Index
  iSBiSTER International, Inc.

1314 Cardigan Street, Garland, Texas 75040

(214)495-6724 Voice M-F 8:30am - 5:30pm Central Standard Time

(214)530-6566 Fax 	(214)530-2762 BBS

Time and Chaos Professional Help File

Welcome to Time & Chaos Professional v4.0

Licensing and Registration

Installation

Understanding The Time & Chaos Main Screen

Using The Appointment List Section

Add  Appointments

Delete Appointments

Search Appointments

Add Day Title

Notes For Today

Editing Existing Appointments

Using The ToDo List Section

Add ToDo Item

Done

Delete ToDo's

Search ToDo's

Editing Existing ToDo's

Using The Phone Book List Section

Add Listing

Delete Phone Book Entries

Search Phone Book Entries

Move Phone Book Entries

Select Phone Book

Editing Existing Phone Book Entries

Dialing Phone Book Entries

<Prev!     !Next>

File Menu

Open/Create Calendar Sets

Network Connect (Multiple Instance)

Import ASCII To Telephone Book

Preferences Setup

Printer Setup

Backup Data

Restore Data

Save Screen Size And Location

Print Menu

Month-View!

Report!

TimeBar!

Notes Processor

Envelope Printer

Custom Controls


Welcome
Welcome to iSBiSTER's Time & Chaos Professional

Our goal  is to provide you with an intuitive application for managing your personal information.  Our lives revolve around time and the chaos surrounding its scheduled use. Our desire is that you will quickly and effectively learn to use Time & Chaos to manage your time commitments.

There are three major sources of information involved ... appointments we have scheduled, todo's we have noted for ourselves and persons we wish to contact on a frequent basis.  Time & Chaos provides the vehicle for the creation and management of these information sources.

Time & Chaos presents a single screen upon which this information is displayed and interrelated.  Time & Chaos' main screen also displays an actual calendar to provide the final insight into the time relationship of your information.   At a glance you have insight into your existing appointments, todo's and contacts in your phone book.  You have menu selections and/or action buttons on the screen that open the doors to the management of the three information sources.  Additional screens and dialog boxes are used behind the main screen to provide a friendly interface to the many features found in Time & Chaos.

In the remaining HELP TOPICS we will explore the details of how to use  Time & Chaos to manage and report on this information.  We also offer an optional MANUAL covering the features and benefits of Time & Chaos.

iSBiSTER International, Inc. can be reached either by conventional mail, electronically through CompuServe Information Services Mail or our local Bulletin Board System

CompuServe ID: 74017,3424

iSBiSTER International's BBS (214)530-2762

Voice  214-495-6724

Fax 214-530-6566

iSBiSTER International, Inc.

1314 Cardigan Street

Garland, Texas 75040


Licensing and Registration

Time & Chaos Professional is not public domain software, nor is it free software. The use of Time & Chaos is subject to the following terms and conditions:  Non-Licensed users are granted a limited license to use Time & Chaos on a 21 day trial basis for the purposes of determining whether Time & Chaos is suitable for their needs. The use of Time & Chaos, except for an initial 21-day trial, requires registration.  The use of unlicensed copies of Time & Chaos by any person or business is strictly prohibited.  Registration entitles YOU to use Time & Chaos.  If you intend to use Time & Chaos on a network, each user on that network must register their copy of Time & Chaos.

iSBiSTER INTERNATIONAL, Inc. does not warrant that Time & Chaos software will meet your requirements or that the operation of the software will be uninterrupted or error free.  Nor do we offer any Warranties or Guarantees of any kind.  You are free to use Time & Chaos in any way you see fit,  but AT YOUR OWN RISK!

iSBiSTER INTERNATIONAL, Inc. is not responsible for any problems or damage caused by the software or that may result from using the software; whether licensed or not. This includes, but is not limited to, computer hardware, computer software, operating systems, and any computer or computing accessories. End user agrees to hold iSBiSTER INTERNATIONAL, Inc. and/or any persons associated with the creation of this software harmless for any problems arising from the use of the software.

We regret having to place such a disclaimer in a piece of software.  We  have made every effort to make this software product as efficient and accurate as possible; however, in a world full of frivolous and ridiculous law suits, we have no alternative.

WE HOPE YOU ENJOY THE SOFTWARE and we trust that you will find it productive!

There are many ways to contact us to register your copy of Time & Chaos.  There is a registration fee of $29.95 US.  Credit Card Orders (Visa and/or Mastercard), checks and money orders  are accepted.  Residents of Texas add $2.47 Sales Tax for a total of $32.42.

Orders from outside the United States must be accompanied by an International Money Order, or a check in $U.S. Funds drawn on an American Banking Institution.  We are unable to process checks drawn on foreign banks.  As a last resort, many of our international customers have successfully sent US currency  well hidden inside a piece of paper and we certainly welcome Pounds Sterling.  We will continue to strive to improve the ease with which you may register your copy of Time & Chaos.

Contact iSBiSTER  by ...

Mail	iSBiSTER International, Inc.

1314 Cardigan Street

Garland, Texas 75040

Telephone	 (214) 495-6724

BBS 	 (214) 530-2762   Modem (up to 9600 bps)

CompuServe	 Online Registration

Electronic orders may be placed with CompuServe Information Services and billed directly to your CompuServe Statement for your convenience.  Just type GO SWREG and request Time & Chaos, our SWREG ID is 49.

We receive confirmation of your order within a couple of hours  and will  CIS mail to you your ID so that you can gain immediate relief from the NAG screens should you be over your 21 day evaluation period.

Our BBS is also set up to handle on-line orders for VISA and MASTERCARD - Call with your modem (214-530-2762) 24hrs/day.


Installation

MS Windows 3.1 or later is required, as is the VBRUN200.DLL module. (If you do not have this module, it is available (at no charge) from many online sources.   It is also available on our BBS.

For your convenience, we have included an installation utility with our software.  Place our disc in your disc drive and view its files using Window's file manager.  Double Click on INSTALL.EXE from the file manager - the rest is automatic.

Manual Installation

Using Window's file manager  create a unique subdirectory anywhere on your hard disk. Copy all Time and Chaos files from our disc into that subdirectory:

TCHAOS.EXE

PRNSET.DLL

GRID.VBX

SS3D.VBX

SS3D2.VBX

IDXTAB.VBX

VBISAMMU.DLL

VBRUN200.DLL (Should be moved to your WINDOWS subdirectory

TCHAOS.HLP

Now you should use Window's program manager to create an ICON that can be used to start Time & Chaos.  Be sure to specify the correct 'Working Directory' in the ICON's properties.


Understanding The Time & Chaos Main Screen

The main screen provides insight into three information sources (appointments, todo's and contacts) along with an actual calendar.  This allows you to interrelate the information and view it relative to time.  With a single view of your information you can manage your time and the demands placed on it by others.

