OS/2 Shareware BBS: SysTools/SysTools.zip/chrdmo.zip/CHRON.HLP

OS/2 Help File | 1994-01-17 | 20KB | 457 lines

ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 1. Extended Help ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Chron is an application that will post an event at a given time and date with a
specified recurring frequency. An event can be either a program to be executed
or a message to be displayed.  These events can be scheduled to run one time
only, or every n days, hours, weekdays, weeks, months or years.

The Chron application is composed of two windows.  The main window displays the
current date and time and the number of events that are scheduled to execute
some time in the future.  The second window, intially hidden, is the posted
events window.  When an event is posted, a copy of the event is placed into the
posted bag container window and is represented by an icon.  The event can be
manipulated from the menu options on the main window or from the posted bag.
The posted bag, especially for message events, can be used as a ToDo list.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 2. Basic Event Manipulation ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

An event is the thing that you would like to schedule at a given time.
Currently, the types are programs, messages, pause and resume events

A message event will display a message on the screen at the given time. A
program can be an executable file (.EXE or .COM) or a command file (.CMD). The
command file can be either REXX or batch language.  The program will started at
the specified time.  If there is a message associated with the program, it too
will be displayed at the specified time.  The message can serve as operator
instructions, or simply a notification that a program has been started.
Message text is not required for program-type events.

The event window is the common interface into an event.  The same window is
used for creating new events or updating existing events.  The event window is
a sizeable, non-modal, window allows you to fill in the information about the
event.  The event window prompts for the following information:

 1. Title. This is a short descriptive phrase about the event. This is used as
    the program title when programs are executed.  It also appears in the main
    list of events and as the icon text in the posted bag.

 2. Type. The type of event can be a message, program, pause or resume event.
    Message events will display message text - usually a reminder or followup
    message - at the scheduled time.  Program events will execute a program at
    the scheduled time. Pause, and resume events are used to temporarity
    suspend the execution of events.  This can be useful for company holidays
    or when you are on vacation or otherwise have a reason to cease execution
    of events for a predetermined time.

 3. Freq.. The frequency of the event is how often the event is to be posted.
    The frequency is checked when the event is posted to determine when the
    event is going to be scheduled next.  Events can be scheduled to post one
    time or n minutes, hours, days, weekdays, months or years.  The n is
    determined by using the spin button immediately to the right of the Freq.
    prompt.  The spin button is disabled for One Time events for obvious
    reasons.

 4. Message. The message text for the event is entered in the large multi-line
    entry field.  The free form text entered here will be displayed in a
    desktop window when the event is posted. The message text is optional for
    all events except message-type events.

Additional information about the event can be specified in the settings
notebook.  For program-type events the settings information must contain, at a
minimim, the name of the program to execute.  The settings notebook is
displayed using the right mouse button on the event window and selecting the
Settings... menu item.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 3. Event Window Menu Items ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

The event window is the primary window for event manipulation.  This section
describes the function of the menu items for the event creation and update
window.

The right mouse button will display the popup menu for the event.  Due to some
technical programming challenges, there are some "dead spots" where the menu is
not popped when the right mouse button is pressed. Those include the spin
button, the combo boxes and the static text with the date and time. We are
working to remove this restriction, but until then press the mouse button over
an area such as the multi-line entry field or the whitespace near the border of
the event window.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 3.1. Time... ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

The Time... menu option will open the date/time dialog.  This dialog allows you
to enter the date and time at which the event will be posted. The time dialog
can also be initiated by using the Ctrl-T shortcut key or by double-clicking on
the static text that is displaying the current date and time for the event.

The month and year are entered using the spinn buttons.  The day of the month
is selected by pressing the day with the mouse button.  The time of day can
entered directly into the spin button, selected with the arrows on the spin
button or by moving the slider controls.

When the OK button is pressed, the time/date dialog is dismissed and the date
and time in the static text are updated to reflect the scheduled time.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 3.2. Settings... ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

The Settings... menu option will open the notebook control to refine the
settings for this event.  For more information on the settings available for an
event, see the section entitled Settings Notebook for an Event.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 3.3. Schedule ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

The Schedule menu option will close the event window if all validity checks are
passed and schedule the event to be posted.  This is the same as closing the
event window via Alt-F4 or by closing via the system menu button in the upper
left corner of the event window.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 3.4. Clipboard ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

The Clipboard menu option will enable cut and page between the multiple line
entry control and the clipboard.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 3.5. Undo ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

The Undo menu option will remove changes made to this event since the event
window was opened.  By default, you will be prompted to make sure you want to
undo the changes before the action is taken.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 3.6. Cancel ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

The Cancel menu option will close the window without making the changes.  In
the case of a new event, the event is not scheduled.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 4. Settings Notebook for an Event ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

The event settings notebook allows you to customize the behavior of a single
event.  All events have a page for assigning a macro or settings options.
Program events have an additional, required page that specifies the name of the
program to be executed.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 4.1. Program page ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

The Program page will be displayed only for program events. It contains fields
for the name of the program that will be executed when the event is posted.
The File... button, when pressed, will display the standard OS/2 file dialog to
assist in finding the correct program name.  If the program requires that it be
run under the OS/2 shell program (which is the case for all REXX and batch
program), then the check box must be checked.  Chron will look at the name and
contents of the file to try and determine if the program is has a shell
requirement.  In this case, the check box will automatically be selected for
you.

