The Datafile PD-CD 1B/DATAFILE_PDCD1B.iso/_pocketbk/pocketbook/003/td121c_zip/TODO.TXT

Text File | 1993-08-25 | 23.7 KB | 646 lines

                        To Do

A shareware personal task manager for the Psion Series 3.

PREAMBLE

Disclaimer
==========
        No warranty is given on this program. No liability for any
        damage or loss to equipment, data or software will be
        assumed.  You use this program at your own risk.

Registration
============
        The TODO program is shareware.  If you like it and use it
        after 14 days, you should send me †10.  This will ease your
        conscience and my bank balance.  I will send you a small file to
        disable the "nag" screens and show you as a registered user
        on the About screen.  If you do not have an email id, then
        please ensure I have your name and address and state whether you
        have a 3.5 or 5.25 inch diskette drive (PCs only I'm afraid).

        Bug-fix versions will be available from the lexsoft/todo conference
        on CIX and the Palmtop forum on Compuserve.


Errors
======
        I don't know of any outstanding bugs (unless listed at the
        end of this document) but as with any piece of software I'm
        sure there are some.

        The program's error handler attempts to save the current file
        as ERROR.TDO before collapsing in the proverbial heap.  Check
        this file out if an error occurs.  If it appears ok copy it
        over your original file and continue.  Please let me know of
        any errors.

Distribution
============
        This package may be freely copied, distributed as shareware so
        long as the contents remain intact and are not tampered with in
        any way.

        The ZIP file should contain:
                OUTLINE.FON
                OUTNORM.FON
                PROJECTS.TDP
                TYPES.TDP
                TODO.APP
                TODO1.OPA
                TODO2.OPA
                TODO.TXT (this file)




INTRODUCTION

I found that the To Do list part of the built in Agenda program on the
Series 3 was not quite up to my requirements.  I wanted an application
that would allow me to prioritise tasks by day, so that I could
schedule my time, and within day by priority.  Additionally I wanted
to keep track of tasks that I had delegated to my staff and other
people.  Ideally, tasks could be sorted by project so that I could
quickly see a list of outstanding tasks when I attended a review
meeting or when compiling a status report.  A type field would also be
handy so that I could organise my todo items so as to tackle all phone
calls, electronic mail items etc. together.

Other requirements were to keep notes attached to a particular entry,
have extensive search capabilties, allocate an estimate to each task
so as to enable a summary of time estimated per day to be produced.

You've guessed it, all of these features, and others, are included
within this program.

Todo is now becoming quite a smart Personal Information Manager
although not up to those found on the PC.  This is only because the
program needs to be kept to a managable size.



INSTALLATION INSTRUCTIONS

Create a directory \TDO to hold data files generated by the
application.  This can reside on any local drive.

Unzip the file TODOxxx.ZIP and transfer the included files to the
Series 3 as follows:

TODO.APP                Copy to the \APP directory on any drive.
TODO1.OPA               Copy to the \APP directory on any drive.
TODO2.OPA               Copy to the \APP directory on any drive.
PROJECTS.TDP            Copy to the \TDO directory on any drive.
TYPES.TDP               Copy to the \TDO directory on any drive.

Copy the two files OUTLINE.FON and OUTNORM.FON to any \OPD
directory.

The .APP,.OPA and .FON files should be kept on the same drive.  All
may be kept on Flash SSD as they are only read by the program and not
changed.

Install the program on the Series 3 menu by going to the system
screen, and pressing Psion-I.  In the "Install Application" dialog
box, set "Disk" to the drive to which you have copied TODO.APP, and
set the File Name to TODO.APP.


STARTING TODO

Having installed TODO, it operates just like one of the standard
applications such as Word or Data, in that a list of data files
is shown under the TODO icon.  These can be opened by pressing
Enter or Shift-Enter.  A new file can be created by pressing
Psion-N.


GENERAL

Commands can generally be entered in one of three ways:

- From the menu
- by pressing the key indicated on the menu
- by using the same key without the Psion prefix.  One key operation
  is considerably easier if you are using the Series 3 "one handed".

