Monster Media 1994 #1/monster.zip/monster/WIN_UTL1/CLOCKER.ZIP/CLOCKER.TXT

Text File | 1994-01-08 | 30KB | 776 lines

(This is a text-only version of the Clocker user manual.)


                 Clocker

               version 2.3


                WinnoVation
                    Innovation through Windows...


         (C) Copyright 1993-1994
               Winnovation
              PO Box 271071
       Ft. Collins, CO  80527-1071
                   USA

       Telephone:  [phone]

       FAX:  [phone]

       E-mail:   CompuServe: 71774,605
                 Internet: [e-mail]


Introduction
------------

Clocker  is  an  event-scheduler  program,  which  will
execute  pre-determined  events  at  a  specific  time.
Clocker  is  extremely  useful for  running  unattended
backups,  running after-hours processes such as  faxing
or  file transfers while telephone rates are lower, and
many  other things -- limited only by your imagination!
Clocker can also pop up user-defined reminder messages,
so it also functions as an alarm clock.

Clocker  also  has  the powerful capability  for  group
scheduling on a network.  The system administrator  can
place  a  group  schedule on a shared  disk,  and  each
machine  running Clocker on the network will optionally
read  this  file,  in addition to its private  schedule
file.    This  group  schedule  is  also  automatically
refreshed, so the administrator can make a change  once
and  every  machine using that group schedule  will  be
automatically updated to reflect the changes.

Clocker  will  also  not clutter  your  desktop.   Many
people already run the Windows Clock, and Clocker looks
very  similar  to  the  Windows  Clock  when  iconized.
Clocker  also  includes an Always On  Top  feature  for
those  who wish to always have a visible clock on their
desktop.   Alternatively, Clocker  can  run  completely
hidden from the user.

Note that Clocker requires Windows 3.1.


Packing List
------------

Your package should include the following:

     This manual
     Distribution disk
     License statement

The   following   files  should  be  present   on   the
distribution disk:

     CLOCKER.EXE    Clocker executable file
     CLOCKER.HLP    Clocker Help file
     CLOCKER.TXT    Documentation text file
     CTL3D.DLL      Library for 3D controls
     EXAMPLES.TXT   Description of examples
     EXAMPLE*.*     Examples to use with Clocker

If any files are missing, please contact Winnovation.


Upgrading from a Previous Version
---------------------------------

Clocker  2.3  is downward-compatible with versions  2.0
and  higher of Clocker.  It can read .CLK files created
with  these  previous  versions without  any  problems.
Note, however, that files saved with version 2.3 cannot
be read by previous versions.


Installation
------------

If  your  disk  came with a SETUP or  INSTALL  program,
simply  run  that program.  To do this,  select  Run...
from  the  File  menu  in  Program  Manager,  and  type
a:\setup  or  a:\install (change the  drive  letter  if
necessary).

If  you  did  not receive an installation program  with
your  copy  of  Clocker, you can install it  using  the
following instructions.  First, make sure that no other
copies  of Clocker are currently running.  Then  simply
copy  all of the files from the distribution disk to  a
directory  such as C:\CLOCKER.  Note that Clocker  does
not need to have its own directory.  Also move the file
CTL3D.DLL  to your WINDOWS\SYSTEM directory.   You  may
need  to close other applications to perform this copy,
if the file is in use.

After  the  files are copied, add Clocker to a  Program
Manager  group.   To run Clocker every time  you  start
Windows,  find  CLOCKER.EXE with the File  Manager  and
drag  it  to the Startup group in the Program  Manager.
See  your  Windows manual if you are unsure how  to  do
this.


Registration
------------

When   Clocker  is  first  started,  you  will  see   a
registration  reminder screen.  Click  the  Register...
button  and  you  will  see the following  registration
screen:



Enter  your  name  exactly as  shown  on  your  license
statement, and your serial number and registration code
(also found on the license statement).


Getting Started
---------------

After  starting Clocker, you will see a screen  similar
to the following:



The  current  time is shown on the status  bar  at  the
bottom  of  the  screen,  along  with  the  date.   The
remainder of the status bar will give information about
group  and  supervisor modes, as  well  as  information
about  menu  options as you select them.  "UNREGISTERED
EVALUATION COPY" will be displayed if your copy is  not
yet registered.  The large empty area in the center  is
where the list of events will be.

