Night Owl 6/Night Owl's Shareware - PDSI-006 - Night Owl Corp (1990).iso/025a/tw12.zip/TW.DOC

Text File | 1991-08-18 | 15KB | 329 lines

Welcome to the PC version of TravelWare(tm)!
Version 1.2  08/18/91

If you travel you know what a mess it can be trying to keep track of all
the information required to make a trip go smoothly.  Flight information,
car rentals, confirmation numbers, accommodations, check-in times,
schedules, expenses, to-do lists, meals... the list goes on and on.  Well
TravelWare helps you keep track of all that information.  All your trip
data will be organized and available in one location.  And it's a breeze
to use.  TravelWare keeps track of your to-do lists, flights, lodging,
meals, transportation, schedule, and expenses.  It even prints reports of
any combination of these items.  TravelWare also includes a bonus utility
called "BugMe" that lets you set alarms via the command line or through
the scheduling function of TravelWare.

The first thing you'll notice when you use TravelWare is that it only
uses part of your PC's screen.  The reason?  Because TravelWare is
designed not only to run on your PC but also on the new breed of palmtop
computers: those MS-DOS computers that fit in the palm of your hand.
Even though these palmtops are amazing machines, those under $1000 have
downsized screens.  The $299 Atari Portfolio has an 40 character by 8
line display, while the $699 HP 95LX has a 40 character by 16 line
display.

Does the program suffer by downsizing the screen?  You'll have to judge
for yourself, but I think the smaller screen actually enhances the
program by not overwhelming you with information.  If you want to check
your flight information, you sure don't need 80 columns by 25 rows to do
so!  In fact, I find the 8 line mode more comfortable than the 16 line
mode.

TravelWare compresses and stores all the data for a trip together in a
single file.  This lets you (or your assistant) input all the travel data
into TravelWare using the PC at the office and then download the trip
file to your portable, notebook, or palmtop PC.  Likewise when you
return, you can upload the trip file back to your PC and have your
assistant print out your expense report, action items, etc.  Of course
you don't need to do things this way.  Anything you can do on the PC
version you can do on the palmtop version as well.

This PC version of TravelWare should run on the HP 95LX, however it will
not run on the Portfolio.  A special Portfolio version of TravelWare on a
ROM card will soon be available from Atari.  Call for details.

** How Much? **

This PC version of TravelWare is user-supported shareware.  This means
you're given this copy without obligation in order to evaluate it.  If
after your evaluation you decide to continue using it, you must become a
registered user by sending the registration fee of $30 (add $1 for 3.5
disk, $5 for overseas) to:

    RSE TravelWare                    Mastercard or Visa customers:
    1157 57th Drive SE                       [phone]
    Auburn, WA 98002                     Compuserve: 72371,1557

You are encouraged to freely distribute copies of the TW12.EXE file as
long as you don't charge anything for the copies.  DO NOT distribute the
individual, extracted, files; only TW12.EXE.

As a registered user you'll receive these additional benefits:

1.  The latest version of Travelware for the PC.
2.  No more messages asking you to register.
3.  Our other world famous PC shareware programs including PC-Directory,
    HideIt, PC-Images, Trash-It, Playback, Remind Me!, Nabbit and more.
4.  A sincere "Thank you" for supporting our efforts to develop
    quality software and offer it at reasonable prices.

Those using TravelWare in a commercial or governmental environment must
register within 30 days.  Site licenses and multiple copy discounts are
available.  Call or write for details.

By the way, if you can't get your company to spring for TravelWare (even
after explaining how much more efficient and personable you've become)
don't forget you can claim TravelWare's registration fee as a business
deduction.

== Getting Started ==

If you haven't done so already, copy the TW??.EXE file (where ?? is the
version number) onto its own disk or onto your hard drive and extract
the individual files by entering "TW??" at the DOS prompt.

If you would like to have access to TravelWare at any DOS prompt and
you're using DOS 3.0 or greater, then put the TravelWare files (TW.COM,
PCINS, BUGME.COM, TW.CFG, and SAMPLE.TRV) in one of the subdirectories
listed in the PATH statement of your AUTOEXEC.BAT file.

To start TravelWare enter "tw" at the DOS prompt.

We did our best to make TravelWare as intuitive as possible.  As a result
I've kept these instructions brief.  Reading them alone won't make a lot
of sense.  However, if you use each of TravelWare's functions as you read
about them you'll find TravelWare a breeze to learn.

