The Business Master (3rd Edition)

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TO: INTEGRA COMPUTING, 910 Cobb Place Manor Dr., Marietta, GA 30066 MT 6.1 Name __________________________________________________________ Firm Name __________________________________ Phone ________________ Address __________________________________________________________ City _________________ State ___ Zip _______ County ________ # Professionals _____ # Employees ____ Type of Practice ________________ I first heard of Integra Computing from ___________________________________ Prices and availability are subject to change without notice. Send registered** copies of the following: ___ copies of MT-Tracker at $90 [+ $110 EXTRA to get 2 hr support]* $_____ ___ copies of RAMdesk at $50 [only $25 w/MT-Tracker/BillPower] $_____ ___ copies of ReSearch at $90 [+ $60 EXTRA to get 1 hr support]* $_____ ___ copies of BillPower at $100 [+ $110 EXTRA to get 2 hr support]* $_____ ___ copies of BillPower Plus at $150 [+ $200 EXTRA to get 4 hr support]* $_____ Send unregistered** copies of the following: ___ copies of RAMdesk at $10 ea $_____ ___ copies of TickleX at $10 ea $_____ ___ copies of ReSearch at $10 ea $_____ ___ copies of BillPower at $10 ea $_____ ___ copies of BillPower Plus at $15 ea $_____ To have programs supplied on 3.5" media, enclose $5.00 extra PER PROGRAM $_____ If you don't live in the U.S., Canada, or Mexico, please add $10.00 more $_____ TOTAL ORDER $_____ ___% Sales Tax for ___________ county, if you're a GA resident $_____ If you live in a country that was formerly governed by communists, and this order is being placed before 1 January 1994, you may subtract 50% -$_____ Please enclose CHECK or MONEY ORDER in US dollars -- GRAND TOTAL $_____ Credit card orders and purchase orders which are not accompanied by payment will not be accepted. A check or money order must show on its face the name & address of a US bank that will accept it. I have read and agree to all the terms of the Disclaimer found below. _______________________________________ _________________ SIGNATURE DATE * Telephone support will be provided if you pre-purchase it with this order form. Such support must be used within a year. When you need assistance, you may reach Integra Computing (404-426-5735) most weekdays from 4:00pm to 6:00pm, Eastern Time. Because so much time is required to respond to mailed correspon- dence, letters requesting assistance may not be answered. If you need help, call -- don't write. But please don't even call unless you've pre-purchased support with this order form; if you call without having prepaid for support, each call will cost you a minimum of $15, plus $1.50 per minute. ** Unregistered software is programmed to remind you to register. Please note that no credit will be given at the time of registration for the cost of an unregistered copy. -- LICENSE: BillPower, TickleX, MT-Tracker, PopForm, ReSearch, Nifty, RAMdesk, Nou- veau, and their documentation are copyrighted in 1985 to 1991 by R.A. Kelly. You may use any program on as many computers as you like, as long as it is nev- er installed with a SERIAL NUMBER (provided to you when you register as a user) on more than one computer at a time and as long as you do not alter the program in any way. You may distribute any of these programs to potential new users, provided that you never divulge your SERIAL NUMBER to anyone, that you charge no fee for the program, and that you do not bundle it with (or use it as an incentive to purchase or lease) any other product or service, without the written consent of R.A. Kelly. All rights not expressly granted above are re- served in R.A. Kelly. -- DISCLAIMER: BillPower, TickleX, MT-Tracker, PopForm, ReSearch, Nifty, RAMdesk, and Nouveau may contain design and programming flaws. Before using ANY software on a regular basis, try estimating the potential harm that could result from your reliance upon it. Please don't use any of these programs unless you're willing to assume the associated risks, such as billing and report inaccuracies and data loss. BILLPOWER, TICKLEX, MT-TRACKER, POPFORM, RESEARCH, NIFTY, RAMDESK, NOU- VEAU, AND THEIR INSTRUCTIONS ARE PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND (INCLUDING THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE). NO ORAL OR WRITTEN INFORMATION OR ADVICE PROVIDED BY INTEGRA, ITS DEALERS, DISTRIBUTORS, AGENTS, OR EMPLOYEES SHALL CREATE A WAR- RANTY OF ANY KIND REGARDING BILLPOWER, TICKLEX, MT-TRACKER, POPFORM, RESEARCH, NIFTY, OR RAMDESK, NOUVEAU, AND YOU MAY NOT RELY UPON SUCH INFORMATION OR ADVICE. USE OF BILLPOWER, TICKLEX, MT-TRACKER, POPFORM, RESEARCH, NIFTY,OR RAMDESK, NOUVEAU IS ENTIRELY AT YOUR OWN RISK. NEITHER INTEGRA NOR ANYONE ELSE WHO HAS BEEN INVOLVED IN THE CREATION, PRODUCTION, OR DELIVERY OF BILLPOWER, TICKLEX, MT-TRACKER, POPFORM, RESEARCH, NIFTY, OR RAMDESK, NOUVEAU SHALL BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUEN- TIAL, OR INCIDENTAL DAMAGES (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, DAMAGES FOR LOSS OF BUSINESS PROFITS, BUSINESS INTERRUPTION, AND LOSS OF BUSINESS INFORMA- TION) ARISING FROM THE USE OF (OR INABILITY TO USE) BILLPOWER, TICKLEX, MT-TRACKER, POPFORM, RESEARCH, NIFTY, OR RAMDESK, NOUVEAU, EVEN THOUGH INTEG- RA MAY BE ADVISED THAT SUCH DAMAGES ARE POSSIBLE. -- AGREEMENT: As used in this Agreement, the terms "BillPower" , "TickleX", "MT-Trac- ker", "PopForm", "ReSearch", "Nifty", "Nouveau", and "RAMdesk", if not followed by a series or version designation, mean any version or series of BillPower, BillPower Plus, TickleX, MT-Tracker, PopForm, ReSearch, Nifty, Nouveau, or RAM- desk provided to you now or in the future. Your attempt to use BillPower, TickleX, MT-Tracker, PopForm, ReSearch, Nifty, Nouveau, or RAMdesk constitutes your acceptance of the terms set forth in the foregoing LICENSE and DISCLAIMER (which are incorporated into this Ag- reement). Your attempt to use BillPower, TickleX, MT-Tracker, PopForm, Re- Search, Nifty, Nouveau, or RAMdesk also constitutes your agreement that if you bring any legal action relating to BillPower, TickleX, MT-Tracker, PopForm, ReSearch, Nifty, Nouveau, or RAMdesk, 1) your sole remedy for the damages for which any defendant is found liable (including direct, indirect, incidental and consequential damages) will be the recovery of whatever you paid to register as a user of the program, and 2) you will pay all defendants' attorneys fees and other legal costs if you do not prevail on all claims made in your pleadings. The terms of this Agreement are governed by Georgia law. If any of this Agreement's terms shall be held invalid to any extent, the remainder of this Agreement shall be unaffected by such invalidity. THE ABOVE PARAGRAPHS CONSTITUTE THE ENTIRE AGREEMENT BETWEEN YOU AND INTE- GRA. NO ORAL OR WRITTEN COMMUNICATION, INFORMATION, OR ADVICE FROM ANY SOURCE MAY ALTER THE AGREEMENT AS SET FORTH ABOVE. SOME STATES DO NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OF IMPLIED WARRANTIES OR OF LIABIL- ITY FOR INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, SO SOME OF THE ABOVE EXCLUSIONS AND LIMITATIONS MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU. YOU MAY HAVE OTHER RIGHTS WHICH MAY VARY FROM STATE TO STATE. MT-TRACKER TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 BUILDING BLOCKS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 SETTING UP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Customizing for laser printers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 SCHEDULING MODULE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 Making an Entry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 Blinking Events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 A note about Reminders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 Editing Entries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 Editing a Plan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 Frequently Scheduled or Recurring Events . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 Earliest and latest dates of occurrence . . . . . . . . . . . 24 Events separated by a certain number of days . . . . . . . . . 25 Events that occur every second or third month . . . . . . . . 25 Wrapping it all up . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 To-Do List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 Alarms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 Six-Month View (and calendar calculator to find any day) . . . . 30 Weekly View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 Omitting Events and Plans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 Hunting for Entries and Preparing Reports . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 Event Chart . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 Printed calendars (weekly, monthly, yearly) . . . . . . . . . 36 Other Reports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 Examine Clients for which Events are Scheduled . . . . . . . . 36 Custom Reports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 Moving several events to a new date . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 Finding Free Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 Stopwatch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41 LOG MODULE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42 CLIENT MODULE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45 User-Customizabel Fields . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45 Making/Editing/Viewing a Client Record . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46 Filling in a Client's Record . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 Using Abbreviations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48 Dialing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48 Hunting for Data and Preparing Reports . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48 Labels and Envelopes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 Letters to Clients . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 Custom Reports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51 Omit Clients Tagged for Omission . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51 NOTE MODULE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52 UTILITES (BACKUP, RESTORE, PRINTER DRIVERS, ETC.) . . . . . . . . . 53 MESSAGES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55 CAUTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60 POP-UP MT-TRACKER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61 APPENDIX A DEPARTMENT/EMPLOYEE GROUPS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64 APPENDIX B AUTOMATED EXECUTION (MACROS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65 APPENDIX C SHARING DATA AMONG SEVERAL COMPUTERS . . . . . . . . . 67 APPENDIX D MT-TRACKER ON A LOCAL AREA NETWORK . . . . . . . . . . 69 MT-TRACKER INSTRUCTIONS NOTE: Please read the CAUTION in Section 10. SECTION 1 INTRODUCTION MT-Tracker is a program that combines several functions: Client, project, or job tracking; Scheduling of appointments and deadlines; Logging of accomplishments, expenses, and receipts; Note-keeping. The four basic modules (Client, Scheduling, Logging and Note- keeping) are interrelated and may be accessed from each other's menus by your pressing control-key combinations: Ctrl-S Scheduler Ctrl-L Logger Ctrl-N Notes Ctrl-C Clients (there's a utility that allows you to rename this module, resulting in an- other control-key combination) Because MT-Tracker is an integrated system, you may even perform cer- tain of one module's functions when you're actually looking at a re- cord in a different module. For example, if you're looking at a cli- ent's record (in the Client module) and wish to know everything sched- uled for that client this week, you may press Ctrl-S to directly ac- cess MT-Tracker's scheduler. Then, after you've looked at the cli- ent's schedule, MT-Tracker will take you right back to your examina- tion of his record. In a similar fashion, Ctrl-L will let you examine recent work, expenses, and receipts logged for that client, while Ctrl-N will allow you to peruse your notes relating to him. You can even ask MT-Tracker to display all events scheduled for a given day and then automatically take you to the record of each indiv- idual client affected by one or more events. When you're finished doing what you need for a given client, you may press a key, and the next affected client's record will appear. MT-Tracker will handle up to 4000 clients/projects/jobs, up to 12000 appointments/deadlines/trips/vacations/exercises/reminders, and up to 12000 services/disbursements/receipts. It's accompanied by PC- INTRODUCTION 4 Beep, a pop-up alarm capable of keeping 20 events in each day's cue. INTRODUCTION 5 SECTION 2 THE BUILDING BLOCKS Before you begin using MT-Tracker, you should first acquaint yourself with some basics. To begin with, make sure your monitor's contrast is set so that the screen can display different shades. If it's not set properly, MT-Tracker's instructions will occasionally seem confusing. Terminology Though you may customize the program to use another term, these instructions will use the term CLIENT to refer to a person, company, job, or project that you wish to track. An APPOINTMENT is an event scheduled for a particular time and day. A lunch date, for instance, would be entered as an Appointment. A DEADLINE is an event for which your firm is responsible. It's char- acter is such that failing to meet it may get you into trouble. A MISCELLANEOUS event, on the other hand, is something which you expect to take place, but for which you aren't responsible. For instance, if another office is supposed to answer a complaint by 20 August, you would enter that event under the Miscellaneous category. If YOUR of- fice is supposed to answer a complaint by 20 August, you would enter it as a Deadline. If the Deadline is absolutely crucial, it should be entered as a GOTCHA (which is a super Deadline). An EXERCISE is a test or a period of training. You might prefer to use this category for scheduling an employee's work or some other major category of event. The TRIP and VACATION categories are self-explanatory. Multi-day events, such as Vacations and Trips, need be entered only once, for the date on which the event begins (eg: the beginning date of your vacation). Whenever you need to change something about that recorded event, you need edit only one record, the one entered for the event's beginning date. Yet, despite the fact that only one entry is actually kept in the data base, your daily schedule for each day of the multi- day event will reflect that event. It's necessary that you recognize the importance of Deadlines (including Gotchas). If you occasionally enter an Appointment as a Miscellaneous event, or a Trip as an Exercise, there won't be any ser- ious ramifications. But a Deadline should always be entered as such (or as a Gotcha). You see, only Deadlines and Gotchas are deemed im- portant enough by MT-Tracker to be brought forward when they're past due. In this way, MT-Tracker will continue reminding you of a Dead- line, even after it's been passed, until you check it off. If some- thing really should be entered as a Deadline, and you instead enter it as an Appointment or Miscellaneous event, MT-Tracker won't keep hound- ing you to take care of it after it's scheduled date passes. In other words, that item will be dropped from your "to-do" list after the BUILDING BLOCKS 6 scheduled date. In most cases this won't cause any problems, but there may be times when you'll wish you had entered something as a Deadline, so that you'll keep being reminded of it until it's done. A REMINDER is an entry reminding you that an Appointment, Dead- line, etc., will occur at some time in the future. A Reminder must be set at least one day prior to the event of which you wish to be re- minded. For instance, you might wish to be reminded on Monday that you have an important meeting on Tuesday. Or, you might want to be reminded that a report is due in a couple of weeks (the actual due date would be entered as a Deadline, and a Reminder could be set a couple of weeks prior to the due date). Each Appointment, Deadline, etc., may have up to four Reminders linked to it. This linking, a MT-Tracker exclusive, is handled aut- omatically. Linking Reminders to the tasks to which they refer is advantageous when you need to change the original task. When such a change is made, all the linked Reminders are automatically changed appropriately. Assume, for instance, that you originally scheduled an Appointment for 1 September, and made a Reminder for 25 August (remin- ding you of the 1 September Appointment). If you subsequently changed the 1 September Appointment to 31 August, MT-Tracker would also auto- matically change the 25 August Reminder so that it reflected the Ap- pointment's new date (31 August). The date of the Reminder, itself, would also be changed to 24 August, in order to maintain the 1-week interval between Appointment and Reminder that had originally been established. A PLAN is a special file that lists the expected tasks for a pro- ject with which you are involved. This listing contains the anticipa- ted time interval between each task. When you enter or change a date in the Plan, MT-Tracker will automatically change the dates for all related tasks accordingly. Plans are very useful in planning compli- cated projects, such as lawsuits or training exercises involving plen- tiful milestones. A SERVICE is an accomplishment, work that's been performed, or an appointment/deadline that's been met. A RECEIPT is money that's been taken in, while a DISBURSEMENT is money that's been spent. By the way, GOTCHAs, EXERCISEs, and MISCELLANEOUS events may have their names changed (see the SETTING UP section). Entering the Program Remember, you must always access MT-Tracker by entering "mt" at the DOS prompt. This causes the MT.BAT file to execute. Never access MT-Tracker by entering "mttrack" (accept as recommended in the SET- TING UP section below). Don't even rename the MT.BAT file. MT- BUILDING BLOCKS 7 Tracker must ALWAYS be entered through a batch file called MT.BAT. If you want to access MT-Tracker through an automated menu program, you may do so, as long as the the menu program calls MT.BAT (rather than directly calling the MTTRACK.EXE file). Control characters On-screen instructions will frequently instruct you to press control characters. A control character is represented graphically as a letter preceded by an up caret (eg: ^A or ^H). If you are instructed to press a control character, you must hold the Ctrl key down, while simultaneously pressing the appropriate letter key. For example, to press ^O, hold down the Ctrl key and tap the "O" (or "o") key. Do not actually press the up caret key; the up caret is used merely as a graphic representation of the control key. Pausing When you find the computer in the middle of some lengthy proce- dure, such as printing a report, and you want to pause, press the space bar. Doing so will cause the process to stop until you press the space bar again. This use of the space bar will not work in all of the program's operational modes, but it will in most. Pressing the space bar may take a few seconds to have an effect, so be patient. Aborting If, instead of wishing that the computer pause in the middle of a procedure, you prefer to abort that procedure altogether, press ESC (the Escape key). As with the space bar, this key may not work in all parts of the program, and it may take a few seconds to work. Printer Toggling and Sending Reports to a Disk File Whenever you are about to have a report printed on the screen, and you would prefer that it be printed on your printer, press ALT-P before the report preparation begins. ALT-P is the printing toggle, and it turns the flow of data to the printer on and off. You may al- ternatively send the data to a disk file, instead of the printer, by pressing ALT-F (in place of ALT-P). The file created or appended, named "TEXT.MX", may then be modified with most any text editor. EDITX.EXE There are a few files which will need to be created or modi- fied by MT-Tracker's text editor, EDITX.EXE, before you can realize the full potential of the program. For instance, you may want to BUILDING BLOCKS 8 create a Template of the course that you think a typical project will follow. EDITX manipulates simple industry-standard ASCII code. You may access it from a menu by pressing ^E (for "Edit"). BUILDING BLOCKS 9 SECTION 3 SETTING UP MT-Tracker should be placed into a MANAGEX directory on your com- puter. If you've gone through the automated install