Each  item that you enter into the Clocker schedule  is
called an event.  A reminder of an important meeting or
a  backup  program running are both examples of  events
you  might  want to schedule.  To add an event,  select
Add  Item from the Options pull-down menu, or click the
Add  button.   You  will  then  be  prompted  with  the
following screen:



By  filling  in  the various fields of  this  box,  you
specify  the event you wish to schedule.   For  a  full
description of the fields in this form, please refer to
the reference section of this manual.

The  date  field is the date that the event  is  to  be
executed,  and the time is the time of day it  will  be
executed.  If the Repeat box is checked, the event will
execute repeatedly at the specified interval, until the
specified end time.

The  second  section are the repeat options.   One  Day
Only  means exactly that - the event will only  execute
on  the  specified date.  Daily/Weekly means  that  the
event  will  execute  on  each of  the  selected  days.
Monthly will execute the event every month, on the  day
specified by the date at the top.

The  next  section is the event to be executed.   There
are  three  categories of events:  a  command  line,  a
message,  or  other.  If a program is to  be  run,  the
Command  Line button should be selected.  If a reminder
message  should  pop up, the Message button  should  be
selected.   If  the system should be rebooted,  Windows
stopped or restarted, a program run outside of Windows,
or  a  program  closed,  the  Other  button  should  be
selected.  The area below the buttons is for the actual
command line, message, or program name if applicable.

If   a  Command  Line  has  been  selected,  a  working
directory  can also be specified for the  program.   In
many  cases  this  will  not  be  necessary,  but  some
programs require that they are executed from a specific
directory.

The  last  section  is the display options,  which  are
available  only for Command Lines.  You can  choose  to
display the program you are running either in a  normal
window, iconized, or hidden.

Pressing  the  Test  button  will  execute  the   event
immediately.  This is useful to verify that  the  event
was  set  up  correctly.   Note  that  testing  is  not
available for some of the "Other" options.

After the event has been set up and OK is pressed,  the
event  is  entered  and will execute at  the  specified
time.

To  edit  an  item after it has been entered,  you  can
select  Edit Item from the Options Menu, you can  click
the  Edit  button,  or you can simply double-click  the
item in the list.  Similarly, to delete an item, simply
select it and choose Delete Item from the Options  menu
or click the Delete button (or press the delete key).

In  the  Settings menu, you can select the font  to  be
used,  toggle display of the date in the icon  caption,
toggle  display  of the icon, and a few other  options.
See  the  reference section of this manual for  further
details.

The Help menu provides on-line help for Clocker.


Private and Group Scheduling
----------------------------

Clocker  supports  two different  kinds  of  schedules:
private   schedules   and  group  schedules.    Private
schedules are schedules which are unique to one machine
or  user, and they run only on that one machine.  Group
schedules  are  shared between many users.   Note  that
Clocker can use both kinds of schedules simultaneously.


Private Schedules
-----------------

Private schedules are schedules which are unique to one
machine.   Private schedules will usually be  the  only
ones used by a stand-alone machine.


Group Schedules
---------------

Group schedules are designed to be shared between  many
users.   These schedules are usually placed on a shared
network  disk, and all of the machines on  the  network
running   Clocker  will  share  this  common  schedule.
Normally,  the  system administrator will  set  up  the
group   schedule.   These  group  schedules  are   also
password protected, for security reasons -- notably, so
only  the  system  administrator can change  the  group
schedule.

Group schedules can be used for anything from broadcast
meeting  reminders  to  sophisticated  network   backup
management.   If  Clocker is combined  with  a  Windows
batch   language,   such   as  WinBatch   from   Wilson
WindowWare, the flexibility is endless.


---------
Reference
---------

Command Line
------------

The command line for Clocker is:

    clocker [privatefile] [groupfile]

where  privatefile  is the name of a  private  schedule
file  and groupfile is a group schedule file.   One  or
both  of  these options can be specified.  If both  are
specified, order is not important -- Clocker will auto-
detect  the  file types.  Note that private  and  group
schedule files are not interchangeable.


