Copyright: Copyright 1996 Mark Slaski


Contents
Reminder v1.1

Overview

Reminder v1.1 is a full featured events reminder and is compatible with Windows 3.x and Windows 95. It enables you to maintain lists of events about which you want reminding. The program is highly configurable, giving you control over much of the program's behaviour. Reminder v1.1  will handle many different event types ranging from simple one-off events to recurring items like birthdays, dental appointments, office meetings etc. Events are stored on disk and you can have any number of reminder files, enabling several users of the program. You can setup the program to run in Scan Mode at Windows start-up to remind you automatically of forthcoming due events.

Contents

Getting Started

How Do I...

The Parts of the Program

Copyright, Registration, Support

What is Shareware?

Limitations

Disclaimer


Copyright
Reminder V1.1

Copyright 1996, Mark Slaski

Contacting the Author:

mail:	2 Maple Drive

Elkesley

Retford

Notts DN22 8AX

United Kingdom

Tel/fax: 	01777 838357

Compuserve:	100243,3364

Registering the program:

Contact the author with your name, and program version, together with a cheque,  for £10. Alternatively,

subscribers to CompuServe can register online for $17(US): GO SWREG 13645. You will then be sent a unique registration ID code. Using the "About" screen, enter your name (as supplied to the author, in exact case) and your ID, and click "Register". Your program is then unlocked and fully registered. This entitles you to full telephone support, plus free upgrades to the software.

Thank you for registering!


Program Definitions

Reminder Events

A Reminder event consists of the following components:

Text string- which identifies the event,

Start date-the date on which the first (or only) event occurs,

End Date-the date after which the event will no longer occur,

NoticePeriod-the number of days before the event that you want to be reminded,

Keep attribute - which lets the program know if you wish to be reminded about an event which has passed.

Event Types

Reminder has several default event types, from Once Only which refers to events that occur only once, to recurring types defined by the frequency of occurring events: Weekly, Monthly, Quarterly, Semi-Annual,Annual and Biennial. Events of the once only type have only one date value, but other events are defined by two dates; the Start date, which corresponds to the first occurrence of the event, and the End date, which you set as the date after which you no longer wish to be reminded of events.

The Annual Event - a special case. It is likely that annual events will form a large proportion of event types that you will use. All recurring events, including annual ones, have a start date and an end date. It may soon become tedious for example, if you had to create an end date for every birthday that you entered into the program, especially since birthdays occur annually until they don't any more, for obvious reasons! Therefore it may be better to define annual events as being "infinite". This gives you the advantage of having only one date box to fill in on the edit screen, since the end date is fixed at some time many years in the future. Note carefully here that the behaviour of the program in respect of all annual events in the file is different for each one, and depends on the conditions in force at the time the event was entered by you. So if you entered an annual event with an end date 3 years hence, and then later selected the "infinite" option as your default annual type, that event will still have an end point in three years, and will expire beyond this point

Reminder Files

Reminder files usually will have  a "*.rem" extension, and may be stored anywhere on your drive ,although you may find it most convenient to locate them in the same directory as the program file. Each file can store many events, and you may wish to create individual reminder files for every user of the program.

Scan Mode

SCAN MODE refers to an automated program run. In scan mode, the program will load the last file you used ( PROVIDED you have checked the "Load last used reminder file on startup" option in the OPTIONS SCREEN) and scan through it looking for due events as described above. It will display the events, if any, and then exit when you click the OK button. This mode is of most use when it's integrated into your normal windows startup routine.

Due Events

DUE EVENTS are defined as those events which are due to occur in the near future within their defined NOTICE periods. For example, if you have a meeting on 06/07/1996, and you set it's notice period for 3 days, then the program will start alerting you about the meeting on 03/07/1996. Due events are displayed in blue and underlined/bold face if the event is "today".

Expired  Events

EXPIRED  EVENTS are those where there will be no further occurrences of the event. All expired events are visible in the grid in the main program screen, provided the view is set to display all event types. The more expired the event, the higher it's placed in the grid, so you are visually reminded whenever you look at the grid that old events are hanging around in your file. In the scan dialog, expired events may be visible if the events keep attribute is set, and the event has recently expired ( within the period set in the options screen )

Past Events

PAST  EVENTS are not due yet, but not expired either, and are always of a recurring type. They become expired when the final occurrence of the recurring event has passed.

