WinDates

"Never miss Mother's Day or a Birthday Again!!"

WinDates is a reminder program for Windows 95/NT that allows you to enter important dates and times to remember during the year.  By installing the WinDates icon in your "Startup" folder, WinDates will remind you of events each time you enter Windows.  If you leave WinDates running, you can receive visual and audible Alarms.

Holidays

WinDates AUTOMATICALLY calculates and reminds you of many important holiday's such as Mother's Day and Father's Day which can be hard to remember since they may fall on a different date each year.

International Holiday Listings : Visit the Rockin' Software Web Site  to share or find out your countries holidays.

http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/rockinsoftware

WinDates Topics

Contacting Rockin' Software

Upgrading WinDates

Convert v1.2 File

Whats New in Version 2.0

Main Window

Main Menu

Toolbar

Event List

Calendar

Status Bar

Event Entry Window

Notify Types

Event Type Setup Window

Holiday Setup Window

Alarms

Options Window

REGISTRATION

Registration Form

Register Window


Main Window

The WinDates Main Window is made up fo the following parts as labeled in the picture above.

•	Main Menu

•	Toolbar

•	Event List

•	Calendar

•	Status Bar


Event List

Contents

Upon startup, the Event List shows the following information on upcoming events and holidays.  All events may be shown by selecting the "Show All" radio button on the Toolbar.

•	Name	Event name (John Doe, Mother's Day, Car Payment, etc)

•	Day	Day of week of event

•	Date	Date of event in local date format

•	Days Left	Number of days left until event

•	Time	Time of event in local time format

•	Age	Upcoming age of events (for example, age on next birthday)

•	Type	Type of event (Birthday, Holiday, bill, meeting, etc)

An example Event List can be found in the Main Window section.

Sorting

The text heading of the column(s) that the Event List is sorted by are hightlighted in blue. By default, the Event List is sorted by date and time so that events are listed in order of occurence.  The Event List can be sorted by a different column by selecting the column heading with your mouse.  Also, the event list can be sorted by several columns at once by selecting menu items in the Sort menu.  Sorting by multiple columns helps to group events so that events can be in a specific order.

Event Editing

To edit events or holidays, you may double-click on the event in the event list.  When deleting events, the currently highlighted event in the Event List will be deleted.

Event List Size

The size of the Event List window can be changed by changing the size of the main window.  Also, the "splitter bar" that is shown between the Event List and Calendar can be used to change the size of the windows.  Simply position the mouse on the splitter bar until the mouse cursor changes to a resizing cursor.  Then click and hold down the left mouse button, moving the mouse to specify the new window size.  Release the mouse button to change the window size.


Calendar

The calendar view shows a single month calendar that can be browsed to any month or year.  Dates listed in the Event List are highlighted with a colored background.  The current date, if in the month shown, is indicated with a red text color.

Browsing the Calendar

The user may use the four buttons located on the top row of the calendar to browse months and years.  The buttons with one arrow change the calendar one month at a time.  The buttons with two arrows change the calendar one year at a time.

Event Date Highlighting

When an event is highlighted in the Event List, the calendar is updated to highlight that events date in the calendar.  Conversely, when the user selects a date in the calendar that an event occurs on, the corresponding event is highlighted in the Event List.

Note : If two events occur on the date selected, only the last event in the Event List is highlighted.

Calendar Size

The size of the Calendar can be changed by changing the size of the Main Window.  Also, the "splitter bar" that is shown between the Event List and Calendar can be used to change the size of the windows.  Simply position the mouse on the splitter bar until the mouse cursor changes to a resizing cursor.  Then click and hold down the left mouse button, moving the mouse to specify the new window sizes.  Release the mouse button to change the window sizes.