Creating an Event
-----------------

To create a new event, choose Add Item from the Options
menu  or  click  the Add button.  The  following  is  a
description of the fields within the Edit Schedule Item
dialog:

Date - this is the date when the event is scheduled  to
occur.  The date must be specified in MM/DD/YY format.

Time  -  this  is  the time of day when  the  event  is
scheduled to happen.  The date may be specified in  12-
or 24-hr time.  For 24-hr time, specify the time in the
form  HH:MM.  For 12-hr, use the form HH:MMa or HH:MMp.
The  following are examples of how to correctly specify
the time:

       8:00, 8:00a, 1:45p, 17:12.

If  the  time is edited later, it will be displayed  in
either  12-  or  24-hr format, depending  on  what  the
setting  is in the International section of the Windows
control panel.  The default is 12-hr time.

Repeat  - this flag causes the event to repeat multiple
times on the day(s) it runs.  To use the repeat option,
check the Repeat box, and then fill in the interval and
the  end  time in the boxes to the right of the  Repeat
box.   The  event  will then execute  every  [interval]
minutes from [start time] until [end time], where start
time is the time entered at the top of the form.

For  example,  if you wanted an event to execute  every
hour  from 9:00am to 5:00pm, you would enter  9:00a  as
the  start time, 60 as the interval, and 5:00p  as  the
end time.

One  Day  Only  - this means that the event  will  only
execute on the specified date.  This selection, as well
as   the   repeat   daily/weekly  and  repeat   monthly
selections,  can  be combined with  the  Repeat  option
described above.

Repeat Daily/Weekly - When this option is selected, the
days  of  the  week section is enabled.   By  selecting
certain  days of the week, you specify which  days  the
event should execute on.

Repeat  Monthly - This option executes the  event  each
month on the specified date.  For example, if the  date
is  set to 3/12/92, then the event will execute on  the
12th  of each month.  Note that no warning is given  if
the date is not valid for every month - for example, if
the  specified  date is 3/31/92, then  the  event  will
never  execute in February since February only  has  28
(or 29) days.

Command  Line  - If this option is selected,  then  the
text entry field below it will hold the command line to
be  run.   Include  any command line  options  for  the
program you are executing.  Note that file associations
set   up  with  the  Windows  File  Manager  are  fully
supported.

Message  -  If this option is selected, then  the  text
entry  field  below it will contain  a  message  to  be
printed  to  the screen at the specified  time.   There
will also be a beep to accompany this message.

Other  -  If you select the Other option, you  will  be
able   to   choose  between  several  special   actions
available in Clocker.  Note that the 'Test' function is
not available for some of these options.  The following
functions are available:

  Exit  Windows:  This option will exit Windows.   Note
  that  this is a "friendly" exit - if any applications
  have  unsaved data, Windows will not terminate  until
  the  user  is  prompted to save the data.   The  Test
  function is disabled for this option.

  Restart  Windows: This option will cause  Windows  to
  be   restarted.   Note  that  this  is  a  "friendly"
  restart  -  if  any applications have  unsaved  data,
  Windows  will  not  be restarted until  the  user  is
  prompted  to  save  the data.  The Test  function  is
  disabled for this option.

  Reboot  System: This option will cause the system  to
  be  rebooted.  Note that this is a "friendly"  reboot
  -  if  any applications have unsaved data, the system
  will  not  be rebooted until the user is prompted  to
  save  the  data.  The Test function is  disabled  for
  this option.

  Exit,  Run,  Restart: This option will exit  Windows,
  run  the specified program, and then restart Windows.
  This  is useful for things like a disk optimizer,  or
  anything  else  which  must run outside  of  Windows.
  Note  that  the only programs which can be run  using
  this  option  are .COM and .EXE files -  batch  files
  (.BAT) are not allowed.  Also, the full path must  be
  specified  to  the  file you  wish  to  execute  (for
  example,  C:\DOS\EDIT.COM) - your path  will  not  be
  searched   for  the  file.   The  Test  function   is
  disabled for this option.

