Copyright: Copyright ©2000 GipsyMedia Limited. All Rights Reserved.
Citation: Copyright ©2000 GipsyMedia Limited. All Rights Reserved.


Welcome to DigiGuide

Thanks for choosing DigiGuide, the only TOTALLY FREE offline UK television listings program.

What is DigiGuide?

DigiGuide, put simply, is a computerised version of the traditional old printed television guide. We like to call it an "Interactive Programme Guide" or IPG. The main difference being that as an advantage of appearing on a computer, it is intelligent, it is constantly up to date, it provides more information for each program, it suggests programs that you may be interested in watching and it's FREE.

Gone are the days of having to run down to the newsagent to find out what's on television, or scanning the pages to see which channel the latest Star Trek is appearing on. Just start DigiGuide and let it do all that for you!

What now?

To get the most from DigiGuide we recommend that you read the following sections. They will explain the various DigiGuide 'views' and show you how to get set up and going as quickly as possible.

What do you want to do?

GipsyMedia Limited Terms and Conditions
(you must ensure that you read this topic)

Tell DigiGuide about yourself

Select which channels to watch

Set up DigiGuide for your viewing

Customise DigiGuide

Get to know the Planner View

Use the Toolbox

Frequently Asked Questions


The Planner View

The Planner View is the main area in DigiGuide. Comprising multi-channel, multi-time display, it allows you to easily browse your listings and choose which programme you wish to watch.

How do I get there?

Click the Planner View tab on the main display:

How do I use it?

There are two elements to the display: the Channel Bar and the Listings Panel.

Figure 1: Channel Bar	The Channel Bar (figure 1) can be seen down the left hand side of the display and contains all the logos of the channels that you have previously selected in the Select Channels screen. If you assigned numbers to any of your channels, these can be seen in small boxes in the corner of each logo.
Using the scroll bars to the top and bottom of the Channel Bar, you can scroll the channels up and down. Notice that as you scroll the Channel Bar, the programmes displayed to the right in the Listings Panel (figure 2) are also scrolled.

Figure 2: Listings Panel

The Listings Panel also has scroll bars, but they are situated at either end so that you can scroll left and right to see different time slots for the channels in view. The Time Line or red vertical bar shows the current time.

An outline box indicates the selected programme.

Programmes can be highlighted, coloured or marked by clicking a programme panel and using the links in the Toolbox.

Hover the mouse pointer over a programme panel for a second or two to see a complete description of the programme, including the time until it starts and duration, displayed in a CoolTip.

Related topics

Adding a favourite

Adding a reminder

Adding a smart search

Colouring categories

The Toolbox

The Daily View

The What's On View

The Finder View


The What's On View

The What's On View is an extremely useful view that summarises all the favourite and pre-selected programmes across all your channels in one list style format. This view can also be printed and therefore is commonly the most used view once DigiGuide has been customised for your favourite programme choices.

How do I get there?

Click the What's On View tab on the main display:

How do I use it?

There are two elements to the display: the Option Area and the Programmes List.

Figure 3: Options Area

The area at the top of the list or Options Area (figure 3) allows the contents of the Programmes List (figure 4) below to be chosen. Using the tick boxes, tick each of the options to include programmes of that type in the list.

Figure 4: Programmes List

The main list or Programmes List (figure 4) contains a list of the programmes for the current day, across all selected channels, that have been previously marked as favourites, reminders or smart searches. Each programme uses the appropriate icon to indicate how it was marked.

Use the tick boxes in the Options Area (figure 3) to select which programmes are included in the list.

An outline box indicates the selected programme.

Programmes can be marked by clicking a programme and using the links in the Toolbox.

Hover the mouse pointer over a programme for a second or two to see a complete description of the programme, including the time until it starts and duration, displayed in a CoolTip.

Print the list by clicking the Print this view link in the Options Area.

Related topics

Adding a favourite

Adding a reminder

Adding a smart search

Colouring categories

The Toolbox

The Planner View

The Daily View

The Finder View


The Daily View

The Daily View is a simple list-style format where all the programmes on the selected channel for the chosen day are shown. This view can also be printed.

How do I get there?

Click the Daily View tab on the main display:

How do I use it?

There are two elements to the display: the Channel Bar and the Programmes List.

Figure 5: Channel Bar	The Channel Bar (figure 5) can be seen down the left hand side of the display and contains all the logos of the channels that you have previously selected in the Select Channels screen. If you assigned numbers to any of your channels, these can be seen in small boxes in the corner of each logo.
Using the scroll bars to the top and bottom of the Channel Bar, you can scroll the channels up and down. Unlike the Planner View, when you scroll the Channel Bar in the Daily View, the Programmes List to the right (figure 6) is not scrolled.

When clicking a channel logo in the Daily View, the Programmes List changes to display a list of programmes for the newly selected channel.

Figure 6: Programmes List

The main list or Programmes List (figure 6) contains a list of all the programmes for the current day on the selected channel. Each programme, where applicable, may show icons to indicate whether it has been previously marked as a favourite, reminder or smart search.

The Programmes List has a scroll bar situated on the right side and allows the contents of the list to be moved up or down so more programmes can be viewed.

An outline box indicates the selected programme.

Programmes can be marked by clicking a programme and using the links in the Toolbox.

Hover the mouse pointer over a programme for a second or two to see a complete description of the programme, including the time until it starts and duration, displayed in a CoolTip.

Print the list by clicking the Print this view link above the list.

