OK, you already use Birthdays and Such because it’s so simple. Now you want the simple instructions on how to upgrade to the new version without losing any reminders you’ve so carefully entered.
No problem.
Simply:
• Quit Birthdays and Such if it’s already running.
• Move or copy the new version of Birthdays and Such… (just the application, not the entire Birthdays and Such folder) into the folder where you keep Birthdays and Such and your personal Reminders file.
• Answer "OK" to the dialog asking if you want to replace the older version of Birthdays and Such… that is already there.
You’re done.
(You followed those instructions exactly, right? If so, the alias in the Startup Items folder will find the new Birthdays and Such. But if you were paranoid and kept the old version of Birthdays and Such around instead of copying over it, you have to take several more steps:
Open the Startup Items folder, which is located inside the System Folder;
Throw away the alias to Birthdays and Such in the Startup Items folder;
Select the icon for the new Birthdays and Such that you just copied into the folder with your Reminders file;
Choose the Make Alias command from the File menu;
Drag the new file labeled Birthdays and Such… alias into the Startup Items folder.)
Oh, there are two more steps.
1) Send a note to your friends; tell them about Birthdays and Such, the simple program that helps you remember the important birthdays and anniversaries in your life; and point them to the web site so they can find out more and get a copy to use themselves: http://members.aol.com/RonLichty/Birthdays
2) And if you haven’t sent in your shareware fee, you need to decide what Birthdays and Such is worth and send a check or a money order for that amount (with your email address) to:
Ron Lichty, P.O. Box 27262, San Francisco, CA 94127
Include your email address, so I can send you a bonus “Listmaker” application. Listmaker transforms your reminders into a shopping list—complete with the age each recipient will be in the coming year. Printed out, the list makes it easy to review your list of important dates, or buy your whole year’s cards in one shopping trip!
If you’re not sure if you’ve sent in your shareware fee, that’s ok—just send an email to RonLichty@aol.com, and I’ll look you up in the Birthdays and Such registered-user database and let you know. No problem.
Why bother upgrading?
• You want a close-box on your Reminders window.
• You want to be able to set Birthdays and Such to close the Reminders window when there are no reminders - and reopen it the next time there are reminders.
• You want to avoid a bug in v. 1.2 that causes Birthdays and Such to quit abruptly after running for a few weeks straight.
• You’d like to see the tail end of long reminders without having to open the Reminders file (now you can double-click the reminder to see it all).
• You’d like Birthdays and Such to prompt you if your Mac’s date is ever set before 1999 (if you’ve had a Mac for a while, you’ve probably seen its date fail to 1904; Birthdays and Such will tell you if your Mac thinks the date is before 1999).
You’re using a version older than v. 1.2, and you want Birthdays and Such to calculate your friends’ ages on their birthdays, and the years they’ve been married on their anniversaries.
You’re using a version older than v. 1.2, you’re a non-American user, and you’d like the improved international date handling.
You’re using a version older than v. 1.1, and you want to be able to create reminders that remind you only in specified years. (Trust me, you do!) (see Chapter 4 in the new manual)
You’re using a version older than v. 1.0.3, and you want the fixes for handling February 29 events.
Versions of Birthdays and Such…
v. 1.4, November 2000
Added close box on Reminders window.
Added Display Window under the Reminders menu to redisplay the Reminders window if it is closed.
Added Options under the Reminders menu, which brings up the Options dialog: a new setting lets you set Birthdays and Such to close the Reminders window when there are no reminders - it will reopen the window the next time there are reminders.
v. 1.3, January 1999
Display the full text of longer Reminder messages by double-clicking on them.
Fixed memory leak that will cause Birthdays and Such to quit abruptly after running for weeks straight.
Warns you if your Mac’s date is set older than 1999.
v. 1.2, January 1998
Calculate ages and anniversaries. (see Chapter 4 of the manual)
Improved international date formats (especially days of the week).
Re-load Reminders file at midnight (so any edits to the Reminders file are considered without having to restart the program).
v. 1.1, June 1997
Year-specific events. (see Chapter 4 of the manual)
v. 1.0.3, February 1997
Fixed problems parsing Feb. 29 during non-leapyears.
Added various international names for Feb. 29.
Birthdays and Such can now handle a truly empty line at the beginning of a reminder
(but still not a line at the beginning of a reminder with characters, even spaces, on it).
v. 1.0.2, December 1996
Added Quick Start Guide to the package. No code changes.
v. 1.0.1, September 1996
Improved Finder icons. Updated dialogs and manual.
