WorldFAQ(tm) 1.1 Demo README.TXT -------------------------------- Copyright (C) 1997 by Creative Digital Publishing Inc. All rights reserved. Thank you for trying out our demo version of WorldFAQ for the PalmPilot(tm) connected organizer. This file contains installation instructions and brief documentation on the program. We strongly recommend that you read this complete file before installing WorldFAQ. There are two differences between the demo version of WorldFAQ and the real program: - The demo version has only about 130 locations. - You can only add ten cities to the demo version. Other than that, they are identical in every way. What Is WorldFAQ? ----------------- WorldFAQ (World Frequently Asked Questions) is a collection of information about places around the world, information such as time zones, daylight savings time dates and times, currency exchange rates, latitudes and longitudes, telephone dialing codes, airport names and codes, populations, and more. Using this information, you can calculate dates and times around the world (both absolute and relative), currency conversions, and distances between cities. System Requirements ------------------- WorldFAQ requires PalmOS version 2.0 or greater. This is the version of the OS that is included with the PalmPilot Personal and Professional Editions, and with Palm's 1 MB Professional Upgrade for the Pilot 1000, 5000, and Personal organizers. You can find out which version of the PalmOS your PalmPilot connected organizer has by running the Memory application. The OS version appears in the upper right-hand corner of the Memory screen. The WorldFAQ program file takes about 52 KB of RAM. The full database, with about 700 locations in it, takes about 44 KB of RAM. The demo database takes about 9K of RAM. In order to get the most out of this program and this documentation, we strongly recommend that you read the documentation that came with your PalmPilot device. In particular, you should be familiar with starting applications from the PalmPilot Application picker, using menus, and editing text. Overview -------- The WorldFAQ database has four different types of locations: countries, time zones, islands, and cities. Islands are bodies of land, such as Tahiti, that are part of a country (French Polynesia in this case) but have different time zone information. Islands such as Madagascar, that are self-contained countries, are categorized as countries. The full WorldFAQ database contains more than 200 countries, 57 time zones within those countries, 42 islands, and 385 cities. The demo version of WorldFAQ contains an assortment of 130 locations. WorldFAQ knows about the relationships between these four types of locations. It knows that Paris is a city in France. It also knows, for instance, that the United States has several times zones, and that several countries in Europe have the same starting and ending days for Daylight Savings Time. You can edit the data for each location so that, for example, when the exchange rate for the Australian dollar changes, you can enter the new rate for Australia. Because the world is a relatively stable place, however, you cannot change the relationships between locations. France will probably always be a country in the European daylight savings time region, Paris will probably always be in France, and Mountain Time will probably always be a time zone in the United States. When you change the data for a location, it is properly reflected in the location relationships stored in the WorldFAQ database. When you change the Australian exchange rate, if you do a currency conversion for a city in Tasmania, an island of Australia, that conversion uses the latest Australian rate. Likewise, if you change the daylight savings time start and stop dates for the United States, the daylight savings time start and stop dates change for every US time zone that operates under Daylight Savings Time, and every city in those time zones. What's Included --------------- However you receive WorldFAQ, either the demo version or the real version, whether on floppy disk, by downloading it from a Web site, or by some other means, you should have five files: - WFAQD.PRC, the WorldFAQ program that you install on your PalmPilot organizer; - WFAQDDB.PDB, the database containing WorldFAQ's information; - README.TXT, a text file (this file) containing last-minute instructions or other details not included in the documentation; and - WFAQ.PDF, an Adobe Acrobat formatted file containing WorldFAQ's documentation. Acrobat is a free, platform-independent document format with readers for the Macintosh, Windows, and UNIX operating systems. If you don't have the Adobe Acrobat reader for your system, you can find it practically everywhere - CompuServe, American Online, and various web sites, including Adobe's at www.adobe.com. We don't include with WorldFAQ because of its size. Installing WorldFAQ ------------------- You install the WorldFAQ demo just like you install any other PalmPilot application, using the PalmPilot Install program that is included with your PalmPilot desktop. We don't describe the installation process in detail because it varies with different models. Refer to the documentation that you received with your PalmPilot device for the correct procedures. You have to install two files: WFAQD.PRC and WFAQDDB.PDB. You can install them in either order, at the same