6╗ó OVERVIEWáæ"Task Master" is designed to help you stay organized and effectiveüIt is easy to use and flexibleüÆFor example, you can:æ Enter ú descriptions and assign responsibility for completionüCreate sub-ús and sub-ús of sub-ús, as deep as you needüÆ Enter major (A-B-C) priority and numbered priorities.Æ Enter beginning and ending dates, as well as your estimate of how much time it will take to complete a úüEnter how much time is left to complete and/or how much has already been doneüDates can be most easily entered by using Ctrl-F1 to pop-up a calendar and pointing to the date you select.Æ Sort the ú list in any way you pleaseüUse the default sort priority or choose your own.Æ Use the default field names and layout or rearrange them and/or rename them.Æ Display any depth of sub-ús you choose.Æ Filter ús based on any combination of logic you selectüArchive the filtered ús, if desiredü"Task Master" defaults to archive any ús which were due before today, so you have a convenient way to discard old ús.Æ Switch to diagram mode (Alt V D) to display a diagram of the æú start and due datesÆá SCREEN LAYOUT ÆTop Line - Main menuæSecond Line -┬Edit LineæThird Line - Field Headers (This can be set to single or two-lines)æ─- Task ListæBottom Line - Messages, or expanded descriptions of menu and dialogue choices.æí─▀ó MENU SELECTIONS áæMove from menu option to option by using the Arrow key, Tab or mouseüYou can cancel a menu by pressing Esc or by pointing with the mouse outside of the menu and pressing the left button.Æá HIGHLIGHTING CHOICESæTab moves to the next menu item, shift Tab moves to the previous option.ÆThe Arrow keys move you from one item to another.ÆUsing a mouse with the left button held down highlights the current item under the mouse pointer.æí┤∩ó DIALOGUE BOXES ædialogue boxes let you update information in any orderüYou can move from field to field by using the Arrow, Tab, PgUp, PgDn, End, Home keys as well as the mouse.Æá TYPES OF INFORMATIONæThere are three basic kinds of information which can be entered:æ─ Buttonsæ─ Letters and numbers in strings, andæ─ Numbers.ÆYou can toggle a button by pressing the space bar, x (letter x), . (period) keys, or clicking the left button on the mouse.Æá ACCEPT - HELP - CANCELæWhen you press the Enter key the information will be registered if Accept is highlighted in the bottom of the dialogue boxüIf Help is highlighted, help will be displayedüIf Cancel is highlighted, the box will disappear and the original information will be restored (in most cases).ÆIf you press the Escape key (Esc), the dialogue box will be canceled and the original settings will be restored (usually)üUsing the Escape key and selecting Cancel have the same affect.æíHïó USING MENUS áæThe Main Menu (across the top of the screen) will be highlighted after you hit the Alt keyüYou can select a menu choice by:æ─ Holding Alt then pressing the highlighted letter of the æchoice,æ─ Pressing and releasing the Alt key, then using the Arrow or Tab keys to highlight the choice you want, then pressing Enter, æoræ─ Clicking the left mouse button with the mouse pointer on the menu choice.ÆA pull-down menu will appear after you select an option from the main menuüSelect a pull-down menu choice by:æ─ Entering the highlighted letter,æ─ Using the Arrow or Tab keys, oræ─ Clicking the left mouse button on the selection.ÆUsing an arrow key to move out of the menu, is the same as selecting this choice by pressing EnterüFor example, pressing the Left Arrow in a pull-down menu selects the the item highlightedüæí!pó EDITING INPUT æWhile you update fields, either in a dialogue box or in the main ú list, you can edit the field by using the Arrow, Backspace, Home, End and Delete keysüEsc cancels the editing and restores the original information in the field (the information as it was when you last entered this field).ÆBack Space will erase the character immediately to the left of the current character.