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StopWatch 16 A Computer Chronograph TAN$TAAFL(TM) Software Company Version 1.70 ■ 4 July 1995 A Shareware Distributed Program! CUSTOMER SERVICE If you experience any problems with StopWatch, please write to: TAN$TAAFL(TM) Software Company Sto. Nino Palauig, Zambales 2211 Philippines (C) Copyright 1993, 1994, 1995 TAN$TAAFL(TM) Software Company All Rights Reserved Program written by MacGregor K. Phillips Manual written by MacGregor K. Phillips ABOUT THE AUTHOR MacGregor K. Phillips was born in South Bend, Ind. USA in 1944. Retiring after 22 years of service in the US military he now does what he loves best, writing computer software. He lives with his wife and daughter in the Philippines. Trademark Acknowledgements Epson is a registered trademark of Epson America, Inc. IBM and PS/2 are registered trademarks of International Business Machines Corporation Intel is a registered trademark of Intel Corporation Windows is a trademark of Microsoft Corporation TABLE OF CONTENTS Page 3 --------------------------------------------------------------- Features.....................................................4 Association of Shareware Professionals.......................5 ASP Ombudsman................................................5 Shareware Distribution.......................................5 Registration Incentives......................................5 Available by the same Author.................................6 Pass it Along................................................6 Preface......................................................7 Computer Requirements........................................7 Installing/Deinstalling StopWatch............................8 Executing StopWatch..........................................8 Command Line Parameters......................................8 Executing StopWatch the First Time...........................9 Multitasking Environment.....................................9 Power Management for Laptop Computers........................9 What You Need to Know to Use StopWatch......................11 Keyboard, Mouse, Hot Keys, Command Bars, Menus..........11 The Critical Error Reporting System.....................14 The Extended Error Reporting System.....................14 The Printer Error Reporting system......................15 Using a Printer.........................................16 Calibration and Timer Routines..........................16 Using StopWatch.............................................17 Main and Secondary Menus................................17 Synchronizing the Real Time Clock.......................18 Calibration.............................................20 Up Timers...............................................22 Race Timer..............................................24 High Precision Up Timer.................................25 Down Timers.............................................27 Down Timer 1 as a Game Timer............................28 Lap Timers..............................................29 Game Timer..............................................31 Split Timer.............................................32 Dates...................................................35 Info................................................36 Delta Days or Days Between Dates....................36 Plus or Minus Days..................................36 Life Display........................................36 Calendar and Holidays...............................37 About...................................................39 Quit....................................................39 Help....................................................39 Appendix A Start Up Errors.........................................40 Program Errors..........................................41 Critical Errors.........................................42 Printer Errors..........................................45 Appendix B - Terminology....................................46 Index.......................................................47 FEATURES Page 4 --------------------------------------------------------------- StopWatch contains many features. Here are just a few of them. Turn your Laptop computer into a precision StopWatch. Take it anywhere, time events, and save the results to disk for printing at a later time. Calibrate your computer for 3 modes of timing precision. Up Timer - Low, Medium, and High Precision Modes. Race Timer in Medium Precision Mode. Down Timer - Low and Medium Precision Modes. Low precision mode can be used as a game timer. Lap Timer - Low and Medium Precision Modes. Up to 1,024 laps can be recorded and saved to a disk file for printing at a later time.. Displays total elapsed time, last 8 lap times, current lap time, and average lap time. Game Timer - for any game that has four 15 minute quarters. Select 2 minute warning for 2nd and 4th quarters. Split Timer - time two alternating events like the program and commercial segments of a TV program. Keep tract of the number of commercials in each segment. Save to disk and print out a report later. Dates Section - Date information, days between dates, plus or minus days, and a Life Display. Calendar for any month between Jan. 1600 to Dec. 3267. Display a list of holidays for any given year. Save screen images to a disk file and print out at a later time. Time an event in the field and save the results to disk for printing at a later time. High Precision Up Timer has a hook to hardware INT 3 or 4 so it can be started and stopped by an interrupt signal from an external source. Easy to understand Critical Error Reporting System, Extended Error Reporting System, and Printer Error Reporting System. ASSOCIATION OF SHAREWARE PROFESSIONALS Page 5 --------------------------------------------------------------- This software is produced by MacGregor K. Phillips who is a member of the Association of Shareware Professionals (ASP). ASP wants to make sure that the shareware principle works for you. If you are unable to resolve a shareware-related problem with an ASP member by contacting the member directly, ASP may be able to help. The ASP Ombudsman can help you resolve a dispute or problem with an ASP member, but does not provide technical support for members' products. Please contact the ASP Ombudsman in any of the ways shown below: ASP Ombudsman FAX: (616) 788-2765 (24 Hrs) 545 Grover Road CompuServe: 70007,3536 Muskegon, MI 49442-9427 INTERNET: 70007.3536@compuserve.com U.S.A. _______ ____|__ | (R) StopWatch is --| | |------------------- distributed as | ____|__ | Association of Shareware. This | | |_| Shareware allows you to try |__| o | Professionals it out for a reason- -----| | |--------------------- able period of time |___|___| MEMBER before you register it. Please refer to the TRIAL USE LICENSE section of the VENDINFO.DIZ File. If you continue to use StopWatch regularly you are expected to register the program. You can use the instant order form in the file ORDER.DOC. Just print it out on your printer, fill it out, and mail it. If you are not familiar with the Shareware concept please read the file SHR_WARE.DOC. The registration fee is $25.00, plus shipping and handling. For complete details on registration see the ORDER.DOC file. REGISTRATION INCENTIVES --------------------------------------------------------------- Receive the latest registered version of StopWatch 16 and StopWatch 32, which is optimized for 32 bit registers and is for 80386 and up computers. The registered versions have a Printer Options Menu, Speed Calculations for all Up and Lap Timers, a Holiday Editor which allows you to maintain your own list of holidays, and the option of sending the output from the LAP and SWH files to your printer or a disk file. The registration reminder screen is also removed in the registered versions. Plus receive two small utilities. One is NEWCLS.COM, a replacement for the DOS CLS command which allows you to set any valid combination of screen colors whenever you clear the screen. The second is GUARDIAN.SYS which guards your computer against any attack through DOS's backdoor. Page 6 --------------------------------------------------------------- Once you have registered any version of StopWatch you will be notified of any major upgrades by the TAN$TAAFL(TM) Software Company and the only cost to you for a new version will be the cost of a disk from the TAN$TAAFL Software Company and a small postage and handling fee. Program support by mail will also be provided for 90 days after registration. I am currently living overseas in the Philippines and do not have access to a telephone, fax, or CompuServe. If it seems to take a long time for me to answer your letters please remember the slow pace of mail between foreign countries. If your registration form or letter gets returned because of a change of address please contact ASP for my current address. This will be greatly appreciated by all. All registrations will be acknowledged. Site Licenses are provided for companies, offices, workgroups, government agencies, etc. who need to register and use more than one copy of StopWatch. See the "SITELICE.DOC" file for more information. DISTRIBUTORS WANTED --------------------------------------------------------------- Distributors wanted for the registered versions of all programs published by TAN$TAAFL(TM) Softeware Company. Must be able to accept credit cards. AVAILABLE FROM TAN$TAAFL Software Company --------------------------------------------------------------- For the best data security program on the market check out Global Security. Registered versions of Global Security come in a 32 bit version and a 16 bit version which can be used on all 80x86 computers. Encipher a file, transmit it, and then decipher it at the other end. Your data is safe even from the dreaded National Security Agency (NSA) and their super computers. Privacy by mathematical law in now a reality. Also prepares files for transmission by E-Mail. Includes Pack/UnPack Files for compressing multiple files into one and seperate Wipe/Delete Files routines. Now has Disk Security for wiping all unused areas on a floppy or hard disk. PASS IT ALONG --------------------------------------------------------------- BBS SYSOPs, Vendors, Computer Clubs, and Shareware Distributors please refer to the VENDINFO.DIZ file for information. Individuals who wish to distribute the "StopWatch" package to friends or associates may do so in accordance with the restrictions outlined in the LICENSE section of VENDINFO.DIZ. All the files listed in the PACKING.LST section of the VENDINFO.DIZ File, plus the VENDINFO.DIZ file, must be included when distributing this program. If you archive the program for distribution through BBS's, please use the name STWTCH14.EXE (or .ZIP, .LZH, .PAX, etc. as appropriate). PREFACE Page 7 --------------------------------------------------------------- Welcome to StopWatch. Time your 3 minute eggs in the morning, time a soccer game or a professional football game, time the laps in the Indy 500, time a horse race or a foot race, time a scientific experiment with an