Related topics

Adding a favourite

Adding a reminder

Adding a smart search

Colouring categories

The Toolbox

The Planner View

The What's On View

The Finder View


The Finder View

The Finder View is a tool that allows the entire listings database to be searched for either a whole word, or just part or a word. This is useful, for example, for those times when a film is known to be on but the time, date or channel is not known. This view can also be printed.

How do I get there?

Click the Finder View tab on the main display:

How do I use it?

There are two elements to the display: the Option Area and the Results List.

Figure 7: Options Area

The area at the top of the list or Options Area (figure 6) allows the parameters of the search to be configured. Using the tick boxes, tick the appropriate options to increase or decrease the depth of the search.

Figure 8: Results List

The main list or Results List (figure 8) contains a list of the programmes that have been found which match the criteria chosen. Each programme, where applicable, may show icons to indicate whether it has been previously marked as a favourite, reminder or smart search.

The Results List has a scroll bar situated on the right side and allows the contents of the list to be moved up or down so more programmes can be viewed.

An outline box indicates the selected programme.

Programmes can be marked by clicking a programme and using the links in the Toolbox.

Hover the mouse pointer over a programme for a second or two to see a complete description of the programme, including the time until it starts and duration, displayed in a CoolTip.

Print the list by clicking the Print this view link in the Options Area.

Related topics

Adding a favourite

Adding a reminder

Adding a smart search

Colouring categories

The Toolbox

The Planner View

The Daily View

The What's On View


The Favourites List

The Favourites List allows the modification and management of all previously created favourite programmes.

Favourites are commonly set on all programmes that are interesting but can be missed if something else more interesting is scheduled. Programmes marked as favourites are shown in all the views to ensure that they are obvious.

How do I get there?

Click the Edit favourites link from the Toolbox.

How do I use it?

Click the appropriate links on the right to add a new favourite programme, or edit/delete an existing one.

When adding or editing a programme, use the options and links in the bottom right to make the correct choices.

Related topics

Adding a favourite

Editing favourites

Removing a favourite


The Reminders List

The Reminders List allows the configuration of all previously created reminders to be modified.

Reminders are commonly set on programmes that are not to be missed. Whether it is a TV premier, or the final episode of Friends, an on-screen warning and speech (if installed) will remind before the programme starts. This screen allows the reminder to be modified to become a weekly event or to display a warning a long time before the programme starts.

How do I get there?

Click the Edit reminders link from the Toolbox.

How do I use it?

Click the appropriate links on the right to edit or delete an existing reminder.

When editing a reminder, select the method of warning (dialog and/or speech), the time before it appears and whether it is a weekly reminder or a 'one-off'.

To install speech, go to http://msdn.microsoft.com/msagent/agentdl.asp and download the "Microsoft Speech Control Panel " and the "Lernout & Hauspie® TruVoice Text-To-Speech Engine" (more information can be found on our Speech Setup web page).

Related topics

Adding a reminder

Editing reminders

Removing a reminder


The Smart Search List

The Smart Search List is used to configure search rules. A smart search rule allows DigiGuide to automatically highlight programmes that contain specific words.

This is where DigiGuide becomes unique. With smart search, DigiGuide can highlight any programme on any channel that matches a set of criteria previously defined. This is an extremely powerful feature and allows the set-up of DigiGuide to be very specific.

For example, a smart search can be set-up for "Science" that highlights, in red, any programme that contain the words 'science', 'sci-fi', 'technology' or 'space' in the programme information.

How do I get there?

Click the Edit smart searches link from the Toolbox.

How do I use it?

Click the appropriate links on the right to add a new rule, or edit/delete an existing rule.

When adding or editing a rule, specify the words to search for then use the tabs at the bottom to specify the colour that the programmes will be highlighted in and also to narrow down the search.

Click the Get listings for selected channels link to download the latest programme information.

Related topics

Adding a smart search

Removing a smart search

Modifying a smart search

Advanced smart searches


Channels

The Channels screen allows a choice of channels to be selected and ordered.

DigiGuide supports many television channels from Terrestrial to Digital, Satellite to Cable. Because of the many types of user set-ups that may exist, DigiGuide only defaults to BBC1, BBC2 and Channel4. You will therefore have to manually select your ITV region and other channels to which you are subscribed.

How do I get there?

Click the Select your channels link from the Toolbox.

How do I use it?

Scroll the channel list until the channel to be added is displayed.

Click the white box to the left of the channel name to place a 'tick' in it.

Click the Get listings for selected channels link to download the latest programme information.

Related topics

Selecting which channels to watch

Changing the channel position

Assigning a channel number

The Listings Zone


Customise {bmc emdash.bmp} About You
Customise [image] About You

The About You tab allows personal details to be entered. These details are sent to GipsyMedia and used for demographic purposes only. No personal information is sold or given to other companies unless the tick box is selected.

How do I get there?

Click the Customise DigiGuide link from the Toolbox.

Click the About You tab:

How do I use it?

Fill in all the personal details on this tab before the link at the bottom is enabled.

Related topics

Customise: Views Screen

Customise: Planner Screen

Customise: Connection Screen


Customise {bmc emdash.bmp} Views
Customise [image] Views

The Views tab allows various settings to be customised for all the views in DigiGuide.

How do I get there?

Click the Customise DigiGuide link from the Toolbox.

Click the Views tab:

How do I use it?

Colour Scheme [image] Select a colour scheme for DigiGuide. The selected scheme will change the colours used in all views and lists.