  Close   Application:  This  option  will  close   the
  specified  application.  You need to enter  the  name
  of  the program.  This is NOT the file name -  it  is
  the  name  of the program, as shown on the title  bar
  of  the window when it is running.  You only need  to
  enter  the  first few characters of the  name  -  for
  example,  if  you  enter Calc, then  Calculator  will
  match.   You  should,  however,  be  as  specific  as
  possible  - if you enter Cal, then both Calendar  and
  Calculator  will  match (in this case,  the  shortest
  name  will  be  selected, which is  Calendar).   Note
  that   this  termination  is  "friendly"  -  if   the
  application  has unsaved data, you will  be  prompted
  to save your data before the application is closed.

  Kill   Application:  This  option  will   close   the
  specified   application,  with  "extreme  prejudice".
  The  name  of the application should be specified  as
  in  the  above case.  The application will NOT prompt
  for  unsaved  data before terminating.  Warning:  use
  this  function  sparingly,  and  as  a  last  resort.
  Resources  in  use  by the application  will  not  be
  freed when it is terminated.

Browse  -  If  the  Command Line  option  is  selected,
pressing  this button will allow you to browse  through
files to select the one you want.

Specify Working Directory - This option allows  you  to
specify the working directory for the program you  wish
to  run.  In many cases this is not necessary, but some
programs  require  that they are  run  from  a  certain
directory.  This option is only available if a  command
line has been specified.

Normal  -  This option causes the program to run  in  a
normal  window.   This option is only  available  if  a
command line is specified.

Iconized - This option causes the program to run as  an
icon.   Be  sure  to  have  a  valid  .PIF  file   with
Background  Execution  enabled  to  run  DOS   programs
iconized.   This option is only available  for  command
lines.

Hidden  -  Select  this option if you  want  to  run  a
program  hidden.  Be careful with this option,  as  you
will  not  be  able to give user input to the  program.
Also  be sure to have a valid .PIF file with Background
Execution  enabled  to run DOS programs  hidden.   This
option is also only available for command lines.

Test  -  This  button will execute the event  you  have
entered immediately.  This is useful to verify that  it
was  entered  correctly.   Note  that  testing  is  not
available  for  some events selected with  the  "Other"
option.


Editing an Event
----------------

To  edit  an  event, select Edit Item from the  Options
menu, click the Edit button, or simply double-click  on
the  item you wish to edit.  The fields for editing are
the same as those used for adding a new item.


Deleting an Event
-----------------

To  delete  an event, select it and choose Delete  Item
from  the Options menu, or click the Delete button.  If
you  are deleting a private schedule item, you can just
press the delete key.


Group Scheduling
----------------

Group  scheduling works in the following way.   Clocker
will  read a group file, and store the events just like
a  private schedule.  The difference is that the  group
file will be refreshed at regular intervals (default is
15  minutes).  If the system administrator  wants  each
machine to run a backup at a given time, he/she  should
create  a  group  file  with  this  event  in  it,  and
configure all of the machines to read this file.  After
they are configured, the group file can be modified and
the  machines will automatically refresh themselves  to
read the new data.


Creating and Editing Group Files
--------------------------------

This section is intended for network administrators, or
anyone  who needs to make a central schedule  for  many
computers.   Group  files  are password  protected,  as
unwanted changes to them could have significant effects
on the network.

To  create a new group file, simply close any  existing
group  files and select Add Group Item from the Options
menu.  Clocker will prompt for a password for this  new
group file.  This password will be stored with the file
when it is saved, and the password will be necessary to
edit  the file at a later date.  When the password  has
been entered, the status line will display "SUPERVISOR"
to indicate Supervisor mode.

You  must  be in supervisor mode to edit a group  file,
and  you  must know the password to get into supervisor
mode.   To exit supervisor mode, you must save or close
the  group  file.  Also, be aware that the  group  file
will not be refreshed from disk on the machine you  are
working on while you are in supervisor mode.

After  a password is entered, the standard add schedule
item  dialog will be displayed.  All of the fields  are
identical  to  that of the private files.   The  entire
group schedule can be entered at this point.

After creating the schedule, save the group file  in  a
directory   to  which  all  Clocker  users  have   read
permission.