accuracy up to millionths of a second, or time the program and commercials of a T.V. or radio program in seperate counters and print out a full report. StopWatch is a highly accurate computer chronograph that can be used to time events, games, laps, and races in three modes of precision. There are Up Timers, Down Timers, Race Timers, Split Timers, Lap Timers, and Game Timers. There is a section that will provide all kinds of information about past, present, and future dates, calendars, and holidays. If you need to time any kind of an event StopWatch is the program you are looking for. Computer Requirements --------------------------------------------------------------- SW16.EXE - 16 Bit Version - 80286 and up computer. SW32.EXE - 32 Bit Version - 80386 and up computer. (Available as Registered Version Only) Both Versions --------------------------------------------------------------- DOS 3.0 and up. Video Adapter CGA, EGA, VGA, MDA, HGC (MCGA and PGA may work) Disk Drives One hard and floppy disk recommended. Will work with one floppy disk drive. Printer Any printer that can accept CR, LF, and FF control characters. If your printer accepts the IBM line drawing characters they will print out correctly. Laser Printers All printouts from this program are designed for printers with fan fold paper and may not print correctly on laser printers. If you still wish to try it on a laser printer make sure it is setup for IBM or EPSON emulation mode. Mouse (optional) Any Microsoft or compatable mouse. INSTALLING StopWatch. Page 8 --------------------------------------------------------------- It is assumed that you are familiar with the operation of your computer and content of your DOS manuals. If not, now is the time to become familiar with your computer and DOS manuals before you begin installing and using StopWatch. The installation procedure for StopWatch is very simple. You will need at least 336K of free disk space to store all of the programs and documentation files. Use the INSTALL.EXE file to install the StopWatch files on any disk drive. At the DOS prompt type INSTALL followed by a carriage return if you are logged onto the drive and directory that INSTALL.EXE is in. Or if you are on the C: drive and INSTALL.EXE is on the A: drive type A:\INSTALL followed by a carriage return. You do not have to be logged onto the drive and directory that INSTALL.EXE is in. INSTALL.EXE will take over and guide you through the installation process. INSTALL.EXE checks itself and all of the programs in the StopWatch Package, except VENDINFO.DIZ, for signs of alteration, tampering, or infection by a computer virus. INSTALL.EXE allows you to select the files you wish to install. It does not require you to install all the files and then delete the ones you do not want. INSTALL.EXE has very sophisticated error detection routines that will tell you if anything goes wrong during the installation process. While each file is being transferred the data is verified by reading it back and comparing it against the original data. During the actual transfer process if any error is detected you will be informed and installation will be stopped. This will mean that you have a problem with the source or destination disk that has to be taken care of before you can continue the installation process. DEINSTALLING STOPWATCH --------------------------------------------------------------- To deinstall StopWatch from a hard disk just erase the files from the directory they are in. EXECUTING StopWatch --------------------------------------------------------------- StopWatch may be executed from either a floppy or hard disk drive. To minimize loading time it is recommended that StopWatch be run from a hard disk drive. You will also be able to create larger data files on a hard disk drive. StopWatch CANNOT be executed from a CD-ROM disk because it has to be able to create files in the directory in which the EXE file is located. CD-ROM is a read-only media and you cannot create files on it. Page 9 --------------------------------------------------------------- If you desire to execute StopWatch from any directory, the directory name that StopWatch resides in must be placed in the "PATH=" environment variable. Check your DOS manual for more details. If the Directory is not in the "PATH=" environment variable you will first have to log on to the required directory with the following DOS Command: "CD STWATCH" assuming that "STWATCH" is the directory name you have the EXE file in. Command Line Parameters ----------------------------------------------------------- There are three command line parameters that can be entered when you execute StopWatch. They may be entered in any order or combination, and in upper or lower case letters. 1). /B - Forces a black and white display when StopWatch is executed. If you have a black and white or monochrome monitor attached to a color adapter and the screen colors do not appear right use this command line parameter. 2). /P - forces a pause after printing each page. Use this switch if your printer does not use fan fold paper or have a paper tray. Has no effect when using the Print Screen Key. 3). /I - As a default StopWatch does a CRC_32 check on its EXE file everytime it is run. If everything checks out O.K. the program continues to run. If the CRC_32 value stored in the EXE file does not match the one just calculated Stop Watch will inform you that it may be infected by a virus and then perform a controlled exit. Since this feature may be incompatable with some virus checking programs that append check data to the end of an EXE file you can turn this feature off with the /I command line parameter. From the DOS Prompt type in SW16 followed by the desired command line parameters and press the Enter Key. StopWatch will load and be ready to run. Examples ----------------------------------------------------------- SW16 - Loads program with default settings. SW32 /B /I - Forces a black and white display and turns off the virus check feature. EXECUTING STOPWATCH THE FIRST TIME Page 10 --------------------------------------------------------------- The first time you execute StopWatch the main menu will appear on the left with a light white background and Command Bars which list the major functions of StopWatch. The right side will have a blue background and in the middle will be a dialog box asking you the following question: Is this an IBM PS/2 Computer?. Using the three Command Bars below you can answer No, Yes, or Quit. If you answer Quit StopWatch will terminate and you will be returned to DOS. If you answer Yes or No the answer will be recorded in the Calibration File created by the program. The reason for this question is because according to Microsoft Macro Assembler Programmer's Guide, Version 6.0 on page 482, some IBM PS/2 computers cannot reliably read key scan codes using the keyboard ports. The key scan code must be read through a handler for BIOS Interrupt 15H. The handler determines the current key press from the AL register when the AH register equals 4FH. StopWatch replaces the keyboard interrupt routine and watches for keyboard scan codes instead of the ASCII character codes. On some IBM PS/2 computers this would cause you to go into a loop that could not be gotten out of except by rebooting your computer. Therefore, on IBM PS/2 computers the original keyboard interrupt is called, which in turn calls INT 15H Function 4FH with the correct scan code which is supplied to the program. Because of this, some timing results may not be as accurate as possible. Particu- larly the High Precision Up Timer. Your answer to the IBM question is stored in the Calibration File. Once the question is answered it will never be automatically asked again. You may want to try the program by first answering no to the question. If you have problems with the program press the F9 Key and you can change your answer. The first time StopWatch is executed the Calibration File is also created and placed in the same directory as SW16.EXE. MULTITASKING ENVIRONMENT --------------------------------------------------------------- DO NOT ATTEMPT TO RUN StopWatch IN A MULTITASKING ENVIRONMENT. It will adversely effect the timing routines and erroneous results will be displayed. StopWatch will refuse to load and run if it is executed from Windows or the DOS Task Switcher. POWER MANAGEMENT FOR LAPTOP COMPUTERS --------------------------------------------------------------- While using StopWatch on a laptop computer do not use any power management routines that slow down the CPU. WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW TO USE STOPWATCH Page 11 --------------------------------------------------------------- Before doing anything with StopWatch there are many things about the program you need to know. Functions of the "F" Keys --------------------------------------------------------------- F1 Key - may be used at any time to pop up the current Quick Help Reference System screen. Cannot be used while a calibration or timer routine is running. For VGA Only - (F2 - F5 Keys) F2 Key - brightens the color intensity level. F3_key - dims the color intensity level. F4 Key - resets color intensity levels to their original settings. F5 Key - blanks the screen. Sets all color intensity levels to 0. F6 Key - appends the current screen image to the end of a disk file called SW16.PRN. If is does not exist it will be created. The only screen images you cannot save to disk are the Critical Error Reporting System Screen and any screen image while doing a calibration or timer routine. This file is created in the StopWatch directory and is compatable with any text editor that can read ASCII files. F7 Key - is used to print the SW16.PRN disk file. When all the screen images have been successfully printed the file will be deleted. The F7 Key will only function from one of the main menus. F8 Key - Prints the SW16.LAP file if the left menu is on Lap Timer. Prints the SW16.SWH file if the left menu is on Game/Split. F9 Key - Asks the IBM Question. F10 Key - used to toggle between the computers default cursor and a full size block cursor. For those hard to see cursors on laptops. Other Keys --------------------------------------------------------------- ESC Key - always backs you out of the program the way you came in, all the way to DOS. Can be used at any time except when a Critical Error Reporting System screen or Printer Error Reporting System screen is active. Page 12 --------------------------------------------------------------- Print Screen Key - allows you to print the current screen at any time except when you are doing a calibration or timing routine. Two screens can be printed per page of paper. After two screens have been printed the paper will have advanced so the next two screens will appear on the next page. There is room at the top to use a two hole punch and save the screen shots in a folder. Ctrl C and Ctrl Break Keys - are trapped by the program and have no function. The Pause Key - is trapped by the program and has no function. The Mouse --------------------------------------------------------------- A