*I
Help index
Quick Keys6Editing keysg
Using a mouseúFile optionsÉPrintingPEdit optionsZ!Searching]&	View options#)
Categories0Appt syntax”8QuickÿkeysÞC
Fileÿoptions€FEditÿoptionsMSearchingÿËPViewÿoptions?RMarking»SSortingÒWCalendar±[CONFIG.CALq`AlarmsódAlarmsÿÿÿÿ
lL--+---T2----+-T--3----T----4--T-+----5T---+---T6----+-T--Rr--Y-|@10/i
/* Note - topics in File View that have the same names as 
 topics in Appointment View have ascii code 255 used instead 
 of a space in name */
*B 1,Help index 

                   Ample Notice version 3.0
                Copyright 1992 by Mark Harris
                     All rights reserved.

 Ample Notice is Shareware; please see the "About" screen 
 under "File" for registration information. 

 Press <F1> at any time for context-sensitive help.

 Help topics:

                           General

   ^Editing keys^     ^Using a mouse^   ^Appt syntax^      
   ^CONFIG.CAL^
*P

                      Appointment View

   ^Quick keys^         ^File options^       ^Edit options^
   ^Searching^          ^View options^       ^Categories^
   ^Alarms^

                          File View

   ^Quickÿkeys^         ^Fileÿoptions^       ^Editÿoptions^
   ^Searchingÿ^         ^Viewÿoptions^       ^Marking^
   ^Sorting^
*E
*B 2,Quick Keys

               Quick keys in Appointment View

 Cursor keys:  Move through appointments

 Shifted cursor keys:  Move through calendar (and track
          corresponding appointments)

 +        Display all categories
 -        Display only selected categories
 <Ctl I>  Insert appointment starting with date from 
          calendar 
 <Esc>    Exit program
 <F1>     Help
 Space bar:  Toggle display of selected categories
*P
 D        Delete appointment (toggle)
 E        Edit appointment
 F        Find text from cursor
 I        Insert appointment
 M        Mark appointment as done (toggle)
 N        Find next occurrence of text
 S        Save file
 V        Switch to file view
 
 See also: 

   ^Help index^        ^Editing keys^         ^Using a mouse^   
*E
*B 3,Editing keys

                         Editing keys

 Cursor keys:  What you'd expect
 <Alt D>   Insert marked or current date.
 <Alt T>   Insert current time.
 <Alt B>   Insert both date and time.
 <Ctl A> or <Ctl Left Arrow>:  Word left.
 <Ctl C>   Insert date - point to a date in the calendar, 
   then press <Enter>.
 <Ctl F> or <Ctl Right Arrow>:  Word right.
 <Ctl T>   Delete word.
 <Ctl V> or <Ins>  Toggle insert/overwrite mode.
 <Ctl Y>   Delete line.
 <F10> or <Shift Enter>  Accept edited entry.
 <Esc>     Restore previous entry and quit edit.
*P

 See also: 

   ^Help index^    ^Using a mouse^    ^Appt syntax^
*E
*B 4,Using a mouse

                        Using a mouse

 Mouse actions have different results in different screen 
 regions.  

 In the Appointment View: 

 Click on the menu bar arrows to page through the 
 appointment list.  Elsewhere on the menu bar, click to 
 select menu options. 

 Click in the calendar window to move to appointments 
 occurring on the date selected.  Click twice on a date to 
 insert an appointment on that date. 
*P
 
 Click on the calendar window borders to move by months or 
 years. 

 Click on an appointment to move the highlight bar to it.  
 Click a second time to edit the appointment. 

 Click on the appointment detail window (lower right) to 
 edit its contents. 

 When editing, you can move the text cursor by moving the 
 mouse and clicking at the appropriate position. 

 In most data entry windows, clicking on the border closes 
 the window. 
*P

 When the category menu is open, clicking the mouse selects/ 
 deselects categories. 
 
 In the File View: 

 Click on the menu bar arrows to page through the 
 appointment list.  Elsewhere on the menu bar, click to 
 select menu options. 