Up to 70 records can be held in a single file although unregistered
users will get a "nag" screen when entering each record after
the first 20.


CREATING AN ENTRY

Press Psion-E, E, the space bar or Shift-Enter.  Enter up to two
lines of text in the dialog box.  Use the up and down cursor keys
to move between the two lines. This text forms the main text of
the entry.

When you have pressed enter, a second dialog box appears.  Complete
these fields.

Due Date:  The entries are sorted by default on the Due Date field
which is usually used to denote the day on which the task is to be
carried out.

Priority: This may be set to 1 (High) down to 9 (Low).

Type and Project: These fields can be set to one of the codes that
you can enter yourself (see later in this manual).

Estimate can be used to enter, in hours, the time you expect the task
to take to complete.  This field is optional (see Options settings).

Onus can be set to In, which means that next action is down to you, or
Out, which means that the next action on the item has been
allocated to somebody else.  The onus of a particular item may
therefore swing between In and Out as events unfold.


DISPLAY TYPE AND FONT SIZE

The list can be shown in either of two fonts; normal or small (as
used in the spreadsheet).  Use Psion-B to toggle between the two
sizes.  The display can also be toggled between the full display
and a summary display using Psion-H.


MOVING BETWEEN ENTRIES

Use the up and down cursor keys to move between entries, one at a
time.  PgUp and PgDn move four entries at a time (full display) or
eight entries at a time (summary display).

Ctrl-Psion-Up Arrow and Ctrl-Psion-Down Arow move to the top and
bottom of the file respectively.  Psion-J/Psion-K and J/K also perform
these functions which makes it easier


EDIT TYPES AND EDIT PROJECTS

Types can be set to anything you like.  I use them for different
categories of work such as Email and Phone calls, which I like to
get out of the way every morning.  I also have special categories
for the people who work for me, and one for my boss.  This enables me
to sort items by type when I have a meeting with one of these
people.

The higher the type in the type lists, the higher they get sorted.
So, if there is a particular category of tasks that you like to get
out of the way each morning, you should set this type at the head of
the list.  The default sort order is by day, then onus in before out,
priority and finally, type.

Projects can also be used for anything you like.

Use Psion-Y to update the types and Psion-T to update Projects.
Up to 24 types and 24 projects can be defined. Processing is similar
for each, with 6 entries being shown at a time, press Enter after
each group.  Blank entries are allowed but are filtered so that they
don't appear on selection dialog boxes.

The Types and Projects are saved with each file.  The TYPES.TDP
and PROJECTS.TDP files are used to set the Types/Projects for new
files. Each time you amend the types and projects, you are asked if
you want to save the settings as the default for new files.


UPDATE AN ENTRY

To update the details of an entry, press Psion-U or Enter.  When the
entry has been updated, the list is resorted and redisplayed.


COPY AN ENTRY

Psion-C copies the current entry and then puts you into update
mode on the new record.  This is useful for entering recurring tasks.


DELETE AN ENTRY

To delete an entry, press Psion-D or the Delete key.  You are asked
if you are sure.  Press the appropriate key.  If you have a note
assigned to an entry, you are asked if you if wish to delete the note.

When an entry is deleted, it is optionally appended to a Done file,
named, by default, DONE.TDO in the /TDO directory on the default
drive.  The name of this file can be changed from the options screen
but always resides in the TDO directory of the default disk. A
warning is displayed if the number of records in this file exceeds 65.
This gives you a chance to set another done file before the limit of
70 entries is reached.

You can choose whether items are always archived to the "Done" file,
are never archived or whether the program asks at delete time, by using
the Done option on the Options dialogue.

The date of the archived record on the "Done" file can be set either to
the original due date or to the date archived.  This option is on
the second option panel (Psion-B).

You will get a program error message if you attempt to delete a record
from a "Done" file to the same "Done" file.  To delete from the Done
file, set the Done File in Options to another file and set Done Type
to "No".