Grid Display

The grid used in the main screen displays your event data like the grid of a spreadsheet. Each row contains values relating to one event. The columns represent each data value:

Description -a textual description of the event

Date -the date column displays the next occurrence of the event ( or the last if it's expired)

Notice -refers to that events' notice period in days

When -is a calculated value displaying the number of days to the event

Keep -displays "Yes" if you've set the keep attribute for the event (see Keep Attribute)

Type -displays a character denoting the event type

The DATE column is a calculated value, produced from the data originally inserted by you for that event. The only way to view the original Start and End dates, if applicable, is to Edit the event.

The Grid columns may be resized to improve data display. To do this, simply hold the cursor over a column division until it changes into a double-arrow and then click and drag the column as you desire. Changes you make here are remembered for the next time you run the program.

_The grid displays events held in the currently loaded reminder file,  in rows which by default are sorted by event date. Also, by default, the view selector on the toolbar shows "All Events", that is, the grid displays ALL events from the file, regardless of their type (Annual, weekly, etc). To display only events of one type, simply choose from the picklist in the view selector, and the grid view will change to display only events of the type selected.


The Editing Screen
Adding and Editing Events

The appropriate command are available from the menu and toolbar of the main screen. When you run in scan mode you may also Add, Edit, and Delete events via a right mouse click on the list of due events.

Adding and Editing events bring up the Editing window as describe below. Deleting events is without confirmation.

Adding/Editing events. The Editing Window.

The edit window is shown about to accept a new ONCE only type reminder event. You first select the event type you wish to create using the combo box at the top. Next you decide on the NOTICE period in days, followed by the KEEP attribute. You then enter the date value(s). A Once only type as shown , or an Annual Infinite type will have only one date value, the date of the event. All other, recurring event types have two date values, and so a second date entry box will pop up if appropriate. Dates can be entered by typing in the box, or by clicking on the popup calender next to the box and scrolling through until the desired date is found. Clicking on the date inserts it automatically into the box.

The popup cal will scroll back and forward through the months using the arrows at the top, through years via the HOME/END keys, and through days by the four keyboard arrow keys.

Once you have filled in some text to describe your event, press OK and it's loaded into the grid. If you have configured the program to sort the display after each edit, then the grid may flicker slightly as the program recalculates the new position of the event in the grid. If you choose not to sort immediately the event will appear at the bottom of the grid for a new event, or in the original position in the case of an edited event.

You can sort the grid on demand at any time via the menu/toolbar. It is wise to save to disk from time to time if you are busy adding many new events; a power cut may lose all that data for you.


Sizing the grid columns to suit your display
The Column widths of the grid are set by default at design time. Unfortunately the variety of display sizes in use means that the grid may not display properly on all monitors. However, the grid columns are easily "dragable", so that you can size the grid to fit your display. Simply hold the cursor over a column boundary in the title row until it turns into a double arrow. Then drag the column as desired. Once you are happy, you need do nothing more..the program will start next time with your settings as the default.


How Do I.....
Common Tasks

Creating and Loading reminder Files

Commands to Create Save and Load reminder files are available on the main screen menu, and some are duplicated by buttons on the main screen toolbar, so the description that follows applies to both.

FILE/NEW -clears the grid to allow you to enter new data values, which you will then need to save to a file.

FILE/SAVE-saves a current file to disk. Prompts for a filename if that file is as yet untitled.

FILE/SAVE AS-brings up the Save As dialog to prompt you to enter a new name for the file.

(no button)

FILE/LOAD-allows you to select a file to open from a list of reminder files in the current directory. You can browse through your hard drive directories to find suitable reminder files. If you try to load a non reminder file you will be alerted, and the grid will clear as though you had selected FILE/NEW. If the file you had currently been working on prior to selecting FILE/LOAD had changed because of edits or deletions made by you, you will first be prompted to save the changes prior to loading another file. You can only have one reminder file open at a time.

Compressing your Reminder File

If you use Reminder on a regular basis your reminder event file(s) will gradually fill up with old expired events. Rather than going through and deleting these manually, select compress from the File menu. The program will sort through the file and remove all expired events whose keep attributes are not set.

Adding Events to the file, and editing those in the file

Accomplished by accessing the Edit Screen, via the menu, toolbar, or hotkey commands of the Main Screen, or the mouse menu of the Scan Screen.

Deleting an Event

To delete an event simply select the event in the grid by clicking it with the mouse, and then choose from the three available delete methods: select the menu command EVENTS/DELETE EVENT, or it's hotkey CTRL-D, or click the delete button on the toolbar. You will not be asked for confirmation prior to deletion, and there is no undelete facility. However, after an accidental deletion you could exit the program without saving changes, and when you reload the file, the event(s) will still be present.