The calendar, in the upper left corner, is used to position your information relative to a chosen date.  You may click on any day of the month, change months and/or change years to choose your time frame for viewing information.  Once the date is chosen, the lists of appointments and todo's are updated to  reflect your position in time.

The appointments list, in the upper right corner, is used to display all appointments scheduled for the chosen date.  You may add appointments for this day by clicking on the Add Appointments button or you may 'drag and drop' a contact from the phone book into the appointments window.  Double clicking on an appointment allows you to edit its details and/or add notes to that appointment.

The todo list, in the lower left corner, is used to display all todo's pending as of the date chosen.  These may be uncompleted todo's brought forward or new todo's marked for display starting on the date chosen.  You may add todo's for this day by clicking on the Add Todo's button or you may 'drag and drop' a contact from the phone book into the todo window.  Double clicking on a todo allows you to edit its details and/or add notes to that todo.

The contact list (phone book), in the lower right corner, is used to display all your contacts.  This display does not depend on the date chosen.  You may add contacts by clicking on the Add Listing button.  Double clicking on a specific contact allows you to edit its details and/or add notes to that contact.  There are two physical phone books maintained by Time & Chaos.  The White Pages are normally the main source of contacts and usually represent your personal and business contacts.  The Yellow Pages can be used to house commercial entries and/or special contacts you wish to manage outside of your main contact list.  Contact entries may be moved back and forth between these two physical phone books.

Often you will schedule appointments and/or post todo's that are not related to a specific phone book contact. When appointments and/or todo's are related to an entry in your phone book they can be linked to that contact for future reporting.

Behind its main screen Time & Chaos offers extensive capabilities to help you manage your information.  These capabilities are activated via menu options and/or clicking on action buttons found on the main screen. When you leave Time & Chaos' main screen, you will interact with Time & Chaos via an index card with tabs metaphor.  As you move behind the main screen to use Time & Chaos you select an appropriate topic of activity by clicking on the index card tab of your choice.

As we explore the many capabilities found within Time & Chaos we will explain the various uses of the index card with tab metaphor.

Controlling Your Position On The Calendar

Time & Chaos processes some of its information sources (i.e., appointments and todo's) relative to your current calendar position.  Thus you will want to easily position yourself anywhere in time for viewing and/or managing your information.  Time & Chaos' calendar is in the upper left corner of the main screen.  Just below the calendar you will see five (5) controls that you will use to position yourself  within the calendar.

The middle control is labeled Today.  Clicking on this control positions you on the current day as determined by your system clock.  Clicking on this control also replaces its label of Today with the current time as determined by your system clock.  Every time you start Time & Chaos you will be automatically positioned at the current day.

The controls on the left and right of  the Today button allow you move backward and forward in time respectively.  The < and << controls move you backward one month and one year  with each click.  The > and >> controls move you forward one month and one year with each click.


Using The Appointment List Section

The Appointment List is in the upper right corner of Time & Chaos' main screen.  There are five components that make up this section:  Add Appointments, Delete, Search, Day Titles, and Notes for Today.  Appointments are time dependent and must have start and end times.  A Day Title (i.e., Sally's Birthday) is stored relative to the date chosen but does not have a scheduled time.  Notes for Today are associated with the date chosen and are intended to be used as a means of recording conversation details, things that happened, etc.   Note records can be located later by use of  Time & Chaos' search feature.  Delete is used to remove an existing appointment from the Appointment List. Search is used to locate Appointments using a search string of your choice.


Add  Appointments

Scheduling a new appointment is easy!  Select the calendar date on which you wish to schedule an appointment.  The Appointment List Box will now be filled with any appointments already scheduled for the chosen day.  With your mouse, click on the Add Appointment button, and you will be provided a screen with which you can enter the details regarding the new appointment.

With the Appointment screen displayed, you may complete the details regarding your upcoming appointment.   There are four tabs on the Appointment screen and you will be positioned in the Description section by default.  The features associated with the other tabs will be covered later below.

The Date Control (Top Left) will be set to the date on which you are scheduling the appointment.  You need  not  do anything here (although you may change this date by clicking on the left or right arrows).  The Description field is for you to enter a brief amount of text describing your appointment. You should keep your  appointment descriptions brief to avoid printing limitations later on when you print your monthly calendar.

Use mouse clicks to set both a Start Time and an End Time for your appointment. Clicking on the right arrows will change the appointment time minute by minute ;while clicking on the left arrows will change the appointment time in thirty (30) minute intervals.

Alternatively, you may  change the time minute by minute by pressing on the LEFT/RIGHT Arrow Keys on your keyboard and by pressing on the UP/DOWN Arrows Keys to change the time in thirty (30) minute intervals.   Time & Chaos  uses the appointment Start Time as part of it's key  when storing appointments; therefore, you may not schedule multiple appointments with exactly the same Date and Start Time - an attempt to do this will result in a error message.  You may however, have  appointments that overlap. For example 9:00 - 11:00 am and 9:05 - 12:00 is acceptable.

In addition to setting the appointment date, time and description you  may optionally choose to use a colored ICON to categorize  the appointment.  The default color is white; however, you may click on one of the other colors displayed to mark this appointment according to your own color scheme.

Drag and Drop

Time & Chaos has implemented a drag and drop  method for starting the Add Appointment process. Instead of clicking on the Add Appointment button, click on a contact in your phone book and drag that contact up to the Appointments List Section. When  you drop the contact within the Appointments List Section, Time & Chaos will display the Appointment screen with suggested text for the appointment's description. This appointment will automatically be linked to the contact chosen from the phone book.

Along the bottom of the Appointment screen are action buttons.  Let's review them.

OK - Instructs Time & Chaos that you have completed your appointment entry and that you wish to return to the main screen.

Notes -    Clicking on the Notes button invokes Time & Chaos' Notes Processor (Refer to the Notes Processor  topic for complete details on use of  this capability) so that you can enter, edit and/or print your note text.

If you wish to take advantage of additional Time & Chaos appointment setting features you should now click on the index card tab that specifies the capability area of your choice.  You can choose Repeat Options, Notes or Linking & Alarm.  You should select each of the various options before finally clicking on the OK button.  Lets look at each of the additional areas.

Repeat Options

Frequently you may wish to have Time & Chaos automatically repeat your appointment into the future.   On the Repeat Options index card, Time & Chaos offers many repeat frequencies from which you may choose.  Clicking on the down arrow just to the right of the Repeat Frequency heading will display the list of available choices.  Simply click on your choice.  In addition to selecting a Repeat Frequency you must specify a Repeat Through date.  Time & Chaos supplies a default Repeat Through date and you can use the arrows to the left and right of this date to make changes.  Clicking the arrows on the left of the date  changes the date month by month.  Click and hold down the arrow to move quickly into the future.   Clicking the arrows on the right of the date changes the date day by day.