CHANGING THE DUE DATE

To change the Due Date of an entry, press the right arrow to
change forward one day and the left arrow to move back one day.
Psion/Left and Psion/Right move the due date by one week.
Today's date is shown as "TODAY", the next seven days are shown as
"Mon", "Tue", etc.  Thereafter the actual date is displayed.

Note that when a file is loaded, any dates in the past are updated
to today.  An exception to this rule is any file beginning with "DONE"
or "ARCH" (Done/Archive files).  Their dates are left alone.  Dates
are also updated whenever the date changes (i.e. at midnight).


CHANGING OTHER FIELDS FROM THE DISPLAY

If the display was resorted and updated everytime you made a minor
change to an entry, the response time would be intrusive and you would
tend to lose track of your thoughts.  Most fields can therefore be
changed directly from the list.

Psion-/ toggles Onus between In and Out.  An Onus of out always
displays in italics.

Psion-W allows a change of type, while Psion-Q allows a change of
project.

Psion-R allows the Estimate to be changed.

To change the priority of an item, just press a number key between 1
and 9.


RESEQUENCING

To resequence or sort the file after using the features in the
previous section, use Psion-Z.


SORT

The list may be sorted into one of three orders by pressing Psion-M
and selecting one of the following orders;

        TITLE              SORT ORDER (Major->Minor)
        Due                Due Date, Onus, Priority, Type
        Project            Project, Due, Onus, Priority
        Type               Type, Due, Onus, Priority

Note that any operation can be carried out on the file in any sort
order.


SEARCH

You can search for entries by Project, Type, a string appearing
in the descriptive text,  Priority or Date.

Press Psion-F to begin the search.  A dialog box appears asking for
the field to search on.  By default, the field type offered is the
current main sort key.  Thus if the file is sorted on Project, then
you are offered Project as the search type.  Select the field to
search on.  If a matching item is found, the cursor is positioned
on the first matching item.  If a match is not found, a message is
displayed.

Press Psion-G to repeat the search starting at the previous match.


OPTIONS

Press Psion-B to set options for;

Page 1

1. Lines:  This changes the setting which governs whether horizontal
           lines are shown on the display to separate items.  Turning
           lines off speeds up the display slightly.

2. Font:   Changes the font between normal and small.

3. List Type: Choose between the short and long format displays.

4. Estimate: The Estimate field can be turned off for those users
             that do not require it.  If off, the field is not shown
             on entry or update, or on the general display.  All
             estimates are set to zero behind the scenes.

Page 2

1. Done:  Dictates how items are archived to a "Done" file.
          If "Yes", items are always archived.  If "No", items are
          never archived.  If "Request", you are asked when you delete
          an item if it is to be archived.

2. Done File:  Name of Done file associated with this file.  The file
               will exist on the default drive in the \TDO directory.

3. Date on Done:  Can be set to "Due"; where the date on the "Done" file
                  will be set to the original due date, or "Deletion",
                  where the date will be set to the deletion date.

NOTES

Notes can be attached to any entry by pressing Psion-+ (Psion key and
the plus key).  If a note has not already been associated with the
entry, you are asked for an application (which can be the inbuilt Word
application or Lexsoft's Outline) and whether the file is an existing
file or one you are about to create.

You are then asked for the file name before you are positioned in
Word or Outline (depending on your selection), where you enter the note.
Return to TODO by exiting Word or Outline in the normal way.

To delete an associated note press Psion- (psion key and the minus key
together).  When an entry is deleted you are asked if you want to
delete the associated note.  Notes are stored in .WRD or .OUT format
in the \TDO directory (although you can specify that the note resides
in any directory that you want).


OPENING AND CREATING FILES

Files can be opened or created from the System screen in the normal
way or from within TODO.  Press Psion-O for Open, Psion-N for New.


SAVING FILES

File are, of course, saved when you exit from the program.  Increased
security can be obtained by periodically saving the file using
Psion-S.  The Save As option allows you to make a copy of the file to
a different name.


