Simtel MSDOS 1992 June

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Text File | 1989-01-24 | 16.5 KB | 337 lines

TIKLER by Dick Olsen Welcome to TIKLER. TIKLER is an easy to use program that will help you keep track of upcoming events. It is intended to be added as the last item in your AutoExec.Bat file so that it will be run automatically each time you turn on your computer. TIKLER displays the coming events for any number of days in the future, as well as showing you events that have occurred during any number of days past up until the present. It's kind of a note taker/reminder/calendar program that you should find useful, if not indispensable. Unlike many commercial programs that perform similar functions, TIKLER was designed to be quick, easy to learn, and free-form in it's note entries. Chances are that you won't need to refer to this document in order to make full use of TIKLER. I suggest, however, that you read it in it's entirety so that you'll have a fuller understanding of the program. TIKLER displays today's events in yellow, tomorrow's events in light green, and all other events in light cyan on your screen. All functions only require a single keystroke to activate. TIKLER creates and maintains a file on your disk called COMEVENT. The file is created in ordinary text mode so that it can be edited with almost any word processor program or editor. When you first install and run TIKLER, you will be asked how many days notice you would like. What you enter here determines the default number of days that TIKLER will look ahead to find events. A good number seems to be 14 days, but you can enter whatever you would like. Once you have specified the number of days notice you would like, TIKLER will create a file in the current directory called COMEVENT. The first entry in this file is the number of days notice you have specified. This number can be changed by selecting number five in the FLUSH EVENT mode. Each time you enter a new event, it will be added to the COMEVENT file. TIKLER has no provision at this time for editing events. This can be done with your editor or word processor. You can, however, delete events using the FLUSH EVENT (F6) key. While TIKLER is running, the bottom two lines of your display will show ten function keys. The operations performed by these function keys are as follows: F1 <EXIT> This key is pretty self explanatory. When pressed, it will return to DOS at whatever directory TIKLER is installed in. You can run TIKLER at any time by changing to the directory where it is and typing TIKLER. A batch file could be created that would do this for you. F2 <add event> Press this key if you want to add an event to your file. TIKLER will ask you first for the date of the event, then for the description of the event. You can enter up to 80 characters for the event description. When entering the date of the event, you can use several formats. Some examples are shown below: 8/8/87 08/08/87 8/8 8-8-1987 8-08/1987 In the above examples, TIKLER will add missing digits, and convert the " - " characters to " / " characters so that for August 8, 1987, TIKLER would convert the date as entered in any of the above formats to 08/08/1987, if 1987 were the current year. If the event date is going to occur in the current year, the year portion of the date can be skipped by just pressing enter. TIKLER will get the year from DOS and add it for you. When adding events, there is one more key you should be aware of. This key is the DITTO key. When you press the " key, the previously entered date or event string is copied. For example, suppose you had a meeting every Monday morning. After you add this event to TIKLER for the first time, simply change the date then press " when you are asked to enter the event. The same information used in the previous event will be copied into the current event, saving you lots of typing. The ditto function also works on the date. When events are listed on the screen, TIKLER will get the appropriate day of the week from DOS and print it next to the date. As each event is entered, it is sorted by date before being added to your event file. Beginning with version 1.80, the day of the week will also be added to your event date as it is saved in your COMEVENT file. Compatibility is maintained with existing COMEVENT files. F3 <view past events> This key allows you to temporarily change the NUMBER OF DAYS NOTICE to some number of days in the past. For example, suppose you want to view the events that occurred within the past 3 weeks. When TIKLER asks for the number of days past, you would enter 21. Now TIKLER will display events that happened during the three weeks preceding TODAY, as well as TODAY'S events. If you have more events than TIKLER can fit on the screen, TIKLER will pause and wait for you to press ENTER and then it will show you the remaining events. F4 <list ALL events> When you press this key, all of the events from your COMEVENT file will be listed. TIKLER will pause at the end of a full screen and wait for you to press the 'ENTER' key before showing you the rest of the events in your file. F5 <search for event> Pressing this key will cause the message 'enter KEYWORD:' to be displayed in a window on your screen. You can enter a single word or phrase that you want TIKLER to look for. TIKLER will search your entire COMEVENT file for event descriptions that contain your keyword or words. Each event containing the keyword or phrase will be displayed on your screen. F6 <flush event> Pressing the F6 function key will present you with five choices. If you pick choice number 1, you will be asked for a date prior to which events are to be deleted. You can use any of the date formats specified under the F2 key description. After entering the date, TIKLER will ask you if you would like to ARCHIVE the events that are to be deleted. If you answer "yes" or "y" to this question, TIKLER will delete all events that occurred before the date you entered from your COMEVENT file, but they will be added to a file called TIKARC.EVT in case you need to refer to them at a later time. Answering "no" or "n" will cause the events to be deleted without archiving them. Selecting choice number two will allow you to selectively delete events one at a time. Each event will be displayed sequentially until you press "e" to exit or the end of your COMEVENT file is reached. As each event is displayed, you can press "a" to flush the event but add it to your ARCHIVE, "f" to just flush it from your COMEVENT file, or any other key to keep it. You can press "e" at any time to stop flushing events. If you choose choice number three, TIKLER will ask you for a date. You can enter the date in any of the formats described under the F2 key description. TIKLER will then search your COMEVENT file for events that have or