 Click in the calendar window (when open) to select a date. 
 Click on the calendar window borders to move by months or 
 years. 

 Click on an appointment to move the highlight bar to it.  
 Click a second time to edit the appointment. 
*P

 See also: 

   ^Help index^        ^Editing keys^ 
*E
*B 5,File options

              File options in Appointment View

 Save - Save the current notes file. 

 Load - Load a new notes file. 

 Print list - Prints a range of appointments in List style.  
   You can specify a starting date, ending date, the print 
   style to be used, and the output device. 
   
 Print months - Prints a range of appointments in monthly 
   calendar style (7 columns).  Again, you can specify a 
   starting date, ending date, the print style to be used, 
   and the output device. 

*P

 DOS Shell - Temporarily exit Ample Notice.  You'll be at 
   the DOS prompt, from which you can run any normal DOS 
   program.  Type EXIT to return to Ample Notice where you 
   left off. 

 Exit - Quit Ample Notice.  If you've made changes to your 
   NOTES file, you'll be given an opportunity to save them.  
   You'll also be asked if you really want to exit.  
   (Putting the line 
     NoExitPrompt 
   in your CONFIG.CAL file will suppress this extra step.) 

 About - Displays a screen of registration information.  
   PLEASE REGISTER! 
*P
 
 See also: 

   ^Help index^        ^Printing^ 
*E
*B 6,Printing

                          Printing

 The two main print options (selected under the File option 
 of the Appointment view menu) are List and Month.  For 
 either option you can specify:

   The starting date (today by default),

   The ending date (or enter the word PAGE to print until a 
     single page is full),
 
   The print style: Normal, Compressed, Tiny, Custom,
 
   The output device (PRN by default).
*P

 The starting date for List printouts can include month, day 
 and year; if the year is omitted, the year that puts the 
 date in the viewing range is assumed.  For Month printouts 
 you can enter the month, optionally followed by the year.  
 In either case, only appointments falling in the year being 
 viewed can be printed.  Use the View option of the menu to 
 change the starting date of the year being viewed if you 
 want a different range.

 Ending dates are entered in the same way, with one 
 difference: typing the word PAGE instead of a date will 
 result in a printout which just fills a page, regardless of 
 the ending date.  PAGE is the default.
*P

 Print styles can be changed (see the CONFIG.CAL section of 
 the manual for details), but the default styles are:
 
             Columns   Left_margin   Length   Width
   Normal       2          7          60       66
   Compressed   3          4          60      124
   Tiny         4          4         124      124
   Custom       2          7          81       91

 The Custom style fills a region about twice the size of a 
 dollar bill, so that an appointment list can be folded and 
 carried in a wallet.  Only styles with a width of at least 
 92 characters (Compressed and Tiny in the default setup) 
 can be used for the Month style.
*P

 Border styles, spacing, and date header styles can be 
 changed; see the CONFIG.CAL section of the manual.

 For List printouts, you have the option of including notes 
 (dateless appointments).

 The default output device is PRN (the printer); this can be 
 changed to another device or file name.  For example, you 
 might enter LPT2 to route output to a second printer, or 
 TEMP.OUT to capture the output in a file called TEMP.OUT.  
 Printing to a file is useful if you want to include your 
 appointments in a word-processed document.

*P
 
 The default output device can be changed in CONFIG.CAL; for 
 example 
   OutDevice TEMP.OUT
 will make the file TEMP.OUT the new default.

 See also:

   ^Help index^        ^File options^
*E 
*B 7,Edit options
 
              Edit options in Appointment View

 Insert appointment - opens an edit window for entering a 
   new note or appointment.
 
 Edit appointment - opens an edit window for editing the 
   entry currently highlighted.
 
 Insert appt with date - opens an edit window for entering a 
   new note or appointment, with the highlighted date from 
   calendar window inserted.  (Use the mouse or shifted 
   cursor keys to change the highlighted date.)
*P
 
 Mark appt as done - put a check mark in front of the 
   appointment.  This is especially useful for cyclical 
   appointments, to distinguish actions done from actions 
   yet to be done.  This option can also be used to unmark a 
   currently marked appointment.