ÆHome will move the cursor to the beginning of the lineüHolding down the Control (Ctrl) key while you press Home moves to the top of the dialogue box or beginning of the ú list.ÆEnd moves the cursor to the end of the lineüHolding down the Control (Ctrl) key while you press End moves to the end of the list of ús or the dialogue box.ÆPgUp moves up a page in the ú list or to the top of the dialogue box.ÆPgDn moves down a page in the ú list or to the end of the dialogue box.ÆCtrl Arrow (holding the Ctrl key while momentarily pressing the Left or Right Arrow) moves the cursor to the word on the immediate left or right of the current word.ÆEsc cancels the current input session and restores the original information.ÆArrow keys move the cursor in the direction of the arrowüIf the motion moves you out of one field it will roll you into the next.ÆTab moves you to the next fieldüShift Tab moves to the previous field.Æí»ó ENTERING DATESáæThere are four dates maintained for each ú -- Start, Due, Created and done. æDates can be entered in three ways: directly, using a Pop-up calendar or Ctrl+ Ctrl-.ÆDIRECT DATE ENTRY áæFor direct entering, move to the desired ú and date, then enterthe number month and dateüIf you enter just a month, today's day and year is assumedüIf you enter a day, this month is assumed unless that day is already passed, in which case next month is assumedüYou can type over any of the days, months and years at any time.ÆCTRL PLUS/MINUSáæUsing Ctrl+ (plus) and Ctrl- (minus) will add or subtract one day or month (depending on which is being edited) to the current date respectivelyüFor example, pressing Ctrl+ with the cursor in a month field will add a month to the date.ÆDONE DATE AUTOMATIC ENTRYáæThe done date is automatically set when you indicate that a ú is doneüA ú can be set to done in any of three ways:æ	 Entering Ctrl-D in the list view,æ	 Setting the Done button in the zoom dialogue box, or æ	 Setting the Done date (using the calendar, direct entry or Ctrl +/-). æ	æPOP-UP CALENDARáæTo use a Pop-up calendar, place the cursor over the ú you wish to updateüThen press Ctrl-F1üThe first letter of the Start date or Due date will be highlightedüUse the Arrow keys to move from day to dayüPgUp and PgDn to move a month at a time.ÆPress Enter for the selected date, or the letter of the kind of date (S for start, D for due, N for done)üHit A for accept when you have selected the dates you want.ÆA '[' will appear before the start date, and a ']' will follow the due dateüA '√' will appear after the done dateüYou can select just one, two or all three dates.ÆThe start date cannot be after the due date.ÆPress Escape to cancel the calendar without changing the original dates.ÆKey Options:æPop-up:┬Alt V, L╦─Hot Key: Ctrl F1æNext/Prev Month: PgDn/PgUpæCancel: EscæAccept: Enter or AæSet date: First letter of date name, or Enter when highlighted.Using a Mouse: Click the left button on the appropriate dateüThe highlighted date will be set.æíε¬ó MAIN MENU, FILE áæNEW LISTáæThis option will clear the screen and restore default settings.ÆKey Options: Alt F, NôGET FILEáæChoosing Get File will display a dialogue box with the directory and file nameüYou can adjust either entry by directly typing your desired directory and file name, or you can use DOS wild-card characters and shift F1 to display all the directories or files that match your entryüAn asterisk (*) matches any combination of letters and a question mark (?) matches any single characterüÆKey Options: Alt F, G╦Hot Key: Ctrl F8æ╦ Shift F1 for choicesôSAVE ASáæUse this option to save the ú list with a new file name or in a different directoryüA dialogue box will allow you to select the desired directory and file name.Shift F1 will display all the files or directories that fit the wild card mask in the directory or file names.