Notes

This capability area allows you to record notes specific to the appointment being defined. These notes are stored along with the appointment and can be viewed in connection with the appointment details.  Clicking on the Notes index card tab displays a limited view of any existing notes attached to the appointment and/or allows you to enter note text.  If you wish to use a larger screen to enter and/or view notes, click on the Notes button at the bottom of the Appointment screen .  Clicking on the Notes button invokes Time & Chaos' Notes Processor ( Refer to the Notes Processor  topic for complete details on use of  this capability) so that you can enter, edit and/or print your note text.

Linking

During the process of creating a new appointment you should consider the merits of linking the appointment to someone in your presently selected phone book.   You would then be able to produce an online review of the appointments associated with the entry in the phone book.  This also allows you to produce printed reports showing the appointments associated with the entry in the phone book (Refer to the Phone Book Topic for details).

You can switch between the White and Yellow pages of your phone book before selecting the contact to which this appointment is to be linked.  In the center of the Linking & Alarm index card is a down arrow that when clicked will display your current set of contacts within the chosen phone book. Scroll through this list of contacts and click on the contact of your choice.  This will instruct Time & Chaos to link the appointment to that contact.

Linking is accomplished automatically when you drag and drop a phone book entry into the appointment section.

Alarm

This capability area allows you to control the time when Time & Chaos will generate an alarm condition for this appointment.  Time & Chaos stores a global appointment alarm lead time (see Time & Chaos Setup) and will display this as the default for each appointment.  You can select other alarm lead times by clicking on the down arrow to the right and clicking on the alarm lead time of your choice.  Time & Chaos stores alarm lead times with each appointment record.  Thus you can control the number of minutes prior to any appointment when you wish to receive an alarm condition. Time & Chaos must be actively running to process alarm conditions.  Time & Chaos will only react to alarm conditions for appointments in the future.  Appointments that have already past their start time will not create alarm conditions.


Delete Appointments

When you wish to remove an appointment and any of its associated notes from Time & Chaos' records you simply locate the appointment in the Appointment List Box, click on it and then click on the Delete button on the main screen.  You will be prompted to confirm the deletion.

Often you may wish to review the details of an appointment before you delete it.  To do this simply double click on the appointment in the Appointment List Box.  You will be taken to an Appointment Screen where you can use the index card tabs to review its details.  You may now click on the Delete button on the Appointment Screen to remove the appointment.

If the appointment was previously repeated across your calendar and you wish to delete all of the occurrences, you need to take advantage of the Repeat Option.  Locate the earliest occurrence of the appointment you wish to delete and double click on it to invoke the Appointment Screen.  Now click on the Repeat Options tab, select the repeat frequency that will point to the remaining appointments to be deleted and set the repeat through date far enough into the future to span all the appointments you wish to delete.   When you have set the repeat parameters, click on the Delete button on the Appointment Screen, you will be warned that you are attempting a group delete, and you will be asked to confirm the action.


Search Appointments

Time & Chaos offers an extensive search capability that allows you to locate appointments that you have defined.  To invoke this capability click on the Search button on the main screen.  You will then be shown the Appointment Search screen.  You will immediately notice that the ICONS across the top of this screen allow you to search all of Time & Chaos' information sources.  Because you entered this screen by clicking on the Search button within the Appointments List Section of the main screen, Time & Chaos will have chosen the Appointments information source by default.

Now you have the ability to select one of the two search fields associated with appointments.  You may search an appointment's description field or you may search  the notes associated with the appointment.  With the search field selected, enter your desired search string and click on the Find button.  Time & Chaos will search all appointment records for the specified string within the selected search field.  Time & Chaos also searches the Day Title and Notes For Today information associated with each appointment for possible matches with the search string.  If you leave the search string text field empty, Time & Chaos will find all appointments in its records.

Time & Chaos displays the appointment records resulting from the search in the list box within the Appointment Search screen.  If you wish to view an appointment's details and/or make changes simply double click on the appointment of choice within the list and Time & Chaos will invoke the Appointments Screen with the details of that appointment displayed.  You may also Delete appointments located by your search.  To delete a single appointment, click on it to select it and then click on the Delete button within the Search Screen.  If you want to delete multiple records you can combine clicking on appointments with the use of the [CTRL]  or [SHIFT] keys on your keyboard.  If you hold down the [CTRL] key while you click on individual appointments you can highlight as many of them as you wish prior to clicking on the Delete button.  You can delete a group of appointments that appear  together in the appointments list box.  Click on the first of the appointments you wish to delete and then hold down the [SHIFT] key while you click on the last appointment in the group you wish to delete.  Time & Chaos will highlight all appointments bounded by these two mouse clicks.  You now simply click on the Delete button and Time & Chaos will remove all of the chosen appointments from its records.


Add Day Title

You may wish to have Time & Chaos store text to be used as a title for specific days. This text is associated with the particular date in much the same way as an appointment. To specify a title for a day of your choice, click on the day of choice in the calendar and then click on the Add Day Title button in the Appointment List Section of Time & Chaos' main screen.  Time & Chaos will invoke the Day Title screen and allow you to define the text you want to have stored as the Title for this day.  The date for the day of choice will have been set by Time & Chaos based on your calendar position.  You may change this date if you wish by using the left and right arrows to change the month and/or the day values.

With the date for the day of choice set, enter the text you wish to store as that day's Title. When you are ready, click on the OK button in the Day Title screen and Time & Chaos will store the Title.

Since Time & Chaos stores Day Titles much the same as it stores appointments, you can use the Repeat Options capabilities associated with defining appointments.  This allows you to automatically repeat day titles into the future.  Likewise you can use the repeat options setting to perform a group delete of day titles.


Notes For Today

Time & Chaos allows you to create extensive note text associated with any and all days on your calendar.  To begin this process you click on  the day of choice on the calendar and then click on the Notes For Today button on Time & Chaos' main screen.  Time & Chaos will invoke its Notes Processor (Refer to the Notes Processor  topic for complete details on use of  this capability) so that you can enter, edit and/or print your note text.


Editing Existing Appointments

Time & Chaos provides for easy editing of existing appointments.  Double click on any single appointment displayed in the Appointments List Box and Time & Chaos will invoke the Appointment screen and display the date, time,  description and ICON of the selected appointment.  You may change any of this information and click on the Update button to have Time & Chaos process your changes.

You may also click on any of the additional feature tabs to view and/or edit the remaining details associated with the appointment.  The Repeat Options feature can be used to schedule the selected appointment into the future or delete future occurrences of this appointment that were originally scheduled using the Repeat Options.  You cannot use the Repeat Options to review the results of previous automatic scheduling.


