═══ 1. Welcome to Jot ═══ Jot A Swiss Army Knife for Information Overload Ever wondered what to do with all those small bits and pieces of information that seem to accumulate daily, piling ever deeper on your desktop and hard disk? Have you ever wished you had a small program to pull all those seemingly invaluable snippets of knowledge together into one place where they are easily accessible? If so, then Jot may be the solution for you. Jot is a small notepad type program that helps with the organization and management of small amounts of textual information through the use of multiple files, each containing multiple notes. With Jot, you can place any related information together in one file, create as many individual notes as you need and configure the file or note to be displayed in almost any way you wish. Just a few of Jot's features include: o Support for multiple files, each containing an unlimited number of individual notes o Complete configuration of colors and fonts for each file and each individual note o Loads designated file when started o Use of word wrapping is selectable and configurable on a per note basis o Saving of cursor position on a per note basis o Print entire note or selected text o Global Find and replace utility o Importing and exporting of text files o Configurable date and time stamping o Extensive use of hot keys o Drag and drop support: - Drop a text file onto Jot to create a new note - Drop a text file into the edit window to add to current note at cursor position - Drag selected text from the open note and drop on another note in the list to append, or drop it on the desktop to create a new file. o Recognition of WWW Urls and desktop object creation I hope you like Jot and find it useful for your everyday work. More improvements are in store for future releases so any feedback or suggestions for features are always welcome. Jot is a fully functional shareware program and has not been disabled in any way. However, if not registered within 30 days, some of the functions will cease to work until the program is registered. Please see How to Register for more details. If you have any problems or questions, please send email to: Jacqueline Wells jacqui@cnw.com Thanks for trying Jot! ═══ 2. Installation ═══ Installation Jot is written in VX-Rexx and requires Rexx support to be installed on your system as well as the file VROBJ.DLL, Version 2.14 or greater be availiable somewhere in your libpath. To install Jot, unzip the archived program into a directory of your choice then run the installation program, install.cmd. Jot will create an icon on your desktop that you can then move to another location. When first run, Jot will configure itself with default settings and create the "jot.ini" file in the installation directory. ═══ 3. Settings ═══ Settings Jot can be configured in many ways to suit your particular style or work method. The basic principle of Jot is to have each level inherit default settings if none are defined. In other words, each note will use the default attributes for the file its contained in *unless* you change the setting for the note with the Note Settings menu. Likewise, each file will use defaults inherited from Jot *unless* you use the File Settings menu to change those. With the exception of time and date configurations, changes made to the default settings for Jot take effect when the next new file is created. They will not effect any settings in an already created note file. Choose Jot settings to establish default values for startup parameters and for all newly created note files. Use File settings to change how the currently open file behaves, and use Note settings to change values for the note currently displayed in the editing window. ═══ 3.1. Jot Settings ═══ Jot Settings These are the default settings that each file created by Jot will inherit. They can be changed at any time and will take effect when the next new file is created. Default File Jot will load this file each time it starts. However, this setting can be overridden by passing a Jot filename as a parameter when the program is started Work Dir This is the directory Jot will use for creating all new notefiles and will be the directory used for any file dialogs Note Font and Colors Default font and color for note List Font and Colors Default font and color for titles list Word Wrap Turn word wrap ON or OFF for all new notes Show Note List Show or Hide list of notes Show Buttons Show or hide row of buttons above editing area Show Menus Show or hide menu bar at top of window Show Hints Show or hide hints at bottom of window Prompt on Exit Turn on or off the exit verification window Save Cursor Position If set, Jot will return to the last place you were working when a note is loaded List Sort Order How you want the list of notes sorted. None will display note names in the order they were created. Width of List Box How wide you want the notes list be displayed Default Date Select from the list the format you want to use when inserting the date