WORDPERFECT OFFICE FOR PC LANS: AUTO-DATE SAMPLE FORMULAS (Errata Sheet--June 1992) The Auto-Date feature is used to mark regularly occurring memos, appointments, and to-do items. The purpose of this section is to give you examples of Auto-Date formulas that you can use or revise to fit your needs. With each formula is an explanation of how the formula works. This section is arranged by the common types of Auto-Dates. The types and formulas included in this section are listed below. If you need information on entering Auto-Date formulas, see Auto-Date in Calendar Reference. SECTIONS AND AUTO-DATE FORMULAS Setting Fixed Dates First and Third Monday of Each Month Quarterly Meetings 1st and 15th of Every Month Tuesday the 14th First Wednesday of November First Sunday of Each Month First Monday, Second Friday, & Third Thursday of Specific Months Excluding Dates Every Wednesday Except the Second Wednesday of the Month Third Friday of Each Month Except November First Day of Specific Months Unless on Sundays Every Monday and Wednesday from August 24th to October 31st Excluding September 23rd, 1992 Every Tuesday of the Month Except the Last 14th Unless on a Weekend Setting Floating Dates First Weekday of the Month Second Weekday of the Month Third Weekday of the Month Fifth Weekday of the Month Sixth Weekday of the Month Last Weekday of the Month First Weekday of Each Quarter First Weekend on or after the 15th The Monday Before the Last Wednesday of the Month Setting Date Cycles Once every 15 days Starting June 25, 1992 Every Wednesday Starting July 1, 1992 Every Sixth Thursday between March 7 and June 30, 1992 Once Every 45 Days Starting October 1, 1992 Work Schedule: Work Five Days/Off Four Days Setting Deadlines 120 Days From October 20, 1992 Setting Dates Within a Time Period Every Second and Fourth Tuesday During Fiscal Year 1992/93 First and Third Friday in Each Month of the First Quarter Every Twelve Days in 1992 Creating a Formula Payday HOLIDAY CALENDAR Included with Appointment Calendar is a calendar containing Auto- Dates for U.S. and Canadian holidays (HOLIDAY.CAL). Retrieve HOLIDAY.CAL as you would any other calendar. See Calendar Files in Calendar Reference. CONVENTIONS To help clarify ambiguous meanings, the following terms are used to help explain the Auto-Date formulas. Dates and Days In the formulas below, dates are represented numerically (1, 2, 3, and so forth). References to the sequence of days are referred to in words (first, second, third, and so forth). Consider the following example: The sixth weekday of the month is generally the 8th. The sixth refers to the sequence of weekdays (there are five weekdays in a week). The 8th refers to the date (as in November 8). Considerations Considerations are items you should think about when creating a specific formula. The considerations for a formula may include such items as exceptions to the formula, dates that should be included, and logical guidelines. SETTING FIXED DATES Fixed dates are used to schedule an event that occurs on the same day of each month. For example, the second Saturday in one month is the same as the second Saturday in any other month. It's always a Saturday. The third weekday, however, can be on any day Monday through Friday and is not always the third day of the month. Below are examples of fixed Auto-Dates. First and Third Monday of Each Month mon(1), mon(3) Considerations: * Mark only the first and third Monday. If the formula consisted of only "mon", every Monday in the calendar would be selected. The (1) and (3) limit the selection to the first and third Monday of each month. If you placed "last" in the parentheses, you would choose the last Monday of the month. Quarterly Meetings 1(jan, apr, jul, oct) Considerations: * The four months that each begin a quarter of the year are January, April, July, and October. * Mark only the first day of the months indicated. The formula above has two parts. The first part (in parentheses) chooses certain months. The second part marks only the 1st of each month listed in the parentheses. You can change the formula by changing the months in the parentheses or by changing the date selected. 