Windows News 1997 February

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Text File | 1997-01-22 | 19.7 KB | 463 lines

Welcome to Sidekick for Windows 2.0 README File =================================== This file contains important information--please read all of it. All information here supersedes information in the printed documentation and online Help. Table of Contents ------------------ 1. Installation 2. Registering 3. Purchasing and unlocking the Trial Edition 4. Technical Support 5. Upgrading from a previous version of Sidekick 6. Changing the working directory 7. Sample files 8. Using Sidekick with PC Tools and Norton Desktop for Windows 9. Printing 10. YourWay users upgrading to Sidekick 11. Uninstalling Sidekick for Windows 1. Installation ---------------- Sidekick requires a minimum of 5 MB of hard disk space to install, 1 MB of which must be on the same drive as your Windows directory, and a 386 processor or higher. After installation, however, Sidekick itself uses only 3 MB of hard disk space and requires a minimum of 500 KB free disk space for working with data files. NOTE: If you are upgrading from a previous version of Sidekick, make sure you read Section 5 of this README file: "Upgrading from a previous version of SKW." On some older machines, the available disk space is inaccurately reported to the installation program. If you have less than 10 MB of available disk space, and the program either will not install or the install unpack is aborted for no apparent reason, make 10 MB of hard disk space available and install again. Install will ask for your initials (up to 4 letters) to create your default calendar name. Install then creates: o a directory called 'SKW2' on the C: drive (or whatever directory and drive you specified in the Install screen) and copies the program files into that directory. o a directory under 'SKW2' called 'DATA', which contains various data files used by Sidekick. o a directory under 'SKW2' called 'USERDATA', which will contain your personal Cardfile, Calendar and Notes data files. o a SIDEKICK.INI file in your computer's Windows directory o a Sidekick for Windows program group in your Program Manager To install Sidekick for Windows: 1. Start Windows. 2. Choose File|Run from the Program Manager. 3. Place the Sidekick disk in the appropriate disk drive. 4. Type A:INSTALL (or B:INSTALL if you're using Drive B) and choose OK. 5. Follow the directions on the screen. 6. To start Sidekick, open the Sidekick for Windows group in Program Manager and double-click the Sidekick icon. Note: The install looks for the SIDEKICK.INI on your system to determine if a copy of Sidekick for Windows was already installed. If you are reinstalling Sidekick, you may want to back up any personal data files you've created in the Sidekick 'USERDATA' directory. 2. Registering --------------- During installation or at any later time, you can run the Automatic Registration program, and be registered automatically via modem. If you don't have a modem, the Automatic Registration program will print all your registration information in a form that can be simply mailed or faxed to Starfish. Automatic Registration is available for U.S. and Canadian customers only. A registration card is also included with the retail version of Sidekick 2.0. 3. Purchasing and unlocking the Trial Edition ---------------------------------------------- If you have the Trial Edition of Sidekick, it will work exactly like the retail version of the program. The ONLY differences are that the Trial Edition does not include the Backup and Restore tool and, unless you purchase and "unlock" it, the Trial Edition will automatically stop working thirty days after installation. At this point, you can return to the store you purchased the Trial Edition from and purchase the retail version of Sidekick. Alternately, you can run the Unlock Sidekick program any time during the thirty-day trial period. Unlocking turns off the thirty-day limit; Sidekick is then yours to use! To use the Unlock Sidekick program, you need a modem, and you must be in the U.S. or Canada. The Unlock Sidekick program will prompt you for some information, and then contact Starfish Software for you, exchanging the information which automatically unlocks your product. NOTE: Before you run the Unlock program, we recommend that you remove AfterDark from memory. 