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TimeSaver III and Multi-TimeSaver III User's Manual Copyright, 1986, 1988 MicroCon, Inc. 401 Maryland Ave. Baltimore, Md. 21228 Phone (301) 744-1519 Author Doug Crouch Your TimeSaver III License -------------------------- TimeSaver is copyrighted. Even though the program is shareware, and can be freely copied, there are still some limitations to protect the quality of the distribution of the program and to support future development. Users of TimeSaver may make copies of this program for trial use by others on a PRIVATE NON-COMMERCIAL BASIS. By accepting and using this software, you acknowledge that this software may not suit your particular requirements or be completely trouble-free. With proper application, this software will perform as described. However, neither MicroCon nor the author is responsible for your specific application or any problems resulting from use of this software. If the software does not perform as described, our liability to you is limited to replacing the software or refunding the purchase price (if purchased and duely registered). We have no liability to you or any other person or entity for any damage or loss, including special, incidental, or consequential damages, caused by this software, directly or indirectly. Some states do not allow the limitation or exclusion of liability for incidental or consequential damages, so the above limitation or exclusion may not apply to you. This Agreement is governed by the laws of the State of Maryland. Should any part of this agreement be held invalid, the remainder of the Agreement will still be in effect. This Agreement can only be modified by written statement signed by officers of MicroCon, Incorporated. Under this license, you may NOT: 1) Distribute the program in connection with any other product or service, or as part of a corporate or institutionally sponsored distribution. Site licenses and bundling agreements are available upon request. 2) Charge anything for TimeSaver. An exception is made for registered user groups who may charge a cost-based fee (not to exceed $5) to cover their own costs. 3) Distribute the program in modified or partial form. 4) Copy or reproduce the printed documentation in any form except to print one copy of this file. 5) Distribute in any form any part of Multi-TimeSaver, which is NOT shareware, and therefore not subject to distribution privledges associated with shareware or public domain software. Table of Contents 1 Introduction to TimeSaver Systems .................... 1 1.1 What is TimeSaver.................................. 1 1.2 What is Multi-TimeSaver............................ 2 1.3 Using This Manual ................................. 2 2 Getting Started ...................................... 3 2.1 System Hardware/Software Requirements ............. 3 2.2 Operating System Settings ......................... 3 3 System Description and Operation ..................... 4 3.1 Screen Layout ..................................... 4 3.2 Accessing Calendar Functions ...................... 6 3.3 Acknowledgment: "The Window Boss".................. 6 4 Functions ............................................ 7 4.1 Primary Menu ...................................... 7 4.11 HELP ............................................... 7 4.12 LIST ............................................... 7 4.13 SCAN ............................................... 8 4.14 EXPAND ............................................. 8 4.15 TASKS .............................................. 9 4.16 TAGS ...............................................10 4.17 PRINT ..............................................11 4.18 SELECT (Multi-TimeSaver Only) ......................12 4.19 SEARCH (Multi-TimeSaver Only) ......................12 4.2 Secondary Menu .....................................13 4.21 SCHEDULE ...........................................13 4.22 CANCEL .............................................13 4.23 CUT ................................................14 4.24 PASTE ..............................................14 4.25 RESCHEDULE .........................................14 4.26 MODIFY .............................................15 4.27 EXTEND .............................................15 4.28 MEETINGS (Multi-TimeSaver Only) ....................16 4.29 RSVP (Multi-TimeSaver Only) ........................17 Appendix A TimeSaver Key Definitions.....................18 Appendix B Editing Keys .................................19 Appendix C TimeSaver File Formats........................20 Section 1 - Introduction to TimeSaver TimeSaver and Multi-TimeSaver were developed to give busy people efficient scheduling tools. One of the most unique features is the ability to graphically view all appointments scheduled for an entire month. Standard block characters are used, thus permitting the program to operate with any type monitor. A real calendar, closely resembling a desk-pad monthly appointment calendar is presented on the screen. A pointer can be easily moved around the display to select individual days for viewing, adding, cancelling, editing, copying, or re- scheduling an event. The initial calendar display is for the current month. A keystroke will move the display forward or backward a month at a time. 1.1 What is TimeSaver TimeSaver provides the traditional add, delete, edit, copy and move capabilities with easy point-and-select menu-driven operation. It is generally distributed under the Shareware concept. This means that you may experiment with the program without investing any money and may distribute copies of the package, in its original form, to other users who may be interested. If you find the program beneficial and plan to continue using it, you are expected to register its use with the authors, MicroCon, Inc., and pay a small registration fee of $25.00, which covers the cost of printing this manual and other costs of maintaining your registration. As a registered user, you will be informed of updates and additional features which may be added in future releases and will receive a typeset version of the manual. TimeSaver is easily installed and used. It will only maintain one calendar. You must not rename or delete any of the files which are distributed with TimeSaver or the program will cease to operate. It will operate on monochrome screens, however, its use is more comfortable and enhanced when operated with color displays including EGA and VGA. TimeSaver, as is, has no provision for mass