Make a Note of It

This software is provided under the Shareware Scheme so that you can try it before you buy it.  Please try it and copy it to as many people as possible for them to try it as well.  The software is not time limited but instead there is one functionality limitation which is that you can only create a maximum of four Notes.

If you find this program useful, please register it and you will receive a full working copy along with any improvements that have been made since this Shareware version was released.  If you have any comments, whether you decide to register it or not, you can contact me at my home address or by email.

I would be very interested in any comments either to do with things not working the way you think they should, or improvements that you think would enhance the application.  I will send a FREE update to any registered user who suggests an improvement that I decide to implement.

Overview

Creating your first Note

Alarmed Notes

House Keeping

Save your work

Open with last document


Overview

Make a Note of It allows you to create "Post It" style notes on your screen.  You can create sizeable notes which can be placed anywhere on the screen, they can be given an "Always On Top" status which literally means they will remain on top of other applications that you have running on your PC.  You can also set "Alarms" on each note, enabling you to use Make a Note of It as a reminder system.  When the alarm goes off, the note will pop-up on top of all other running applications, even if Make a Note of It happens to be minimised.

Creating your first Note


Creating your first Note

When you first start Make a Note of It you will get the Control Center/Main Application Window  of the application in a default size and position as below.  You can move and size this Window to your own requirements and it will always appear in the new location, even when the application is closed down and then restarted.

To create your first note :-

1.	select the 'Note Operations' menu

2.	and then the 'Create a Note of It' option.

This will create a note in the default position and size as below.

You can now type the contents of your note in this new Window.  Something to be aware of is that all text typed up to the first carriage return will appear as a title in the list in the main application Window.  It is a good idea therefore to place a short description as the first line of your note i.e. 'Useful Telephone Numbers', 'Phone Calls to make before lunch' etc...

You are now ready to move your note to the location on the screen where you wish it to appear each time you use the application.  You can also re-size the note Window to fit the text that you have typed in.

Alarmed Notes

House Keeping


House Keeping

After you have created several notes you may notice your screen becoming cluttered and you may find it difficult to find the note that contains the information that you want.  There are several ways to improve the situation.

Hiding a note

Retrieving a hidden note

Cascading Notes

Re-order Notes

Put Note Always on topAlarmed Notes


Hiding
Hiding a Note

If there are notes which you have created but will only be refered to very rarely, you can 'hide' the note from view without deleting it.  The advantage of this is that it will not clutter up the screen but you can easily get access to it at any time.  You can either perform this operation from the the Control Center/Main Application Window  or from the note that you wish to hide.

To hide a note from the Control Center/Main Application Window :-

Click on the Control Center to make it the current Window.

1.	Select the entry in the list which represents the note that you wish to hide (this will be easier if you have given your notes sensible titles

2.	Select the 'Notes Operations' menu and the 'Hide a Note of It' option.

The note will now disappear from the screen but do not panic, it can easily be retrieved.

The alternative method :-

1.	Click on the note, that you wish to hide, in order to make it the active Window.

2.	Select the 'Hide a Note of It' option from the System Menu.

Retrieving a hidden note


Retrieving a hidden note

To view Notes which are currently hidden do the following :-

1.	Click on the the Control Center/Main Application Window  to make it the current Window.

2.	Select the entry in the list which represents the note that you wish to hide (this will be easier if you have given your notes sensible titles

3.	Select the 'Notes Operations' menu and the 'Edit a Note of It' option.

The note will now reappear in it's original position.

Cascading Notes


Cascading

If after a while your notes have become scattered around the screen and you wish to rearrange them neatly then you can choose the Cascade option.  This will cascade all the visible notes starting in the left hand corner of the screen.

To do this do the following :-

1.	Choose the 'View' menu

2.	Choose the 'Cascade Open Notes' option

A word of caution about this option.  Your notes will be re-sized to be the same size as they were when they were created and will be cascaded in the order that they were created.  If you wish to alter the order that they are cascaded in then see the section below on re-ordering.

