Night Owl 9/Night Owl CD-ROM (NOPV9) (Night Owl Publisher) (1993).ISO/041a/alrmck28.zip/ALRMCLK2.HLP

OS/2 Help File | 1993-03-04 | 22KB | 616 lines

ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 1. About Alarm Clock ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

 Alarm Clock Event Schedular

WalkerWerks
572 Sabine
Memphis, Tn. 38117
[phone]
Compuserve 70304,2705
(C) Copyright 1992 all rights reserved


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 2. Overview ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Welcome to Alarm Clock version 2.8. With Alarm Clock you have a DeskTop clock
and event schedular. It maintains a database of events with up to 200 events
scheduled per day. Send yourself reminders, notify groups of meetings, or have
applications run unattended at the proper time.  This is a fully 32 bit OS/2
2.0 application. It will not run on version 1.x.
Menu Help

Brought to you by:

WalkerWerks
572 Sabine
Memphis, Tn. 38117
[phone]
Compuserve 70304,2705


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 3. Disclaimer ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

This program is provided as is. The author accepts no liability for damages, or
loss of income caused directly or indirectly through the use of this program.

This program is SHAREWARE all rights and priviledges provided by law are
reserved by WalkerWerks and the author. Registered users will receive a
registered copy and one update when available.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 4. Registering ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Alarm Clock

This program is not FREEWARE. Registeration is $25 U.S. per copy. Site licenses
can be negotiated on request. The Shareware version may only be used for a 60
day trial period.

Registered users will receive a registered copy and one update when available.
And just for good measure a utility is provided to start DOS virtual sessions
from the command line with specific settings, a valuable tool for scheduling
DOS communications programs with the event scheduler.

Note:  Please include a personal contact and the version number you are
registering.
Send Registration to:

Bryan Walker DBA WalkerWerks
572 Sabine
Memphis, Tn. 38117
Compuserve 70304,2705


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 5. Calendar ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

The calendar displays the current month. Each day is displayed as a button. To
select a given date press the corresponding button. To move to other months use
the  button to move forward one month at a time and the  button to move
backward.  The  and  buttons will move you forward and backward,
respectively, by years. The  button will return you to the current month and
year. Once you select a date you will go to the schedule event or todo list for
that date, depending on where you selected the calendar option.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 6. Scheduling Events ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Every event starts here. In this dialog you enter the time and date for the
event. You also specify the type of event and the frequency. Your choices here
will determine the options that follow for completing the setup of a new event.
For Personal, onetime, reminders you can complete the time and press CTRL+P to
fill in the current date and go directly to the reminder text input screen.
For any event CTRL+D will fill in the date fields with the current date.
Options for this Dialog.

o Hour

  Sets the hour for the selected event. Use 12 or 24 hour time depending on
  your setup.  With 12 hour format use the AM PM buttons.

o Minute

  The minute for the selected event.

o Month

  The month in which the event is to occur. For daily\weekly recurring events
  this will be automatically updated when the event is scheduled.

o Day

  The day on which an event is to occur. Automatically updated for daily\weekly
  events. Monthly events will enter the day on another dialog.

o Year

  The year for an event to occur. This is completed automatically for monthly
  and daily\weekly events.

o Personal or All

  If you entered a system name for your copy of Alarm Pro select Personal to
  have the event only scheduled on your system. All will cause any system using
  the active event file to have the event scheduled. See Setting Search Files
  for more on the System Name.

o Reminder or Application

  Select reminder to schedule a message or application to start an program at
  the given time.

o One Time or Recurring

  Select wether the event is to occur only one time or should happen at
  specific intervals. Recurring events can be scheduled Annually, Monthly, one
  or more times a Week, or Daily.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 6.1. Application ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

You have requested to schedule an application for launching at a given date and
time. Enter the application name complete with drive and path in the first edit
field.  Any parameters to pass to the program go in the second edit field.  The
working directory is entered in the last edit field. A working directory is the
active directory for an application, such as being in your DOC directory and
starting your word processor even though the program is in another directory.

 The parameter and working directory information is optional. To locate a
specific program select the search button. This displays a dialog to allow you
to scan through your system for the correct application. If you select an
application it will automatically be entered into the Program field.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 6.2. Reminder ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Type the reminder text in the displayed Edit field. This text will be displayed
at the selected time and date along with an audible alarm to get your
attention.

