The Arsenal Files 8/The Arsenal Files Collection #8 (Arsenal Computer) (1996).ISO/business/pcdesk63.zip/PCDESK.DOC

Text File | 1996-11-16 | 15KB | 276 lines

                            PCDESK INSTRUCTIONS

  PcDesk lets you organize your time with a Monthly Calendar, a Weekly
  Schedule and a Daily Planner to which you can add memo notes. You can also
  maintain multiple Address Book data bases. The program requires a PC/AT
  compatible computer with an EGA or VGA color monitor. A separate 80 column
  by 25 line text version (PCD.EXE) is included with PcDesk for use on PC
  compatible Palmtop computers. See the help file PCD.DOC for details.

  Although a mouse is not required to run PcDesk, you will get the most out
  of the program if you have one. Use the mouse by placing the MOUSE CURSOR
  on the item to be selected and clicking the LEFT button. In general, the
  LEFT mouse button is treated as an ENTER key press, and the RIGHT mouse
  button is treated as an ESCAPE key press. Note that you can press ESCAPE,
  or the RIGHT mouse button, to back out of any prompt in the program.

                            PCDESK MAIN SCREEN

  The PcDesk Main Screen presents you with an Analog Clock and a Monthly
  Calendar. The time and date are set according to the current system clock
  in your computer. Each of the items on the screen can be selected by
  clicking the mouse, or by pressing a HOT KEY on your keyboard.

                           CLOCK - DAILY PLANNER

  The Daily Planner lets you store memo notes for any day, and is also a
  convenient way of leaving messages on your computer. Click the mouse
  anywhere on the Analog Clock face to access the Planner for the current
  date. You can also select this feature by pressing [D] on the keyboard.
  To access the Planner for some other day in the month, move the mouse
  cursor to the Monthly Calendar, and click on the desired date.

  The Planner is divided into nine hour blocks (8:00 AM through 5:00 PM are
  the default values). The times values used in each block can be changed
  by editing the last lines in the PCDESK.INI file. Specific instructions
  for changing the file come with the registered version of the program.
  Press ENTER, or click the LEFT mouse button, to add your memo notes. The
  editing cursor can be positioned by moving the mouse cursor and clicking
  the LEFT mouse button. Alternatively, you can use the ARROW keys, ENTER,
  HOME, END, PAGE UP and PAGE DOWN to position the editing cursor.

  Whatever notes you type in the Daily Planner will be automatically saved
  on disk in the default directory. Each file will have a name unique to the
  day for which it was created (for example, MON0521.CAL would be for Monday,
  May 21). Note that the file names will only be unique for days that are
  within the same calendar year.

  Files created for EGA and VGA monitors are NOT interchangeable. This is
  because each adapter can display a different number of lines on the screen,
  and PcDesk takes advantage of this. Also note that commas (,) and double
  quotes (") are not allowed in memo text. These characters compromise the
  file structure of the memo notes on disk.

  To get a printout of your Daily Planner (as well as the Memo Calendar and
  Weekly Planner described below) press [P] when you are done adding notes.
  Be sure that your printer is set up to print the EXTENDED ASCII box drawing
  characters used for the lines and borders. Most printers allow fonts to be
  selected using a front panel menu, DIP switches, or by setup software.
  Select the printer font that shows ASCII characters 176 through 222 to be
  for line drawing (for example, ASCII 209 would be "╤").

  Press ESCAPE, or click the RIGHT mouse button, when you are done adding
  notes to the Planner. Whenever you select the option again, your notes
  for the day will be automatically displayed. Press ESCAPE, or click the
  RIGHT button, again to return to the PcDesk Main Screen.

                           MONTH - MEMO CALENDAR

  This option allows you to add memo notes to the calendar for any month.
  From the PcDesk Main Screen, click the mouse on the name of the MONTH
  directly above the Monthly Calendar, or press [M] on the keyboard, to
  access the Memo Calendar. The month and year are initially set according
  to the current system clock.

  You can scroll to different months (and years) by pressing the PAGE UP
  or PAGE DOWN keys, or by positioning the mouse cursor at the TOP or
  BOTTOM screen border and clicking the LEFT button.

  Press ENTER, or click the LEFT mouse button, to add memo notes to the
  calendar. The editing cursor can be positioned anywhere by moving the
  mouse cursor and clicking the LEFT mouse button. You can also use the
  ARROW keys, ENTER, HOME, END, PAGE UP and PAGE DOWN to position the
  editing cursor.

