QuickNote What is QuickNote? QuickNote is a program that allows the user to quickly create and store notes and reminders. It functions and looks like a Post-It (tm) note for the users computer. It also allows the user to schedule a deadline for the reminder. When QuickNote is loaded, any notes whose deadlines are the current date, will be displayed in their full size, thus alerting the user to the upcoming deadline. An hour before the deadline, the note will once again maximize itself. System Requirements QuickNote needs at least a 386 with 4MB of RAM to run. It requires about 3MB of hard disk space. It was designed for Windows 3.1x but it will run fine under Windows 95. (A Windows 95 version is in the works. Registered users will receive the Windows 95 version for free.) How to Use QuickNote The first time QuickNote is run the button bar will be in the upper left hand corner of the screen. After the initial running of the program, QuickNote will remember the last position of the button bar. The button bar has 7 buttons on it. When QuickNote is loaded, it loads each saved note and creates an icon for it on the desktop (Windows 3.1x). If the deadline for the note is the current date, the note will be displayed full sized, but more on deadlines later. New Note Button: This button creates a new note. After pressing this button, the user is prompted for a title for the note. This title will be displayed beneath the note when the note is minimized. To accept the default value of "Note" simply press enter. Open All Notes Button: This button closes all the notes that are on the desktop (saving all of them) and reopens all notes that have been saved. This is used when the user has accidentally or intentionally closed a note and needs access to one or more of the saved notes. Save All Notes Button: This button saves all the notes that are currently open. When this button is pressed, the user will notice that the save buttons on the notes will be disabled. This is to indicate that the note has been saved. When any modification is made to the note, the Save button is re-enabled. Close All Notes Button: This button saves and closes all notes currently displayed, but leaves QuickNote running. Close All Notes and Exit Button: This button saves and closes all notes, and terminates QuickNote. View Calendar Button: This button displays a simple calendar. Erase All Notes Button: This button erases ALL notes. It closes and erases all notes currently open and erases all notes from disk. QuickNote Buttons and Deadlines Each note is setup in the following way. In the title bar of the note is the title. Underneath that is the button bar. Below that is the date on which the note was created. The blank area underneath the date of creation is where the deadline date and time are displayed. If the note has no deadline, this area remains blank. The next area of the note is the contact person. This is optional and does not have to be filled in. Next is the telephone number, and finally the extension of the person to contact, all optional. Each note in QuickNote has 7 buttons. Several of these buttons function in much the same way as the buttons on the tool bar. Save Note Button: This button saves the current note. After this button is pressed the Save Note button is disabled. Whenever any change is made to the note, the button is re-enabled. This allows the user to quickly determine whether or not the note has been changed or saved. Copy Text To Clipboard button: This button copies the currently selected text to the clipboard. This function only works with the text of the note (I'm working on this problem). Cut Text: This button cuts the currently selected text, placing the text on the clipboard. Copy Text From Clipboard button: This button copies the contents of the clipboard into the text of the note. Close Note button: This button closes the note. If the note has not been saved, the user is prompted with a dialog box asking if the note should be saved before closing. Closing a note does not erase it. The next time QuickNote is loaded, the note will reappear. Erase Note button: This button closes and erases the current note. This is a way of signaling that whatever was on the note was completed. The next time QuickNote is loaded, the note will not appear. Set a Deadline button: This is one of the most powerful aspects of QuickNote. This function allows the user to set a deadline on the note. The deadline is displayed in the blank area under the "date of creation". If the deadline is sometime in the future, the deadline date will be displayed in navy blue. If the deadline is the current date, the deadline will be displayed in red. An hour before the deadline on the note, the note will maximize itself in order to remind the user that the deadline is approaching. (The note must be opened for it to do this.) To select the deadline, simply click on the date, and select a time (or the user can enter a time) and press the OK button. Other Issues This program was designed to work on a stand alone workstation and will more than likely not work on a network. This is due to the problem of sharing records and record locking. Future Plans A Windows 95 version is hopefully coming soon. I would like to have one available by the summer of '97. A network version will hopefully be coming after the 95 version. This version will more than likely be written for a Novell 4.1 network (as soon as I learn some of the Novell API). Contact Information To register the program or to report bugs, I can be contacted via email: dhamlin@olivet.edu or by Snail Mail: Dan Hamlin ONU Box 6021 PO Box 592 Kankakee, IL 60901-0592 Registering the program will allow the user to receive the Windows 95 version for free. Registering the program costs $20 for a single user, $90 for 5 users, $170 for 10 users (US Dollars). For registering the software for more than 10 users, please contact me.