ÆKey Options: Alt F, A╦Hot Key: Shift F8æ╦ Shift F1 for choicesôSAVEáæSelecting Save will use the current file name and directory to save the ú listüIf no file name has been entered a default name of JOBS.TSK will be used in the last used directoryüIf the file already exists, you will get a chance to cancel the save. ÆKey Options: Alt F, S╦Hot Key: F8ôRETRIEVE ARCHIVEDáæThis option will retrieve a previously archived set of filtered úsüTo make an archive, first set a filter in the filter menu, then select Archive Filtered from the same menuüYou can also move ús to the filtered list by marking the ús you want to move, then choosing Filter Marked from the Sort/Filter menu. ÆKey Options: Alt F, R╦Hot Key: Ctrl F10ôEXITáæThis option shuts down "Task Master."┬If you have made any changes in the information since it was last saved, "Task Master" will confirm your intensions in a dialogue box.ÆKey Options: Alt V, Xæíα{ó MAIN MENU, VIEWáæZOOM INTO THIS TASKáæThis options displays a full-screen dialogue box for entering ú dataüThis is usefull if you choose to limit the fields displayed in the main list, but want to check on, or edit information not currently displayedüÆPg/Up and Pg/Dn changes from one ú to another without having to return to the list view.ÆKey Options:┬Alt V, Z╦├Hot Key: F2ôDIAGRAM TIMELINE OR RESTORE TEXTáæThis choice will use an alternate set of fields in the display including a diagram field which graphically shows the start and due dates of each ú (if they have been entered)üRestore Text will restore the original field display, without graphics.ÆKey Options: Alt V, D from text modeü Hot Key: Ctrl F2æ╦ Alt V, R from Diagram mode.æ╦ ÆCALCULATE TIMES FROM SUB'SáæThis selection automatically adds up the times in Allowed, Remaining and Compleated fields of the subordinate úsüIt also automatically sets the Start and Due dates to the earliest and latest dates in the sub-ús.ÆKey Options: Alt V, T╦─Hot Key: F6ôPOP-UP CALENDAR áæSelecting the Pop-Up Calendar, displays a calendar of the current month, with the current day, or last entered date highlightedü(See Entering Dates for explaination).ÆKey Options: Alt V, L╦─Hot Key: Ctrl F1æí	#
ó MAIN MENU, TASK æSELECT AND MARKáÆSelecting a ú or several adjacent ús lets you:æ─ Move,æ─ Copy,æ─ Delete,æ─ Filter,æ─ Promote, andæ─ Demote úsüæ─æTasks can be selected by first moving the cursor to the ú you want to select. ÆKey Options:─Alt T, M╚Hot key: F7 æUsing a Mouse, æ─ Double click the left mouse button while pointing to the ú or æ─ Drag the mouse pointer from ú to ú while holding down the left button.æ╚ÆUNMARK TASKSáæSelected ús can be unselected by reversing the selection process.ÆKey Options:─Alt T, U╚Hot Key: Shift F7æUsing a Mouse: Double click the left button on a previously selected ú.ôINSERT TASKáæThe Insert Task command, inserts a new ú ahead of the ú currently under the cursor.ÆKey Options:─Alt T, I╚Hot Key: Ctrl InsertôDELETE TASKáæThe Delete Task option deletes the currently selected úsüIf none are selected, the ú currently under the cursor is deletedüIf the deleted ú has sub-ús, you have the option to delete the sub-ús.ÆKey Options:─Alt T, D╚Hot Key: Ctrl Deleteæ ÆCOPY TASKSáæThe Copy Tasks option, copies selected ús to the ú under the cursorüIf more than one ú is selected, each one overwrites the succeeding úsüÆBefore copying, Task Master will display a dialogue box of copy optionsüBy default the entire ú is copied, but you can choose to copy any combination of groups of fields -- dates, descriptions, assignments, times or priorities.ÆKey Options:─Alt T, C╚Hot Key: Ctrl InsertôMOVE TASKSáæLike Copy Tasks, the Move Tasks command moves the selected ús to just ahead of the ú under the cursor. ÆKey Options:─Alt T, V╚Hot Key: Ctrl F5ôADD SUBORDINATE TO THIS TASKáæThis option inserts a new subordinate ú following the current ú.ÆKey Options:─Alt T, A╚Hot Key: Ctrl AôADD A TASK TO THIS GROUPáæThis option inserts a new ú below the current ú at the same subordinate level as the family directly below.