== Getting around ==

There are some basic instructions that are consistent throughout
TravelWare:

*  When a menu appears, make your selection by pressing the first key of
   the desired function, i.e. to select "Expenses" you'd press "E".

*  When you're through with a particular screen, press the Escape key.

*  If a pointer appears, move it using the up and down cursor keys.

*  When entering data into multiple fields, move between fields using
   Tab, Return, or the up and down cursor keys.

== The Main Menu ==

After you start TravelWare the Main Menu appears.  TravelWare keeps track
of your action items, expenses, flights, lodging, meals, auto rentals,
and schedule.  To select a particular function just press the first key
associated with that function.  To exit TravelWare press the Escape key.
(Remember, any time you're through with a particular screen press the
Escape key.)

== To-Do Lists ==

The menu that appears when you press "t" for the "To-Do lists" lets you
select which of the three "to-do" lists you're interested in.  They are:
those things you need to accomplish before leaving on the trip, those you
need to do while on the trip, and those you must do when you return.
As always, to select an item press the first letter of the desired item,
in this case either B, D, or A.

After you select which list you want, a menu at the bottom of the screen
gives you five choices:

Press:  I to Insert a new item at the cursor location
        D to Delete the item at the cursor location
        A to Add an item to the bottom of the list
        R to raise the item up the list
        L to lower the item down the list

If there are more items than will fit on the page then use PgUp, PgDn,
Home, and End to move through the list.

You can change the priority (order) of the items in your list using the
"Lower" and "Raise" functions.  To move a particular item up in the list,
select it with the pointer (using the cursor keys) and press R for
"Raise" until you've moved it up to the desired location.  "Lower" works
the same way except it moves an item down the list.

== Schedule ==

The schedule of the date closest to today's date (from today forward)
appears first.  Current time is displayed in the lower right corner.

* Use PgUp and PgDn to move between dates.
* Press A to add an event to this date.
* Press D to Delete the selected event.
* Press N to create a new date.
* If BugMe is loaded you can also press S to set an alarm for the
  selected schedule entry.  You can set up to ten different alarms.  To
  un-set an alarm you just select the schedule item and press S again.

When entering a new date enter the numeric month followed by a "/"
followed by the day.  The year is not used.  For example, April 23rd
would be input as "4/23", November 2 would be "11/2".  Time is input as
hours, colon, minutes, i.e. 4:23 or 12:01

== Flights, Auto, Lodging, and Meals ==

When you enter any of these areas you'll initially be given a one line
summary of each of the records in that particular area.  In the flight
area you may see a "c" before the flight information.  This indicates
the flight continues on, or connects with another, i.e. it is not the
final destination.

To view the complete information of a record listed in the summary,
just use the cursor keys to point to it and press V for View.

When viewing (or entering) the complete information of a record you use
Tab, Return, and the up/down cursor keys to move between fields.  Press
Escape when you are through, or display the previous/next record by
pressing PgUp/PgDn respectively.

== Expenses ==

The list of expenses begins by pointing to the last item entered.  You
use Home, End, PgUp, PgDn, and the cursor keys to move around the list.
The total expenses for the day, and the trip to date, are displayed at
the top of the screen.

Notice the number to the far right of each expense.  This is the expense
code, which allows you to group your expenses into different categories.
You define what these expense codes are in the Utilities section.  If you
elect to use expense codes then you'll be asked for the code at the time
you enter the expense.

== Expense Summary ==

Pressing S for Summary (see the menu at the bottom of the expense screen)
brings up the Expense Summary Report.  The Expense Summary breaks down
each day's expenses by code, totals the expenses for each day, and
displays the trip totals for each code.

Use PgUp and PgDn to move through the complete summary list.

== Utilities ==

The following describes the different utility functions:

* Acct Codes - Define    You can categorize your expenses using up to 5
different expense codes, numbered 1 through 5.  This is where you specify
how many codes there are and define what each code represents.  You can
chose not to have any accounting codes by entering 0 when asked for the
number of codes.

Accounting codes remain the same for all trips.

* Create new trip        Press C to create a new trip from scratch.

