Welcome to 'Auto-Reminder', custom software by MicroSource.

This program has been designed to be a fast and effective way to scan
upcoming appointments, dates and events, and to remind you of them
automatically on your computer. You will need no previous experience to
operate the program as most items on the menu are self-explanatory.
However, if you are a new user, here are a few basic points to note when
running the program:

Start the program from the DOS prompt by typing 'REMIND', or whatever
name you chose at installation time. You will see that the program and
data files are in a subdirectory called \REMIND located on your c: or d:
drive. If you installed them in a different directory, type the name of
THAT directory to start the program. The start-up file (batch file) is
always located on the c: drive root directory and has the same name as the
directory you created.

Initially, using option 1, enter in the dates you would like to store
for reminding. The new version 3.5 incorporates 8 digit dates as
(mmddyyyy) to allow further extending of dates into the year 2000 and
beyond. This means the full year has to be entered such as '1996'. You
also have access to the 'calendar' function here, which gives you the
ability to scan forward or backward to view any date you wish.

When entering new dates for reminding, you will also be asked to select
the option that corresponds to the type of reminder; Birthday,
Anniversary, Yearly, Monthly, etc. This allows for later printing of
groups of dates based on this 'type'. Note, when you enter dates for
anniversaries and birthdays you must use a past date, in other words, the
ORIGINAL birthday or anniversary date. All other reminder dates have to be
FUTURE.

Next, enter a description of the message you would like to be reminded of,
followed by the number of days ahead you would like the reminding to
start.

When you're done entering data, that's it!  The computer will calculate
how many days until that date comes, as well as the day of the week it
will fall on. Get ready to be reminded as that date approaches!

If you want to change the number of days-ahead to scan, just type in a
number in the corresponding box. Depending on how frequently you use your
computer, you can adjust the 'default' days-ahead value by clicking on the
'Save default' box.

The program has built-in 'quick-keys', which are represented by a
highlighted letter in each option. The 'B', for example, in 'Birthday', is
the quick-key since it is highlighted. To jump to this field, hit the
'ALT' key and then the highlighted letter. The cursor will immediately
jump to that field. Otherwise, just use the TAB key to move to the next
field. Most windows can be exited by the 'Cancel' button, or by hitting
the 'ESC' key on your keyboard.

Menu option 2 is the reminder function itself. It scans the dates for any
that are coming up soon. The program checks the number of days ahead that
you have told it to scan before it brings up your reminder. If you would
like to temporarily scan ahead farther, use option 8 to change the look-
ahead distance, or select a particular month to view exclusively.

When the reminders come up due and on the screen, you may do one of
four things: First, if you hit 'Continue', the program will assume you
have read the reminder and wish to go on. You will see it again the next
time you turn the computer on. You may also 'Acknowledge' the reminder,
which means you have read it and do not wish to have it come up again. At
this point, any 'recurring' reminders will reset automatically for the
following year, month or week. You may also choose to 'Delete' an item,
which removes the reminder altogether. Old reminders that are older than
one year are automatically deleted. If you select 'Menu', you will
abort the reminder check and end up in the program. Lastly, you may pick
'Quit', which will abort the whole reminder check and put you into DOS or
Windows.

Options 3, 4, and 5 actually do about the same thing. They will
bring up each reminder one-by-one for you to view. At this point you may
choose to delete them or edit the data. The edit function allows you to
modify any of the 4 fields shown, and will move on to the next reminder
when you are done. You may also choose to do a 'Reset' here. If you have
accidentally 'acknowledged' a reminder, resetting it will assign it back
to the NEXT available date possible.

Note: in searching with options 3, 4 and 5, you may respond to the INPUT
BOX at the top by typing in any part of the reminder message, such as
'John'. When you do this, only messages with 'John' in them somewhere be
displayed. This is quite helpful when the data list gets large.

Option 6 will save your data immediately, but never fear, the program will
also re-save all data upon exiting.

Option 7 will print a hardcopy of your data. You can select everything to
print or just selected categories like birthdays, for example.

Option 8 is the look-ahead feature. This is very useful to scan for dates
farther ahead than what you originally specified. You can also select a
particular month to view by itself.

Option 10 is a new feature added by user request. It is a calendar
function which can bring up any date in the past or future. If you would
like to enter a reminder from the calendar screen, simply click on that
date, and you will jump to 'input' screen with that date already loaded.
If any date is in the 'date' box when you go INTO the calendar screen,
that month will be displayed first.

Option 11 is important regarding information about obtaining the
registered version of 'Auto-Reminder'. The beauty of this reminder program
versus others is not only its simplicity and inexpensiveness, but the fact
that it is disk-based, super fast, and ties up no memory space like TSR
programs can do. Once installed, you can virtually let it run itself.

Option 12 will display this text file.

Option 13 will exit the program. All data will be re-saved at this time.

Question: How do I create separate groups of reminder dates, that I
don't want intermingled, like 'family' or 'office', etc.?
Answer: Use the original INSTALL program to re-install in a different
directory, such as c:\family. The startup file in the ROOT directory
is always the same as the directory name. So, from the DOS prompt, type
'family' (or whatever directory name you specified), and start the program
as usual. Type 'office' (or whatever name you specified), to work in the
second program. This method works the best, since it allows auto-loading
at power-on, of one or both programs, whichever you choose.

Question: How do I keep track of different file groups?
Answer: Type 'NAME' at the startup menu, and the program will remember the
name of the group and display it on the top of the screen.

Question: How do I un-install Auto-Reminder?
Answer: The normal installation program will place some lines in your
Autoexec.bat file that look something like this:

rem --------------------------------------------------
rem Auto-Reminder setup. Put near end of Autoexec.bat
rem (before 'WIN' or 'PB' or other start-up menu)
c:
cd \remind
remind
c:
cd\
rem --------------------------------------------------

You can delete everything between and including the dashed lines. This
will effectively stop the reminder program from initializing. Just type
'EDIT AUTOEXEC.BAT' at the C:\> prompt to erase these lines.

I hope you enjoy using the program. I have tried to make it as easy to use
as possible, as well as being flexible enough to manage complex scheduling
needs. I have consulted a number of people regarding their input about the
program, but more enhancements are still forthcoming. Please forward any
comments or suggestions about the program and I will try to incorporate
them into future revisions.

    Thanks,  Mike

For comments, questions, or registration, write or call:

MicroSource
700 E. Washington #39
Colton, Ca. 92324
909-824-1500