deleting back months' events and may therefore become somewhat inefficient after an accumulation of several months worth of data. Registered users will receive a utilities package which includes a clean-up routine for back deleting and archiving past events. TimeSaver is a "personal" schedule manager and was not designed or developed for intensive business or corporate schedule management. Furthermore, the Shareware concept does not apply to commercial use and such use is prohibited without express permission from MicroCon. It is recommended that interested commercial facilities contact MicroCon for information about Multi-TimeSaver which is a much more suitable scheduling package for business environments. - Page 1 - 1.2 What is Multi-TimeSaver Multi-TimeSaver has all the features of TimeSaver plus other multi-user functions. It is compatible with most local area networks including IBM, Novell and 3Com. A LAN is not required, however, to benefit from Multi-TimeSaver. It is also equally efficient in environments where it is necessary for one secretary or individual to manage several schedules on one computer. In the case of Multi-TimeSaver the "multi" means either "multiuser" or "multible calendars". In addition to the features of TimeSaver, Multi-TimeSaver users will be able to view and, if permitted, alter other calendars in the system. Calendars in the Multi version may exist in the form of individuals or other resources such as conference rooms, banquet rooms, or any other entity which requires scheduling. Multi-TimeSaver provides for "hiding" confidential events from other users. Meetings may be easily scheduled by the use of the "MEETING" function which determines the best times for all tagged users. 1.3 Using This Manual In the interest of maintenance and cost reduction, it was decided that Multi-TimeSaver, the commercial program, would be developed as an extension to TimeSaver, the Shareware product. For the same reasons, it was also determined that one set of user documentation would be written to cover both packages. The users of TimeSaver will therefore have to contend with references to Multi-TimeSaver in this manual although an effort has been made to distinguish clearly those functions which are extensions to TimeSaver. Those who have no interest in multiple scheduling may ignore these references, however, if your scheduling requirements include a need for interactive calendar access or meeting coordination, reading the Multi-TimeSaver parts of this manual will provide a clear insight as to the capabilities and operation of the program. Section 2 is the configuration and management section and applies primarily to Multi-TimeSaver, however, the hardware requirements and operating system settings described in the opening sub-parts apply to both packages and should be read by all users and system administrators. The remaining sub-parts deal with multiple calendar installation and local area network considerations and need be read only by system administrators. Section 3 describes the screen layout and basic navigation and operation of both packages and should be carefully read by all users and administrators. Once introduced to the graphical concept of the package and movement through the system, users should be able to use the program comfortably without further referral to this manual. The on-line help screen should suffice to remind the user of little used or forgotten key assignments. Section 4 provides a detailed discussion of each TimeSaver function. You may wish to scan Section 4 before actually using the program if you are new to computers or are unfamiliar with other full-screen type programs. - Page 2 - Section 2 - Getting Started 2.1 System Hardware/Software Requirements In order to run TimeSaver, the following equipment and system software are required: An IBM-PC/XT/AT or Compatible Computer One or more diskette or fixed disk drives At least 256K memory CGA, EGA, VGA, or monochrome display Real-time clock/calendar (or set system date) MS-DOS or PC-DOS version 2.X or 3.X Multi-TimeSaver requires all the above items and can execute in a stand-alone mode without additional equipment, however, in order to operate in multi-user mode, each workstation will also require the following hardware and software: Local Area Network Interface Board Local Area Network Cabling/Transceivers MS-Net Compatible Network Software MS-DOS or PC-DOS 3.1 or subsequent TimeSaver is distributed with the following files, without which it will not execute properly: TS.EXE The TimeSaver executable program TSCONFIG.EXE Automatically executed configuration program TS.INF Intro screen and registration information TS.CAL Calendar database (dBASE III compatible) TS.LOC Locator file (Compatible with dBASE .NDX) Multi-TimeSaver files are not listed here because the names and number of files varies with individual configurations. In order to execute properly the following minimum parameters must be set at boot-up time by the CONFIG.SYS driver: FILES = 10 BUFFERS = 10 Multi-TimeSaver is licensed on a server basis, that is, it may be installed on only one server at any given time. There is no limitation on the actual number of individual calendars which may be installed, however, there is a practical limitation as to the number of calendars which can be efficiently managed on any one computer, whether it is a network server or a stand-alone machine. There is no formula for calculating this number, since it is very dependant upon the type of computer and the relative activity of individual schedules, but our past experience has indicated that each calendar should be allocated between 1 to 1.5 megabytes of disk space. This accounts for an average schedule for one year in addition to normal creation of extension files. Large numbers of calendars on one computer can also increase search times for certain operations and reduce the overall efficiency of the system. - Page 3 - Section 3 - System Description and Operation 3.1 Screen Layout Users will find the layout of TimeSaver familiar and comfortable to use. The main display is a standard Roman type format very similar to the conventional deskpad calendar. Only one month at a time is displayed in this mode. Until events have been scheduled, nothing unusual is apparant about the calendar except that the current day will be high-lighted (blue box on color monitors/bright characters on monochrome monitors). The arrow keys on the numerical keypad or on the separate cursor keys control the placement