You can download more colour schemes, created by other users, and also the DigiGuide Scheme Editor program which allows you to create your own colour schemes, from the DigiGuide Web-Site.

Enter The Time For Your DigiGuide Prime Time Link [image] Type the time that is to be viewed when the Go to Your Prime Time link above the Toolbox is clicked.

Go To Prime Time at DigiGuide Startup [image] This tick box makes DigiGuide jump to the specified Prime Time rather than the current time when started.

Use Large Fonts ...  This tick box enlarges all the fonts in the program for viewing and printing for those users who find the fonts too small to read.

Hide DigiGuide to The System Tray ...  To save space on the Windows TaskBar, DigiGuide can be hidden to the system tray (figure 10) when minimised. Note that DigiGuide will always be accessible from the tray icon whether this option is on or not.

Figure 10: DigiGuide Tray Icon in the System Tray

When minimised, DigiGuide shows an icon in the system tray on the bottom right of the Windows screen. Double click the icon to minimise/restore the DigiGuide window or right mouse click to use the context menu.

Number of Weeks ...  By default, DigiGuide keeps listings data for two weeks and then they are removed to save hard disk space. The number of weeks that are kept can be selected here.

Go to The DigiGuide Home Page ...  This tick box allows DigiGuide to navigate to the web site when a listings update is being performed. This is useful so that the latest news can be viewed on the web site without having to remember to go there specifically.

Number of Minutes to Offset Programme Times [image] Users who live in different time zones may need to type an appropriate figure into this box to ensure DigiGuide displays the times correctly in difference to the system time.

Change the Daily and What's On Views to newspaper style 6:00am to 6:00am listings [image] ensures that all the views are consistently displaying programme days as being from midnight to midnight, as opposed to the Daily and What's On Views appearing in 6:00am to 6:00am like traditional newspaper and magazine listings.

Related topics

Customise: About You Screen

Customise: Planner Screen

Customise: Connection Screen


Customise {bmc emdash.bmp} Planner
Customise [image] Planner

The Planner tab allows various settings to be customised on the Planner View.

How do I get there?

Click the Customise DigiGuide link from the Toolbox.

Click the Planner tab:

How do I use it?

Zoom Level [image] This option will increase or decrease the width of the columns used for each time slot.

Show Full Programme Information in CoolTips [image] Select this tick box to show time information and a complete synopsis when the mouse is hovered over the top of the programme panel in a CoolTip.

Show InfoPane For On-Screen Display ...  Select this tick box to show time information and a complete synopsis in a scrollable panel at the bottom of the main display.

Move forward in time when mouse wheel scrolled down [image] Select this tick box to scroll forward in time when the mouse wheel is scrolled towards you (or down).

Show favourites programmes as a solid colour [image] Select this tick box to display favourite programmes using a solid colour instead of just a coloured corner triangle.

Change the Programme Panel Colour ...  The colour of the programme panel for each individual programme category type can be specified by first selecting the category from the left hand list and then selecting the colour from the right hand list.

Related topics

Customise: About You Screen

Customise: Views Screen

Customise: Connection Screen


Customise {bmc emdash.bmp} Connection
Customise [image] Connection

The Connection tab allows various settings to be modified that are used when connecting to the Internet for listings downloads.

How do I get there?

Click the Customise DigiGuide link from the Toolbox.

Click the Connection tab:

How do I use it?

If DigiGuide has problems getting the listings data from the web sites, various other methods of connecting can be selected from this tab. It is best to try the options in the following order until an option is found that works:

Internet Explorer [image] Uses the 'wininet' capability that is installed and used by Internet Explorer. This helps if the Default and Direct methods have not worked. This could be for various reasons, one of which could be the use of a firewall.

A User name and Password may need to be specified.

Direct [image] Connects directly to the web site using the system's WinSock.

Proxy Server [image] Some ISPs use a Proxy Server so this can be tried if the previous options have not worked.

The Port number, Server name, User name, Password and Number of seconds to wait for a connection to be established may need to be specified.

Socks 5 Server [image] Another type of Proxy Server to try.

The Port number, Server name, User name, Password and Number of seconds to wait for a connection to be established may need to be specified.

Related topics

Customise: About You Screen

Customise: Views Screen

Customise: Planner Screen


The Listings Zone

The Listings Zone is a screen that appears when you are downloading the latest programme listings for the selected channels. It shows the progress of the download and allows you to stop at any time.

How do I get there?

Click the Get new listings icon and link on the main display:

How do I use it?

The download starts automatically as soon as you clicked the link to view this screen.

Click the Stop update of programme listings link if you wish to halt the process for any reason. Any listings already downloaded will be used by DigiGuide.

When finished, click the Return to previous view link.


About DigiGuide

The About screen shows basic copyright information for DigiGuide, as well as contact details should you wish to place any advertising or get some technical support. This screen also shows the current version and build number.

How do I get there?

Click the Help on using DigiGuide popup link from the Toolbox.

Click the About DigiGuide link from the popup.

How do I use it?

Click any link to visit the appropriate web page or create an email.

If you wish to see the latest changes, click the What's New link.

When finished, click the Return to previous view link.

Related topics

What's New


What's New

The What's New screen is used to announce new features, channels and anything else that may be of interest. This screen exists to basically keep everyone better informed!

What's New automatically appears at the end of a program update when there is new information to report.

How do I get there?