Re-order Notes


Re-order Notes

As mentioned above, the notes will automatically cascade in the order that they were originally created.  If this does not suit you and you would like to group certain notes together or simply alter their order then you can use the 'Drag and Drop' on the list of notes in the the Control Center/Main Application Window .

To do this do the following :-

1.	Click on the the Control Center/Main Application Window  to make it the current Window.

2.	Select the entry in the list which represents the note that you wish to hide (this will be easier if you have given your notes sensible titles

3.	Press and hold the left mouse button while over the title of the note that you wish to move.

4.	Move the mouse up or down and when the mouse is at the position in the list that you would like your note to appear, release the mouse button.

The note should now be in it's new position in the list and if you Cascade the notes they should cascade in the their new order.

Put Note Always on top


Always on top

You can give any of your notes the standard Windows property of 'Always on top' which means that it will be visible even if you start another application.  This can be very useful if you have something that you want to be constantly reminded of, although you may find it more convenient to set an alarm.

To set the Always On Top property do the following :-

1.	Click on the the Control Center/Main Application Window  to make it the current Window.

2.	Select the entry in the list which represents the note that you wish to hide (this will be easier if you have given your notes sensible titles

3.	Select the 'Notes Operations' menu and the 'Put a Note of It Always On Top' option.

A word of caution about this option.  Your note will appear on top of ALL Windows except other Windows that have the 'Always on top' property set.  This includes message boxes put up by applications.  You may find yourself constantly moving the note around trying to get it out of the way.

Save your work


Save your work

As with ever other application you should save your work regularly.  If you try exiting the application without saving, you will be prompted to save.  However if your PC locks and you have to reboot, you will loose all of your work since you last saved.

To save your Notes :-

1.	Select the 'File' menu

2.	Choose the 'Save' or 'Save As' option

Changes to the document include adding a new note, changing the text on an existing note, moving a note, changing the Always On Top status, hiding a note or setting an Alarm.

Open with last document


Open with last document

When you start Make a Note of It, you will automatically be presented with the document that you were working on the last time you had the application open.  As well as this, under the 'File' menu you will be given the option of opening the four mostly recently opened documents.

In addition to these facilities you can pass the name of the document that you wish to open across as a command line argument when starting the application.


Alarmed Notes

You can use Make a Note of It as a reminder system by setting alarms on each of your notes that you want to re-appear at a certain time.  An alarmed note will pop up onto the screen at the pre-set time, even if the application is minimised.

To set an alarm do the following :-

1.	Click on the the Control Center/Main Application Window  to make it the current Window.

2.	Select the entry in the list which represents the note that you wish to hide (this will be easier if you have given your notes sensible titles

3.	Select the 'Notes Operations' menu and the 'Set Alarm on a Note of It' option.

You will then be presented with the following dialog :-

The dialog will be initialised with the current system date and time.  Change the details to represent the alarm date/time that you want and then click the 'OK' button.

You should now note that the title bar of your note is displaying the date and time that the alarm is set for.

If the application is closed when an alarm is due to go off then it will go off when you next run Make a Note of It.

To turn the alarm off :-

1.	Click on the the Control Center/Main Application Window   to make it the current Window.

2.	Select the entry in the list which represents the note that you wish to hide (this will be easier if you have given your notes sensible titles

3.	Select the 'Notes Operations' menu and the 'Turn Alarm off on a Note of It' option.

House Keeping


Control Center

The Control Center is the Main Application Window where all operations on the Notes can be carried out, although most of these operations can also be selected from the system menu of each Note.


Note Titles

All text typed up to the first carriage return will appear as a title in the list in the main application Window.  It is a good idea therefore to place a short description as the first line of your note i.e. 'Useful Telephone Numbers', 'Phone Calls to make before lunch' etc...


Registration

To register this Shareware application, please send a cheque for £10 (£12.50 outside the UK) to

Robert New

35 The Cherry Walk

Hightonwood Hill

Tromode

Isle of Man

IM2 5NW

Please print off and fill in the Readme.txt file and return it with your cheque.

You can contact me on my email address  r n e w @ e n t e r p r i s e . n e t

I regret that I can only provide 3.5 disks.