Contents
PTLabs IDate 2.01

Contents

An Overview

The File Menu

The Options Menu

The Setup Menu

The IDate 2.01 Editor

Constructing a Data Base

Password Protecting IDate 2.01

Notice


Overview
Overview of IDate 2.01

IDate is a Shareware personal organizer designed to assist you remember important dates. It has two main components, namely the Main program and the Editor.

The Main program displays the dates and messages that go with them when the pre-defined warning period is reached.

The Editor enables you to build the data bases that will contain your dates and messages. It allows you to set specific options for every individual record as well as define default settings.

IDate supports files which use the PTLabs Data Bank 2.0 format. It converts these files with 100% compatibility. IDate files are saved with an .IDT extension. IDate files have a unique format. Therefore you are advised against editing them using any other text editor or word processor.

Using practically only virtual memory, IDate does not rely too heavily on the amount of memory available for your system. In fact, it is very much RAM independent. The only drawback is that you must keep enough fixed disk space free to avoid crashing IDate. Files generated by IDate can be very huge. Every record created takes up approximately 1kb of disk space.

The IDate 2.01 Editor

Notice


Notice

IDate 2.01 is SHAREWARE. You may use it for an evaluation period of not more than 30 days. After this period, you must register if you wish to continue using IDate. Upon registration, you will no longer have to tolerate the message which pops up every time you launch IDate. You will also receive free bug-fixes for IDate 2.01 if they are any! Registered users will also be given a unique User ID.

To register, please print out the form in the file REGISTER.TXT and send it together with a US$10.00 demand draft (payable to CHIAM YIH WEI) to the address below:

CHIAM YIH WEI,
1, JLN LANG PERUT PUTIH 10,
KEPONG BARU, 52100 KL, MALAYSIA.

You may also wish to e-mail me at eng40263@nus.sg for a  prompter acknowledgement.

Of course, constructive suggestions and/or comments are welcome as well.


Editor
The IDate 2.01 Editor

Overview

IDate comes with an internal Editor which is used for editing, creating and maintaining IDate files. It also supports files saved in PTLabs Data Bank 2.0 format. IDate Editor allows you to set detailed options for each record of your data base. However, IDate Editor can only be accessed if IDate is not password protected.

See also

Constructing a Data Base

The File Menu

The Records Menu

Notice


File Menu

The File Menu of the main program consists of:

Load

Loads up a file to be scanned in IDate. The file must be of IDate format. Files which are of PTLabs Data Bank 2.0 format can be converted with 100% accuracy using the IDate 2.01 Editor.

Editor

Exit

Exits IDate.


Options Menu

AutoLoad

Allows you to specify the file that IDate  will load automatically every time it starts up. A tick will appear next to this option if the AutoLoad file has been set. To erase the AutoLoad setting, simply click Cancel when you are at the AutoLoad dialog box and answer Yes when IDate asks if you wish to delete the current AutoLoad file.

Font

Allows you to choose the default font name and size that IDate will use in the Message Box.

Sound

Toggles sound on or off. When the sound is set to on, IDate will beep when there are messages to be displayed.

Protection


Update
IDate 2.01 Editor

Update Command

Updates the current record. All changes will be updated into memory. This command  is automatically executed when you move within the data base.

See Also

Constructing a Data Base


Current Record
IDate 2.01 Editor

Current Record

This scroll bar is used to indicate the current record in the data base you are editing. Use it to move around the data base.

See also

Records Menu

Constructing a Data Base


Records Options
IDate 2.01 Editor

Activate annually

Tells IDate to activate the message every year regardless of the year given in the date. Check this option when dealing with birthdays, anniversaries or annual events.

Enabled

Determines whether the record is enabled. If a record is disabled, it will not show up on the main program until you enable it. Use this option with extreme care as IDate will not inform you of the passing of the date of a disabled record. A default setting of Enabled is recommended.

Backdated Warning

Forces IDate to flag messages that are within the last 3 days from the current date. This acts as a safety net in case you do not launch IDate on the day the message should be flagged. It is recommended that you enable the Backdated Warning feature by default.

See Also

Constructing a Data Base


Warn in Advance
IDate 2.01Editor

Warn in Advance

Use this feature to tell IDate to flag the message a pre-defined of days before the actual date. This is especially useful for birthdates and important meetings or appointments. IDate will warn you of the event in advance every time it loads the file unless you disable the message by not checking the Enabled check box.

The valid values are from 0 to 49. Setting the Warn in Advance value to 0 means that IDate will not flag the message before the actual date of the event.

See also

Backdated Warning

Constructing a Data Base


Date and Messages
IDate 2.01 Editor

Date

Type in the date you want the message to appear. This is the actual date that the event will occur. Coupled with the  Warn in Advance feature, IDate will be able to remind you of the event in advance.

