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OS/2 Help File | 1995-12-22 | 41KB | 1,112 lines

ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 1. About Alarm Clock ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ Alarm Clock Event Scheduler Recipient of the OS/2 Software Developers Award WalkerWerks 572 Sabine Memphis, Tn. 38117 (901) 683-3770 Compuserve 70304,2705 (C) Copyright 1992 - 1995 all rights reserved ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 2. Overview ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ Welcome to Alarm Clock version 3.0. With Alarm Clock you have a program scheduler, Reminder and, DeskTop clock. The program maintains a database of events so you can Send yourself reminders, notify groups of meetings, or have applications run unattended at the proper time. Menu Help Brought to you by: WalkerWerks 572 Sabine Memphis, Tn. 38117 (901) 683-3770 Compuserve 70304,2705 ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 3. Disclaimer ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ This program is provided as is. The author accepts no liability for damages, or loss of income caused directly or indirectly through the use of this program. This program is SHAREWARE all rights and privileges provided by law are reserved by WalkerWerks and the author. Registered users will receive a registered copy and one update when available. ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 4. Registering ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ Alarm Clock This program is not FREEWARE. Registration is $25 U.S. per copy. Site licenses can be negotiated on request. The SHAREWARE version may only be used for a 60 day trial period. Note: Please include a personal contact and the version number you are registering. Do not send credit card information to WalkerWerks see BMT Micro below for credit card ordering. Send Registration to: Bryan Walker DBA WalkerWerks 572 Sabine Memphis, Tn. 38117 Compuserve 70304,2705 Compuserve Users can register online. Just GO SWREG from any CIS command prompt. Compuserve Information Services will bill directly to your account. Alarm Clock is now available through BMT Micro. BMT Micro accepts most major credit cards and offers excellent service and support for the purchase. Click here for a BMT Micro order form ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 4.1. BMT Micro Order Form ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ Mail Orders To: BMT Micro PO Box 15016 Wilmington, NC 28408 U.S.A. Voice Orders: 8:00am - 7:00pm EST (-5 GMT) (800) 414-4268 (Orders only) (910) 791-7052 (Orders / Order Inquires) Fax Orders: (910) 350-2937 24 hours, 7 days a week Online Orders via BBS: (910) 350-8061 10 lines, all 14.4K (910) 799-0923 28.8k v.FC via Compuserve: Thomas Bradford, 74031,307 via Internet: orders@bmt.wilmington.net via AOL : bmtmicro We accept Visa, Mastercard, Discover, American Express, Diner's Club, money order, cashiers checks, and personal checks. We also accept DM and British currency via registered mail. Personal checks are subject to clearance. We accept purchase orders from educational institutions, governmental agencies and other verifiable businesses. Terms are "Due Upon Receipt" with a $250 minimum. Name: ____________________________________________________________ Company: ____________________________________________________________ Address: ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ City: _______________________ State/Province: __________________ Country: ____________________________ Postal Code: __________________ Phone: ____________________________________________________________ Fax: ____________________________________________________________ Email: ____________________________________________________________ Product Price Quantity Total -------------------------------------------------------------------- ________________________________ $________ x ________ = $____.___ ________________________________ $________ x ________ = $____.___ ________________________________ $________ x ________ = $____.___ ________________________________ $________ x ________ = $____.___ ________________________________ $________ x ________ = $____.___ Subtotal: $____.___ North Carolina residents, please add 6% sales tax: +$____.___ Shipping (check one): ___ Email (subject to credit card verification Free ___ Fax (subject to credit card verification Free ___ 1st Class ................................. Free ___ Airborne (Next day most places, USA Only).. +$___7.00_ ___ Federal Express (USA Only)................. +$__13.00_ ___ Federal Express (Canada/Mexico)............ +$__30.00_ ___ Federal Express (Europe/Japan)............. +$__30.00_ ___ USPS Express (Outside USA)................. +$__20.00_ Total: $____.___ For credit card payment only: Circle one: VISA / Master / Discover / AMEX / Diner's Club Credit card number: _____________________________________________ Expiration date: ___/___ Authorization signature: _____________________________________________ ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 5. Menu ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ The Main menu provides a way to get to the various options for Alarm Clock . Each item can be reached by pressing Alt+ the underlined letter of the menu item. In addition some options have an accelerator key combination that will take you directly to the option without going through a menu. The items also appear in the system menu because Alarm Clock will continue to function as an icon if you choose minimize window to DeskTop under the settings-window of the Alarm Clock DeskTop Object Icon. The Menu Structure: Events Alt+E The events menu including: - Schedule Alt+S Schedule reminders and applications for onetime or repetitive events. - Database List and Edit the events stored in the database. - Calendar Schedule events by choosing the date from a virtual calendar. - Set