1st and 15th of Every Month 1,15 Because no specific month is indicated, Calendar marks the 1st and 15th of every month in every year. Tuesday the 14th tue 14 Considerations: * Mark Tuesday only when it is the 14th day of the month. Two conditions are demanded in this formula: The day must be a Tuesday and the date must be the 14th. The formula requires both statements to be true before a day is marked. First Wednesday of November wed(1) nov You can limit the marked days to a specific month. First Sunday of Each Month in 1992 sun(1) 1992 You can use years to limit the day selected to a single year. First Monday, Second Friday, and Third Thursday of Specific Months (mon(1),fri(2),thu(3)(feb,may,aug,nov) This formula is similar to that of "Quarterly Meetings" above. A structure such as this lets you choose multiple meeting days in the same months. You can also choose to mark certain dates of each month, for example 1, 25, fri(last). EXCLUDING DATES You may not want to schedule a date that would normally be marked by the formula. The sample formulas below demonstrate different ways to exclude dates from a formula. Every Wednesday Excluding the Second Wednesday of the Month wed!wed(2) Considerations: * A day should not be marked if it is the second Wednesday of the month. The most common way to exclude a date is with a "not"(!) statement. In the formula above, the "not" statement is used to exclude the second Wednesday of each month. Third Friday of Each Month Except November fri(3)!nov The formula above chooses the third Friday of each month of the year. The "not" statement excludes any days in November. First Day of Specific Months Unless on Sundays 1(feb,may,aug,nov)&!sun Considerations: * If the 1st falls on a Sunday, don't mark any days. The formula above is a variation of Quarterly Meetings. The difference is that this formula excludes Sundays. If you want to mark a replacement date for Sunday the 1st, you can specify a range of days. See "The 14th Unless on a Weekend" below for the sample formulas under "Setting Floating Dates" for alternatives. Every Monday and Wednesday from August 24 to October 31, excluding September 23, 1992 (mon,wed)aug24 1992:oct31 1992!sep23 1992 This formula demonstrates how you can exclude a date from a range. The formula does not mark September 23, 1992. Every Tuesday of the Month Except the Last tue(1),tue(2),tue(3),tue(last-1) Considerations: * If there are four Tuesdays in the month, do not mark the fourth. * If there are five Tuesdays in the month, mark the fourth but do not mark the fifth. The formula above shows how you can exclude a date by making sure it is not selected. Every month contains four or five Tuesdays. The operator "tue(last-1)" means the same as either "tue(4-1)" or "tue(5-1)", depending on the month. If a month has four Tuesdays, the "tue(last-1)" statement is equal to "tue(3) and marks the third Tuesday. If a month has five Tuesdays, the "tue(last-1)" marks the fourth Tuesday. The 14th Unless on a Weekend mon:fri on/before 14 Considerations: If the 14th falls on a weekend, mark the preceding Friday. The range in the formula above (mon:fri) excludes weekend days. The "on/before" operator marks the nearest replacement date to the target date when the target date does not fall in the range. For example, in the formula above if the 14th falls on a weekend, the first weekday before the 14th is marked. This type of construction is used frequently for setting floating dates. SETTING FLOATING DATES A floating date takes into account such things as ranges and the amount of weeks in a month. A floating date is especially useful for scheduling weekday appointments. For example, an appointment is scheduled for the 14th of every month. If you can meet only on weekdays, then you won't meet at all when the 14th falls on a weekend. If you set the meeting as a floating date, Calendar can move the appointment forward to Monday or back to Friday. The first seven formulas below show how you can schedule a specific weekday, such as the first or second weekday, while avoiding weekends. The remaining formulas show how you can use ranges and offset operators for other floating data applications. First Weekday of the Month mon:fri on/after 1 Considerations: * The day for the schedule must fall on a weekday (Monday through Friday). * If the 1st of the month falls on a weekend, the first weekday is Monday. To make sure the day marked is a weekday, include a range of days--Monday through Friday--in the formula. mon:fri Next, provide for a substitute when the first of the month falls on a weekend. To provide an easy substitute, you can specify that the day marked must be on or after the 1st and fall in the Monday to Friday range. mon:fri on/after 1 Second Weekday of the Month (tue:fri on/after 2, mon 4)&!tues 5 Considerations: * If the 2nd falls on a Tuesday to Friday, the second weekday