Press [Word] to toggle headings outline view on and off.
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INTRODUCTION
Master of Ceremonies (MoC) is an application for controlling events which need to run to a time schedule. An event is first planned and then run. When the schedule is running, MoC prompts with up to two lines of text about the current time slot and the next time slot and displays a count-down timer of minutes left. MoC also shows a continuous forecast of the ending time of the event and, if necessary, you can reschedule the remaining time slots to save the day.
For familiarisation, open the example file by highlighting it on the system screen and press [Enter].
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SCREEN LAYOUT
The right-hand side of the MoC screen has three stacked windows.
The middle and bottom windows show the current and next slots.
The top window is the status window which is divided into three panes. These show the time interval for the whole schedule, the time interval for the current slot and the status of the current schedule run.
A further small window on the left of the display between the clock and the logo either shows the duration of the current slot in minutes, or, in run mode, a count-down timer of minutes remaining for the current slot. This window will be blank if the current slot is a heading.
The screen also shows either a digital or analogue clock, and the application will work in 24 hour or am/pm format according to the settings in the Time application.
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BASIC OPERATION
The following keystrokes are used throughout MoC:
[Menu] Display the menu of commands
[Help] Display program information
[Esc]Abandon current activity
Commands on the menu can also be accessed using a shortcut key identified on the menu while holding down the PSION key. Use the "Exit" option on the "Special" menu to stop MoC.
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LOADING A SCHEDULE FILE
Psion-O Open a different schedule.
MoC maintains a schedule file open at all times. By default, files are stored in M:\MOC and will then appear below the MoC icon on the system screen. If MoC is started without specifying a file, an empty one is created called MOC. The easiest way of loading a file is to highlight it on the system screen and press [Enter]. The current file may also be changed while MoC is active using the "Open schedule" option on the "File" menu.
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EXAMINING THE SCHEDULE
The following keystrokes can be used to move through the schedule:
[Up] Move to the previous item
[Dn] Move to the next item
[PgUp] Move to the previous heading
[PgDn] Move to the next heading
[Home] Move to the first item
[End] Move to the last item
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SEARCHING FOR ITEMS
Psion-F Find an item by text
Psion-G Find next item by text
Psion-W Find an item by time
You can search for the text in items or for the item at a particular time. The commands are on the "Search" menu. Note that the "Find" command does not necessarily find multiple matching items in run order, but "Find" followed by repeated "Find next" will find all items once only.
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SETTING THE STARTING TIME
Psion-T Set time options
MoC supports three ways of fixing a schedule in time:
- Relative (the default). When the schedule is not running, times are relative hours and minutes. Whenever the schedule is started, it is assumed to have started on time and times are then actual times.
- Start Time. You can fix a planned start time and then all times are actual times. When the schedule is run, any difference from the planned start time is recorded as an early or late start.
- End Time. You fix a planned end time and MoC calculates the start time. When you add or change slots, the start time moves unless the schedule is already running, which case is the same as for a fixed start time.
To change the time options use the "Set times" option on the "Special" menu. The settings are stored in the schedule file.
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SETTING AUDIBLE WARNINGS
Psion-S Set Warning Options
MoC has three types of audible warnings all of which are initially disabled. Warning options are selected from the "Set warnings" option on the "Special" menu.
The "Time-up" warning sounds when the countdown timer reaches zero.
The "Overtime" warning sounds every minute when the countdown timer is negative.
The "Advance" warning sounds a preselected number of minutes before the countdown timer reaches zero.
The sound options are saved in the schedule file.
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RUNNING THE SCHEDULE
[Enter] Start run/ reset run mode
[Space] Step to next slot
[1] Switch off til next warning
Psion-H Halt the run
To run a schedule, move to the first item (or the position where you want to start) and press [Enter]. MoC steps over any headings and begins the run at the next slot.
Press the [Space] key when you're ready to move on to the next slot.
Pressing any movement key changes MoC back to view mode, but the schedule is still running and you can switch back to run mode by pressing [Enter]
again. You can tell that the schedule is running by a shadow on the information window and that you are in run mode by a shadow on the minutes window.
When the schedule is running, but in view mode, the current slot and all completed slots have a shadow, indicating that they cannot be changed.
To switch off until the next warning occurs, press the [1] key or take the "Off until" option on the "Special" menu.
To stop a running schedule before the last item, use the "Halt" option on the "Special" menu.
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LOGGING A RUN
Psion-L Set logging
You can create a log file of a schedule run. This will be the same as the original schedule except that the duration of each time slot will be the actual time taken during the run. The log can be used as a record of the event, or as a schedule file for the next time you run the event.
You can create the log at any time prior to starting the run. Take the "Set logging" option on the "Special" menu. You can choose whether or not the headings are copied into the log file.
The log is closed when MoC is exited, another schedule is opened or manually by taking the "Set logging" option again.
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CREATING A SCHEDULE
Psion-N Create a new schedule
You can create a schedule from scratch, or you can create a new schedule using an existing one as a template. If using a template, first start MoC with the template schedule. Otherwise you can use the "New file" option on the system "File" menu to create an empty schedule. The "New schedule" option on the MoC "File" menu can be used to create a new file from within MoC and must be used if a template is required. The template feature is useful if you use the same schedule repeatedly, but are likely to have to make changes "on the day".
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ENTERING AN ITEM
Psion-E Enter a new item
To populate a new schedule or add to an existing one use the "Enter" option on the "Change" menu. Enter text on the two lines of the entry window and press [Enter]. Press [Space] to make a heading, or set a duration or end time and press [Enter]. Press [Esc] when you have entered the last item.
When the schedule is running, you can still add new items after the running slot.
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CHANGING AN ITEM
Psion-U Update an item
Use the "Update" option on the "Change" menu to change the current time slot or heading. For time slots, you get a chance to change the duration or end time after editing the text.
When the schedule is running, you can still change slots or headings which are in the future.
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