of this box i.e. the Up key selects the same day of the week in the previous week, the Down key selects the same day of the week in the next week, the Left key selects the previous day, and the Right key selects the next day. Likewise the PgUp key displays the previous month, and the PgDn key displays the next month. NOTE: In this manual the terms "selected day" or "selected month" will refer to the high-lighted day or the displayed month. All functions except for the task management sub-system described later operate on the selected day. In other words, a day must first be selected by moving the high-lighted box to that day before invoking any of the functions. Some functions will permit changing the day after they are invoked but it is best to develop the habit of moving the "day pointer", the high-lighted box, to the day in which the operation is desired. If a function is accidentally invoked before selecting the desired day, the ESCAPE key will allow returning to the main display. Once appointments, or "events", the term used hereafter, are scheduled, a major difference is seen which separates TimeSaver from other electronic calendars. Since this program was developed primarily for schedule intensive individuals such as managers or professionals, the concept was entertained that the purpose of an event is secondary in importance to its EXISTANCE and its LOCATION within the daily schedule. Stated differently, when a manager refers to his calendar, he is generally not concerned so much with the fact that his 2:00 PM appointment with Mr. Smith is related to department budgeting, but that the meeting will last from 2:00 PM until 3:00 PM. This information can be displayed graphically for an entire month giving an accurate and informative view of schedule committments and availabilities, while the actual purpose of the events remain hidden but readily accessable if desired. In order to understand how TimeSaver accomplishes this "month-at- a-glance" display, refer to Figure #1 which is a magnified view of one day out of the month. Each day is vertically divided into two(2) halves, upper and lower. The upper half represents the hours 6:30 AM to 4:30 PM corresponding roughly to the hours most people work. The lower half represents the evening hours from 4:30 PM until Midnight. Index marks are located at the even times with 12:00 Noon centered in the upper half. It is important to note the position of the "12 Noon" mark since it is an easy reference to the other two-hour marks. - Page 4 - Events (meetings, appointments, etc.) are shown by graphic "blocks" extending between the beginning and ending times. The day depicted in Figure #1 has three events, "A" which begins at 8:00 AM and ends at 10:00 AM, "B" which is a half-hour event starting at 2:00 PM and lasting until 2:30 PM, and "C" an evening event from 7:00 PM until 8:00 PM. These blocks appear green on color monitors and white on monochrome displays. Also the evening blocks are shaded darker in order to be distinguished from the daytime events. In this square the smallest increment of time which can be shown is one half hour or 30 minutes, therefore, any event shorter than that increment will be displayed as a full half-hour. It was determined that this increment was adequate for "quick look" or long range planning and was accepted in favor of the capability of viewing an entire month at once. 8AM 10AM 12N 2PM 4PM ─┼────┼───────┼───────┼───────┼───────┼────┼─ │ ▐███████▌ ▐█▌ │ 6:30 AM - 4:30 PM│ ▐██ A ██▌{8:00-10:00 ▐B▌{2:00-2:30│ │ ▐███████▌ ▐█▌ │ │ ▐███████▌ ▐█▌ │ │-----------------------------------------│ │ ▐███▌ ┌─────────┐ │ 4:30 PM - 12:00 M│ ▐███▌ │ │ │ │ ▐ C ▌{7:00-8:00 │ DATE │ │ │ ▐███▌ └─────────┘ │ ─┼────┼───────┼───────┼───────┼────────────┼─ 6PM 8PM 10PM 12M Figure #1 =========== Smaller increments of time (15 minutes) can be seen by moving the day pointer and observing the window in the lower right section of the display called the "expanded day window". In this window the selected day is shown graphically "stretched" with marks at every half-hour increment. Again, events are depicted by blocks which extend between the beginning and ending times for that event. If events exist before 6:30 AM, they are indicated by a flashing pointer at the left side of the window, however, any portion of the event which extends past 6:30 AM will be shown normally. In this window, any event which is shorter than 15 minutes will be shown as a 15 minute event. In order to resolve an event to less than 15 minutes, the LIST or SCAN functions described later must be used. TimeSaver III, unlike previous versions of the program, permits the scheduling of overlapping or conflicting events. There is no way to distinguish these conflicts graphically and this practice is normally discouraged since one can not generally be in two places at the same time. Nevertheless, the author does listen to input from prior users and concedes that there may be occasions when this capability is desirable if not necessarily practical [Author]. - Page 5 - 3.2 Accessing Calendar Functions TimeSaver can be executed from any directory if the system path contains the TimeSaver directory name and if the environment variable "TS=<TimeSaver directory>" is set either manually or by the AUTOEXEC.BAT file. All TimeSaver functions are now invoked by using function keys F1 through F10. There are two main sets of operations called primary and secondary functions. Primary functions generally involve non-scheduling activities and some have sets of sub-functions when selected. On color monitors the primary functions are displayed with red background. Secondary functions are scheduling and text editing operations and are shown on color monitors with a blue background. The space bar toggles between the primary (RED) and secondary (BLUE) function menus each time it is pressed. Pressing the respective function key for the selected menu invokes that operation. The F10 key always returns the user to the next highest level of command. Pressing the F10 key in either the primary or secondary menus will terminate the TimeSaver program and return control to the operating system (DOS or OS/2). In TimeSaver, there are two keys, F8 and F9, in each menu which are darkened. These are Multi-TimeSaver functions and not applicable to the single calendar version. Pressing either of these keys will result in an error message and a brief description of the function as used by Multi-TimeSaver. It is not meant as a "crippling" or "demonstration" effect to have these keys displayed but rather is a necessary aspect of maintaining two closely related products. 