Duplicating an event

To make a copy of an event with the same data values, simply select it as above, and choose EVENTS/COPY EVENT, or press CTRL-C. The duplicated event is appended to the end of the file, and the text is amended to "Copy of: " plus the original text.

Finding text in the grid

Selecting FIND TEXT from the EVENTS menu produces a  very basic text finding dialog box. Simply type the text you are looking for and hit find. The program will highlight the first occurrence of the text in the grid, or alert you if the text is not found. You can click "Find Next" then to locate the next occurrence, and so on.


The Keep Attribute
The Keep Attribute governs how Reminder deals with past and expired events. If set, the attribute will force Reminder to display a past or expired event in the Scan Screen. This may be useful, or it may be irritating, so you have the freedom not to set it, and to make sure it's not set by default on new reminder events. It may come into it's own in circumstances like this: Imagine an event like a birthday is coming around, with a notice period of, say, 5 days. You go off on a week's holiday just before it becomes due. When you come back and have obviously forgotten the card (!) you may not realise that you've forgotten by looking only at the scan box during your Windows start up, unless you've set the keep attribute. In this case the past event would be shown in red and send you rushing off to your stationary shop. You can at this point un-set the attribute, from the scan box via the mouse menu, to acknowledge that you've seen the message, and to prevent it being displayed again.


Program Limitations
Unregistered users have a fully functional copy of the program which is not disabled in any way, together with the help file. However, to encourage you to register, once you have more than 20 reminders in a file,  the program will prompt you to enter your registration ID whenever you run the Scan function.


The Main Screen
The Main Reminder Window

The main window showing two events displayed in the grid, and the grid view about to be altered using the toolbar View Selector. The grid view of events is sorted by date of the next event. The columns may be sized to suit your display.

The Main Screen has 4 principal areas:

The Menu -menu Commands are:

File/New -create a new reminder file

File/Save -save current file

File/Save As -save and prompt for (new) filename

File/Load -load a reminder file from disk

File/Options -Configure program behaviour

File/Compress -Compress the current reminder file

File/Exit -Quit the program

Events/New Event -adds a new event to grid

Events/Edit Event -edit currently selected event

Events/Delete Event -delete currently selected event

Events/Copy Event -duplicate the currently selected event

Events/Find Text -search for text in the grid

Events/Sort by Date -sort the grid by date of next event

Events/Show Due Events -show due events in scan dialog

Help/Contents -access the contents page of the help file

Help/About -display "About" box, and registration details

The Toolbar

The toolbar buttons duplicate several of the menu commands. Hold the cursor over a button to display a description of it's function. The toolbar also contains the View Selector.

The View Selector

The grid displays events held in the currently loaded reminder file,  in rows which by default are sorted by event date. Also, by default, the view selector on the toolbar shows "All Events", that is, the grid displays ALL events from the file, regardless of their type (Annual, weekly, etc). To display only events of one type, simply choose from the picklist in the view selector, and the grid view will change to display only events of the type selected.

The Grid

The Grid displays events from the currently loaded reminder file. See The Grid Display for an explanation of the grid, and Sizing the grid to steep the grid to suit your display.

The Status bar

The Status bar displays the name of the currently loaded reminder file, together with the total number of events in the file, and the present state of the sorted property of the grid display.


Setting Program Options
The Options Screen

The Options Screen allows you a choice over much of the program's behaviour. It uses the "Tabbed Notebook" metaphor and has two "pages" of choices, which you select using the notebook tabs at the bottom of the screen. The choices made are written to disk only when you select OK to close the window; all changes are last if you close the window using Cancel, or the control box. The Options available are:

Startup Page  options for startup and general behaviour

Run only once per day in scan mode -will cause Scan mode to operate only once a day despite however many windows restarts there may be.

Load last used reminder file on startup-if unchecked, the program will display a blank grid since no file is loaded on startup.

Annual events infinite by default-defines the behaviour of annual events.

Show "No Events" message on scanning   -if checked, a message will alert you if there are no events found when scanning for due events.

Default interval to display expired events. -this spin box displays the number of days which the program will display an event in the scan box, after it has expired, If it's keep attribute has been set by you.

Editing Page  options for selecting Editing Preferences. When you start editing a new event, the edit screen comes up with certain default values. You select them on this page.

Default notice period for new events

Default interval for new events -for new events, the start date will be today by default, and the end date will be a date in the future depending in the type of event, and the default interval you select here. For example, if the interval is set to 3, then for a new weekly type, the end date will be three weeks after the start date.

New events have keep flag checked-if checked, this box ensures that all new events will have their keep attribute, or "flag" set.