4. Technical Support --------------------- Starfish offers you a variety of services to help you with your questions. Be sure to register your copy of Sidekick: registered users are entitled to receive technical support and information on upgrades and supplementary products. North American customers can register by phone 24 hours a day by calling 1-800-845-0147. Starfish provides the following telephone support options for Sidekick for Windows. Before calling for help, we suggest you read the manual and refer to the online Help system. Free Up and Running Support No-charge assistance for installation and initial configuration help. Call 970-522-4610 The 900 Support Line The 900 Support Line provides priority access to a support engineer and is available from 6AM to 5PM (Pacific Time), Monday through Friday. 900 Support Line calls are billed directly to your telephone bill. Price: $2 per minute, first minute free. Call 1-900-555-1010. The 800 Support Line The 800 Support Line also provides priority access to a support engineer and is also available from 6AM to 5PM (Pacific Time), Monday through Friday. 800 Support Line calls can be billed to your major credit card. Price: $2 per minute, first minute free. Call 1-800-953-9995. International Support Starfish provides several language drivers for Sidekick for Windows. See "Contacting Starfish" and "Extended Language Driver Support" in the online Help. CompuServe Users are encouraged to participate in a user supported forum on CompuServe (Go Starfish) to join discussions of the product and share information and utilities to maximize the benefits of Sidekick for Windows. TechFax Starfish provides an easy to use, automated fax retrieval service which can send information to the user's fax machine. TechFax can be reached at 1-800-822-4269 from any Touch Tone telephone. For more information order document 9652 from TechFax. Internet If you have a Web-browsing program, visit the Starfish Web site at http://www.starfishsoftware.com. 5. Upgrading from a previous version of Sidekick ------------------------------------------------------------- Make sure to close Sidekick 1.x and the Quick Menu before installing version 2.0. To remove the Quick Menu, choose the Remove command from its menu. Users of previous versions of Sidekick should note that, by default, Sidekick 2.0 installs into a new directory named 'SKW2'. Also, personal data files are no longer kept in the same directory as other program data. All new user files for the Cardfile, Calendar, and Notes are installed to a directory under 'SKW2' called 'USERDATA'. The Sidekick installation program automatically detects whether or not you have a previous version of the program installed. If you have a previous version, and you have installed Sidekick 2.0 into the default directory 'SKW2', none of the files in your 'SKW' directory will be overwritten. However, Sidekick 2.0 will not open your old data files the first time you run it. To use your existing data, open each of your calendars, cardfiles, and notefilesin 'SKW\DATA', and save them into your 'SKW2\USERDATA' directory. When you open the files, Sidekick automatically converts them to the Sidekick 2.0 format. When Sidekick 2.0 opens your version 1.x calendar files for the first time, it will convert the calendar to the new format, and save a copy of the version 1.x calendar under the extension .SKB. Similarly, Sidekick 2.0 converts your 1.x cardfiles to the new format and saves a backup copy with the extension .SK1. In the Calendar conversion process, to ensure data integrity, any inconsistencies detected in your files will be corrected for you, which may in some cases result in loss of some Calendar activities. If there is an error in opening the old data files, you may want to refer to your original Sidekick 1.x files for comparison. In that case, use the procedure below to run Sidekick 1.x. Note: For a complete list of files included with Sidekick and their use refer to online Help. Choose Help|Search from within Sidekick and search for the keyword "Files." 1. Close Sidekick and the Quick Menu. 2. Using the Notepad, open the file SIDEKICK.INI in the WINDOWS directory. 3. Insert a semicolon in front of the line containing the text "DATA=C:\SKW2\DATA". Add a line below it that reads "DATA=C:\SKW\DATA". 4. Save the file and close the Notepad. 5. Open the File Manager. Navigate to the SKW directory (or wherever you installed Sidekick 1.x). 6. Double-click the file SIDEKICK.EXE. Sidekick 1.x launches. 7. Sidekick 1.x may try to open the files that have now been converted to Sidekick 2.0 format. Click OK if Sidekick tells you that the various files are not valid files. 8. Open your original Sidekick 1.x files in the SKW\DATA directory. 