3.3 Acknowledgment: "The Window Boss" Within each of the primary and secondary functions and within some of the sub-functions, popup windows are utilized for displaying, inputing, and editing schedule information. The author would like to take this space to acknowledge the use of a package without which the creation of this program would have been considerably more difficult and time consuming. Like TimeSaver, this package is a shareware product and depends upon voluntary registration for support. The product is the Window Boss and is highly recommended for applications written in almost any version of the "C" language which requires display management. Several 'C' libraries were evaluated for use in TimeSaver, most which cost considerably more than the Window Boss, which also includes all source code. The Boss can be obtained from: Star Guidance Consulting, Inc. 273 Windy Drive Waterbury, CN 06705 (203) 576-2449 - Page 6 - Section 4 - Functions 4.1 Primary Menu There are nine(9) functions in the primary menu including the EXIT function controled by the F10 key. Two of the functions, SELECT (F8) and MEETINGS (F9), are available only in Multi-TimeSaver because they pertain to multiple calendar operations. The primary menu can be distinguished by the red background on color monitors or by the HELP function (F1) on monochrome displays. 4.11 F1-HELP There is only one help screen in TimeSaver which briefly explains the operation of the primary and secondary functions and the actions caused by pressing the cursor movement keys. It is invoked by the F1 key. There are additional help screens for Multi-TimeSaver, however, the displays are not "context sensitive" as in some systems. Help screens are useful during the learning phase of any program but the overhead is burdonsome once the operations have become familiar to the user. It was felt that TimeSaver was "friendly" enough that extensive help facilities could be omitted in favor of a more compact and efficient program. 4.12 F2-LIST The LIST function will probably be one of the most heavily used features because it allows the display of an entire day's events in chronological order and in familiar text format with beginning and ending times spelled out. As pointed out before, TimeSaver's graphical presentation is valuable as an overview, but there are certainly times when the nature or purpose of an event needs to be known. To use the LIST function, move the day pointer to the desired day then press F2. When activated, the first twenty(20) events are shown in a window. For most individuals and for most days, the entire day's events will be visible in the window, however, if there are more than twenty activities for any day, the Up and Down cursor keys scroll the window in the respective directions. The Right cursor key will display the next sequential day, while the Left key presents the previous day. Note that the EXACT times are given for the starting and ending times, not the closest 15 or 30 minute times as depicted graphically. Also note that conflicting events will be listed and can be resolved and that events before 6:30 AM are listed. In other words, the LIST function gives TimeSaver the capability of scheduling events during the entire 24 hour day at increments as small as one minute apart. To exit the LIST function, press any key other than Up, Down, Left, or Right to return to the main display and to the control of the primary menu. - Page 7 - 4.13 F3-SCAN The SCAN function provides another way of displaying scheduled events in a "Week-At-a-Glance" type format. This is also the only function within the system which allows the user to see TAGs at the same time that the day's schedule is displayed. To use the SCAN feature, select the desired week by moving the pointer to a day in that week on the main display screen, then press F3. A window will appear in the center of the screen with all the days of the week displayed, one per line, starting with Sunday and ending with Saturday in conventional format. Any day which has an associated TAG assigned will display that TAG in the assigned color attributes. The right side of the window is divided into segments much the same as the expanded day window in the lower right corner of the main screen. Each mark on the index represents one-half hour within the time-frame 6:30 AM to Midnight. To the left of the indexed portion of the screen is a extended area which indicates whether there are any events scheduled before 6:30. If there are scheduled events from Midnight to 6:30 AM, this column will show "Yes" for that day of the week. To view previous or sub- sequent weeks during the current month, press PgUp or PgDn. Only weeks within the selected month can be viewed without exiting the SCAN function and changing the month. To exit the SCAN mode, press any key other than the PgUp or PgDn keys to return to the main display screen and the primary function menu. 4.14 F4-EXPAND The EXPAND function, activated by the F4 key, shows a conventional three(3) month calendar with the selected month centered and the next month and the previous months to the left and right of the selected month. Any days which have events scheduled will be highlighted. On color monitors, three(3) levels of schedule intensity are shown color coded as follows: WHITE no events scheduled YELLOW 1-4 events scheduled RED more than 4 events scheduled This feature has limited value since one event could last an entire day or six events could be crammed into a two-hour period. However, it does clearly indicate those days which are free and those which are fairly busy therefore some schedule changes may be required in order to balance out the load. While the EXPAND function is active, the PgDn key will advance the display by one month and the PgUp key will retard the display by one month. The selected month, the month addressed when the EXPAND function was invoked, is shown on color monitors as a BLUE window, while other months are colored WHITE. To exit the EXPAND function, press any key other than PgUp or PgDn. - Page 8 - 4.15 F5-TASKS Often there are tasks which need action but do not have an associated time required other than a desired completion date. The TimeSaver TASKS function can be described as a complete set of sub-functions which operate on a things-to-do list for each month. Tasks ARE NOT scheduled events and do not appear graphically on the