Using The ToDo List Section

The ToDo List is in the lower left corner of Time & Chaos' main screen.  There are four components that make up this section:  Add ToDo Item, Done, Delete and Search. ToDo's are time dependent and must have a date on which they are to become active. You can post todo's for today and/or for a day of choice in the future.  Todo's are automatically carried forward past their original post date until they are marked Done and/or Deleted.   Search is used to locate ToDo's using a search string of your choice.


Add ToDo Item

Creating new todo items is very easy.  Time & Chaos allows you to post a todo item by simply clicking on the Add ToDo Item button.  Time & Chaos will display the ToDo Detail screen and allow you to describe your todo.

Each todo item is assigned a priority.  This is a single character code that you use to show the nature of the todo or its relative importance.  Time & Chaos provides for priorities as follows:

A - Critical

B - Important

C - Work It In

P - Pending

T - Telephone

X - Done

In addition to selecting the todo's priority, the ToDo Detail screen allows you to set the date on  which the todo will become active (displayed) and you can enter text to describe your todo.  When you enter the ToDo Detail screen, Time & Chaos displays the current date as the suggested date on which the todo will become active.  You can use the arrows on the left and right of this displayed date to change it to any date you wish.  The arrows on the left change the date month by month.  The arrows on the right change the date day by day.

Drag and Drop

The most common todo item is a reminder that you should call someone.  Time & Chaos has implemented a drag and drop  method for creating such a todo item.  Instead of clicking on the Add ToDo button, click on a contact in your phone book and drag that contact over to the ToDo List Section.  When  you drop the contact within the ToDo List Section, Time & Chaos will post a todo item with a priority of  T for telephone.  The todo item's description will automatically be created using the contact's name and phone number.  This todo will automatically be linked to the contact chosen from the phone book.

Along the bottom of the ToDo Detail screen are action buttons.  Let's review them.

OK - Instructs Time & Chaos that you have completed your appointment entry and that you wish to return to the main screen.

Notes -    Clicking on the Notes button invokes Time & Chaos' Notes Processor (Refer to the Notes Processor  topic for complete details on use of  this capability) so that you can enter, edit and/or print your note text.

If you wish to take advantage of additional Time & Chaos ToDo setting features you should now click on the index card tab that specifies the capability area of your choice. You can choose Notes, Linking & Auto dialer or Repeat Options.  You should select each of the various options before finally clicking on the OK button.  Lets look at each of the additional areas.

Notes

This capability area allows you to record notes specific to the ToDo being defined. These notes are stored along with the ToDo and can be viewed in connection with the todo details.  Clicking on the Notes index card tab displays a limited view of any existing notes attached to the todo and/or allows you to enter note text.  If you wish to use a larger screen to enter and/or view notes, click on the Notes button at the bottom of the ToDo screen .  Clicking on the Notes button invokes Time & Chaos' Notes Processor (Refer to the Notes Processor  topic for complete details on use of this capability) so that you can enter, edit and/or print your note text.

Linking

During the process of creating a new ToDo you should consider the merits of linking the ToDo to someone in your presently selected phone book.   You would then be able to produce an online review of the ToDo's  associated with the entry in the phone book. This also allows you to produce printed reports showing the ToDo's associated with the entry in the phone book (Refer to the Phone Book Topic for details).

You can switch between the White and Yellow pages of your phone book before selecting the contact to which this appointment is to be linked.  On the right of the Linking & Auto dialer index card is a down arrow that when clicked will display your current set of contacts within the chosen phone book.  Scroll through this list of contacts and click on the contact of your choice.  This will instruct Time & Chaos to link the todo to that contact.

Auto Dialer

For your convenience Time & Chaos presents its auto dialer capability at this point. Once you have linked the todo to a contact in your phone book, you will see the contact phone numbers appear on the screen.  Clicking on any of the buttons to left of the phone numbers will invoke the auto dialer for that number.  (Refer to the Auto dialer Topic for more details)

Repeat Options

Frequently you may wish to have Time & Chaos automatically repeat your todo into the future.   On the Repeat Options index card, Time & Chaos offers many repeat frequencies from which you may choose.  Clicking on the down arrow just to the right of the Repeat Frequency heading will display the list of available choices.  Simply click on your choice. In addition to selecting a Repeat Frequency you must specify a Repeat Through date. Time & Chaos supplies a default Repeat Through date and you can use the arrows to the left and right of this date to make changes.  Clicking the arrows on the left of the date changes the date month by month.  Click and hold down the arrow to move quickly into the future.   Clicking the arrows on the right of the date changes the date day by day.


Done

Time & Chaos makes it very easy to mark todo's as Done.  Click on any single todo shown in the ToDo List Box to select it and then click on the Done button.  Time & Chaos will change the priority of the todo item to X indicating that its completed.


Delete ToDo's

When you wish to remove a todo and any of its associated notes from Time & Chaos' records you simply locate the todo in the Todo List Box, click on it and then click on the Delete button  on the main screen.  You will be prompted to confirm the deletion.

Often you may wish to review the details of a todo before you delete it.  To do this simply double click on the todo in the Todo List Box.  You will be taken to a ToDo Screen where you can use the index card tabs to review its details.  You may now click on the Delete button on the Todo Screen to remove the todo.


Search ToDo's

Time & Chaos offers an extensive search capability that allows you to locate todo's that you have defined.  To invoke this capability click on the Search button on the main screen. You will then be shown the Todo Search screen.  You will immediately notice that the ICONS across the top of this screen allow you to search all of Time & Chaos' information sources.  Because you entered this screen by clicking on the Search button within the Todo's List Section of the main screen, Time & Chaos will have chosen the Todo's information source by default.

Now you have the ability to select one of the three search fields associated with todo's. You may search a todo's description field, its priority or you may search  the notes associated with the todo.  With the search field selected, enter your desired search string and click on the Find button.  Time & Chaos will search all todo records for the specified string within the selected search field.   If you leave the search string text field empty, Time & Chaos will find all todo's in its records.

Time & Chaos displays the todo records resulting from the search in the list box within the Todo Search screen.  If you wish to view a todo's detail and/or make changes, simply double click on the todo of choice within the list and Time & Chaos will invoke the Appointments Screen with the details of that todo displayed.  You may also Delete todo's located by your search.  To delete a single todo, click on it to select it and then click on the Delete button within the Search Screen.  If you want to delete multiple records you can combine clicking on todo's with the use of the [CTRL]  or [SHIFT] keys on your keyboard.  If you hold down the [CTRL] key while you click on individual todo you can highlight as many of them as you wish prior to clicking on the Delete button.  You can delete a group of todo's that appear  together in the list box.  Click on the first of the todo's you wish to delete and then hold down the [SHIFT] key while you click on the last todo in the group you wish to delete.  Time & Chaos will highlight all todo's bounded by these two mouse clicks.  You now simply click on the Delete button and Time & Chaos will remove all of the chosen todo's from its records.