Always sort grid after editing -if checked, the grid will automatically sort after each event is added.

Default new event type -the edit window will come up showing the event type that you select here.

.


The Parts of the Program

Screens

The Main Reminder Window

The Editing Window

The Options Screen

The Scan Dialog Box

The Find Text Dialog

The About Box

Files

The Files which comprise Reminder V1.1 and it's data are:

Reminder.exe -the program file

Reminder.hlp -this help file

Reminder.ini -the configuration file, found in your windows directory

*.rem -reminder data files, created by you


The Scan Screen

This is the scan dialog which will appear when you run in Scan Mode, or when you select EVENTS/SHOW DUE EVENTS from the main window menu in default mode. The box will only show if there are any due (or expired) events to be displayed.

Contents of the Scan Screen

The Scan screen simply contains a list box, which is used to display the event dates and descriptions, and an OK button to close the screen. There is also a mouse menu available when you right-click the mouse in the list box area. The mouse menu is context-sensitive in that it will only show those commands relevant to the event that you click on.

The items displayed are either due events, past events or expired events.

Due Events are shown in blue, and if the event is current, the text is bold-faced and underlined. Right-click on an event and you can choose either to edit or delete it via the mouse-menu. Double-click and you go straight to the editing screen.

Past Events  shown  in red, are displayed if their keep attribute is set, and relate only to recurring events. A once only type event can be due, but after this date it's expired for the purposes of the program. Past events by definition are only displayed here until the next occurrence of the event becomes due. In the case of event types with longer intervals, the past event will cease to be visible before its next due, if the default period is reached first. See the Options Screen for setting the default period.

Expired events, shown  in red, are displayed only if two conditions are met:

-the events Keep attribute is set, and

-the event has not expired beyond the default period

The default period can be set via the options screen. Again, you may edit the event as described above. However, another option on the mouse menu is to turn off keep attribute.

In Scan Mode, the main window is unavailable.


Setting up Scan Mode
Setting up the program to run in Scan mode.

Scan Mode refers to a way of automatically running Reminder at Windows startup to remind you of any Due events. It does this simply by presenting you with the Scan dialog box containing the dates and descriptions of the events. Of course,  you can edit, add or delete events from here, and once you've finished simply click OK and the program will close, asking you to save any changes you've made.

Steps To Setup for Scan Mode:

Windows 3.x procedure: Copy the icon you created in Program Manager to the StartUp Group of Program Manager. Select it by clicking on it, and choose "properties" from Program manager's "File" menu. In the command line box, after the name of the program file type the word scan. Click Ok. The Scan mode will now run automatically at windows startup.

Windows 95 procedure: Copy the shortcut you made on the desktop by right dragging it to the Startup folder in your windows directory. Once copied, select the icon with a right-click to bring up the popup menu, then choose "Properties". Select the "Shortcut" page of the dialog that appears, and find the "Target" field. After the program name in the target field, type scan. Click OK. The Scan mode will now run automatically at windows startup.

The Scan Dialog Box


The Shareware concept
DEFINITION OF SHAREWARE

Shareware distribution gives users a chance to try software

before buying it. If you try a Shareware program and continue

using it, you are expected to register. Individual programs

differ on details -- some request registration while others

require it, some specify a maximum trial period. With

registration, you get anything from the simple right to continue

using the software to an updated program with printed manual.

Copyright laws apply to both Shareware and commercial software,

and the copyright holder retains all rights, with a few specific

exceptions as stated below. Shareware authors are accomplished

programmers, just like commercial authors, and the programs are

of comparable quality. (In both cases, there are good programs

and bad ones!) The main difference is in the method of

distribution. The author specifically grants the right to copy

and distribute the software, either to all and sundry or to a

specific group. For example, some authors require written

permission before a commercial disk vendor may copy their

Shareware.

Shareware is a distribution method, not a type of software. You

should find software that suits your needs and pocketbook,

whether it's commercial or Shareware. The Shareware system makes

fitting your needs easier, because you can try before you buy.

And because the overhead is low, prices are low also. Shareware

has the ultimate money-back guarantee -- if you don't use the

product, you don't pay for it.

DISCLAIMER - AGREEMENT

Users of REMINDER v1.1 must accept this disclaimer of warranty:

REMINDER v1.1 is supplied as is.  The author disclaims all

warranties, expressed or implied, including, without limitation,

the warranties of merchantability and of fitness for any purpose.

The author assumes no liability for damages, direct or conse-

quential, which may result from the use of  REMINDER v1.1.

