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1987-10-12
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CALENDAR
User's Manual
Version 1.5, October 1987
by
Major John D. Shewchuk
USAF Air Weather Service
MILITARY AIRLIFT COMMAND
TABLE OF CONTENTS
_________________
1.0 GENERAL DESCRIPTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
1.1 Purpose . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
1.2 Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
2.0 SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
2.1 Hardware . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
2.2 Software . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
2.3 Capacity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
3.0 GETTING STARTED . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
3.1 Title Screen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
3.2 Display Screen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
3.3 Operation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
4.0 PROGRAM FUNCTIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
4.1 (E)vents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
4.1.1 <A>dd . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
4.1.2 (L)ist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
4.1.3 (P)rint . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
4.1.4 (D)elete . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
4.2 (J)ump . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
4.3 (A)larm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
4.4 (D)ate/Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
4.5 (C)onfigure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
4.6 (H)elp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
4.7 (Q)uit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
MODIFICATIONS TO VERSION 1.0 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
1.0 GENERAL DESCRIPTION.
1.1 Purpose. The CALENDAR program is designed to provide a
flexible, interactive method to easily monitor a variety of
suspense items, activities, and special dates--collectively
referred to as EVENTS. CALENDAR will quickly display and/or print
daily events, and can also provide other information useful to
office environments.
1.2 Overview. CALENDAR allows entry, deletion, listing, and
printing of event data from 10 categories, of which 4 categories
are user-definable. The user can input and store a maximum of
2,050 events. The program also allows instant access to calendar
information over calendar years 1600 to 2500, two types of
audio/visual alarm settings, host computer date/time alterations,
configuration of 8 program attributes, and limited on-line help
information. CALENDAR additionally displays the current system
date and time, Julian Day, and a user-defined clock time to monitor
another time zone. The program also has a screen-saver function.
1
2.0 SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS.
2.1 Hardware. CALENDAR requires an IBM-compatible
microcomputer with at least one floppy disk drive. A second floppy
disk (or harddrive) is desirable for data storage. The program
allows configuration for a color, black & white, or graphics
monochrome monitor. Most IBM or Epson emulated printers (and the
Okidata 83 series printers) can be used.
2.2 Software. CALENDAR requires MS-DOS 2.11 or greater. The
CALENDAR program only requires the CALENDAR.EXE file to initially
operate.
2.3 Capacity. CALENDAR requires 64K of system memory to
operate. It will also generate up to 42 data files on disk. The
data files all have a CALENDAT.XXX format for standardization and
files transfer convenience. The file types are:
CALENDAT.SYS - Program configuration information.
CALENDAT.SUN-SAT - Data files for events pertaining
to `days-of-the-week'.
CALENDAT.001-031 - Data files for events pertaining
to `dates'.
CALENDAT.TRP - Data files for TRIP events.
CALENDAT.LEV - Data files for LEAVE events.
CALENDAT.SPL - Special data file for user-defined
extended events.
All data files are generated and deleted as needed. Except for the
8 configuration items listed in the CALENDAT.SYS file, each of the
events data files can hold a maximum of 50 events for a total of
2,050 possible events. In the extreme case where all 41 data files
contain the maximum 50 events each, a total disk space of 192K will
be required.
2
3.0 GETTING STARTED. CALENDAR is directly executable from MS-DOS.
Once the computer system is in the MS-DOS environment, the program
is activated by typing CALENDAR and then pressing the <ENTER> key.
3.1 Title Screen. CALENDAR initially displays a Title Screen
and prompts the user to identify a drive (A, B, C, etc.) for data
file use. If the <ENTER> key used, CALENDAR will then identify the
default drive for data file use. Once the data drive is selected,
CALENDAR then searches that data drive for the CALENDAT.SYS
Configuration File to define 8 program attributes. (See Section
4.5 for discussion on Configuration.) If the program cannot find
the Configuration File, 8 default attributes are used. The program
next enters the Display Screen. Note: if CALENDAR detects a
configuration file from an older version of CALENDAR, a notice will
be displayed on the Display Screen requesting the user to re-
configure for the newer version.
3.2 Display Screen. CALENDAR's Display Screen initializes
its date/time information from the computer's system clock. A
current Calendar is displayed in the upper-left corner and the
current day is highlighted, including the corresponding Julian Day.