Editing Existing ToDo's

Time & Chaos provides for easy editing of existing todo's.  Double click on any single todo displayed in the Todo's List Box and Time & Chaos will invoke the ToDo screen and display the details of the selected todo.  You may change any of this information and click on the Update button to have Time & Chaos process your changes.

You may also click on any of the additional feature tabs to view and/or edit the remaining details associated with the todo.  The Repeat Options feature can be used to schedule the selected todo into the future or delete future occurrences of this todo that were originally scheduled using the Repeat Options.  You cannot use the Repeat Options to review the results of previous automatic scheduling.


Using The Phone Book List Section

The Phone Book List is in the lower left corner of Time & Chaos' main screen.  There are five components that make up this section:  Add Listing, Delete, Search, Move and Select. Time & Chaos maintains two physical Phone Books.  They are referred to as White Pages and Yellow Pages.  Entries in the Phone Book are stored based on the Name As Listed value, which must be unique within the Phone Book.  If you attempt to add a listing with a Name As Listed that matches an existing entry you will receive an error message.   Search is used to locate Phone Book entries using a search string of your choice.   Move allows you to physically move (relocate) an entry from one of your phone books to the other. Select allows you to position yourself within the physical phone book of your choice (i.e., White Pages or Yellow Pages).


Add Listing

Creating new phone book entries is simple.  Time & Chaos allows you to create a phone book entry by simply clicking on the Add Listing button.  Time & Chaos will display the Telephone Entry screen and allow you to describe your phone book listing.

The first, and most important, order of business is to define the entry's key value.  This is done by entering text in the Name As Listed field.  Remember that this must be unique within the entire phone book.  The White and Yellow pages are two physically different phone books however, thus you can have the same Name As Listed value in each of them.

Time & Chaos processes the Name As Listed text that you entered to automatically fill in other fields associated with the phone book entry.  Let's review the rules.

Time & Chaos searches the Name As Listed text for the occurrence of a comma [ , ]. If a comma is found  Time & Chaos treats the Name As Listed text as the name of a person that will viewed as the contact associated with the phone book entry.  The text found prior to the comma is used as the Last Name of the contact and the text found after the comma is used as the First Name of the contact.  These values are stored in the phone book record in the Last Name Field and the First Name Field respectively.

If no comma is found  Time & Chaos treats the Name As Listed text as the name of the company associated with the phone book entry.  This value is stored in the phone book record in the Company Field.

After you have entered the Name As Listed you may enter the address information and phone numbers for the listing.    Time & Chaos provides for a Business address and a Home address.

Time & Chaos provides for the storage of four (4) phone numbers for each phone book entry.  The Home and Business labels are standard.  The other two phone numbers have their labels in RED.  This indicates that the labels may be changed.  This change is stored uniquely with each phone book listing.

Along the bottom of the Telephone Entry screen are action buttons.  Let's review them.

OK - Instructs Time & Chaos that you have completed your phone book entry and that you wish to return to the main screen.

Clone Entry - This button is not active during Add Listing.  Refer to Editing Existing phone book entries.

Notes -    Clicking on the Notes button invokes Time & Chaos' Notes Processor ( Refer to the Notes Processor topic for complete details on use of  this capability) so that you can enter, edit and/or print your note text.

Letter - Clicking on the Letter button will instruct Time & Chaos to invoke the Link To Word Processor screen.  This screen functions much the same was as a standard Windows file browse box.  The design intention of this screen is to let you browse for a file that  you wish to take into your word processor with you as you leave Time & Chaos.  This will allow you to add the date,  and phone book entry's name and addressed to the top of an existing file to be used in the word processor.  If you do not wish to take an existing file with you into the word processor, simply do not select one and Time & Chaos will leave New Letter selected.  Now choose either Business or Residence address and then click the OK button.  ** Please refer to the Time & Chaos Setup Topic for details on creating the proper link to your favorite word processor.

Envelope - Clicking on the Envelope button will instruct Time & Chaos to invoke the Envelope Printer screen.  Refer to the Envelope Printer Topic for details.

If you wish to take advantage of additional Time & Chaos Phone Book Entry setting features you should now click on the index card tab that specifies the capability area of your choice.  You can choose Notes, Contact, ToDo's, Appointments and/or Categories.

You should select each of the various options before finally clicking on the OK button. Lets look at each of the additional areas.

Notes

This capability area allows you to record notes specific to the Phone Book Entry being defined.  These notes are stored along with the Phone Book Entry and can be viewed in connection with the phone book entry details.  Clicking on the Notes index card tab displays a limited view of any existing notes attached to the phone book entry and/or allows you to enter note text.  If you wish to use a larger screen to enter and/or view notes, click on the Notes button at the bottom of the Telephone Entry  screen .  Clicking on the Notes button invokes Time & Chaos' Notes Processor (Refer to the Notes Processor  topic for complete details on use of  this capability) so that you can enter, edit and/or print your note text.

Contact

This capability area allows you to store text about the contact associated with this phone book entry.  Time & Chaos provides six (6) standard fields and six (6) user definable fields that can have text entered within them.   The six standard fields may be filled in at this time or they may be left blank.  You may find that the Last Name and First Name fields have already been filled in by Time & Chaos.  Remember the rules Time & Chaos used to process the Name As Listed text entered earlier.

The six user definable fields may also be optionally filled in at this time.  The labels for these six fields were defined as a part of Time & Chaos Setup.  (Refer to the Setup Topic for details)

The text values (if any) entered within the Contact index card area are stored along with the phone book entry being created.  While the labels for these fields are controlled globally, the text values entered within them are stored with each individual phone book entry.

ToDo's

Selecting the ToDo's tab instructs Time & Chaos to display the list of todo items (if any) that are presently linked to this phone book entry.  This is a little premature at this juncture (you are just adding the phone book entry), but this index card area is used throughout the phone book listing section.  When you look at phone book listings later on, this feature will provide you with insight into your ToDo items that have been associated with the phone book entry.

Appointments

Selecting the Appointments tab instructs Time & Chaos to display the list of appointments (if any) that are presently linked to this phone book entry.  This operates in the same manner as the ToDo's mentioned above.

Categories

This capability area allows you to take advantage of eighteen (18) globally defined categories to profile this phone book entry.  The labels you are shown at this time come from your efforts in the Setup of Time & Chaos.  (Refer to the Time & Chaos Setup Topic for details).  Each of these categories can be thought of as a switch that is set ON or OFF.  Categories will have different meanings for different users of Time & Chaos.  If you are a sales professional, then categories such as Customer, Prospect, etc. will be of value to you.  If you are in another business or if you use Time & Chaos for personal phone book listings then categories such as Country Club, Christmas Card List, etc. could be used.

