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Text File | 1998-01-12 | 30KB | 584 lines

=============================================================================== ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- RemindMe -- An OS/2 Calendar and Scheduling Application Written By Eric A. Wolf - Copyright (C) 1995 - All Rights Reserved This program is SHAREWARE! Please read the registration information at the end of this document for details on how to register your copy of RemindMe ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- =============================================================================== == Introduction ============ RemindMe is a full-featured and very flexible calendar and scheduling application for OS/2 2.x and Warp. You can view the months of the year and any scheduled events quickly and easily. Simply gliding the cursor over a day on the calendar will present the user with a synopsis of all the events scheduled for that day. Editing any of the events for a given date only involves a double click. In additional to its ease of use and flexibility, RemindMe also provides an intelligent To-Do list. The To-Do list looks ahead and reminds you of upcoming items you've scheduled. You can be reminded of upcoming events well before they are actually due (and without having to sift through the many days and events of a calendar). These items are presented in a second, strictly optional window the user can place and size totally independent of the calendar. Also included is an event reminder that provides an additional (optional) visual and/or audio reminder as events come closer to their scheduled due date. The program is easy to use and very flexible. Both fonts and colors can be set to a user's preference. Preview areas show you what your changes will look like before they are made. The program can be adjusted to any size or simply configued to sit on your desktop and remain small and out of the way. All settings and preferences are also remembered and restored whenever the program is launched. This program is also much smaller and faster than IBM's calendar/PIM application. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- == Installation ============ If you are installing RemindMe for the first time, please continue to the next paragraph. If you are simply upgrading RemindMe, make copies of all your old calendar initialization files. Then, delete ALL the files associated with the older version of RemindMe, unzip this newer version and copy all your previous calendar files back into that directory. Your older calendar files are supported by all newer versions of RemindMe. Once you have upgraded RemindMe, you may skip to the "Using RemindMe" section below. Installing RemindMe is simple. Read the README file and once you agree to register the product if you continue to use it, unzip the second zipfile, REMINDME.ZIP by typing: pkunzip -d REMINDME.ZIP (if you are using PKUNZIP) -or- unzip REMINDME.ZIP (if you are using UNZIP) Once unzipped, simply go to an OS/2 command prompt and type INSTALL from the same directory where you unzipped the files. That will invoke a REXX script that will create a RemindMe program object/icon on the desktop for you to use to start the application. In addition to the American English version of the program, an international English version of RemindMe is also included to provide support for 24 hour time and international date format. To immediately start RemindMe, double click the program object on the desktop. To make RemindMe start every time you boot OS/2, drag the object (or a copy/shadow thereof) to the startup folder that is found in the OS/2 system folder. (NOTE: Rmember, you should proceed to unzip the second zipfile ONLY if you agree to the registration requirements presented both in the README file and in the registration text at the end of this document.) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- == Using RemindMe ============== Start RemindMe by double clicking its program icon. If you are using RemindMe for the first time, the application will alert you that it cannot find a default calendar file. This is normal operation and you should click OK to continue. This is included as a safety measure in the event that your default file cannot be loaded in the future. Upon starting RemindMe you will see two windows, the calendar window and the to-do list window. == The Calendar ============ In one of the windows you should see a calendar. By default, it comes up with the current date. Note that calendar is scaled to the size of the window it is in. So, resizing the window will also automatically resize the calendar in it. Notice that moving the mouse cursor over any date on the calendar shows you the events scheduled for that day in the lower right portion of the calendar. This feature is called the "Quick Reminder". It will be discussed in more detail later. Also notice that double clicking any date on the calendar brings up the list of scheduled events (if any) for that particular day. From that window, you can choose to add, delete or modify events for that day. Changing the Calendar's Date ---------------------------- - To go back one month - Using the mouse, click the left arrow (which is to the right of the current month name and year displayed at the top of the calendar). This moves you backward one month. - To go forward one month - Click the right arrow (which is to the right of the current month name and year displayed at the top of the calendar). This moves you forward one month. - To return to today's date - Click the center diamond to return to the current month and year. - You may also select the Jump To Date... menu option to manually enter a date to jump to. See "Customizing the Application" for details on how you can customize various settings of the calendar to better fit your life and work habit. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- == Events on The Calendar ====================== The calendar, itself, isn't much useful unless you can start entering your own dates on it. This section describes that process in detail. Adding a new event ------------------ There are two ways to add a new event. The first method is through the to-do list. If you double click below any existing items in the to-do list, a new item will be created. The second, alternative method, requires you to double click the day on the calendar you wish the event to occur and select new event from the popup window. See "Editing an event" below for complete information on how to fill in this new event. Deleting an existing event -------------------------- To delete an event, first double click the day on the calendar this event resides on. Next, select the event from the list box by single clicking on it. Now, select the delete event button. Confirm your request to delete the item and it will be permanently removed from your calendar. Modifying an existing event --------------------------- There are two ways to modify an existing event. The first method is through the to-do list. If you double click any to-do list item, it will immediately be presented for editing. The second method requires you to double click over the day where the event occurs. Now, either select the event from the list with a double click or select the item you wish to modify with a single click and then press the modify event button. Please see the "Editing an event" information below for instructions on how to fill in a new event. Editing an event ---------------- When you edit a calendar event, either when create a new event or edit an existing event, there are a number of things you can set. - Item Name: Enter an appropriate title for your event here. Names can be up to 256 characters in length. - Mark Item as completed: Check this box if the item has already been done. This helps the to-do list decide if it needs to put the item on your to-do list or not. When you are creating a new event, you probably don't want to check this box! - Item Date: Click the up or down arrows of the spin buttons to set the date and time of the event. The spin controls automatically wrap around when their limits are exceeded. The date and time correspond to the date and time this event is supposed to occur. For events that have no clock time (but only a date) associated with them, like a birthday, you can leave the clock at 12:00am (or 00:00 hours on a 24-hour clock). - Repitition Options: Here you have two options you can perform. Usually, the events you schedule are for a unique date and time. However, if you wish, you can schedule events to occur every month or every year (or even every month of every year). Checking these boxes toggle when events are scheduled. If neither of these boxes are checked, the event will occur only for the specific date and time given. - To-Do List Options: If you wish to be reminded of this event on your to-do list, check the "show on To-do list" box. If this box is checked, you should also set the number of days in advance you want this item to appear on your to-do list. Set this number by using the up and down arrows of the spin control. If you have a birthday on your calendar and you want to be reminded 2 weeks ahead of time so you can go buy a gift, set this value to 14 (14 days = 2 weeks). - Reminder Options: In addition to displaying an event on the to-do list, you can also have an additional reminder window pop-up at a selected time prior to the event. If you wish to have an additional reminder, check the "Event Reminder" box. Next, select if you wish to be notified minutes or days before the event occurs. Once you select one of the two options, select the number of minutes (or days) in advance you want the reminder. The number of minutes before is computed by using the time of the event and subtracting the number of minutes you specify. It is similarly calculated if you wish to be notified a number of days prior to an event. You have three options for the types of reminder you can have. You can have an audio only reminder. This type of reminder will play a user selectable sound as a reminder for an event. Or, you can have a reminder window pop-up (with no sound) prior to an event. Lastly, you can have both a reminder window and an associated sound played for an event reminder. You can select which type of reminder you want by clicking one of the three reminder-type radio buttons. - Reminder Sound Button: Every new calendar event is, by default, assigned to play DEFAULT.WAV as its sound file. While you can copy a new sound file over the DEFAULT.WAV file, you can also specify a new sound file by pressing this button. You will then be presented with a file dialog. Use this dialog to find the sound file you wish to play and click OK when you have selected it. The sound file you select will be the one that plays when an event reminder appears. - Launch OS/2 Sound Recorder Button: If your sound card allows you to record and you have an appropriate microphone attached to it, this button is an easy link to IBM's sound recorder application. You can use the record a reminder to yourself and then specify the recorded WAV file by specifying it using the Reminder Sound Button. Now, when your reminder comes due, your audio reminder will be played. When you are done editing an event, the calendar and the to-do list will automatically be updated to reflect your changes. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- == The To-Do List ============== The To-Do list is managed by RemindMe. It takes the current date and displays all upcoming (or past due) events that you have appropriately marked on the to-do list. If you have marked an item to appear on the to-do list only one day before it occurs, then RemindMe will only put that item on the to-do list at that time. Items past due (items due before the current date but not marked as done) will also be displayed. Items on the to-do list can be modified, as well. To edit an item on the to-do list, simply double click that item. The data for that item will then be displayed and readied for modification. Data from the to-do list can be moved to the global clipboard by selecting it with the first mouse button and using the keyboard shortcuts described in your OS/2 manual for various cut and copy options. Note that data cannot be pasted into the to-do list (you will need to add a new event on the calendar in order to add an item to your to-do list). The To-do list is a separate (and independent) window from the calendar. It can be sized and placed independent of the calendar. See "Customizing the Application" for details on how you can customize various settings of the to-do list to better fit your life and work habit. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- == Reminders ========= As described in 'Reminder Options:' under the "Editing Events" heading above, reminders are used to provide an additional reminder for upcoming events. They can be audible reminders, visual reminders, or reminders that contain both an audio and visual component. When a reminder "goes off", one of three things can happen: (1) (audible option) A user specified sound will play and then that event will be mark as completed automatically (2) (visual option) A window will pop-up (over whatever you are currently working on) reminding you of the event (3) (both option) Both a sound will play and a window will pop-up to remind you of the event If you choose a window display (either visual or both options), then you will have several choices. You can immediately mark the item as done and be done with it. Or, you can choose to revise the event (which means you can reschedule it, turn off the reminder part of it, etc). You can choose to erase the event, as well. (Exercise caution!! Once pressed, the item will immediately (and irreversibly) by erased!!) Lastly, you can choose to defer the reminder. If you specified the reminder appear minutes before the event, you can defer the reminder by a definable number of minutes. If the reminder, appears days before the event, you can defer the reminder to appear the next day (tomorrow). The number of minutes a reminder snoozes can be set by referring to the "Customizing the Application" section below. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- == Customizing The Application =========================== This section details how one may customize RemindMe by selecting different fonts, colors and options for the application. Any and all customizations you make will be recorded when you save your calendar file and will be restored next time you use that calendar. Calendar Options ---------------- There are a number of different options you can customize for the calendar. The best way to see what effect each of these has is to simply toggle their status and notice the change in the preview area. The available options are: - There are 3 different choices in "Date Placement". Your selection here determines the orientation of the date in each day area. if you are confused, clicking different choices here will quickly reveal its function. - "Draw 3D Calendar", when enabled, draws the calendar in a 3D fashion. It uses all 3 calendar colors (light, medium and dark) to give the calendar a 3D look. When this feature is not enabled, only the calendar's dark color is used in drawing. - Checking "Draw Border Around Day #" will draw a small box around the day number for each day of the month. Note that this feature is not enabled when the date is centered in each day area. - Enabling "Draw lines between days" will draw a box around each different day of the month. If not enabled, no box will be drawn. - "Highlight current date", when enabled, will draw a thick square around the current date on the calendar. This is often helpful to quickly remind you what the date is. - Checking "Abbreviate month name" will display the abbreviated month name when drawing the calendar versus using the full month name when this option is not checked. - Checking "Label days of the week" will cause the days of the week to be printed on your calendar. - If "Abbreviate days of the week" is enabled, the days of the week (when displayed), will be abbreviated. If not, their full text will be used to describe them. This is useful if you want to display the days of the week but you like a small-sized calendar. - Enabling "Use quick reminder" will enable the quick reminder feature. That features provides you a quick summary of the days events by simply passing mouse cursor over a given day. Not