The Tune button will display a dialog for attaching a tune to the reminder. The
tune can be any melody created using the Tune Editor provided with OS/2.  From
this dialog you can select the tune file to select from and the tune to play
each time this reminder is displayed on your screen.

o Recuring Events

  Click the button corresponding to the type of recurring event you want to
  schedule.

o Day of Week

  Select the day(s) of the week for an event to occur on.  Select from 1 to all
  7 days for the given event. Select by clicking the appropriate buttons to
  black.

o Day of the Month

  Enter the day of the month for a monthly event to occur on. For end of the
  month events enter 31. Alarm Pro will automatically account for months with
  less days.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 6.3. Setting Search Files ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Alarm Clock will search up to 3 event files for scheduled reminders and
applications. Enter the three files in the provided Edit Fields. The first
event file is where all ToDo reminders are placed if they are not marked for
"ALL".  Use the search button at the end of each field to assist in locating
event files. Entering the name of a file that does not exist will create that
file.

The System Name edit field is used to schedule personal events. Enter a name
that will be unique among the users sharing event files. If "ALL" is not
selected the event will be scheduled with this name. Only the system(s) with
this name will schedule these events. If you do not provide a system name every
event will be scheduled as "ALL".


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 7. Editing Events ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

The Database dialog provides access to all scheduled events. The system will
retrieve events from the first database in your search list or the last
database opened. Use the NEXT and PREVIOUS buttons to move through the
scheduled events. All events are displayed but you cannot save changes to
events that are scheduled under another personal name. The number of events and
selected event, the system name, and the event type are listed to the left. The
active event database is listed at the top of the dialog. You may change any
information in the Edit Fields and the radio buttons for the days of the week.

The action buttons are listed below. If a particular action is not valid that
button will be disabled.

o NEXT

  Move to the next record in the database.

o PREVIOUS

  Move back to the previous record.

o DELETE

  Delete the displayed event.

o SAVE

  Save the changes made to this record.

o EXIT

  leave the event editing dialog.

o HELP

  Display this help panel.

o OPEN

  Search for and edit another event file.

o Print

  Print the contents of the Event File.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 8. Setting System Time ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Click on the appropriate field to change (ie. Hour, minute, or second). Once
the field is highlighted press the up and down arrows to change the value.
Select SET to accept the changes and reset the computers system time and date.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 9. Clock Settings ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

The Preferences dialog allows you to set the preferences for the different
parts of the clock face. Select the part to change by clicking on the radio
button for that part (i.e. Second Hand). Then click on the desired color for
that part. In addition you may elect to have the title bar display the date in
several different formats.

To change the size of the clock use the mouse to drag the edges of the window
to the desired size. Move the window to your prefered position on the screen.
When you save the changes the size and position will also be saved.

Note:  The changes are automatically saved if you shutdown OS/2 or Alarm Clock.

The Setting Options are as follows:

o Background

  Click on this radio button to change the color of the rectangular background.
  Then click the desired color from the color options below the Clock Parts
  group.

o Face

  Click on this radio button to change the color of the clock's circular face.

o Hour hand

  Click on this radio button to change the color of the clock's Hour Hand.

o Minute hand

  Click on this radio button to change the color of the clock's Minute Hand.

o Hour Tick Marks

  Click on this radio button to change the color of the Hour Marks.

o Display Format

  Chose from an analog or digital clock. The digital clock has both 12 and 24
  hour formats available.

o Title Bar Display

  Choose the desired date format for displaying the current date in the
  titlebar.  If the clock is minimized this will display as the icon text.

o Font

  Choose an outline font for use in displaying the Digital Clock.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 10. System Settings ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

o Hourly Chime

  Click on this checkbox to activate or de-activate the hourly chime option. If
  active Alarm Pro will produce an audible sound at the top of each hour.

o FRQ

  Enter the frequency for the hourly chime. The default is 545Mhz. Any value
  from 37 to 3000 is valid.

o DUR

  Enter the duration for the hourly chime. The default is 400. The value is in
  1/100 seconds.

o CNT

  Enter the number of chimes (beeps) to sound each hour. The default is 2.