The highlighted day can be changed using the up and down (cursor)
arrow keys. These keys and the PGUP and PGDN keys can also change
the display month. The current date and time information is
continuously updated in the Display Screen's CURRENT DATE/TIME
section located center-left. The optional user-defined time zone,
which defaults to `Other Time', is located just below the `Current
Time' and is defined through the Configure function. The
CALENDAR's Alarm status is displayed immediately below the current
date/time section. The Alarm status will always be initially `Off'
unless a Preset Alarm time is identified through the Configuration
function. The CALENDAR's 7 main functions are listed along the
bottom of the Display Screen.
3.3 Operation. CALENDAR operates with a combination of user
prompts and menu options. All program prompts and data file
interactions have error-detection and recovery logic. However, the
program will lock-up if the command to `print' is executed and the
printer is `off'. If the program does lock-up, a system reboot
will be necessary. The user can terminate any program activity
with the use of the `ESC' key. All `time' entries require use of
the military 24-hour format with no colon (i.e., 1730).
3
4.0 PROGRAM FUNCTIONS. CALENDAR's main menu functions are listed
along the bottom of the Display Screen. Each function is activated
by pressing the first letter (lower or upper case), which is
located within brackets or parentheses. For example, pressing an
`H' or `h' will activate the `(H)elp' function. For convenience,
program options with the first letter located within brackets
(e.g., <A>dd) are the default options, and will be activated by
just pressing the <ENTER> key. Day/Month/Year entries are
automatically entered during some data entry options for user
convenience. These automatic entries can be edited through use of
the BackSpace or Left-Arrow keys.
4.1 (E)vents. Activation of this function will display an
Events sub-menu with 4 sub-functions: Add, List, Print, and Delete.
4.1.1 <A>dd. The Add sub-function is the default
option. This option allows entry of events data into 10 possible
event categories. Depending on the event category chosen, a pre-
defined interactive sequence of questions prompts the user to
define the event so the program can save the event in one of 41
possible data files. The first prompt, TYPE, allows the user to
group events into sub-categories, and is most useful when the user
needs to separate multiple individual or office-related events
which reside on the same data disk. Use of event TYPE
identification allows the user to select sub-categories of events
during the listing and printing options. For example, suspense
events can be `type' identified by office or person, such as HOME
or JACK, which then can be selectively recalled for display or
print. Entry of the event TYPE is optional during data input. The
next prompt asks if the event has a specific suspense time or not.
The next line of prompts is most important, since this line of
information will be the only data displayed during the list and
print output. If the user indicates that the event is `time'
specific, then the data line will have 3 fields of data, otherwise,
the data line will have 2 fields of data. Example formats follow:
1> A Time specific event (3 fields).
TIME_EVENT....._DESCRIPTION..................
2> A non-Time specific event (2 fields).
EVENT..........._DESCRIPTION..................
In the first case, the first field records the TIME which the
particular event is associated with. In the second case, there is
no event TIME entry. However, in this second case the EVENT field
is larger, since space for a time entry is not needed. Use of
event DESCRIPTION is always optional.
4
4.1.2 (L)ist. The List sub-function allows screen
display of all or selected events previously stored to disk files
through the Add sub-function. The program only collects those
events for display which match the day highlighted on the display
Calendar. Events from any date can be listed, but only after the
desired calendar day is highlighted on the display Calendar.
Activation of the List option begins a sequence of 2 prompts. The
first prompt allows event selection of up to any combination of 7
event categories or groups of categories, or selection of all event
categories (the default option). The second prompt allows
selection of either only one TYPE of events, or all TYPEs.
Selection of all TYPEs is the default option. (Event TYPES are
defined during entry of event data--see the Add sub-function.)
Once the event categories and types are selected, the program
searches all pertinent available data files and retrieves only
those events that match the day highlighted on the display
Calendar. These selected events are then sorted in one of two
ways. For the events that have a suspense time defined, they are
grouped and sorted chronologically. For the events with no
suspense time, they are grouped and sorted based on the EVENT
field. Events with suspense times are listed first. The CALENDAR
program is only designed to collect a maximum of 75 events from the
data files for display purposes. If the program tries to select
more than 75 events, a warning will be displayed, including which
data file caused the excess condition. After the user presses the
letter `C', the program will then continue to process only the
first 75 events collected.