 Delete appointment - put a '~' in front of the appointment, 
   then remove it from the display at the next opportunity 
   (e.g., going to the File view and back to the Appointment 
   view, or next time AN is run).  As long as the 
   appointment is still visible, the deletion can be undone 
   by selecting this option again.
   Note: for cyclical appointments, only one instance of the 
   appointment is deleted.
*P

 See also:

   ^Help index^        ^Editing keys^       ^Using a mouse^   
*E
*B 8,Searching

                Searching in Appointment View
 
 Find - You're prompted to enter a string.  The highlighted 
   bar is moved forward from its current location to the 
   next match.  The search is not case-sensitive.

 Find next - Move forward to the next match of the string 
   entered in the Find option.

 Select all matches - You're prompted to enter a string.  
   All appointments and notes not containing this string are 
   removed from the calendar (temporarily).
*P

 Restore - (available only after 'Select all matches' is 
   used)  Restores the calendar to its state before 'Select 
   all matches' was selected.

 See also:

   ^Help index^        
*E
*B 9,View options

              View options in Appointment View

 File view - switch to File view, showing each entry as it 
   was originally entered.  For example, the entry
     !Mon xyz
   would show 52 times (once each week) in Appointment view, 
   but only once in File view.  File view is useful for 
   archiving and other file-manipulation activities.

 Start date - the start date for the year's worth of 
   appointments you're viewing.  If you need to browse 
   through a past year or an interval in the distant future, 
   you will need to change the start date.
*P

 Listing - either LONG or SHORT.  LONG shows all 
   appointments not otherwise screened out, SHORT shows only 
   the one-time appointments.  For example
     7/17/92 meet with Fred
   would show under SHORT, but
     7/17 Granny's birthday
   would not.  Precede a repeating appointment with \L to 
   have it show up in the SHORT mode.

 Priority level - Appointments and notes are unprioritized, 
   or of priority 1 through 4 (with 1 the 'most important').  
   You add a priority to an appointment by preceding it with 
   a backslash followed by a number 1 - 4, e.g.: 
     \2 10/12/92 8:00 pm Concert
*P

   Prioritized appointments are displayed with different 
   colors (which can be changed -- see the section on 
   CONFIG.CAL).  Setting the priority level to 3 would 
   result in only entries with priorities 1 - 3 being shown.  
   The default level, 4, doesn't screen out any 
   appointments.
 
 Show unprioritized entries - This setting (YES or NO) 
   determines whether entries with no priority prefixes are 
   displayed.  The default, YES, is what you probably want 
   most of the time.

 See also:

   ^Help index^        
*E
*B 10,Categories

                     Viewing categories
 
 When you have recorded more than a few dozen appointments 
 and notes, you will probably want to group entries in order 
 to reduce clutter.  Category definitions permit grouping by 
 topic, owner, or other criteria.  For example, you can 
 separate all entries relating to taxes, or all entries 
 owned by Judy.  (The calendar may be used for more than one 
 person.)

 Categories are defined by entering a line starting with \C.  
 Here's an example:
   \C TAX=Federal Income Tax
*P


 In this instance, the identifying code, which can be from 1 
 to 4 characters, is TAX.  (Case is not significant.)  The 
 description on the right, 'Federal Income Tax', is 
 displayed in a list of categories which you can turn on or 
 off.  Any note or appointment starting with \*TAX can then 
 be selected in this way.  For example,
   \*TAX 4/15 Form 1040 due
 will result in 'Form 1040 due' showing on April 15 when 
 'Federal Income Tax' is chosen in the category list.  You 
 can choose as many categories at once as you like.  You 
 have the option (described in the manual) of having the 
 codes included in the appointment display.

*P


 Categorized notes can be entered with a short cut.  The 
 entries
   \*TAX * This is a note
 and 
   *TAX This is a note
 are equivalent.