The categories are displayed in three columns of six.  Using the mouse, you click on each of the categories that you wish to set ON to profile this phone book entry.  Clicking on a category that is presently ON will set it to OFF.


Delete Phone Book Entries

When you wish to remove a phone book entry and any of its associated notes from Time & Chaos' records you simply locate the phone book entry in the Phone Book List Box, click on it and then click on the Delete button on the main screen.  You will be prompted to confirm the deletion.

Often you may wish to review the details of a phone book entry before you delete it.  To do this simply double click on the phone book entry in the Phone Book List Box.  You will be taken to a Telephone Entry screen where you can use the index card tabs to review its details.  You may now click on the Delete button on the Telephone Entry screen to remove the phone book entry.


Search Phone Book Entries

Time & Chaos offers an extensive search capability that allows you to locate phone book entries that you have defined.  Remember to choose the desired phone book (White Pages or Yellow Pages) before using the search capability.  To invoke this capability click on the Search button on the main screen.  You will then be shown the Phone Book Search screen.  You will immediately notice that the ICONS across the top of this screen allow you to search all of Time & Chaos' information sources.  Because you entered this screen by clicking on the Search button within the Phone Book's List Section of the main screen, Time & Chaos will have chosen the Phone Book's information source by default.

Now you have the ability to select one of the many search fields associated with phone book entries.   With the search field selected, enter your desired search string and click on the Find button.  Time & Chaos will search all phone book records for the specified string within the selected search field.   If you leave the search string text field empty, Time & Chaos will find all phone book entries in its records.

Time & Chaos displays the phone book records resulting from the search in the list box within the Phone Book Search screen.  If you wish to view a phone book entry's details and/or make changes simply double click on the phone book entry of choice within the list and Time & Chaos will invoke the Telephone Entry screen with the details of that phone book entry displayed.  You may also Delete phone book entries located by your search.

To delete a single phone book entry, click on it to select it and then click on the Delete button within the Search Screen.  If you want to delete multiple records you can combine clicking on phone book entries with the use of the [CTRL]  or [SHIFT] keys on your keyboard.  If you hold down the [CTRL] key while you click on individual phone book entries you can highlight as many of them as you wish prior to clicking on the Delete button.  You can also delete a group of phone book entries that appear  together in the phone book list box.  Click on the first of the phone book entries you wish to delete and then hold down the [SHIFT] key while you click on the last phone book entry in the group you wish to delete.  Time & Chaos will highlight all phone book entries bounded by these two mouse clicks.  You now simply click on the Delete button and Time & Chaos will remove all of the chosen phone book entries from its records.


Move Phone Book Entries

Time & Chaos maintains two physical Phone Books.  They are referred to as White Pages and Yellow Pages.  You may move (relocate) entries from one phone book to the other by clicking on a Name As Listed in the Phone Book List Box to select that entry and then clicking on the Move button.  You should notice that the label on the move button indicates the direction of the move (i.e., Move -> Yellow to indicate moving an entry from the White Pages to the Yellow Pages and Move -> White to indicate moving an entry from the Yellow Pages to the White Pages).  This is controlled by your selection of a phone book (see Select Phone Book below).  You will be asked to confirm the move.  If you want to move multiple records you can combine clicking on phone book entries with the use of the [CTRL]  or [SHIFT] keys on your keyboard.  If you hold down the [CTRL] key while you click on  individual phone book entries you can highlight as many of them as you wish prior to clicking on the Move button.  You can also move a group of phone book entries that appear  together in the phone book list box.  Click on the first of the phone book entries you wish to move and then hold down the [SHIFT] key while you click on the last phone book entry in the group you wish to move.  Time & Chaos will highlight all phone book entries bounded by these two mouse clicks.  You now simply click on the Move button and Time & Chaos will move all of the chosen phone book entries.


Select Phone Book

Time & Chaos maintains two physical Phone Books.  They are referred to as White Pages and Yellow Pages. The action button in the lower right corner of the Phone Book List Section is used to Select which of these two phone books you wish to display in the phone book list box.  The label on this button changes to reflect your latest choice.  If you are currently viewing the White Pages, the label will read Yellow Pages.  Likewise if you are currently viewing the Yellow Pages, the label will read White Pages.  Also note that the color of the phone book list box background will change from white to yellow to further indicate which phone book you are viewing.


Editing Existing Phone Book Entries

Time & Chaos provides for easy editing of existing phone book entries.  Double click on any single phone book entry displayed in the Phone Book List Box and Time & Chaos will invoke the Telephone Entry screen and display the details of the selected phone book entry.  You may change any of this information and click on the Update button to have Time & Chaos process your changes.

You may also click on any of the additional feature tabs to view and/or edit the remaining details associated with the phone book entry.

Along the bottom of this Telephone Entry screen used to Edit phone book entries you will find action buttons.  Lets review them.

Update - This instructs Time & Chaos that you have completed your editing of the phone book entry and returns you to the main screen.

Delete - This instructs Time & Chaos to delete the phone book entry currently being edited.  You will be prompted to confirm the deletion.

Clone - This instructs Time & Chaos to create a new entry in the currently selected phone book by making a copy (Clone) of the information from the phone book entry being edited.  All of the information will be copied except for the Name As Listed and you must supply a new unique value for Name As Listed before you save this new entry.

Notes - Clicking on the Notes button invokes Time & Chaos' Notes Processor ( Refer to the Notes Processor  topic for complete details on use of  this capability) so that you can enter, edit and/or print your note text.

Print Profile - Clicking on the Print Profile button instructs Time & Chaos to prepare and print a complete profile for the phone book entry being edited.  The profile includes all of the information on the phone book listing, all associated appointments, all associated ToDo's and all associated Notes.

Letter - Clicking on the Letter button will instruct Time & Chaos to invoke the Link To Word Processor screen.  This screen functions much the same way as a standard Windows file browse box.  The design intention of this screen is to let you browse for a file that  you wish to take into your word processor with you as you leave Time & Chaos.  This will allow you to add the date,  the phone book entry's name and address to the top of an existing file to be used in the word processor.  If you do not wish to take an existing file with you into the word processor, simply do not select one and Time & Chaos will leave New Letter selected.  Now choose either Business or Residence address and then click the OK button.  ** Please refer to the Time & Chaos Preferences Setup Topic for details on creating the proper link to your favorite word processor.

Envelope - Clicking on the Envelope button will instruct Time & Chaos to invoke the Envelope Printer screen.  Refer to the Envelope Printer Topic for details.