routine, that's already been handled for you. You should also copy the BACKUP and RESTORE programs from your computer's DOS diskette to the MANAGEX directory (or, alternatively, make sure that they're in your computer's directory "path"). When you first begin using MT-Tracker, you will have to answer a series of CUSTOMIZING questions. Very brief explanations follow: -> Drive used for MT-Tracker: Enter the letter designation (C,D, etc.) of the disk on which you want to store MT-Tracker's data. If there's room, you will probably use the same disk for both program and data. A hard disk is highly recommended. -> Initials: Enter the initials of each department or employee for whom Appointments, Deadlines, etc., will be stored by MT-Tracker. A department/employee is an individual or office that you want to track with the program. -> Printer Port: The program needs to know the parallel port to which your printer is attached. Press the 1, 2, or 3 key. By the way, you may temporarily alter the printer port at the time a report is prepared if you simply press the 1, 2 or 3 key just before begin- ning the hunt thru the database. -> Reset Printer: Before preparing a report, the program will momen- tarily reset your printer (unless you've indicated a Laser prin- ter). If you find this to be an unnecessary annoyance, answer "NO" here. -> Printer Lines per Page: Enter the number of lines your printer is set to print on each sheet of paper. If you're unsure, just press RET to keep the default setting (66). If you're using a laser printer, this figure is irrelevant, so you should enter "LASER". If you indicate that you're using a laser printer, MT- Tracker will offer a wider variety of reports than would otherwise be the case. MT-Tracker will assume that you're using a Hewlett Packard Laser Jet printer (or one that emulates the Laser Jet). If your printer cannot emulate the Laser Jet, the program's reporting functions may not operate properly. In this case, see the BATCH FILE CUSTOMIZATION section below. -> Faster Alternate Interface: To make or edit an appointment or deadline in MT-Tracker, you are normally taken through a series of prompts, such as date, time, etc. This sequence may be shor- tened by a step or two if you want MT-Tracker to make a couple of assumptions for you. To give MT-Tracker it's alternate short-se- quence interface, you should mark this item "YES". When placed into this mode, MT-Tracker will assume that the date for which you SETTING UP 10 wish to make an entry or change is the date that is currently highlighted on the main MT-Tracker calendar screen. It will also allow you to make several event entries in a row without return- ing you to the main calendar between each one. -> 24-hour Time, etc: If this item is answered "YES", MT-Tracker will use 24-hour (instead of 12-hour) time. It will also use the DD/MM/YY (not MM/DD/YY) date format. -> Prompt for Remarks: Immediately after you schedule an event, Mul- tiTrack will allow you to enter up to 17 lines of remarks that can be attached to the event. If you're not likely to need remarks, you may wish to skip this step. If so, enter "NO" here. -> Prompt for Priorities: If you find it useful to assign priorities to your deadlines (to-do's), you'll want MT-Tracker to prompt you for a priority at the time you enter a deadline into the system. The default for this item is "NO", because very few people actually pay attention to the priorities originally assigned to deadlines when they're put into the system. Instead, as each new day arrives, they review ALL of that day's deadlines and decide AT THAT TIME which deadlines are most important (completely ignoring whatever priority was originally assigned to each event). But, if you in- sist upon having MT-Tracker prompt you for a deadline's priority as you enter it into the system, you should answer this item, "YES". When MT-Tracker knows that it should follow priorities, it will display each deadline's priority number at the left margin of each day's full-detail "daily view". -> Prompt for Employees: If MT-Tracker will be used to schedule more than one person, this item should be "YES"; otherwise, answer "NO". -> Prompt for Alarms: If you plan to use PC-Beep (MT-Tracker's compan- ion alarm program) to provide pop-up alarms for the appointments you enter into MT-Tracker, you should answer this item, "YES". If you do, MT-Tracker will ask you for an alarm time whenever you enter an event for which you indicate a beginning time of day. -> Colors: Press "M" until the main foreground color you want appears. Press "S" until the secondary color appears. Press "B" until you have the desired background. Only computers equipped with color video cards will be given the colors options. There are some secondary items that may be customized if you press the F9 key after passing through all the above ones: -> There are three types of events whose names you may change: GOTCHAs, EXERCISEs, and MISCELLANEOUS events. To give each a dif- ferent name, just type the name you want. Whatever the name you substitute for GOTCHA, the event type will have the characteristics of GOTCHAs and DEADLINEs (eg: they'll be automatically brought for- ward from day to day). If you change the name of MISCELLANEOUS or EXERCISE, the traits of the event will become similar to those of ordinary APPOINTMENTs. Please don't make ANY changes here until you're thoroughly familiar with the program. -> TDY & Leave: Military offices may find these references more ap- propriate than "trips" and "vacations". -> Employees or Departments: Choose the term by which you wish to SETTING UP 11 refer to the people, positions or offices in your firm. -> Workday Begin and End Times: Whenever you ask the program to find a block of free time, it needs to know how early and how late you want it to check each day. Without reasonable begin and end times, the program would always find time in the middle of the night. -> Partition Interval: When the program prepares the "Printed Daily Schedule" report, it needs to know how many partitions should be printed per hour. If you desire two partitions, enter "30" min- utes; enter "15" for four, etc. By the way, the "Printed Daily Schedule" is always centered on 1:00PM, and the Begin and End times entered above are used to estimate the total number of hours you want shown on that report. -> Show Partitions on Standard Reports: Normally, the program does not waste space in displaying partition lines on its standard re- ports. If, however, you want it to partition each day into half- or quarter-hourly blocks, answer "YES" at this item. If you make any mistakes in filling in the blanks, don't worry; you may always come back to this series of questions later if you press ^U at the Schedule menu and then "C" at the Utilities menu. There are also a few things you can customize at the batch file level. In the MT.BAT file, there is a line that reads, "MTTRACK" (don't confuse it with the line that reads, ":MTTRACK"). If your printer is connected to your computer's SERIAL port, rather than to its parallel port, you should insert a couple of lines into the MT.BAT file, just above the "MTTRACK" line. The first line should contain the appropriate MODE command (see your DOS manual) to enable your serial port to communicate with your printer (these parameters should be in your printer manual). The second line should read, "MODE LPT1:=COM1" (or "MODE LPT1:=COM2", if using comm port 2). Also, the 11th parameter on the "MTTRACK" line should be "NORESET" (eg: "MTTRACK x x 10-30 x x x x x x x NORESET"). If you're using a laser printer that CANNOT emulate the Hewlett Packard Laser Jet (and if you have been unsuccessful in modifying the the LASRCODE file, discussed in the next section), you should make sure that the second parameter contains the character sequence "NLJ". Examples: "mttrack x NLJ x x x x x x x x x EURODATECAL" "mttrack x PWNLJ x x ABC DEF F:\MANAGEX C:\MANAGEX x MR 1" Finally, if you use desqVIEW, you should add a line at the bottom of the TX.BAT file, saying "EXIT". CUSTOMIZING FOR LASER PRINTERS If your printer is not compatible with the Hewlitt Packard Laser Jet series, you may not be able to take advantage of some of the re- SETTING UP 12 ports offered by the program. But there is still a slim possibility that you can, if you'll need to modify the LASRCODE file with a text editor, such as EDITX.EXE (Ctrl-E from the Main Menu). LASRCODE is originally created when you select either the LaserJet or DeskJet printer option in Utilities module's "PrinterSelection" routine (which causes the the PRNTDRVR.EXE program to execute). The LASRCODE file contains a series of lines, each of which begins with a description of a code and ends with the actual code that will be sent to your printer to achieve the results described. The codes that are currently in that file are for the Laser Jet series of printers. If your printer has different codes for exactly the same functions, you may substitute them. Be sure to change only the code section of each line (following the equals sign). The code must consist of actual characters, not hex or decimal numbers. If you use EDITX.EXE, remember that, to enter the ESC key (or any control-key combination), you must first press Ctrl-P, then the ESC key (or other control-key combination). If you can't successfully modify the LASRCODE file, you'll need to tell MT-Tracker that it should ignore the file. To find out how to do so, read the BATCH FILE CUSTOMIZATION section's discussion of the NLJ command at the second parameter. SETTING UP 13 SECTION 4 SCHEDULING MODULE The INTRODUCTION of the instructions contains descriptions of the various types of entries that you can make: Appointments, Deadlines, Gotchas, Vacations, Trips, Miscellaneous events, and Reminders. Also mentioned there are Plans. You may use any of MT-Tracker's five alternate menus: four "cal- endar menus" consisting of a large calendar and a single menu bar at the bottom of the screen; and the "full screen menu", which uses the entire screen to explain each of your choices. MT-Tracker will de- fault to one of the calendar menus the first time you enter the prog- ram. If you wish to switch to another calendar menu, press the TAB key; to switch to the full screen menu, press TAB twice quickly. Whichever menu is last used before you exit the program will be the menu to which MT-Tracker defaults the next time you load it. Most users will prefer a calendar menu, even though it takes a while for it to be written to the screen (because the program must conduct a lot of research as it's drawing the calendar and filling in events). If you have a relatively slow computer, however, you may appreciate the full-screen menu, which takes almost no time to flash onto the screen. One of the calendar menus displays the types of events scheduled for each day. Each day's box on the calendar contains up to eleven a's, D's, etc. Each of these characters represents an Appointment, Deadline, etc., that falls on that date. The more characters you see in a day's box, the more things have been scheduled for that day. To save space, no more than one Reminder (reminding you of an actual event sometime in the future) will be shown in each day's box. Another calendar menu displays the blocks of time that have been scheduled for each day. Each day's box contains from zero to twenty- four rectangles, arranged in two rows of up to twelve rectangles each. Each rectangle represents one-half hour that's already been scheduled for that day. The top row shows which half-hour blocks have been scheduled between 7:00 AM and 1:00 PM. The bottom row represents 1:00 to 7:00 PM. You will also note that there is a vertical line marking each hour (on the half-hour) from 7:30 AM to 6:30 PM. This calendar will quickly give you a very rough idea of how much time has been scheduled for each day of the month. A third calendar menu will combine BOTH event types AND time scheduled (7:00AM to 5:00PM) for each day. The fourth calendar menu will split the screen in half, display- ing a calendar on the left and up to seventeen abbreviated event des- criptions on the right. Each day's box in the calendar will be blank if there's nothing scheduled that day. If, on the other hand, there's at least one event whose ending time is later than its beginning time, the box will display a rough horizontal bar chart showing the times SCHEDULING MODULE 14 during which that day's events take place. If no time has actually been blocked off during that day, but there IS some non-time-blocked activity, the box will contain a single dot. By default, each calendar menu will show events scheduled for ALL your departments/employees. If you wish to see only one particular department's schedule, press the F3 key. Then, tell MT-Tracker which department you want shown on the calendar. If you want ALL depart- ments to be displayed, just press RET when MT-Tracker asks you for one. An alternate way to change the department being shown on the calendar is to simply press the number key corresponding to that de- partment's ID number. For example, pressing "1" results in department 1's being shown on the calendar. Pressing "0" tells MT-Tracker to show ALL departments on the calendar. Of course, this scheme works only for departments 1 to 9, so if you want to see a department from 10 to 20, you'll have to use the F3 key. You can move from day to day with the arrow keys. When you land upon a day for which you'd like to see more detail, press the RET key. When you do, the calendar will be replaced by a screen that fully des- cribes each of that single day's events. To zoom back to the calen- dar, just press the RET key again. Whether you're looking at the large calendar or an individual day's events, the arrow keys work identically: left arrow: go back one day; right arrow: go forward a day; up arrow: go back one week; down arrow: go forward a week; PgUp: go back one month; and PgDn: go forward one month. Whether you're looking at the big calendar or an individual day, you have the full range of options shown in the same single-line menu at the bottom of the screen. And the TAB key also works in the daily view to toggle between alternate views of the day: --> three spell out the beginning and ending times for each event: 1: without a small calendar in the upper right corner; 2: with a small calendar in the upper right; 3: with a small calendar and each event's full notes; --> two fill in blocks representing the events' times: 1: without a small calendar in the upper right corner; 2: with a small calendar in the upper right; The long box at the bottom of a large calendar will display the first several characters of each of four Gotchas and Deadlines sched- uled for the day that is highlighted. If there are fewer than four Gotchas and Deadlines, other types of events may also be shown (remin- ders and events tagged for omission, however, will not appear here). NOTE: If you ever want a printout of the calendar that is SCHEDULING MODULE 15 currently on the screen, press the CTRL-PrtSc key combina- tion. This will work, however, only if you have entered into line 2 of the PRNTINIT file (which accompanies Multi- Track) the "escape sequence" needed to utilize your printer's character set that includes the IBM graphics characters. Instructions for doing so are contained in the PRNTINIT file. Take a look at it with EDITX (press ^E at the menu to access EDITX). At the daily view, CTRL-PrtSc may be used to obtain a printout of the day's complete detail, including each event's Notes (which are not displayed at the daily view) and any events that, due to the screen's limited space, aren't dis- played. MAKING AN ENTRY When you choose the Make option, you will be asked to specify the type of entry you are about to enter. The definitions of most are found at the beginning of this documentation. If you choose to enter a new Plan, you will be taken through the straightforward sequence discussed in "Editing a Plan", below. When you are asked to enter the date, a small calendar may appear on the screen. You have the option of either: 1) entering the date at the prompt; or 2) using the cursor movement keys to locate the desired date on the calendar and then pressing RET. The PgUp and PgDn keys will change the month displayed on the calendar. If you don't know the date you need to enter, but do know that it is a certain number of days before or after a given date, enter the given date, followed by a plus or minus sign, followed in turn by the number of days you wish to add or subtract. If, for instance, you need to enter the date that is 120 days after 2 OCT 89, you should enter "2 OCT 89 +120". MT-Tracker will automatically figure the cor- rect date for you. If you need to move forward or backward a given number of months (instead of days), just highlight the appropriate date on the calendar and press the PgUp or PgDn keys appropriately. The next item you fill in will be the department/employee affec- ted by the event. If you wish to schedule more than one department, each should be separated from the next by a comma and/or a space (eg: "ABC,DEF GHI JKL" will tell MT-Tracker that you wish to schedule identical events for each of four departments -- ABC, DEF, GHI, and JKL). NOTE: I you're using the program to schedule only one person, you may find it annoying to be asked to enter a department/employee. To tell MT-Tracker that it will never be used to schedule more than a single person, you should SCHEDULING MODULE 16 modify the MT.BAT file. Find the line saying "MTTRACK", and add two parameters following that word. The second parameter should be, "SINGLE", so that the line now reads, "MTTRACK X SINGLE". After you enter the date and the department/employee, the screen will clear, and you'll be presented with a summary of what is already scheduled for the designated department/employee on that date. Also, the bottom of the screen will show a summary of the event you are pre- sently entering. If you discover that you need to back up to a prev- ious item, just press the left arrow to move the cursor to that item. NOTE: If you don't need to fill in an item, just skip it by pressing the RET key. Never feel compelled to make an entry for an item that you don't think is important. If, for in- stance, the department/employee is not important, don't fill in that item. The only items that MT-Tracker requires are a date and an event. There are two "Time" items, one for each of the beginning and ending times. If you enter a time that has already been "blocked off" for the day, MT-Tracker will remind you of a possible conflict and afford you the opportunity to change the entry if you need to. NOTE: MT-Tracker assumes that an event with no ending time or an ending time identical to the beginning time) is not intended to be blocked off. Hence, you may schedule multiple Deadlines for 11:00 (no ending time), without MT-Tracker's re- minding you of possible conflicts. If, however, you have an Appointment scheduled from 11:00 to 12:00, subsequent at- tempts to enter anything during that period will trigger MT-Tracker's time block protection response. The "Client Number" item contemplates an alphanumeric entry up to twelve characters long. You need not enter anything, but you may wish to, since this item may help you to search through the data base quickly to find only those events involving a specific client. If you enter something, you may use the same scheme your office has always used to identify each client. For instance, the client number for John Smith might be "8801-JS-1" or "Smith, J", or "SMITJO", or any- thing else. NOTE: If the time, client number, or description of the event you're presently entering is the same as the corresponding item in the preceding record just entered, you can save some time by just entering "S". Whenever "S" is entered for a time, client number, or description, MT-Tracker will pick up that item's text from the last record you've just entered. After you enter the "Event" item, you will be afforded the oppor- tunity to add up to 17 lines of remarks to the entry. Use this capa- SCHEDULING MODULE 17 bility sparingly, only when you are unable to adequately describe the entry in the 37 characters allowed in the "Event" item. MT-Tracker is limited to tracking a maximum of 15,000 lines of remarks. That sounds like a lot, but if you abuse the program's remark-keeping capability, you may exceed its capacity. Ten lines here and five lines there WILL eventually add up if you attach long remarks to many entries in the distant future. If you ever run out of remark-keeping space, omit some entries. Every time you omit an entry, the remarks that were attached to it are discarded, freeing space for more. NOTE: If 17 lines of remarks won't be enough, you may wish to like to link an event with a text-based disk file. Just Place "FILE=" at the beginning of a remark line, followed immediately by the name of the file, and nothing else. When- ever a report containing that remark is prepared, the remark will include the text of the file you've designated. Example of a line specifying a file: FILE=C:TEXT.DOC. You may use EDITX.EXE (^E at the main menu) to create the text file. If you've customized MT-Tracker (in the ^Utilities module's Cus- tomize routine) to request a priority number for each DEADLINE and GOTCHA, you'll be prompted for it after entering your remarks. Just enter a number from 0 to 9, the lowest number connoting the highest priority. If you prefer, you may enter a letter, instead of a number. If you've customized MT-Tracker to request an alarm time for each future event that contains a beginning time of day, you'll be prompted for it after entering your remarks and priority. This prompt will appear only if the event being entered is for a future date, if that event has a beginning time, and if you haven't already indicated an alarm time at the beginning of the event description (see the ALARMS section below). Blinking Events If an event is so important that you want it to blink whenever it's displayed on the main calendar screen, press Ctrl-B at the end of the event description item. When you do, stylized "B" will appear. A Note about Reminders Reminders are created most conveniently at the time you original- ly enter the event to which they refer. MT-Tracker will automatically prompt you to create such Reminders after each Appointment, Deadline, etc., has been input. Reminders may also be entered subsequent to your entry of an Appointment, Deadline, etc. To do so, you will first be asked the date of the event for which you need a Reminder. Then, MT-Tracker SCHEDULING MODULE 18 will show you the record number of each primary event scheduled for that date. You will be expected to use the arrow keys to highlight the specific record of which you wish to be reminded (or, if you pre- fer, you may simply enter its record number). Then, MT-Tracker will flash that record to the screen and ask you to enter the date for which you wish this new Reminder to be set. EDITING ENTRIES When you choose the Edit option, you will be asked to enter the date of the item you wish to modify. If you want to edit an entire Plan, instead of an individual item, enter "P". Editing Individual Items If you want to edit an individual item, you should enter the date on which the event you wish to edit occurred. If you aren't sure about the date, guess. If you wish to edit only events that apply to a particular department/employee, you will next be allowed to enter the appropriate ID number (if you don't care which department is in- volved, just press RET when asked for the ID). Next, all events scheduled for the date/department combina- tion specified will be listed. You will be asked to enter the Record number of the event you wish to edit/examine. If you don't see the one you're looking for, you've probably guessed incorrectly about the date. Use the arrow keys to change the date and display a different set of events. When you finally find the event you want to edit, en- ter its record number. The selected record will then appear on the screen, and you may modify it as you wish. Press F6 when you're done. If the record just changed is referenced by any Reminders, they will be automatical- ly updated to reflect the changes you made. Then, if one of the changes you made was to the event's date, you'll be shown all of its Reminders, so that you can confirm the changes automatically rendered by MT-Tracker. Editing a Plan When you choose to work with a Plan, you'll be shown a listing of all Plans presently on the hard disk. Then, you'll be asked to choose one of them. Before we go any further, however, let's discuss exactly what a plan is and how it's set up. A Plan is a file that may be used to chart the course that a pro- ject is expected to follow. Each Plan may be set up individually or it may be based upon a general Template. Plan and Template files may be created with EDITX. You may establish a separate Template for each SCHEDULING MODULE 19 general category of project your firm handles. A real estate project, for instance, might use a "REALTY" Template. Each Plan/Template contains a listing of the tasks that usually take place in the type of matter tracked by the Plan/Template. Each line in the file consists of a task, an abbreviation for that task, the type of task (eg: Deadline or Appointment), and remarks about that task. Also included is the interval (expressed in days) that is ex- pected between that task and the preceding one. If an item is com- pletely unrelated to the preceding one, the interval item should be left blank. The remarks item may also be left blank, if you wish, but every line in the file MUST have both an abbreviation and a descrip- tion. A Template or Plan file may have NO empty lines. MT-Tracker comes with a sample Template file called "SAMPLE". Take a look at it with EDITX. Note, as you view it, that no actual dates are filled in. Never fill in Plan/Template dates with EDITX. Enter dates ONLY in the main MT-Tracker program. BRIEF EXAMPLE OF A TEMPLATE: ABB -------DESCRIPTION------- INT TYP DATE ---REMARKS----------- INJ Injury - CMP File complaint - ANS Expect answer 30 M SL Stat Of Limitations runs 730 D inj\ SLN Note: Now it's too late 730 N inj\ The first line reflects the injury. Remember, this is a Tem- plate, not an actual project Plan. Therefore, no date information is filled in. The next line is for the filing of the complaint. It has no interval item because the date on which it is to take place is not necessarily related to the date of the injury. The third line ref- lects that an answer is expected 30 days after the complaint is filed. The fourth line indicates that the statute of limitations will expire 730 days after the injury takes place. The "inj\" in the remarks item ties the SL interval to the first line, which begins with "INJ". Were in not for the "inj\" notation, the fourth line's interval would be as- sumed to be tied to the immediately preceding line (the "ANS" line). The fifth line is a note for the 4th line. Its type is 'N', and it must use the remarks section to refer to the event from which the 4th line's interval is calculated. When you set up a Plan for a project, it will initially consist of an exact copy of the Template from which it was copied (assuming you didn't write an original Plan "from scratch" in EDITX). No dates will actually be filled in. Extensive changes to the body of the Plan must be made in EDITX (by pressing ^E at the menu). Filling in dates, however, is handled by pressing P if you're using the calendar menu or by pressing E if you're using the full-screen menu. This "P" (or "E") option is the one to choose if you want MT-Tracker to fill in dates SCHEDULING MODULE 20 for related tasks automatically. The "^E" option (EDITX) won't allow you to fill in dates. If you want to fill in some Plan dates, press "P" (or "E" if you're using the full-screen menu), and you'll be shown a listing of all Plans presently on the hard disk. Then, you'll be asked to choose one of them. If you wish to create a new one, enter a name for it (usually, a client number will suffice). MT-Tracker will then remind you that it doesn't exist and show you a listing of the Templates from which the new plan can be copied. If an appropriate template exists, type in it's name, and it'll be copied verbatim into the new Plan you've chosen to set up. If an appropriate Template does NOT yet ex- ist, you'll have to press ESC and go to EDITX (by pressing ^E at the menu) to create a new Template (or the actual plan you want to set up) "from scratch". New Templates (as well as all Plans not copied dir- ectly from Templates) must be set up in EDITX. Now, let's quickly cover how to edit an established Plan. Once a Plan has been created, filling in the dates is a simple matter. First, specify which Plan you wish to edit. Then, select a task for editing by using the arrow keys to highlight that task (or optionally, just entering the task's abbreviation). Each time you select a task, you'll be taken through the same series of prompts (date, time, etc.) that appear when you (M)ake an event. Anytime you don't need to fill in a particular item, just press RET to move on to the next. After MT-Tracker has accepted all the information for a task, it will search the plan for subsequent tasks whose intervals are related to the date of the task just entered. As it encounters a subsequent related task, its date will be automatically assigned, and you'll be given the opportunity to enter any other information you wish. When you're finished making changes to the Plan, press the ESC key to return to the menu. NOTE: Note that MT-Tracker moves through the Plan from beginning to end; it cannot be forced to go backward. But if you ever need to calculate earlier dates from later ones, MT-Tracker will still accommodate you. When you're asked to enter a date for the earlier task, simply highlight the date of the LATER task on the little pop-up calendar; then type "-XX" (where XX is the number of days you wish to subtract from the later date). Frequently Scheduled or Recurring Events In addition to scheduling events item by item, MT-Tracker has the ability to automatically log events that take place on a regu- SCHEDULING MODULE 21 lar basis. For instance, if you have a staff meeting every Tuesday at 1200, you need not go to the trouble of setting each and every such event. To tell MT-Tracker the events of which you would like to be re- minded regularly, select (^E)dit in the menu. You'll be transferred to EDITX, where you can set up a file containing your regular events. When EDITX's menu appears, select "(F)requently Scheduled or Recurring Events". This will take you into the RECUR.DAT file, where you may enter up to 200 lines, each containing one event. Note that you may use the tab key to align the cursor at the correct spot on each line to make an entry. The first item on each line is the Event's description. Enter up to 37 characters. The next item is the Month in which the event regularly occurs. Enter the month as a number (1=JAN, 2=FEB, etc.). If the event occurs EVERY month or if this item is not applicable, leave it blank. Then comes the day of the month. If this item is not applicable, leave it blank. "32" designates the LAST day of the month, regardless of how long the month is. The last WORK day will be discussed below. The time of day items are next. If not applicable, leave these items blank. Time should be entered without colons. If the time you're entering is not within the standard working day (7AM-7PM), ap- pend an "A" or a "P" to the time ("930" and "930A" both mean 9:30AM, whereas "930P" means 9:30PM). You can avoid possible AM-PM confusion if you use 24-hour time (9:30PM = 2130), as in the example below. The time of day is followed by the type of event. Enter "M" for Miscellaneous, "D" for Deadline, "A" for Appointment, etc. Center your entry below the "Y" of "TYP". The department/employee to whom this event applies should be entered next. Use only the appropriate ID number, NOT initials. Start the entry under the "M" in "EMP". The next several items correspond to the days of the week, Sunday through Saturday. These items are used if the regular event you are entering occurs on a specific day of the week, rather than on a speci- fic date in the month. If the event always occurs on a Wednesday, for example, you would make an entry directly below the "W". The entry you make should be a number between 0 and 6. If the event always falls on the first Monday of the month, enter a "1" beneath the "M". If it falls on the third Friday, enter a "3" below "F". If it occurs EVERY Wednesday, enter a "0" under the "W". If an event occurs on the second and fourth Mondays, you should enter two separate lines identi- cal in every way, except that one should list a "2" below the "M", while the second should list a "4" below the "M". Remember, a "0" indicates an occurrence on the SAME day every week. A "6" indicates SCHEDULING MODULE 22 an occurrence on the LAST specified weekday of the month. A "7" under any of the specified days indicates the month's very last WORK day. Take a look at the following example: -FREQUENT OR RECURRING EVENT- MO DA TIME- TIME TYP EMP S M T W T F S Julie's Birthday 1 17 M Staff Meeting 0900 1000 M 0 Bowling Club Meeting 1900 2000 M 1 1 Bowling Club Meeting 1900 2000 M 1 3 Rotary Club Meeting 15 1930 2100 M 2 !! MEMORIAL DAY !! 5 M 6 month-end meeting 0730 0800 7 The first line reminds you of Julie's birthday on 17 January. The second indicates a staff meeting that takes place every Tuesday from 9:00 to 10:00 AM. The third and fourth lines remind employee 1 that the Bowling Club meets at 7:00PM every first Thursday and third Tuesday of the month (don't combine these entries, trying to have one line handle both a Tuesday and a Thursday). The fifth line is a Re- minder for the Rotary Club meeting scheduled for the 15th of each month from 7:30 to 9:00 PM, with an alarm set for 7:00. The next-to- last line notes that Memorial Day falls on the last Monday in the fifth month (May). That line also demonstrates that the LAST speci- fied weekday in a month -- which may be either the fourth or fifth such weekday -- is denoted by a "6" under the appropriate day, not by a "4" or a "5". The last line specifies the very last WORK day (Mon- day to Friday) of the month. The "7" placed under the "F" indicates, not the last FRIDAY, but the last WORK day ("6" would mean the last Friday, but "7" means the last work day). Scheduling a month's first Wednesday or fourth Friday is a snap, as described above. But what if you want to schedule something on the first Tuesday FOLLOWING the third Thursday of the month? Here, you need to do something tricky. Fill in the line as if you were sched- uling the third Thursday: -FREQUENT OR RECURRING EVENT- MO DA TIME- TIME TYP EMP S M T W T F S First Tues after third Thurs M 3 Now, you need a way to tell to MT-Tracker to find the fifth day after that third Thurdsay (Tuesday follows Thursday by five days). To do so, put the 5 beneath the DA item: -FREQUENT OR RECURRING EVENT- MO DA TIME- TIME TYP EMP S M T W T F S First Tues after third Thurs 5 M 3 Earliest and latest dates of occurrence If you wish the recurring event to appear no earlier than a certain date and no later than another, you should begin the event SCHEDULING MODULE 23 description with a parenthetical sequence containing those dates. The dates MUST be in this format: "MMDDYY-MMDDYY" (unless you've custom- ized the program to accept the military/european DDMMYY-DDMMYY for- mat). Each date must be exactly SIX digits, there must be a dash bet- ween the two dates, and all this must be placed between an open and a close parenthesis. For example, to schedule a 2:30-3:30 class every Monday between 1 Sep 90 and 25 Nov 90, the line would read: -FREQUENT OR RECURRING EVENT- MO DA TIME- TIME TYP EMP S M T W T F S (090190-112590)Class 230 330 M 0 Events separated by a certain number of days What if you have an event that happens every 14 or 21 days, not necessarily every second or third week of the month? The answer is simple, though not obvious. To enter an event that happens only once every __ days, place the number of days under the first S (Sunday). Then, you'll have to give MT-Tracker a beginning date from which it can figure each subsequent event's date. Enter the beginning date's month and day under the MO and DAY items, and enter the last single digit of its year JUST BEFORE the MO item. For example, to schedule something every 14 days, including January 15, 1993, the line should read: -FREQUENT OR RECURRING EVENT- MO DA TIME- TIME TYP EMP S M T W T F S meeting every other week 31 15 0730 0800 14 If such a regularly scheduled event is to span two or more days during each occurrance, you would have aligned the "14" under M, T, W, T, F, or S (for a 2-, 3-, 4-, 5-, 6-, or 7-day duration). For example, to schedule a three-day event every 28 days, including February 1, 1991, the line should read: -FREQUENT OR RECURRING EVENT- MO DA TIME- TIME TYP EMP S M T W T F S 3-day meeting (each 28 days) 12 1 0730 0800 28 Note that MT-Tracker will accept recurring items of this nature only if the beginning date you enter is within 5 years of the CURRENT date. Events that occur every second or third month What if you want to skip months? To make a recurring event hap- pen every second, third, fourth or sixth month, you must make sure that the month column is filled in with a month of the year during which the event will take place. Then, you'll need to fill in column 64 (which has no heading) with the number of months to be skipped be- tween recurrances of the event. SCHEDULING MODULE 24 -- Attaching a Note to a Recurring Event If you wish to attach a note to a recurring event, enter it on the line just following the event to which it refers. The note should have all the same parameters as the event, except that the type will be "N" (for "note"). In the following example, the second line will be considered a note for the first line: -FREQUENT OR RECURRING EVENT- MO DA TIME- TIME TYP EMP S M T W T F S Bowling Club Meeting 1900 2000 A 1 1 Meet at the Alley at 1815 1900 2000 N 1 1 Wrapping it all up Once you've entered all the frequent and recurring events you wish, press F6 to save the file. That's all there is to it. MT- Tracker will take over from there, referring to this file each day to check for items that should be included in your schedule. Whenever you prepare a schedule printout in the (H)unt routine, these items will appear at the appropriate places (assuming that you don't do a "Quick Hunt", discussed below in the discussion of (H)unting). Remember that Frequent and Recurring Events can be changed or omitted only in EDITX (by selecting ^E in the menu). Any events set up in this manner will appear on your schedule until the year 2040, unless you subsequently change them with EDITX. NOTE: If you want to schedule an event one day each week for the next several weeks, months, or years only, enter it in the standard manner (rather than as a Frequent and Recur- ring Event) as a Miscellaneous event or as an Exercise, spe- cifying a the same day of the week for both the beginning and ending dates. Holidays Holidays are special types of recurring events. When you enter one into the RECUR.DAT file, you should begin its description with an explanation point. Doing so will allow the program to recognize the event as a holiday. Hence, when you attempt to schedule an Appoint- ment or Reminder for that day, you will be reminded that it is a holi- day and asked whether you really wish to proceed with the entry. You are similarly reminded of Saturdays and Sundays. If you wish to also be reminded of some other special event (such as your anniversary) whenever you try scheduling an Appointment for that date, you should enter it into this Frequent Events file (RECUR.DAT) with a leading explanation point. See the final two lines of the example in the pre- ceding section. SCHEDULING MODULE 25 Associating Recurring Events with Projects If you wish to associate a recurring event with a project, place the project name or number between two pound signs in the event description. For example, to a associate a bowling club meeting with the project "FUN", the recurring event might be entered as follows: -FREQUENT OR RECURRING EVENT- MO DA TIME- TIME TYP EMP S M T W T F S Bowling Club Meeting #FUN# 1900 2000 M 1 1 To-Do List MT-Tracker doesn't keep a "to-do" file, per se. Instead, it moves all past-due Deadlines to today's schedule. After all, a to-do list is merely an itemization of things that need to be done (Dead- lines). You want to continue being reminded of these Deadlines until you "check them off". In moving past-due Deadlines to the current date, MT-Tracker keeps reminding you to take care of them. Whenever you look at today's list of events, you'll see EVERYTHING that needs to be done, including things originally scheduled for today, as well as Deadlines from the past that haven't been checked off yet. ALL DEADLINES THAT APPEAR ON TODAY'S SCHEDULE ARE, IN EFFECT, YOUR TO-DO LIST. A single report, therefore, contains both your schedule and the equivalent of a to-do list. NOTE: The only past-due Deadlines not automatically moved forward to the current date are those that may have been set in the "Frequent & Recurring Events" file. The items in that file are generally not of a "to-do" nature. At the beginning of a new day, the program will search for each past-due Deadline, display it for you, and ask whether you want it to be marked for omission. If your answer is negative, that Deadline will be added to today's schedule and will pop up the next day, too. If, however, you want the past-due deadline to be marked for omission, MT-Tracker won't bother you with it in the future (in other words, it'll be dropped from the "to-do" list). Anytime you want to add something immediately to your "to-do" list, simply enter a Deadline for TODAY. That Deadline will pop up tomorrow and the next day, and the next ... until you tell MT-Tracker to mark it for omission. It couldn't be easier. ALARMS If you can afford to devote 35K of memory to a memory-resident SCHEDULING MODULE 26 alarm program, then you might want to try PC-Beep, which accompanies MT-Tracker. PC-Beep automatically picks up alarms entered into MT- Tracker, whether set for today or for any date in the future. Up to 20 alarms may be held in PC-Beep's daily cue. When the time for each alarm is reached, the computer's speaker will sound, "beep-beep", and the event set for that time will appear in window. The window will stay on the screen until you press the ap- propriate key, at which point you will be returned to whatever you were doing before the alarm sounded. Pressing any of keys 1 to 9 will cause the alarm to sound again in 1 to 9 minutes. The A, B, C & D keys will tell PC-Beep to snooze for 15, 30, 45 or 60 minutes. E, F, G, or H are for 2, 3, 4, or 5 hours. If you press the space bar, you'll be asked to enter a new alarm time manually, while the ESC key will cause the alarm not to sound again at all. If PC-Beep is already in memory when you load MT-Tracker at the beginning of each day, up to twenty alarms for that day will be passed automatically from MT-Tracker to PC-Beep. These alarms will corres- pond to the new day's entries that were scheduled days or weeks ago. Any entry scheduled for this new day at a specific time will be picked up for an alarm if that entry's "Event" item begins with `@xxxx' (where xxxx indicates the time (remember, no colons) that you wish the alarm to sound). For example, an event entered as "@700 meeting with boss" will result in an alarm going off at 7AM on whatever date was set for the event. As suggested above, you can schedule alarms many weeks, months, or even years in advance. To do so, simply (M)ake an entry for any date in the future. Be sure to give the entry a beginning Time and, when you fill in the "Event" item, begin it with a "@", immediately followed by the time you want the alarm to go off. For instance, if you are having lunch with Bob at 1:00PM on 12 May 1989, and if you need thirty minutes to get to Dino's restaurant, your Time entry would be "100" (or "100P" or "1300"), and your Event entry might be "@1230 Lunch with Bob at Dino's". When 12 May rolls around, an alarm will automatically be set for you at 12:30PM, reminding you of the 1:00 Appointment. If you need no preparation time at all, begin the Event item with just "@". For instance, if the Event were entered as "@ Lunch with Bob at Dino's", the alarm would be set for 1:00PM (of course, "@100 Lunch with..." would accomplish the same thing). Even Frequent or Recurring Events can have alarms embedded, as shown below: -FREQUENT OR RECURRING EVENT- MO DA TIME- TIME TYP EMP S M T W T F S Julie's Birthday 1 17 E @850 Staff Meeting 0900 1000 E 0 Bowling Club Meeting 1900 2000 E 1 1 Bowling Club Meeting 1900 2000 E 1 3 @1845 Rotary Club Meeting 15 1930 2100 E 2 The second line will cause an alarm to sound every Tuesday at 8:50AM, reminding you of the 9:00 staff meeting. The last line will, SCHEDULING MODULE 27 on the 15th of every month, give employee 2 a 6:45PM Reminder of the 7:30 club meeting. The 24-hour formats used for time entries in this example are merely illustrations; you may use whatever format you like. Loading PC-Beep To use PC-Beep, make sure that it is located in the same direc- tory as MT-Tracker (the ManageX directory). To load the program, go to the MANAGEX directory and enter "pc-beep" at the DOS prompt (make sure that PC-Beep is loaded BEFORE MT-Tracker). When you do so, the program will be placed into memory and return you to the DOS prompt. After that, the only time you'll know it's there is when it sounds an alarm for you. It may not be accessed with a hotkey, but you can be assured that whatever alarms you've already set in MT-Tracker for to- day will be in PC-Beep's cue. And whatever alarms you subsequently set in either MT-Tracker or RAMdesk (described at the end of this doc- umentation) will also be picked up by PC-Beep. If you'd like PC-Beep to be loaded automatically when you load MT-Tracker, you'll need to modify the MT.BAT file. Find the line that begins with "mttrack" and insert a line just above it that says "pc- beep". Then save the file. Thereafter, whenever you enter "MT" at the DOS prompt, PC-Beep will be loaded just before MT-Tracker. PC-Beep takes up about 35K of memory, but if you can afford an- other 7K, you can also place MT-Tracker, itself into memory. Please see the POP-UP MT-Tracker section for details. Remember, PC-Beep is memory-resident, and, as is the case with other such programs, it may sometimes cause your computer to lock up. PC-Beep cannot be loaded after certain other memory-resident software, such as Sidekick. Therefore, you may have to modify your autoexec.bat file, so that it will cause PC-Beep to be executed before some other programs (if you do so, take the PC-Beep instructions out of MT.BAT). Customizing PC-Beep Accompanying MT-Tracker is a file called RAMDESK.CFG. This file contains several lines, each of which may be used to customize PC- Beep. If a line is enclosed within curly brackets, it will have no effect. As shipped, all lines begin with curly brackets, so the file as a whole will not affect PC-Beep until you alter it. To designate the primary colors used by PC-Beep, just find the "FOREGROUND" and "BACKGROUND" lines and add the color codes you desire: 0 Black 1 Blue 2 Green 3 Cyan 4 Red 5 Magenta 6 Brown 7 Light Gray Be sure that the curly brackets are removed if you want these lines to be effective. SCHEDULING MODULE 28 The pitch of the alarm may be set by the "BEEP-FREQ" line. Fill in the desired frequency (in hertz) after the equals sign on this line. Note that some computer's can't reproduce very high or very low pitches. Therefore, you might want to keep within the 100-5000 range. The number of beeps emitted by your computer's speaker whenever an alarm sounds is determined by the "RINGS" line. If you enter "0" after the equals sign, the alarm won't sound at all; "1" to "8" will result in a corresponding number of beeps; if enter "9", the alarm will continue to sound until you press a key. If you'd like the alarm to go off on the hour, just remove the brackets from the "CHIME-HOUR" line. No equals sign is needed. To remind you, instead, of each passing half hour, remove the brackets from the "CHIME-HOUR-HALF" line. If you want PC-Beep to display time in 24-hour fashion, remove the brackets on the "24-HOUR" line. DO NOT CHANGE ANY OF THE RAMDESK.CFG LINES, EXCEPT THOSE DISCUSSED ABOVE. Six-Month View (and calendar calculator to find any day) This option will allow you to see calendars for any six-month period within the next half century. Simply press `S' when the menu is on the screen. The current month will appear at the top-center of the screen. The preceding month will appear to its left, and the next four succeeding months will appear to its right and below it. If you wish another month to be centered at the top, enter at the prompt any date during that month. This option is particularly useful if you would like to see the day of the week on which a particular date falls or if you need to know the number of days between two dates. Assume, for instance, that you want to know the day of the week for the date 55 days from now. Press `C' to select this option. Then enter today's date, followed by "+55" (eg: "12 DEC 88 +55"). The desired date will be displayed high- lighted in the small calendar at the top center of the screen. To find the number of days between two dates, enter the first date, then a dash, then the second date (eg: "1 Jan 89 - 12 Mar 89"). To return to the main calendar menu, press either ESC or RET. If you press ESC, you will return to the exact point at which you left the main calendar menu. If, however, you press RET, the date high- lighted on the main calendar menu will be the last date you used while you were in this Six-Month view routine. Another possible use of this routine, therefore, is to quickly skip several years forward or bac- kward and press the RET key. Whatever date you last use in this rou- tine will be the date you will find when you return to the main calen- SCHEDULING MODULE 29 dar menu (unless you use the ESC key). Weekly View Press "W" at the main menu to reach this module. The week that appears will be the one containing the date that was highlighted at the monthly calendar view (or the one whose daily detail you had been viewing). You may change the week being shown by pressing the up or down arrows, and you may move among individual days by pressing the left and right arrows. Unless you press the ESC key, whatever date is highlighted when you leave this module will be the one that is high- lighted when you return to the monthly calendar view (or the one to whose daily detail you return at the daily view). There are actually two weekly views, between which you may toggle by pressing the TAB key. The first view vertically breaks down each day into half hour segments for the employee whose monthly or daily calendar you had just been viewing. If there's time blocked off dur- ing any given half-hour, the first ten characters in the event's des- cription will appear in that half-hour's block under the appropriate date. The second view gives you a rough idea what time is scheduled for each employee in the firm for each day of the week. This view might be useful for quickly seeing how busy your firm's employees are during a given week or for finding a date on which certain employees are all free for an hour or two. To change the displayed employee, use the F3 key, just as you would at the monthly or daily view. If you wish to return to today's date, use the HOME key. Omitting Events and Plans This mode allows you to omit scheduled/logged events or plans that are no longer of any use. After pressing ^O (at the monthly-view calendar, NOT the daily-view schedule), you'll be asked whether you want to omit (S)cheduled/logged events or (P)lans. Simply press either "S", or "P", depending upon which you wish to eliminate. Logged events are discussed in the LOG MODULE section. If you press "S", you'll receive more instruction on the screen before you proceed. In order to keep the main MT-Tracker data file from growing too large, you should periodically (^O)mit old entries. Each month, for instance, you should select the (^O)mit option. You will be asked the date before which you wish all entries to be omitted. All events (other than Deadlines not yet met) falling before that date will be omitted, WHETHER OR NOT they have been tagged for omission. All other events tagged for omission and falling after that date will also be omitted at this time. SCHEDULING MODULE 30 NOTE: An individual event may be merely TAGGED for omission by pressing ^O while examining it in the (E)dit routine, or while at the daily-view schedule (not the monthly calendar). Deadlines are a special matter. Because you may occasionally miss Deadlines whose subjects you do not want to forget, MT-Tracker will continue to hold all Deadlines not specifically tagged for omis- sion in the (E)dit routine. Hence, Deadlines will always be preserved (to continue to remind you to do things) until you make a conscious effort to omit them. You'll have to be diligent in tagging Deadlines that have been met; otherwise, they'll just keep piling up. If you choose to omit Plans, instead of Events, you'll be shown a list of all the Plans available on your machine. Enter the name of the one that you want to omit, or press RET to eliminate a general Template, instead. Hunting for Entries and Preparing Reports If you press "H" while in the menu, you will be taken to a Hunt Gates display. Here, you are to select the gates you want to apply to the search through the calendar file. The Hunt Gates allow passage of only those records which contain information consistent with the Hunt Gate parameters you select. For example, if you wanted to find all the events that involve a certain department/employee, you would place the appropriate ID at gate C. To find all events between certain dates, place the beginning date at gate D and the ending date at gate E. You may search for specific events by filling in gate B, while filling in gate A will result in a report listing only those events that apply to a specific client. The more gates you fill in, the more discriminating the hunt through the records will be. If you leave the gates in their default conditions, ALL of today's events involving ALL departments/employees and ALL clients will be reported. Hunts for clients and events may be made on the basis of partial entries. For instance, if you wished to find all events involving clients "Smith-1" and "Smith-2", you would need to enter only "Smith" at item A. All events tied to clients whose client numbers contain the character string, "Smith", would be shown to you. Included among the events reported might also those involving the clients "J. Smith" and "Blacksmith". Following the above example, you could also have chosen to search for clients containing "ith". If you had done so, in addition to all the clients mentioned above, you might also have come across "Ithica" and "Lithe Forms". SCHEDULING MODULE 31 NOTE: Suppose you elect to enter "SMITH" at the Client Number gate. If there were more than one client number containing that sequence of characters, they would all pass through that gate. Hence, SMITH, SMITH-J, BLACKSMITHJ, etc., would all be selected by MT-Tracker for the hunt report. If, however, you wanted only SMITH to pass through the gates (to the exclusion of SMITH-J and BLACKSMITH), you would have to tell MT-Tracker. You would do this by ending your "SMITH" entry with ^E (for "Exact match"), instead of the usual RET. If the Client Num- ber gate is set up for an exact match, a note will appear to the right, saying, "* exact *". If no such note is displayed, then ALL clients whose client numbers contain matches for the entered character sequence will pass through the gate. If the "* exact *" note is shown, then only the client number that exactly matches that character sequence will be reported. If you aren't sure which of the fields represented by Gates A through D (or H through Q) contains the character string for which you're looking, fill in ANY of those gates and end your entry with Ctrl-K (for "Keyword"), instead of the usual RET. This "keyword" function causes MT-Tracker to look at ALL of each record's text fields for the keyword you've entered. For instance, keyword "MIT" entered at Gate A, B, C, or D would result in MT-Tracker's finding a client with the client number "SMITJO", as well as a client with an address in "Mittlesboro, AK". To turn off the keyword search function, just go back to the gate into which you entered the keyword and press Ctrl- K again. Remember, any gate that is left blank will be considered to be open, allowing ANY record to pass through. In other words, each record will be deemed to meet that gate's criterion, and, assuming that all the other gates' criteria are also met, will be displayed during the hunt. To you don't want Deadlines reported to you, make gate F "NO" by pressing the F key. If you press the F key again, you'll change it back to "YES". The same principle applies to Appointments, Reminders, etc. (gates F to L). To change the report destination from screen to printer, and back, press P. To send the report to an alternate printer port, press the number corresponding to that port. To send a report to a disk file, press ALT-F. The METHOD by which MT-Tracker conducts its hunt depends upon how you have set Gate M, which toggles among "Quick Hunt" and "Chronolog- ical Hunt". Normally, you will want a chronological hunt, so that the reported events appear in the correct order. However, if you're look- ing through a large range of dates, you may find that a chronological hunt is too slow for you. If you want to speed things up, press the M SCHEDULING MODULE 32 key to select a Quick Hunt. If Quick Hunt is in operation, MT-Tracker will NOT put things into chronological order, but it will find what you're looking for quickly. This feature is particularly valuable if you're looking for a Deadline sometime in the distant future, but you aren't sure of even the year that it was scheduled. To do so, simply select a Quick Hunt, and be sure to fill in the other Hunt Gates op- tions as well as you can (to narrow the search, keeping too many un- wanted events from appearing on the screen). But remember that Fre- quent or Recurring dates will not appear during Quick Hunts. The TYPE OF HUNT produced depends upon how you have set Gate N, which toggles among several choices. A "Continuous Hunt" quickly goes through the data base and reports what it finds. It may go so fast that you can't follow it (unless you press the space bar to pause). An alternative is the "Day-By-Day" hunt which steps through the data base on day at a time, automatically pausing after each day's activi- ties are reported. Pressing the down arrow will cause the next day's events to print. The up arrow causes the prior day's activities to print again. The "Day-By-Day and Department-By-Department" hunt is like the "Day-By-Day" hunt, except that it breaks the hunt down even further, reporting a single department's events for a day, and then pausing until you press the up or down arrow. A "Priority Order" re- port will place each day's events into priority order, lowest number first (the priority number will be listed on a Standard report at the left margin, right after the event type). A final report, "Event-by- Event", and it will be selected automatically by MT-Tracker if you have chosen either a "Full-Screen Edit" (discussed below) report or a "Quick Hunt". The TYPE OF REPORT produced depends upon how you have set Gate O, which allows you to toggle among "Standard", "Full Screen Edit", "Time Scheduled", "Event Chart", "Printed Daily Schedule", "Printed Calen- dar", and "Examine Clients for which Events are Scheduled", each of which is described below. Once the Hunting process begins, you will be shown the data for each record conforming to the Hunt gates you have established. If you have chosen to display a "Standard" report (gate O), data for each conforming record will appear on a single line. The program will then automatically search for the next conforming record, display it, then look for the next one, and so on. You may make the program pause in its searching by pressing ^S or the space bar. Pressing ESC will abort the hunting process. If you have chosen the "Full-Screen" report (gate O), the data shown for each conforming record will appear on a screen identi- cal to that used in the Edit mode. Only one conforming file's data will be displayed on the screen at one time. Unlike the Standard re- port routine, this one will not search for the next conforming file unless you press F6 to indicate that you wish to move on. If you want to abort the Hunt routine, press ESC instead of F6. SCHEDULING MODULE 33 If, while in the Hunt mode's Full-Screen summaries display, you see some information that should be changed, you may edit it as if you were in the Edit mode. There will be a few limitations on your ability to edit directly from the Hunt mode, but don't worry about them; MT-Tracker will call your attention to them only if you attempt to violate them. If you have chosen a "Time Scheduled" report (gate O), each line will contain a date and a series of D's, A's, etc. Each letter cor- responds to a 15-minute block of time during which an event is sched- uled. Here's an example: Date 7...8...9...10..11..12..1...2...3...4...5...6...7...8 FRI 3 FEB 89 ....AA....AA........EEEE..AAAAAAA.................... TUE 7 FEB 89 ........AAAA........AAAA..........EE................. WED 8 FEB 89 ..................................................... THU 9 FEB 89 ....................AAAA............................. Here, you can see that there are things scheduled on 3 February in the 8:00-8:14 and the 8:15-8:29 blocks. 