Additional, optional, entry fields are provided for the parameters to the
program and the working directory for the program.  The combo box at the bottom
of the dialog allows you to specify the type for the program. In most cases,
the selection of default will work fine.

The Run now button will execute the program specified in as the executable just
as though the event had been posted (except any attached macro will not be
run).  This allows you to test the program, parameters and working directory
easily.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 4.2. Macro page ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

The Macro page will allow you to attach a macro for this event.  The listbox
contains all of the macros that have been registered to Chron via the macros
page on the main Chron window.  The text entries at the bottom of the page will
display both what the current macro is for this event and the result of
pressing the Undo would be.

For detailed information regarding the function of REXX macros in Chron,
consult the hardcopy documentation that accompanied the Chron product.  In
short, if a REXX macro returns '1' then the event is posted.  If the REXX macro
returns a '0', then the event is rescheduled for the next potential time, but
it is not posted.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 4.3. Options page ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

The Options page for an event has one lonely option.  An event can be set to be
posted, even if Chron is in a paused state.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 5. Main Window Menu Items ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Most event manipulation and Chron configuration can be initiated from the popup
menu on the main window.  To display the menu, press the right mouse button
anywhere on the main window.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 5.1. Create Another ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

The Create another menu option will open the basic event window for event
creation.  When the information about the event has been entered, the event is
scheduled by closing the event or by selecting the Schedule option from the
popup menu for the event.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 5.2. List events... ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

The List events menu option will display the events currently scheduled to be
posted at some time in the future.  The events list is displayed in a dialog
box.  The values for the currently-highlighted event are displayed to the right
of the listbox.  The values in the listbox are the titles for the events.  The
buttons at the bottom of the dialog enable you to update, delete or duplicate
the highlighted event.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 5.3. Hide open events ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

The Hide open events menu option will hide the read-only event windows, and
open create/update windows for events.  Once several events have posted, the
desktop can become cluttered with a lot of open windows.  This allow
conveniently to hide those windows.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 5.4. Surface open events ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

The Surface open events menu option will display those open events, that have
been hidden either by the Hide open events menu item or by clicking on the hide
button in the upper left corner of the window.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 5.5. Surface posted bag ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

The posted bag, is intially hidden when Chron is started.  This contains the
events that have been posted.  If you would like to see what events have been
posted, select this menu item and the container of posted events will be
displayed in a desktop window.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 5.6. Settings... ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

The Settings... menu option will display a notebook that contains the settings
for the Chron application.  For more information on the settings pages, see the
section entitled Main Settings Notebook.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 5.7. Pause event execution ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

When this menu item is selected, Chron will go into a paused state. This is
useful if you want to cease scheduling events due to your going on vacation or
if there is a company holiday.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 5.8. Resume event execution ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

When this menu item is selected, Chron will continue scheduling events as
normal.  The events may have been paused due to a previous menu selection or
because a pause-type event was posted.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 5.9. Help ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Gets you here.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 5.10. Close Chron ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

This will terminate the Chron application.  By default, you will be prompted to
confirm this action.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 5.11. Product Information ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

The Product Information menu selection will display a dialog with the current
release and service level for Chron.  Use this information when reporting
problems to Hilbert Computing.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 6. Main Settings Notebook ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

The main settings notebook allows you to customize the behavior of certain
aspects of the Chron application.  It is displayed with the Settings... menu
item on the main Chron window.  See the documentation below for information on
the notebook pages available to you.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 6.1. File page ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

The File page will allow to you specify the name of the file that is used to
store the Chron events.  The installation program will fill that in as
CHRON.DAT.  In most cases, there will not be a need to change this entry unless
you move the Chron application to a different directory.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 6.2. Confirm page ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

The Confirm page will allow to you specify which actions should require a
confirmation dialog before proceeding.  Initially, these are set to be the
safest options.  In other words, a dialog is displayed for all actions that are
destructive and most actions that would not be considered typical, such as
scheduling an event that is past due.  Once you are familiar enough with the
Chron application, these confirmation dialogs may become more of a nuisance
than a help.  At that time, you can cease the display of the confirmation
dialog.  Chron will implicitly answer Yes to any dialog if the confirmation is
unchecked.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 6.3. Past Due page ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

The Past Due page will determine how past due events are handled when Chron is
first started.  By default, when Chron is started, it checks for events that
are past due and prompts with a dialog asking you to allow them to run or
reschedule them for the next appropriate time in the future.  This will allow
you to always reschedule all past due events, continue with past due events (at
which case they will be posted at the top of the next minute) or prompt.