Dialing Phone Book Entries

You may also use the autodial capabilities of Time & Chaos while in the Telephone Entry screen.  On the right side of the Telephone Entry screen you will find the Telephone Numbers section.  Time & Chaos maintains four phone numbers for each of the entries within each phone book.  To the right of each of the phone number label you will see a small circle (Windows Radio Button).  Clicking on one of these buttons instructs Time & Chaos to select it as the phone number you wish to dial.  Clicking on the Dial button will instruct Time & Chaos to dial the selected phone number.

In addition to selecting the phone number to be dialed, you are also setting the default phone number to be used during drag and drop operations involving phone book entries.  Thus after editing a phone book entry, Time & Chaos uses the selected phone number to complete the description of appointment and/or ToDo's created by dragging and dropping that phone entry into either the Appointment or Todo section of Time & Chaos' main screen.

Details on how Time & Chaos handles phone number prefixes, suffixes and area codes is provided in the Modem section of the Preferences Setup Topic.


<Prev!     !Next>

While you are editing a phone book entry you may move backward and forward within the phone book by clicking on <Prev! to go backwards or by clicking on !Next> to goforward.  This will position you at the previous or next entry respectively.

Feature and/or Caution ... Time & Chaos updates each phone book entry as you click on these (Prev/Next) controls.  This is provided for your convenience in updating phone book entries.  You must be careful not to make undesired changes to your phone book entries using this feature.  If you bring a phone book entry to this screen, make changes and then click on Prev/Next your changes will be updated within Time & Chaos' records.


Open/Create Calendar Sets

We will refer collectively to Time & Chaos's information files (i.e., appointments, todo's and phone books) as a calendar set.  In its basic implementation Time & Chaos helps you manage  a single calendar set.

Often you may wish to create and manage additional calendar sets.  You may have a calendar set for work related activities and a calendar set for personal activities.  There is no actual limit to the number of calendar sets you can ask Time & Chaos to manage.

Let's review the concept of managing multiple calendar sets.  Time & Chaos stores each of its calendar sets in a DOS file directory.  When Time & Chaos executes it looks in the currently define DOS Working Directory to find its data files.  If Time & Chaos does not find data files in the directory, it automatically creates an empty calendar set.  This is what happens the first time you execute Time & Chaos after its initial installation.

If you wish to create and manage additional calendar sets, you instruct Time & Chaos to create a new DOS directory (actually an new subdirectory) and to create a new empty calendar set within that directory.  During the process of creating a new calendar set, Time & Chaos allows you to input a string of text to be used as an identifier for the calendar set.  This identifier string will aid you in opening calendar sets later on.

In addition to creating the actual calendar set data files, Time & Chaos places the calendar set identifier in the list of frequently accessed calendar sets.  This provides the vehicle with which you switch from one calendar set to another.

This is a foundation step for use of the Superimpose feature under the TimeBar! Menu command which is covered under a separate topic.

Creating Additional Calendar Sets

After selecting the Open/Create Calendar Set command, Time & Chaos will display the Open Time & Chaos Files screen.  This screen is used to build and maintain your list of calendar sets.  To add a calendar set to this list, start by clicking on the Browse button.  After clicking  the Browse button you will be presented with a dialog box with which you can locate the DOS directory under which you wish to create your new  calendar set data files.  Select and highlight the desired DOS directory.

Click the Create New Files button.  Time & Chaos will then display the New Files dialog box and suggest that you call the new DOS subdirectory NEWCHAOS.  This new subdirectory will be created below the DOS directory selected earlier in the browse screen.  If you wish to name your new subdirectory something other than NEWCHAOS, simply type in a name of your choice.  This must be a valid DOS directory name.  You will be asked to enter a text string to be used to identify this new calendar set.  Time & Chaos will then create the new DOS subdirectory, create the new empty data files and switch you to these new empty files.  Time & Chaos will have also added this new calendar set to the list of calendar sets so that you can easily switch to it at a later time.

Opening an Existing Calendar Set

Time & Chaos  processes only one calendar set at a time.  If you wish to switch to another calendar set you need to instruct Time & Chaos to Open the other calendar set.

After selecting the Open/Create Calendar Set command, Time & Chaos will display the Open Time & Chaos Files screen.  If you wish to open one of the calendar sets displayed in the list, you can click on the desired list entry to select it  and then click on the Open Calendars button.  You may also double click on the desired list entry to accomplish this task.  In response to your action, Time & Chaos will close the data files associated with the calendar set you are presently accessing and then open the data files associated with the calendar set selected from the list box.

Adding  Existing Calendar Sets to Your Calendar Set List.

After selecting the Open/Create Calendar Set command, Time & Chaos will display the Open Time & Chaos Files screen.  This screen is used to build and maintain your list of frequently used calendar sets.  To add a calendar set to this list, start by clicking on the Browse button.

After clicking  the Browse button you will be presented with a dialog box with which you can locate the DOS directory containing your Time & Chaos calendar set data files.  Use this browse screen to locate and highlight the DOS directory that contains your calendar set data files.   After selecting the DOS directory, the calendar set data file names will be displayed on the right side of the dialog box for your sight verification.  The calendar set identifier string will also be displayed above the file names.  When you have located the calendar set desired, click the Add To List button. Time & Chaos will add the calendar set's identifier string and the DOS directory to the list. When you have added all of the desired calendar sets to your list, you just click on the Close button and you will be returned to the Open Time & Chaos Files screen.  Your calendar set's description and the associated DOS directory will now be displayed in the list box.

Deleting Calendar Set Identifiers From The Calendar Set List

After selecting the Open/Create Calendar Set command, Time & Chaos will display the Open Time & Chaos Files screen.  If you wish to delete one of the calendar sets displayed in the list click on the entry of your choice to highlight it and then click on the Delete From List button.  Time & Chaos will prompt you to confirm your deletion.


Network Connect (Multiple Instance)

The concept of multiple calendar sets described earlier under the topic of Open/Create Calendar Sets is based on accessing Time & Chaos calendar sets only on one's local system.   In addition, Time & Chaos provides network independent access to calendar sets on other Windows based systems on a local area network.

The Network Connect (Multiple Instance) command is initially grayed out.  This indicates that Time & Chaos setup activities are required to enable this feature.  Please refer to the Time & Chaos Setup Topic for details.

All of the capabilities describe in the Open/Create Calendar Sets topic are also available under the Network Connect command.  The significant difference here is that Time & Chaos actually launches multiple instances of itself and works with the additional calendar set concurrent with your present activity.  When you select the calendar set to be opened, Time & Chaos minimizes itself into an ICON on your desktop.  This ICON has a description that reflects the identifier of the calendar set with which it is associated.  Then Time & Chaos starts up another copy of itself that opens the newly selected calendar set and minimizes it into another ICON on your desktop.  This ICON also has a description that reflects the identifier of the calendar set with which it is associated.