ÆKey Options:┬Alt T, A╞Hot Key: Ctrl DownôMAKE SUBORDINATEáæThis option makes the current ú subordinate the ú immediately preceding itüIf the current ú has subordinates, they are demoted too.ÆKey Options:─Alt T, S╚Hot Key: Shift Alt RightôPROMOTE THIS TASKáæPromotes the current ú with any subordinates it may haveüIf you want to avoid promoting the subordinate ús, move the ú out of the family before you promote it.ÆKey Options:─Alt T, P╚Hot Key: Shift Alt LeftôDISPLAY MASTER TASKS ONLY or DISPLAY ALL SUB-TASKSáæWhen all ú levels are displayed, this option will display only the top level úsüWhen the display is already limited to the masters, all levels will display.ÆUse the General Options choice from the Options menu to select intermediate levels of display.ÆNote: This option only efffects the display, it does not change the listüThis differs from filtering which moves ús out of the list, and eliminates any association of filtered ús to its master.ÆKey Options:─Alt T, L╚Hot Key: F5æí
╡ó MAIN MENU, PRINT áæPRINT ALL TASKS WITH SUB'SáæThis option prints all ús with subordinate ús regardless of the level currently displayedüIt uses the print options set in "Set Printer Options."ÆKey Options: Alt P, A╦Hot Key: F3ôPRINT LEVELS AS DISPLAYEDáæThis option prints only the ús which fit the current level of displayüSet the level of sub ú display in the "General Options" dialogue box of the Options menu (Alt O, G).ÆKey Options: Alt P, LôPRINT SELECTED TASKSáæThis option prints the ús that have been markedüMark all the ús you want to print before selecting this option. ÆKey Options: Alt P, SôSET PRINTER OPTIONSáæThis option sets page layout optionsüIt displays a dialogue box to set, header, page length, width, margins, character size (pitch)üYou can also turn on and off date and page printingüIf you want no header, delete the characters in the header.ÆKey Options: Alt P, OôINSTALL PRINTERáæThis option allows you to define character based printer optionsüYou can enter printer specific codes for bold, underline and printer initialization codesüYou can save these printer codes, or retrieve previously saved codesüÆPrinter set-up codes:æ─ Text (ASCII) letter strings can be listed between double æquotes.æ─ A single text character can be placed in single quotes.æ─ Hexidecimal numbers are indicated by an H at the end (e.g. æ4fh).æ─ Decimal numbers are entered directly.æ─ Separate entries with spaces.ÆYou can set the printer port from this option as wellüIf you select a file name instead of a port such as lpt1: or lpt2:, Task Master will print to the file you specify.ÆKey Options: Alt P, IÆThis version of "Task Master" prints text onlyüTherefore, the diagram of your project time line can not be printed at this timeüThis is a high priority for the next version.æíÑó MAIN MENU, SORT & FILTER áæSORTáæThe ú list is sorted in the order specified by Sort Order.ÆKey Options: Alt S, S╦Hot Key: Ctrl F9ôSORT ORDERáæUse this command to set the desired sort orderüA dialogue box shows a list of all the fields (with the current names)üYou can enter the order in which you want them to be sortedüItems with zero will not be included in the sortüOverwrite the order for each field you want to changeüThe other fields will be appropriately adjusted.ÆKey Options: Alt S, RôFILTERáæAll ús which match the settings in the Filter Logic will be hiddenüThey are not deleted and they are not filed separatelyüFiltered ús are moved out of the ú list and saved when the list is savedüYou can file these ús in an archive by using the file menu.ÆKey Options: Alt S, F╦Hot Key: F4ôFILTER OFFáæThis option redisplays the ús hidden by filteringüAny association with master ús will be lost.ôKey Options: Alt S, O╦Hot Key: Shift F4ôFILTER MARKEDáæThis option adds all the marked (selected) ús to the filtered listüYou can mark ús by using F7, double clicking on a ú or dragging the mouse with the left button down over the desired ús.