Main Menu

The Main Menu of the Main Window show the following items :

File

Convert v1.2 File

Print

Print Setup

Exit

Edit

Add

Modify

Delete

Holidays

Sort

Date / Time

Type / Name

Type / Date / Time

Type / Age

View

Toolbar

Event Count

Setup

Options

Event Type

Register

Help

Index

Registration

Using Help

About WinDates


Options

The Options window allows you to setup the following WinDates options.

Startup Mode

This setting allows you to specify the window state that WinDates will startup in.

The three options are :

Normal

This setting will cause the WinDates main window to always startup visible with a normal size.

Minimized Always

This setting will cause the WinDates main window to always startup as a minimized icon.  WinDates can be viewed by selecting this icon.

Minimized When no Upcoming Events

This setting will cause the WinDates main window to startup visible with a normal size if there are upcoming events to be shown in the Event List.  If no events are to be shown in the Event List, WinDates will be started up as a minimized icon.

Startup Sound

This setting allows you to change the sound that is played each time you start WinDates.  The sound can be enabled or disabled using the Enabled button.  You can replace the default sound with your own sound in a .wav file format.  You may browse the file system for a new .wav file using the Browse button and test the selected sound using the Test button.

Alarm Sound

This setting allows you to change the sound that is played when a user defined Alarm is sounded.  The sound can be enabled or disabled using the Enabled button.  You can replace the default sound with your own sound in a .wav file format.  You may browse the file system for a new .wav file using the Browse button and test the selected sound using the Test button.

Startup Splash Screen Enabled

This setting allows you to specify whether the "Splash Screen" is shown as WinDates is starting up.  This window quickly indicates that WinDates is coming up as the program initializes.  The window also shows the current registration status.  If WinDates has not been registered, this option may not be disabled.


Register

The Register window allows you to enter your personal registration number.  To get your number see the Registration section.  Each name has a unique registration number, so be sure you enter your name exactly as indicated on the registration form.  The name is case-sensitive.  Names usually have the first letter of each name uppercase and the rest of the letters lowercase.


Toolbar

The Toolbar is shown at the top of the Main Window just below the Main Menu.

The following controls are provided in the Toolbar.

  Default Setting that shows only enabled Events and Holidays within the near future in the Event List.   Notify time period depends on the "Notify Days" setting for each Holiday or Event.

  Shows all Events and enabled Holidays in the Event List.

The Add button brings up the Event Entry window.  The Date is set to the Current date and the default Notify Type is "One Time".

The Modify button allows you to edit the currently selected event in the Event List.  If the entry is an event, the Event Entry window is displayed to allow you to edit the event.  If the entry is a holiday, the Holiday Setup window is displayed with the current event highlighted.

Note : You can also modify events by 'double-clicking' on the event in the Event List.

The Delete button allows you to delete the Currently Selected Event in the Event List.  A warning message box is displayed asking if you are sure you want to delete the event.  If a holiday is selected, a message is displayed stating that holidays cannot be deleted.  Holidays can be disabled from the Holiday Setup window.

The Holidays button displays the Holiday Setup window.

The Exit button exits the WinDates program.  Note : Alarms will not be sounded if you exit WinDates.  You should Minimize WinDates as described below.

The Min button Minimizes the WinDates program.  This will leave WinDates running in the background so that the alarm function will work correctly.


Status Bar

The status bar is shown at the bottom of the WinDates Main Window.  It shows the following information in four panes.

Menu Help

The first pane starts at the left of the status bar but does not have a sunken border.  As menu items are selected, this pane shows messages that describe the menu item.

Registered Pain

The second pane shows the Registration status of WinDates.  If this installation of WinDates is not registered, the pane will show 'Unregistered Evaluation'.  If this installation has been registered, the name entered through the Register Dialog is shown.

Current Time Pane

The third pane shows the current computer time.  The Windows international time settings are used to format this time value.

Current Date Pane

The fourth pane shows the current computer date.  The Windows international date settings are used to format this date value.


Event Entry

The Event Entry window is used to enter new events and to modify existing events.

Name - The name of the person or event (John Doe, Car Payment, etc).