menu item or command bar is selected by using the left mouse button. Selection is made on the release of the left button and not the press of the left button except for the main menu on the left. Right Mouse Button - Toggles between hiding and showing the mouse pointer on screen. The Chime --------------------------------------------------------------- A chime will sound at the top of the hour, when an invalid key is pressed during keyboard entry, and when some timing procedures are completed. HOT Keys --------------------------------------------------------------- Most menu items and Command Bars have a Hot Key that may be pressed to select the indicated menu item or Command Bar. For monochrome or black and white monitors the Hot Key is the first letter of the menu item or Command Bar. Command Bars that indicate a keyboard key such as Home, End, PgUp, etc. do not have a Hot Key. For computers with a Mouse clicking on any menu item or Command Bar mimics the behavior of the indicated Hot Key or keyboard key. Command Bars Page 13 --------------------------------------------------------------- Command Bars such as Help, Quit, Escape to Quit, etc. are shadowed bars that appear throughout the program. They indicate the available commands for use. They may be selected by their Hot Keys or by clicking on them with the left mouse button. When the mouse pointer is on a Command Bar and you press the left mouse button the shadow will change from black to grey. When you release the left mouse button it will change back to black and the command will be carried out. If you move the mouse pointer off of the Command Bar before releasing the left mouse button the shadow will change back to black but the command will not be executed. Command Bars such as Up, Down, Left, Right, PgUp, PgDn, etc. indicate the keyboard keys that may be used. The mouse may also be used on these Command Bars. Clicking the left mouse button on one of these Command Bars performs the same function as using the keyboard key. Pressing and holding the left mouse button on one of these Command Bars is the same as pressing and holding the keyboard key down. Repeated commands are issued but not as fast as from the keyboard. Active Command Bars have a black shadow and inactive Command Bars have a grey shadow. Menus --------------------------------------------------------------- The vertical menu on the left hand side of the screen may be selected with the mouse or my using the Up and Down Arrow Keys. They do not have Hot Keys. Menus indicate the major functions the program performs. They may be selected by using the indicated Hot Key or by clicking on them with the left mouse button. When you click the left mouse button on a menu the menu item will be highlighted and when you release the left mouse button the menu item will be selected. If you move the mouse pointer off the menu item before you release the left mouse button the menu item will be unhighlighted and not selected. The Critical Error Reporting System Page 14 --------------------------------------------------------------- The Critical Error Reporting System reports on all critical errors generated by DOS. When a critical error is encountered a dialog box will appear with the critical error information displayed. Below is an example for trying to create a file on a write protected disk. Disk Drive: A: Disk Operation: Write Disk Area Affected: Directory Error Code: 00H Error Message: Disk Write Protected Below this information will be displayed four Command Bars: Retry, Cancel, Abort, Help. If you can correct the criticial error select Retry and DOS will try to perform the operation again. In the above example remove the write protection from the disk and select Retry to allow DOS to perform the disk operation again. If you cannot or do not want to correct the error select Cancel. DOS will cancel the operation and the program will return you to an appropriate menu in the program. If the error is severe enough select Abort and the program will try to perform a controlled exit and return the computer to a stable condition. 99.999% of the time the program will be able to do so. If for some reason the computer has locked up your only recourse is to reset or reboot the computer. If you have a hard or floppy disk that is constantly giving you critical error messages other than Disk Write Protected or Drive Not Ready you can pretty much tell which area of the disk is going bad and take steps to preserve the data on the disk. The Print Screen Key functions within the Critical Error Reporting System, but the F6 and F7 Keys do not because disk access is not allowed during critical error processing. The Extended Error Reporting System --------------------------------------------------------------- The Extended Error Reporting System is used to report DOS errors and program errors. It incorporates all known DOS errors plus errors that pertain to the program. Page 15 --------------------------------------------------------------- I have included program errors in this reporting system to present a common format for reporting errors. In the example below the error is generated because you have tried to use a low precision timer when there is no calibration data for it in the SW16.CAL file. ┌───────────────────────────────────────────────────────── │ Extended Error Reporting System │ │ DOS/BIOS Function: 3FH - Read File │ File Name: SW16.CAL │ Error Locus: Block Device │ Error Class: Out of Resourse │ Error Message: No Calibration Data for Low Precis │ Recommended Action: Correct Error, Then Retry │ │ │ Ok ▄ Help ▄ │ ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ └───────────────────────────────────────────────────────── There are two Command Bars displayed that you can use at this point. One is "Ok" and the other is "Help". Help calls up the Quick Help Reference Screen and Ok returns you to an appropriate menu in the program. All program generated errors are listed and explained in the Errors Appendix of the documentation. To get a listing of all DOS errors you will have to purchase a book on DOS. At the present time there are close to 100 different errors that can be reported by DOS. Most are self-explanatory. The Printer Error Reporting System --------------------------------------------------------------- The Printer Error Reporting System will report on any errors encountered while printing. See the Errors Appendix for complete details on all printer errors. The following screen was generated because the printer was not turned on. ┌──────────────────────────────────────┐ │ Printer Error Reporting System │ │ │ │ Printer [LPT1] Status │ │ │ │ NOT SELECTED │ │ │ │ │ │ Retry ▄ Cancel ▄ Help ▄ │ │ ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ │ └──────────────────────────────────────┘ Page 16 --------------------------------------------------------------- At this point you could turn the printer on and select Retry. Or you could select cancel and be returned to an appropriate menu in the program. Using a Printer --------------------------------------------------------------- All printing is designed for printers using fanfold paper. They may or may not print correctly on printers that print on only a single sheet at a time or have paper trays that feed single sheets of paper. Printer Setup: All printers should be setup for 80 columns by 66 rows. Use the font of your choice. All laser printers will have to be set for IBM or EPSON emulation mode prior to printing with the program. Commom Setup Problems: 1. Printer prints double spaces between lines: printer is setup for an automatic line feed after a cariage return. Consult your printer manual on how to turn this off. 2. Printer does not print the extended ASCIIZ character set. Consult your printer manual on how to turn this feature on. Page Pause: If you use the command line switch /P to pause printing after each page a dialog box will pop up at the end of each page that says "Printing Paused". When you have the next page ready to go click the left mouse button on Continue or press the "C" Hot Key. Calibration and Timer Routines --------------------------------------------------------------- While any calibration or timer routine is waiting to be started, or is running, all F Keys, the mouse, all TSR's, and the Print Screen Key are deactivated and will not function. USING STOPWATCH Page 17 --------------------------------------------------------------- ┌───────────────────┐ This is the Main Menu which is on │ TAN$TAAFL (TM) ▄ │ the left side of the screen when │ StopWatch ■ 32 █ │ StopWatch is running. These are the │ ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ │ major functions available. Each one │ Time ▄ │ will be expained in its own section, │ ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ │ except Time, which shows a graphical │ Calibrate ▄ │ display of the current time. │ ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ │ │ Up Timer ▄ │ These are shadowed Command Bars and │ ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ │ they look much better in full color. │ Down Timer ▄ │ │ ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ │ If your system does not have a mouse │ Lap Timer ▄ │ the Help Command Bar says F1 = Help. │ ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ │ │ Game/Split ▄ │ The active menu item has a black │ ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ │ shadow on the command bar while the │ Dates ▄ │ inactive menu items have a grey │ ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ │ shadow. │ About ▄ │ │ ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ │ To select a menu item use the mouse │ Quit ▄ │ or the Up and Down Cursor Keys. As │ ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ │ a new menu item is selected its │ Help ▄ │ shadow changes to black and the │ ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ │ previous one changes back to grey. └───────────────────┘ The right panel with the blue back- ground will change to reflect the new menu item. Secondary Menu --------------------------------------------------------------- ╔════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗ ║ Low Medium High ║ ╠════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣ ║ Calibrate provides three levels of calibration: Low, ║ ║ Medium, and High. Each level provides a greater degree ║ At the top of the right blue panel is the Secondary Menu for the calibration and timer routines. Time, About, and Quit do not have secondary menus. The date and time is displayed instead. The Secondary Menu for Dates is at the bottom of the right blue panel. The Seconday Menu is Low, Medium, and High for the calibration routines and the Up Timer. For the Down Timer, and Lap Timer it is Low and Medium. For Game/Split it is Game and Split. To select a secondary menu item use the left and right arrow keys to highlight the desired menu item and then press the enter key to select the menu item. Or you can click the left mouse button on the desired menu item to select it. Synchronizing the Real Time Clock Page 18 --------------------------------------------------------------- Before starting each calibration or timer routine you will be asked to synchronize your real time clock with an accurate outside time source. The synchronizing screen looks like this: ╔════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗ ║ Low Medium High ║ ╠════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ┌──────────────────────────────────┐ ║ ║ │ Synchronize Real Time Clock │ ║ ║ │ │ ║ ║ │ Date │ ║ ║ │ 03 SEP 1994 ▄ │ ║ ║ │ ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ │ ║ ║ │ │ ║ ║ │ Time │ ║ ║ │ 00:00:00 ▄ │ ║ ║ │ ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ │ ║ ║ └──────────────────────────────────┘ ║ ║ ║ ╠════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣ ║ ── ▄ ── ▄ ──┘ ▄ Quit ▄ ║ ║ ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ ║ ║ ▄ ▄ Do Again ▄ Skip ▄ ║ ║ ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ ║ ╚════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝ It is displayed with the current date and zero hours, minutes, and seconds. Command Bars will appear below the dialog box which you can use to enter an accurate date and time to synchronize your real time clock with. You can use the indicated keyboard key in the Command Bar or click on a Command Bar with the left mouse button. Holding down the indicated keyboard key or holding down the left mouse button on a Command Bar issues repeated commands. The "Quit" Command Bar exits the Synchronizing process and returns you to the main menu. The "Skip" Command Bar skips the Synchronizing process and uses the current date and time from the real time clock. Use the Left and Right Arrow Keys or click on the Command Bars to select the day, month, year, hours, minutes, or seconds field you wish to change. The current field to change is always a different color than the rest of the fields. Use the Up and Down Arrow Keys or click on the Command Bars to change the indicated field. Page 19 --------------------------------------------------------------- The object is to set the date and time to about 10 to 15 seconds in the future and when the accurate outside time source reaches this date and time press the Enter Key or Click the left mouse button on the Enter Command Bar to set the Real Time Clock to the displayed time. Once this is done the displayed time will start changing every second. You can now check the displayed time against the accurate outside time source. If they agree press the Enter Key or click the left mouse button on the Enter Command Bar. If they do not agree press the "D" Hot Key or click the left mouse button on the Do Again Command Bar to set the date and time again. Valid dates for synchronizing the Real Time Clock are 1 Jan. 1980 to 31 Dec. 2099, the range of dates that can be set by DOS. StopWatch prevents you from entering a date that is outside of this range. Hint: For systems with a mouse - Once the date and time are set to 10 to 15 seconds in the future the easiest way to proceed is to press the left mouse button on the Enter Command Bar but do not release it. Once the accurate outside time source matches the displayed time release the left mouse button. Calibration Page 20 --------------------------------------------------------------- There are three calibration routines. Each one provides a different degree of precision. Low calibration uses the Real Time Clock generating an interrupt approximately 128 times per second. Medium calibration uses the Real Time Clock generating an interrupt approximately 4096 times per second. High Precision uses the speed of the CPU itself. The faster the CPU or the less clock cycles required to execute a fixed set of instructions, the greater the degree of precision. Before each calibration routine starts you will be asked to synchronize your real time clock with an accurate outside time source. An accurate outside time source is not your wrist watch, but a place like the Naval Observatory in Washinton D.C. or the National Bureau of Standards. Synchronize as close as possible but do not spend to much time on it. Once the Real Time Clock is synchronized the calibration process will proceed automatically. The only key that will be recognized is the "S" Hot Key to Stop the calibration process. Note: While the High Precision Calibration Routine is being run do not press any keyboard keys except the "S" Hot Key when you want to stop the calibration process. Hitting any other key while the High Precision Calibration Routine is executing will invalidate the results. When you are ready to stop the calibration process you must consult the same accurate outside time source. Mark the time and date you stop the calibration process when you press the "S" Hot Key. Enter this time and date when asked to. The Command Bars are the same as when you Synchronized the Real Time Clock. Calibration figures will then be displayed on screen and saved to the Calibration File. ┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ Medium Precision Calibration │ │ │ │ Start Date Start Time │ │ 04 SEP 1994 ▄ 14:23:45 ▄ │ │ ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ │ │ Stop Date Stop Time │ │ 04 SEP 1994 ▄ 14:59:00 ▄ │ │ ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ │ │ Ticks/Second Seconds/Tick │ │ 4,096.6954 .0002440991 │ ├──────────────────────────────────────────────────┤ │ The displayed calibration figures represent a │ │ minimum of 24 hours of work. It is highly │ │ recommended that a copy of SW16.CAL be made │ │ and placed in a safe, secure place. │ │ │ │ Calibration Complete. Continue ▄ │ │ SW16.CAL Updated. ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ │ └──────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ Page 21 --------------------------------------------------------------- To know what to expect, go through the calibration process a few times, but only let it run for a few minutes. Then when you are ready you can set it up to run for 24 hours or more. Note: So you do not have to wait for 24 or more hours to test StopWatch and see if you like the program, run each calibration process for about 10 or 15 minutes and then you can test all the various timing routines in StopWatch. The results will not be accurate, but you will get an idea of what StopWatch is all about. Calibration figures are maintained to an accuracy of 10 decimal places for low and medium precision modes. In high precision mode figures are maintained to 14 decimal places. While these figures are used in all internal calculations the timers in low precision mode only display seconds to two decimal places. In medium precision mode seconds are displayed to 4 decimal places. In high precision mode seconds are displayed to 10 decimal places. There is no rounding off of any displayed time figures. Because of this, when you subtract the start and stop times and compare it to the total elapsed time the two figures may disagree by plus or minus 1 in the last decimal place. To give you an idea of what to expect, the following calibration figures were done on my 80386DX 20 Mhz computer using SW16.EXE. Calibration: Ticks/Second Seconds/Tick Cal. Date LOW: 128.0232 .0078110842 04 SEP 1994 MEDIUM: 4,096.6954 .0002440991 04 SEP 1994 HIGH: 738,621.5309 .0000013538 08 AUG 1993* *The last four decimal places in High Precision Mode will be displayed when you run the High Precision Up Timer. Low and medium precision figures will be very close to the above figures for all computers. It is the High Precision Mode figures that will show significant differences. A fast 80486 or Pentium may approach three, or four million ticks per second. I have not mentioned a time limit for the calibration routines because there is none. You can let them run for thousands of years, and then thousands more before the calibration routines would overflow their counters. Unlike the calibration routines all timer routines do have a time limit. It is approximately 58.49 years. The Down Timers have a limit of 512,408 hours, 59 minutes, and 59 seconds. Note: There are a few programs available that allow you dial up an accurate time source and automatically set your Real Time Clock. If you have one of these programs use it just prior to running StopWatch and you can "Skip" the synchronizing routine. Up Timers Page 22 --------------------------------------------------------------- All three modes of precision are available to the Up Timer. This is the only timer that utilizes the High Precision Mode. Select the precision mode you wish to use with the keyboard keys or using the mouse. In Low and Medium Precision Modes you will then be asked to synchronize your real time clock. This is just to give accurate start and stop times. It has nothing to do with the accuracy of any timed event. If your real time clock is set accurate enough for you just "Skip" the synchronization pro- cedure. Then the Up Timer Screen will appear and you will be able to enter names for the event(s) you are going to time. A Command Bar will be at the bottom of the screen which says "Escape to Quit Data Entry". If you do not wish to enter an event name at this time press the Escape Key or click on the Command Bar with the left mouse button. You will have another opportunity to enter event names when you have finished timing the events. ╔════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗ ║ Low Medium High ║ ╠════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣ ║ Event Timer 1 ║ ║ Event: ║ ║ Start Date: ║ ║ Start Time: ║ ║ Stop Date: ║ ║ Stop Time: Hours Minutes Seconds ║ ║ Elapsed Time: ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ Event Timer 2 ║ ║ Event: ║ ║ Start Date: ║ ║ Start Time: ║ ║ Stop Date: ║ ║ Stop Time: Hours Minutes Seconds ║ ║ Elapsed Time: ║ ╠════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣ ║ Overlay ▄ ║ ║ ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ ║ ║ Escape to Quit Data Entry ▄ ║ ║ ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ ║ ╚════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝ Note: Check the Quick Help Reference System for the editing keys available for use while entering data. Next the Up Timer Command Bars will appear at the bottom of the blue panel. At this point all Function Keys, the Mouse, the Print Screen Key, and TSR's will be inoperative. You will only be able to enter commands via the keyboard with Hot Keys. Not all Command Bars will be active all the time. Active Command Bars will have a black shadow and inactive Command Bars will have a dark grey shadow. The Hot Key for each Command Bar is the first letter of the Command Bar. On color screens it will be red. Page 23 --------------------------------------------------------------- The Command Bars and their functions are: 1 Start - Start Timer Number 1. 2 Start - Start Timer Number 2. Both - Start Both Timers at the same time. Escape - Quit Timer and return to main menu. 1 Stop - Stop Timer Number 1. 