9. Write down any data that did not get correctly transferred into your Sidekick 2.0 data files. 10. Close Sidekick 1.x without saving. 11. Using the Notepad, open the file SIDEKICK.INI in the WINDOWS directory. 12. Remove the semicolon in front of the line ";DATA=C:\SKW2\DATA". Remove the line that reads "DATA=C:\SKW\DATA". 13. Save the file and close the Notepad. 14. Open Sidekick 2.0 as normal, and make sure to open the 2.0 versions of your files if necessary. 15. Enter the changes you noted from your 1.x files. 16. Choose File|Save All, and close Sidekick. * Installing into your old SKW directory If you choose to install Sidekick 2.0 into your 'SKW' directory, overwriting your previous copy of Sidekick, any personal files (cardfiles, calendars, and notes) located in the 'DATA' directory will not be affected by the install. However, program-specific data files, such as SpeedBar settings and print templates cannot be retained due to changes to the files. To install into your 'SKW' directory, over a previous version of Sidekick: 1. Install Sidekick. (See Section 1 for steps to follow, but modify the install location to your 'SKW' directory.) 2. After installation, if you want to consolidate your data in the same directory, move your existing personal data files from the 'DATA' directory into 'USERDATA'. Personal files may include any of the following: - Cardfiles having the extension .SDB and .TDB - Notes files with the extension .FDR, .HDR, and .SKN - Calendar files beginning with your initials and having the extension .SKW - Other files not stamped with the same date and time as Sidekick 3. Delete the old cardfile print template files from the DATA directory: SKWLBPRM.SKW SKWPHPRM.SKW Deleting files is described in your Windows or operating system manual. 6. Changing the working directory ---------------------------------- By default C:\SKW2 is set as the working directory for Sidekick 2.0 and the Import and Export tools. However, you can change the working directory to the same location as your data files (in C:\SKW2\USERDATA), or to any other directory you want. To change the working directory to the location of your data files, follow the instructions outlined below: 1. Switch to Program Manager. 2. Select the icon labeled "Sidekick." 3. Choose File|Properties from the Program Manager. 4. Change the working directory in the Properties dialog box from C:\SKW2 to C:\SKW2\USERDATA (or to the USERDATA directory of the path you specified during installation). You can change the working directories for the Import and Export tools in a similar manner as outlined above. 7. Sample files ---------------- The following sample files are included with Sidekick: In the SKW2\SAMPLES directory: Sample cardfiles 800NMBRS.SDB AT&T 800 numbers for airlines, hotels, etc. SOFTWARE.SDB Descriptions of Starfish software VIDEOS.SDB Information on videos and learning aids WINELIST.SDB Catalog of wines Sample Reports WINELIST.RPT Report on wines In the SKW2\USERDATA directory: Sample cardfiles BUSINESS.SDB Sample business address book (default) PERSONAL.SDB Sample personal address book Sample notefiles (Notes module) Sidekick Several tips and ideas for using Sidekick Template Sample form letters for mail merge 8. Using Sidekick with PC Tools and Norton Desktop for Windows --------------------------------------------------------------- With some configurations of PC Tools for Windows, when you switch between desktops while Sidekick is open, a "docked" SpeedBar or LaunchBar will move with the active desktop independent of the main Sidekick window. To prevent the SpeedBar or LaunchBar from moving with the active desktop, you can change them to floating palettes by dragging them with the mouse, or hide them using the Show options on the Sidekick View menu. They will then remain with the Sidekick window until the next Windows session. When installing Sidekick under Norton Desktop 2.0, you may receive error messages when the Installation program attempts to automatically create the Sidekick icons. Ignore the error messages and Sidekick should be installed. You can then create the icons manually. 