REMINDER v1.1 is a "shareware program" and is provided at no charge

to the user for evaluation.  Feel free to share it with your

friends, but please do not give it away altered or as part of

another system.  The essence of "user-supported" software is to

provide personal computer users with quality software without

high prices, and yet to provide incentive for programmers to

continue to develop new products.  If you find this program

useful and find that you are using REMINDER v1.1 and continue to use

REMINDER v1.1 after a reasonable trial period, you must make a reg-

istration payment of  £10 to THE AUTHOR.  The £10

registration fee will license one copy for use on any one

computer at any one time.  You must treat this software just like

a book.  An example is that this software may be used by any

number of people and may be freely moved from one computer

location to another, so long as there is no possibility of it

being used at one location while it's being used at another.

Just as a book cannot be read by two different persons at the

same time.

Commercial users of REMINDER v1.1 must register and pay for their

copies of REMINDER v1.1 within 30 days of first use or their license

is withdrawn.  Site-License arrangements may be made by con-

tacting THE AUTHOR.

Anyone distributing REMINDER v1.1 for any kind of remuneration must

first contact THE AUTHOR at the address below for authorisation.

This authorisation will be automatically granted to distributors

recognised by the (ASP) as adhering to its guidelines for

shareware distributors, and such distributors may begin offering

REMINDER v1.1 immediately (However THE AUTHOR must still be advised so

that the distributor can be kept up-to-date with the latest

version of REMINDER).

You are encouraged to pass a copy of REMINDER v1.1 along to your

friends for evaluation.  Please encourage them to register their

copy if they find that they can use it.  All registered users will receive a copy

of the latest version of the REMINDER program.


Sorting the Grid
When first displayed, the grid of events is sorted by date. For each event in your reminder file, regardless of type, the program has calculated the date of the next occurrence of each event, and placed the events in order by that date. After editing or adding a new event, the grid view may no longer be sorted; if this is the case the status bar will inform you. You can choose if sorting should occur after each edit in the Options Screen. You may sort the grid at any time by selecting the appropriate menu or toolbar command.


Getting Started
This page shows you how to get up and running quickly with Reminder V1.1. The following steps are involved:

_

1.) Install the Program.

2.) Create your Reminder File.

3.) Configure the Program.

Installation

Reminder is simple to install, since there are only two files Reminder.exe, the program file, and Reminder.hlp, it's associated windows help file. The process of installation simply involves copying these two files into a directory of your choice. Windows 3.x users must then create an icon in Program Manager, while Windows 95 users can create a shortcut on the desktop and/or a start menu entry. To setup for automated Scan mode, see: Setting the program to run in Scan Mode. Reminder V1.1 creates an INI file in your windows directory, and you may create as many reminder event files as you like to store your event data.

Windows 3.x procedure: after copying the files to their directory, go to Program Manager. You can create a new Group to contain the icon, or put it into an existing Group. To create the icon, choose NEW from Program Manager's FILE menu, and select PROGRAM ITEM. In the Properties dialog box which follows simply click BROWSE to locate the Remind.exe file, and click OK. Reminder should now be installed.

Windows 95 procedure: The simplest way, after copying over the files to your chosen directory, is first to create a desktop shortcut, and the optionally copy the shortcut to your Start Menu directory. First right click the desktop, and select New Shortcut, then Browse to locate Remind.exe and click Next, the Finish. Your desktop shortcut is now created. You can optionally copy this to your Start Menu. Simply right drag it into the Start Menu subfolder of your Windows directory, and select Copy Here.

Creating a Reminder File

Creating a file of reminder events is easy. Running the program for the first time presents you with an empty grid ready to accept events as you add them. Simply follow the steps in Adding a Reminder event, to add events to the grid, then select SAVE from the menu ( or click the save toolbar button ) to save your events to a disk file. Since this is a new file you will be presented with the SAVE AS dialog prompting you to create a name for your file. Windows 95 users should note here that the filename should conform to the old 8.3 dos naming convention, and it is preferable to leave the extension as the default, *.REM. Your file of reminder events is now saved to disk.

Configuring the Program

You do not need to do anything further to use Reminder, but you may wish to alter the behaviour of the program from it's default actions. There are two issues to configuration:

a) Selecting Options to control program behaviour, and

b) Setting up the program to run in Scan mode

Also, depending on the Display Resolution of your Windows setup, you may need to alter the default grid column width so that you can view your events properly. Changes you make to the grid or select via the Options screen, or add when you enter your special code during registration are saved to a configuration, or INI file stored in your windows directory. Loss of this file leads to loss of your configuration settings and registration data.