2 Stop - Stop Timer Number 2. Info - Enter or Edit Event Names. Do Again - Reset Up Timers for new events. Once all the timers have been stopped the Functions Keys, the Mouse, the Print Screen Key, and all TSR's will be available for use. You can now use the Print Screen Key to print out the results of the events you have timed or save the results to a disk file using the F6 Key for printing at a later time. This is ideal for laptop computers. It allows you to take a laptop computer anywhere you want, time the events, save the results to disk, and print them out once you have access to a printer. The Low Precision Mode displays time to 2 decimal places of accuracy while the Medium Precision Mode displays time to 4 decimal places. A completed Up Timer display looks like this: ╔════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗ ║ Low Medium High ║ ╠════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣ ║ Event Timer 1 ║ ║ Event: Rubik's Cube Contestant No. 1 ║ ║ Start Date: 03 SEP 1994 ║ ║ Start Time: 14:34:54.9510 ║ ║ Stop Date: 03 SEP 1994 ║ ║ Stop Time: 14:35:12.0498 Hours Minutes Seconds ║ ║ Elapsed Time: 0 00 17.0987 ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ Event Timer 2 ║ ║ Event: Rubik's Cube Contestant No. 2 ║ ║ Start Date: 03 SEP 1994 ║ ║ Start Time: 14:34:54.9510 ║ ║ Stop Date: 03 SEP 1994 ║ ║ Stop Time: 14:35:13.1597 Hours Minutes Seconds ║ ║ Elapsed Time: 0 00 18.2086 ║ ╠════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣ ║ 1 Start ▄ 2 Start ▄ Both ▄ Escape ▄ ║ ║ ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ ║ ║ 1 Stop ▄ 2 Stop ▄ Info ▄ Do Again ▄ ║ ║ ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ ║ ╚════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝ Race Timer Page 24 --------------------------------------------------------------- In Medium Precision Mode you also have the choice of using a special Race Timer. It provides for up to eight finish times for each race. After Synchronizing the Real Time Clock you will be asked via a dialog box if you want to use the Medium Precision Up Timer as a race timer. You can answer No, Yes, or Quit via Hot Keys or click on the desired Command Bar with the left mouse button. To use the normal Up Timer answer No. To use the Race Timer answer Yes. The Race Timer screen will then appear and you can enter an event name if you wish. Then the Race Timer Command Bars will appear and commands can only be issued from the keyboard using Hot keys. The Command Bars and their functions for the Race Timer are: Start - Start the Race Timer. Time - Record a Finish Time. Stop - Stop Race Timer. No Finish Time is recorded. Info - Enter or edit an Event Name and a Name for each Finish Time. Do Again - Reset Race Timer for next event. Escape - Quit Timer and return to main menu. Once the Race Timer is stopped everything returns to normal and you can print the results using the Print Screen Key or save the results to a disk file using the F6 Key. A completed Race Timer Screen looks like this: ╔════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗ ║ Low Medium High ║ ╠════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣ ║ Race Timer ║ ║ ║ ║ Event: 100 Yard Dash - Men's ║ ║ Start Date: 03 SEP 1994 ║ ║ Start Time: 14:36:17.3909 Hours Minutes Seconds ║ ║ Elapsed Time: 0 00 20.2862 ║ ║ ║ ║ Finish Times Names ║ ║ 1st: 00:00:13.1122 Dan Towers ║ ║ 2nd: 00:00:14.0620 John Taylor ║ ║ 3rd: 00:00:15.5859 Joe Allen ║ ║ 4th: 00:00:15.7794 Bob Parker ║ ║ 5th: 00:00:17.3421 Paul Daniels ║ ║ 6th: 00:00:18.9930 Fred Dunkirk ║ ║ 7th: 00:00:19.5871 George Shaw ║ ║ 8th: 00:00:20.2862 Tom Summers ║ ╠════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣ ║ Start ▄ Time ▄ Stop ▄ ║ ║ ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ ║ ║ Info ▄ Do Again ▄ Escape ▄ ║ ║ ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ ║ ╚════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝ High Precision Up Timer Page 25 --------------------------------------------------------------- In High Precision Mode only one timer is available. When you start it up you will see that it is completely different from the other timers. There are no start or stop times and dates provided. While the timer is running there is no continuous display of the elapsed time. Since the Timer routine must run the exact same set of instructions as the calibration routine, total ticks and elapsed time will be displayed only after the timer is stopped. When the High Precision Timer is selected the High Precision Screen will be displayed and you have the option of entering the event name prior to timing the event. Then two Command bars will appear near the bottom of the High Precision Timer Screen that say "Start" and "Stop". The active Command Bar has a red check mark to the left of the Command Bar. At this point all Function Keys, the Mouse, the Print Screen Key, and all TSR's are inoperative. Press the "S" Hot Key to start the timer and the red check mark will then move to the left of the "Stop" Command Bar. WARNING: Pressing any key except the "S" Hot Key to stop the timer while the timer is running will cause the timer to return inaccurate results. When you are ready to stop the timer press the "S" Hot Key. At this time total ticks and total elapsed time will be displayed. Three new Command Bars will appear at the bottom of the High Precision Timer Screen. They are "Info", "Do Again", and "Escape" whose functions have already been explained. ┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ Event: Exp. No. 1 - Object falling 10 feet. │ │ │ │ Total Ticks │ │ 121,927 ▄ │ │ ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ │ │ Multiplied By │ │ Seconds per Tick │ │ 0.00000107756774 ▄ │ │ ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ │ │ Equals │ │ Total Seconds │ │ 0.1313846018 ▄ │ │ ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ │ │ Hours Minutes Seconds │ │ 0 00 00.1313846018 │ ├──────────────────────────────────────────────────┤ │ Info ▄ Do Again ▄ Escape ▄ │ │ ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ │ └──────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ Once the timer is stopped all program functions return to normal and you can use the Print Screen Key to print the results or the F6 Key to save the screen image to disk. Page 26 --------------------------------------------------------------- Special Note: The High Precision Timer also has a hook into hardware IRQ 3 or IRQ 4. The first hardware IRQ received will start the High Precision Timer. The second one received will stop the High Precision Timer. If you have an interface board that can issue hardware IRQ 3 or 4 when an event starts and stops you will be able to time events down to millionths of a second. The specific hardware IRQ number your computer uses will be displayed in yellow on the initial UP Timer screen. The IRQ number depends on which IRQ number your mouse uses if you have one installed. Down Timers Page 27 --------------------------------------------------------------- Only the Low and Medium Precision Modes are available for the Down Timers. When you select the Low or Medium Precision Mode you will first be asked to synchronize the Real Time Clock with an accurate outside time source. This is done so you can have accurate start times for the Down Timers and in no way affects the accuracy of the timers. If your Real Time Clock is set accurate enough you may "Skip" this procedure. In Low Precision Mode you will then be asked via a dialog box if you want to "Use Down Timer 1 as a Game Timer?". Use the "Yes", "No", or "Quit" Command Bars to give your answer. More on the Game Timer later. Next the Down Timer Screen will appear and you will have the option of entering event names for the Down Timers. Then a dialog box will pop up so you can set the count down time for each timer. The count down time is set in hours, minutes, and seconds in 1 second intervals. The maximum count down time is 512,408 hours, 59 minutes, and 59 seconds. Use the Left and Right Arrow Keys or click the left mouse button on the Left and Right Arrow Command Bars to select the field you want to set. Use the Up and Down Arrow Keys or click the left mouse button on the Up and Down Arrow Key Command Bars to change the value in the selected field. When the times for the Down Timers are set use the Enter Key or click the left mouse button on the Enter Command Bar to enter the times. ╔════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗ ║ Low Medium ║ ╠════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ┌──────────────────────────────────┐ ║ ║ │ Enter Count Down Times │ ║ ║ │ │ ║ ║ │ Down Timer 1 │ ║ ║ │ 00:03:30 ▄ │ ║ ║ │ ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ │ ║ ║ │ │ ║ ║ │ Down Timer 2 │ ║ ║ │ 00:04:00 ▄ │ ║ ║ │ ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ │ ║ ║ └──────────────────────────────────┘ ║ ║ ║ ╠════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣ ║ ── ▄ ── ▄ ──┘ ▄ Quit ▄ ║ ║ ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ ║ ║ ▄ ▄ PgUp ▄ PgDn ▄ ║ ║ ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ ║ ╚════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝ Page 28 --------------------------------------------------------------- At this point the Down Timer Command Bars will appear at the bottom of the blue panel and the Functions Keys, the mouse, the Print Screen Key, and all TSR's will be disabled. Use the indicated Hot Keys in the Down Timer Command Bars. They are: 1 Start - Start Down Timer 1. 2 Start - Start Down Timer 2. Both - Start Both Down Timers at the same time. Info - Enter or Edit Event Names. Do Again - Reset Down Timers for next event. Escape - Exit Down Timers and return to main menu. When each Down Timer reaches zero a chime will sound to inform you that it has finished. When both Down Timers have finished all program functions will return to normal and you can use the Print Screen Key to print the results or use the F6 Key to save the screen image to a file on disk. Down Timer 1 as a Game Timer --------------------------------------------------------------- When you elect to use Down Timer 1 as a game timer only Down Timer 1 will be active and Timeouts will be enabled. Once the Down Time is set for the game period you wish to time the following Command Bars will appear: Start - Start Game Timer. Timeout - Pause Game Timer. Restart - Start Game Timer after a timeout. Info - Enter or Edit Event Names. Do Again - Reset Down Timer for next game period. Escape - Exit Down Timer and return to main menu. When a timeout is in effect the Down Timer will stop and a Command Bar that says Timeout will appear next to the Down Timer. At the end of the game period a chime will sound and all program functions will return to normal. Note: Use Down Timer 1 as a Game Timer for any game that does not have four 15 minute quarters. Lap Timers Page 29 --------------------------------------------------------------- The Lap Timer runs in Low or Medium Precision Modes. It supports up to 1,024 laps. After you select the precision desired and synchronize the Real Time Clock you will have the opportunity to enter an event name. At this point the Function keys, the mouse, the Print Screen Key, and all TSR's will be disabled. The Lap Timer Command Bars will appear in