Type - The type of event (Birthday, Bill, Meeting, etc).  There are several preset Event Type's which can be chosen from the pull down list.

Type Setup - You can add, modify and delete these preset Event Types using the Event Type Setup dialog.

Notes - Any notes about the event.

Disabled - Events can be disabled by marking the "Disabled" checkbox. Disabled events will not be shown in the Event List if in "Show Upcoming" mode.  If the Event List is in "Show All" mode, all events including disabled events will be shown.

Notify Frame - The four radio buttons contained in the Notify frame are used to specify the Notify Type .  This value also determines which controls are shown in the Event Date frame.

Days Prior - Specifies the number of days prior to the event that you will be reminded of the Event. In other words, when the Event List is marked "Show Upcoming", the event will only be shown if within this many days of the current date.   With some events, such as Birthdays, you may want to be reminded a couple of weeks ahead.  Other events, such as monthly bill's, might only need to be set to four or five days.

Event Date Frame - This frame contains controls used to specify the date of the event.  The controls shown in this frame depend on which Notify Type has been selected.

One Time - If "One Time" is selected, a calendar similar to the Main Window Calendar is shown. This allows the user to select a specific date.  The selected date is shown in the edit box to the left of the calendar.

Monthly - If "Monthly" is selected, only the day of the month is required.  A list box is shown for entering this value.

Yearly - If "Yearly" is selected, the month and day of month are required.  Optionally, the original year can also be entered.  The original year is only used to calculate the Age of the event.  For example, on birthday events, enter the persons year of birth for the original year.  This way, the persons age on their next birthday will be calculated and shown in the Event List.

Custom - For custom events, a set of controls are shown that let you specify valid Weeks of Month, Days of Week, Months of Year and Year.  At least one week, one month and one day of week must be selected.

Event Time - Two edit boxes and two radio buttons allow the user to specify the time of the event.  The first edit box holds the hour of the event with valid values from 1 to 12.  The second edit box holds the minute of the event with valid values from 0 to 59.  The radio buttons allow you to select am/pm.

Alarm Enabled - This checkbox specifies whether the WinDates alarm function is enabled for this event.  If the event is enabled, the "Minutes before Event Time" edit box is enabled.

Minutes before Event Time - This specifies how many minutes before the event time the WinDates alarm should start sounding.  The default value is 10.  If 0 is specified, the alarm will sound at the Event Time.


Notify Type

There are 4 event notification types :

One Time	"One Time" events are events that only happen once, such as an appointment.  These events become "Old" after the date has past.  Once they become old, they will show a negative "Days Left" value in the Event List.

Monthly	"Monthly" Events are events that happen on the same day each month such as a bill to pay or a monthly report to complete.  Only the day of the month is entered for a monthly event.  The month and year are not required.

Yearly	"Yearly" Events are events that happen on the same day each year such as someone's Birthday or Anniversary.  For "Yearly" events, the year value represents the original year of the event.  This way, WinDates can calculate the Age of events which is useful for Birthdays since this tells the age of the person on their next birthday.

Custom	"Custom" Events are events that happen on unusual days of the year.  Custom events may be specified by week of month, day of week, month of year and year.  Many of the holidays already setup in WinDates could have been entered as custom events.  For example, Mothers Day is the 2nd Sunday of May.  This could have been entered as a Custom Event with week of month = 2, day of week = Sunday, month of year = May and Year = all years.  Custom events allow international users to enter many holidays that are not already setup in WinDates.

NOTE : It is possible to specify custom events that may never happen (ie 5th Monday of February) or that may not happen for many years.  WinDates only checks the next 10 years for custom events.  If an occurence of the custom event is not found within 10 years of the current date, the event will be shown as n/a (not available) in the Event List when Show All is selected.


Type Setup
Event Type Setup

The Event Type Setup dialog allows the user to add, modify and delete Event Types that are shown in the Type drop list in the Event Entry dialog.  This allows commonly used Event Types to be entered once and simply selected from the drop list.