REVERT

To revert to the last saved copy of a file, use the revert option,
Psion-V.  This can be used, in conjunction with Save, as a form
of "undo".  Note that any notes that have been deleted will be lost
permanently.  Also, entries created since last saved that contain
notes will no longer be present although "orphan" notes will be
present.

PRINT

The task list can be printed in the order currently displayed by
pressing Psion-P or P.  A dialog box appears requesting whether the
file should be printed via the parallel interface, serial interface
or to a file.  If the serial interface is chosen, a further box appears
asking for details of the serial interface.  Press enter to accept the
normal default values.

Printing is carried out at 65 characters to the line and about 55 lines
to the page.

Change History
==============
1.13    Initial Release

1.14    (5 December 1992)
        Summary Facility Added
        Open File and New File options.
        Each parameter files can now exist on any drive.
        Revert option issues warning.
        Header display same as OUTLINE (version 1.14)
        Notes are checked for existence before trying to open in case
         these notes were deleted outside of TODO.
        .TDP files now reside in \TDO directory.

        FIXES
        Project and Type names on list are now shown in italics if
         onus is out.

1.15    (7 December 1992)
        ENHANCEMENTS
        Now allow six different selectable sort sequences.
        Menu layout changed; slightly more logical given restrictions
         of up to six menus with up to six items.
        List facility removed as sort order gives the same functionality
         plus more.
        Screen display faster.
        Moving up or down one item now scrolls the screen rather than
         redisplay.
        Options for Lines on Display, Font, List Type and Estimate field
         which are saved with file.


        FIXES
        Error fixed whereby impossible to save Types and Projects files
         if changed.
        Keys now work with CAPS LOCK on.

1.16    (8 December 1992)
        ENHANCEMENTS
        70 records now allowed per file rather than 50.
        Done file checked for >65 entries.
        Faster sort BUT less sort orders
        "Text" prompt removed on Insert and Update Entries.

        FIXES
        If Update is pressed to view record in full, escape does not
         now cause redisplay.
        Screen shown while resorting.
        File may be saved without error even if no records.
        Similarly empty file can be opened safely.
        Change Font (Psion-L) now works correctly.

1.16a   (12 December 1992)
        ENHANCEMENTS
        24 Types and 24 Projects now allowed.  Blank entries are filtered
         out on selections in dialogs.
        Screen not refreshed on search that finds no match.
        Types and Projects now saved with file.  TYPES.TDP and PROJECTS.TDP
         are used for initial settings on new files.  Whenever Types or
         Projects are changed, you are given the option to Save these as
         the default values.
        Psion-cursor left/right changes date of current entry by one week.
        Name of Done file now specified as an option.
        Option on each file can be set to archive all deleted entries to
         "Done" file, not archive any or to ask when deleting.
        Option to set date on "Done" file to original due date or date of
         deletion.

        FIXES
        Better checking on existence of associated WORD documents:
         If the document is found not to exist on delete note or edit note
         then you are informed, the note flag is removed and the program
         does not abend.
        Summary option from menu now works.
        Program error message if attempting to delete record from "Done"
         file to the same "Done" file.  To delete from the Done file, set
         the Done File in Options to another file and set Done Type to "No".

1.16b   (13 December 1992)
        ENHANCEMENTS
        Copy Record facility (Psion-C).
        Edit Projects (formerly Psion-C) now Psion-T.

        FIXES
        Can escape from Psion-Q (Change Project)
        Error file saves options.

1.16c   (13 December 1992)

        FIXES
        Psion-Q/Psion-W changed day in Caps Lock mode, whereas they
        should change project and type.
        Mysterious blob now doesn't appear when day changed on an item
         followed by scroll down one line.

1.16d   (14 December 1992)
        FIXES
        Error when Types or Project previously allocated is deleted.
        Furthermore, if all types or all projects are deleted then an error
        would result on change of type/project.