 To use categories, pick the Categories option from the main 
 menu (assuming you have previously defined at least one 
 category).  You'll see a list of your category 
 descriptions, preceded with two special options:
   All (overrides other selections)
   Default (no explicit category)
*P

 When Default is checked, all entries with no category code 
 are displayed.  When All is checked, all entries are shown 
 regardless of category.  (In this case, all other checks 
 are ignored.)  You check a category by either clicking the 
 mouse on the category line, or moving the cursor to the 
 line and pressing the space bar.  The same action toggles 
 the check off.  Press <Enter> or <F10> when finished with 
 all selections.

 See also:

   ^Help index^        
*E
*B 11,Appt syntax

                     Appointment syntax

 While most appointment entries are straightforward - just a 
 date and an activity - the syntax can be a challenge for 
 some of the more obscure cyclical styles.  Following are 
 several illustrations of different appointment formats.  
 If you are using the European date format DD/MM/YY (by 
 putting the line 'European' in CONFIG.CAL), the month and 
 day fields will be reversed.  If you want a time to be 
 recognized by the alarm clock, make sure that it 
 immediately follows the date field.

 A one-time appointment:
   2/5/93 2:00 Lotus 1-2-3 workshop
*P

 A note (a space following the '*' is required):
   * change oil 
 An anniversary:
   2/5 Bob's birthday
 A birthday with age.  The age is shown in the parentheses, 
 \B indicates birth date:
   \B6/2/60 Bob is (  )  
 10th day of every month:
   ?/10 Mortgage due
 Last day of every month:
   ?/32 xyz
Show entry on date and following 3 days:
   3/7/93+3 Asheville meeting
 Remind (in Notes section) for 3 days in advance:
   3/18/93-3 Get birthday present!
*P

 Every Wednesday:
   !Wed 3:00 Piano lesson
 Every Mon, Wed & Fri:
   !Mon,Wed,Fri 10:00 French class
 3rd Sunday in June:
   !Jun3Sun Fathers Day
 3rd Monday of every month:
   !?3Mon Rotary Club
 Last Monday in May:
   !May5Mon Memorial Day
 One day past first Monday in November:
   !Nov1Mon>1 Election Day
 Every other day starting 6/26/93:
   \s6/26/93 !2d weed garden
*P

 Every third week starting 6/26/93:
   \s6/26/93 !3w call Mom
 Every third month starting 1/10/93:
   \s1/10/93 !3m Quarterly report due
 Every other day starting 6/26/93 and ending 7/12/93:
   \s6/26/93 \e7/12/93 !2d weed garden

 There are several '\' options besides starting and ending 
 dates which can be used to qualify appointments.  Here are 
 some of them: 
 
 \1, \2, \3, \4 - assign priority 1 - 4 
*P

 \L - Show a cyclical appointment in Short View.  Normally 
   the Long View shows all appointments and the Short View 
   suppresses cyclical appointments.
 
 \N - Nag (in the Notes section) after appointment has 
   passed.  If the appointment is a one-time entry, the nag 
   is indefinite (until the appointment is deleted or 
   edited); if it is cyclical, the nag will stay in effect 
   for the 'nag interval' which defaults to one week but 
   which can be changed in CONFIG.CAL.

 \P - Don't print.  The entry will show on the screen but 
   will be suppressed in printouts.
*P

 \U - Unimportant note - show only once a week.  The day on 
   which entry will be shown is Monday by default, but can 
   be changed by a CONFIG.CAL entry.  Example:
   \U * work on Great American Novel

 \W - Show appointment only if it happens to fall on a 
   weekday. 
 
 See also:

   ^Help index^      ^Categories^  
*E
*B 12,Quickÿkeys

                   Quick keys in File View

 Cursor keys:  Move through appointments
 +        Mark current appointment
 -        Unmark current appointment
 <Ctl C>  View monthly calendar
 <Esc>    Exit program
 <F1>     Help
 C        Copy appointment
 D        Delete appointment
 E        Edit appointment
 F        Find text from cursor
 I        Insert appointment
 K        Copy appointment but change date
*P
 N        Find next occurrence of text
 S        Save file
 U        Undelete appointment
 V        Switch to appointment view

 See also: 

   ^Help index^        ^Editing keys^         ^Using a mouse^   

*E
*B 13,Fileÿoptions

                  File options in File View

 Save - Save the current notes file. 