9:30 to 9:59 also has something scheduled, as do 12:00-12:59 and 1:30-3:14. Note that the dates be- tween 4-6 Feb are not listed. Skipping dates occurs when those dates contain no scheduled events that meet the parameters specified by Hunt Gates A-E (filled in before the hunt began). Note also that, though 8 February is listed, nothing appears on its line. A date's line will be blank if there is SOMETHING scheduled for that date, but nothing that requires blocking off time. A Deadline that has no beginning or end- ing times is an example of an event that would not cause a D to appear on the line. NOTE: MT-Tracker assumes that an event with no ending time is not intended to be "blocked off". Hence, you might have sev- eral Deadlines scheduled for 11:00 (no ending time), without MT-Tracker's recognizing that those events should be blocked off. Only if an ending time is different from a beginning time will MT-Tracker block off time for that event, and only in that case will the "Time Scheduled" report display an A, D, etc., for that event. The last thing printed on a "Time Scheduled" report will be a department-by-department breakdown of the total hours hours scheduled. The only time blocks included in this breakdown will be those that were included in the preceding report. If you have set your Hunt Gates to be extremely selective, the breakdown totals will probably be small. This breakdown may be useful to find how many hours you've scheduled someone to work over a given span of days or weeks. If you consistently schedule work (and ONLY work) as an Exercise and you set the Hunt Gates to include only Exercises, the breakdown summary will tell you how many hours have been scheduled for only Exercises (which, in this case, substitute for "work scheduled"). SCHEDULING MODULE 34 Event Chart This report consists of a chart showing each event on a separate line. Each line contains a brief event description, followed by a graphic representation (in the form of a dotted line) of the period during which that event is to take place. The events included on the chart depend upon how you've set up your Hunt Gates. Printed calendars (weekly, monthly, yearly) Each of these reports consists of a calendar printed on a sheet of paper. In order for the calendars to be properly prepared, you must make sure that lines 1 to 6 of the PRNTINIT file have been cus- tomized for your specific printer. If PRNTINIT hasn't been custom- ized, these "Printed Calendar" options may not even appear. To edit the PRNTINIT file, use EDITX (press ^E at the Main Menu). That file, itself, contains instructions on how it is to be filled in. The calendar prepared with this option will look like a standard paper calendar. The minimum period for which a weekly or monthly cal- endar will be printed is one week. Each day's block will be filled in with whatever events are stored in the data base for that date. Just before a monthly calendar begins printing, you'll have to specify how wide and how long each day's block is to be. It's recom- mended that you stick with the defaults that appear, but you may change them if you wish. In order to conserve space for as many events as possible on a monthly calendar, you may wish to limit the space devoted to each event to one line. To do so, you'll be able to tell the program to truncate each event at the end of one line. If you wish to print the entire event, even if it takes more than one line to do so, you'll need to specify either word wrap or character wrap. Character wrap will split a word falling at the end of a line, while word wrap will move that entire word down to the next line (and, in the process, waste a little space). -- Other Reports There are also several "Combo Reports", which are split into two halves (or into thirds, if you're using the landscape mode of a prin- ter comptatible with the Hewlett Packard Laser Jet -- see the SETTING UP section). Give them a try to see if they will fit your needs. Also available is a "Blank Time/Expense Log", which is intended to be filled in by the user as he does work or spends money during the day. Examine Clients for which Events are Scheduled The "Examine Clients for which Events are Scheduled" report will display events on the screen and then jump to the CLIENT module to SCHEDULING MODULE 35 show you the record of each client affected by one or more of the dis- played events. This report, very handy when you start each day, al- lows you to see what's scheduled and then take you to each client's record. There, you may dial the client, make notes, schedule more events, and edit his record. When you're done with that client, you may press F6 to be taken automatically to the next one. Pressing ESC will abort the process of stepping through each affected client's re- cord. Custom Reports There is another report option not discussed above: the Custom Report. If you select gate O two or three times, you'll cycle through the Standard, Full-Screen, etc., report choices. If, however, you want a Custom Report, press ^O, instead of just "O". Pressing ^O tells MT-Tracker that you want a Custom Report prepared. The screen will clear, you'll be shown a list of all the Custom Reports presently on the disk, and you'll be expected to enter the name of the partic- ular Custom Report you want to prepare. If you don't want a Custom Report, just press RET to return to the Hunt Gate screen. Custom Reports are useful for such things as preparing training schedules and work plans. They are available on the in MT-Tracker's "Schedule" mode, but not its "Log" mode. When you just start using the program, the only Custom Report present will be one called "SAMPLE1". Though this report's primary purpose is to act as an example for others you may develop, it may also actually be used. To set up other report templates, use EDITX (by pressing ^E at the menu). In EDITX, you'll be afforded the opportunity to create as many Custom Report templates as you like. Each time you create a new one, the contents of SAMPLE will be initially copied into it, so that you'll have some guidance. You'll note that a report template con- sists of many lines, some beginning with "{", and some not. Those that begin with "{" are comment lines and MAY NOT BE ALTERED. If you change a comment line in any way, the resulting report may not print as you expect. The only lines you may alter are the data lines, those that do NOT begin with "{". A data line consists of spaces, characters, words, and/or tilde codes. Pressing the F1 key will give you a listing of what each av- ailable tilde code means. There's one for an event's beginning time, one for it's ending time, one for the event description, and so, on. There are also a few that represent the hunt gates you've selected. For instance, wherever ~s appears in the report template, MT-Tracker will substitute the beginning date of the hunt in the actual printed report. ~u will cause MT-Tracker to print the department ALL of whose events are being sought in the hunt, while ~o will tell the program to print an INDIVIDUAL event's responsible department. SCHEDULING MODULE 36 Let's now look at your data line options. First, you should note that, SAMPLE is only an example. You need not stick blindly to it's format (except for those lines that begin with "{"). You may even erase entire data lines if you don't want their contents to appear on the report. The data line for PRINTER INITIALIZATION allows you to enter an escape character sequence for your printer. This might be useful to move the margin over, to alter the printer's type style, or to turn on graphics. If you want to use this line, get the appropriate code from your printer's manual and enter it as a CHARACTER sequence, not as a numerical code. If, for instance, the code you want to enter is "ESCAPE o", you should enter the escape CHARACTER, followed immediate- ly by an "o". Don't type in "ESC o". To enter any control character (ESCAPE is a control character), press ^P (that's control-P) and then press the control character you want to enter. For instance, to enter the escape character, you actually press ^P, and then press the escape key. After you do so, a funny character (such as a left arrow) will appear on the screen. Just pressing the escape key won't work. Don't despair -- this sounds more complicated than it is. NOTE: If you utilize the PRINTER INITIALIZATION data line, your printer will maintain that setting until it's reset or turned off. If you want MT-Tracker to reset your printer to some state other than that established with the PRINTER IN- ITIALIZATION line, you should enter the reset escape charac- ter sequence into line 1 of the PRNTINIT file (supplied with MT-Tracker). The data line for LENGTH OF PAGE allows you to print your reports on paper of a length different from the standard 66 lines. For ins- tance, you might want to print a report with the paper turned side- ways. Just measure in inches of the paper you'll use and multiply by 6. 8-inch paper, for instance, would be entered as 48. 11-inch paper is 66 lines long. WIDTH OF PAGE tells MT-Tracker how many characters it can expect to print on each line. The default is a page width of 80 characters, but you may modify this if you're using an appropriate printer. If the PRINTER INITIALIZATION you entered, for instance, turns on your printer's 132-column capability, you should enter 132 here. NOTE: EDITX cannot handle lines wider than 79 columns. If you want to create a report with more columns than that, you'll have to "double up". Use two lines in EDITX for each single report line that will be more than 79 columns wide. In order to tell MT-Tracker that these two lines are to be com- bined, make the last character on the first line a "+". For example, two lines entered as SCHEDULING MODULE 37 Mary had a little lamb, it+ s fleece was white as snow. would be printed by MT-Tracker as a single line, "Mary had a little lamb, its fleece was white as snow." Note that MT- Tracker allows combining only two lines at a time into one. Three consecutive lines can't be combined into one, but three consecutive two-line sets can can be combined into three lines. The HEADER data lines are used to prepare the beginning of the report. You might, for instance, want to include your name and the title of the report in the HEADER. Up to 10 lines may be included. The 2D HEADER data lines (up to 5) are those that will print at the top of each page following the first (which contains the HEADER). The FORMAT data line tells MT-Tracker what specific schedule in- formation you want printed on each line, as well as the spacing bet- ween each item. Note that each item requires a minimum amount of space. The spacing information is obtained by pressing F1 if you're using EDITX. If you're using your word processor, you'll want to re- fer to the tilde code table below: Event items: ~j=event type (1) (eg: appnt,deadline) ~k=beginning date (9) ~l=ending date (9) ~m=beginning time (5) ~n=ending time (5) ~o=department/employee (3) ~p=client number (12) ~q=event description (37) ~r=remarks (56) ~R=carriage return Hunt items: ~s=beginning date of hunt (9) ~t=ending date of hunt (9) ~u=specific department being hunted (3) ~v=specific date being hunted (9) ~w=day of week for hunted date (3) The FOOTER data lines (up to 5) consist of any footnotes, etc., that you want to be printed at the bottom of the report. The DATE CHANGE data lines (up to 3) are, of course, optional. If present, they will be printed whenever MT-Tracker reaches a point in the report when a date change occurs. The DEPARTMENT CHANGE data lines (up to 2), if present, will be printed whenever the department being hunted changes. If you have anything filled in here, the report will be organized by both date and department. As MT-Tracker comes to each date, it will break it's hunt into a sub-hunt for the first department's events, then a sub-hunt for the second department's, and so on. If you're unable to design a template for the exact report you SCHEDULING MODULE 38 want, do as well as you can with either EDITX or your word processor. Just before you begin a hunt using this template, press ALT-F (to tog- gle the report to a disk file, instead of to the printer). After the report has been written to disk (into a file called TEXT.MX), exit MT-Tracker. Edit TEXT.MX with your word processor, so that the report looks EXACTLY as you want it to. Then print it with your word proces- sor. Moving several events to a new date If you want to move several events currently scheduled for a par- ticular date to a new date, you should press "R" at the MT-Tracker Schedule menu to enter the "re-scheduling". When you do, you'll be asked to select the date FROM which you wish to move the events and the date TO which they're to be moved. Then, a listing of all the events currently scheduled for the "FROM" date will be shown, and you'll be expected to identify the first event to be moved. Simply use the cursor control keys to move to that event and press RET. The selected event will be quickly rescheduled for the "TO" date. Then, you'll be expected to identify the next event to be moved. Repeat this identification process until you've moved all the desired events. To abort the process and return to the MT-Tracker Schedule menu, press ESC. Finding Free Time If you need to schedule something that requires a certain amount of time, but you don't know when your busy schedule will allow it, press "F" at the Menu. You'll be asked to specify how many contiguous hours (eg: 2, .5, 5.25) you need to accomplish the task. Then, tell MT-Tracker who's schedule you want it to search, and give the program the earliest and latest dates you want to consider for the accomplish- ment of the task. MT-Tracker will then search through those dates for the amount of free time you've specified. When it finds it, you'll be shown that day's schedule and told which time frame meets your needs. If that time block isn't satisfactory, press RETurn to find the next available period. When you find a period that you want to use, press the "M" key to Make a new event record. If you wish to find the time that several people/facilities are free at once, specify them all when asked to enter an employee/depart- ment. Be sure to separate each by a comma and/or a space (eg: "ABC,DEF, GHI JKL" will tell MT-Tracker that you wish to the time blocks that ABC, DEF, GHI, and JKL are all available at once. By default, this routine will search each day between 8:30 AM and 5:30 PM. If your working hours are significantly different, you can customize the program to use them instead. Find the line in the MT.BAT file that says, "mttrack", and add a 15th parameter (if you don't use the first 14, some of which are discussed in the SETTING UP SCHEDULING MODULE 39 section, you may make each an "X"). The fifteenth parameter must be exactly 9 characters long and must contain the time you begin work, a dash, and the time you end work each day. Times must be in military notation (eg: 7:00AM to 6:00PM should be entered as "0700-1800"); By the way, the Weekly Views offer another, more visual means of quickly finding free time. See the "Weekly View" section. Stopwatch If you would like to user MT-Tracker's stopwatch to time an activity, press the "\" key at the Main Menu. When you do, the stopwatch will begin displaying elapsed time near the top right corner of the screen. Pressing "\" again will cause the timer to stop. At this point, you may press: 1) ESC to cease timing the activity; 2) "C" to cause the timing to continue as if it had never been interrupted; or 3) "S" to temporarily suspend the timing until you press the "\" key again to resume the timing. When you invoke it by pressing "\", the stopwatch will continue timing, no matter what you do within MT-Tracker, until you press "\" a second time at the Main Menu. In fact, if you have MT-Tracker loaded as a memory-resident program, the timing will continue while you're working within other software. SCHEDULING MODULE 40 SECTION 5 LOG MODULE The preceding instructions have basically concerned using MT- Tracker as a scheduler. But it's also capable logging things that have actually taken place, as opposed to things that have been merely scheduled. It can be used to log services performed, income, and ex- penses. You may move to MT-Tracker's LOG mode by pressing ^L when the menu is displayed. If you're in the LOG mode, you won't be dealing with Appointments, Deadlines, etc. Instead, your choices will be Ser- vices, Disbursements, and Receipts. Most everything else, though, is the same in both the SCHEDULE and LOG modes. A Service is work performed, a Disbursement is an expense (money you've spent), and a Receipt is income you've received. If you wish to keep accurate records of the hours worked for each of your clients, you should be conscientious in entering a Service whenever you spend time on one of them. The same goes for tracking income and expenses attributable to each client. When you enter a Receipt or Disbursement, one of the items you can fill in is the category into which the income or expense falls. If you enter a category whenever you input a Receipt or Disbursement, MT-Tracker will be able to produce an accurate report, by category, of all your income and expenses over any period of time. MT-Tracker keeps a list of your income-expense categories in a file called INCEXPNS.DAT, which can be accessed with EDITX by pressing ^E at the MT-Tracker menu. This file is provided in sample form with the MT-Tracker program, and you'll have to modify it to suit your own needs. The file may hold up to 200 lines, each line containing a 1-to 3-digit category number and a 1-to 25-character category description. As you modify the file, make sure that the numbers and descriptions you enter line up exactly with the headings at the top of the screen. Note that there may be no blank lines in the file, and every that line must contain both an number and a description. Failure to follow these simple rules will have undesirable effects. By the way, this same file can hold abbreviations and descriptions for things that you may wish to abbreviate in other modules. When you're entering a Receipt or Disbursement, the program won't let you enter a category number that is not described in the INCEXPNS.DAT file. If you can't remember the number of the category you need to fill in, just place the cursor beneath the "Cat" item and press the F1 key. You'll be shown the contents of the INCEXPNS.DAT file. Remember, F1 gives you help anywhere within the MT-Tracker pro- gram. When you want a report on the total disbursements, receipts, and hours worked for any or all of your clients, just conduct a Hunt. At the end of each chronological "Standard" report, these totals will LOG MODULE 41 appear. If, for instance, you want a year-to-date listing, by cate- gory, of all your income and expenses, set Hunt gates E and F appro- priately and begin the hunt (preceded by ALT-P or ALT-F if you want the report to go to the printer or to a disk file). MT-Tracker is capable of holding 12000 disbursement, receipt, and service entries (in addition to the 12000 appointments, deadlines, etc., that it can hold). When this capacity is reached, you'll have to go through the ^Omit routine to eliminate old entries (as well as current ones that you may have tagged for omission), thus freeing space for new entries. Before MT-Tracker eliminates entries, it will offer you the chance to obtain a printout of the old items that will be omitted. You are urged to take this opportunity to produce a per- manent record. Using the Service Stopwatch If, while entering a new service, you want MT-Tracker to automat- ically keep time for you, press the "\" key to begin the Service Stop- watch. When the stopwatch is first invoked, the Begin Time will auto- matically be entered for you. Pressing "\" again will stop the timer and cause the End Time to be entered for you. If you wish, you may leave the Service record before pressing "\" a second time. To do so, just press F6. When you want to complete the record, simply press "M" to make a new record and then "S" (for "Service"). Instead of creating a new Service record, MT-Tracker will cause the incomplete one to reappear. When it does, press "\" to cause the End Time to be filled in. Then, make any other changes you wish, and press F6 to save it in its completed form. Note that this feature is useful only if MT-Tracker has been loaded as a memory- resident program. Zipping completed events to the LOG mode Many people like to use their calendars not only as schedulers of future events, but also as permanent records of things that they've done. When these people want to know what they did on a particular past date, they might go to their