main display, the LIST, or SCAN functions. They can only be viewed and manipulated within the TASKS function. When invoked with the F5 key, the TASKS function displays a new menu (GREEN on color monitors) which permits the selection of a set of sub-functions which create and maintain the task list for the selected month. Under this menu the following function keys are active: F1-CREATE Presents a window for entering information about a new task. The window is divided into three(3) data sections: DATE DUE - the date by which the task should be completed. Since all tasks pertain to the selected month, only the day-of-month is entered. TASK - This is where the task itself is entered. Any text string up to 40 characters may be typed as well as any of the editing functions described in Appendix B. STATUS - A brief (14 character) status evaluation can be typed if desired. F2-CANCEL Presents a window of existing tasks for the selected month. A flashing arrow is displayed on the top line of the window which indicates the currently addressed task. The tasks may be scrolled up or down past the arrow pointer by the use of the Up and Down keys. Pressing the Enter key will cancel or delete the single task to the right of the pointer. Pressing the Insert key marks tasks for cancellation and all the marked tasks will be deleted when the sub-function is exited by pressing the Escape key. F3-LIST Displays a window with all tasks for the currently selected month. Tasks with due dates more than one week (7 days) away from the current date are shown in WHITE on color monitors, while tasks with dates less than one week display in YELLOW. Tasks which fall due on the current day are shown in RED. If more than twenty(20) tasks exist for any month, the window can be scrolled with the Up or Down keys to bring the additional tasks within view. Also, the Right and Left keys display the previous and next months' task lists respectively. - Page 9 - F4-COPY Permits the copying of tasks which are incomplete, or tasks which repeat monthly, to the next month. When activated, a window displays all tasks for the selected month with an arrow pointer at the task currently addressed. The tasks may be scrolled up or down past the arrow pointer by the use of the Up and Down keys. Pressing the Insert key will mark tasks for copying and all the marked tasks will be copied when the sub-function is exited by pressing the Escape key. Due dates and status fields are copied without change and may require editing after copying. The existing task remains intact and must be deleted if desired. F7-PRINT Prints a list of the selected month's tasks on the system printer. F10-EXIT Terminates the TASKS function and returns control to the primary menu. (F5 performs same activity). 4.16 F6-TAGS Many days carry some special meaning which is not necessarily schedule oriented. Examples are holidays, birthdays, trips, vacation, or leave days just to mention a few. TimeSaver permits special "tags" to be attached to these days which will appear on the top line of each day tagged in that day's box. Any text string of ten(10) characters or less can be used as a tag and the tag can be individually color-coded for easy identification. An important point to remember is that tags are not events and do not appear in the graphical displays or the LIST or SCAN windows. When activated by pressing F6, the tags already created appear in the appropriate days and a new menu (colored CYAN) is displayed with the following sub-functions: F1-CREATE Activates a cursor in the upper left corner of the selected day for inputing a tag. Any string of ten characters or less may be typed, terminated by the Enter key. Two additional menu items, F5 and F6 appear. Pressing F5 will change the text attribute of the tag, while F6 toggles through the available background colors. When the tag is the desired color, pressing the Enter key will store it and the attribute menu items will disappear. F2-CANCEL Cancels or deletes the tag for the currently selected day. F3-CUT Stores a copy of the tag at the currently selected day into a buffer. Once stored the tag may be PASTED several times without re-CUTing. - Page 10 - F4-PASTE Creates a tag in the currently selected day which is an exact copy of the tag stored in the CUT buffer including color attributes. F10-EXIT Terminates the TAGS function and returns to the main display and the primary menu. (Also invoked by the F6 key). 4.17 F7-PRINT Several printouts are available from the PRINT function. Three of the reports are pure ASCII text format and will print on almost any printer, while two are graphically oriented and will require a printer which is compatible with the IBM extended character set, that is, a printer which will print the lines and boxes which are shown on the screen. Note that all "graphics" printers are not equipped with this character set and some, such as the Epson FX models must have the characters downloaded before they can be used. The PRINT menu which appears after pressing F7 (WHITE on color monitors), contains these sub-functions: F1-DAY Prints an ASCII text report of the selected day's events. F2-WEEK Prints an ASCII text report of the selected week's events. F3-MONTH Prints an ASCII text report of the selected month's events. F4-SCREEN Prints the main display screen of the selected month including event blocks. F5-GRAPHIC Prints the selected month on a single page with one day per line with an expanded graphical indication of each day's schedule to the right of the date. The user is prompted for a heading to be printed at the top of the report. F6-EJECT Sends a form feed control sequence to the printer to eject the paper after the last page is printed. F9-FILE Routes any of the five(5) reports to an ASCII file of the user's choice. When this sub-function is selected, the user is prompted for a complete file path for subsequent operations. Once activated, it is necessary to exit the PRINT function and then re-enter in order to send reports to the printer, however, the path and file may be changed between operations without exiting. F10-EXIT Terminates the PRINT function and returns to the main display and the primary menu. (Also F7). - Page 11 - 4.18 F8-SELECT (Multi-TimeSaver Only) This function permits the viewing of other calendars in the Multi-TimeSaver system. Depending upon the password given when logging into the program, either full access to both text and graphic functions and displays is allowed, or access to graphic information only