 Load - Load a new notes file. 

 Archive - transfer marked entries to the archive file 
   (ARCHIVE.CAL by default) with the option of then removing 
   them from the notes file being viewed.  First choose the 
   Mark menu to select appointments to be transferred.  This 
   is an important option for keeping the notes file 
   manageable - a shorter notes file makes Ample Notice 
   snappier.
*P

 DOS Shell - Temporarily exit Ample Notice.  You'll be at 
   the DOS prompt, from which you can run any normal DOS 
   program.  Type EXIT to return to Ample Notice where you 
   left off. 

 Append marked - just like archive, but used for appending 
   marked notes to any other file.  For example, you might 
   want to copy appointments from your personal notes file 
   to the notes file that your secretary uses.  You have the 
   option of subsequently deleting the appointments you 
   marked.
*P

 Append from - glue a copy of another file to the end of 
   your notes file.  For example, you might run across the 
   Tour de France schedule in file form and wish to include 
   it in your notes file.

 Exit - Quit Ample Notice.  If you've made changes to your 
   NOTES file, you'll be given an opportunity to save them.  
   You'll also be asked if you really want to exit.  
   (Putting the line 
     NoExitPrompt 
   in your CONFIG.CAL file will suppress this extra step.) 

 About - Displays a screen of registration information.  
   PLEASE REGISTER! 
*P

 See also: 

   ^Help index^        ^Markingÿ^
*E
*B 14,Editÿoptions
 
                  Edit options in File View

 Insert appointment - opens an edit window for entering a 
   new note or appointment.
 
 Edit appointment - opens an edit window for editing the 
   entry currently highlighted.

 Copy appointment - add an exact copy of the highlighted 
   entry to the file.

 Kopy with new date - Use this option to copy an appointment 
   and change the date in the copy.  Kopy should be used 
   with one-time appointments only.  A pop-up calendar is 
*P

   displayed, and the date you select (by pressing <Enter>) 
   is substituted for the date in the appointment.
 
 Delete appointment - delete the highlighted appointment.

 Undelete appointment - restore previously deleted 
   appointments (in reverse order).  The appointment is 
   inserted at the cursor position.
   
 See also:

   ^Help index^        ^Editing keys^       ^Using a mouse^
   ^Appt syntax^

*E
*B 15,Searchingÿ
 
                   Searching in File View
 
 Find - You're prompted to enter a string.  The highlighted 
   bar is moved forward from its current location to the 
   next match.  The search is not case-sensitive.

 Find next - Move forward to the next match of the string 
   entered in the Find option.

 See also:

   ^Help index^
*E
*B 16,Viewÿoptions

                  View options in File View
 
 Appointment View - closes the File View and takes you to 
   the Appointment View.  The quick key 'V' will toggle the 
   two views.

 Calendar - pops up a monthly calendar.  You can navigate 
   through different months with the mouse or cursor keys.
 
 See also:

   ^Help index^        ^Calendar^
*E
*B 17,Marking

              Marking appointments in File View

 You mark selected appointments in File view to indicate 
 which entries are to be copied or moved to another file.  
 The most common application of marking is for archiving 
 outdated appointments (in the ARCHIVE.CAL file).  Another 
 use is to mark all appointments related to a specific 
 activity, to be copied to someone else's NOTES file.  The 
 available options are:

 Mark Outdated appointments - highlight all appointments 
   with dates preceding the current date.  Cyclical 
   appointments won't be marked.
*P

 Mark matched String - highlight all appointments containing 
   a string which you are prompted to enter.

 Mark current appointment - mark the single appointment at 
   the cursor.  (The '+' character provides a shortcut.)
 