To  edit  a group file, load the group file and  select
Edit  Group Item from the Options menu (or double-click
on  the  item you wish to edit).  You will be  prompted
for  the  password, and if you enter it correctly,  you
will  enter supervisor mode and can edit the  schedule.
Remember,  you  will be in supervisor  mode  until  the
group file is saved or closed.


Using a Group File
------------------

This section assumes that a group file has already been
created, and is on a readable drive.

To  open a group file, choose Open Group from the  File
menu, and select the group file you wish to use.   When
this  file  is opened, Clocker will split  its  display
into  two lists - the top will be the standard  private
schedule, and the bottom will be the group schedule, as
shown below:



The  status line will also indicate "GROUP" to indicate
Group  mode.  When group mode is enabled,  all  of  the
group events are active and will execute at their event
time.

To close a group file, choose Close Group from the File
menu.   This  will erase all of the group  events  from
memory.  To use the group schedule after this, you must
re-open the file.

If  you  do not wish to see the group events,  but  you
still  want them to be active, toggle the Display Group
option in the Settings menu or click the Display  Group
Schedule  button  at  the top of the  window.   If  the
option   is  off,  the  group  schedule  will  not   be
displayed,  but it will still be active - "GROUP"  will
still be on the status line.


Settings Menu
-------------

Icon  Font  - Selecting this option will allow  you  to
change  the font used to display the time in the  icon.
Note that it is possible to select a font too large  to
fit  in  the given space.  The font will be  saved  for
future sessions.

Hide  Icon  -  If this option is checked, then  Clocker
will   be   hidden  when  iconized.   This  option   is
convenient if you already have a clock on your desktop,
but you want to use Clocker's scheduling features.

To  make  Clocker  visible again,  simply  run  Clocker
again.   Two  ways  to do this are to  double-click  on
Clocker's icon in Program Manager (if there is one), or
to  double-click  on  Clocker from  the  File  Manager.
Doing  this will activate the copy of Clocker which  is
currently running.

Note:  due to this feature, it is not possible to  have
multiple instances of Clocker running.

Delete  After  Execute  -  this  option  is  under  the
Settings  menu.   If you select this  item,  any  event
which  is  One  Day Only and does not  repeat  will  be
deleted after it executes.  Note that this will  modify
the  data file, and when you exit Clocker you  will  be
prompted  to save the file.  This is normal - the  file
really did change.

Note  that  this option is only available  for  private
schedules - it is not valid for group schedules.

Print  Log - this option causes Clocker to print a  log
file,  which  will be called CLOCKER.LOG  and  will  be
placed in your Windows directory.  The log will contain
an  entry for every program which is executed, and will
have  the date, time, and command line for the program.
If  the  program launch is unsuccessful, an error  code
will  be  displayed.  A program being closed or  killed
will also create a log message.

No  log  entry  is  printed for messages  displayed  by
Clocker.

Display Date - this option is under the Settings  menu.
Selecting it will make Clocker display the current date
as  part of the icon title when iconized.  This setting
will be saved for future sessions.

Display  Group - if group mode is enabled, this  option
toggles  the display of the group schedule.  Note  that
if  group  mode is enabled, then the group schedule  is
active  regardless of the Display Group  setting.   You
can  also  click the Display Group Schedule  button  to
toggle this option.

Load  Files  on Startup - If this option  is  selected,
Clocker will start up with whatever files were open  in
the  last  Clocker  session.  Both  private  and  group
files, if they were previously open, will automatically
open when Clocker is started.  Note that this option is
on by default.


Miscellaneous Options
---------------------

Icon Always On Top - this option is available from  the
system  menu  of Clocker.  Selecting this  option  will
cause  Clocker  to remain on top of all other  windows.
This setting will be saved for future sessions.

12  and  24  hr  Time  Display -  the  time  format  is
retrieved from the Windows system settings.  To  change
this  setting, look in the Windows control panel  under
International.