is granted while the text data is locked to the user. Also, only read access is available in calendars not owned by the logged-in user. Any scheduling of other calendars must be done through the MEETING function described later. Since no scheduling functions are permitted in this mode, only the primary menu will be available with the exclusion of the TASKS function which is private to the owner of the calendar. Also the text printouts will be locked to all users except for the owner and members of his calendar group as designated by the password given at login time. When invoked by the pressing of the F8 key, the SELECT function places a window on the screen listing all calendars in the system by the calendar name given at installation time. A flashing arrow at the upper left corner indicates the currently addressed calendar. The Up and Down keys scroll the window and move the calendars past the pointer in the respective directions. When the desired calendar is addressed, the Enter key activates it. The user's own calendar is saved and the new calendar appears on the screen with the primary menu at the bottom. All the primary functions except for the aforementioned ones can now be used to examine the calendar. Subsequently pressing the SELECT key (F8), will erase the calendar and restore the owner's calendar and all functions. 4.19 F9-SEARCH (Multi-TimeSaver Only) The SEARCH function is used to locate calendars which have free times in the selected day at a designated time increment. This feature can be very useful in the scheduling of resources such as conference rooms, equipment, or personnel who work by appointment. When F9 is pressed, a window will open in the center of the screen, and the user is prompted for a beginning and ending time. Times may be entered in either of two ways. First, the user may type in the time manually using the format HH:MM [AM/PM] or the shorter format HHHH[A/P] i.e. "10:30 AM" or "1030a". Leading zeros need not be typed, however, trailing zeros are mandatory since the system can not distinguish between "9a" and "0009a". Second, the time may be entered automatically by moving the pointer below the expanded day window and observing the time counter at the left of that window. The Left and Right keys move the pointer in half-hour increments, while the Plus(+) and Minus(-) keys move it in five-minute increments. When the desired time is reached, the Enter key will select and input it into the system. After the times have been entered, the first window will be replaced by another window which displays the names of the calendars found. - Page 12 - 4.2 Secondary Menu The secondary menu (BLUE on color monitors) activates functions which create, delete, modify, copy, or extend TimeSaver events. Also, the functions for managing meetings, MEETING and RSVP, in Multi-TimeSaver, are located in the secondary menu. All the secondary functions operate on the currently selected day, in other words, the day in which the day pointer is positioned before the function is invoked. 4.21 F1-SCHEDULE The SCHEDULE function creates TimeSaver or Multi-TimeSaver events, stores them into the calendar database, and displays them on the screen as a graphic block. When the F1 key is pressed, a window appears in the center of the screen and the user is prompted for a beginning and ending time for the event. Times may be entered in either of two ways. First, the user may type in the time manually using the format HH:MM [AM/PM] or the shorter format HHHH[A/P] i.e. "10:30 AM" or "1030a". Leading zeros need not be typed, however, trailing zeros are mandatory since the system can not distinguish between "9a" and "0009a". Second, the time may be entered automatically by moving the pointer below the expanded day window and observing the time counter at the left of that window. The Left and Right keys move the pointer in half-hour increments, while the Plus(+) and Minus(-) keys move it in five-minute increments. When the desired time is reached, the Enter key will select and input it into the system. After both times have been entered, the user will be prompted for the purpose of the event. Up to forty(40) characters may now be typed, terminated by the Enter key. When the purpose has been input, the window disappears and a graphic block appears both in the day square and in the expanded day window at the lower right corner of the display, indicating that the event is scheduled. 4.22 F2-CANCEL The CANCEL function deletes events from the user's calendar. When invoked by the F2 key, the CANCEL function displays a window of all the events scheduled for the currently selected day with an arrow pointing to the first event. The Up and Down keys scroll the events past the pointer in the respective directions. When the desired event is directly to the right of the pointer, the Enter key is pressed to select that event for deletion. The window disappears along with the graphic block representing the selected event indicating that the record has been deleted from the calendar database. Note that CANCEL does not physically remove a record but rather marks it as deleted as in most common databases. Registered users must use the PACK utility, supplied with the utilities package, to physically erase deleted events. - Page 13 - 4.23 F3-CUT The CUT function stores a copy of an event into a buffer for the purpose of replicating that event to more than one day. Note that events created with the SCHEDULE function are also stored into the buffer and do not need to be CUT in order to copy them to other days. This feature in conjunction with the PASTE function is provided to simplify the process of scheduling regularly occurring events over relatively long periods of time. When the F3 key is pressed, the CUT function displays a window of all the events scheduled for the currently selected day with an arrow pointing to the first event. The Up and Down keys scroll the events past the pointer in the respective directions. When the desired event is directly to the right of the pointer, the Enter key is pressed to select that event for loading into the buffer. After the event has been selected, the window disappears and the user is returned to the main display and to the secondary menu. The buffer now contains the event which can be PASTED into any days desired. The event will remain in the buffer until another CUT or SCHEDULE is performed. 