calendar and look up the events they had scheduled for that date. These will tend to assume that what they had scheduled for that date is what they actually did. In many cases, though, that's an erroneous assumption. That's one reason that MT- Tracker maintains separate data bases for its SCHEDULE and LOG. However, if you're one who generally does what he is scheduled to do, you may find it useful to quickly zip scheduled items to MT-Trac- ker's LOG. That will save you the time that would otherwise be spent entering a LOG item that is essentially identical to a SCHEDULE item. If you press "Z" at the Schedule menu, the screen will clear, and LOG MODULE 42 you'll be given the opportunity to select the date whose scheduled events you wish to zip to the LOG. The only dates that MT-Tracker will accept are: today and earlier. Then you will review each item scheduled for the selected date and tell MT-Tracker whether it has been completed. If you tell MT- Tracker that the item has been completed, the item will be copied to the LOG (and then tagged for omission here in the SCHEDULE). Items previously tagged for omission will not be displayed for you during this procedure. Nor will either "Frequent and Recurring Events" or multi-day events. LOG MODULE 43 SECTION 6 CLIENT MODULE This module is designed to hold data on each of your clients, projects, jobs, etc. Though these instructions will refer to it as the Client module, you may rename it (see the UTILITIES section of these instructions). You may access the Client Module by pressing ^C (Ctrl-C) at any other module's menu. User-Customizable Fields The first time you visit the module, you'll have the opportunity to customize its record layout to meet your specific needs. Don't worry about making a mistake, since you may also subsequently re-cus- tomize the record layout by selecting the ^Utilities choice at the Client menu. When you're in the customizing mode, you'll notice that there are nine user-customizable fields, in addition to the expected ones for name, address, phone, etc. Three of the nine are short fields that can contain data up to ten characters long. The remaining ones are long fields that may be up to forty-seven characters long. You'll be expected to give each field a name (eg: "SS Number", "Spouse", or "Salary"). If you wish to "get rid" of a field, just give it no name whatsoever. The fields also need to be categorized as Alphamumeric-type, Date-type, Number-type, or Money-type: Alphanumeric fields may contain ANY characters. Examples of alphamumeric sequences are "123", "Sue Mitchel", "(203) 980-9876", and "Apt W-2, 75 South Road". If the data to go into a field might contain either letters OR numbers, you should designate the field as alphanumeric. Date fields may contain only dates (eg: "21 JUN 91"). You should classify a field as date-type if you contemplate that it will be used for nothing but dates. If it's classified as such, you'll find that MT-Tracker will check your subsequent entries into that field to make sure that you enter correct dates. And whenever you perform hunts through the Client database, MT-Trac- ker will allow you to specify a range of dates by which this this field will be analyzed. Number fields may contain only integers (eg: 1, 2, 2300). If, after having set up a field as a number CLIENT MODULE 44 field, you subsequently enter letters into it, MT-Trac- ker will give the field a value of zero. If you enter a decimal number (eg: 2.99, 55.008), MT-Tracker will con- vert it to an integer. And whenever you perform hunts through the Client database, MT-Tracker will allow you to specify a range of numbers by which this this field will be analyzed. Money fields may contain only monetary values (eg: 1.00, 2.35, 23.48). If, after having set up a field as a money field, you subsequently enter anything but num- bers into it, MT-Tracker will give the field a value of 0.00. And whenever you perform hunts through the Client database, MT-Tracker will allow you to specify a range of values by which this this field will be analyzed. You may also change wording in the headings on some of the non- customizable fields, but that's done with EDITX.EXE (^E at the Menu). When at the EDITX menu, press "O" and then enter "HEADINGS.LBF" as the name of the file to edit. When that file appears, you'll notice sev- eral lines that begin with a curly bracket. To make that line "ac- tive", just remove the curley bracket. Whatever is to the right of that line's equals sign will be substituted for the wording at the beginning of the line. You may change the wording to the RIGHT of the equals sign on each line, but DO NOT CHANGE ANYTHING to the left (other than deleting/reinstating the curly bracket). The maximum num- ber of characters allowed is contained within each line's parentheses. Making/Editing/Viewing a Client Record When you press "M" to make a new client record, you'll be asked to assign it a "Client Number" by which MT-Tracker can index the record. Though a "Client Number" may consist of any alphanumeric se- quence up to twelve characters long, it's recommended that you keep it as short as possible. You should also use a numbering scheme that is so predictable that you will know what any client's number is without having to look it up somewhere. You might consider using the first several letters of the client's last name (if there is one) and the first several letters of his first name. For instance, John Smith's client number might be "SMIT JOHN", "SMIJO", or "SMITJO1". Prudential Insurance Company might be "PRUD INSU", "PRUIN", or "PRUDIN1". What- ever scheme you use, think it through first, and then stick to it! When you press "E" to edit a client record, you'll be asked for the Client Number. If you've been assigning Client Numbers in a sim- ple, consistent manner, you'll be able to type it in almost without thinking. If you can't remember it, however, you may press the F1 key to see a list of all the clients and their numbers. And if you precede the F1 key with the first initial of the Client Name, you'll be shown an abbreviated list of only those clients whose names begin with that letter. CLIENT MODULE 45 Pressing "V" will allow you to view, but not edit, the client record. This function is useful when you're on a network, in which case only one workstation at a time can be using the Edit function. As many workstations as desired, however, can use the View function. Filling in a Client's Record Most of the items on the client record screen are self-explana- tory. The few that aren't will be discussed below. At the "RespPerson" field, you should enter the initials of the person responsible for dealing with this client. MT-Tracker will compare your entry against the list of employee numbers and initials that are maintained in the Customization routine of Schedule module's ^Utilities. The "Priority" should be a single character (eg: 1, 2, A, B) that will let you know how important this client is to you. "Cat" is the category into which this client falls (eg: debtor, manufacturer, retail outlet). You may enter only a one- to three- letter abbreviation here. If you press the F1 key, you'll be shown the contents of the M-LBCAT.DAT file which is supplied with sample categories. You may, of course, customize this file to suit your own needs. To do so, use EDITX.EXE (^E from any menu). What you fill in for the "Client Name" may or may not be differ- ent from what you fill in for the "Contact Name". If the client is a company, the Client Name would probably be the firm's name, while the Contact Name would be the name of the individual person with whom you deal. If the client is a person, the Client and Contact names would probably be identical. The "Title" is the position of your contact (eg: President, Analyst, Mr.). The "Assistant" is simply the name of the contact's secretary or other helper, if appropriate. The "Salutation" is manner in which you wish to address the client in letters (eg: "Dear Mr. Smith:"). The "Phone" field has enough space for two phone numbers. If you enter a second phone number, place it between curly brackets, "{" and "}". Doing so will prevent the auto-dial function from trying to dial both numbers. The "MISCELLANEOUS" section consists of up to six lines of free- form text. It's contemplated that you'll use this section for per- manent notes of a general nature or for information that doesn't CLIENT MODULE 46 conveniently fit into any of the pre-defined fields. Just type in whatever you wish. If, when you're finished making an entry, you end up with lines of greatly varying lengths, you may press ^B (Ctrl-B) to re-format (combine everything into as few lines as possible). Using Abbreviations To enter an abbreviation, just type it in and then hit the backslash ("\") key. If you forget an abbreviation, you may hit the F2 key to see a listing of those that are available. MT-Tracker keeps your list of your abbreviations in a file called INCEXPNS.DAT. This file, which also contains income and expense cate- gories, is provided in sample form with the MT-Tracker program, and you can modify it with EDITX.EXE (^E at the menu) to suit your own needs. The file may hold up to 200 lines, each line containing a 1-to 3-character abbreviation and a 1-to 25-character description. As you modify the file, make sure that the abbreviations and descriptions you enter line up exactly with the headings at the top of the screen. Note that there may be no blank lines in the file, and every line must contain both an abbreviation and a description. Failure to follow these simple rules will have undesirable effects. Dialing When you press ^D (Ctrl-D) to auto-dial a client, MT-Tracker will pick the phone number from the "Phone" field. The characters sent to the modem will be everything in the "Phone" field, up to the point where the field contains a "{", which tells the program not to read further. After your party has answered, you may want to remove the modem from the line if it creates any annoying background noise. To cause the modem to hang up, just press ^H (Ctrl-H). If MT-Tracker doesn't dial, your modem may not be Hayes-compat- ible. If it IS Hayes-compatible, make sure that all its switches are set just as they were when the modem left the factory. If they've been changed, you may have difficulty. Also make sure that MT-Tracker knows the communications port to which your modem is connected, as discussed below. By default, MT-Tracker assumes that your modem is attached to the COM1 port, that you have a touch tone phone, and that you need no dialing prefix. But you can alter these assumptions by using the ^Utilities at the Client menu (refer to the UTILITIES section below). Hunting for Data and Preparing Reports CLIENT MODULE 47 If you press "H" while at the Client menu, you will be taken to a Hunt Gates, which are similar to those you'll find in the Schedule and Log modules. A hunt for any item whose entry is alphanumeric (as opposed to strictly numeric) may be made on the basis of partial entries. For instance, if you wished to find all clients whose names were either "Smith Enterprises" or "Smith, Inc", you would need to enter only "Smith" at item B. All clients whose names contained "Smith" would be shown to you. Included among these clients might be "Jones and Smith, Ltd" and "The John Smith Company". Following the above example, you could also have chosen to search for Client Names containing "ith". If you had done so, in addition to all the clients mentioned above, you might also have come across "Ithica Fabricators" and "Lithe Forms, Inc". NOTE: Suppose you elect to enter "SMITJO" at the Client Number gate. If there were several clients whose numbers contained that sequence of characters, they would all pass through that gate. Hence, SMITJO, SMITJO1, SMITJO2, etc., would all be selected by MT-Tracker for the hunt report. If, however, you wanted only SMITJO to pass through the gates (to the exclusion of SMITJO1 and SMITJO2), you would have to tell MT-Tracker. You would do this by ending your "SMITJO" entry by pressing ^E (Ctrl-E), instead of the usual RET. If a Client Number gate is set up for an exact match, a note will appear to the right, saying, "* exact *". If no such note is displayed, then ALL clients whose numbers contain matches for the entered char- acter sequence will pass through the gate. If the "* exact *" note is shown, then only the client whose number exactly matches that character sequence will be reported. Any gate that is left blank will be considered to be open, allow- ing ANY record to pass through. In other words, each record will be deemed to meet that gate's criterion, and, assuming that all the other gates' criteria are also met, will be displayed during the hunt. A "0" entered for some of the numeric items will accomplish the same purpose that a blank entry does for alphanumeric items. Before you begin the hunt, make sure that you select the type of report you want at gate R. Each will be discussed below. If you have chosen a "Standard" report, data for each conforming record will appear on one line. The program will then automatically search for the next conforming record, display it, then look for the next one, and so on. You may make the program pause in its searching by pressing the space bar. The "Full-Screen Edit" report isn't really a report; rather, it CLIENT MODULE 48 allows you to view each conforming record's full summary screen. As each client's record is displayed you can actually edit it as if you were in the (E)dit mode, instead of this (H)unt mode. Of course, only one client's data will be displayed on the screen at a time. Unlike the Standard summaries routine, this one will not search for the next conforming file unless you press F6 to indicate that you wish to move on. If you want to abort the Hunt routine, press ESC instead of F6. The "Client Addresses & Phones" report will give you a listing of each client, his address, phone, and miscellaneous information. Labels and Envelopes This "report" allows you to make mailing labels with clients' names and addresses on them. The labels used must be of the 1" X 4" (or 15/16" X 3-1/2") variety and should be pin-fed into your printer on a continuous sheet. This option will also allow you to print client names and ad- dresses onto envelopes, one at a time. When you enter this option, you will first be asked to designate the left indentation for your label or envelope printing. The default is column 0, but you may enter any column between 0 and 45. The left edge of each printed address will line up at this column on your prin- ter. If you are happy with the current indent setting, just press the RET key. Next, you will be asked whether you want a test pattern printed. If you answer, "Y", you will see a demonstration of how the printing will line up on your labels or envelopes. If you need to reset the indent and print another test pattern, you will be be afforded the opportunity. Then, you will be asked whether you want MT-Tracker to pause be- tween addresses. If you answer "Y", MT-Tracker will stop after each address is printed and will not proceed until you press the RET key. If you are just printing labels, you will probably not want to pause. But if you are printing envelopes, a pause will necessary, so that you will be able to put each succeeding envelope into the printer. Letters to Clients This "report" allows you to prepare many printouts of a short let- ter, each addressed to a different client. MT-Tracker will ask you to enter the name of the file which con- tains the letter. MT-Tracker will then print the same letter for each client meeting the parameters you established with the Hunt Gates. CLIENT MODULE 49 The letter printed by MT-Tracker must have been created with EDITX.EXE (^E at the menu), and it must reside in the ManageX sub- directory or on another disk entirely. You will have to experiment with this module before attempting an actual mass mailing. Just pre- pare the body of the letter with EDITX. Then use this Letter's "re- port" option to run a single letter. If its format is unsatisfactory, go back to EDITX and make the appropriate changes. Repeat this proce- dure until you are happy with the results. Then do the mass mailing. MT-Tracker has the ability to interpret special "tilde" codes in- serted into the text of the letter. If you use EDITX, these codes will be listed when you press the F1 key while creating or editing your letter. Assume that you want to insert the client's name at some point in the letter. To do so, you could place "~D" at the approp- riate spot. Then, when the letter is being prepared by MT-Tracker, "~D" will be translated to the name of whatever client is being ad- dressed. Be sure to set the letter's left margin by placing ".LMx" at the very beginning of the very first line of the letter (where "x" is the column where you want the letter to begin printing on your printer -- typically 8). If you use ".LMx", there should be nothing else on that line of the letter; that is, the actual body of the letter should begin on line 2. Also, set the letter's line length (the maximum num- ber of spaces in each line -- typically 65) by pressing the F4 key. An example file called "WELCOME.LTR" is supplied with MT-Tracker. It may be modified for use in your office to send letters to clients who have just hired your firm. Custom Reports If you would like to print a Custom Report, you should press ^R (Ctrl-R), instead of just "R". When you do, you'll be prompted for the name of the file containing the custom report you want prepared. The report you specify must have already been prepared with EDITX.EXE (^E at the menu). It should contain "tilde codes" (see the "Letters" section above) for elements of data you want printed for each client that meets the parameters you've specified with the Hunt Gates. The typical custom report will consist of a single line con- taining a few tilde codes and little else. Omit Clients Tagged for Omission Go ahead and press ^O now, even though you may not have marked any records for omission in the Edit mode. You will at least see how the mode operates. During the omission process, MT-Tracker will look at each record in the file to see whether it is tagged for omission. If so, it will be omitted; if not, it will be saved. There will be a some of disk drive activity, the length of which depends upon how many clients MT-Tracker is tracking. CLIENT MODULE 50 SECTION 7 NOTE MODULE This module is useful for making generalized notes or entering memos applicable to your clients. You could, for instance, make a note concerning a conversation you have had with Mr. Smith or concer- ning some research that you have done for the SMITJO1 project. You may enter the Note module by pressing ^N while any other menu is being displayed. You may also access it while you are viewing a client's record. Each note record consists of the entry date, the client whom the note concerns (if any), and up to 17 lines of information. Since they consume a considerable amount of disk space, you should be a brief as possible when you prepare notes. In order to save space, MT-Tracker will omit any blank lines that exist in a note when it is saved to disk. If you absolutely need to have a blank line, you may force MT-Tracker to keep it by making the line consist of over 70 blank spaces. You will note that one Hunt Gate allows you to hunt by a charac- ter sequence contained in the first line of the note, while another gate allows a search for the character sequence in ANY of the note's 17 lines. Since hunting through one line is faster than searching through 17, the hunt will go more quickly if you select Gate C (1st line) than if you select Gate B (any line). If you consistently put the most likely indexing words (such as Key numbers or the parties in- volved in meetings or conversations) on the first line of your notes, subsequent hunts for those words can be run faster by selecting Gate C. You should use Gate B only if you aren't sure of the lines on which your character sequences appear. NOTE MODULE 51 SECTION 8 UTILITIES (BACKUP, RESTORE, PRINTER DRIVERS, ETC.) Pressing ^U (Ctrl-U) at the Schedule, Log, or Client menu will take you to the UTILITIES module. Your choices will depend upon the module you're currently using. If using the Schedule or Log module, you'll be able to backup your data to a disks placed into drive A, restore such backed-up data, or visit the PRNTDRVR program to tell MT-Tracker what type of printer you have. If using the Client module, your choices will be to set dialing parameters, designate field head- ings, or rename the client module. Schedule/Log Utility Choices If you press "B", MT-Tracker will automatically execute DOS's BACKUP