into a note. Default Time Select from the list the format you want to use when inserting the time into a note. Save Save all the currently selected settings and return Default Restore original Jot default settings Cancel Cancel all changes you've just made Help Gets this help screen ═══ 3.2. File Settings ═══ File Settings These are the default settings for the notefile currently in use. Some will take effect immediately while others will take effect for all notes created after saving the changes. Note Font and Colors Define the font and color to use in the note window. Takes effect immediately for all new notes List Font and Colors Define the font and color to use in the list window. Takes effect immediately Word Wrap Turn word wrap ON or OFF for all new notes. Takes effect for all new notes Show Note List Show or Hide list of notes. Takes effect immediately Show Buttons Show or hide row of buttons above editing area. Takes effect immediately Show Menus Show or hide menu bar at top of window. Takes effect immediately Show Hints Show or hide hints at bottom of window. Takes effect immediately Save Cursor Position If set, Jot will return to the last place you worked when a note is loaded. Takes effect for all new notes List Sort Order How you want the list of notes sorted. None will display note names in the order they were created. Takes effect immediately Width of List Box How wide you want the notes list to display itself. Takes effect immediately Save Saves all the currently selected settings and returns Default Will restore original Jot settings for current file Cancel Cancel all changes you've just made Help Get help on File Settings ═══ 3.3. Note Settings ═══ Note Settings These are the default settings for the note currently being edited. Any changes made here will take effect immediately. Note Font and Colors Define the font and color to use in the note window. Word Wrap Sets the default for word wrap for the current note. This is the setting that will be in effect each time the note is loaded, but can be temporarily overridden by using word wrap toggle command (Ctrl-W). Save Cursor Position If set, Jot will return to the last place you were working when the note is reloaded. Save Saves all the currently selected settings. Use File Defaults Will restore note settings to those in use by the current file. Cancel Cancel all changes you've just made. ═══ 4. Using Jot Files ═══ Using Jot Files Within Jot, files are used for grouping together related information. You can have as many notefiles as you want, with names defined by you to describe the contents. Each file can contain an unlimited number of notes with each note containing the specific textual information you want to keep. Please refer to the following sections for more information on using Jot note files. o Create New File o Opening a Note File o Save As ═══ 4.1. Create New File ═══ Create New File To create a new notefile, select the "New File" button or "File - New" from the menus or press F6. Enter the name you want to use for the file following standard file naming conventions appropriate for the file system installed on your computer. If you use HPFS, Jot can use long file names. ═══ 4.2. Opening a Note File ═══ Opening a Note file You can open an existing note file by selecting "Open" from the "File" menu, by clicking on the "Open" button or by pressing Ctrl-O. Jot looks only for files ending in the extension ".jot" in the directory defined as the default Work Dir. ═══ 4.3. Save As ═══ Save As "Save As" will create a new Jot file using all information from the currently open file, including any notes you've created and all configuration settings. Any changes in the current file will automatically be saved, the new file will be created then made the currently open file. The file used for the source of the "Save As" command will not be deleted or changed. ═══ 5. Using the Titles List ═══ Using the Titles List The list of notes can be sorted in ascending or descending order, or can be displayed in the order in which they were created by selecting "None" from a sort menu. Press mouse button 2 on the titles list to get a menu of functions for working within the Titles list. To navigate in the list, click once on a listed item to display the note, then use the cursor keys to move up or down and have each note displayed as you move through the list. To edit the currently highlighted note, press enter or double click on the note Title. ═══ 6. Working with Jot Notes ═══ Working with Jot Notes Many functions are available to ease the chore of entering and manipulating text in Jot. Please refer to the following sections for more information. o Add Note o Rename Note o Delete Note o Editing a Note o Undo o Saving Changes Also refer to the section on Drag and Drop ═══ 6.1. Add Note ═══ Add Note You can add a new note to the current file by selecting "Add" from the button bar, or "New" from the "Note" menu of the main window or the popup for the editing area. Each newly created note will inherit whatever