* Recycle trip           This creates a new trip using the pertinent
information from the trip that is already loaded.  Essentially it takes
the trip that is currently loaded, erases all the trip unique data
(dates, confirmation numbers, expenses, to-do lists, etc.) and saves the
rest under the new trip name that you supply.  This can be a big time
saver if you're creating a trip that is similar to one you've taken in
the past.  The original trip's data remains intact.

* Load trip from disk    When you press L all the trips on the disk will
be listed.  Point the cursor at the one you want and press L again to
load it into memory.

* Delete trip            When you press D, for Delete, all the trips on
the disk will be listed.  Point the cursor at the one you want to delete
and press D again to delete it.

* Print reports          Tag those items you want printed reports of by
selecting the item with the cursor and pressing T for Tag.  After all
desired items have been tagged press P to initiate the printing.

* Konfigure              Lets look at the items you can change with
Konfigure.

Mode:  There are two prominent palmtops on the market right now: the
Atari Portfolio and the HP 95LX.  The Atari uses an 40x8 display while
the HP uses a 40x16 display.  Selecting "8 line" mode shows you how
TravelWare looks and runs on the Atari Portfolio.

The "8 line+Ins" mode is the same as the "8 line" mode except that the
instructions are displayed on the 8 lines below the main screen.  This is
a good way to learn how to use TravelWare on your PC or on the 16 line
HP 95LX.  (On the Portfolio version of TravelWare you can receive Help at
any time by pressing the F1 key.)  Once you're familiar with TravelWare
(i.e. you don't need the instructions anymore) I would switch to either
the "8 line" mode or the next mode we're going to discuss: the "16 line
mode".

The "16 line" mode displays the instructions when it can, but when
appropriate it takes advantage of the bigger screen.  For example, if you
have long lists of expenses, to-do items, etc... then the "16 line" mode
will display more of that data on screen at one time than the "8 line"
mode.

Row and Column:  These values determine where the upper left corner of
TravelWare's screen is located.  If you are porting this program over to
the HP 95LX then you'll want to set both these values to 0.

Border:  Just determines if the border is drawn or not.  Set this value
to "No" if you're porting this to the HP 95LX.

Display:  Lets you select Mono or Color.  Set to "Mono" if porting to the
HP 95LX.

Adjust Colors:  This lets you adjust the screen colors.

=== Trip Data ===

TravelWare saves all the data for one trip in a single file with the
extension .TRV.  The trip loaded into memory is the one displayed in the
upper left corner of the Main Menu.  As discussed above, you can load
another trip into memory by going to Utilities and pressing L for Load.
Don't worry about saving your changes to disk.  TravelWare takes care of
the updates as you make the changes.

You transfer trip information between computers just by transfering the
trip file.  For example, if you want to send the Sample trip information
to another computer, just transfer the SAMPLE.TRV file.

**** BugMe ****

TravelWare comes with a special version of our BugMe program that lets
BugMe interface with the scheduling functions in TravelWare.  BugMe is a
tiny TSR program (it uses just over 1K of memory) that lets you use your
computer as an alarm clock.  You can set alarms via the command line or
by using the "SetAlarm" function in TravelWare (as discussed earlier).

The command syntax to set an alarm via the command line is:

bugme #### description

where #### is a 4 digit number representing military time.  For example,
if you want an alarm to go off at 4pm telling you to go home you would
enter "bugme 1600 Go home stupid!" at the DOS prompt.  Or if you want
to wake up at 5:30am you'd enter "bugme 0530 Rise and Shine" at the DOS
prompt.  Make sure your input is in 24 hour time with all digits used.

If #### is less than 4 digits long then BugMe sets off the alarm that
many minutes from now.  For example, entering "bugme 15 Take roast out"
would set an alarm off 15 minutes from now.

When the alarm goes off the description is printed in the upper left
corner of the screen and the computer beeps once a second for 30 seconds
or for 5 seconds after you press a key.

You can uninstall BugMe (remove it from memory) by entering "bugme /u".
BugMe will hold up to ten different alarms.  You can list the alarms that
BugMe has in memory by entering "bugme /l".  If you put BUGME.COM in one
of your PATH subdirectories you will have access to it at any DOS prompt.

=== So Long ===

That's about it.  Hope you find TravelWare useful and worthy of your
support.

If you have any suggestions on how we can make TravelWare more useful,
please write us a letter.  While we regret not being able to respond to
your letters I guarantee your suggestion will be seriously evaluated.

Hope you find TravelWare worthy of your support.  Happy Traveling.