program that came with your computer, assuming that a copy of it is in the MANAGEX directory. If you prefer to use another program to perform your backups, you may create a file called "BACKUP.DAT" with EDITX (^E from the Schedule menu). Into this file you may place only a single line, which will contain the command to execute your alternate backup program. If a BACKUP.DAT file exists, MT-Tracker will execute whatever program the file specifies, instead of DOS's BACKUP. If you press "R", MT-Tracker will automatically execute DOS's RESTORE program that came with your computer, assuming that a copy of it is in the MANAGEX directory. If you prefer to use another program to restore your data, you may create a file called "RESTORE.DAT" with EDITX. Into this file you may place only a single line, which will contain the command to execute your alternate restoration program. If a RESTORE.DAT file exists, MT-Tracker will execute whatever program the file specifies, instead of DOS's RESTORE. If you press "P", MT-Tracker's PRNTDRVR (print driver) program will be executed. With it, you may specify the particular printer you use, so that MT-Tracker will be able to do the "Printed Calendar" re- port that involves the use of IBM-graphics characters. Or you may specify a special printer initialization sequence (to change margins, fonts, etc.) that should be sent to your printer before any reports are prepared. If you press "C", you'll be taken to the customization routine, where you may specify department/employee initials, screen colors, lines to print per page, laser printer, military time, and prompts for notes, priorities, and alarms. "E" will take you to the EDITX.EXE program, so that you may edit various text files, such as the ones containing Frequent & Recurring Events, Income-Expense Categories, Groups, etc. "O" will take you through the program's routine to omit items UTILITIES 52 from the data base. Scheduled and logged items, as well as plans may be omitted here. "I" will cause the Schedule and Log databases to be re-indexed. This is a drastic measure that should be used ONLY as a last resort if your database becomes corrupted. Because this routine may drastically alter the database if there are many problems, you should attempt res- toring from backup diskettes before you try re-indexing. Client Utility Choices "D" will allow you to designate certain dialing parameters, such as the communications port through which your modem is attached to the computer. You'll also be able to designate "T"one or "P"ulse dialing, as well as a dialing sequence that will always be sent to the modem just before a telephone number is dialed (this sequence might be useful if you're using a PBX system). "F" will allow you to set headings and types for the nine user- customizable fields available. This subject is discussed in detail at the beginning of the CLIENT MODULE section of these instructions. "R" will allow you to rename this module. If you don't like the term "Client", you may chose something else, such as "Project", "Job", etc. Changing the name will also change the control-key combination needed to access this module. For instance, if you elect to use "Pro- ject", you'll find that Ctrl-P is now needed to access the module, instead of Ctrl-C (the default). "S" will cause the client database to be sorted, so that reports generated in the Hunt mode will be in the order you desire. In doing multi-level sorts, up to five fields may be designated. UTILITIES 53 SECTION 9 MESSAGES "_____ files not on disk" -- Some important files have disappeared from the disk. You probably have a faulty disk. Exit the program and have your computer checked. Once it's fixed, restore files from your backup diskettes. If you think that nothing is wrong with your hard disk, call Integra Computing (404-973-3586). "_____ is an unacceptable date ..." -- The format in which you entered a date is incorrect. Press the RET key and try again, this time using the `DA MON YR' format (eg: 12 OCT 89) or the MO/DA/YR format (eg: 10/12/89). "A reminder may be set for this record only in the MAIN computer" -- While using a satellite, you are attempting to add a reminder for an event that is already part of the MAIN computer's data base. Allowing you to do so might result in future problems. Go to the MAIN computer to add this reminder. "Aborting because [disk drive] is full" --- Your disk may not be full, but it does not have enough space on it to run MT-Tracker. MT-Tracker needs at least as many free bytes as are taken up by the file whose name is "M--JOURN.LBF". This message may also occur if the ManageX directory (or any of it's subdirectories) contains more files than DOS allows. "Aborting because Note file is full" -- The file containing the free notes for each of your scheduled events is full. You should get rid of all old events that you no longer need. Select the ^Omit option at MT-Tracker's menu. "Are you ABSOLUTELY SURE that this is not the MAIN computer?" -- You are trying to copy data files to/from a floppy drive, which may be done only on a satellite computer, but MT-Tracker thinks that this is the MAIN computer. If MT-Tracker is mistaken, proceed; otherwise, press "N". "Corrupted data" -- Something has damaged the MT-Tracker database since the last time a data integrity check was done (probably yester- day). You'd be wise to restore data from day-before-yesterday's back- up (since yesterday afternoon's is probably just a copy of files that were somehow corrupted yesterday). If, after restoring that data, MT-Tracker still finds corrupted records, you should fall back to the next-most-recent backup, and so on. Anytime you want to check your data again, just go to MT-Tracker's Menu and press ^Y. "Department _____ is already designated ..." -- You have attempted to assign a department identifier that is already being used. Enter some other identifier. "Disk Error" -- An error occurred while the program was accessing the MESSAGES 54 disk. The nature of the problem will be found in the second-to-last set of parentheses. You may need to "pack" or "optimize" your hard disk's files with a program such as "Disk Optimizer", "Vopt", "PC Tools", or "Mace Utilities". Or you may have a serious hardware problem requiring the eventual replacement or re-formatting of your hard disk. This may be your first warning of an eventual hard disk "crash". "Do you want to overwrite the data already on this disk?" -- You're trying to OUTPUT data to a diskette already containing current data. If you proceed, you'll overwrite the data already on the diskette. "Do you wish to re-assign ____ to another .... " -- You have just erased a department's/employee's identifier. If you want to assign that identifier to another department/employee number, press `Y'; if you want to eliminate that department entirely, press `N'. "Employee _____ is already designated ..." -- You have attempted to assign an employee identifier that is already being used. Enter some other identifier. "Impossible -- that date is later than today" -- You have elected to omit events for some date in the future. MT-Tracker does not allow you to do so, and assumes that you've made a mistake in entering the date. "Improbable date, since program last used on ______" -- You have told MT-Tracker that today's date is too far from the date on which the program was last used. MT-Tracker is trying to ensure that you don't make a mistake, so just enter today's correct date. If it really HAS been a long time since you last used the program, enter a date about 25 days after the date the program was last used. MT-Tracker will accept that, but, since it's not really the correct date, you should exit the program at your first opportunity. Then, load MT-Tracker again and enter the correct date when you're asked. "Mis-linked record: " -- MT-Tracker has encountered a record that is incorrectly linked to another. This may not cause any problems, but YOU'D BE WISE to get rid of it NOW and re-enter the data. So write down the record number and date shown on the screen. You should know that it is POSSIBLE that your data base is too corrupted to be fixed by simply omitting and re-entering records. But you may wish to try that first, before falling back on the restoring option found in the ^Utilities module. As a last resort (if restoring fails), you may wish to select the Indexing option in the ^Utilities module. By the way, any time you want to re-check your data integrity, press ^Y at the Schedule Menu. "More than 100 events meeting your specifications ..." -- The maximum number of events that MT-Tracker can display for one day is 100. MT- Tracker can actually hold many more than that, but it can't display more than 100 meeting your specifications for the selected date at one MESSAGES 55 time. Make your specifications more discriminating, by, for instance, specifying a particular department/employee. "Only the MAIN computer can omit events" -- While using a satellite, you are trying to go through the ^Omit routine, which is allowed only on the MAIN computer. "Press RET to omit _____'s events ..." -- You have elected to delete a department/employee from the MT-Tracker data base. If you wish, you may now delete all events scheduled for that department/employee. To do so, press RET. If you've made a mistake in deleting that depart- ment/employee, press ESC, and you'll be allowed to take corrective action. "Printer not ready" -- Either your printer is not "on line" and ready to receive data, or you're out of paper. "RECORD IS ASSOCIATED WITH A PLAN" -- The event you're editing was made automatically while you were creating or editing a Plan. MT- Tracker, therefore, will not allow you to edit it, except while you're editing that Plan. The only exception to this rule is that you may edit the notes attached to the event. To do so, press ^N. "Runtime Error 20_" -- The program encountered a memory problem and had to abort. Perhaps you have insufficient memory to run the program (512K should be enough). Or, you may be running some memory- resident programs that consume memory or otherwise cause memory conflicts with primary applications. Or, you may need to add a line to your root directory's CONFIG.SYS file that says, "FILES=40". Fin- ally, your computer may have a faulty bank of memory chips or a parity error that causes the usable memory to "top out" at a low byte count. "Serious Error" -- The nature of the problem will be found in the se- cond-to-last set of parentheses, while the location of the problem should be found in the last set. "That entry is, itself, a reminder" -- You are attempting to enter a reminder for a reminder. That isn't allowed. Reminders can be as- signed to only Gotchas, Deadlines, Appointments, Vacations, and Trips, not to other reminders. "That ID not assigned" -- You've entered a department/employee which MT-Tracker does not recognize. If you insist upon using that depart- ment/employee, you must enter it into the data base by customizing the program (going to the ^Utilities routine and pressing "C"). "The _____ client does not exist" -- You have entered a client number for client that does not exist. If you've forgotten what cases you have, press the F1 key when MT-Tracker asks you for a case number. "The _____ Template does not exist" -- You have attempted to access a Plan Template that does not exist. Try again, or press ESC to abort. MESSAGES 56 "This diskette has already been processed ..." -- MT-Tracker is war- ning you that you've already run this diskette through the INPUT rou- tine. If you input it again, you'll end up with duplicated entries. The only valid reason for re-inputting it would be an unusual occur- rence during the first attempt. "This diskette has no MT-Tracker data" -- You're attempting to INPUT data from a disk that does not contain the needed files. "This diskette hasn't been INPUT yet ..." -- You're attempting to OUT- PUT the current main computer's data to a satellite diskette whose data has not yet been INPUT. If you proceed, you'll overwrite the diskette's information with that from the main computer's files, and you'll therefore lose whatever INPUT data was on the diskette. "This item cannot be edited in the Hunt routine" -- If you want to edit this item, you must use the Edit routine. "This record can be edited only in the MAIN computer" -- You're trying to edit a record on a satellite computer, but this record is already part of the MAIN computer's data base. Allowing you to edit it here could result in problems on the main system later on. If you need to edit this record, do so only on the MAIN computer. "Too many entries" -- You are attempting to add one more entry to a MT-Tracker data base that is already full (with 12000 entries). Before you can add any more events to the data base, you need to ^Omit old events that are no longer needed. Go to the menu and press ^O to go through the ^Omit routine. "Too Many Users" -- An attempt has been made to use MT-Tracker with more users than are allowed by your registration. This message may also occur if one or more users have exited MT-Tracker in an unusual manner (as would be the case, for instance, if power to a computer was lost). If this is the case, you must first make sure that no computer on the net is using MT-Tracker. Then, load MT-Tracker on the server computer and press ALT-1 at the Schedule menu. After this is done, each station may then log into the program as usual. "Use (^E)dit option to set up that Template" -- You have attempted to copy a non-existent Template into a Plan file. If you made a mistake in designating the Template, try entering it again. If you need to set up that Template, you must do so in EDITX, accessed by pressing ^E at the menu. "Waiting on..." -- If MT-Tracker has been invoked for use on a LAN, this message occurs if you try to use a function that may potentially change the data base and if someone else is already conducting a file- changing operation. MT-Tracker will wait until the other person has finished before letting you "in" (and, therefore, locking everyone else "out"). If you can't afford to wait, you may press the ESC key. MESSAGES 57 In rare instances (eg: power has been lost to one of the computers on the LAN), MT-Tracker will give you this message erroneously. If you wish, you may FORCE MT-Tracker to let you access the desired function if you press (Ctrl-F) while this message is being displayed. Before you do, however, make absolutely SURE that everyone else on the LAN is at the Schedule menu (or not using MT-Tracker at all), or DATA MAY BE LOST! MESSAGES 58 SECTION 10 CAUTION Some of the events you schedule in MT-Tracker will be of such importance that you may suffer grave consequences (including pecuniary liability) if you miss them. You should not place full faith in this computer program or any other to remind you of these events. ALWAYS BE SURE TO USE A DEPENDABLE MANUAL TICKLER SYSTEM FOR CRITICAL EVENTS. NEVER, NEVER ABANDON A MANUAL SYSTEM. The reason for this caution is two-fold. First, MT-Tracker may contain flaws that could result in the loss of important event data. Second, computer memories are volatile. An unusual chain of events may cause the destruction of your computer's magnetic media, in- cluding some or all of MT-Tracker's data base. Generally, nothing is more secure than a tickler card file. And don't forget that some insurance companies require you to maintain a second tickler system, anyway. CAUTION 59 SECTION 11 POP-UP MT-TRACKER You may find it convenient to have MT-Tracker available at all times. Let's say that you're using your word processor and suddenly need to look at your calendar or schedule an appointment. Normally, you'd have to save your document, exit the word processor, and then load MT-Tracker. Then, when you're done with MT-Tracker, you have to exit it, load your word processor, find your document and continue with what you were doing before accessing MT-Tracker. Wouldn't it be convenient if you could just press a couple of keys to call up MT-Tracker, even when you're in the middle of using your word processor? Well, you can, as long as you follow the ins- tructions contained in this section. MT-Tracker must first be loaded into memory, where it will linger in the background until you press a "hot-key" combination to call it to the screen. When you do so, whatever the computer was just doing will be suspended and placed into the background, while MT-Tracker is brought to the screen. When you've taken care of your MT-Tracker bus- iness, press the ESC key. Doing so will force MT-Tracker back into the background (where it will lurk until you press the hot-key again), while your prior work will pop back into the foreground (onto the screen). To prime MT-Tracker for pop-up (memory-resident) service, simply enter "mt mr", instead of just "mt", at the DOS prompt. If that doesn't work, you'll need to copy the MT.BAT to a file called MTMR.BAT and modify the new file. MT.BAT should be used for standard use, while MTMR.BAT will be used for invoking MT-Tracker as a pop-up. Now, find the line in MTMR.BAT that starts with "mttrack". The tenth par- ameter following "mttrack" should be "mr". If you need to "pad" the line with any other parameters, make each of them an "x". Example: mttrack x x x x x x x x x mr This example shows the use of dummy "x" parameters. If MT-Tracker is loaded in this fashion, it will automatically abort and display a message that informs you of the hot-key combina- tion needed to call it to the foreground. By default, the hot-key is ALT-T. But you may change the hot-key by adding to the 10th parameter a different combination, using the "MR-X-$YYZZ" format. The "X" in this format is the key you wish to use in combination with the ALT or CTRL key. "YY" sould be "08" if you plan to use the ALT-key, or "04" if you prefer a CTRL-key combination. "ZZ" is the scan code for the letter you've designated with "X". Selected scan codes follow: KEY SCAN KEY SCAN KEY SCAN KEY SCAN KEY SCAN Q 10 W 11 E 12 R 13 T 14 Y 15 U 16 I 17 O 18 P 19 A 1E S 1F D 20 F 21 G 22 POP-UP MT-TRACKER 60 H 23 J 24 K 25 L 26 Z 2C X 2D C 2E V 2F B 30 N 31 For example, to designate ALT-S as the hot-key combination, the tenth parameter would be "MR-S-$081F", while CTRL-V would be selected by using "MR-V-$042F". If you'd like MT-Tracker's pop-up alarm (PC-Beep) to be loaded into memory also, you should add a line to the MTMR.BAT file just be- fore the "mttrack" line. This new line should say simply, "pc-beep". If PC-Beep is loaded, whatever alarms you've set with MT-Tracker will beep at you at the appointed times. Without PC-Beep, alarms aren't possible. Normally, MT-Tracker requires about 520 Kilobytes of RAM. When it's just waiting in the background, however, all it consumes is about 45 Kilobytes, leaving most of your computer's memory for use by other programs. And if you don't need MT-Tracker's alarm feature, you can reduce the RAM requirements to 7 Kilobytes by eliminating all ref- erences to PC-Beep in the MTMR.BAT file and ensuring that it isn't loaded at any time while you use the computer. TUNING UP PERFORMANCE As mentioned above, MT-Tracker is a large program that would con- sume about 520K of memory if the entire software were kept in memory waiting for you to press the hotkey. But that would leave you with 520K less memory to run your other applications. Therefore, efforts have been made to reduce the memory required by the program when it's lurking in the background. On the assumption that memory is more pre- cious to most users than is time, MT-Tracker has been optimized to use as little memory as possible, even though that means that it might take a little longer for it to respond when you press its hotkey. Rather than keep MT-Tracker's entire code in memory when you're using another program, only a small "kernal" is maintained in RAM. When you press the hotkey, your current application is saved to disk or EMS (LIM-specification expanded memory), and then MT-Tracker is loaded from disk or EMS. When you temporarily exit MT-Tracker, it is then saved, while your former application is re-loaded. The memory- swapping that takes place whenever you enter or exit MT-Tracker will take time. How much swapping time is required depends upon whether the swapping is between RAM and your hard disk or between RAM and other memory. If MT-Tracker recognizes that you have sufficient EMS memory av- ailable (500K), such memory will automatically be used, minimizing swap time significantly. If no EMS is recognized, the program will assume that you want it to swap to the disk directory from which MT- Tracker was loaded. If you have EMS and MT-Tracker does not recognize it, please don't call to report it; there are several incompatible EMS schemes floating around, and MT-Tracker can't recognize them all. POP-UP MT-TRACKER 61 If you don't have EMS, but do have a extended memory, you might want to set up a large RAM disk and tell MT-Tracker to use it for swapping. That'll speed things up quite a bit. Make sure that the RAM disk you use will be used for NOTHING other than MT-Tracker and/or RAMdesk. How big a RAM disk do you need? If you're using it just for MT- Tracker, it should be at least 1.2M. Add another 300K if you also use RAMdesk. To tell MT-Tracker which RAM disk to use, you'll need to alter the MT.BAT (or MTMR.BAT) file. Place the RAM disk designation at the third parameter on the "mttrack" line. Example: mttrack x x e: x x x x x x mr tells MT-Tracker to use drive E as the swap drive. Remember that you use the designated RAM disk for NOTHING other than RAMdesk and MT- Tracker program swapping. VERY IMPORTANT !!! When used as a pop-up, MT-Tracker will not automatically remind you to back up your data files each day, as it does when you use it on a stand-alone basis. It is EXTREMELY important that you back up your data files EVERY DAY to floppy disks. Rotate among several sets of backup disks; don't back up to the same disks every day. Use even- and odd-day, as well as week-end and month-end, disk sets. For your convenience, you might want to use the BACK.BAT (or REST.BAT) files to back up to (or restore from) diskettes. To back up your data, just go to the MANAGEX directory and enter "BACK C: A:" at the DOS prompt. To restore, enter "REST A: C:" instead. ALSO IMPORTANT: As mentioned above, if you don't have sufficient EMS memory and haven't designated a RAM disk, MT-Tracker will swap to the hard disk. When swapping to the hard disk, the program creates and uses two hid- den files, "MTSWP.