default settings are in effect for the current file but can be changed with the "Note Settings" window. A new note can also be created by dragging a text file from a folder or the desktop and dropping it on the Jot window, an empty space in the Titles list, or on the Jot icon if minimized to the desktop. If a note is open in the edit window, you can also create a new note by selecting a section of text and dragging it to an empty space in the Titles list or dropping it anywhere else on the Jot window. A note title may be any combination of numbers, characters and spaces and can be up to 63 characters long. Jot keeps track of the order in which titles are added to the list, though the current "Sort" setting for the list will effect where it is initially displayed. You cannot have titles with duplicate names. ═══ 6.2. Rename Note ═══ Rename Note To change the title of a note, select "Rename" from a menu or press Ctrl-R, then enter or edit the new name. ═══ 6.3. Delete Note ═══ Delete Note A note can be deleted by selecting "Delete" from one of the menus, by clicking on the "Delete" button or by pressing Ctrl-D. You will be prompted to verify the deletion. ═══ 6.4. Editing a Note ═══ Editing a Note The Jot edit window is a standard OS/2 edit field and supports all the normal OS/2 editing commands available for this type of control. They include but are not limited to: ┌───────────────┬───────────────┐ │Home │Moves to │ │ │beginning of │ │ │line │ ├───────────────┼───────────────┤ │End │Moves to end of│ │ │line │ ├───────────────┼───────────────┤ │Ctrl Home │Move to │ │ │beginning of │ │ │note │ ├───────────────┼───────────────┤ │Ctrl End │Moves to end of│ │ │note │ ├───────────────┼───────────────┤ │Ctrl Insert │Copy selected │ │ │text to │ │ │clipboard │ ├───────────────┼───────────────┤ │Shift Insert │Paste contents │ │ │of clipboard at│ │ │current cursor │ │ │position │ ├───────────────┼───────────────┤ │Shift Delete │Deletes │ │ │selected text │ ├───────────────┼───────────────┤ │Ctrl-/ │Select all text│ │ │in the note │ ├───────────────┼───────────────┤ │Ctrl-\ │Deselect │ │ │selected text │ └───────────────┴───────────────┘ You can refer to almost any OS/2 book to get information on standard editing commands. Under the "Edit" menus of both the window and popup you'll find the most common commands for using these functions. ═══ 6.5. Undo ═══ Undo Undo will revert the currently open note back to the last time it was saved. Select "Undo" from a menu or press Ctrl-U. ═══ 6.6. Saving Changes ═══ Saving Changes Changes to the current note can be saved by selecting "Save" from one of the menus, by pressing the "Save" button or by using the key combination Ctrl-S. ═══ 7. Drag and Drop ═══ Drag and Drop Jot is fully enabled for dragging and dropping text files in and out of the program as well as creating WWW URL's. Using these features, you can create, add and move entire notes or selected text from one note to another. Additionally, you can drag files from your desktop and drop them into or on Jot to create a new note or append to the note currently being edited. o Dragging to Jot from the Desktop o Dragging from Jot to the desktop o Dragging and Dropping URL's o Drag and Drop within Jot ═══ 7.1. Dragging to Jot from the Desktop ═══ Dragging to Jot from the Desktop To create a new Jot note in the currently open file, drag a text file from the desktop or another folder and drop it anywhere in the Jot window. Where it's dropped will determine what Jot does with the file. By dropping on the title of a note in the list, the file will be appended to that note. By dropping on a blank space in the titles list or anywhere else in the Jot window other than the editing area a new note will be added to the list. When adding notes this way, Jot will display a prompt with the suggested file name. You can keep the name by pressing "Ok" or you can edit the name to something you find more suitable. If Jot is minimized to the desktop, a file can be dropped on it's icon to have it added into the current Jot file as a new note. Again, a prompt will be displayed to confirm the new name. By dropping a file into the editing window, the contents of that file will be appended to the current note at the cursor position. ═══ 7.2. Dragging from Jot to the desktop ═══ Dragging from Jot to the Desktop New files can be created on the desktop or another folder in several ways with Jot. Drag a title from the Titles list and drop it onto a folder or the desktop to create a new file object. The file will contain the contents of the Jot note. By selecting a block of text in the editing window and dragging it to the desktop or another folder, a new file will be created just as if it had been dragged from the titles list. By pressing the Control key during the dragging operation you can MOVE text out of the edit window and create a new file at the same time. ═══ 7.3. Dragging and Dropping URL's ═══ Dragging and Dropping URL's Jot recognizes World Wide Web Uniform Resource Locators beginning with