the bottom of the right blue panel. You can only use the indicated Hot Keys to issue commands. They are: Start - Start the Lap Timer. Lap - Record a Lap Time. Stop - Stop the Lap Timer - Does not Record a Lap. Info - Enter or Edit Event Name. Do Again - Reset Lap Timer for next event. Escape - Exit Lap Timer and return to main menu. As each lap is recorded its number and lap time is displayed on screen. The eight most current laps are displayed. To the left of the recorded lap times is a small window that displays the running time for the current lap and the average times for all the recorded laps. Note: The Stop Command does not record a lap. It only stops the Lap Timer. An example of a completed Lap Timer screen follows: ╔════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗ ║ Low Medium ║ ╠════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣ ║ Lap Timer ║ ║ Event: Car race - 1 mile practice laps. ║ ║ Start Date: 03 SEP 1994 ║ ║ Start Time: 14:57:44.2293 Hours Minutes Seconds ║ ║ Elapsed Time: 0 07 47.4195 ║ ║ ║ ║ Lap Information ║ ║ Number Hours Minutes Seconds ║ ║ 9 0 00 47.8945 ║ ║ Current Lap 8 0 00 49.5449 ║ ║ 00:00:00.0000 7 0 00 50.5544 ║ ║ 6 0 00 52.8040 ║ ║ Avg. Lap Time 5 0 00 53.2060 ║ ║ 00:00:51.9355 4 0 00 51.3434 ║ ║ 3 0 00 52.8006 ║ ║ 2 0 00 58.0910 ║ ╠════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣ ║ Report ▄ File ▄ Prt File ▄ ║ ║ ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ ║ ║ Info ▄ Do Again ▄ Escape ▄ ║ ║ ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ ║ ╚════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝ Page 30 --------------------------------------------------------------- Once the Lap Timer is stopped all program functions will return to normal and three new Command Bars will appear replacing the "Start", "Lap", and "Stop" Command Bars. They are: Report - Print a report of all the recorded laps. File - Save all recorded lap infomation in a file called SW16.LAP for printing at a later time. Creates SW16.LAP if it does not exist. Prt File - Print all lap information in the SW16.LAP File. Note: The number of sets of lap times that SW16.LAP can hold is only limited by the available disk space. Once all sets of lap times have been printed the file will be deleted. Game Timer Page 31 --------------------------------------------------------------- Once you select the Game or Split Timer from the secondary menu at the top of the right blue panel the secondary menu will be replaced by the current date and time and the Game Timer or the Split Timer screen will appear. The instructions for the Game Timer will be given first followed by the instructions for the Split Timer. ┌──────────────────────────────────┐ The Game Timer is for │ │ any game that has 4 15 │ Use Two Minute Warning │ minute quaters. After │ in 2nd and 4th Quarters? │ you have synchronized │ │ the Real Time Clock you │ │ will be asked "Use Two │ │ Minute Warnings in 2nd │ No ▄ Yes ▄ Quit ▄ │ and 4th Quarters?". │ ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ │ Answer No, Yes, or Quit. │ │ If you answer Yes the └──────────────────────────────────┘ game clock will auto- matically be stopped at the two minute mark in the 2nd and 4th quaters. Next you can enter information about the game. This can be skipped and entered at the end of the game if you wish. You will then be allowed to select the quarter you want to start in. Use the Left and Right Arrow Keys or click the left mouse button on the Left and Right Command Bars to highlight the starting quarter. Then press the Enter Key or click the left mouse button on the Enter Command Bar to select the highlighted quarter. Once this is done the Game Timer Command Bars will appear and their functions are: Start - Start game clock for indicated quarter. Timeout - Pause game clock. Restart - Start game clock after a timeout. Info - Enter or Edit game information. Do Again - Reset Game Timer for a new game. Escape - Exit Game Timer and return to main menu. When a Timeout is in effect a Command Bar with the word "Timeout" will appear next to the game clock. If Two Minute Warnings are enabled a chime will sound when the game clock is stopped at the two minute mark and a Command Bar saying "Two Minute Warning" will appear next to the game clock. At the end of a quarter a chime will sound to let you know that the game clock has run out. At the end of a game the total game time for all four quarters will be displayed if it is available. All program functions will return to normal and you can use the Print Screen Key to print the Game Timer screen or use the F6 Key to save the Game Timer screen to a file on disk. Split Timer Page 32 --------------------------------------------------------------- The Split Timer is an invention of my own. Have you ever wondered how much time a television program spends on the program and how much is spent on commercials? And how many commercials there are for each commercial break? Or how about a radio station that advertises more rock and less talk? If you have, this timer is for you. It allows you to time two seperate events where one event starts as the other event stops and vice versa. A maximum of 1,024 switches between timers is allowed. Once the program is stopped a full report can be printed or saved to a disk file called SW16.SWH for printing at a later time. The report contains the start time of each segment along with the duration of that segment. After synchronizing the Real Time Clock you will be able to enter information about the event. Once the information is entered the Switch Timer Command Bars will appear and the Function Keys, the mouse, the Print Screen Key, and all TSR's will be inoperative. The Switch Timer Command Bars have the following functions: Start - Start the Switch Timer with Event No. 1. Count - Replaces the Start Command Bar after the Switch Timer is started. Active only when Event No. 2 is in progress. Adds 1 to count. May be used to record the number of commercials during a commercial break. Always starts with 1 since there will always be at least one commercial. Switch - Switch to Event No. 2 or back to Event No. 1. Halt - Stop Switch Timer and record duration. Info - Enter or Edit information about the event. Do Again - Reset Switch Timer for next program. Escape - Exit Switch Timer and return to main menu. Once the Switch Timer is halted all program functions return to normal and three new Command Bars will appear in the top row. They have the following functions: Report - Print a full report on all Switch Timer information. File - Save Switch Timer information to a file called SW16.SWH. Creates SW16.SWH if it does not exist. Prt File - Print information in SW16.SWH File. Note: The number of sets of Switch Times that SW16.SWH can hold is only limited by the available disk space. Once all Switch Time sets have been printed the file will be deleted. Page 33 --------------------------------------------------------------- An example of a completed Split Timer screen follows: ╔════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗ ║ Computer Chronograph SATURDAY 03 SEP 1994 ■ 15:16:27 ║ ╠════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣ ║ Split Timer ║ ║ ║ ║ Start Date: 03 SEP 1994 Source: TV ║ ║ Start Time: 15:12:54.06 Call Letters: KQSTZ ║ ║ Stop Date: 03 SEP 1994 Frequency: N/A ║ ║ Stop Time: 15:16:24.93 City: Chicago ║ ║ Total Time: 00:03:30.87 State: Illinois ║ ║ ║ ║ Event No. 1 Event No. 2 ║ ║ Saturday Movie - Program Sat. Movie - Commercials ║ ║ ║ ║ Switches Left: 1,021 ▄ Event No. 2 Cnt: ▄ ║ ║ ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ ║ ║ Hours Minutes Seconds Hours Minutes Seconds ║ ║ 0 02 18.62 0 01 12.25 ║ ║ ║ ╠════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣ ║ Report ▄ File ▄ Prt File ▄ ║ ║ ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ ║ ║ Info ▄ Do Again ▄ Escape ▄ ║ ║ ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ ║ ╚════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝ An example of a Switch Timer Report follows: Switch Timer Page 1 of 1 Start Date: 25 Aug 1993 Source: T.V. Start Time: 08:00:05.10 Call Letters: KWQP Stop Date: 25 Aug 1993 Frequecny: N/A Stop Time: 08:16:05.10 City: Chicago Total Time: 00:16:00.00 State: Illinois Event No. 1: Movie - Program Event No 2: Movie - Commer. Total Time: 0:05:00.00 Total Time: 0:11:00.00 Time Duration Time Duration Count 08:00:05.10 00:03:00.00 08:03:05.10 00:05:00.00 11 08:08:05:10 00:02:00:00 08:10:05:10 00:06:00:00 9 Total Count Equals: 20 What the report says is that the first program segment started at 08:00:05.10 and lasted for 3 minutes; then the first commercial segment started at 08:03:05.10 and lasted for 5 minutes. Count in this case would be the number of commercials during this commercial segment. With this report you can find Page 34 --------------------------------------------------------------- out how much time a program spends on the program and how much time is spent on commercials, the total number of commercials a program has, and if you want to do a little math you can figure out the average number of commercials during a commercial segment and the average length of a commercial. You can also tell the pattern between the program and commercials the program follows. Are the commercials spread out throughout the program evenly or bunched together. Does your favorite late Friday night horror movie have 1 and 1/2 hours of movie with 3 hours of commercials? A lot of the late night movies seem this way to me. Now with the Split Timer you can find out for yourself. Make copies and send reports to the T.V. and network executives letting them know that they are being monitored by concerned parents. These reports may give you enough ammunition to make some changes in the way T.V. works. Dates Page 35 --------------------------------------------------------------- When you get down to the Dates screen you will see a great deal of information about the current date in the right blue panel. The date and time will be displayed at the top of the right blue panel with five Command Bars at the bottom of the right blue panel. They are "Info", Delta, Plus-Minus, Life, and Calendar. To selected a Command Bar use the indicated Hot Key or click the left mouse button on the desired Command Bar. ╔════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗ ║ Computer Chronograph SATURDAY 03 SEP 1994 ■ 15:16:35 ║ ╠════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣ ║ ║ ║ Current Date: 03 SEP 1994 ║ ║ ║ ║ 1 Julian Period Equals: 7,980 Years ║ ║ Year of Julian Period: 6707 ║ ║ Julian Day Number (Noon): 2,449,599 ║ ║ ║ ║ Chronological Cycles: ║ ║ Solar (28): Year 15 of Cycle 240 ║ ║ Lunar (19): Year 19 of Cycle 353 ║ ║ Roman Indiction (15): Year 02 of Cycle 448 ║ ║ ║ ║ Day of the Week: SATURDAY ║ ║ Day of the Year: 246 ║ ║ Day of the Century: 34,579 ║ ║ ║ ╠════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣ ║ Info ▄ Delta ▄ Plus-Minus ▄ ║ ║ ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ ║ ║ Life ▄ Calendar ▄ ║ ║ ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ ║ ╚════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝ When one of the first four functions is selected a dialog box will appear asking you to enter one date, two dates, or a date and an offset, or a date and a time. Use the indicated keyboard keys or click the left mouse button on the desired Command Bar to move between and change the highlighted date or time field. Use the Left and Right Arrow Keys or click the left mouse button on the Left or Right Command Bar to go to the next or previous field. Use the Up and Down Arrow Keys or click the left mouse button on the Up and Down Command Bars to change the value in the highlighted date or time field. When you have the desired date, times, and/or offset entered use the Enter Key or click the left mouse button on the Enter Command Bar and the function will calculate and display the desired information. All date and time fields wrap around so there is no danger of entering a number that is invalid. When entering a birth date and time in "Life" you cannot enter a date and time that is in the future. If you do you will be returned to enter a valid date and time that is not in the future. Info Display Page 36 --------------------------------------------------------------- Displays the same information about any selected date as shown for the current date. Valid dates range from 1 Jan. 1600 to 31 Dec. 3267 for all date and calendar functions. Delta Days --------------------------------------------------------------- Or Days Between Dates - Enter any two dates and the number of days between them will be calculated and displayed. Plus or Minus Days --------------------------------------------------------------- Enter any date and press the Enter Key or click the left mouse button on the Enter Command Bar. Then enter the number of days (the offset) into the past or future you would like to see the date for (e.g. 1 Jan. 1992 and -200 days would be 15 Jun. 1991). When entering the offset the PgUp and PgDn Keys or Command Bars change the value by plus or minus 100. You cannot enter an offset that takes you beyond the range of a valid date. Life Display --------------------------------------------------------------- First enter your name or the name of any person. Then enter the date and time of birth. If the time is not known just leave it set as it is. ┌──────────────────────────────────┐ │ Life │ │ │ │ Birthday │ │ 10 OCT 1988 ▄ │ │ ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ │ │ │ │ Time of Birth │ │ 17:06:00 ▄ │ │ ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ │ └──────────────────────────────────┘ The length of time in days, hours, minutes, and seconds you have lived will then be displayed. It will be updated every second. A date and time in the future is invalid and not allowed by the program. Try it and see. If you are executing this program from a floppy disk and save the screen image to a file the "you have lived time" will get out of sync with the current time by a few seconds. Page 37 --------------------------------------------------------------- The following shows an example of a Life Display for my daughter named Marygrace. ╔════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗ ║ Computer Chronograph SATURDAY 03 SEP 1994 ■ 15:19:44 ║ ╠════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣ ║ Life ║ ║ ║ ║ Name: Marygrace A. Phillips ║ ║ Birthday: 10 OCT 1988 (Leap Year) ║ ║ Time of Birth: 17:06:00 ║ ║ Julian Day Number (Noon): 2,447,445 ║ ║ ║ ║ Current Date: 03 SEP 1994 ║ ║ Current Time: 15:19:44 ║ ║ Julian Day Number (Noon): 2,449,599 ║ ║ Days Between Dates: 2,154 ║ ║ ║ ║ You have lived for: 2,153 Days ║ ║ 22 Hours ║ ║ 13 Minutes ║ ║ 44 Seconds ║ ╠════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣ ║ ── ▄ ── ▄ ──┘ ▄ Quit ▄ ║ ║ ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ ║ ║ ▄ ▄ Do Again ▄ Calendar ▄ ║ ║ ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ ║ ╚════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝ Calendar and Holidays --------------------------------------------------------------- When you select Calendar a calendar showing the current month of the year will pop up. Sundays are shown in red, National Holidays are shown in red, observed days are shown in yellow if not a Sunday, and normal days are shown in black. National Holidays also have an asterick after the day of the week to make it easy to identify National Holidays when they are printed on paper. At the bottom of the Calendar are 6 Command Bars which may be selected by using the left mouse button or the associated keyboard key. The Command Bars and the Associated keyboard keys shown in brackes are: < Month (Down Arrow Key) - Show previous month of the year. Month > (Up Arrow Key) - Show next month of the year. Holidays ("H" Hot Key) - Show a list of 17 holidays and observed days for the current year. National Holidays are in red, observed days in yellow. Quit ("Q" Hot Key) - Return to the information display. Page 38 < Year (PgDn Key) - Show calendar for current month of the previous year. Year > (PgUp Key) - Show calendar for current month of the next year. Note: If you select Holidays after changing the year the list of Holidays will change to reflect the new year. Note: If you go back far enough into the past the holiday information will not be valid since they were not legal holidays yet. When the information is displayed for "Info", "Delta", "Plus-Minus", and "Life" the Do Again and Calendar Command Bars will become active. Do Again - Resets to enter new dates, time, and/or offsets depending on the function. Calendar - The calendar displayed depends on the function as explained below: Info - Displays a calendar for the month and year of the selected date. Delta - Displays a calendar for the second date. Plus-Minus - Displays a calendar for the past or future date. Life - Displays a calendar for the month and year of birth. Note: If you show the calendar while the Life Display is running and then return to the Life Display the time lived will stay in sync with the current date and time. You can use the Print Screen Key or F6 Key to save a screen image to disk at any time while you are in the dates section. All date calculations are done using Astronomical Julian Day calculations. This converts a date (month, day, year) to a single number which represents the number of days since the start of the Julian Period. The Julian Period began at noon on 1 JAN. 4713 B.C. The Julian period was devised in 1582 by Joseph Scaliger and named after his father Julius (not after the Julian calendar). The beginning of the Julian period was the most recent time that three major chronological cycles began on the same day: (1) - the 28 year solar cycle after which dates in the Julian calendar return to the same day of the week (e.g. Jan 1st on a Monday), (2) - the 19 year lunar cycle after which the phases of the moon return to the same dates of the year, and (3) - the 15 year indiction cycle used in ancient Rome to regulate taxes. There are 7980 years in 1 Julian period, the product of 28, 19, and 15. There are 285 28 year Solar Cycles, 420 19 year Lunar Cycles, and 532 15 year Roman Indiction Cycles in one Julian period. About Page 39 --------------------------------------------------------------- Displays copyright information and other information about the program. Quit --------------------------------------------------------------- Press the enter key or click the left mouse button on the "<──┘ to Quit" Command Bar to exit the program and return to DOS. You can also use the ESC Key to exit the program from anywhere on the main menu. It is important that the program performs its exit procedures to make sure your computer is returned to the same state it was in prior to executing StopWatch. The date and time maintained by DOS is also reset to reflect the date and time of the Real Time Clock since every time you use a timer the updating of the date and time maintained by DOS is stopped. Help --------------------------------------------------------------- Except while a calibration or timer routine is running you may select Help by pressing the F1 Key or click the left mouse button on the Help Menu Command Bar. When a Critical Error Reporting System or Extended Error Reporting System screen is displayed use the Help Command Bar provided in the screen to call up the Quick Help Reporting System, If your system does not have a mouse installed the "Help" Command Bar will read "F1 = Help". You can page through the Quick Help Reference System using the Hot Keys for the Next and Previous Command Bars, by clicking the left mouse button on the next or previous Command Bar, or by using the PgUp and PgDn Keys. Pressing and holding the keyboard keys or the left mouse button down issues repeated commands. Appendix A Page 40 --------------------------------------------------------------- START UP ERRORS --------------------------------------------------------------- On start up there are a number of errors that can prevent the program from running. Most are self-explanatory. 1. - Sorry! An 80386 or above is required to execute StopWatch 32. (32 bit registered version only) 2. - Sorry! An 80286 or above is required to execute StopWatch 16. The following start up errors pertain to both 32 and 16 bit versions of StopWatch. 3. - StopWatch 16 requires DOS 3.0 or above. 4. - StopWatch 16 cannot run with a CGA Adapter. 5. - StopWatch 16 cannot determine system configuration parameters. (StopWatch uses BIOS Int 15H Function C0H, Return System Configuration Parameters, to determine some of the system parameters. If this BIOS Function is not supported in your computer this error will the displayed. 6. - StopWatch 16 requires a Dallas Real Time Clock. 7. - StopWatch 16 requires a 2nd interrupt chip (PIC). There are some computers that do not have 2 PIC's such as Inboard 386 PC computers. These will not work with StopWatch. 8. - StopWatch 16 cannot run with a nonfunctional Real Time Clock. 9. - StopWatch 16 needs to be in 25 rows by 80 columns Mode. 10. - Mouse is using IRQ 2. IRQ 2 reserved for Real Time Clock in StopWatch 16. 11. - StopWatch 16 will not execute under Windows or the DOS Task Switcher. (Exit Windows or turn the DOS Task Switcher off and then execute StopWatch again from the DOS prompt.) Appendix A Page 41 --------------------------------------------------------------- PROGRAM ERRORS --------------------------------------------------------------- The following errors are displayed by the Extended Error Reporting System as required by the program. 1. Insufficient Space on Disk for Procedure Clean up the floppy or hard disk you are using to make room for the files. If you get this messsage while trying to save a LAP or SWH file you will have to print out the report immediately if you want to save the data because you will have to exit the program to clean up the disk. 2. No Calibration Data for Low Precision Timer No Calibration Data for Medium Precision Timer No Calibration Data for High Precision Timer If you try to use a timer routine and there is no calibration data for that level of precision you will receive the above error message. Perform the calibration routine for the indicated level of precision. 