9. Printing ------------- When using a pre-defined template to print cardfiles or calendars, you may need to adjust the template's margins slightly for your specific printer. For example, increasing the top margin slightly, and decreasing the bottom margin by the same amount will cause the text to print lower on the page. 10. YourWay users upgrading to Sidekick ---------------------------------------- All cardfile and calendar files created in YourWay are compatible with Sidekick. Report files are not. Cardfile extensions are now .SDB and the calendar file extensions are now .SKW. YourWay files can be renamed to the correct extension and then simply opened in Sidekick. Installing Sidekick 1. Be sure you do not have YourWay or the Quick Menu running when you install Sidekick. Follow the installation instructions. Renaming YourWay's Cardfiles 1. Open the File Manager. Click on the YOURWAY directory so it is highlighted. (If your data files are stored elsewhere, click on that directory.) 2. Choose File|Copy. 3. In the Copy dialog box, type "C:\YOURWAY\*.YDB" (don't type the quotes) into the "From:" text box. Type "C:\SKW2\USERDATA\*.SDB" into the "To:" text box. (Change the location for the Sidekick directory if yours is located on another drive or has a different name.) Click OK. This will copy and rename all the cardfiles in the YOURWAY directory to the SKW2 directory. If you do not want to rename all the cardfiles, select only the ones to rename before opening the Copy dialog box. (Ctrl-click on each file name to select it.) 4. Your cardfiles are now ready to be opened in Sidekick. Close the File Manager and open Sidekick. Choose File|Open in Sidekick's cardfile to open any of the renamed cardfiles. Renaming YourWay's Calendar files 1. Open the File Manager. Click on the YOURWAY directory to highlight it. (If your data files are stored elsewhere, click on that directory.) 2. Find all the calendar files. These are all the files in the YOURWAY directory that begin with your initials and have a .YWY extension. When you installed YourWay, the program prompted you for up to four initials to aid in identifying your personal files. For example, if your initials were ABC, YourWay would have created ABCTASK.YWY, ABCDATA.YWY, ABCMAST.YWY, and other similar files. 3. Highlight all these calendar files except one: the *INIT.YWY. Do not highlight or rename this file. 4. Choose File|Copy. 5. In the Copy dialog box, the files that you've just chosen should automatically be listed in the "From:" text box. Type "C:\SKW2\USERDATA\*.SKW" into the "To:" text box. Click OK. 6. All the calendar files are now in the Sidekick directory and are ready to be used in Sidekick. Close the File Manager and open Sidekick. Open the calendar file you need in Sidekick's calendar by choosing File|Open. NOTE: Multi-Day events (YourWay called them Conferences) will have to be edited. Using Sidekick Do not have YourWay and Sidekick open at the same time. IMPORTANT: To ensure that Sidekick runs correctly, you should also remove the following files from your WINDOWS directory: MACRODLL.DLL MEETINGS.DLL MICRDATE.DLL MICRFLOA.DLL QMHOOKS.DLL YWDLGDLL.DLL YOURWAY.INI CMCLIP.YWY Once you are certain you no longer need backup files, you can delete the YOURWAY directory and all the YourWay files. 11. Uninstalling Sidekick for Windows ------------------------------------- Before removing Sidekick from your system, you may want to back up any personal data files you've created in Sidekick. To uninstall Sidekick 1.x: 1. Back up any Sidekick data files you want to keep, or move them to your 'SKW2' directory, if you are removing Sidekick 1.x to make room for Sidekick 2.0. Make sure to save your personal data files into C:\SKW2\USERDATA. Personal files may include any of the following: - Cardfiles having the extension .SDB and .TDB - Notes files with the extension .FDR, *.HDR, and *.SKN - Calendar files beginning with your initials and having the extension .SKW - Other files not stamped with the same date and time as Sidekick 2. Delete the C:\SKW directory and all of the files/directories it contains. 3. If it exists, delete the file CMCLIP.SKW from your Windows directory. 4. If necessary, delete the Sidekick 1.x and Quick Menu icons from the StartUp program group in Windows. 5. If you never registered your copy of Sidekick, open your WIN.INI file in your WINDOWS directory and remove the line LOAD=C:\SKW\REMIND.EXE. To uninstall Sidekick 2.0: 1. After backing up any Sidekick data files you want to keep, delete the C:\SKW2 directory and all of the files/directories it contains. 2. Delete the file SIDEKICK.INI from your Windows directory. 3. If it exists, delete the file CMCLIP.SKW from your Windows directory. 4. If necessary, delete the Sidekick and Quick Menu icons from the StartUp program group in Windows. 5. If you never registered your copy of Sidekick, open your WIN.INI file in your WINDOWS directory and remove the line LOAD=C:\SKW2\REMIND.EXE. Except for any data files you backed up, Sidekick for Windows is now completely removed from your system.