This override of the default is useful is unattended or lightly attended
environments.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 6.4. General page ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

The General page allows options to be specified for miscellaneous features of
Chron.  Weekday events, by default, are scheduled to run Monday through Friday.
However, if you schedule events in the wee hours of the morning, your weekdays
may be better defined as Tuesday through Saturday for example.  The checked
days are the ones considered to be weekdays.  At least one of the days must be
checked.

The Auto-open window when event is posted will display a read-only event window
when the event is posted if there is message text associated with the event. If
you would like for the event to be placed into the posted bag without being
displayed, uncheck this box.

The Audible Alarm on Messages will beep the speaker when an event is posted.
If you want quiet operation, uncheck this box.

In prior releases of Chron, the posted bag was displayed when Chron was first
started.  Many customers found this confusing, so Chron by default will not
display the posted bag unless you request to see it via the menu item on the
main window.  If you would like for Chron to work the way prior releases did,
you can check the box for Display posted bag at startup


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 6.5. Event page ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

When the Create another menu item is selected, you will be presented with an
event window to enter information about a new event.  That event window will be
pre-filled with the values on this notebook page.  It is a feature that
shortens the time to enter event information if you normally schedule events
with the same type and scheduling frequency.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 6.6. Macros page ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

The Macros page will register REXX macros that you have written to Chron.
These scheduling macros are used to enhance the basic scheduling options
available in Chron.  Refer to the hardcopy documentation for a more detailed
explanation of the use of macros.  (In short, if the REXX macro returns a '0',
the event will not be posted, just rescheduled. If the macro returns a '1', the
event is posted.)

The Create Another... button will display a dialog for you to enter the title
and program name for the macro.  The Update... button will allow you to change
information for macros and the Delete  button will remove the registration of
that macro.  It will not delete the actual file containing the macro.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 7. Keys Help ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

There are no special keys for this program.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 8. Definitions ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

This sections defined some of the terms used in this documentation.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 8.1. Posted ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

An event is said to be posted when the time for which it has been scheduled
becomes the current time.  The way in which the event is posted depends on the
type of event that it is.  Program events will execute the program specified in
the settings.  Message events will display the message in a window on the
desktop.  Pause and resume events will stop the execution or resume the
execution of events.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 8.2. Non-modal ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

A non-modal window in Presentation Manager applications is designed so that you
can perform other tasks within the application while the non-modal window is
still open.  The opposite of non-modal is, of course, a modal window.  Modal
windows are usually implemented as dialog boxes.

Most of the windows in Chron are non-modal.  This means that you can have
multiple of these type windows open at a time.  You can look at other events or
do anything you like before completing and closing the non-modal window.  This
is a lot more flexible interface for the user of the application and better
reflects the interrupt-driven nature of most of our lives.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 8.3. Paused State ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Chron is in a paused state when the menu option is selected to pause execution
or when a pause-event is executed.  Events are rescheduled, but not posted. The
pause events are usually scheduled to implement an exception to normal
scheduling policy.  The most common example would be to schedule a pause event
at midnight of a company holiday and schedule a resume event at 11:59 of the
company holiday.  This would effectively skip the execution of events for a day
without manually rescheduling all of the events that were to run on that day.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 8.4. Open events ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

An event is open if there is a read-only event window or a create/update window
that is displayed or if the window has been created, but is currently hidden.
An open event is indicated by cross-hatching of the icon in the posted bag for
those events that have been posted.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 8.5. Read-only event windows ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

A read-only event window displays the message text for an event.  This is the
window that is displayed on the desktop when an event with message text is
posted.  The read-only event window can also be displayed by double-clicking on
an icon in the posted bag or by selecting a View menu option for an event.  The
read-only event window has a popup menu (displayed with the right mouse button)
that will enable manipulation of the event.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 8.6. Posted bag ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

When an event is posted, is is placed into a container window called the posted
bag.  This lets you see which events have been posted.  For message-type
events, this can serve as a ToDo list of messages that need some action.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 9. Support ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

This is a commercial program.  You should have either registered this product
or your company should have registered a site license.

Please send any correspondence to:


 Hilbert Computing
 1022 N. Cooper
 Olathe, KS 66061
 Attn: Gary Murphy

 CIS:  73457,365
 BBS:  [phone]
 Fax:  [phone]
 Voice: [phone]

The recommended way to contact Hilbert Computing for questions and code defect
reporting is to dial the Hilbert Computing BBS at the above phone number.
There is a special conference set aside to report possible bugs in the code.
There will also be notification placed there when those problems have been
resolved.

If you have general questions or comments, feel free to use CompuServe or give
us a call.  Chron is supported in the OS2AVEND forum library 1.