4.24 F4-PASTE The PASTE function is used with the CUT or SCHEDULE functions to replicate events to multiple days without re-entering them. At any time after a CUT or SCHEDULE activity is performed, the PASTE key, F4, may be pressed to repeat the event in the copy buffer at the currently selected day. 4.25 F5-RESCHEDULE The RESCHEDULE function provides a means to change the date and times of an event without retyping the text purpose of that event. When invoked by the F5 key, the function displays a window of all the events scheduled for the currently selected day with an arrow pointing to the first event. The Up and Down keys scroll the events past the pointer in the respective directions. When the desired event is directly to the right of the pointer, the Enter key is pressed to select that event for rescheduling. The selection window is closed and RESCHEDULE then prompts the user to select the new day for the event. After the day has been selected by moving the day pointer to the desired day and pressing Enter, the old event disappears from the screen indicating that it has been deleted from the database. A window then appears in the center of the screen identical to the window used in the SCHEDULE function. The beginning and ending times are entered using one of the two techniques described for the SCHEDULE function, however, the purpose remains the same and is not retyped. When the times have been entered, the window is closed and the event will appear at its new date and time on the main display. Control is returned to the secondary menu - Page 14 - 4.26 F6-MODIFY This function allows the editing of the text purpose field of an event without changing the scheduled times. When invoked by the F6 key, MODIFY displays a window of all the events scheduled for the currently selected day with an arrow pointing to the first event. The Up and Down keys scroll the events past the pointer in the respective directions. When the desired event is directly to the right of the pointer, the Enter key is pressed to select that event for editing. A window will be displayed with the previous text purpose. The editing keys described in Appendix B may be used to change the string. When the purpose has been re-entered, the Enter key terminates the operation and returns control to the secondary menu. 4.27 F7-EXTEND Often the forty character space allowed for typing the purpose of an event is not sufficient for completely describing the occasion. Furthermore, other data pertinent to the event, i.e. a meeting agenda, a flight itinerary, or a lesson guide, should be capable of being "attached" to the appointment or meeting for easy access. TimeSaver allows events to be "extended" by another file (usually an ASCII text file), by using your chosen text editor to access this file automatically whenever the EXTEND function is invoked. When TimeSaver is executed for the first time, a configuration program is invoked which creates a file containing information about where your editor is located, its name, and the path where extension files are to be stored. Almost any editor can be used as long as the extension file name can be sent as part of the command line which executes the program i.e. "edlin myfile.ext". Note that both the editor and the paths entered for the editor and extension files must be present in order for this feature to operate properly. TimeSaver does not create directories. When EXTEND is activated by the pressing of F7, the familiar selection window is displayed. Events which already have extensions will exhibit an "*" in the far right column. When an event is picked which does not have an extension file attached, the user is prompted for a name for the extension file including the file extension (XXXXXXXX.XXX). The editor is then executed to create the file. The editor is used in the same manner as usual including the exit procedure which will return control to the TimeSaver program. The extension file will be stored in the directory selected and a pointer to the file is written to the event itself. Subsequent operations of the EXTEND function on this event will display the extension for reading or editing. If a file already exists in the extension directory, any number of events can point to it by entering its filename when prompted. This capability is useful for meeting minutes or project tracking. - Page 15 - 4.28 F8-MEETINGS (Multi-TimeSaver Only) NOTE: THIS FUNCTION DESCRIPTION IS ABBREVIATED IN THE SHAREWARE VERSION UPLOADED TO BBS SYSTEMS. The MEETING function is probably the most important feature of the Multi-TimeSaver program since it can truly save many hours of time by automating the process of arranging and scheduling group meetings. It accomplishes this task through the following steps: 1. The SCHEDULE sub-function is invoked. A list of all calendars is displayed and those individuals who are prospective attendees of the meeting are marked. 2. The daily schedules of the attendees are displayed graphically, one per line. The day displayed can be advanced or retarded with the cursor keys until a reasonable match of available open times for all attendees is found. 3. A beginning and ending time is then chosen using either a pointer or by typing manually, and the text description of the meeting is entered. The user is then prompted to enter the name of a file for storing the attendee response list. This file is created and contains the names of all the prospective attendees, a field indicating whether they will attend (initially empty), and a comment field for each attendee. 4. Tentative files are either created or appended for each attendee. This file is checked on each login to the system and if new tentative events are requested or if old events have been authenticated or deleted, the user is notified. If new events are present, he then uses the RSVP function to operate on this file in one of two ways: ACCEPT - modifies the attendee response list of the user's intention to attend the meeting and flags the tentative file as accepted. REJECT - modifies the attendee response list of the user's intention NOT to attend and deletes the entry from the tentative file. 5. The user who requested the meeting periodically QUERYs the attendee response list until all attendees or rejectees have responded, then invokes the VERIFY function to authenticate and lock in the meeting or presses the CANCEL key to erase the attendee response list and send a cancellation notice to all the tentative files. 