Click the Help on using DigiGuide popup link from the Toolbox.

Click the About DigiGuide link from the popup.

Click the View What's New link from the About DigiGuide screen.

How do I use it?

Click any link to visit the appropriate web page or create an email.

When finished, click the Return to previous view link.

Related topics

About DigiGuide


Terms and Conditions
GipsyMedia Terms and Conditions

By installing, running or using this GipsyMedia software product in any way, you indicate your acceptance of the terms and conditions of use set out in this help topic. All rights are reserved.

1. Definitions

"the Company" shall mean GipsyMedia Limited of 5 South Farm Court, South Farm Road, Budleigh Salterton, Devon, EX9 7AY, England

"the Product" shall mean the DigiGuide interactive programme guide software program.

2. Grant of Software Licence

2.1 Under copyright law you are not permitted to install or run the Product, or use the help system or the hard copy supplied to you without the full permission of the Company. In consideration of your agreement to the terms of this agreement the Company grants to you a non-exclusive right ('the Software Licence') to install and run the Product and to use the help system and the hard copy as permitted by this agreement. You acknowledge that the Product will only be used subject to the Software Licence.

3. Basis of Use

3.1 No conditions or terms stipulated in any other communication or document shall vary or annul any of these conditions except if they were expressly consented to in writing by an officer of the Company.

3.2 The company's employees or agents are not authorised to make any representations concerning the Product, the help system or the hard copy unless confirmed by the Company in writing. In entering into this agreement you acknowledge that you do not rely on, and waive any claim for breach of, any such representations that are not so confirmed.

3.3 Any advice or recommendation given by the Company or its employees or agents to you or your employees or agents as to the storage, application or use of the Product, the help system or the hard copy which is not confirmed in writing by an officer of the Company is followed or acted upon entirely at the your own risk, and accordingly the Company shall not be liable for any such advice or recommendation which is not so confirmed.

3.4 Any typographical, clerical or other error or omission in any marketing literature, reviews or other document or information issued by the Company shall be subject to correction without any liability on the part of the Company.

3.5 The Company reserves the right to make any changes in the specification of the Product, the help system or the hard copy which are required to conform with any applicable safety or other statutory requirements.

4. The Software Licence

4.1 The copyright in the Product, help service and hard copy belong to the Company, any breach of copyright may result in legal action being taken against you.

4.2 Subject to the terms of this agreement, no part of the Product, help system or hard copy may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the prior written permission of the Company.

4.3 You shall not copy in whole or part the Product, help system or hard copy provided by the Company except in accordance with this Agreement. The Product may be copied in whole or in part sufficiently for the sole use by you for back-up purposes in support of your use of the Product. Any such copies of the Product shall remain the property of the Company.

4.4 You may transfer the Product, help system and hard copy to any other person or company as long as it is not added to, altered, changed or modified in any way without the prior written permission of the Company.

4.5 The Product will transmit information relating to the your viewing habits to the Company when listings are downloaded. This information will be aggregated and the demographic information may then be shared with advertisers so as to keep the service free.

4.6 By personalising and using the Product, you are registering your details with the Company who may at times to their discretion send e-mails to you regarding the Product and its associated services.

4.7 The Company reserves the right to charge a fee for your continued use of the Software Licence at its sole discretion at any time in the future, subject to your receiving advance notification of such fee being charged.

5. Termination of Software Licence

5.1 The Software Licence will continue until terminated. You may terminate it at any time by destroying the Product, help system and hard copy, together with any copies in any form. The Company may terminate it at any time without notice.

5.2 After a period of 6 weeks on terminating the Software Licence, you will be removed from the e-mail list as stipulated in 4.6.

5.2 The Software Licence to use the Product, the help system and the hard copy will terminate automatically upon your failing to comply with any term of this Agreement.

5.3 Upon termination of the Software Licence for any reason you will destroy the Product, the help system and the hard copy together with all copies in any form of, including copies on your back up disks.

5.4 Any use of any copies of the Product, help system or hard copy after termination of the Software Licence is unlawful.

6. Exclusion of Warranties

6.1 The Company makes and you receive no warranties, conditions or representations express or implied, statutory or otherwise and without limitation, the implied terms of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose are excluded and limit your remedy to return of the Product, help system and hard copy for replacement. Although the Company has tested the Product, help system and hard copy and reviewed the documentation, the Company makes no warranty or representation either express or implied with respect to the Product or the help system or the hard copy. The company does not warrant that the functions contained in the Product, help system or hard copy will meet your requirements or that the operation of the Product, help system or hard copy will be uninterrupted or error free or that Product, help system or hard copy defects will be corrected. As a result the Product, help system and hard copy are licensed "as is" and you are assuming the entire risk as to its quality, performance and results.

7. Disclaimer

7.1  Neither the Company nor anyone else who has been involved in the creation, production or delivery of the Product, help system or hard copy shall be liable for any direct, indirect, special, consequential, or incidental damages arising out of the use, results of use, or inability to use the Product, help system or hard copy, including without limitation loss of profits, loss of contracts, business interruptions, loss of or corruption to data, even if the Company has been advised of the possibility of such damages or claim. In particular the Company shall have no liability for any programs stored or used with the Product, help system or hard copy, including the cost of recovering such programs or data. The warranty and remedies set forth above are exclusive and in lieu of all others, oral or written, express or implied. No Company employee, or other company or its employee's are authorised to make any modification or addition to this warranty.