ÆIf a selectd ú has subordinate ús, the subordinates will be filtered as well.ÆKey Option: Alt S, M╦ Hot Key: Ctrl F7ôDELETE FILTEREDáæUse this command option to delete the ús that had been previously filteredü"Task master" will ask you to confirm that you want to delete the úsüThis option is useful to help you clean up a long ú list.ÆThe default Filter Logic is set to filter all ús which are doneü Filtering (F4) then selecting Alt S, D will delete all past due úsüÆAnother useful way to use this feature is to set the Created Date in Filter Logic to less than any date in the past, for example, a month ago (you can use the pop-up calendar)üFiltering will hide all ús created before the date you specifyüNow you can filter, then delete or archive all those old ús.ÆKey Options: Alt S, DôARCHIVE FILTEREDáæThis option saves all the filtered ús to a separate fileüIf you do not explicitly save the filtered ús this way, "Task Master" will save all the filtered ús with the ú list when you save the main list.ÆThis option is useful to keep a record of old work without burdening the current list.ÆThis option is also useful to merge one ú list with anotherüOnce you have archived a set of filtered ús, you can retrieve them from another listüSet File Options for retrieving an archive.ÆKey Options: Alt S, A╦Hot Key: F10ôSET FILTER LOGICáæThis option displays a screen with all the fieldüEach field is on a separate lineüAt the left side of the line, you choose either AND or OR optionsüEach line has two settings for each field, for the upper and lower extremesüYou specify whether the the condition for the field will be AND or ORüAnd whether you want a combinations of greater than or less than and equal to.ÆBy default the logic is set to filter all ús with due dates before today's date.ÆKey Options: Alt S, L╦Hot Key: Ctrl F4ôSAVE LOGICáæYou can specify a file name and directory for the current fi;ter logic settings.ÆKey Options: Alt S, GôRETRIEVE LOGICáæRetrieves the filter logic previously savedüYou can select the directory and file name in a dialogue box.ÆKey Options: Alt S, Ræí═Pó MAIN MENU, OPTIONS áæ REARRANGE FIELDSáæUse this selection to:æ─ change the order of the field display (Ctrl Left, Ctrl Right), æ─ change the displayed width (Shift left, Shift Right),æ─ hide (Delete) fields oræ─ display a hidden field (Insert).ÆThe ú list will temporarily disappear from the display, and a window showing instructions will appearüUse the left or right arrow keys to highlight the field you want to change.ÆTo CHANGE THE ORDER, use Ctrl Left or Ctrl Right to move the æfield left or right.ÆTo CHANGE THE WIDTH, use Shift Left or Shift Right.ÆTo HIDE a field, press the Delete key.ÆDISPLAY A HIDDEN FIELD by pressing insertüTask Master will then pop-up a list of the currently hidden fieldsüPoint to the one you want to insert.ÆPressing Enter will lock in your changes.ÆKey Options: Alt O, R╦Hot Key: Ctrl OôCHANGE FIELD NAMESáæTo rename a field, Task Master will display a dialogue box for you to enter the current and new namesüUse Shift F1 at the current field name line of the dialogue box to display a list of the current namesüChoose the field you want to rename, then enter the new name.ÆKey Options: Alt O, NôSET COLORSáæTask Master will display a window with the system color standardsüUse the Up and Down arrow keys to select the color description you want to changeüEnter + or - to change the particular color.ÆSelecting the Black and White button will reset all the colors for maximum contrastüSelecting the color button will restore default colors.æí