checking this item disables this feature. - Checking "Remind for completed events" will remind of you events in your quick reminder summary even if they have been marked as completed. This option is only valid if "Use quick reminder" is enabled. If once you mark an item as done you longer want to see it on your quick reminder, simply uncheck this option. To-Do List Options ------------------ - The only option besides colors, which are described below in "Changing Colors", is the show to-do list option. If you would prefer NOT to use the to-do list, clear the checkmark in this field. Reminder Options ---------------- - "Ask before delete event", when enabled, will prompt the user before deleting any events from the calendar. Clearing this item will cause items that the user wants deleted to be IMMEDIATELY removed. - "The number of minutes a reminder should snooze" refers to the exact number of minutes an event reminder should hide itself until it re-appears. This is invoked whenever the user chooses to defer a reminder (by minutes) - "The number of minutes between playing reminder sound due to inactivity" refers to the number. When an event reminder pops up (and if it has its audio enabled), it will play the user specified sound file. After the number of minutes specified here, if the user does not interact with the popped up event window, the sound will be repeated. Enter 0 to prevent the sound from being played more than once. - "Default number of days in advance to display a to-do list item on the to-do list" is the default number given to all newly created events. This value specifies the number of days prior to the scheduled date of an event should it be displayed on your to-do list. Note that this is only a default value and can still be changed when an item is created. Changing Colors --------------- - Both the colors for the calendar and the to-do list can be altered to better fit your tastes. Under the Options menu, select either the to-do list or calendar option (depending on which colors you want to change). Then, click the Change Colors button. Calendar Colors - there are a number of colors to modify for the calendar. You will be presented with a window with a host of pushbuttons and a small, sample calendar that will display any of the changes you make (and before they are made to the real calendar). To modify a color, simply select the corresponding push button. Note that the changes you make will appear in the calendar preview area to show what effect they will have when applied to the real calendar. To-Do List Colors - the to-do list only has two colors. A color for the background of the to-do list and a color for the text itself in the list. Both of these colors can be modified. Changing Fonts -------------- - You may change the font of either the to-do list or the calendar by opening the font palette in the system setup (found in the OS/2 system folder) and dragging and dropping a new font over either of the two program windows. This change will be remembered the next time you start the application. For more information on using drag and drop fonts, please see your OS/2 documentation. Hiding Window Controls ---------------------- - You may hide the window controls (titlebar, menubar, minimize and maximize and the system menu button) by double clicking with the 2nd mouse button over either the to-do list or the calendar window. This helps your windows occupy less space. You may double click (again using the 2nd mouse button) to restore the controls. - When the controls are hidden, you may still move a window by holding the 2nd mouse button and moving the cursor while over the cursor is over the window. The window is placed when the 2nd mouse button is released. - When the controls are hidden, you may still access the menus of the application if you have a 3 button mouse and a mouse driver which supports your 3 buttons. Click the 3rd button on your 3 button mouse and a pop-up menu with all the options found in the normal application menubar will appear. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- == Advanced Tips and Techniques ============================ - It is often useful to size the calendar window down and keep it on your desktop for constant reference. When down-sizing the calendar window, it is helpful to place the date in the center of the day area and toggling OFF any lines that may be drawn. You should also toggle OFF the quick reminder feature since the calendar will probably be too small to see any event summaries. All of these settings can be altered by selecting the Options|Calendar... item on the menubar. It is also convenient to drag the program object (or a shadow thereof) to the OS/2 startup folder so that RemindMe is started whenever your system is booted. - You may supply a single command line argument to RemindMe when starting it. The single argument should be the complete pathname of a calendar file you wish to open at run-time. If no argument is specified, the default calendar file (DEFAULT.CAL), will be loaded when the application is launched. - The DEFAULT.WAV file is the default sound file given to all new events. It is found in the same directory as the REMINDME.EXE executable. You may find it useful to copy your favorite .WAV file over this file. That way, you won't have to override the default sound file each time you make a new event. - Everytime you load a calendar file, a copy of it is stored in a file called BACKUP.CAL. That way, in the event something happens to your system while running RemindMe, you still have a copy of your old calendar file. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- == Revision History ======================== (The revision history from RemindMe's inception to its current release is contained in the HISTORY.TXT file that should have come with this archive file... Please contact the system administrator from the site in which you obtained this archive if you did not receive it or any other RemindMe files!) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- == Source Code =========== This program comes complete with the entire source code that generated it. Please note the following restriction: RemindMe's source code is to be modified by the author alone. The source code is provided as a learning tool ONLY! No modifications may be made to it to reproduce a same or similar product. The copyright remains that solely of the author and the program is protected under both United States and International Copyright Laws. The complete source code for this program can be found in the SOURCE directory that was created when you uncompressed this program. It was developed on Borland's C++ for OS/2. A project file (REMINDME.PRJ) has been provided to facilitate your working with these files. Each source file is documented and you should review the code with some good OS/2 references in hand (PM references, API reference, etc.) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- == Distribution of RemindMe ======================== You are free to distribute RemindMe to whomever and however you wish as long as the following conditions are satisified: - RemindMe should ALWAYS be distributed in its entirety. This includes all documentation, executables, and source files. Under no circumstances should RemindMe be distributed without all of its original files. Distribution of RemindMe (in any way possible!) is strongly encouraged both by individuals and software houses! - RemindMe's source code is to be modified by the author alone. The source code is provided as a learning tool ONLY! No modifications may be made to it to produce a same or similar product. The copyright remains that of solely the author and the program is protected under both United States and International Copyright Laws. - If you use RemindMe, you MUST register it (directions for doing so follow this section of the text). "Use" includes both the actual use of the RemindMe application program -and/or- using the source code as a reference for your own works. If you use the source as a reference, please register your copy ($10.00 is cheaper than any book you can buy on OS/2 programming and what is going to teach you as much??) - Government and site licenses can be granted at a discounted rate. Please inquire for more details. - Remember, if you like the program (even if you don't care much for the source code) you should still register!! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- == Registration ============ If you like RemindMe, or perhaps, you enjoy having the complete source code for an OS/2 PM program to aid you in writing your own programs, I ask you to register your copy of the program. The registration cost is only $10.00 and it will ONLY be with your support that I continue to develop for OS/2, and especially, provide the complete source code for any of my works. You can register your copy of RemindMe with me for only $10.00. Please send your registration payment as a check or money order (US funds only) to: Eric A. Wolf 1630 North Johnson Street South Bend, Indiana 46628-2936 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Overseas registrations may be sent by simply including $10 US currency with your registration form. The costs of getting an international money order can be prohibitively high. Often times, the cost of getting the international money order is more than the registration fee. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ I want to encourage everyone to start writing applications for OS/2, no matter how simple or complex. That is why I am providing the source code with this program. If you've never developed for OS/2 before, now is your time to start and you have this to look off of to get you going. Please note, however, I provide the source code as-is and as a learning tool for aspiring programmers. Please do NOT modify the source code and re-release an exact or similar product. The source is provided solely as a learning device. The $10.00 registration fee is cheaper than any OS/2 programming book and what I provide is a complete, functional OS/2 PM application and ALL component source files that comprise it (how many books do that?) If the response is good enough, and only if it is good enough, I will continue to develop products and ship the source code along with them. I will answer no questions about the source code of the program from an individual until a registration payment has been received. Once registered, source questions can be directed to me via electronic mail only: internet: ericwolf@pobox.com If you have general comments or questions about the program, you may also send the electronic address above. Thanks! -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Remember if you like RemindMe and use it or if you use or plan to use the source code as a reference for your own works, please register today! -------------------------------------------------------------------------- My thanks to those of you who have registered! I appreciate your support!