Messages

Type in the messages that you want IDate to display when the specified date is reached. You have about 1kb of space in this text box.

See also

Warn in Advance

Constructing a Data Base


File Menu
IDate 2.01 Editor
File Menu

The File Menu contains:

New

Creates a new data base.

Open

Opens a previously saved file. The file may be in IDate or PTLabs Data Bank 2.0. The default extension of IDate files is .IDT and the default for PTLabs Data Bank 2.0 files is .BNK.

If the file is of PTLabs Data Bank 2.0 format, IDate will extract the records that have valid birthday entries. All other information in the PTLabs Data Bank 2.0 file will be saved as Messages. Records without valid birthday entries will be ignored.

Save and Save As

Saves the current data base into a file. The file generated will be of IDate format.

Set As Default

Sets the current values for Warn in Advance, Activate Annually, Enabled and Backdated Warning as the default values for future records. Existing records will not be affected.

Quit Editor

Quits IDate 2.01 Editor.

See Also

Constructing a Data Base


Records Menu
IDate 2.01 Editor
Records Menu

New

Appends a new record to the existing data base or creates the first record in a new data base. The default values will apply to the newly created record.

Delete

Deletes the current record.

Duplicate

Duplicates the current record and places it at the end of the current data base.

See Also

Current Record

Constructing a Data Base


Protection

What is Protection?

The Protection option is used to password-protect your IDate program from unauthorized users. It allows you to specify a password to lock up the Load, Editor and AutoLoad options as well as the Setup menu in the main program. Disabling the Editor will block any attempts made to corrupt your data files or program settings.

Enabling Protection

Select the Options/Protection menu from the main program. If no password already exists, you will see a window with two text boxes. Enter your password and retype it to ensure you have not made a typing mistake. Then click OK to activate Protection. A tick will appear next to the Protection option when Protection is enabled.

Disabling Protection

Select the Options/Protection menu from the main program. Enter the existing password once and click OK. Protection will be removed if your password is valid.


Constructing a Data Base
Constructing a Data Base using the IDate 2.01 Editor

Starting the IDate Editor.

To launch the IDate Editor, the Protection feature in the main program must not be enabled. Dsable it if it is already set.

For more information on Protection, see

Protection

Launch the IDate Editor. To do that, click on the File/Editor menu in the main program or use the shortcut key of Ctrl+E. Once the Editor is launched, you are ready to start.

Setting the Date.

Fill in the Date text box with the date that you want the record to be linked with. IDate will activate this record when the date is reached. Dates must be filled in using a valid format. It is recommended that you fill in the date using the format specified in the International settings in the Control Panel. Nonetheless, IDate Editor accepts several other formats. IDate Editor will give an error message should the format of the date you specify is invalid.

The Messages text box.

IDate will display the Messages in this box when flagging this record. Feel free to put in any type of message. You have roughly 1kb of space to work on here.

Warn in Advance.

This feature is used to instruct IDate to flag this record in advance. That means that IDate will warn you when the date of the record approaches. Simply drag the scroll bar to whatever value desired and the corresponding value will be reflected just on top of the scroll bar.

Setting the other options.

It is recommended that you enable the Activate Annually, Enabled and Backdated Warning options. For further information on the functions of these options, see

Records Options

There, now you have a constructed a record for your data base. Repeat the procedure to append more records to your data base. Use the Records menu to create, delete and duplicate records.

See Also

File Menu

Records Menu

Notice


Setup Menu

Minimize When Idle

When this option is checked, IDate will be a minimized icon when loaded if there is no AutoLoad file or when there are no messages to display in the current AutoLoad file. IDate is said to be idle in this situation.

Exit TimeOut

This option determines if IDate will automatically exit after a preset amount of time when there are no messages upon load-up, or in other words, when IDate is idle. Useful if you wish to free memory and resources when there are no messages for you to read.
Any positive number is accepted as a valid value. However, a value of 5 or more seconds is recommended. This value should be increased when the computer is slower. IDate will not exit if idle when the Exit TimeOut value is zero.
To activate the program before it exits automatically, simply click on any part of the form when the form is not minimized. IDate will not stop the TimeOut countdown if you click on it when it is iconified (i.e. the Minimized When Idle option is set to true.)
You may never be launch IDate properly if you set this value to a value so small that IDate will exit almost immediately after it is launched. This may also be caused if your computer is too slow. If you are ever caught in this situation and wish to manually override the settings, change the TIMEOUT value in the ID201.INI file in your Windows directory to 0. This will disable the Exit TimeOut function.

Save Settings on Exit

Tells IDate to save current settings on exit.
You may force IDate to save the settings during the current session without exiting by holding down the Shift key and procede as if you were going to exit the program. The current settings of the program will be saved without exiting.