3. Suspected Computer Virus Attack! The calculated CRC32 for the SW16.EXE does not match the one stored in the file. This means that the EXE File has been altered in some way, possibly by a computer virus. Appendix A Page 42 --------------------------------------------------------------- CRITICAL ERRORS --------------------------------------------------------------- The following errors are reported by the Critical Error Reporting System. Possible remedies are also suggested. 1. Disk Write Protected Remove the write protection from the disk and select Retry from the Critical Error Reporting System menu. 2. Unknown unit This error should never be encountered. But if it is select Cancel from the Critical Error Reporting System menu and you will be returned to an appropriate menu. 3. Drive Not Ready You have selected a drive without a disk in it. Insert a disk in the drive and select Retry from the Critical Error Reporting System menu or select cancel and you will be returned to an appropriate menu. 4. Unknown Command A device has received an unknown command. If you ever encounter this critical error select Cancel from the Critical Error Reporting System menu and you will be returned to an appropriate menu. 5. Data Error (Bad CRC) A data error as indicated by a bad CRC value has been encountered. You may select Retry from the Critical Error Reporting System menu and DOS may be able to over- come the error. If it still reports Data Error after a few attempts select cancel from the menu and you will be returned to an appropriate menu. The process you were trying to do will be cancelled and all files being worked on or created will be taken care of. If you continue to get this error repeatedly on a floppy or hard disk it indicates that the disk is going bad in the area reported by the Critical Error Reporting System. 6. Bad Request Structure Length Select cancel from the Critical Error Reporting System menu and you will be returned to an appropriated menu. Appendix A Page 43 --------------------------------------------------------------- 7. Seek Error A disk drive is having problems finding a specific track or cluster on a disk. Select Retry from the Critical Error Reporting System menu a few times to see if DOS can overcome this error. If it cannot select Cancel and you will be returned to an appropriate menu. If you continue to get this error repeatedly on a floppy or hard disk it indicates that the disk is going bad in the area reported by the Critical Error Reporting System. 8. Unknown Media Type A disk with an unknown or improper format type is being used. This may also happen because of different format programs being used which are not compatable with all computers. Select Cancel from the Critical Error Reporting System menu and you will be returned to an appropriate menu. 9. Sector Not Found A disk drive could not find the sector it was looking for. You can select Retry from the Critical Error Reporting System menu a few times to see if DOS can overcome this error. If it cannot select Cancel and you will be returned to an appropriate menu. If you continue to get this error repeatedly on a floppy or hard disk it indicates that the disk is going bad in the area reported by the Critical Error Reporting System. 10. Out of Paper Will never be reported by StopWatch because it does not use DOS to print with. 11. Write Fault Select Retry to see if DOS can overcome the error. If it cannot select Cancel and you will be returned to an appropriate menu. If you continue to get this error repeatedly on a floppy or hard disk it indicates that the disk is going bad in the area reported by the Critical Error Reporting System. Appendix A Page 44 --------------------------------------------------------------- 12. Read Fault Select Retry to see if DOS can overcome the error. If it cannot select Cancel and you will be returned to an appropriate menu. If you continue to get this error repeatedly on a floppy or hard disk it indicates that the disk is going bad in the area reported by the Critical Error Reporting System. 13. General Failure I do not know when this critical error would be reported but I would probably select Abort and try to exit the program in a controlled manner. Appendix A Page 45 --------------------------------------------------------------- PRINTER ERRORS --------------------------------------------------------------- The following errors are reported by the Printer Error Reporting System. 1. TIMEOUT - Printer has timed out. Select Cancel from the menu in the Printer Error Reporting System, reset your printer and try again. 2. I/O ERROR - Printer has encountered an I/O Error. Select Cancel from the menu in the Printer Error Reporting System and try again. 3. NOT SELECTED - Printer not turned on. Turn your printer on and select Retry from the menu in the Printer Error Reporting system 4. OUT OF PAPER - Put more paper in your printer and select Retry from the Menu in the Printer Error Reporting System. 5. BUSY - Usually means that the printer is turned on but is not on line. Put the printer on line and select Retry from the menu in the Printer Error Reporting System. On my system with no printer connected to the computer the first time you try to use the printer it takes the BIOS up to 30 seconds to report "Out of Paper". While the BIOS has control the update of the displayed time is stopped. The second time the Print Screen Key is pressed it reports "Out of Paper" immediately. Depending on your computer and printer you may get this or a different error message when you do not have a printer connected to your computer. Appendix B Page 46 --------------------------------------------------------------- TERMINOLOGY --------------------------------------------------------------- Click To quickly press and release a mouse button. Command Bar A shadowed bar that carries out a command or action. May be activated by pressing the indicated Hot Key or clicking with the left mouse button. Common Command Bars are Quit and Help. Some Command Bars do not have a Hot Key. In that case use the indicated keyboard key (ie. PgUp, Home, End). Active Command Bars have a black shadow while inactive Command Bars have a dark grey shadow. When you press the left mouse button on a Command Bar the shadow changes from black to dark grey. When you release the left mouse button the shadow changes back to black and the Command for that Command Bar is executed. Cursor Keys The Left, Right, Up, and Down Arrow keys. Directory A collection of computer files (programs, data, and subdirectories) stored at the same location on disk. Hot Key A single key that can be used to invoke a command. The Hot Key is usually indicated by a letter that is a different color than the rest of the word in the Command. Throughout the program the Hot Key is always the first letter of a Command. This makes it easy for black and white or monochrome monitors to know which one is the Hot Key. Mouse Pointer The non-blinking rectangular box on the screen indicates the mouse position. INDEX Page 47 --------------------------------------------------------------- About.......................39 Errors Ask IBM PS/2 Question........9 Critical................42 Association of Shareware Printer.................45 Professionals (ASP) Program.................41 Address..................5 Start Up................40 Disputes.................5 Escape Key..................11 Member...................5 Executing StopWatch the Ombudsman................5 First Time...................9 Astronimical Julian Day Extended Error Calculations................38 Reporting System............14 Available by same Author.....6 Function Keys...............11 BIOS Interrupt 15H...........9 Block Cursor................11 Game Timer..................31 Select Starting Quarter.31 Calibration.................20 Timeouts................31 Time Limit..............21 Two Minute Warning......31 Calendar....................36 CD-ROM Disk..................8 Hardware IRQ Hook...........26 Chime.......................12 Help........................39 Click.......................46 High Precision Up Timer.....25 Command Bars................13 Holidays....................36 Active/Inactive.........13 Command Line Parameters......8 IBM PS/2 Computers...........9 /B.......................9 Info Display................36 /P.......................9 Installing StopWatch.........8 Computer Requirements........7 Invalid Dates...............36 Control Break Key...........12 Control C Key...............12 Joseph Scaliger.............38 Critical Error Julian Period...............38 Reporting System............14 Keyboard Data Entry and Editing Keys.22 Control C Key...........12 Dates.......................35 Control Break Key.......12 Astrominical Julian Day Escape Key..............11 Calculations............38 Function Keys...........11 Solar Cycle.........38 Hot Keys................12 Lunar Cycle.........38 Pause Key...............12 Roman Indiction Ports....................9 Cycle...............38 Print Screen Key........12 Calendar................37 Holidays............37 Lap Timers..................29 Date Limits.............28 Lap Limit...............29 Delta...................36 Printing Report.........30 Info....................36 Save to SW32/16.LAP.....30 Life....................36 Print SW32/16.LAP File..30 Plus-Minus..............36 Laptop Cursor...............11 Down Timers.................27 Life Display................36 Used as Game Timer......28 Lunar Cycle.................38 INDEX Page 48 --------------------------------------------------------------- Main/Secondary Menus........17 Up Timers...................22 Mouse High Precision Mode.....25 Click...................46 Warning.............25 Hide Pointer............12 Hardware IRQ Hook...26 Right Button............12 Race Timer..............24 Show Pointer............12 Using StopWatch.............17 Multitasking Environment....10 Video Adapters Supported.....7 Pass It Along................6 Pause Key...................12 What You Need to Know Plus or Minus Days..........36 to use StopWatch............11 Power Management for Laptop Computers............10 Preface......................7 Print Screen Key............12 Printer.....................16 Command Line Switch /P...9 Common Setup Problems...16 Emulation Modes..........7 Laser....................7 Pause After Page.........9 Printer Error Reporting System........15 Printer Errors..........45 Using a Printer.........16 Program Support..............6 Quit........................39 Race Timer..................24 Registration Incentives......5 Roman Indiction Cycle.......38 Secondary Menus.............17 Solar Cycle.................38 Split Timer.................32 Number of Switches......32 Purpose.................32 Printing Report.........32 Sample Report...........33 Saving SW32.SWH.........32 Printing SW32.SWH File..32 Synchronizing the Real Time Clock.......................18 Valid Dates for.........19 Time Limits Calibration.............21 Timers..................21