___" and "MTAPPSWP.___". Normally, you won't have any problems with disk swapping. But if, after having loaded MT-Trac- ker, you use other programs that cause your available hard disk space to drop below 800 kilobytes, you may get a "FATAL SWAP ERROR" when you try to pop into MT-Tracker. If that happens, you'll have to re-boot your machine, probably losing whatever you'd been working on when you pressed the hot key. The lesson here is that you should not try using the program as a pop-up unless you're sure that you'll never come close to running out of space on whatever drive the program will be using for swapping. POP-UP MT-TRACKER 62 APPENDIX A: DEPARTMENT/EMPLOYEE GROUPS Departments/employees may be grouped together for mass schedul- ings. As you know, MT-Tracker will track up to 200 departments/emp- loyees. It will also track 19 groups, each of which may consist of up to 10 departments/employees. Whenever you schedule a group, you will effectively be scheduling each of it's constituent departments/emp- loyees. Whenever you hunt through the data base for a group's activi- ties, you will, in effect, be hunting for the activities of that group's members. Anywhere that MT-Tracker requests a department/emp- loyee, you may substitute a group. One reason for having some of your departments/employees included in a group is that you may wish to find a period when everyone in that group is free for a meeting. Doing a "Scheduled Time" hunt (discussed in an earlier section) for that group will reveal all the time already scheduled for all group members. Just fill in Hunt Gate C with the abbreviation for the group in which you're interested, set the begin- ning and ending dates, and begin the hunt. The gaps in the scheduled time shown on the report will be the periods during which everyone in the group is free. Groups should be listed in a file called GROUP.DAT, which MT- Tracker scans whenever you enter the program. You may create this file in EDITX by pressing ^E at the calendar menu. Then press "G" at the EDITX menu. To set up a group, enter a unique 1- to 3-character abbreviation under the "ABB" heading. Then hit the tab key to align the cursor for the entry of that group's constituent departments/employees. As you're entering the departments, separate each by a slash, "/". Note that a group may not contain another group. Example: ABB --- CONSTITUENT DEPARTMENTS/EMPLOYEES --- gp1 stb/gm/lta/prs gp2 stb/mkr gp3 tup/dst/prs gp4 dst/stb/gm gp5 gm/gp1 WRONG! -- gp1 is, itself, a group APPENDIX A 63 APPENDIX B: AUTOMATED EXECUTION (MACROS) You may have certain regularly performed routines that you wish MT-Tracker could perform automatically. That's what MT-Tracker's AutoExecute function is designed to do. Whenever the function is in- voked, MT-Tracker will read a file that contains a series of key- strokes. It will then execute each file-based keystroke as if you had entered it at the keyboard. You may have as many AutoExecute files as you wish, each designed to do a different tedious chore. Before you set up an AutoExecute file, you should practice with MT-Tracker, in order to determine exactly which keystroke sequence you want to place into the file. Then go to EDITX (^E from the MT-Trac- ker's Schedule menu) to open the file. Once in EDITX, press "O" (for "Other") and name the file you wish to create. Give it a name that corresponds in some way to its function. Then, enter into the new file each character that you want MT-Tracker to "type" for you when the AutoExecute function reads this file. The file may contain up to 160 characters. If you wish to place a date into the AutoExecute file, remember that MT-Tracker accepts "-7" as exactly one week ago, and "+1" as tom- orrow. MT-Tracker also considers an entry of "1" to mean the first day of whatever month is currently displayed, while "30" means the thirtieth day. There are several special characters that you can place into the file to perform certain functions: ~ = RET (or Enter) ! = ESC > = F6 : = ALT-P ; = ALT-F | = ALT-I @ = Alt-O _ (underline) will cause the AutoExecute function to pause for a keyboard entry (one keystroke per underline). / will cause MT-Tracker to skip its day-beginning routine during which it moves past deadlines to the current day's schedule if they haven't already been marked for omission. This "/" may have no effect unless it's the first character in the AutoExecute sequence. Also remember that control-characters, such as ^L (Ctrl-L), can be entered into an EDITX-created file simply by preceding the control-key you want with ^P (Ctrl-P). For example, to enter ^L into the file, you actually press ^P^L (Ctrl-P Ctrl-L). A single funny character will appear whenever you enter a control-character in this fashion. Accessing the AutoExecute Function To access the AutoExecute function from MT-Tracker's Schedule menu, press ALT-A. To have MT-Tracker go through an AutoExecute rou- APPENDIX B 64 tine whenever it's loaded (without having to press ALT-A), find the line saying "mttrack" in the MT.BAT file, and place the name of the desired AutoExecute file after it. For example, "mttrack macro" will cause MT-Tracker to execute the MACRO file whenever you enter "MT" at the DOS prompt. APPENDIX B 65 APPENDIX C: SHARING DATA AMONG SEVERAL COMPUTERS To save disk space, this section has been omitted. It will be included in the documentation you receive when you register. APPENDIX C 66 APPENDIX D MT-TRACKER ON A LOCAL AREA NETWORK When invoked for use on a LAN, MT-Tracker utilizes file locking to prevent two or more users from simultaneously altering the same record in the data base. -- Some Preliminaries... If your LAN defaults to the assumption that you want it to auto- matically lock files for you, you may have problems with MT-Tracker. MT-Tracker, not your LAN, must decide when to lock which files. Make sure that your LAN is configured to give ALL users complete access to ALL files in the server's MANAGEX directory. Make sure that ALL prog- ram and data files are "sharable" (eg: immediately after installing the program onto a Novell workstation, enter "FLAG *.* S" at the DOS prompt in the directory containing MT-Tracker, and do the same in the server directory that will contain MT-Tracker's data). Also make sure that each workstation's CONFIG.SYS file contains a line that says, "FILES=40". The fact that your server may have such a line in it's CONFIG.SYS file may do your workstations no good whatso- ever. IMPORTANT: If you're a REGISTERED user (keep reading if you're not), you must have a copy of MT-Tracker that's been prepared for the maximum number of users you intend to have on the LAN. If you use a non-LAN version (or a LAN version that's not prepared for as many users as you actually have on the net), the program may appear to work properly in most ins- tances, but you'll be running the risk of losing data. If the number of users on your net ever increases beyond the number for which you're registered, you must be sure to up- date your registration and install a copy of the program de- signed for more users. If you forget to do so, you may lose data. Therefore, it's a good idea to register, not necessar- ily for the number of users you presently have, but for the maximum number you anticipate may eventually be on the net. -- Using Only a Single Copy of MT-Tracker on the Network To load a single copy of the program onto the net, run the normal install routine (eg: "INSTALL A: X:", where X is your server's drive designation). This routine will automatically load the program into a MANAGEX directory on the server. Unless you want to use only one copy of the MT.BAT file on the network (see the "Use of a Single Batch File on the Server" subsection below), each workstation must have a dedicated directory, either on APPENDIX D 68 its own hard disk or on the server, from which it will run MT-Tracker. This dedicated directory must be located directly off the disk's root directory and must contain a MT.BAT file, customized especially for that workstation. Start with the MT.BAT file provided with MT- Tracker. Insert a couple of extra lines near the top of the MT.BAT file, just below the line that reads, "cls". These extra lines should cause the workstation to log into the server directory where MT-Tracker's program and data files will be maintained. Assume, for instance, that the server's hard disk is referred to as drive "F" and that MT-Tracker is installed into the "MANAGEX" directory on that drive. In this case, the lines to insert into the workstation's MT.BAT file would be: F: CD\MANAGEX NOTE: No directory/path name used with MT-Tracker may exceed fourteen characters in length. Also, add a few lines at the very bottom of the MT.BAT file that will cause the computer to log back into the workstation's "home" directory when you exit MT-Tracker. Examples: Example 1 Example 2 --------- --------- F: C: CD\AWB CD\MANAGEX CLS CLS -- MT.BAT's `MTTRACK' line Now, each workstation's MT.BAT file must also reflect its OWN user's ID and that of the program's MAIN user (that is, the person chiefly responsible for maintaining the data base). Additionally, it must reflect both its OWN drive/directory and the SERVER drive/direc- tory where MT-Tracker is maintained. Read on. Find the line in the MT.BAT file that begins with "MTTRACK". After the word "MTTRACK", you need to add several parameters, each separated by a space. The first four may already have been set (see the SETTING UP section of these instructions), but if they're not, just substitute an "x" for each one. Example: MTTRACK x x x x The fifth parameter should be a 1- to 3-letter ID of the MAIN user (the one chiefly responsible for MT-Tracker). The sixth parameter should be a 1- to 3-letter ID for this SPECIFIC workstation's user. For example, if Jane Jones is the program's main user, the fifth para- APPENDIX D 69 meter following "MTTRACK" in each workstation's MT.BAT file might be "JJ". If the user of a specific workstation is Allen W. Bosley, that workstation's MT.BAT file might specify "AB" at the sixth parameter. IMPORTANT: Make absolutely sure that each workstation's MT.BAT file contains the SAME fifth parameter (since the MAIN user is the same for all workstations). Also ensure that no two stations have the same sixth parameter (since each individual station is DIFFERENT). If you violate either rule, you run the risk of losing data, despite the fact the program may appear to be operating properly. Once you set up each work- station's MT.BAT file, you might want to write-protect it, to prevent it's being changed by a user. The seventh parameter tells MT-Tracker which of the server dir- ectories will hold its common data base, accessible by all users. If, for instance, a given workstation refers to that directory as F:\MANAGEX, the seventh parameter should be "F:\MANAGEX". The eighth parameter following "MTTRACK" should be the drive and directory from which the workstation will be running MT-Tracker. This is that workstation's "home" directory. Parameters nine and ten may be x's if need be, but the eleventh parameter must be "1". This tells MT-Tracker that there's just one copy of the program on the network (see the next subsection if you decide to run a separate copy of the program on each workstation). Here are two examples that tie it all together: PARAMETERS --> 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 ------------------------------------------------------------------ Example 1: MTTRACK x x x x JJ AWB F:\MANAGEX C:\MANAGEX x x 1 Example 2: MTTRACK x x x x JJ AWB F:\MANAGEX C:\MANAGEX x MR 1 Each of these examples tells MT-Tracker that this workstation's "home" directory is C:\MANAGEX. It also specifies F:\MANAGEX as the server directory containing MT-Tracker and its data. JJ is the main user, and AWB is the local workstation's user. The second example's tenth parameter is "MR", informing MT-Tracker to load itself as a memory- resident program (see the POP-UP MT-TRACKER appendix), while the first example's tenth parameter is "x", which is a null parameter that tells MT-Tracker nothing. NOTE: Each morning, MT-Tracker will automatically bring for- ward past Deadlines and Gotchas that haven't been tagged for omission. When installed for use on a network, however, a user's Deadlines/Gotchas will be brought forward only when THAT SPECIFIC USER (or the one who entered the Deadlines and Gotchas into the program) first loads MT-Tracker at the begin- ning of the day. If you'd prefer that the FIRST user to load APPENDIX D 70 the program each morning be responsible for bringing forward EVERYONE's Deadlines/Gotchas, add "#" to the fifth para- meter (eg: "MTTRACK x x x x JJ# AWB ..."). To have the MAIN user (who may not necessarily be the first user) bring for- ward everyone's Deadlines/Gotchas each morning, substitute "*" for "#" (eg: MTTRACK x x x x JJ* AWB ..."). -- Using a Separate Copy of MT-Tracker on each Workstation Screen colors, printer, and other Customization items will be identical for all workstations that access a common copy of the prog- ram on the server. Those workstations that require different customi- zations should have separate copies of the program installed in their "home" directories. Another reason to load a separate copy of the program onto one or more workstations is that you may have a slow net- work that makes loading the program from the server seem to take forever. Of course, the data must still be located centrally on the server, but the program, itself, may be placed separately onto each workstation. To load a separate copy of the program onto each workstation, run the normal install routine (eg: "INSTALL A: X:", where X is that workstation's hard disk designation). This routine will automatically load the program into a MANAGEX directory on the workstation. Each workstation's MANAGEX directory must have a MT.BAT file, customized especially for that workstation. Start with the MT.BAT file provided with MT-Tracker. Insert an extra line near the top of the MT.BAT file, just below the line that reads, "cls". This extra line should cause the work- station to look to the server directory where MT-Tracker will maintain the common data files that all users will access. Assume, for ins- tance, that the server's hard disk is referred to as drive "F" and that MT-Tracker's data files will be located in the "MANAGEX" direc- tory on that drive. In this case, the line to insert into the work- station's MT.BAT file would be: CD F:\MANAGEX Now, modify the MT.BAT file's "MTTRACK" line exactly as described in the above subsection entitled "MT.BAT's `MTTRACK' Line". But DO NOT include an eleventh parameter of "1". Instead, either eliminate the eleventh parameter or substitute an "x" for the "1". NOTE: If you elect to use a separate copy of the program for each workstation, you must manually copy the BLANKCAL and BLANKCL files into the server's MANAGEX directory, where you should keep the data. Also copy RECUR.DAT, RECUR.DAF, and RECUR.DAI to the server's data-holding directory, since common copies of APPENDIX D 71 these files need to be accessed by everyone using the program. -- Other Customizations to the MT.BAT file The MT.BAT file may also contain references to some other prog- rams: INPUT, EXPORT, PC-BEEP. You need to make sure that each of these references is followed by parameters identical to those that follow "MTTRACK". Examples: if not exist util.bat input x x e: x JJ AWB F:\MANAGEX F:\AWB x x 1 pc-beep x x e: x JJ AWB F:\MANAGEX F:\AWB x x 1 MTTRACK x x e: x JJ AWB F:\MANAGEX F:\AWB x x 1 export x x e: x JJ AWB F:\MANAGEX F:\AWB x x 1 Also find every occurrence of "util%1" in the MT.BAT file and substitute the local user's initials for "%1" (eg: change "util%1" to "utilJJ" if JJ is the local user). After you've customized each workstation's MT.BAT file, you'll find that the program works much as it does as single-user software. The main differences are that: 1) MT-Tracker will occasionally delay a user's entering something, as it waits for another user to finish some process that could potentially change the data base; 2) only the main (primary user's) workstation will be able to perform certain functions (such as Editing with EDITX and Omitting); and 3) changes to the data base made on one workstation may not be recognized by another workstation until its user goes through some major process (such as conducting a Hunt or Editing a record). -- Passwords If you want MT-Tracker to demand a password whenever anyone tries to access it, the second parameter following "MTTRACK" (in the MT.BAT file) should contain the character sequence "PW". Example: MTTRACK x PWMRLA E: x JJ AWB F:\MANAGEX F:\AWB x x 1 If you want password checking every time MT-Tracker's hotkey is pressed (assuming that it's been installed as a pop-up), the sequence should "PWMR". If you want to limit access to the Utilities Module and text Editor, add "LA" to the second parameter. If "LA" is included in that parameter, the only person who will be allowed to access the Utilities or the Editor will be the MAIN user. This will prevent MT-Tracker "rookies" from ruining some of the program's data. If LAN-based MT-Tracker is set up for password protection, the first person ever to enter the program must be the main user identi- fied by the fifth parameter. That user must go to the Utilities mod- ule, select the Customization option, and enter the initials of all the MT-Tracker users on the network. A user whose initials have not APPENDIX D 72 been entered into the Customization routine's list won't be allowed in. -- Use of a Single Batch File on the Server If you're using a single copy of the program on the network, and you'd like to maintain only one MT.BAT file for the whole office (as opposed to a separate one for each workstation), place that MT.BAT file into the server's MANAGEX directory. Start with the basic MT.BAT file supplied with MT-Tracker. Modi- fy its "MTTRACK" line as described above in the subsection entitled, "MT.BAT's `MTTRACK' Line", but make sure that the sixth parameter is "%1". Also be sure to place disk/directory changing instructions near the top and bottom of the batch file, as discussed above in the "Using Only a Single Copy..." subsection above. NOTE: Some networks are configured in a manner that makes it difficult to use a single MT.BAT on the server. If you have difficulty, abandon trying to use a single MT.BAT file. APPENDIX D 73 OTHER PROGRAMS IN THE "POWER OFFICE" LINE-UP Each unique program in this series requires a hard disk-equipped IBM-compatible PC with 512K of memory. The following paragraphs contain brief descriptions. BillPower --> time & billing with totally integrated general ledger ReSearch --> research/evidence organizer for litigation support RAMdesk --> pop-up network message system, calculator, scheduler, phone directory, time/work/expense log, data base PopForm --> pop-up form printing program. Nifty --> combination menu and pop-up help system