You acknowledge that the allocation of risk in this Agreement reflects the fact that it is not within the Company's control how and for what purpose the Product is used by you.

8. General

8.1 If any part of this Agreement is held by a court of a competent jurisdiction to be unenforceable, the validity of the remainder of the Agreement will not be affected.

8.2 This Agreement is governed by the laws of England and Wales.

8.3  The Company reserves the right to make any changes to this Agreement and that these changes will always be reflected in this help topic for future reference.

8.4 Should you have any questions concerning this Agreement please contact Miranda Wood (mirandaw@gipsymedia.com).


The Toolbox

The DigiGuide Toolbox is one of the most important areas as it contains a central place where action links and navigation links to other areas are situated.

How do I use them?

There are three areas to the toolbox:

1. The Calendar area

	Click an arrow on either side of the date to move forward or backward a day.  Click Go to current day and time to jump to the current system day and time. Click Go to your Prime Time to jump to the time specified in the View Settings Screen.
2. The main Toolbox area

	The Programme Section allows actions to be performed on the programme selected from the current view. The Display Section navigates to the appropriate list where the intelligent features of DigiGuide can be configured. There is also a popup link, Help on DigiGuide which when clicked displays a choice of two commands (figure 11) that allow you to either display help on the current screen or view the About Screen. Figure 11: Help on DigiGuide Popup The Setup Section allows DigiGuide to be customised and configured.
2. The Download area

	Click Get new listings to download the latest listings for all the channels selected.
Related topics

Favourite List

Reminders List

Smart Searches List

Selecting Your Channels

Getting The Listings

Customising DigiGuide


DigiGuide Forums

The DigiGuide web site Online Forums are full of information, hints, tips and is a great place to discuss things.

Many users have found their questions answered in the DigiGuide Problems Forum or a place to voice their ideas in the DigiGuide Suggestions and Ideas Forum.

Come and visit ... but don't forget to take part!


Keyboard Shortcuts

You can navigate around DigiGuide using the just the keyboard if you wish. Most functions are catered for such as F5 for getting the latest listings, and Arrow Keys for moving the programme selection, and you can also customise the keyboard control by editing the "keys" file that can be found in the DigiGuide folder.

Default Keyboard Controls:

F1	Display Help

Ctrl+T	Go to the current date and time

Ctrl+Shift+T	Go to the Prime Time

Ctrl+End	Next Day

Ctrl+Home	Previous Day

Ctrl+L	Switch to Planner View

Ctrl+W	Switch to What's On View

Ctrl+D	Switch to Daily View

Ctrl+N or F3	Switch to Finder View

Ctrl+F	Toggle Add/Remove favourite

Ctrl+R	Toggle Add/Remove reminder

Ctrl+E	Exclude from smart search

Ctrl+G	Get more information

Alt+F	Edit favourites

Alt+R	Edit reminders

Alt+S	Edit smart searches

Ctrl+P	Print

Alt+C	Select your channels

Alt+D	Customise DigiGuide

F5	Get new Listings

Ctrl+F5	Force "Get new listings" *

F12	About DigiGuide

Ctrl+Shift+V	Visit selected programme channel web site

Ctrl+Shift+C	Copy programme descriptions to clipboard

UpArrow	Move programme selection Up

DownArrow	Move programme selection Down

LeftArrow	Move programme selection Left

RightArrow	Move programme selection Right

PgUp	Move programme selection Up one page

PgDn	Move programme selection Down one page

Home	Move programme selection Left one page or Move to top of list

End	Move programme selection Right one page or Move to bottom of list

Ctrl+UpArrow	Move to the Previous channel (Daily View only)

Ctrl+DownArrow	Move to the Next channel (Daily View only)

Tab	Next field

Shift+Tab	Previous field

Space or Enter	Activate selected item

Ctrl+Tab	Next Tab

Ctrl+Shift+Tab	Previous Tab

ESC or Backspace	Return to previous view or cancel

Shift+F10 or MenuKey	Show context menu on selected item

NB * (Force "Get new listings" downloads all channel listings even if they are up-to-date)


Technical Support

If you need some help or you have some questions or problems with DigiGuide, look at the following places for more information:

Look at the Frequently Asked Questions in this help file.

Look at the Web Site FAQ which may be more up to date.

Try our Online Forums where you may find others who have had the same question who can help.

E-mail our Technical Support Team at support@gipsymedia.com.


Contacting GipsyMedia

Advertising

Would you like to see your company banner viewed by thousands of people? Just e-mail our Advertising Team at advertising@gipsymedia.com.

Technical Support

Look at the Technical Support topic in this help file.

Suggestions

Do you have a feature you want to see? Would you like us to add a particular channel? Do you dislike something? Just e-mail our Design Team at suggestions@gipsymedia.com, but please add your e-mail address to the body of the message.

Web Site

Are you happy with the web site? Would you like more information on it? Whatever your comments, e-mail our Web Master at webmaster@gipsymedia.com.

General Information

For general information on DigiGuide or GipsyMedia Limited, e-mail info@gipsymedia.com.


Frequently Asked Questions

If you cannot find an answer to your question here, have a look at the Web Site FAQ or Online Forums.

Q. 	Why haven't you got all the Sky or OnDigital channels?

A.	We don't have all the channels at the moment, but we are adding new ones all the time. Just click the Get new listings link and check the Select Channels screen to see if more channels are available. Alternatively, visit http://www.digiguide.com/general/whatsnew.shtml for the latest information.

