This document provides several tips and tricks for using Consultant. It is not, however, a replacement for the documentation. We highly recommend that you download Consultant's User Manual from our web site located at:
The Real Help system is a context-sensitive help system that is always available to assist you. Pause the mouse pointer over almost anything in the program and the help system will explain the function of that item. While you can turn Real Help completely off from the Preferences dialog, you may prefer to turn off individual messages when you no longer need them. To do this, hold down the command key and click the mouse button while the help message is visible. That particular message will no longer appear, but the rest of the help system will be unaffected.
#2 Know Your Preferences
Consultant is highly customizeable. When you first start to use the program, it's a good idea to take a few minutes to peruse the Preferences dialog (found under the Edit menu). This will help you to become familiar with Consultant's features and will answer many of your questions about what Consultant can and cannot do. Remember you can use the Real Help System to explain the function of any item in the Preference dialog.
#3 Use Drag & Drop
Drag & Drop is one of Consultant's most powerful features. You can use Drag & Drop to move activities, copy activities, create activities, change activity types, link items, and delete items. You can drag items within views or between views (ie. from one window to another).
Moving An Activity
To move an activity, click on the activity and drag it to a new time or day. For example, click on a timed activity and drag it to a new time on the same day or a different day. Or click on a To-Do item and drag it to a new day.
Copying An Activity
To copy an activity instead of moving it, hold down the option key when you drag the activity. The mouse pointer will change to a camera to indicate that you are copying the activity.
Creating An Activity
You can create an activity associated with a particular contact by dragging that contact (from the Contact List View or the Contact Card View) to a calendar view. The contact record will be automatically linked to the activity that is created. There is a preference that determines the default activity title (eg. Call John Smith, Meet John Smith, E-mail John Smith...)
Changing An Activity Type
You can change a timed activity to a to-do item by dragging by the activity to the To-do Region of the Day View or Multiday View. The reverse is also true.
Linking Items
You can link two activities by dropping the first item on the second while holding down the command key. The mouse pointer will change to a link symbol to indicate that you are linking the two items. Any type of activity or contact can be linked to any other type of activity or contact.
Deleting Items
You can delete any activity or contact by dragging it to the trash can icon on the Smart Button Bar.
#4 Customize The Smart Button Bar
The Smart Button Bar can save you a lot of time by giving you quick access to you favorite program features. To add a new icon to the button bar, click on a blank button and choose from the set of icons that appears. To remove an icon, click on that button and drag the icon to the Trash Can. To swap two icons, click on the first button and drop it onto the second button. You can also change the number of buttons, the size of the buttons, and the orientation of the bar from the Preferences dialog.
#5 The Translate Box Does Everything
You can use the Translate feature (found under the Calendar menu) to schedule activities using your own words. For example, open the Translate dialog and type, "Meet John tomorrow at 3". Consultant will create an activity at 3 PM tomorrow called "Meet John" and will automatically link John's contact record to the activity (if there are more than one John, it will let you choose which record to link).
You can also use the Translate feature to quickly open calendar views to specific dates. Type "goto friday" or "open fri" to open the Day View to Friday. Typing "goto jan" will open the Month View for January. Almost anything will work: "goto 5/29/98" or "open Sep 23", etc. You can also use the Jump To Date dialog to go to specific dates.
#6 Turn Security Off
When you create a new file, you must enter a user name and an optional password. This is required because you can have several people using the same file. Whoever creates a file is the "administrator" of that file. If security is not an issue AND you are the only user in the file, you can turn the security preference off. With security off, you won't be asked to enter your name and password every time you open the file. If you decide to reactivate the security at some point, make sure that you know what your user name and password are before you do. While there's no way of "looking up" your password, you can check your user name and change your password from the Administration dialog found under the file menu (go to the Users folder in the Administration dialog, select your user name, and click the Rename button).
#7 Notes & Links
There's a small black arrow at the right of the title region in the Activity Window. Click this arrow to reveal the Notes/Links portion of the window. This let's you keep the notes and links hidden and out of the way until you need them. To quickly open the notes/links for an activity, double-click on the notes/links icon that appears in the title of the activity.
#8 Categories and Sets
You can focus on different parts of your data by creating categories and sets. Use categories to classify your information by topic. Your categories might include "family", "work" and "personal". When you create an activity or contact, you must specify which category it belongs to. Sets are groups of categories and control which categories are visible at a given time. You might have a "Home" set that includes your "family" and "personal" categories. A particular category can be included in more than one set. For each open view, you can choose which set is visible using the Set button. Every activity or contact that belongs to that set is visible in the view. You can assign different colors and fonts to your categories to help distinguish different types of data. Every file contains at least one set called "Show All", but if you have created additional sets, you can designate one as the default set. Look under the Special menu when you want to change the default set.
#9 Selecting Days
When scheduling new activities in the Week View or Month View, use the following tips. In the Week View, you can select the day for a new activity simply by clicking on the appropriate day. In the Month View, click in the rectangle containing the date number. The Month View is unique in that you can select more than one day for an activity. For example, you can click and drag out an entire week in the Month View, then enter a title such as "Vacation". If you want the activity to appear as a banner, click the Banner button in the Activity Window. Normally, activities that occur over multiple days are scheduled using the Year View. There is a "Recurring Activity Help" button in the Year View that will provide assistance for scheduling recurring activities.
#10 Using The Gantt View
If you want to create projects using the Gantt View, you should probably create a new set and one or more categories for each project. For example, you might have a "Product Development" project that you want to track using the Gantt View. First, create as many categories as needed. You might have "Research", "Development" and "Testing" categories. Second, create a "Product Development" set and add these categories to the set. Then, when you open the Gantt View, you can select the "Product Development" set using the Set button (see tip #8) and you will see only those activities that relate to the your development project.
#11 Calendars
Wherever you see a month calendar (in the Day View, Month View or Year View), you can double-click on a particular date to open the Day View to that date.
#12 To-Do Items
To-Do Items are activities that don't occur at a specific time and that can be "checked off". An incomplete to-do will appear in a calendar view with a box next to the title. To check off a to-do, click on the box and hold the mouse key down. A palette will appear from which you can select a check off symbol (completed, forwarded, assigned, etc.) A Goal is a special type of to-do that you can check off with a number from 1 - 245.
#13 Use The Contact Field Popup Lists
Most fields in the Contact Card have popup lists associated with them. For example, hold the mouse pointer over the "Company" field and the pointer will change to a popup arrow. If you click the mouse button, a popup list will appear and you can select a company name. You should add names that you commonly use to this list. In the future, when you start typing a company name, Consultant will use the popup list to guess what you want to type and automatically complete the entry for you.
The popup lists for the Phone & Custom fields are slightly different. When you select an item from these lists, it changes the title of the field, not the field itself. For example, you can specify the first phone number as a "work" number or the second custom field as an "e-mail" address.
#14 Read The Manual
You can download Consultant's User Manual for no charge from Chronos' web site. Or you can purchase a printed copy and have Chronos mail it to you. Visit Chronos' web site for more information:
