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ST Diary V1.0 ------------- Introduction ------------ ST Diary as the name suggests is an electronic version of a page a day diary. Unlike conventional diaries, ST Diary will continue to function for more that one year and will automatically adjust for leap years. The 'Day I' and 'Day II' pulldown menu columns refer to the left and right hand sides of the screen respectively. When a file is either opened or created then a graphical representation of an open diary will be displayed on the screen. The two 'Day' columns have identical commands to access and process the data stored in the diary. ST Diary only deals with whole years, one year per file. If all lines on every day is packed with text then a one megabyte machine will be needed. With files of this size a standard double density floppy disc will hold two complete years (files). Each page is laid out like a conventional diary. In normal sized text next to the edge of the page is the day, the position within the month and the current month. Example : Sunday 26 January In small text near the centre of the screen there is the week number, the number of the current day within the year and the number of days left to go in the year. Example : Week 4 26 - 340 ST Diary's Features : * Page a day diary * Annual event storage * Calendar * 8 page note pad The eight page note pad can be found at the end of the diary. Press the right arrow keys to move towards the end of the year and into the note pad section. Use the standard 'Day I' and 'Day II' commands to manipulate data in the note pad. Notes are automatically saved when the diary is saved. Hardware / Software Platform ---------------------------- Computer : Atari 680x0 computer Memory : 1 Mb Graphics : 640 x 400 x 2 colors (E.G. SM125, 124 or 144 monitors) Peripherals : Mouse External floppy 'B' and hard discs supported (Hard disc recommeded for multiple years). Printer - Epson Mode (Necessary for printer commands only) If a TV or colour monitor is to be used then a mono emulator piece of software should be run before hand. Software Installation --------------------- There should be the following four files on the supplied disk : ST_DIARY.PRG - ST Diary program. CONVERT.PRG - Conversion program for EVENT.DAT files. ST_DIARY.HLP - ST Diary On-Line help file. EVENTS.DAT - ST Diary events file. ST_DIARY.PRG : This is the program which may be run from the Desktop, or installed as an accessory to automatically load in diary files. The program file, ST_DIARY.HLP and EVENTS.DAT files must all reside in the same folder / drive, but the data files (diary years) may be in any folder or drive. CONVERT.PRG : This program converts leap year event data files into non-leap year conpatible files and visa versa. Events are stored in the file according to their position in the year (1 to 365) but, in a leap year there are 366 days in a year. The extra day (29 February) has the effect of pushing all events after the 29 of February out one day. To fix this problem just run CONVERT.PRG from the desktop. An Alert box will be displayed with the following options : Leap : Converts a normal file into a leap year conpatible file. If there is an event in day 366 then it will be positioned on the 29 of February. All days after the 28 of February are moved along one position in the file. Normal : Converts a leap year file into a non-leap year conpatable file. Takes the 29 of February and places it at the end of the EVENTS.DAT file (day 366). This is so that any event on this day can be converted back in four years time without losing any data. Quit : Terminates program and returns back to the Desktop. NOTE : The 'Leap' and 'Normal' options specify the format of the new converted file, NOT the format of the old file. ST_DIARY.HLP : This is the file that contains the On-Line help file for ST Diary. It is standard ASCII in format and so may be edited by a word processor. It should be noted that any alterations are for the use of the user that made the alterations only. If altered files are passed on to any other users of ST Diary then this will constitute a breach of copyright. The help file has key words in upper case which relates directly to the help menu buttons. ST Diary reads all text between these key words and the data end commands 'END'. Extra data may therefore be inserted between the relevant key word and an END. If the file ST_DIARY.HLP is not found in the same folder as ST_DIARY.PRG then a warning message will be displayed. EVENTS.DAT : This is the events data file that is loaded when ST Diary is first run. This file is not compulsory but is necessary to store events information. There is only one events file because it is designed to store events that happen each year on the same day. To update this events file, edit the relevant event(s) and then use the SAVE EVENTS command under the FILE pulldown menu column, this will save all 365 or 366 events to the file EVENTS.DAT. See CONVERT.PRG. Disclaimer ---------- Wilkinson Enterprises may not be held responsible for any software or hardware errors that occur through the use, either directly or indirectly, of ST Diary. Commands -------- The next part of the manual (Atari Symbol to Extras) explains the meaning and use of all ST Diary's commands. The commands are in order according to the pulldown menu interface, starting on the left and working down each menu column in turn. Atari Symbol ------------ This is the credits screen which displays information on the following : Author Software Name and Version number Copyright Date Language used in construction of software Any accessories present will be displayed below the ST Diary Information menu option. File ---- Open Diary - Displays an item selector box for the user to enter a filename. If a file is already open then the user will be asked for confirmation to clear this old file from main memory (RAM). If the filename (less extension) matches the current year (held by the system clock) then the year will be opened in the normal manner and the current day in the diary will be displayed. If the system clock year doesn't match the filename then the 1st of January for that year will be displayed. If the filename doesn't match a year then the user will be asked to select an appropriate year for the file. See 'Create Year' for limitations on years that can be selected. [ Short cut Key - F1 ] Save Diary - Displays an item selector box for the user to enter a filename to save the current year. Note the file selector will default to the current year (set by the CREATE command) plus the extension .DRY, it is recommended that the user selects this option. Example : 1992.DRY Different file extensions to '.DRY' may be used but the year part of the filename is used by the OPEN command, so it must remain the same as the year the file contains. [ Short cut Key - F2 ] Create Diary - Displays a box with the current year and two arrows. Click on the left arrow to decrease the year, and the right arrow button to increase the year. The year that is first displayed in the Create Diary dialog box is the current year in the system clock. Years that can be created are between five hundred years less than the system clock and fifty years ahead. If other years are required then the system date must be altered. Example : Current Year = 1992 Years that may be created = 1492 to 2042 NOTE : As the system clock year changes then the validation years change likewise. [ Short cut Key - F3 ] Save Events - Saves all events into a file called EVENTS.DAT. This file is automatically loaded when ST Diary is run. This file only saves 366 events, one for each day of the year, events cannot be used on NOTE pages. Events are events that occur on the same day every year. The events file is used for every diary file and so the user doesn't keep on having to retype repetitive events. Examples of events are : Birthdays, Christmas, New Years Day, Etc. See Edit Event and CONVERT.PRG. Close - Closes current year without saving. [ Short cut Key - F4 ] List Files - Displays a list of the files and folders in the current directory. The current directory is the one that the file selector routine defaults to. FORMAT : Filename, Extension, Type, Date, Time and Size TYPES : Disc System Folder Hidden Read/Write Read Only At the bottom of the screen is displayed the total number of items (files & folders) and the total space occuplied. If this box does not appear at the bottom then this signifies that more files are to be listed. Each screen can display up to 16 items. Click on the mouse or hit RETURN or ENTER for the rest of the files. Also click on the mouse to close the file listing display window. NOTE : The file sizes and the total space used at the bottom of the screen can be calculated in bytes, kilobytes or megabytes. To change the units use the buttons in the 'Program Status' command. See Program Status [ Short cut Key - F5 ] Kill File - Lets the user through the use of a file selector box select any file, on any drive as a file to be deleted. If a file is found with a matching name then it will be deleted. [ Short cut Key - F6 ] Rename File - Will display two file selector boxes : the first is to enter the name of the file to change, and the second is to enter the new name for that file. If Cancel is click on in the first file selector, or the filename specified cannot be found then the second file selector box will not be displayed and the Rename command will be terminated. [ Short cut Key - F7 ] Program Status - Displays : Current year Days in year File status (Open or Closed) Free space in RAM, Free space on disc, Current drive name. There are six buttons in the Program Status dialog box : RIGHT & LEFT Arrows increase and decrease the current drive ID. When changing to another drive / partition, the free space for the new drive is automatically calculated and displayed after the change. BYTES shows the free space in RAM and on the current drive expressed in bytes. Kb is like Bytes but shows free space measured in Kilobytes (K) - 1 Kb = 1024 bytes. Mb is like Bytes as well but shows free space measured in Megabytes - 1 Mb = 1024 Kb. This unit of free space will be useful for users with large amounts of RAM or a hard disk or floptical drive. OK can be clicked on or RETURN pressed to exit this dialog box. [ Short cut Key - F8 ] Screen Color - Inverts screen colours. [ Short cut Key - Alt 'C' ] .BAK Files - If this option is enabled (ticked) then when saving a diary with the same name as a file already on disc, ST Diary will rename the old file to the same name but with the extension '.BAK', the new file will then be saved to its proper filename. If not enabled then saved files will be able to overwrite existing files with the same filenames. [ Short cut Key - Alt 'B' ] Help Messages - When enabled will display at certain times Alert boxes to aid the user. When switched off no alerts will be displayed. For the experienced user it will be quicker to use the software without help messages. [ Short cut Key - Alt 'H' ] Instructions - Is a condensed version of this manual that may be accessed through ST Diary. If the file ST_DIARY.HLP cannot be found then a Alert box will be displayed informing the user that no help file can be found. Once this command is selected an instructions sub-menu will be displayed with buttons down the left hand side of the screen. Click on these buttons to access the relevant instructions required. Some instruction topics (buttons) may have more than one screen to display, click on the left hand mouse button or hit RETURN to display the next screen. After all screens in a topic have been displayed then the sub-menu will be redisplayed. To exit from here back to the main software interface click on Exit. If the right hand mouse key is pressed at any time then the instruction command will be terminated without going through the sub-menu. [ Short cut Key - Help ] Time / Date - Allows the time and date to be set. Click on Set and enter the time and then the date. Format : Time - HH:MM:SS Date - DD.MM.YYYY Click on OK to continue work in ST Diary. [ Short Cut Key - F8 ] Quit - Leaves ST Diary without saving and returns to the Desktop. An alert box is displayed for user conformation, click on QUIT to actually exit the software. [ Short cut Key - F10 ] DAY I ----- Enter Text - Allows the user to enter text into the day displayed on the left hand side of the screen (Day I). RETURN must be pressed at the end of each line. Any lines that are not needed for text, the user can just hit Return at the start of the line. Each page contains : 20 x lines 37 x characters per line [ Short cut Key - F11 ] Edit Line - Click on one of the twenty lines of Day I and then enter the required text and hit RETURN. If the right hand mouse button is pressed then the Edit Line command is cancelled. [ Short cut Key - F12 ] Edit Event - Allows the Event for Day I to be altered. This command cannot be used when Day I holds a note page. Events are only for days in the year. Each day only holds one event which can be up to 30 characters in length maximum. See : Save Events. (Events are not saved in the main Diary file.) [ Short cut Key - F13 ] Jump To - There are two ways to directly access (jump to) diary pages (days). The first is to enter the day and the month like 20 and 2 for the twentieth of February. The second way is to enter a number of days to jump when the day number has to be entered. This number of days to jump may be positive or negative. Positive goes forward in the diary and negative backwards. Example : +7 forwards one week -14 back two weeks To access the note pad section of the diary quickly use the JUMP TO command and type in the number of days left in the year plus two. [ Short cut Key - Clr Home ] Clear Text - Clears all text in Day I. Leaves the Event intact. [ Short cut Key - F14 ] Calendar - Displays a calendar of the current month. The current day is shown in reverse video on the calendar. If the current days in the diary were 31 January and 1 February then the calendar for Day I would be for January, but if the calendar was called from the Day II menu the calendar would display February. Search - The search facility will first require a piece of text to search for. The search text should be entered (37 chars. max) and then RETURN or ENTER pressed. This piece of text can be found within larger pieces of text. E.G. 'Enter' will find 'Wilkinson Enterprises'. 'Start at current day' will now appear with two boxes : 'Yes' and 'No'. To select one of these buttons click on the mouse. Yes will search from the current day (depends on which menu was used 'Day I' or 'Day II') until the end of the diary. No will search from the beginning (1 Jan) until the end of the diary. 