the designations of HTTP, FTP, NEWS and GOPHER. Select the URL in the Jot editing window then drag it to the desktop or another folder to create a WebExplorer URL object. Optionally, you can drag the URL out of Jot and drop it directly onto WebExplorer to have it start and load the selected site. If WebExplorer is already running, dropping the URL into the open window will also cause the site to be loaded. ═══ 7.4. Drag and Drop within Jot ═══ Drag and Drop within Jot Within Jot, you can select text in the edit window and drag it to a title in the Titles list to have it appended to that note. When dropped onto a note title, a short "beep" will let you know the text has been appended. By pressing the Control key while dragging you can MOVE the selected text to another note. When text is appended to a note in the list, Jot places a separator line consisting of a series of "=" characters before the appended text. Since I haven't discovered a way of highlighting a note title during a dragging operation you should make sure your aim is accurate. Sometimes it's easy to miss the note you want to drop to and end up having the text appended to the wrong note. You can also drag a note title from the list and drop it onto the edit window to have the contents of that note added in at the cursor position. The dragged note is not effected by this operation. ═══ 8. Find and Replace ═══ Find and Replace The Find utility in Jot can be a quite powerful tool for locating and optionally replacing text in Jot notes. This version of Jot allows replacement of text only in the currently open note but will be enabled for Global replacement in a future version. To use the find utility select "Find" from the "Edit" menu or press Ctrl-F. Find and Replace in Open Note: Enter the text you want to find in the "Search For" field and optionally enter replacement text in the "Replace With" field. If a value is entered as a replacement text the global find functions will be disabled. If you want to perform a case sensitive search, click on the "Case Sensitive" check box. After entering and/or selecting the appropriate options, click on the "Find" button to perform the search. The search will start at the current cursor position, so if you want to search the entire note be sure to place the cursor at the beginning of the note. If the text is found, it will be highlighted, otherwise a dialog will let you know the search failed. Click on "Find" again to find the next occurance, etc. If replacing text, click on the "Change/Find" button to replace the found text and find the next occurance. Optionally, and if you're brave, click on the "Change All" button to change all occurances from the cursor position forward in the open note. Global Find: To search for text in the open file or all Jot notefiles, select the appropriate option at the right of the "Find" window. A new window section will appear for displaying information for the search and the "Change/Find" and "Change All" buttons will be disabled. Click on the "Find" button to begin the search. When completed, all files found containing the search text will be listed in the "Files" list, the notes within each file are presented in the "Notes" list and the full text of the first occurance will be displayed and highlighted in the text area. Press the "Next Occurance" button to locate the next occurance in the displayed note. To select another file or note for display, click on the arrows at the right of the drop down list boxes and click on a file or note name. The "Jump to Note" button will load Jot with the file shown in the "Files" field, locate the note displayed in the "Notes" field and highlight the currently displayed section of found text. The "Find" window will then be reduced for continuing with the search as for a single note. ═══ 9. Insert Date and Time ═══ Insert Date and time The current date and time can be inserted at the cursor position by pressing Ctrl-Alt-D (Date) or Ctrl-Alt-T (Time). The display format used for both the date and time can be set in the Jot settings window. ═══ 10. Printing ═══ Printing To print a Jot note, open the desired note, select "Print" from the "Note" menu, then select either "Print Note" or "Print Selected Text" depending on the action you need. You can also use the hotkeys Ctrl-P to print the entire note or Ctrl-Alt-P to print selected text. When printing an entire note, Jot will use the currently displayed width of the note. You can control the printed output by resizing the edit window to display the text the way you want it printed. The font used for printing will be whatever is defined as the default font for your printer. When printing only selected text, the first character of the selected area is moved to the far left margin and a right margin of 60 characters is used for formatting purposes. The right margin setting will be configurable in a future release. ═══ 11. Toggles ═══ Toggles Regardless of default settings, display of the window menu, button bar, title list and hints area can be