Q.	Why don't you support VideoPlus codes?

A.	Rest assured that we do have plans to add VideoPlus codes. However, GemStar do not want to supply us with the information for the reason of 'updating their strategies for electronic distribution in software and the Internet'. We are pursuing them on this though.

We are sorry we can't be more specific, maybe you can check back on our Online Forums every now and then to see if there is more info available. If this answer isn't sufficient, you could contact GemStar directly at http://www.gemstar.co.uk/ and ask why they will not let us license the system 'for your benefit' as they clearly have a monopoly at the moment ... the more people who hassle them, the more likely it is that they will license it to us!

Q.	Why don't you have a radio guide?

A.	We do plan to support radio listings as soon as we can. Like supporting more channels, we have to get the information in an appropriate format for us to convert before we can support them fully.

Q.	I have just chosen to include more channels from customise but the planner is empty. Why?

A.	When you select a new channel you need to go on-line to get the latest listings for that channel — click Get new listings.

The reason for this is to keep the download time as quickly as possible. There is no need downloading lots of programme information for channels on Sky if you only receive the standard terrestrial channels.

Q.	How do I get DigiGuide to e-mail me when a programme starts?

A.	With DigiGuide you can launch an external program as a reminder. Below you will find instructions on using this facility to launch a simple program that e-mails you instead of displaying a message.

1. Download the Command Mail program by Extreme WebWare

2. When adding or editing a reminder, select the an external program... option from the list, choose "commail.exe" from the File Name Browse dialog and type the following (including quotes) into the Arguments field:

-from=DigiGuide -to=<put your e-mail address here> -host=<put your IP address here> -subject="$ProgrammeName is starting soon"

Q.	Can I make DigiGuide start up minimised?

A.	You just need to edit the properties of the DigiGuide shortcut.

If the shortcut it is on your desktop, the Programs menu or the Programs [image] Startup menu, right-click the file (if you have Internet Explorer 4, or above, installed) and choose Properties.

From the dialog that appears, select Minimised (alternatively, select Maximised or Normal Window) from the Run pop-down list.


views

DigiGuide displays television listings information to the user in a variety of ways. These ways of displaying the information are called 'views', and there are four in DigiGuide:

Planner View	Multi-channel view that shows listings for many channels horizontally across time.

Daily View	Single channel newspaper style view that displays listings for a selected channel vertically.

What's On View	Multi-channel view that displays a vertical list of programmes that have only been indicated as favourites, reminders or smart search hits.

Finder View	Tool view that displays a vertical list of programmes that match a given word or phrase in their title or description.


favourite

A commonly watched programme that has been selected using the Add to favourites link. This makes it easily distinguished from the many other programmes so that a decision can be made as to whether that occurrence is one to be watched.

These programmes are highlighted in one of two ways depending on the view that is being used:

Planner View [image] the corner of the programme panel is coloured.

Daily View, What's On View, Finder View [image] the programme will have a small flag next to it.


reminder

A warning message, displayed when a specific programme is about to start, that has been set using the Remind me link. By default the reminder will appear 15 minutes prior to the programme start, but this value can be changed from the Edit reminders list.

A reminder can be set as a one-off event, or as a weekly recurring event so the same programme at the same time on following weeks isn’t missed. Two icons are used to distinguish what type of reminder has been set:

One-off reminder

 	Recurring reminder


smart search

An automatic method of highlighting programmes that match a given set of criteria. These criteria (keywords, channels and categories) can be set from the Edit smart searches list.

Programmes found that match a set of 'smart search' criteria are highlighted in one of two ways depending on the view that is been used:

Planner View [image] the whole programme panel is coloured.

Daily View, What's On View, Finder View [image] the programme will have a light bulb and a small coloured box indicating the smart search rule.


programme panel

A block on the Planner View that contains a programme name.

Sometimes there may not be enough room to display the full name and so a small grey arrow will appear indicating that there is more information.

A programme panel can also show other information:

a different panel colour [image] this occurs for two reasons:

when the category associated with the programme has been customised to a different colour through the Customise DigiGuide link (Planner tab).

when a smart search hit has occurred.

a reminder icon [image] this indicates that a warning message will appear to remind when the programme is about to start.

a coloured corner (top left) [image] this shows that the programme has been marked as a favourite


Time Line

A vertical line in the Planner View that indicates the current time. The Time Line moves, dynamically, across the view as time progresses.


CoolTip

A yellow 'tooltip' type window that appears over the mouse cursor.

DigiGuide CoolTips appear on all links and programme names and contain further detailed information.


tick boxes

An option that can be either on or off.

When the option contains a tick, it is 'on' or 'selected'. Just click the box or the associated text to the side to toggle the state.


Telling DigiGuide about yourself

Before using DigiGuide, you need to register some brief personal information. This information is purely used by us for statistical means and is not passed onto third parties.

You can change any of this information later on:

Click the Customise DigiGuide link from the Toolbox.

Click the About You tab.

When you have finished changing the information, click the Return to previous view link at the bottom of the screen.

Please Note: The first time DigiGuide is used, this link will be named Select your channels which will allow you to choose which channels to watch before continuing.

Related topics

Selecting which channels to watch


Selecting which channels to watch

Click the Select your channels link from the Toolbox to display the Select Your Channels screen.

Scroll the channel list until you see the channel you want to add.

Click the white box to the left of the channel name to place a 'tick' in it.