time or separately. You can also install WorldFAQ on a Pilot that also has our World Time program on it. They should peacefully coexist. If you find yourself reinstalling the WorldFAQ program or database at some point, make sure you first delete the WorldFAQ program or database that is already on your PalmPilot organizer. You do this using the Delete Apps function of the Memory application which is permanently installed on your Pilot. Getting Started --------------- When you first start WorldFAQ, a list of locations called the Main View appears. They are categorized as cities, countries, islands, and times zones. To see the detailed data for a location, just tap its name. A second screen appears showing you that entity's data. Any information that you cannot edit is inherited from a different location in the World hierarchy. For instance, you cannot edit the telephone codes for dialing into and out of Alexandria, Egypt when looking at the Alexandria information, because they are inherited from Egypt. You can, however, edit the Alexandria area code. To get the most out of WorldFAQ, you need to set a Home location. Tap on the city, time zone, or country closest to your actual home, and select Menu/Locations/Set Home. WorldFAQ then uses that location to calculate time, distance, and currency exchanges (it starts you out with the Time view). You can set a second location, called your Current location, the same way. When you do this, WorldFAQ assumes you just moved there from your Home location, and resets your Pilot's clock accordingly (you can reset it back by selecting Menu/Options/Go Home from the Main View). Once you have a home location, you use the View menu to calculate currency exchanges, distances, and relative times. You can move through the locations list by pressing the scroll keys (they move you one page at a time), the scroll arrows (they move you one line at a time), or by entering up to five Graffiti characters on the Graffiti keypad. If you enter "NEW" for instance, on the Graffiti input area, WorldFAQ will position "New South Wales" at the top of the scrolling list. When looking at the detailed data for a location, you can also move forwards and backwards in the list by pressing the scroll keys. You can change what appears in the Main View by selecting a command from the View Menu. The choices are Time, Relative Time, Currency, and Distance. You can also select three of these views by tapping the Time, Relative Time, and Currency icons located at the bottom of the Main view. Adding Cities ------------- You can add as many cities as you like to WorldFAQ (you can only add a total of 10 to the demo version). First, tap a city, time zone, or country that is located closest to the city you want to add. Select Menu/New City from the Edit screen. WorldFAQ will create a new city with similar characteristics (country, time zone, currency, phone codes, and so on). All you need to do is enter a new name. For accurate distance calculations, you also need to enter the correct latitude and longitude. Miscellaneous ------------- Other than what's explained above, you should be able to figure out the remainder of WorldFAQ's functions by exploring, reading the documentation, selecting menu commands, and just experimenting. Please note that exchange rates are probably not the most current, and that the telephone codes and population figures may not be totally correct. This demo version is designed to give you a feel for the program, not be 100 percent accurate. When you HotSync, the Pilot Desktop makes a backup copy of the WorldFAQ database. You can use the latest backup to restore intermediate changes to the WorldFAQ database, or reinstall the original database at any time. ORDERING WorldFAQ ----------------- The complete WorldFAQ program is available electronically or on floppy disk directly from Creative Digital. It costs $39.95 plus applicable sales tax for California residents. Call, fax, or e-mail Creative Digital with major credit card information, or send us a check drawn on a US bank to our mailing address. You can also order on-line at our web site at www.cdpubs.com. Please specify whether you want to receive the program electronically or on a floppy disk. There is a $5 shipping and handling charge if you order a floppy disk version. In response to requests from larger companies, we offer multi-user packs and site licenses for enterprise distribution. Contact us for details. The best way to stay informed about WorldFAQ is to regularly check our web site at www.cdpubs.com. We'll post upgrade news, enhancements, and other World Time-related information as it occurs. Tell us What You Think ---------------------- We want to find out if this program is useful to you. Almost all of the features in WorldFAQ were suggested by World Time users. We think you'll find it useful, but in order to make it truly useful, we need your feedback. Please send us your suggestions for additional features and enhancements you would like us to include, use interface complaints, comments (even negative ones), or anything else you would like to tell us. Thank you for your interest in our products. -------------------------------- Creative Digital Publishing Inc. -------------------------------- 293 Corbett Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94114 415.621.4252 415.621.4922 (fax) wtime@cdpubs.com http://www.cdpubs.com