'Case sensitive' will appear with the same 'Yes' and 'No' buttons. If case sensitive is on then only exact text case matches will produce a find. All days that match will be displayed one at a time. Hit RETURN or click on the mouse to display the next matching day. Hitting Escape will exit from the search routine only when a day is being displayed after being found. The busy bee mouse pointer will indicate when ST Diary is searching. After a search is complete the day from which it was called will be displayed again. If however ESCAPE has been pressed then after the search this day will be displayed. The 'Day I' and 'Day II' search commands are identical except that when a day is found then it will be displayed on the same day as the command was called from. The search command searches both day I and II days throughout the diary irrespective of the menu it was called from. At the end of a search a dialog box will be displayed with details of the search : Search text entered Occurrence in diary Case sensitive Start day End day NOTE : The search command searches all the calendar days in the diary and events (irrespective of calling menu), but does not search the note pad pages. [ Short cut Key - Alt 'S' ] Print - If the printer is on-line and ready to receive data then a Print sub-menu will be displayed. This sub-menu has the following options : DAY I - Prints the left hand page that is currently being displayed. DAY II - Prints the right hand page that is currently being displayed. SCREEN - Prints days I and II that are currently being displayed. MONTH - Prints all days in the month. The month is the one that Day I is in. If the print option is called from the Day II menu then this month will be the one that Day II is in (could be different from Day I). Month refers to a calender month, not a four week period from the current day. Not available from within notes section. YEAR - Prints out entire diary. The notes section is not printed in this option however. Not available from within notes section. EXIT - Cancels the print request and returns the user back to the normal diary. If the printer is off then a warning will be displayed. Click on Re-Try after switching the printer on, or click on Cancel. If Re-Try is selected and the printer is on then the above sub-menu will be displayed. Epson compatible printers should be used because of the Epson commands that are issued by the software during the printing process. Days are printed one below the other, not side by side like on the screen! The day and date is printed at the top, then the event in condensed print, and then all twenty lines of the day. No week number or Julian date is printed. Day II ------ The 'Day II' menu options are identical to the 'Day I' options accept that they access data held in the left hand page instead of the right hand page. Extras ------ This part of ST Diary represents the use(ful/less) pages of information at the back of a normal diary. The advantage about ST Diary is that you do not have to flip to the back and loose your place. When you exit from an information page, the current day in the diary will be displayed again. World Times - Displays deviations from British Summer Time in hours for major cities of the world. Weights & Measures - Displays information on : Length Area Temperature conversion Capacity Weight Time - Displays different time units. Computing - Displays information about computing, mainly acronyms. Screen - Sends information under the Extras menu off to the screen. Printer - Sends information off to the printer. To print information out, select this option (should become ticked), and then click on one of the information topics. If the printer is off then a warning will be displayed. Click on Re-Try after switching the printer on, or click on Cancel. Short cut Keys -------------- F1 - Open Diary F2 - Save Diary F3 - Create Diary F4 - Close F5 - List Files F6 - Kill File F7 - Rename File F8 - Program Status F9 - Time / Date F10 - Quit F11 - Enter Text (Day I) F12 - Edit Line " F13 - Edit Event " F14 - Clear Text " F15 - Enter Text (Day II) F16 - Edit Line " F17 - Edit Event " F18 - Jump To " F19 - Clear Text " Alt 'C' - Screen Color Alt 'B' - .BAK Files Alt 'H' - Help Messages Alt 'P' - Print Alt 'S' - Search Help - Help Undo - Edit Clr Home - Jump To (Day I) Up or Right - Next page Down or Left - Previous page Conclusion ---------- This is the first release of ST Diary (c) which is available for the Atari ST range of personal computers. The software has been extensively tested but like all software the author(s) cannot be sure that all bugs / errors are removed. If you discover any bugs please contact the author at the address below : Mr. Simon Wilkinson 2 High Buckstone Edinburgh EH10 6XS Wilkinson Enterprises 1992