Once you are happy with the channels you have selected, you need to ensure DigiGuide gets the listings data for each channel from the web site:

Click the Get listings for selected channels link to download the latest programme information.

Click the Return to previous view when you are finished.

Related topics

Changing the channel position

Assigning a channel number


Changing the channel position

You can easily change the position that your channels appear within the Channel Bar:

Click the Select your channels link from the Toolbox to display the Select Your Channels screen.

Select the channel and click either the Move channel up or Move channel down links.

Click the Return to previous view when you are finished.

Related topics

Selecting which channels to watch

Assigning a channel number


Assigning a channel number

You can assign an appropriate number to each channel (like the Sky Digital channel number) so that it appears on the channel logo and printouts:

Click the Select your channels link from the Toolbox to display the Select Your Channels screen.

Select the channel, type the appropriate number into the box on the right and click the Assign channel number link.

Click the Return to previous view when you are finished.

Related topics

Selecting which channels to watch

Changing the channel position


Setting up DigiGuide for your viewing

DigiGuide has several ways of intelligently selecting programmes that you will most likely want to watch. With this capability you can find out what you want to watch without searching lots of channels.

Adding a favourite [image] Highlight every occurrence of a programme that you commonly watch on a selection of channels.

Adding a reminder [image] Display a reminder warning on a specific programme so that it is not missed.

Adding a smart search [image] Highlight every programme that contains a set of defined keywords.

Colouring categories [image] Colour every programme of a specific category with a chosen colour (only available in the Planner View).


Customising DigiGuide

You can customise the way DigiGuide looks and operates in many ways.

Click the Customise DigiGuide link from the Toolbox.

Click one of the four tabs to change a range of settings for that type. Click the links below for more information.

Related topics

About You tab

Views tab

Planner tab

Connection tab


Adding a favourite

DigiGuide can highlight all occurrences of a programme to make it easier for you to notice. This highlighting is achieved by calling the chosen programme a 'favourite'.

Click the programme that you wish to highlight.

Click the Add to favourites link from the Toolbox.

If you wish the programme to be highlighted on a selection of channels, you will need to edit it.

Related topics

Removing a favourite

Editing favourites


Editing a favourite

You may wish to edit a 'favourite' programme to choose on which channels the programme is highlighted.

Click the Edit favourites link from the Toolbox.

Select the programme from the list, scrolling it if necessary, and click the Select on which channels the favourite programme will be highlighted link.

Click to highlight, each of the channels that you wish to choose. If you wish to deselect a channel, click it again.

Click the Update programme link.

Click the Return to previous view when you are finished.

Related topics

Adding a favourite

Removing a favourite


Removing a favourite

You can remove a 'favourite' programme in one of two ways:

Select the favourite programme that you wish to remove.

Click the Remove favourite link from the Toolbox.

Or

Click the Edit favourites link from the Toolbox.

Select the programme from the list, scrolling it if necessary, and click the Remove the selected favourite programme link.

Click the Return to previous view when you are finished.

Related topics

Adding a favourite

Editing favourites


Adding a reminder

DigiGuide can remind you when a programme starts so that you don’t forget to watch it. A 'reminder' can be set as a one-off event, or as a weekly event so the same programme at the same time on following weeks isn’t missed.

Click the programme that you don’t wish to miss.

Click the Remind me link from the Toolbox.

If you wish to change when the reminder appears, how you are reminded, or whether you are to be reminded every week, you will need to edit it.

Related topics

Removing a reminder

Editing reminders

Advanced reminders


Advanced reminders

You can get reminders to warn you in different ways, or even remind you each day a programme is shown.

Click the Edit reminders link from the Toolbox.

Select the reminder you wish to edit from the list and click the Change settings for the selected reminder link.

If you only want to be reminded of a programme once:

Click the Remind me about this programme pop-up control.

Click Once from the list that appears.

If you want to be reminded of a programme daily or weekly:

Click the Remind me about this programme pop-up control.

Click Daily or Weekly from the list that appears.

If you want to be reminded with s sound file:

Select a sound file... from the list.

Choose your sound file by clicking the Browse button.

If you want to launch an external program when a programme starts (such as a TV card record function, or a simple e-mail tool):

Select an external program... from the list.

Type the program name and path that you wish to run into the File name field. Alternatively, click Browse and select the program from the standard file dialog.

Type any arguments that you need to send to the program into the Arguments field. DigiGuide can send various programme information through the Arguments field so that you can control the external program if you wish. The following list contains the valid arguments that you can use:

Argument	Special Comments

$TimeStart	The programme start date and time. You can optionally format the start time by adding some format parameters in brackets e.g. $TimeStart(%m/%d/%Y %H:%M) would return "2/28/2000 23:45".

Note that if no formatting is given, then the default (%d/%m/%Y %H:%M) is assumed. See Formatting start and end times topic for more information.

$TimeEnd	The programme end date and time. You can optionally format the end time by adding some format parameters in brackets e.g. $TimeEnd(%m/%d/%Y %H:%M) would return "2/28/2000 23:45".

Note that if no formatting is given, then the default (%d/%m/%Y %H:%M) is assumed. See Formatting start and end times topic for more information.

$ProgrammeName	Full programme name

$Description	Full description of the programme

$Duration	Duration of the programme in minutes

$ChannelName	Name of channel broadcasting the programme

$ChannelID	Channel number assigned in Select Channels

Click the Update reminder link to add the rule.

Click the Return to previous view when you are finished.