toggled on or off at any time while using Jot. The configuration settings for the current file are not changed in any way. To toggle these items: ┌───────────────┬───────────────┐ │Toggle Menu │Ctrl M │ ├───────────────┼───────────────┤ │Toggle List │Ctrl L │ ├───────────────┼───────────────┤ │Toggle Buttons │Ctrl B │ ├───────────────┼───────────────┤ │Toggle Hints │Ctrl H │ └───────────────┴───────────────┘ ═══ 12. Hot Keys ═══ Hot Keys Accelerator keys have been defined to provide quick access to the most commonly used functions in Jot. Note Related Commands: ┌───────────────┬───────────────┐ │Ctrl-A │Add a new note │ ├───────────────┼───────────────┤ │Ctrl-D │Delete current │ │ │note │ ├───────────────┼───────────────┤ │Ctrl-F │Find and │ │ │Replace │ ├───────────────┼───────────────┤ │Ctrl-P │Print current │ │ │note │ ├───────────────┼───────────────┤ │Ctrl-R │Rename current │ │ │note │ ├───────────────┼───────────────┤ │Ctrl-S │Save note │ ├───────────────┼───────────────┤ │Ctrl-T │Settings for │ │ │current note │ ├───────────────┼───────────────┤ │Ctrl-W │Toggle Wordwrap│ ├───────────────┼───────────────┤ │CtrlAlt-P │Print Selected │ │ │text │ ├───────────────┼───────────────┤ │CtrlAlt-D │Insert Date │ ├───────────────┼───────────────┤ │CtrlAlt-T │Insert Time │ ├───────────────┼───────────────┤ │Ctrl-/ │Select All │ ├───────────────┼───────────────┤ │Ctrl-\ │Deselect All │ ├───────────────┼───────────────┤ │Alt-BackSpace │Undo │ ├───────────────┼───────────────┤ │Shift-Delete │Cut to │ │ │clipboard │ ├───────────────┼───────────────┤ │Ctrl-Insert │Copy to │ │ │clipboard │ ├───────────────┼───────────────┤ │Shift-Insert │Paste from │ │ │clipboard │ ├───────────────┼───────────────┤ │Ctrl-Shf-Ins │Append to │ │ │clipboard │ ├───────────────┼───────────────┤ │F11 │Previous Note │ ├───────────────┼───────────────┤ │F12 │Next Note │ └───────────────┴───────────────┘ Display of Titles List: ┌───────────────┬───────────────┐ │CtrlAlt-A │Sort Ascending │ ├───────────────┼───────────────┤ │CtrlAlt-E │Sort Descending│ ├───────────────┼───────────────┤ │CtrlAlt-N │Sort "None" │ └───────────────┴───────────────┘ Toggles for Window Elements: ┌───────────────┬───────────────┐ │Ctrl-B │Toggle Buttons │ ├───────────────┼───────────────┤ │Ctrl-H │Toggle Hints │ ├───────────────┼───────────────┤ │Ctrl-L │Toggle List │ ├───────────────┼───────────────┤ │Ctrl-M │Toggle menu │ └───────────────┴───────────────┘ File related commands: ┌───────────────┬───────────────┐ │F3 │Open File │ ├───────────────┼───────────────┤ │F6 │Create New File│ ├───────────────┼───────────────┤ │F7 │Import File │ ├───────────────┼───────────────┤ │F8 │Export File │ └───────────────┴───────────────┘ Miscellaneous: ┌───────────────┬───────────────┐ │F5 │View System │ │ │Clipboard │ ├───────────────┼───────────────┤ │Ctrl-Q │Quit Jot │ └───────────────┴───────────────┘ ═══ 13. Registration ═══ Registration Jot is shareware, NOT freeware. It is a fully functional program and is not crippled in any way. You can use it for 30 guilt free days to check it out and decide if it's what you want. Throw it onto your system, push it's buttons, tweak it's settings, check out it's drag and drop capabilities, create and delete notes on all your favorite subjects, use it and abuse it, whatever you like. After those 30 guilt free days, you should either register the program or remove it from your system. If not registered before the end of those 30 days, you will be reminded when the following features cease to function: o All Drag and Drop functions o Global Find o Printing Jot is only $15.00 and entitles you to free upgrades up to but not including version 2.0. Please help to support the shareware concept by registering this program. To register, fill in the form provided in the "Register.txt" file provided in the Jot archive and send it and $15.00 US to the address listed at the bottom of the page. Jacqueline Wells 304 36th Street, #225 Bellingham, WA 98225 USA email: jacqui@cnw.com ═══ 14. Contacting the Author ═══ Contacting the Author If you have any problems with Jot, questions regarding it's use, suggestions for improvements or additions, or just want to tell me you like the program please contact me at the addresses listed below. To reach me via email regarding Jot: jacqui@cnw.com Please place the word "Jot" somewhere in the subject line of the message. Snail Mail: Jacqueline Wells 304 36th Street, #225 Bellingham, WA 98225 USA ═══ 15. Disclaimer ═══ Disclaimer All standard disclaimers apply. I will not be held liable or responsible for any damages Jot may do to your computer, your hard disk, your OS/2 installation, your job, your car, your house, your life, the state of the economy or the price of tea in China. All reasonable precautions have been taken to assure a stable, well functioning program but as you know: stuff happens. Jot is provided AS IS with no guarantees as to it's usability or applicability to any particular purpose. All rights are reserved by the author. Copyright 1996 by Jacqueline Wells