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▓ó GENERAL OPTIONS áæThis option customizes Task Master to your personal preferences:æ─ Automatically calculate master times and dates,æ─ Control level of subordinate ús to display,æ─ Use one or two lines for the field description header,æ─ Choose to display years for each of the field dates,æ─ Select the days to assume to add for new ús,æ─ Prompt you to verify file operations, æ─ Use one or two lines for the field description header,æ─ Select the days to assume to add for new ús,æ─ Number of spaces to indent each level of subordinate, andæ─ The number of rows to display.æ─æKey Options: Alt O, GôAUTOMATICALLY SUM TIMES AND DATESáæWith this option set, master ús will automatically be adjusted when any sub-ú time is adjusted and when Start and Due dates are outside of the master ú range.ÆAdditionally, the sub-ú A, B, C priorities will be overridden by the master ú priority.ÆThese operations are automatic:æ─ Allow times will be summed,æ─ Complete times will be summmed,æ─ Remaining times will be summed,æ─ Start date is adjusted if there is an earlier start in the sub-ú.æ─ Due date is adjusted if there is a later due date in the sub-ús.æ─ The A-B-C priority is adjusted in the master ú.ÆThis option is very useful in diagram mode to update the master ú diagram and critical path as you adjust subordinate ús.ÆLEVEL OF SUB'S TO DISPLAYáæThis will limit the display of ús to the entered levelüThus, if you select three, all sub-ús more than two below the master will not be displayedüNo ús are deleted.ÆTWO-LINE HEADER?áæYou can display a single or dual line header with this selectionüTwo lines make the field descriptions easier to read, but keeps one more ú from being displayed at one timeüÆIf you use few fields, or displaying the names isn't important to you, yyou may choose to use a single line header.ÆDISPLAY YEARSáæThere are three dialogue buttons, one for each of the Task Master dates: Start, Due, Done and CreatedüSelecting the button for the specific date causes the year to be displayed.ÆDAYS TO ALLOW FOR DEFAULT DATESáæWhenever a new ú is created, the default due date will be the current date plus the days specified in this option and the Start date will be tomorrowüZero will cause no default date. ÆSPACES INDENTED FOR SUB-TASKSáæThe ú list will indent the sub-ús by the number of spaces specifiedüTen is the maximum.ÆNUMBER OF ROWS TO USE IN DISPLAYáæIf you have a long list and would like to see more of the list at one time, you may choose to display more rowsüThis will make the text smallerüIn text-only mode you can choose 43 or 50 lines if your computer supports itüIn diagram mode, 30 rows can be displayed.ÆShift F1 will display a list of the choices you have.æí╣Φó HELP áÆThere are two help option, Help (what you are using now) and Help IndexüSelecting Help from the menu or by pressing F1, will display help for the particular part of Task Master you are inüÆKey Options: Alt H, H╦Hot Key: F1ôHELP INDEXáæThis option will display a list of the available help topicsüPoint to the help topic you would like to see, press returnüOr you can click the left mouse button on the topic.ÆKey Options: Alt H, Iæítdó KEYBOARD ÆF1 - Help╩Shift F1 - ChoicesæCtrl F1 - CalendarÆF2 - Zoom╩Shift F2 - ListæCtrl F2 - DiagramÆF3 - Print AllæCtrl F3 - Printer OptionsÆF4 - Filter On┼Shift F4 - Filter OffæCtrl F4 - Filter OptionsÆShift F5 - CopyæCtrl F5 - MoveÆF6 - CalculateÆF7 - Mark╩Shift F7 - UnmarkæCtrl F7 - Filter SelectedÆF8 - Save╩Shift F8 - Save AsæCtrl F8 - Get FileÆF9 - SortÆF10 - Archive (save filtered)æCtrl - F10 - Retrieve ArchivedÆEsc - Escape or cancelÆCtrl Right Arrow - Move to start of next wordæAlt-Shift Right Arrow - Demote úÆCtrl Right Arrow - Move to start of previous wordæAlt-Shift Left Arrow - Promote úÆHome - Move to beginning of fieldæCtrl Home - Move first ú on screenÆTab - Move to next fieldæShift - Move to previous fieldÆEnd - Move to end of fieldæCtrl End - Move to last ú on screenÆPgUp - Page UpæPgDn - Page DownÆCtrl Ins - Insert úÆCtrl Del - Delete úÆCtrl A - Add a subordinate úÆCtrl D - Toggle ú done indicationÆShift Down Arrow - Mark ú and move to next úæCtrl Down Arrow - Insert a ú below (same level as next)ÆCtrl '+' (plus) - Add a day to the current dateæCtrl '-' (minus) - Subtract a day from the current dateæí