Copyright: Copyright (c) 1993 Springtime Software


Contents
Reminder

Table of Contents

The Purpose of the Reminder Utility

The Ways to Run the Reminder Utility

How to Add New Reminders

How to Modify Existing Reminders

Descriptions of Each of the Dialog Boxes

What to Do If You Have Problems or Suggestions

If you are not familiar with help, choose Help|How To Use Help from the Help menu now.

Note: Press Alt+F4 to exit from Reminder at any time.


About Reminder Help...

This Help file was written June, 1993 and revised through January, 1994 by David Spector at Springtime Software for Reminder, Version 3.10.  Press the C key to see the table of contents.


Purpose of Reminder
The Purpose of Reminder

Reminder keeps track of a list of reminder messages and commands that you create and maintain.  When you log in the first time each day this reminder list is scanned, and any reminders that are due today are displayed on your screen.


Ways to Run Reminder
The Ways to Run Reminder

You can run Reminder with three different, distinct commands.

1.	REMINDER /L

presents you with a list of all your reminders.  You can then edit reminders, modifying existing reminders or creating new ones.

2.	REMINDER /E

displays any reminders that are now due, by listing them in theReminders Now Due Dialog Box (you can then edit them if you like).

If there are no reminders due, however, REMINDER /E exits immediately.  REMINDER /E is the command to use in your Windows startup.

3.	REMINDER /M

Gives you a main dialog box you can use to test for reminders due OR list all reminders.  You might want to use this while you are getting familiar with Reminder.


Add New Reminders
How To Add New Reminders

To add or create a new reminder, select the edit dialog box from either the nowdue or reminder list dialogs.

Enter your reminder text, choose the repeat interval, if any, that you want, then click the Create button.


Print Reminders
How To Print Reminders

Due Reminders may be printed from the Now Due Dialog Box by clicking on the Print button.

The list of all reminders may be printed from the List Dialog Box by clicking on the Print button.

In either case, you will first see a Font Dialog Box.  Click OK in this dialog to print, Cancel not to print.


Calendar
How To Show A Monthly Calendar

Click the Calendar button available in most Reminder dialog boxes to see a 6-month calendar, starting with the month previous to the current month.

The current date is highlighted in red.

In Look Ahead mode the current date shown is one day, week, or month ahead of the actual current date.


Font Dialog Box (def.)
This standard Windows dialog lets you select a type face, style (regular or italic) and size, in points (a point is 1/72 inch).  Your selection will appear as the default font the next time you print Reminders.


Modify An Existing Reminder
How To Modify An Existing Reminder

To modify an existing reminder, first select it in the Now Due or Reminder List dialog boxes.

Next, click the Edit button to get the Edit dialog box.  Edit the reminder, then click the Modify button.


Create a New Reminder
How To Create a New Reminder

To create a new reminder, select the Edit dialog box from either the Now Due or Reminder List dialog boxes.  If you want your new reminder to be a variant of an old one, select the old one before you click the Edit button to get the Edit dialog box.

When you are finished editing your new reminder, click the Create button.  This will create the new reminder, and show it to you in the reminder list dialog box.


Dialog Boxes
List of All Basic Dialog Boxes

Reminders Now Due

List of All Reminders

Edit a Reminder

About Reminder...


Problems With Reminder
What To Do If You Have Problems With Reminder

If, after reading this Help file and the documentation that came with Reminder, you have a problem that you cannot figure out, please call Springtime Software Technical Support at (617) 894-9455, or write us at the address given under Suggestions.  Be sure to give us Reminder's Version Number from the About dialog box.


Suggestions?
Do You Have Suggestions?

We are very interested in your suggestions for improving our products.  If we use your suggestion we will mail you a new copy of the product as soon as we revise it.  If we don't use your suggestion we will tell you why.  Thanks in advance!

Please mail your suggestions to:

Springtime Software

81 Amherst Ave

Waltham, MA 02154-3167

U.S.A.


Reminder List Dialog Box
The Reminder List Dialog Box

The reminder list dialog box has the caption List of All Reminders.  To get this dialog box, run the Windows command REMINDER.  This dialog box lists all the reminders currently defined, sorted by next occurring due date.  The list will initially be empty, since you have not yet defined any reminders.

The format of each reminder in the list is as follows:

02/01/93, Every Month*: Call suppliers

|         |          |  |

|         |          |  +-- The message or command

|         |          +----- If a beep will sound

|         +--- How often this reminder is repeated

+------------- Next due date

Other notations that may appear in these reminder entries:

Command: This reminder is a Windows command (see Editing a Reminder)

Disabled: This reminder is disabled (see Editing a Reminder)

To delete a reminder manually, first select it by clicking on it, then click the Delete button.

See Also

Invoking Reminder, Printing the List of Reminders, Viewing Currently Due Reminders, Displaying a Six-Month Calendar


Editing a Reminder

The Edit dialog box has the caption Edit A Reminder.  You can get to it either from the List or Now Due dialog boxes.  If you selected a reminder in the List or Now Due dialog box, its information will be copied into the Edit dialog box, ready for you to edit and store back by clicking the Modify button.  (You can also edit the information and create a new reminder by clicking the Create button.)

The Edit dialog box has many controls, to give you the ability to edit any characteristic of the reminder that is being modified or created.

Here is a summary list of all of the controls:

Message: An edit control for typing in or editing the text or Windows command associated with the reminder.