will occur on that date, and display them one at a time. As each event is displayed, you can enter "a" to flush the event but add it to your ARCHIVE, "f" to just flush the event, "e" to exit the flush mode, or any other key to continue searching for the date you entered. Choice number four will give you the opportunity to delete ALL of the events in your COMEVENT file. If you answer "y" when asked "are you sure ?", TIKLER will give you the choice of adding the flushed events to your ARCHIVE or simply deleting them ALL. Any other response will get you out of flush mode. The last choice, number five, really has nothing to do with flushing events. This choice allows you to change the default NUMBER OF DAYS NOTICE that is used each time TIKLER is run. Just answer the question, and TIKLER will do the rest. Note: TIKLER makes no provision for viewing your ARCHIVE file. Any text editor or word processing program can be used for this purpose. If you decide to ARCHIVE some of your events, TIKLER will create the ARCHIVE file for you. The name of the file created is TIKARC.EVT. All archived events will be added to this file. F7 <find a date> When you press this key, you will be asked for the date that you want to find. TIKLER will search through your COMEVENT file and display all events that match the date you've entered. You can enter the date in any of the formats previously described. F8 <print events> When you press this key, TIKLER will ask you if you want to print all events, or only those events within the number of days notice you have specified. The events are printed in order of date. F9 <change number of days notice> This key will allow you to change how far ahead (or back) you want TIKLER to look for events. The change is only temporary and will not be saved to your file. You may want to view all the events that are scheduled for the next month (meetings, birthdays etc.). Just press the F9 key and enter 30 for the number of days notice. TIKLER will immediately look for the events for the next show you events that occurred before the current date by entering a negative number for the number of days notice. For example, if you were to enter '-7', TIKLER would find and display the events of the previous week. You can change the number of days notice as many times as you wish, but TIKLER will always use the default value from your COMEVENT file each time you run it. If you want to change the default number of days notice, use F6, the flush mode key. F10 <list again> This key will list the events again, based on the current number of days notice. Installing TIKLER To install TIKLER on your computer, first change to the directory in which you want it installed. Then simply copy it from the floppy disk to the current directory. Once you've copied it, just type 'TIKLER', and your COMEVENT file will be created, with a default number of days notice set for whatever number of days you entered when asked to do so. TIKLER will run, and display the message 'there are no coming events...'. At this point, you can begin entering your events with the F2 key. To make TIKLER run each time you turn on your computer, just add the TIKLER command to your autoexec.bat file, similar to the example shown below: CD\<directory where TIKLER is installed> TIKLER At this time, TIKLER is limited to 300 events. The number of events you have in your COMEVENT file is displayed on the top line of the screen and is updated anytime you add or delete an event. If you exceed 290 events, TIKLER will remind you that you are approaching the maximum of 300 events. You should delete events that are no longer needed. This limit of 300 events is an arbitrary number that seems to satisfy the needs of most people. I chose this value in order to save disk space and optimize speed. Although TIKLER runs quite fast with 300 events, the fewer you have, the faster it will run. A few extra words.... TIKLER is distributed under the concept of SHAREWARE. Under this concept, you are free to use, copy and distribute this program without charge. You are not permitted to sell it either by itself or as part of a package. The author retains all of the rights to the program. The idea of SHAREWARE is a good one. It helps us all to obtain some really good software at a price we can all afford. If the SHAREWARE concept is going to continue, we need to support the efforts of the software authors. Most of these people would gladly accept a small donation as a token of appreciation for their work. These donations don't even come close to compensating an author for the many hours of work his or her program represents, but it sure makes them feel more inclined to continue the SHAREWARE practice. All of us benefit then! If you find TIKLER to be as handy and helpful as I have, please feel free to send me a small donation. Any amount would be appreciated. For donations of $10 or more, I will add your name to my list of 'good guys', and you will receive, free of charge, the latest version of TIKLER if the one you have is not recent. If you ARE one of the 'good guys', I thank you. 'Good Guys' can expect prompt response to any correspondence, the rest of you will have to wait until I can get to it. If you pass this program on to others, either on floppy disk or through bulletin boards, please be sure to attach this document. Please address all correspondence to: Dick Olsen 83 Mill Road Littleton, Mass. 01460 REGISTRATION FORM Dear Dick, Enclosed please find my check or money order for $10.00. Please register me as a TIKLER user and send me the latest version if the version I currently have is not the latest. Thanks! YOUR NAME________________________________________________ STREET ADDRESS___________________________________________ CITY, STATE, ZIP_________________________________________ COUNTRY__________________________________________________ TIKLER Version you have__________________________________ COMMENTS_________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________ Other programs available from the author: BASSTOUR......A bass fishing tournament game. Comes with six different areas to fish. You control a fully rigged bass boat with on-screen contour maps, LCD graph, over 2300 lure/color choices. Superb graphics in EGA. Also runs on Hercules and CGA systems. LAKES #1......A collection of 7 new fishing areas you can add to BASSTOUR. Installation instructions are included. LAKES #2......Another seven fishing areas to use with BASSTOUR. Use of both LAKES #1 and LAKES #2 will bring the total number of fishing areas to 20. Includes installation instructions. FISHBASE ][...A fisherman's data base/statistics program for color or monochrome systems. Available for $10 each. Plus $2.00 to cover postage and materials. Please specify what you want. Mail TO: Richard Olsen 83 Mill Road Littleton, MA. 01460