will be asked to enter how long you want to look in advance and, once confirmed, all entries found will be displayed. If there are more than 12 you can use the cursor keys to scroll up and down. UNTIL ----- This will simply tell you how many days there are, from today, until the day selected. Useful if you want to know how many days it is until your holiday, or next birthday etc (!) FIND ---- This allows you to quickly locate an entry and speed you to it. YEAR ---- This similar to 'HISTORY' but will display all the events that happened in a certain year. Once you have chosen the year to look at, REMDATE will search through its files before displaying the list of events. Once again, you can scroll through the list with the cursor keys, using 'SHIFT' and 'CTRL' to speed it up a bit. QUOTE ----- This option will bring up a random Quote or Thought for the Day for you to ponder over and reflect upon. SAVE ---- If highlighted in white, this shows that there is some new or altered data that needs to be saved. If it's still grey then there isn't much point in selecting it. ----- Some General Points: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ REQUESTER BOXES --------------- These appear from time to time to help you along your way through the program. The options shown at the bottom can be selected by various means. You can click on the required response with the mouse or use the keyboard; if a reply is highlighted in white, then it can be selected by pressing 'RETURN' Otherwise, you can select the required reply using the 'Function' buttons, 'F1' selects the left most button, 'F2' the next and so on. SELECTING OPTIONS ----------------- You can either click on the required option with the mouse, or use the Right Amiga button in combination with the first letter of the Option. The only exception to this is when you want to select an option from the second page of options and you need to press either the Right Mouse Button or the Right Shift Button as well. TYPES OF DAYS ------------- Birthdays and Anniversaries are fairly self-explanatory and only require you to enter the person's name. They will not be deleted by REMDATE. Special Days are recurring events, such as Christmas and St. George's Day, which happen every year. Diary Dates are 'one off' entries and will be deleted when that day has past. PRINT STYLES ------------ It is possible for you to create your own Print Styles by editing the Print Data files, 'REMDATE.prt.dm' and 'REMDATE.prt.ly'. If you intend to do so then only work on a copy of the data files, as corrupting the data may result in it failing to work. There are fairly strict rules that have to be followed and there are many REMDATE compatible variables that can be used, all of which are documented in the File REMDATE_PRINT.doc If you create a useful new Print Style then please send it to the above address so that it can be included in a subsequent Supplement file. SUPPLEMENT FILES ---------------- These will be made widely available from P.D. companies and Bulletin Boards towards the end of each year. They will include the following year's Bank Holidays and Special events, as well as any new quotes, new events from the preceding year and new Print Styles. ----- =========================================================================== XXXXX XXXXXXX XXX XXX XXXXX XX XXXXXXXX XXXXXXX x x xxx XX XX XX XXXX XXXX XX XX XXXX XX XX x x x x XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX x x xxx XX XX XXXX XX XXX XX XX XX XX XX XX XXXX x x x x x XXXXX XX XX XX XX XX XXXXXX XX XX x x xxx XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XXXXXXX XX XX XXXXX XX XX XX XXXXXXX Version 2.0 =========================================================================== This smaller program is designed to be incorporated into your Startup- Sequence so that it can remind you of all the entries that you have entered into the Main Program. It has the advantage of using less memory than the main program whilst also being able to open anywhere on the Workbench Screen and Multitask with other programs, allowing you to be reminded of forthcoming events without having to worry about remembering to load REMDATE first! REMDATE_WB can called from CLI or from your Startup-Sequence and if no commands are included, will open in the middle of the screen until closed. However, you can modify its behaviour by using various commands: Syntax: REMDATE_WB -Cn where 'C' is the command letter and 'n' is the variable. Commands Available: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ COMMAND VARIABLE ACTION ------- -------- ------ -L 0 Loads whenever called 1 Only loads once a day -Q 0 Remains on display until Quitted 1 Autoquits after a set length of time (Default = 10 seconds) -W 1/50's sec Length of time to remain on display before 'Autquitting'. 500 = 10 secs -X X co-ods The 'x' co-ordinate of the top left hand corner of the window -Y Y co-ods The 'y' co-ordinate of the top left hand corner of the window N.B. If there is insufficient room for the window to open on the screen, REMDATE_WB will adjust its own position to fit -S 0 No Speech 1 Entries will be spoken -F Font_name REMDATE compatible font to be used (i.e 8x8 non-proportional font) -T 0 No 'Quote for the Day' will be shown 1 Will randomly select a Quote for the Day -P Path Name If the data files are NOT in the System's S: directory, then you will need to tell REMDATE_WB where they are: e.g. -Pdh1:Remdate/ Options: ~~~~~~~ You can look up an address by clicking on 'ADDRESS' and enter a name or part of name. If there is more than one match, click on 'NEXT' to see the others Clicking on 'TO DO' will display the list of things that you need to do. N.B. You can not alter the data from REMDATE_WB. If you need to do so, you will have to load REMDATE. ============================================================================= DISTRIBUTION: ~~~~~~~~~~~~ REMDATE and REMDATE_WB can be freely distributed on the Public Domain, provided the following rules are adhered to: a) All files, including this document file, are distributed together. b) No alterations are made to any of the files, whatsoever, with the exception of REMDATE.prt.dm and REMDATE.prt.ly c) The Programs are used entirely at the risk of the user - no blame nor liability for any damage caused by the use or misuse of these programs will be accepted by the author. REGISTRATION DETAILS: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ REMDATE and REMDATE_WB are released on to the Public Domain and have no features or options disabled. However, if you use the programs and find them useful then you can register with the author. Details of how to do this can be found in the program if you click on the 'REMDATE' icon at the Top Left of the Main Screen. Also, an application form can be printed off by using the 'PRINT' option. Once registered, you will be sent updated History, Quote and Print files. If you are on FidoNet or the Internet, you will have supplement files sent to you as soon as they are completed; if you are not on a B.B.S., then you can receive the files by sending a blank disk to the author - REMDATE will tell you when. BUG REPORTING: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ REMDATE and REMDATE_WB have been tested for several months on various systems, (A500, A500+, A1200 and A1500), without any problems. Should you encounter a 'Crash Report' please write down the code and drop me a line explaining exactly how it happened, so that I can fix it. Also any suggestions for improvements will be gratefully received. THANKS TO: ~~~~~~~~~ Dave Whiteley \ Chris Shaw > For Testing the Program James Gallen / CONTACT: ~~~~~~~ Address: Andrew Whiteley c/o 104 Newbridge Hill Bath, Avon, BA1 3QB England Internet: Andy_Whiteley@Junct9.demon.co.uk FidoNet: 2:440/20.0 (Amiga Junction 9, 01372 279000) I hope that you enjoy using REMDATE and find it useful. _ _ (-)(\)|_)\/ ---------/-