The dialog contains a list box that shows the currently defined types and an edit box used to specify new or changed values.

The Add button will add the value shown in the edit box to the type list.

The Modify button will change the currently selected type to the value in the edit box.

The Delete button will delete the currently selected type.

Press OK to accept and save your changes.  Press Cancel to cancel any changes you have made.


Holiday Setup

Many holiday's are automatically calculated by WinDates each year.

The Holiday Setup dialog window allows you to :

•	Enable / Disable holiday reminders - disabled holidays are not shown in the Event List.  Simply click on the enabled checkbox for the Holiday you would like to enable/disable.

•	Set the number of days prior to the event you are notified.  If the Holiday is within the number of days specified, it is shown as an Upcoming Event in the Main Window.  You may edit Notify Days value in the holiday list by selecting the value and entering a new value.

International Holiday Listings : Visit the Rockin' Software Web Site at http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/rockinsoftware to share or find out your countries holidays.


Registration

You are authorized to use this shareware version of  WinDates for evaluation for 30 days.  To continue using WinDates legally, you should REGISTER.

The price to Register WinDates is $15 U.S. Dollars.

What Registering Gets You :

•	Disables the shareware screen encountered when editing Events and Holidays.

•	Allows unlimited number of events.  Unregistered copies of WinDates have a 20 event limit.  This only applies to user-defined events and not the pre-defined holidays.

•	Allows you to disable the startup splash screen.

•	Free upgrades to future versions.

Two Ways To Register :

1.	Print or make a hand written copy of this Registration Form .  Fill out and mail, along with a check or money order (payable through U.S. bank) for $15 (Texas residents add 8.25% sales tax), to :

Rockin' Software

5116 Bissonnet #134

Bellaire, TX 77401-4007

2.	Register on-line through your COMPUSERVE account!!!  You are billed the registration fee by COMPUSERVE.  Access the Software Registration Forum either by typing 'GO SWREG' or by selecting the 'Computers' service, then select 'Shareware Registration'.  After entering the Shareware Registration forum select the 'Register Shareware' option and PURCHASE PRODUCT NUMBER 13929.

You should receive your personal registration number through Compuserve mail within two days.

After registering, use the Register dialog box to enter your number.

Comments on WinDates.  Your comments and suggestions are encouraged.  Help make WinDates a great product!

Internet Mail	: 102011.3345@compuserve.com

Compuserve Mail 	: 102011,3345

Postal Mail	: above address

http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/rockinsoftware

Shareware Distribution : You are encouraged to distribute the unregistered version of this program to World Wide Web sites, FTP sites, Bulletin Boards, Shareware Archives, CD-ROM's, etc.  Shareware disk vendors may also freely distribute this program.

Disclaimer :  No warranty on WinDates exists, either expressed or implied.  No liability is assumed by the author of WinDates for any damage or loss resulting from the use of the WinDates software.


Registration Form
WinDates 2.0 Registration Form

Company____________________________

Name_______________________________(required)

Registration Name (Circle One):  NAME  COMPANY

Address____________________________

Address____________________________

City_______________________________

State________________  ZIP_________

Country____________________________

Phone______________________________

email______________________________

Cost :

WinDates version 2.0 :  $15 x __ =	______

Tax (Texas Residents 8.25%)  +	______  ($1.24 each)

Total 	 =	______

Send this form and a Check or Money Order to :

Rockin' Software

5116 Bissonnet #134

Bellaire, TX 77401-4007

Corporate site licences and quantity discounts are available.

Optional

Where did you obtain WinDates?

(Internet site name, BBS name, disk vendor name)

________________________________________________

What would you change to improve WinDates?

_______________________________________________

_______________________________________________

_______________________________________________

_______________________________________________


Whats New

The following features have been added or changed in WinDates version 2.0.

•	Converted WinDates to 32-bit for Windows 95 and Windows NT.