3D  Controls  -  To  use 3D controls, Clocker  requires
version   2.01   or  later  of  ctl3d.dll.    Clocker's
distribution  includes version 2.01,  and  should  work
correctly.  However, other applications may install  an
older  version.   If  you get a  warning  message  from
Clocker  about an old version, copy the ctl3d.dll  from
Clocker's  distribution  disk  to  your  WINDOWS\SYSTEM
directory.   Also  ensure  that  no  other  copies   of
ctl3d.dll  are present on your disk you  can  use  File
Manager to find all instances of the file).

Note  that you may have to close other applications  in
order   to   be   able  to  copy  ctl3d.dll   to   your
WINDOWS\SYSTEM  directory if these  other  applications
are using the ctl3d.dll that is currently there.


To Disable 3d Controls:
-----------------------

To disable the 3D controls, create a [Settings] section
in  the  CLOCKER.INI  file (which  should  be  in  your
Windows  directory), if there is not one  already.  Add
the following line, under this section header:

     Controls3D=NO

Note  that  ctl3d.dll  is still  required  for  running
Clocker,   even  if  the  3d  controls  are   disabled.
However,  any  version of ctl3d.dll will work  in  this
case.


Advanced Options
----------------

The  following  settings should not  be  necessary  for
normal use of Clocker -- the defaults are adequate  for
most purposes.  Nevertheless, this information is being
made  available for system administrators and  advanced
users who want more flexible control over their Clocker
system.

Time Update Interval

This  option  changes the frequency with which  Clocker
updates  its internal time. The default is  5  seconds,
which should be adequate for most uses.  However,  with
this default, events executed and the time displayed by
Clocker could be up to 5 seconds late.  To change  this
value,  create a [Settings] section in the  CLOCKER.INI
file  (which  should be in your Windows directory),  if
there is not one already. Add the following line, under
this section header:

TimeUpdateInterval=5

Instead  of 5, enter the interval you want in  seconds.
Note  that  the  interval must  be  between  1  and  59
seconds.    Smaller  numbers  will  slightly   increase
overhead,  but  this  effect  will  probably   not   be
noticeable in most cases.

Group Refresh Rate

This  option  changes the frequency with which  Clocker
refreshes  the  group  file. The default  is  every  15
minutes,  which should be adequate for most  uses.   To
change  this value, create a [Settings] section in  the
CLOCKER.INI  file  (which should  be  in  your  Windows
directory),  if  there  is not  one  already.  Add  the
following line, under this section header:

GroupRefreshRate=15

Instead of 15, enter the refresh rate (in minutes) that
you  want.   The  actual refresh  times  will  be  when
(minutes MOD interval) is zero -- for example,  if  the
GroupRefreshRate  is  15 minutes, then  refreshes  will
take  place at 0, 15, 30, and 45 minutes past the hour.
Note that smaller intervals can increase overhead, both
within  Clocker and on the network (since  all  of  the
machines  will  probably be accessing the  file  server
simultaneously).


Registration and Support Information
------------------------------------

Single copy Clocker registration is $24.95, payable  in
US dollars.  If used on a network, Clocker requires one
license  for  each  machine it  is  running  on.   Site
license rates are as follows:

     5 users        $ 109.95
     10 users       $ 199.95
     20 users       $ 349.95
     50 users       $ 699.95
     100 users      $ 999.95

For  over  100  users, please contact  Winnovation  for
pricing information.

To  register  additional copies, print out ORDERFRM.TXT
or  the  order  form in the on-line help and  mail  the
completed form along with payment to:

     Winnovation
     Dept. C23
     PO Box 271071
     Ft. Collins, CO  80527-1071
     USA

For  faster processing, credit card orders can be FAXed
to  the  number listed below, or e-mailed to the e-mail
address below.

After  your registration is processed, you will receive
a   serial  number/registration  code  combination,   a
manual,  and  a  disk for each copy you ordered.   Site
licenses will receive only one code, manual, and  disk,
with  additional manual copies available for a  nominal
charge.  Registered users will be entitled to unlimited
support  and  free  upgrades as they become  available.
Support  will  be via telephone, E-mail  and  US  mail.
Winnovation can be reached at:

     Telephone:  [phone]

     FAX:  [phone]

     E-mail:   CompuServe: 71774,605
               Internet: [e-mail]