  Whatever notes you type will be automatically recorded for that month,
  and saved on disk in the default directory in files with .CAL extensions
  (example: MAY96.CAL). Whenever you arrive at a month with memo notes
  stored, your notes will be automatically displayed. Note again that files
  created for EGA and VGA monitors are not interchangeable, and that commas
  (,) and double quotes (") are not allowed in the memo text.

  If you want to access the Daily Planner for any day in the month, simply
  click the mouse on the date in the LOWER RIGHT CORNER of the calendar cell
  for that day. Alternatively, you can enter the two digits corresponding to
  the day's date from the keyboard (for eaxmple, 01 or 27). When you are done
  creating the Daily Planner, you will be returned to the Memo Calendar.

  Press ESCAPE, or click the RIGHT mouse button, when you are done adding
  notes to the Memo Calendar. You can then navigate to other months, or
  edit memo notes for other days. Press [P] on the keyboard to get a
  printout of the Memo Calendar. Press ESCAPE, or click the RIGHT button,
  again to return to the PcDesk Main Screen.

                           YEAR - YEARLY CALENDAR

  From the PcDesk Main Screen, click the mouse on the YEAR directly above
  the Monthly Calendar, or press [Y] on the keyboard, and you will be
  presented with a calendar for the entire year. You can scroll to different
  years by pressing PAGE UP or PAGE DOWN, or by moving the mouse cursor to
  the TOP or BOTTOM  screen border and clicking the LEFT mouse button. The
  legal range of years is from 1899 to 2099.

  Whatever year is last displayed becomes the default year for the Memo
  Calendar. If you position the mouse cursor on any month in the year, and
  click the LEFT button, you will be presented with a Memo Calendar for that
  month and year. You can access the Memo Calendar features for that month.
  Press [P] on the keyboard to get a printout of the Yearly Calendar. Press
  ESCAPE, or the RIGHT mouse button, from the Yearly Calendar to return to
  the PcDesk Main Screen.

                          WEEK - WEEKLY SCHEDULE

  This option lets you maintain a fixed Weekly Schedule. From the PcDesk
  Main Screen, click the mouse on the days [SU MO TU WE TH FR SA] directly
  above the Monthly Calendar, or press [W] on the keyboard, to display the
  Schedule.

  The columns of the schedule are divided into the five days of the work
  week (MON through FRI), and the rows are divided into nine hour blocks
  (8:00 AM through 5:00 PM are the default values). The times values used
  in each block can be changed by editing the last lines in the PCDESK.INI
  file. Specific directions for changing the file come with the registered
  version of the program.

  Press ENTER, or click the LEFT mouse button, to add notes to the Weekly
  Schedule. The editing cursor can be positioned by moving the mouse cursor
  and clicking the LEFT mouse button. Alternatively, you can use the ARROW
  keys, ENTER, HOME, END, PAGE UP and PAGE DOWN to position the editing
  cursor.

  Whatever notes you type will be automatically saved on disk in the default
  directory in a file called WEEK.CAL. Note again that files created for EGA
  and VGA monitors are not interchangeable, and that commas (,) and double
  quotes (") are not allowed in the memo text. Whenever you select this
  option, your notes will be automatically displayed.

  Press ESCAPE, or click the RIGHT mouse button, when you are done adding
  notes to the Weekly Schedule. To get a printout of the Schedule, press
  [P] on the keyboard. Press ESCAPE, or click the RIGHT button, again
  to return to the PcDesk Calendar Main Screen.

                                ADDRESS BOOK

  This option lets you maintain MULTIPLE Address Books of names, addresses,
  phone numbers, and other personal information for up to 100 entries in
  each file (10 entries in the SHAREWARE VERSION). The default Address Book
  file name is ADDRESS.CAL, and the file containing the Address Book field
  labels is called ADDRESS.BGR. Both files are created automatically in the
  default directory. Now, here's the best part:

  You can enter any legal DOS file name on the command line for PcDesk,
  and that file will be used for your Address Book. For example, typing
  "pcdesk myaddr" would cause MYADDR.CAL and MYADDR.BGR to be created in
  the default directory (note that the .CAL and .BGR extensions are added
  automatically). Your file becomes the default Address Book while the
  current session of PcDesk is running. To access that address book next
  time, just run "pcdesk myaddr" again, or run "pcdesk" without a command
  line to use the default Address Book.

  Moreover, you can use any Text Editor to modify the Address field labels
  in the .BGR files, so you can customize the different data bases to suit
  your needs (be sure to retain the format of the .BGR file). Also, note
  that the * first 7 lines * of the Address Book file will always be treated
  as the NAME and ADDRESS fields in PcDesk, so it's best to leave those field
  labels the way they are.