and the 2nd of the month fall on the same day. * If the 2nd is on Saturday, the second weekday is Monday the 4th. * If the 2nd is on Sunday, the second weekday is Tuesday the 4th. * If the 2nd is on Monday, the second weekday is Tuesday the 3rd. To mark the second weekday, you should first determine when the second weekday and second of the month coincide. The best range, therefore, is Tuesday through Friday. tue:fri When the 2nd doesn't fall within the range, the second weekday comes after the 2nd day of the month. tue:fri on/after 2 At this point, the formula marks the day within the range that comes on or after the 2nd. The only problem is that the formula marks Tuesday the 5th instead of Monday the 4th (second consideration). To remedy the problem, include Monday the 4th. tue:fri on/after 2,mon 4 Then exclude Tuesday the 5th. (tue:fri on/after 2,mon 4)!tue 5 Third Weekday of the Month (wed:fri on/after 3,mon 5,tue 5)&!wed after 5 Considerations: * If the 3rd falls on Wednesday to Friday, the third weekday and the 3rd of the month fall on the same day. * If the 3rd falls on a Saturday, the third weekday is Monday the 5th. * If the 3rd falls on a Sunday, the third weekday is Tuesday the 5th. * If the 3rd falls on a Monday or Tuesday, the third weekday is on Wednesday the 4th or Wednesday the 5th. The first consideration shows that the third weekday and the 3rd of the month coincide on Wednesday through Friday. That is the range you should use for the formula. wed:fri The third weekday will always fall on or after the 3rd of the month. wed:fri on/after 3 At this point, there are two problems. The formula marks Wednesday the 7th instead of Monday the 5th and Wednesday the 6th instead of Tuesday the 5th (considerations 2, 3, and 4). To remedy the problems, include Monday the 5th and Tuesday the 5th. wed:fri on/after 3,mon 5,tue 5 Then exclude Wednesday the 7th and Wednesday the 6th. (wed:fri on/after 3,mon 5,tue 5)&!wed after 5 The parentheses keep the two parts of the formula separate. Fifth Weekday of the Month mon:fri on/before 7 Considerations: * On Friday the 5th, the fifth weekday and the 5th of the month fall on the same day. * When the 5th falls on Thursday, the fifth weekday is on Friday the 6th. * When the 5th falls on Saturday through Wednesday, the 5th weekday is on the 7th. The fifth weekday of the month is rarely on the 5th. The 7th is the most common day for the fifth weekday because Saturday and Sunday usually separate the first weekday from the fifth. Since the fifth weekday and the 7th fall on the same day Monday through Friday, Monday through Friday is the range. mon:fri The only days that the formula doesn't mark correctly are when the 7th falls on the weekend. On those days, the fifth weekday comes before the 7th (first and second considerations). mon:fri on/before 7 Sixth Weekday of the Month mon:fri on/after 8 Considerations: * There are always two weekend days between the first weekday and the sixth weekday. Therefore the sixth weekday will most commonly fall on the 8th. * If the 8th falls on a Saturday or Sunday, the sixth weekday is Monday the 10th or Monday the 11th. The 8th is the key date for finding the sixth weekday because of the weekend between the first and the sixth weekdays (6 weekdays + 2 weekend days = 8 days). Therefore the range encompasses Monday through Friday. mon:fri The sixth weekday will never fall before the 8th. However, if the 8th falls on a weekend, the sixth weekday comes after the 8th (second consideration). mon:fri on/after 8 Last Weekday of the Month mon:fri on/before last Considerations: * If the last day of the month falls on a Saturday or Sunday, the last weekday of the month is the preceding Friday. The last weekday of the month is always on or before the last day of the month. First Weekday of Each Quarter (mon:fri on/after 1)&jan,apr,jul,oct Considerations: * The months that begin each quarter are January, April, July, and October. * The first weekday of a quarter is exactly like the first weekday of any month. See "First Weekday of the Month" above. The "First Weekday of Each Quarter" formula is a combination of two formulas. The first formula marks the first weekday of each month. mon:fri on/after 1 The other formula marks the months that fall on every quarter of the year. jan,apr,jul,oct Together they mark the first weekday of each quarter of the year. (mon:fri on/after 1)&jan,apr,jul,oct First Weekend on or after the 15th (14:21)(sat:sun)!sun 14,sat 21 Considerations: * Mark both the Saturday