o Listen

  Press this button to hear the settings you have chosen for the hourly chime.

o Working Directory

  This is the default directory for the system default databases. These
  databases are created when no others have been opened. This is also where all
  searchs for files begins when a SEARCH or OPEN button is selected.

o Minutes to Return

  Reminders have a RETURN button which acts much like the "snooze" button on an
  Alarm Clock, causing the reminder to come back again in a few minutes. Enter
  the number of minutes to wait before the reminder returns.

o Select Printer

  Displays a list of all printers on your system. Selectthe desired printer for
  use in printing the various lists. You may optionally go to the job
  properties for the printer and select the form or other settings to save
  along with the printer.

o Select Font

  Displays a dialog from which to select for printing. The amount of text that
  can fit on a single line will be affected by the size of the font selected.
  This font will be used for all printing from Alarm Pro

o Desktop Lockup Active

  Checking the option activates a feature similar to the Lockup feature in
  OS/2.  The value set for Minutes till Lockup will be used to determine how
  long to wait without activity before blanking the screen.  The lockup feature
  will not activate if a FULLSCREEN OS/2 or DOS session is active in the
  foreground.

o Use Password

  Checking this option will require you to match the Lockup Password before the
  screen will be cleared after lockup has occured.

o Lockup Password

  This entry field will always be empty.  You should enter a password in this
  field only when you want to change the value required to unlock the desktop.

  Note:  THE PASSWORD IS CASE SENSITIVE!

o System Wide Hot Key

  The letter entered into this field will work to immediately lockup the
  desktop when pressed in combination with the ALT+CONTROL keys. This will take
  affect from any window that does not trap the  key combination before the
  Lockup monitor can see the key. note.The Lockup monitor cannot see keystrokes
  in a fullscreen OS/2 or DOS session.

o BitMap

  Enter the name of an OS/2 1.2 or 2.x bitmap to display when the screen is
  blanked. If this is left blank no bitmap will display.

o FIND

  Displays the file selection dialog and allows you to search for the bitmap to
  display.

o Display Seconds

  The number of seconds from 1 to 99 that the bitmap will be displayed before
  blanking the screen.  The default is 30 seconds.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 11. Types of Events ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Alarm Clock currently has 2 types of events. Reminder messages that pop up to
remind you of important information and applications (programs) that can be
scheduled to start unattended at specific times on a one time or recurring
basis.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 12. Glossary ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Definitions for some commonly used terms in the help text:

o Accelerator keys - Key stroke combinations that carry out a command such as
  saving changes.

o Alt+ - Carry out actions through Accelerator Keys by holding the ALT key down
  at the same time as pressing the designated text key.

o Application - The executable file such as CMD.EXE. Most applications end with
  .EXE although some may end with .COM.

o Box - The rectangular areas where text is to be typed in. Such as the line
  where you enter your reminder text.

o Button - The rectangular gray blocks with commands such as Save. To carry out
  the command without using the mouse you can TAB to the button or press Alt+
  the underlined letter.

o Click - The act of placing the mouse pointer (arrow) on a button and pressing
  the left mouse button to select the item.    It is also possible to click on
  a button by moving the focus to that button and pressing enter or pressing
  ALT+ the underlined letter.

o Command Line - Options sent to an application by entering them at the prompt
  behind the name of the program such as COPY A:\*.*. Here A:\*.* would be the
  command line.

o Dialog Box - The rectangular areas that appear on the screen asking for
  information or notifying you of errors or messages.  The Event Schedule is an
  example of a common dialog box type.

o Edit Field - See Box.

o Field - See Box.

o Focus - An item has the focus if keystroke and mouse actions will take place
  against it. When an edit field has the focus a vertical bar cursor appears.
  When most types of buttons have the focus they are surrounded by a black
  broken line. The window that has the current focus is usually brighter on the
  edge (frame) than the other windows appearing on the PC's screen.

o Path - The complete name of the directory where a file or program physically
  exists. This can include the drive letter. The syntax is D:\dir\subdir where
  D is the drive letter.

o Program - See Application.

o Radio Button - The small circle to the left of a word such as AM. Commonly
  used to select one or more choices from a group of common options. If the
  circle is one color (usually gray) the item is not selected. If the center is
  darkened the item has been selected.