1.16e   (18 December 1992)
        FIXES
        When last record from file was deleted, error occurred
        "Nag" screen introduced for unregistered users.
        Screen now updated if escape key used for update entry dialog
         immediately after copy record.

1.16f   (20 December 1992)
        FIXES
        Fixed problem with opening files from the System screen if
        user option was set to Shift-Enter rather than Enter.

1.16g   (22 December 1992)
        FIXES
        Just using X to exit TODO did not save file.

1.16h   (23 December 1992)
        ENHANCEMENTS
        The "Done" file can now exist on any drive, not just the default
         drive.

        FIXES
        Registration details now checked when a new file is created.  This
         caused the program to show "unregistered" on the About screen.
        Problem whereby files with an associated Done file with a name of
         8 characters could not be read is fixed.

1.17    (31 December 1992)
        ENHANCEMENTS
        Document name for entry now copied to Done file if document is
         retained.
        Sort by Project now sort by Project in alpha order rather than
         Projects position in list.
        Files beginning with "DONE" or "ARCH" do not now have their dates
         updated when opened.
        Display Date and Entry Dates updated at midnight.
        Program split into two OPAs.  This reduces memory consumption by
         about 5-6k.
        Psion-supplied code incorporated to reduce memory overhead on
         calling MENU.

        FIXES
        Fixed problem introduced in 1.16h where error occurs if directory
         for new done file does not exist.
        Display after scroll down one line tidied up.

1.17a        Not released

1.17b        FIXES
        Onus setting was not being copied on Copy Record.
        Cursor up/down speeded up slightly.

1.18    (19 January 1993)
        ENHANCEMENTS
        Program heavily restructured internally
        Title on Delete Warning shows summary of record

        FIXES
        Entry of records could cause display errors and eventual abends
         depending on screen mode.
        Open from system screen did not save old file where Psion defaults
         had multiple files set to "Shift-Enter"

1.19    (16 February 1993)
        ENHANCEMENTS
        Sort time reduced
        Search displays first record found at top of screen rather than
         at the bottom
        Can now call Outline program as well as Word
        The type of search now defaults to the main sort order key.
        On exit, the file is not saved if has not been changed.
        Space Bar and Shift-Enter allow record entry.
        Enter allows record update.

        FIXES
        Bug which produced "Module not found" errors
        Sort by Type now sorts properly (by Alphabetic order) rather than
         by position in Type list.

        DELETIONS
        Summary option removed (it didn't seem to be used and it took up
         memory!)

1.19   (4 March 1993)
       FIXES
       Associated Document Flag not shown if single line only printed
        as a result of next/previous day and other commands.
       Escape from Search boxes could cause errors.
       Psion-Q not working as stated above.
       Better checking for empty file.  Previously program could easily
        fall over if no records in file and menu options other than
       Enter Record selected.


1.20    (27 June 1993)
       ENHANCEMENTS
       Delete key now functions as an additional Delete Task key.
       Outline program can exist on a different drive to ToDo.

       FIXES
       ERROR.OUT can be saved to any drive.

1.20a  (29 June 1993)
       FIXES
       Removed debugging line left in inadvertantly which produced error
       when cursor right used.
       Mention of .APP in documentation changed to .OPA.

1.20b  (1 July 1993)
       FIXES
       Fixed error which occured after changing Types or Projects when
       file is empty.

1.21   (17 August 1993)
1.21b  (21 August 1993)
       ENHANCEMENTS
       Print option added
       Sort option changed to Psion-M from Psion-P
       Program file integrity checked to ward off REVTRAN'd versions
       FIXES
       Better handling of Out of Memory errors.

1.21c  (24 August 1993)
       FIXES
       Icon now shown on Psion-Menu
       If a button bar button is assigned to Todo, it functions correctly.
       For users with Open Multiple files set to "Shift-Enter", second file
     opened without error.

John Whiting
3 Fitzwilliam Road
Colchester
Essex
CO3 3RZ

CIX: johnw  ([e-mail])
Compuserve: 100025,3337
Internet:   [e-mail]