Search Files Select up to three event files for Alarm Clock to search when it schedules events each midnight. - List Today's Events. Display a list of the events that will occur today. - Review old events. This option is active if you were notified of missed events when you started Alarm Clock but you did not review them. Select this to review them. - Pause Temporarily stop the execution of Reminders and programs. The title bar will display (P) when the system is paused. This is useful when you will be away from your desk for a few days and don't want all the reminders being displayed. When pause is removed Alarm Clock will start processing events from that time forward. Utilities Alt+U - Lockup now Activate the lockup feature immediately. This blanks the screen and, optionally, requires a password to return to the DeskTop. - Pack databases Pack the active events database, the active database is the one automatically selected when you go into the database function. When records are deleted they are marked as inactive but the physical data still takes up space on your hard drive. Packing the database will remove the deleted data from the database reducing its size. - Display Preferences Set the colors, display formats, and other options for Alarm Clock . - System Settings Set the startup, working directory, and hourly chime options. - Blanker Settings Set preferences for the desktop screen saver lockup utility. You can select the bitmap to display, the icon, password settings, etc. - Time and Date Set your computer's system time and date. - Hide Controls Alt+H This toggles through 4 settings. Have the title bar, system menu, and minimize-maximize buttons all displayed. Have all of the above hidden. Have the title bar displayed without the system menu and min-max buttons. And reduce the entire display to a single one line titlebar. Help ALT+P - Help for Help Instructions on using the OS/2 help facility. - Keys Help Listing of the accelerator keys. - Help Index Index of Alarm Clock help topics. - Trouble Shooting Frequently asked questions and the solutions. - About Program information dialog. ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 6. Keys Help ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ At any Window Alt + the Underlined letter for an option will select that action. Alt + a letter means to hold the ALT key down and while still down press the desired letter. Note: It is also possible to drag a program from the drives folder and drop it onto the clock to activate the schedule dialog with that program. From the clock you can go directly to a window using the accelerator keys defined for that option. They are ALT + A Display the Program Information ABOUT BOX. ALT + E Display the Event Menu. ALT + H to toggle the menu and controls off and on. ALT + S to schedule an event. ALT + U Display the Utilities Menu. ALT + L Immediately lockup the desktop. ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 7. Events ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ In Alarm Clock events are anything that will cause something to take place at a specific time. They may be running a program, reminding you to call someone, or posting a notice about a meeting. Events can occur once or be scheduled to repeat from every few minutes to annually. ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 7.1. Types of Events ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ Alarm Clock currently has 2 types of events. Reminder messages that pop up to remind you of important information and applications (programs) that can be scheduled to start unattended. Events are scheduled to occur at specific times on a one time or recurring basis. ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 7.2. Scheduling Events ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ Every event starts here. In this dialog you enter the details about the event. You also specify that it is a reminder or the program type. Options for this Dialog. Program/Note Enter the program complete with path or the text you want displayed for a reminder. You can also drop a program icon from the drives folder onto this entry. Parameters The commandline you want passed to a program. Working Directory This is the directory where the program will be run. It can be different from the directory where the program is located if you provide a complete path in the program entry. Remember that with many OS/2 programs DLL's are needed. These special program files must either be in the LIBPATH statement in your CONFIG.SYS file or the working directory. DOS settings. Many DOS programs benefit from special settings for their priority, memory settings, etc. These settings are listed in the settings notebook for a DOS program object. You can list any necessary settings in this entry and they will be used when a DOS or Windows application is run. Using the OS/2 settings notebook as an example you use the setting name listed on the left followed by an equal sign then the value desired as shown on the right side of the notebook page. For settings with ON and OFF use 1 and 0 respectively. So to set the dos AUTOEXEC.BAT for your program enter DOS_AUTOEXEC=C:\MYBAT.BAT. The settings field in Alarm Clock uses a standard CSV format. This means that each setting is separated by a comma (,). If there is a comma in the actual setting surround that entry with double quotes. If a double quote is in the setting then enter another double quote immediately infront of it. Type Spin the arrows to display a reminder for popup messages or the correct program type for the application you are scheduling. Start in Specify wether you want a scheduled program to start in the background or foreground. Personal or All If you entered a system name for your copy of Alarm Clock select Personal to have the event only scheduled on your system. All will cause any system using the active event file to have the event scheduled. See Setting Search Files for more on the System Name. Time:Date This button brings up a notebook for you to set the time and frequency of the event. Save Save the new event or changes and exit the dialog. Cancel Discard the changes and exit the dialog. Help Display this help screen. ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 7.2.1. Schedule Notebook ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ This notebook contains a page for each classification of event repetition. Enter the event time at the top of the page. Then bring the desired frequency setting to the front of the notebook, enter the proper information, and save the changes to select the event schedule. Once This event type occurs only once on the specified date. Enter the day, month, and year when you want the event to occur. Optionally click the "Run Till" button and enter a day, month, and year. Alarm Clock will remove the event after this date. The "Run Till" option is available for all repeating events. Annual These events occur once each year on the provided month and day. Monthly Enter the day of the month for a monthly event to occur on. For end of the month events enter 31. Alarm Clock will automatically account for months with less days. Daily Select the day(s) of the week for an event to occur on. Select from 1 to all 7 days for the given event. Select by clicking the appropriate buttons to black. Enter the beginning date and time to tell the scheduler when to start scheduling the event. Optionally click the "Run Till" button and enter a day, month, and year. Alarm Clock will remove the event after this date. On The This event type allows you to schedule events for the same specific day each month. Unlike a monthly date this type allows you to schedule by a particular day of the week, such as the 1st Monday of each month. Select the appropriate option from each list and then the OK menu option to accept your choices. The left column contains the week (i.e. 1st, 2nd, 3rd, or 4th). The right column contains an entry for each day of the week. Every X Days This event type allows you to schedule events that come regulary but at intervals of less than a month. Each event can be scheduled to repeat at specific daily intervals starting at a given date. The given date may be a past date. Alarm Clock will automatically adjust the date forward in increments of the specified frequency. For instance if you have a meeting every other Friday you could select a beginning date of the last meeting's date. Then schedule the reminder to occur every 14 days from that date. Every X Months This type is identical to the X Days option except that it works with months instead of days. Enter the day of the month for the event to occur on. To the left of the notebook is an additional set of options for each event. These settings affect all types except one time events. These settings are. Skip Holidays Check this button to prevent repeating events from occuring on a holiday. Holidays can be configured from the Holiday option of the utilities menu. This setting does not apply to annual events. And run every Check this to have the event run repeatedly on the scheduled date. Select the number of minutes between occurances from the Minutes field below the button. Between the hours of This setting causes the event to only occur between the specified times. It is only valid in conjunction with the run every option. Enter the start time of the range in the first pair of entry fields and the ending time in the second pair. Run Until When this option is checked Alarm Clock will continue rescheduling a repeating event through the date entered in the fields below the button. After this date the event is deleted from the active events. ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 7.3. Editing Events ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ This dialog presents a list of all events in the selected database. Double click on an entry to edit it or click once with the right mouse button for a menu of options for that entry. The options are listed below. If a particular action is not valid that menu item will be disabled. Exit leave the event editing dialog. File - Open Search for and edit another event file. - Print Print the contents of the event file. - Password Protect require a password to access the event file. - Encrypt Alter the database so that it is unreadable without the encryption abilities of Alarm Clock - UnEncrypt Remove any existing encryption from the file. Event - Edit Display the Schedule dialog for editing the selected entry. - Delete Delete the displayed event. - Tune Displays a dialog for attaching a Tune Editor created file or WAVE file to the reminder. HELP Display this help panel. ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 7.4. Today's Events ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ This dialog displays the events scheduled for the current date. From this dialog you can pause individual events to prevent them from occuring when scheduled without deleting them. This pause is only affective for the current entry and only while Alarm Clock is running. If you shutdown Alarm Clock these pause settings will be lost. You can also run a selected event immediately. This does not alter the regularly scheduled event or prevent it from occuring at the scheduled time. ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 7.5. Setting Search Files ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ Alarm Clock will search up to 3 event files for scheduled reminders and applications. Enter the three files in the provided Edit Fields. Use the search button at the end of each field to assist in locating event files. Entering the name of a file that does not exist will create that file. The System Name edit field is used to schedule personal events. Enter a name that will be unique among the users sharing event files. If "ALL" is not selected the event will be scheduled with this name. Only the system(s) with this name will schedule these events. If you do not provide a system name every event will be scheduled as "ALL". ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 8. Miscellaneous ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ The screens within this group don't belong to a single category such as contacts or events. These functions work with more than one of the categories or serve utility functions. ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 8.1. Holidays ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ Use this window to define dates that are considered holidays. Events with the "skip holidays" setting will not be scheduled to run on these dates. You can enter and maintain up to 100 holidays. Any existing holidays are listed in the lower right and currently selected holiday's values will appear in the 4 fields along the top of the window. You can change these values and click on the Change button to change the selected holiday or click on the Add button to add a new holiday with the edited values. Selecting the delete button will delete the entry and replace it's title with "Deleted" in the listing. The deleted entry is no longer available but is shown in this state during the current edit session. Note: The holidays are not automatically modified for the following year. It is necessary to either edit the dates each year or enter future year's holidays in advance. ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 8.2. Printing ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ Alarm Clock is able to print your Contacts, ToDo lists, and Search results. Warning: It is necessary to select a printer before attempting to print. Once selected in the Systems Settings it is possible to print to either your printer or to disk. ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 8.2.1. Print Where ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ You are being offered the choice to print to either the printer or to disk. If you chose disk you may specify a file name, including drive and directory, in the displayed edit field. Disk prints are standard ASCII text files that are easily imported into most other programs. ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 8.3. Passwords ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ Alarm Clock uses passwords and data encryption to protect your information from others. These are powerful and affective features for preventing unauthorized access to information. They are also only as affective as you allow them to be. Password protecting a file then leaving it open and available on the desktop makes the protection meaningless. Also if you encrypt the file and lose the password the information is lost. Choosing passwords that are easily identified with you such as family members names or favorite sayings also makes it easier to guess your passwords. Choose passwords that are unusual, use upper and lower case letters, and make them at least 8 characters long for the best security. ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 8.3.1. Enter Password ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ Enter the password used to protect the selected file. Once successfully entered the database will open. Note: Passwords are case sensitive. ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 8.3.2. Edit Password ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ Enter the password in the first field and press ENTER. Retype the same password in the second field and again press ENTER. To remove a password press ENTER in both fields without typing any characters. To exit without modifying the password press ESC. Note: Passwords are case sensitive. ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 8.4. Search Results ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ This dialog displays any matches to a search of the ToDo or Contact database. Once the "Search Complete" message appears all matches are displayed. If the list is empty no matches were found. Searches are not case sensitive. To view the details of an item double click on it with the mouse or highlight it and press enter or the "DETAIL" button. To print a listing of all the matches click on the "PRINT" button. ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 8.5. Calendar ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ This calendar displays the current month with each day displayed as a button. To select a given date press the corresponding button. To move to other months use the button to move forward one month at a time and the button to move backward. The >> and << buttons will move you forward and backward, respectively, by years. The button will return you to the current month and year. Once you select a date you will go to the schedule event or ToDo list for that date, depending on the menu where you selected the calendar option. ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 8.6. Setting System Time ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ Click on the appropriate field to change (i.e. Hour, minute, or second). Once the field is highlighted press the up and down arrows to change the value. Select SET to accept the changes and reset the computers system time and date. ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 9. Customizing Alarm Clock ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ Alarm Clock has two basic types of settings Display and System. The display settings allow you to customize the appearance of the program including colors, fonts, and display formats. The system settings are to adjust the program to your system including the working directory, what features are activated at startup, what hardware you have such as printers and modems, etc. All information is maintained in a file named 'ALRMCLK2.INI'. If your system settings get too far off to correct you can shutdown Alarm Clock and delete this file. It will be recreated with the default system settings when you restart the program. ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 9.1. System Settings ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ Notify of missed events If this is checked Alarm Clock will notify you at startup of any events that were scheduled to occur while the program was inactive. If not checked the events will not be displayed but recurring events will be automatically rescheduled for the next occurrence. Keep Clock Visible Checking this option will cause the clock to "Float" on top of all PM sessions. It will not take the focus away from your application but will remain visible, even when the other application is maximized. It cannot remain visible above full screen sessions. Log Events If this option is selected Alarm Clock will log the starting time, ending time, date, and result code for all programs it executes. They are logged to a file named EVENTS.LOG in the Alarm Clock working directory. Force Reminders to the foreground This option instructs Alarm Clock to force all reminders to the foreground regardless of what is currently the foreground program. This is the default action. Because some screen blankers and the newer power saver monitors do not work correctly with this feature the default action can now be modified. Working Directory This is the default directory for the system default databases. These databases are created when no others have been opened. This is also where all search's for files begins when a SEARCH or OPEN button is selected. Minutes to Return Reminders have a RETURN button which acts much like the "snooze" button on an Alarm Clock, causing the reminder to come back again in a few minutes. Enter the number of minutes to wait before the reminder returns. Select Printer Displays a list of all printers on your system. Select the desired printer for use in printing the various lists. You may optionally go to the job properties for the printer and select the form or other settings to save along with the printer. Select Font Displays a dialog from which to select for printing. The amount of text that can fit on a single line will be affected by the size of the font selected. This font will be used for all printing from Alarm Clock Hourly Chime Click on this checkbox to activate or de-activate the hourly chime option. If active Alarm Clock will produce an audible sound at the top of each hour. FRQ Enter the frequency for the hourly chime. The default is 545Mhz. Any value from 37 to 3000 is valid. DUR Enter the duration for the hourly chime. The default is 400. The value is in 1/100 seconds. CNT Enter the number of chimes (beeps) to sound each hour. The default is 2. Listen Press this button to hear the settings you have chosen for the hourly chime. OS/2 Command Processor Enter the program that you want to use as the command processor when .CMD files are executed. The default is CMD.EXE, this could be replaced with addons such as 4OS2.EXE. DOS Command Processor Enter the program that you want to use as the command processor when .BAT files are executed. The default is COMMAND.COM, this could be replaced with addons such as 4DOS.COM. ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 9.2. Blanker Settings ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ Desktop Lockup Active Checking the option activates a feature similar to the Lockup feature in OS/2. The value set for Minutes till Lockup will be used to determine how long to wait without activity before blanking the screen. The lockup feature will not activate if a FULLSCREEN OS/2 or DOS session is active in the foreground. Lock on Startup This setting causes Alarm Clock to start the screen blanker when the program is first started. All settings are the same including no password being required if none is set. Note: The Desktop Lockup Active setting does not have to be checked to use this feature. Use Password Checking this option will require you to match the Lockup Password before the screen will be cleared after lockup has occurred. Password This entry field will always be empty. You should enter a password in this field only when you want to change the value required to unlock the desktop. Note: THE PASSWORD IS CASE SENSITIVE! System Wide Hot Key The letter entered into this field will work to immediately lockup the desktop when pressed in combination with the ALT+CONTROL keys. This will take affect from any window that does not trap the key combination before the Lockup monitor can see the key. Note: The Lockup monitor cannot see keystrokes in a fullscreen OS/2 or DOS session. BitMap Enter the name of an OS/2 1.2 or 2.x bitmap to display when the screen is blanked. If this is left blank no bitmap will display. FIND Displays the file selection dialog and allows you to search for the bitmap to display. Display Seconds The number of seconds from 1 to 99 that the bitmap will be displayed before blanking the screen. The default is 30 seconds. Pointer When the screen blanker is active a clock shaped pointer is displayed. This setting allows you to chose an alternate pointer. You may use either pointer or icon files as the source of the pointer. FIND Displays the file selection dialog and allows you to search for the pointer to display. ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 9.3. Display Preferences ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ The Preferences dialog allows you to set the preferences for the different parts of the clock face. Select the part to change by clicking on the radio button for that part (i.e. Second Hand). Then click on the desired color for that part. In addition you may elect to have the title bar display the date or digital time. To change the size of the clock use the mouse to drag the edges of the window to the desired size. Move the window to your preferred position on the screen. When you save the changes the size and position will also be saved. Note: The changes are automatically saved if you shutdown OS/2 or Alarm Clock . The Setting Options are as follows: Background Click on this radio button to change the color of the rectangular background. Then click the desired color from the color options below the Clock Parts group. Note: The background and digital text or analog hour hand can be set using the Work Place Shell's color palette. Drop the color on the clock to change the background. Use the control key while dropping to change the text. If you edit the color this way then it may be altered by the display preference dialog because this dialog only uses solid colors. Set all other options here then, after exiting this dialog, use the palette to set your colors. Face To change the color of the circular clock face click on the desired color from the options to the right. This Hour hand This option changes the color of the clock's Hour Hand. Minute hand Select the desired color for the clock's minute hands. Hour Tick Marks Click on this to change the color of the Hour Marks. Display Format Chose from an analog or digital clock. The digital clock has both 12 and 24 hour formats available. Title Bar Display Choose the desired date format for displaying the current date in the titlebar. If the clock is minimized this will display as the icon text. Font Choose an outline font for use in displaying the Digital Clock. ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 10. Trouble Shooting ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ Listed below are problems that have been encountered while using Alarm Clock Problem I've relocated Alarm Clock into a new subdirectory and now I get errors when I open the different edit screens. Fix Alarm Clock "remembers" what files you last opened as well as what 3 event files you want to search each day. If you've deleted the old directory and files you need to re-teach the program. Begin by going to the System Setup and setting your working directory to the new directory. This is where the program will start a search for files when you select an Open menu item. Now go to the Set Search Files screen and edit it to reflect your new files. Finally go to each database edit screen (ToDo, event, and contact). You will get an error because the last file you opened no longer exists. Ignore this error and chose Open. Select the new file and then exit the editing session. Now Alarm Clock "remembers" your new files. Problem My reminders are not being scheduled. Fix Make sure that the event files where you save this information are listed in Set Search Files. Next be sure that the files exist and are available to you. If you are on a network be sure the drive where the files are kept is available to your computer at Midnight when Alarm Clock search's for the new days events. If this doesn't fix the problem then pack the database to insure the indexes are up-to-date. Problem I minimized Alarm Clock to the Minimized Window Viewer. The icon displays as a white square instead of a clock. Fix OS/2 doesn't seem to like it when a program tries to redraw an icon in the Window Viewer. Open the settings for the Alarm Clock icon, choose the Window tab, and mark minimize to desktop. Problem I have Alarm Clock in my startup folder. Sometimes when I boot the computer Alarm Clock seems to hang-up. Fix If you shutdown your computer with the program running and have a copy of the program icon in the startup folder then OS/2 will attempt to start two copies. Although Alarm Clock attempts to detect this and prevent it timing sometimes keeps these checks from working. The program creates system resources, sometimes if two programs attempt to create the same resource, at the same time a deadlock can occur. To prevent this either place a Shadow of the icon in your startup folder or don't place anything there and rely on the fact that OS/2 restarts any programs that were running when you shutdown. Problem I recently upgraded my copy of Alarm Clock . Now nothing seems to work and I keep getting protection violations. Fix Make sure that there are no old copies of the Alarm Clock files in other directories. Possibly an old DLL in another directory that is searched before your normal directory in the LIBPATH. As Alarm Clock continues to grow changes are made to all the files and old ones are not compatible with the newest release. Problem My event files are on a network server. Everytime I reboot Alarm Clock gives me an error opening the file. I have to wait till the startup and logon is complete and restart Alarm Clock . Fix Alarm Clock cannot access files on a network until you are properly logged on. Remove Alarm Clock from your startup folder and add it as the last item in your STARTUP.CMD. Be sure to use the start command so that STARTUP.CMD will close (see the Command Reference or contact your system administrator). For this to function automatically you would need to automate the logon in your STARTUP.CMD before starting Alarm Clock . Note: If you regularly shutdown with Alarm Clock active you may need to stop the desktop from starting applications that were running at shutdown. You can add the command "RESTARTOBJECTS=STARTUPFOLDERSONLY" to your CONFIG.SYS file to do this. Use caution with this setting. If you leave certain things active like folders or groups they will not start at reboot. You will need to place a shadow of anything you want started in your startup folder. Problem My batch files and command files aren't working properly or don't seem to work at all. Fix Occassionally when a batch or command file is run the Working directory will not be properly set. To remedy this add the lines to your batch or command file to move you to the correct drive and directory. If you call other batch or command files be sure and use the CALL keyword so that OS/2 will return to your original batch file after branching to the other file. ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 11. Glossary ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ Definitions for some commonly used terms in the help text: Accelerator keys Key stroke combinations that carry out a command such as saving changes. They provide instant access to commands that might be buried a couple of levels down in a menu. Alt+ Carry out actions through Accelerator Keys by holding the ALT key down at the same time as pressing the designated text key. Application The executable file such as CMD.EXE. Most applications end with .EXE although some may end with .COM. Box The rectangular areas where text is to be typed in. Such as the line where you enter your reminder text. Button The rectangular gray blocks with commands such as Save. To carry out the command without using the mouse you can TAB to the button or press Alt+ the underlined letter. Check box The small rectangular buttons that when pressed display a check mark in them. These controls are often used to identify that an action has been selected such as the 'Remind' check box on the ToDo dialog. Click The act of placing the mouse pointer (arrow) on a button and pressing the left mouse button to select the item. It is also possible to click on a button by moving the focus to that button and pressing enter or pressing ALT+ the underlined letter. Command Line Options sent to an application by entering them at the prompt behind the name of the program such as COPY A:\*.*. Here A:\*.* would be the command line. Database A database is a file for storing information in an orderly and consistent format. Databases are designed on records and fields. A record is the complete entry for one member of the database such as a contact. The fields are the individual elements that make up the record such as the contact. Also included in a database system are indexes. These files are always organized in orderly fashion such as alphabetically and provided a "shortcut" way of locating the actual record so that access to your information is faster. Dialog Box The rectangular areas that appear on the screen asking for information or notifying you of errors or messages. The Event Scheduler is an example of a common dialog box. They are also referred to as simply the dialog. Edit Field See Box. Field See Box. Also the individual elements of a database record such as the zip code in your contacts database. Focus An item has the focus if keystroke and mouse actions will take place against it. When an edit field has the focus a vertical bar cursor appears. When most types of buttons have the focus they are surrounded by a black broken line. The window that has the current focus is usually brighter on the edge (frame) than the other windows appearing on the PC's screen. Index An index is an orderly arranged file of information on how to locate specific records in a database. The records in a database are organized on what was last added to the file. The indexes are always ordered properly such as by alphabetical or numeric order. They only carry a subset of the information, called the 'key', such as the name field in the Alarm Clock contact database. They provide a fast way to locate the specific record you requested. Path The complete name of the directory where a file or program physically exists. This can include the drive letter. The syntax is D:\dir\subdir where D is the drive letter. Program See Application. Radio Button The small circle to the left of a word such as AM. Commonly used to select one or more choices from a group of common options. If the circle is one color (usually gray) the item is not selected. If the center is darkened the item has been selected. Record A record is one entry in a database. Each record contains all the information about the entry such as a contacts record. Records are further divided into fields which are the individual elements that make up the complete set of information for that entry. An example of a field would be the 'Note' in a ToDo record. TAB Pressing the tab key to move you to the next item such as a Field or Button. Pressing the Shift and Tab key together will move you backwards through the items. Text Field See Box. Window Most rectangular areas on the screen are actually windows, however the term usually implies the main window for an application. Areas that can be sized and have the system menu and minimum and maximum buttons along the top of the programs display area are considered WINDOWS. Working Directory The directory where you started a program. Often programs are physically located in one directory and run from another directory so that the data (such as word processor documents) are separated from the program. Also the default directory for Alarm Clock . This is where the program will start looking when you request to open new databases. ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 12. Unprocessed Events ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ The displayed event was not processed because Alarm Clock was not running when the event was scheduled to occur. Choosing Exit will close this window and reschedule the event if it is a repeating event. Choosing Run will run the event now and reschedule it if it is a repeating event. ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 13. File Types ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ There are 5 types of data files created by Alarm Clock . Each is represented by an icon for easy identification. Any Database can be dragged over the Clock, Phone Secretary, or Master Calendar and dropped to make that file the active file in Alarm Clock . Note: If an event file is dropped it will become the file that is opened for the database edit function. It will NOT change your list of search files. The files are as follows: Event Files The databases where events are maintained. Index The index file for the database of the same name.