6. The attendee logs in and is notified of a change in the tentative file and invokes the RSVP function, selecting one of the following actions to finalize the meeting process: SCHEDL - schedules the meeting into the calendar at the appro- riate date and time and erases the entry in the tentative file. CANCEL - erases the entry in the tentative file. - Page 16 - 4.29 F9-RSVP (Multi-TimeSaver Only) NOTE: THIS FUNCTION DESCRIPTION IS ABBREVIATED IN THE SHAREWARE VERSION UPLOADED TO BBS SYSTEMS. One of the most desirable aspects of multiple calendar systems is the ability to perform automatic scheduling of resources and personnel. In previous versions of Multi-TimeSaver, this feature has not been provided for the following reasons: 1. An individual's calendar is very private and should not be modified without their consent. 2. No one schedules 100% in advance. This means that while a person's calendar may show that they are free at a given time, in fact, they may already have plans for that time but have not put it into their schedule. 3. No one checks their calendar farther than one or two weeks into the future. This implies that an individual might be scheduled for a meeting three weeks from now and, for one reason or another, he does not see the event until one or two days before its occurrence. The RSVP function permits the automatic scheduling of personnel while overcoming all these difficulties. It accomplishes this by placing the ultimate responsibility of entering the event into an individual's calendar directly on the owner of that calendar, by allowing the individual to accept or refuse a schedule committment before it becomes permanent, and by notifying the person of any proposed committment no matter how far into the future it may be. Working in conjunction with the MEETING function, RSVP is the attendee's agent for replying to and accepting schedule requests. It uses the following sub-functions in those operations: ACCEPT - marks the tentative file as accepted and modifies the associated ARL file with the intent to attend and any comment desired. REJECT - deletes the entry from the tentative file and modifies the associated ARL file with the rejection and any comment desired. SCHEDL - enters the event into the calendar and deletes it from the tentative file. CANCEL - deletes a previously accepted request which has not materialized. QUERY - checks the tentative file for any requests which may have occured since logging into the system. LIST - displays the schedule for the day of a request so that a determination can be made whether to accept or reject the request. The RSVP function along with the MEETING function provides a complete notification and authentication procedure for the automatic scheduling process while maintaining administrative security and individual freedom of decision. - Page 17 - Appendix A TimeSaver Key Definitions ----------- Numeric Keypad --------------- Previous Week/Event │ │ ┌──────── Previous Month ┌───┐ ┌───┐ ┌───┐ ┌───┐ │Hom│ │ │ │PgU│ │ - │ Subtract 5 Minutes └───┘ └───┘ └───┘ └───┘ ┌───┐ ┌───┐ Prev. Day / -30 Min. │- │ │ -│ Next Day / +30 Min. └───┘ └───┘ ┌───┐ ┌───┐ ┌───┐ ┌───┐ │End│ │ │ │PgD│ │ + │ Add 5 Minutes └───┘ └───┘ └───┘ └───┘ │ └──────── Next Month │ Next Week/Event ----------- Function Keypad --------------- Help Screen ┌───┐ ┌───┐ List Events ----------- │F1 │ │F2 │ ------------ Scheduling └───┘ └───┘ Cancel Event Scan Day ┌───┐ ┌───┐ Expanded View --------- │F3 │ │F4 │ ------------- Cut Event └───┘ └───┘ Paste Event Task List ┌───┐ ┌───┐ Assign Tags ---------- │F5 │ │F6 │ ----------- Reschedule └───┘ └───┘ Edit Event Print Report ┌───┐ ┌───┐ Select Calendar ------------ │F7 │ │F8 │ --------------- Extend Event └───┘ └───┘ Meeting Sched. Searches ┌───┐ ┌───┐ -------- │F9 │ │F10│ Exit TimeSaver Respond └───┘ └───┘ ┌───────────────────────────┐ Toggles Primary/Secondary Menus ═══│ Space Bar │ └───────────────────────────┘ - Page 18 - Appendix B - TimeSaver Editing Keys Many of the TimeSaver functions include windows for inputing or editing text fields. The following keys are used within these windows: ESCape, Enter, Terminates input Up, or Down Backspace Deletes character to left and fills Delete Deletes character to right and fills Insert Inserts a blank character at cursor Home Moves cursor to beginning of field End Moves cursor to end of field Left Moves cursor one character to left Right Moves cursor one character to right The input is not terminated automatically when the field has been filled but requires that one of the four termination characters be pressed. - Page 19 - Appendix C - TimeSaver File Format The file formats used in TimeSaver are compatible with dBase III database(.DBF) and index(.NDX) files. It was felt that many individuals might want to develop their own reports and using a widely supported and familiar file format allows this capability. The calandar databases <name>.CAL and <name>.TNT are structured as follows: Position Field Type Use ------------------------------------------------------------------ 0 deleted Character '*' if marked for deletion 1 - 8 DATE Character Event date (YYYYMMDD) 9 - 12 START Character Event start time in 24 hour format 13 - 16 STOP Character Event stop time in 24 hour format 17 - 56 TEXT Character Purpose of event 57 - 70 EXTPTR Character Extension pointer (XXXXXXXX.XXX) 71 - 72 ATTR Character Attributes (foreground/background) The locator file <name>.LOC is indexed on DATE + START which forces all reading of the calendar files to be in chronological order regardless of event positioning in the databases. The locator file also accounts for the speed at which TimeSaver is able to access events. Since the file formats are compatible with those of dBase III, all dBase operations may be used to examine and modify the TimeSaver files, and dBase III programs can operate on TimeSaver data. The author cautions against modifying database files without linking the locator file since this can cause the database and index files to become unsynchronized and therefore lead to the loss of data. The dBase statement .USE <name>.CAL INDEX <name>.LOC should be typed before doing any dBase operation which changes the order of precedence of records within the database. Using this statement also guarantees that all records will be processed in correct date/time order. When using a dBase compiled program such as files created with Nantuckett's Clipper, be sure that the index file operations use the dBase III compatible mode, otherwise, data may be corrupted. dBase III is a registered trademark of Ashton Tate Corporation Clipper is a registered trademark of Nantuckett Corporation - Page 20 -