and Sunday that follow the 15th. * If the 15th falls on Sunday, mark Saturday 14th. * If the 15th falls on a Monday, mark Sunday the 21st. The considerations above describe two ranges: The dates (14:21) and the weekend (sat:sun). When you use the ranges together, only the days that coincide with both ranges are marked. (14:21)(sat:sun) At this point, the formula will mark Sunday the 14th and Saturday the 21. To prevent marking two weekends in the same month, exclude those two days. (14:21)(sat:sun)!sun 14,sat 21 The Monday Before the Last Wednesday of the Month. wed(last)-2 Considerations: * The last Monday of the month can come before or after the last Wednesday of the month. If what you are scheduling is in preparation for the Wednesday, scheduling the last Monday does not always work. In the formula above, the Monday defined can be either the last Monday of the month or the Monday before the last Monday. The -2 offset operator ensures that the Monday marked precedes the last Wednesday. SETTING DATE CYCLES A date cycle marks dates at regular intervals (for example, one day marked in every 12 days). To set a cycle in Calendar you need to use two operators: "every" and "starting". The operator "every" tells Calendar how much time to allow between marked dates. The operator "starting" tells Calendar when to start marking the days. The limit for the number of days allowed in a cycle is 31. However, you can multiply cycles to create larger cycles. See "Once Every 45 Days" below. Once Every 15 Days Starting June 25, 1992 every 15 starting june 25 1992 This formula tells Calendar to mark every 15th day starting on June 25, 1992. The formula must include a starting date to let Calendar know when to begin counting the days in the cycle. Every Wednesday Starting July 25, 1992 every 7 starting jul 1 1992 You can mark the same weekday by creating a cycle of seven days. The cycle above continues indefinitely. If you want the cycle to end after a period of time, try using a range: (wed) jul 1992:jun 1993 (Include the parentheses around "wed" or the formulas will mark every day in the range, not just Wednesdays.) Every Sixth Thursday between March 7 and June 30 1992 every 6 starting mar 7 1992 ending jun 30 1992 thu Considerations: * In a cycle of every six days, it takes six weeks for the cycle to mark duplicate days. For example, if a cycle of six days starts on Thursday, it would take six weeks for the sixth day to fall on a Thursday again. This formula uses a cycle and a range to mark every sixth Thursday. First, you want to mark every sixth day, beginning on a Thursday. every 6 starting mar 7 1992 Now, if you want the cycle to end after a certain amount of time, include the ending date. every 6 starting mar 7 1992 ending jun 30 1992 Now you must limit the range to Thursdays. every 6 starting mar 7 1992 ending jun 30 1992 thu The only time that the cycle and Thursday coincide is on every sixth Thursday. Once Every 45 Days Starting October 1, 1992 (every 5 starting oct 1 1992)(every 9 starting oct 1 1992) Considerations: * A cycle definition cannot exceed 31 days. * If two cycles of different lengths start at the same time, they coincide at a multiple of the two lengths. For example, cycles of nine days and five days produce a cycle of 45 days when used together. The two cycles above work together to mark one day every 45 days. The formula works because the five-day cycle and the nine-day cycle coincide once every 45 days. Use the guidlines below to multiply cycles: * The days in each cycle should not be the same. For example, two nine-day cycles produce a cycle of every nine days. * The days in one cycle should not be divisible by the other. For example, a cycle of three days and a cycle of six days will produce a cycle of six days. * You can multiply as many cycles as you need. Work Schedule: Work Five Days/Off Four Days * Enter each line in the formula below as a separate Auto- Date formula. every 9 starting jan 1 1992 every 9 starting jan 2 1992 every 9 starting jan 3 1992 every 9 starting jan 4 1992 every 9 starting jan 5 1992 Considerations: * If you work five days and have four days off, the full cycle is nine days. * The cycle is too irregular to use a range. Parallel cycles can be used to set up more complex cycles. Each cycle by itself would mark one day every nine days, but together they mark five consecutive days and leave the following four days blank. SETTING DEADLINES A deadline is a single date set a number of days from a given day. You may find it easier to use the Move Days feature (1, 2) to move to the dealine date (see "Date" in Calendar Reference). However, if you have a deadline period that doesn't change, you may consider using a formula similar to the one below and changing the date for each deadline period. 