Beep: Check this control to make the reminder beep when it becomes due.

Retain: Check this control to retain old reminders.  If this control is unchecked, all reminders that became due in the past are automatically dismissed after you have viewed them.  If this control is checked, you must use the Dismiss button in the Now Due dialog box to dismiss them.

Disable: Check this control to disable a reminder (it will never become due).  Uncheck to re-enable a reminder.

Warning: Select or enter a value in this combo box if you would like to receive advance notice of this reminder's becoming due.  The value is the number of days of notice you would like (the default is zero days).

Reset: Click this button to reset the date in the date due controls to today's date.  In addition, if a reminder was selected when the Edit box was entered, all the other controls are reset as well.

Day/Month/Year: The date at which this reminder first becomes due.  This can be before or after the current date

Days/Weeks/Months: The increment to use for rescheduling this reminder.  For example, choosing 2 weeks makes the reminder become due every 14 days after the due date.

Of Each Month: This group of three controls is used for repeating the reminder on particular days of the week or month.  For example, you can choose to repeat a reminder on all Mondays, or the 1st and 3rd Tuesdays of each month, or the last Friday of each month, and so forth.

Create: Click this button to create a new reminder.  You will then see it in the Reminder List dialog box.

Modify: Click this button to modify the selected reminder (if no List or Now Due reminder entry was selected, Modify works just like Create).

Cancel: Click this button to discard any editing that was done.

Help: Click this button to view this help file.

About: Click this button to view the About Reminder... dialog box.


Reminder is Due
When a Reminder is Due

A reminder is said to be due when its due date (see Editing a Reminder) arrives, or at any date after that first date that a repeating reminder is set for rescheduling (again, see Editing a Reminder).

For example, if a reminder is scheduled to start 3 April 1993 and to repeat every week, it will become due on 3 April 1993 and will again become due on 10 April, 17 April, etc.

On the day a reminder is due, that reminder will be activated, meaning that its text will be displayed in the Now Due dialog box (if it is a Windows command, it will first be executed).  If beep is set for that reminder, the computer will beep before displaying the Now Due dialog box.

Just after the first time each day that you run the command REMINDER /E (or otherwise display the Now Due dialog box) and then click the OK button or press Enter, all reminders that were due as of yesterday are automatically dismissed.

Note that a repeating reminder can only be dismissed permanently by deleting it.

Repeated reminders that became due since the last time you displayed the Now Due dialog box have these reminders retained for repeated display until you manually dismiss them (by clicking the Dismiss button) if they are marked to be retained.

You can also disable a reminder from becoming due at its usual time(s) without actually deleting it, then enable it again later.


Dismissing a Reminder (def.)
If a reminder is nonrepeating, dismissing it is equivalent to deleting it.

If a reminder repeats, dismissing it makes it disappear from the Now Due dialog box by setting its Due Date to its next occurrence.

See Also

How To Delete A Reminder.


Now Due Dialog Box
The Reminders Now Due Dialog Box

When you run REMINDER /E, you may be shown the Reminders Now Due Dialog Box.  The caption of this dialog is Reminders Now Due (it also displays two Reminder icons ( [image]) at the top, along with the current date).

The Now Due Dialog Box lists all reminders that are currently due, sorted by date due.  It allows you to edit any reminder shown by selecting it and then clicking the Edit button, or to dismiss any reminder shown by selecting it and then clicking the Dismiss button.

The Now Due Dialog Box gives you a chance to see previously-due reminders once before they are automatically dismissed.  Previously-due reminders are marked "Expired".  For example,

10/04/93 (Expired): Arrange for trip

indicates that this past-due reminder will be dismissed when you press Enter or click on OK.  (Note that it will NOT be dismissed if you click on Cancel, press Esc, or press Alt+F4.)

If a past-due reminder has the retain property, it will be marked "Retained".  For example,

10/04/93 (Retained): Arrange for trip

indicates that this past-due reminder will be dismissed ONLY when you delete it or click on Dismiss.

The Now Due Dialog Box also gives advance warning that a reminder is about to become due, if you have specified this property.  Advance warnings are marked "In Advance:".

You can look ahead one day, week, or month to see the reminders that will be due then by clicking on Look Ahead.  When you are finished looking at or printing the reminders, click on the Reset button to leave Look Ahead mode and return to the current date (you don't have to reset to the current date before pressing Esc to cancel the Now Due Dialog Box or before pressing Alt+F4 to exit Reminder).

Important Note: If no reminders are due, running REMINDER /E will not display the Now Due dialog box, as a convenience when you start up your system each day.

See Also

Summary of All Controls For This Dialog, Printing the Due Reminders, Displaying a Six-Month Calendar


About Reminder...

This dialog box shows you the version number of Reminder.


Summary of All Controls In The Now Due Dialog

Reminders: A List Box that shows the currently due reminders. Click on any entry to select it.

Edit: An edit control for typing in or editing the text or Windows command associated with the selected reminder.

Dismiss: Click to dismiss selected entry until its next scheduled repeat time (if any).

Calendar: Click to display calendar.

Print: Click to print list of due reminders.

OK: Click to dismiss any expired reminders, and exit this dialog.

Look Ahead: Click to view reminders that will become due at some point in the future.

Reset: (Only displays in Look Ahead mode) Click to return display to current date.

Help: Click to view this Help file.

About: Click to display version number.