 Unmark current appointment - unmark a previously marked 
   appointment.  ('-' is a shortcut.)

 Clear all marks - undo all marking operations.

 See also:

   ^Help index^        ^Fileÿoptions^
*E
*B 18,Sorting

                    Sorting in File View

 When you view your appointments in Appointment View, order 
 isn't normally a problem -- chronological order is what you 
 expect and what you get.  However, File View may show a 
 rather jumbled sequence of entries depending on how you 
 entered them.  If you make much use of File View (and you 
 should use this view at least for archiving), you will find 
 it helpful to put entries in some kind of order.  The Sort 
 option lets you sort by date or by category.  If you sort 
 by date, all entries on one date (regardless of category) 
 will precede all entries on a later date.  Sorting by 
 category lets you order first by category, then by date.  
 In either case, cyclical appointments are listed following 
 all one-time appointments.
*P

 Be sure to save the file if you want the sorted order to be 
 retained next time you run Ample Notice.

 See also:

   ^Help index^      ^Categories^  
*E
*B 19,Calendar

                     Using the Calendar
 
 You will occasionally consult a monthly calendar on screen, 
 either for browsing or for copying a date into text you are 
 editing.  In the Appointment view the calendar is always 
 visible, and you can navigate using shifted cursor keys or 
 the mouse.  When you're editing text or using the Kopy 
 operation in File view to change a date, you can go to the 
 calendar by pressing <Ctl C>.  Move the calendar until the 
 cursor is on the date you want, then press <Enter> to 
 select the date.

 In the calendar, the cursor keys operate as follows:
*P
 
 Left and Right Arrows - move one day,
 Up and Down Arrows - move one week,
 Page Up, Page Down - move one month,
 Home, End - move one year.

 In Appointment view when not editing, you'll have to press 
 a shift key when using the cursor keys.  (Otherwise the 
 cursor keys will move you through the appointment list.)

 You can also use a mouse to navigate.  Within the month 
 shown, simply click on the date you want.  Click on the 
 vertical borders to change by month, and on the horizontal 
 borders to change by year.
*P

 See also:

   ^Help index^
*E  
*B 20,CONFIG.CAL

                     The CONFIG.CAL file

 You'll have a configuration file CONFIG.CAL located in the 
 directory containing AN.EXE (the program you're running 
 now).  At a minimum, this file will contain the names of 
 the notes and archive files.  CONFIG.CAL can also be used 
 to set lots of options.  It's a standard text file, so you 
 can edit it with any ASCII editor (including AN itself).  
 Entries are one per line and fall into four categories:
 off/on options (you just add a name),
 value options (add a name followed by a number),
 string options (add a name, followed by a character 
   string),
 list options (add a name, followed by a list of numbers).
*P

 Lines preceded with ';' are ignored and can be used for 
 comments.  Here are a few sample entries:

  ; suppress blank lines between dates on screen:
  FullScreen
  ; same thing for printouts:
  FullPrintout
  ; use print style 3 (Tiny) as default for List printouts:
  Listmode 3
  ;specify archive file
  Archive c:\an2\archive.cal

 See the CONFIG.CAL section of the manual for details.
*P

 See also:

   ^Help index^
*E
*B 21,Alarms

                           Alarms

 The program ALARM.COM is a separate part of the Ample 
 Notice package and need not be used at all.  However, if 
 you have installed ALARM before AN.EXE is run, you can have 
 alarms go off automatically when appointments are supposed 
 to occur.  An appointment which starts with a time will 
 automatically set the alarm clock.  The default alarm will 
 be for 5 minutes before the appointment; you can change the 
 default for all appointments in CONFIG.CAL, or you can 
 change the delay for individual appointments.  For example, 
 the entry
   \(15) 11/14/92 3:30 meet at elt. school
 will set the alarm for 3:15.
*P

 Normally alarms are set when you exit AN.  You can turn off 
 this feature by toggling the 'Set alarms on exit' option.  
 You can also set alarms right now or show current alarms 
 from the Alarm menu.

 See also:

   ^Help index^
*E