120 days from October 20, 1992 ((((oct 20 1992+30)+30)+30)+30) Considerations: * You cannot add more than 31 days to a date. * You can add 30+30+30+30 to total 120. The maximum number of days you can add to a date is 31. However, you can add more days by nesting parentheses and adding days to each nest. SETTING DATES WITHIN A TIME PERIOD If your formula is not limited by a time period, it will continue indefinitely backward and forward in time. Time periods help clean up your calendar by not showing Auto-Dates that have expired. (It is a good idea to delete expired Auto-Dates. See "Editing/Deleting Auto-Dates" under Auto-Date in Calendar Reference.) Every Second and Fourth Tuesday during Fiscal Year 1992/93 tue(2),tue(4)(aug 30 1992:aug 30 1993) The most common way of defining a time period for a formula is to make a range. In the formula above, Tuesdays are marked only if they fall between August 30, 1992, and August 30, 1993. First and Third Friday in Each Month of the First Quarter fri(1),fri(3)&jan 1:mar 31 Considerations: * The months in the first quarter of the year are January, February, and March. If you use a range to set a time period, you can leave out the years and make the time period repeat annually. Every Twelve Days in 1992 every 12 starting jan 1 1992 ending dec 31 1992 This formula uses the starting and ending operators to define a time period. When you put a cycle in a time period, you need to use starting and ending years in the period dates to make the formula work. CREATING A FORMULA The purpose of this section is to help you understand the steps and logic for creating an Auto-Date formula. The formula created in this section is primarily for marking a semi-monthly payday schedule. The formula is then extended to exclude a payday that falls on Thanksgiving and to assign the correct date for the payday schedule. Considerations: * Payday is twice a month: The 15th and the last day of the month. * Payday are on weekdays (Monday through Friday). * If the 15th or last day of the month falls on a weekend, payday is changed to the preceding Friday. The first consideration tells you the dates of the formula: 15 and last. 1. Include the dates in the formula. 15,last Now payday is scheduled for every 15th and last day of the month. However, payday must occur only on weekdays. A range that includes only weekdays will help solve your problem. 2. Add a range of weekdays to the formulas, as shown below. mon:fri 15, mon:fri last Now the formula will only mark the 15th and the last day of the month if they fall on a weekday. If either day falls on a weekend, nothing is marked. To make the formula mark the preceding Friday, you need the "on/before" operator. 3. Place "on/before" operators before 15 and last. mon:fri on/before 15, mon:fri on/before last The formula now marks your payday as outlined in the considerations. Now add the following considerations: * Thanksgiving is the fourth Thursday of November and is a two-day holiday. * When Thanksgiving falls on the 27th or 28th, the last day of the month is Saturday or Sunday. Therefore, payday should be on Wednesday before Thanksgiving. Now you have two more considerations. You need to exclude Thanksgiving as a possible payday, and you need to include the Wednesday that precedes Thanksgiving, but only when it is applicable. 4. Add a statement to exclude the Thanksgiving holiday: mon:fri on/before 15,mon:fri on/before last & !(nov thu(4),nov thu(4)+1) (The statement thu(4)+1 is used for the Friday following Thanksgiving because the fourth Friday doesn't always follow the fourth Thursday. Now the formula excludes Thanksgiving, but it does not provide a substitute payday. The new payday should fall on the Wednesday preceding Thanksgiving, but only when Thanksgiving is on the 27th or 28th. That means the payday would occur on Wednesday the 26th or 27th. 5. Include the substitute payday (, nov wed 26, nov wed 27) in the formula. mon:fri on/before 15,mon:fri on/before last, nov wed 26, nov wed 27 & !(nov thu(4), nov thu(4)+1) You could keep adding on to this formula to exclude any other conflicts to the payday formula. WordPerfect is a registered trademark All rights reserved WordPerfect Corporation ERUSIOF31X1A--6/92 74 -74 - 4 0 REVISED June 1992