  From the PcDesk Main Screen, click the mouse on [ADDRESS BOOK], or press
  [A] on the keyboard, to access your Address Book. You can use the UP/DOWN
  ARROW or PAGE keys to scroll through the Address Book screens. Press
  ESCAPE, or the RIGHT mouse button, to return to the PcDesk Main Screen.
  Press ENTER, or click the LEFT mouse button to edit the current entry.
  Press one of the following keys, or place the mouse cursor on the desired
  item from the bottom status bar and click the LEFT button, to activate
  the Address Book features:

  F1=EDIT (same as pressing ENTER). You will get the editing cursor. Use the
     ENTER, HOME, END, PAGE and ARROW keys to position the cursor and fill
     in the data fields. Alternatively, you can position the editing cursor
     by moving the mouse cursor and clicking the LEFT button. Note that when
     you open the Address Book for the first time, you will have a blank
     data screen ready for you to select F1 for editing. Press ESCAPE, or
     the RIGHT mouse button, when you are done.

  F3=ADD. Use this option to add a new entry to the Address Book. Note that
     entries in the Address Book are sorted automatically according to the
     first character in the NAME field, so you can use "Lastname, Firstname"
     to keep your Address Book alphabetized. Press ESCAPE, or the RIGHT
     mouse button, when you are done adding the new entry.

  F5=SRCH. The Address Book search feature is NOT case sensitive. If a match
     is found, you will be taken to the screen containing the matching
     information. The last search string entered becomes the default for
     the next time you press F5.

  F7=DEL. This option deletes the current Address Book screen. Press [N]
     or ESCAPE, or the RIGHT mouse button, at the confirmation prompt to
     cancel the deletion.

   P=PRINT. The current address screen will be sent to your printer, using
     the same format and field labels as you see on the screen.

   L=LIST. This option lists just the NAME and ADDRESS of all entries in
     your data base. Press ENTER, or the LEFT mouse button to continue the
     listing. Press ESCAPE, or the RIGHT mouse button to quit. If you have
     used "Lastname, Firstname" format for any entries, the names will be
     displayed as "Firstname Lastname." If you have a mouse, placing the
     cursor on any item, and clicking the LEFT button, will take you
     immediately to that address screen.

   F=FILE. This option will export all the names and addresses in your data
     base to an ASCII text file called "*.EXP" in the default directory,
     where "*" is the prefix of your Address Book file name. If you have
     used "Lastname, Firstname" format for any entries, the names will be
     displayed as "Firstname Lastname." You can import the file to any
     word processor for printing mailing labels.

 ESC=QUIT. Press ESCAPE, or click the RIGHT mouse button, to quit the
     Address Book and return to the PcDesk Main Screen.

                                   HELP

  From the PcDesk Main Screen, click the mouse on [HELP], or press [H] on
  the keyboard, to review the instructions contained in the text file
  PCDESK.DOC. Press the UP and DOWN ARROW or PAGE keys to read through the
  file. Alternatively, you can put the mouse cursor on the TOP or BOTTOM
  BORDER lines or ARROW icons and press the LEFT button to scroll through
  the instructions.

  The F5=SEARCH feature allows you to search for specific topics. The search
  is NOT case sensitive. Press ESCAPE, or the RIGHT mouse button, to quit
  the help file and return to the PcDesk Main Screen.

                                  COLORS

  From the PcDesk Main Screen, click the mouse on [COLORS], or press [C]
  on the keyboard, to change the default color scheme used by PcDesk. Eight
  predefined color arrangements are available. You can also use the ARROW
  keys to further change some of the principal colors in the program. The
  UP ARROW key changes the color of LINES. The DOWN ARROW key changes the
  BACKGROUND color. The LEFT ARROW key changes the TEXT color. The RIGHT
  ARROW key changes the color of auxiliary text. The selections you make
  will be stored in the default directory in a file called PCDESK.INI.
  Whenever you run PcDesk, your selected color scheme will be used.

                                   QUIT

  From the PcDesk Main Screen, click the mouse on [QUIT], press [Q] or
  ESCAPE on the keyboard, or click the RIGHT mouse button, to quit the
  program and return to DOS. Have a great time getting organized with
  PcDesk!

                                 SHAREWARE

  PcDesk is distributed as Shareware. Feel free to share the program (and
  its documentation files) with others. However, if you continue to use
  PcDesk you must register the program by sending $25 US to:

                            Robert Lindsay Wells
                            1405 Lynn Avenue
                            Clearwater, FL 34615

  When you register, you will receive the latest version of PcDesk (and
  PCD) on disk with shareware reminders and limitations removed, a booklet
  summarizing features in the programs, and an ASCII Text Editor (READ) as
  a bonus utility. Please register today!