•	Added Event List Printing.

•	Removed redundant Event Setup screen.  All functions can be handled from main screen.

•	Added calendar view.

•	Added alarm function.

•	Made Event Name and Type fields longer.

•	Added Event Notes, Time, and Alarm fields.

•	Added calendar for date selection for One Time events in Event Entry dialog.

•	Added custom event type.

•	Added support for International Dates and Times.  WinDates now uses the Windows International Date and Time settings.

•	Replaced main list box with Event List grid that allows column resizing.

•	Added ability to resize main window.

•	Added keyboard support.

•	Yearly Events Dates in the Event List show the current year instead of the original year.

•	Added ability to sort Event List by any column or by specific multiple columns.

•	Added Event Type Setup dialog which allows you to add, delete and modify the Event Types that are shown in the Type drop box in the Event Entry dialog.

•	Redesigned Holiday Setup dialog.


Contacting Rockin' Software

Internet Mail

102011.3345@compuserve.com

World Wide Web

http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/rockinsoftware

Compuserve Mail

102011,3345

Postal Mail

Rockin' Software

5116 Bissonnet #134

Bellaire, TX 77401-4007


Upgrade

When upgrading from version 1.2 of WinDates, the following considerations should be made.

•	You must install WinDates v2.0 into the directory that v1.2 was installed into.  The default directory is c:\windates

•	During installation, the following files will not be overwritten if they exist.

events.dat	v1.2 events data file

events20.dat	v2.0 events data file

holidays.dat	holidays data file

windates.ini	WinDates configuration settings file

•	The first time you execute WinDates v2.0 after installation, if the v1.2 events.dat file exists, you will be prompted to convert this file to the v2.0 events20.dat file.  If you want to convert and use events previously entered through v1.2, select Yes.  If you wish to start out fresh using v2.0 example events, select no.  If you select no, you may convert the events.dat file to v2.0 at a later time by performing the function Convert v1.2 File.

•	If you choose to convert the v1.2 events.dat file, the default events20.dat file will be renamed to events20.old.  If you wish to restore this file, rename the events20.old file to events20.dat.


File Conversion

Warning : Under normal circumstances, you should not need to perform this operation.  Performing this operation will delete any events that have been entered through WinDates 2.0.

If you are upgrading from WinDates version 1.2, you must convert the version 1.2 events file (events.dat) to version 2.0 format (events20.dat) before it can be used in WinDates version 2.0.

You should be prompted to perform this conversion the first time you execute WinDates version 2.0. If, for some reason, you skip this process, you can perform the conversion later using the "Convert v1.2 File" command (See Main Menu). This process simply reads the events.dat file and stores a new events20.dat file.  The original events20.dat file is renamed to events20.old.  If you want to restore the original events20.dat file, simply rename events20.old to events20.dat.


Alarms

WinDates v2.0 includes an alarm feature.  For the alarm to function, WinDates must be running.  For this reason, it is best to leave WinDates running at all times.  The alarm will work if WinDates is minimized.  Use the Min button on the Toolbar to quickly minimize WinDates.

Alarm Definition

An alarm can be defined for each event through the Event Entry window.  To determine the alarm time, WinDates uses the Event Date, Event Time and the "Minutes before Event Time" values.  The "Minutes before Event Time" value allows you to specify a number of minutes before the event time that the Alarm is sounded.  This way, for example, if you have a meeting at 10:00 am, you can specify the alarm time to be 9:45 am by setting a "Minutes before Event Time" value of 15.

Sounding of the Alarm

When an alarm is sounded, WinDates displays a dialog window showing the event information and plays the alarm sound specified in the Options Window.  The alarm will then sound every 20 seconds until the alarm is Acknowledged by pressing the "Acknowledge Alarm" button in the Alarm dialog window.

If multiple alarms are scheduled to sound at the same time, one dialog window for each alarm will be shown and each will need to be acknowledged individually.