Related topics

Adding a reminder

Removing a reminder

Editing reminders


Formatting start and end times

Start and End time arguments that can be passed into external programs can also be formatted using a combination of codes; the formatting codes are preceded by a percent sign (%). Characters that do not begin with % are copied unchanged.

The formatting codes available are shown below:

Code	Special Comments

%a	Abbreviated weekday name (e.g. "Mon, Tue, Wed ... etc")

%A	Full weekday name (e.g. "Monday, Tuesday ... etc")

%b	Abbreviated month name (e.g. "Jan, Feb, Mar... etc")

%B	Full month name (e.g. "January, February ... etc")

%c	Date and time representation appropriate for locale

%d	Day of month as decimal number (01 – 31)

%H	Hour in 24-hour format (00 – 23)

%I	Hour in 12-hour format (01 – 12)

%j	Day of year as decimal number (001 – 366)

%m	Month as decimal number (01 – 12)

%M	Minute as decimal number (00 – 59)

%p	Current locale's A.M./P.M. indicator for 12-hour clock

%S	Second as decimal number (00 – 59)

%U	Week of year as decimal number, with Sunday as first day of week (00 – 53)

%w	Weekday as decimal number (0 – 6; Sunday is 0)

%W	Week of year as decimal number, with Monday as first day of week (00 – 53)

%x	Date representation for current locale

%X	Time representation for current locale

%y	Year without century, as decimal number (00 – 99)

%Y	Year with century, as decimal number

%z, %Z	Time-zone name or abbreviation; no characters if time zone is unknown

%%	Percent sign

An example of how all this fits together is given below...

Contents of Arguments edit control: Start time = $StartTime(%H:%M) duration=$Duration

Arguments sent to external program (for a programme start at 23:45 and lasting for half an hour): Start time=23:45 duration=30

Related topics

Adding a reminder

Removing a reminder

Editing reminders

Advanced reminders


Editing a reminder

You may wish to edit a 'reminder' to choose when the reminder appears, how you are reminded, or whether you are to be reminded every week.

Click the Edit reminders link from the Toolbox.

Select the programme from the list, scrolling it if necessary, and click the Change settings for the selected reminder link.

Make the appropriate changes to the items on the right.

Click the Update reminder link.

Click the Return to previous view when you are finished.

Related topics

Adding a reminder

Removing a reminder

Advanced reminders


Removing a reminder

You can remove a 'reminder' in one of two ways:

Select the programme with the reminder that you wish to remove.

Click the Don't remind me link from the Toolbox.

Or

Click the Edit reminders link from the Toolbox.

Select the programme from the list, scrolling it if necessary, and click the Remove the selected reminder link.

Click the Return to previous view when you are finished.

Related topics

Adding a reminder

Editing reminders

Advanced reminders


Adding a smart search

DigiGuide can highlight all programmes that contain specific words, by creating a smart search rule. You can also narrow down this search by specifying the channels and categories that are searched.

Click the Edit smart searches link from the Toolbox.

Click the Add another rule to your smart search list link.

Type the 'friendly name' that you wish to give this rule into the first box.

Type the words that you wish to look out for, in the second box.

Remember to separate each word with a space and if you want to search for a combination of words or phrase, enclose them with quotation marks (e.g. "science fiction").

Select the colour that you wish to highlight any programmes found from the list on the Colours tab.

Click the Update rule link to add the rule.

Click the Return to previous view when you are finished.

If you wish to change any of the parameters of the rule you have just created, you will need to modify it.

Related topics

Removing a smart search

Modifying a smart search

Advanced smart searches


Advanced smart searches

You can narrow down smart searches further by specifying the channels and categories that are searched.

Click the Edit smart searches link from the Toolbox.

Select the rule you wish to edit from the list and click the Change settings for the selected smart search rule link.

If you only want to search for the keywords in specific programme categories:

Click the Categories tab.

Select the categories you wish to search from the list. To deselect a category, click it again.

If you only want to search in programmes broadcast on specific channels:

Click the Channels tab.

Select the channels you wish to search from the list. To deselect a channel, click it again.

Click the Update rule link to add the rule.

Click the Return to previous view when you are finished.

Related topics

Adding a smart search

Removing a smart search

Modifying a smart search


Modifying a smart search

You may wish to edit a 'smart search' rule to change the indicator colour or the keywords.

Click the Edit smart searches link from the Toolbox.

Select the rule you wish to edit from the list and click the Change settings for the selected smart search rule link.

Make your changes to the boxes and options shown.

Click the Update rule link to add the rule.

Click the Return to previous view when you are finished.

Related topics

Adding a smart search

Removing a smart search


Removing a smart search

You can remove a 'smart search' rule that you no longer wish to use.

Click the Edit smart searches link from the Toolbox.

Select the rule you wish to remove from the list and click the Remove the selected rule link.

Click the Return to previous view when you are finished.

Related topics

Adding a smart search

Modifying a smart search


Colouring categories

DigiGuide allows you to specify the colours in which programmes are displayed in the Planner View. A colour can be chosen for each of the 30 or so programme categories therefore allowing you to quickly see the latest film or soap.

Click the Customise DigiGuide link from the Toolbox.

Click the Planner tab.

Using the two lists at the bottom of the screen, select the category from the left side and then click a colour on the right. Repeat this as necessary for each of the categories you wish to highlight.

Click the Return to previous view when you are finished.

Don’t forget that colours are also used for 'smart search' hits so it is advisable to not use the same colour twice.