4.1.3 (P)rint. The Print sub-function allows transfer
of all selected events to a printer. Selected events are matched
against the display calendar's highlighted day, similar to the List
sub-function discussed above. Activation of the Print option also
begins the same sequence of 2 prompts presented during the List
option. The printed events are grouped and sorted in the same
fashion as discussed in the List option, and the 75 event maximum
also applies to Print processing as it does during List processing.
4.1.4 (D)elete. The Delete sub-function allows deletion
of events data automatically or manually. The automatic, or Purge,
option deletes all events having dates older than the Calendar's
highlighted DAY. The manual option permits individual event
deletion from selected data files. During manual deletions, the
deletion instructions are displayed on the screen, but it is
important to note that the `DEL' key only deletes events from the
display screen. The events are physically erased from the disk
file only after the `END' key is pressed. Use of the `ESC' key
will cancel the deletion process and restore any events marked for
deletion.
5
4.2 (J)ump. This function allows the user to rapidly `jump'
to any calendar date within the years 1600 to 2500.
4.3 (A)larm. This function allows the user to set an alarm
which will activate an audio/visual signal, even when the screen-
save feature is active. The Alarm will sound when the designated
system time is reached. The Alarm will also sound within the 5
minutes after the designated setting if CALENDAR is initially
activated within that period. The Alarm signals can be stopped by
pressing any key. The Alarm setting can be turned off by entering
`0000'. This Alarm setting will override any Preset Alarm setting
identified during program configuration.
4.4 (D)ate/Time. This function allows the user to reset the
host computer's date and/or time settings. Any changes will be
reflected in the Display Screen's CURRENT DATE/TIME section.
4.5 (C)onfigure. This function allows the user to define 8
program attributes. These 8 attributes are stored in the
CALENDAT.SYS file and are retrieved during program initialization.
If the CALENDAT.SYS file is not available, or for those attributes
not defined, the following default attributes are used:
1 Video Screen - Color
2 Printer Mode - Regular, Pica (10 cpi)
3 Preset Alarm - Off
4 Time Zone - Other Time / Time Factor - Off
{4 User-Defined Files - initially `not defined'}
5 `Daily Events #1'
6 `Daily Events #2'
7 `Extended Events'
8 `Annual Events'
The purpose of allowing 4 user-defined categories is for
specific user applications. For example, `Daily Events' categories
1 and 2 could be defined as `Performance Reports' and `Luncheons'.
The `Extended Events' category could labelled `Notes' or
`Visitors'. The `Annual Events' category can be used to track
`Anniversaries'.
4.6 (H)elp. This function allows the user to display one page
of program information.
4.7 (Q)uit. This function allows the user to exit the
CALENDAR program and return to MS-DOS.
6
MODIFICATIONS TO VERSION 1.0
____________________________
SCREEN-SAVE function now activates from any screen within the
CALENDAR program.
MAIN MENU default option was changed from `<E>vents' to `List All
Events For The Calendar's Highlighted DAY' by pressing the <ENTER>
key.
DAY/MONTH/YEAR data is automatically presented as input during
addition of new Events data.
PURGE has been added to the Event's Delete option. Purge
automatically searches all event data files and deletes events
having dates older than the Calendar's highlighted DAY.
ZULU time display is now a user option. This optional time display
can be labelled by the user through the Configure command to
indicate any desired time zone.
CURSOR indication has been added during data entry operations.
TYPE data for events is no longer listed or printed in column form
along with the TIME/EVENT and DESCRIPTION information, however, the
TYPE information is instead displayed in the title line. This was
done for two reasons. First, this freed extra space for data
listings, which gave 5 extra characters to the DESCRIPTION line.
Second, this eliminated redundant listing of TYPE data when a
specific event TYPE was requested.
DELETE operation errors were corrected.
ERROR detection and recovery operations were enhanced.
7
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
_______________
Special thanks are extended to the following people:
TSgt John Spaller, for his technical consultation.
Mr Mike Howland, for his evaluations and suggestions.
All, who helped test and evaluate CALENDAR.
8