o TAB - Pressing the tab key to move you to the next item such as a Field or
  Button. Pressing the Shift and Tab key together will move you backwards
  through the items.

o Text Field - See Box.

o Window - Most rectangular areas on the screen are actually windows, however
  the term usually implies the main window for an application.  Areas that can
  be sized and have the system menu and minimum and maximum buttons along the
  top of the programs display area are considered WINDOWS.

o Working Directory - The directory where you started a program. Often programs
  are physically located in one directory and run from another directory so
  that the data (such as word processor documents) are seperated from the
  program.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 13. Keys Help ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

At any Window Alt + the Underlined letter for an option will select that
action.  Alt + a letter means to hold the ALT key down and while still down
press the desired letter.

From the clock you can go directly to a menu option using the accelator keys
defined for that option.  They are

o ALT + A Display the Program Information ABOUT BOX.
o ALT + E Display the Event Menu.
o ALT + H to toggle the menu and controls off and on.
o ALT + R for instructions on registering Alarm Clock.
o ALT + S to schedule an event.
o ALT + U Display the Utilities Menu.
o ALT + L Immediately lockup the desktop.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 14. Starting Applications ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Starting OS/2 and DOS executables is straight forward and only requires that
you enter the path and name in the program field. For .CMD and .BAT files the
necessary changes are taken care of by Alarm Clock.

Windows programs must be handled differently. Instead of entering the desired
program in the program field you must enter the path and file name for
WINOS2.COM. Pass the program's name and parameters in the parameters field for
WINOS2 to start the application.

Note:  All applications are started in the background. DOS and Windows programs
are, by default, full screen so will not be immediately visible. Use the Window
List to switch to the new program.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 15. Menu ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

The menu provides a way to get to the various options for Alarm Clock. Each
item can be reached by pressing Alt+ the underlined letter of the menu item. In
addition some options have an accelator key combination that will take you
directly to the option without going through a menu. The menu also appears in
the system menu because Alarm Clock will continue to function as an icon if you
choose minimize window to desktop under the settings-window of the Alarm Clock
Desktop Object Icon.

Note:  Running Alarm Clock minimized on the desktop disables automatic lockup.

The Menu Structure:

o Events Alt+E

  The events menu including:

   - Schedule Alt+S

     Schedule reminders and applications for onetime or repetative events.

   - Database

     Edit the events database.

   - Calendar

     Schedule events by choosing the date from a virtual calendar.

   - Set Search Files

     Select up to three event files for Alarm Clock to search when it schedules
     events each midnight.

   - List Today's Events.

     Display a list of the events that will occur today.

   - Review old events.

     If Alarm Clock notified you of missed events when you started the
     application and you wanted to hold them select this to review them and
     process repetative events for the next occurance.

o Utilities Alt+U

   - Pack databases

     Pack the active database.

   - Clock Settings

     Presents a submenu for setting the display or system values.

      o Display Preferences

        Set the colors, display formats, and other options for Alarm Pro.

      o System Settings

        Set the working directory, Desktop lockup, and hourly chime options.

   - Time and Date

     Set your computer's system time and date.

   - Hide Controls Alt+H

     Hide or display the title bar, system menu, menu, and minimize and
     maximize buttons.

o Help F1

   - Help for Help

     Instructions on using the OS/2 help facility.

   - Keys Help

     Listing of the accelerator keys.

   - Help Index

     Index of Alarm Clock help topics.

   - About

     Program information dialog.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 16. Print Where ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

You are being offered the choice to print to either the printer or to disk. If
you chose disk you may specify a file name, including drive and directory, in
the displayed edit field. Disk prints are standard ASCII files that are easily
imported into most other programs.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 17. Tunes ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

This dialog displays a list of the melodies that are present in the currently
selected tune file. The tune files are created and edited using the Tune Editor
that is delivered as one of the productivity tools with OS/2.

You may select a tune from the current file by selecting it from the list. To
open another tune file use the OPEN button. To listen to the tune highlight the
tune with a single click of the mouse or by moving the cursor over the title.
Then press the play button to hear that tune. Changing the active file will not
affect any currently active tunes as the actual melody is saved with the
reminder.

Note:  Selecting and using the tunes does not affect the data currently stored
in your reminder databases.