You now have multiple Time & Chaos ICONS on your desktop which are associated with individual calendar sets.  Double clicking on one of these ICONS activates that instance of Time & Chaos and gives you access to that calendar set.  This process can be repeated to gain access to as many calendar sets as you wish.  While this feature is designed for access to additional calendars elsewhere on the LAN, it can also be used to concurrently access calendar sets on your local system.

This is a foundation step for use of the Superimpose feature under the TimeBar! Menu command which is covered under a separate topic.

Comparing Open/Create to Network Connect

These two capabilities are very much alike; however, they have a major difference. The Network Connect capability provides for running multiple instances of Time & Chaos so that you can access multiple calendar sets concurrently.  The Open/Create capability instructs Time & Chaos to switch from one calendar set to the other thus not providing for concurrent access.


temp
[Blank Page]


Temp Title 31


Temp Title 32


Import ASCII To Telephone Book

You may have many sources of data from which you can import names and addresses into the phone books of Time & Chaos.  To help you move this information into its records Time & Chaos provides an ASCII import feature.  You must follow the guidelines set out by Time & Chaos very closely for this to go smoothly.  Let's review these guidelines.

Your data must be a file named IMPORT.TXT and this file must be found in the DOS

directory with the calendar set that you are currently accessing.

Your data must comply with the standards for Comma Delimited Data as we have implemented them.  The data records contain fields that are enclosed by quote ["] characters and that are separated by commas [,].  There can be no spaces embedded within the records.  These data records must be created by a text editor that produces no word wrap (i.e., the data record must continue for its entirety on a single line of text).  Both MS NOTEPAD and DOS EDIT work well for this purpose.

The data records must be preceded by a single text record (only one at the beginning of the file) that defines the data fields.  This text record specifies the data field names in their relative order within the data records.  Each of the field names are enclosed by quote ["] characters and they are separated by commas [,].  There can be no spaces embedded within this record.

Here's an example of such a file ...

"Company Name","Business Phone","Contact"

"Acme Plumbing","214 456-9876","John Jones"

"Wilson Hardware","814 321-0976","Ralph Smith"

After you have created your data file and saved it with the name of IMPORT.TXT, store it in the DOS directory with the calendar set currently being accessed.  Now you are ready to exercise the Import ASCII To Phone Book command.

After you exercise the Import ASCII To Phone Book command, Time & Chaos will display the Import ASCII Comma Delimited File screen.  This screen allows you to map the data fields from your IMPORT.TXT file to the data fields within Time & Chaos's phone book records.  Since you provided a text record at the beginning of the IMPORT.TXT file that defines your data fields, Time & Chaos displays these field identifiers on the left side of the Import ASCII Comma Delimited File screen.  Time & Chaos also displays the names of its phone book record fields on the right side of the screen.

Feature ... Caution: Time & Chaos waits for you to map the fields on the left to the fields on the right.  This is done by first clicking on a field on the left and then clicking on the corresponding field on the right.  Be certain that you click on the left first and then on the right.  You will not observe any reaction by Time & Chaos as you perform these clicks.  You continue the left/right clicking until you have mapped each of your import fields with the corresponding field within Time & Chaos' phone book record.

If you have fields in your import data that do not correspond to any of the fields in Time & Chaos' phone book records, click on the Disregard Field entry on the right of the screen to tell Time & Chaos that this import field is to be ignored.

When you have completed mapping the import fields to the Time & Chaos phone book fields, click on the OK button to start the import process.  When this process completes you will be back in Time & Chaos' main screen and  you will find the imported phone book entries listed.


Preferences Setup

Time & Chaos maintains considerable user definable information at its system (global) level.  This information is accessible by using the Preferences Setup command.

Time & Chaos' system (global) information is grouped into sections covering General information, Modem information, Editor information, Printer information, Network information and Categories information.  You can set and/or change any or all of these area before you return to Time & Chaos' main screen.  When you are ready to leave the Preferences Setup command simply click on the OK button on the bottom of the Time & Chaos Setup screen.  Now let's look at each of these setup areas.

General Information

These settings are very intuitive and allow you to tailor Time & Chaos to your general operating environment.  You can choose U.S or International general orientation to control the format of the information displays by Time & Chaos.   You can choose either a 12 hour or 24 hour clock.

When you minimize Time & Chaos, it appears as an ICON on your desktop.  You can choose to have either the date or the time displayed along with the description of the calendar set being accessed by Time & Chaos.

You can have the White Pages phone book displayed by default on start up of Time & Chaos or you can choose to have the Yellow Pages displayed by default on start up.

You can specify the Default Start of Day to the nearest 30 minutes.  Below the Default Day Start label you will find UP/DOWN arrow.  Click on these to set the start of day time you desire.

Time & Chaos offers you the capability to specify the number of minutes prior to an appointment when you wish to be notified of the upcoming appointment.  This is referred to as the Alarm Lead Time.  Within Preferences Setup you specify the Alarm Lead Time that will be used on every appointment by default.

Modem Information

This information is used by Time & Chaos when using the auto dial capabilities.  You must select the Modem Com Port for your system and you must set either Tone Dial or Pulse Dial for the auto dial feature to function properly.

Time & Chaos also lets use specify your Local Area Code, an Auto Dial Prefix, a Long Distance Prefix and a Long Distance Suffix.  Here's how they are used:

Local Area Code - Time & Chaos compares this value to the area code (if there is one) stored with the phone number you chose to dial.  If the chosen phone number's area code is different, you are notified and asked if you wish to have your Long Distance Prefix and/or Long Distance Suffix used with the dialing.  You should store all of your phone numbers with area codes and store your local area code at this point in the setup of Time & Chaos.  When you travel, you can change the Local Area Code value to match your new location and Time & Chaos will help you make your calls based on this new value;  thus treating your phone numbers as local or long distance calls accordingly.

Auto Dial Prefix - You can set this to indicate the prefix (if any) to be used by Time & Chaos to gain access to an outside line for placing your phone calls.

Long Distance Prefix/Suffix - Time & Chaos allows you to store the numbers you wish to use before and after the phone number to be accessed.  This allows you to have Time & Chaos process special codes to access your long distance service and/or charge your call to your phone card, etc.

Editor Information

Time & Chaos provides the capability for you to launch your favorite word processor (editor) from its Telephone Entry screen.  This capability is provided so that you can enter the specified word processor with the name and address from the chosen phone book entry.  Time & Chaos places the name, address and current date at the top of the document to be processed.  Refer to the Using The Phone Book Section for details.

By default, Time & Chaos places write.exe in the field provided within the Editor screen.  If you wish to have Time & Chaos launch a different word processor you must replace write.exe with the complete path to its executable file.  If the text placed here is not correct, you will create an error condition at the time you attempt to launch the program from the Telephone Entry screen.

Printer Information

Time & Chaos allows you to select a default printer font and a default page format for your reporting activities.

The default printer font is chosen by clicking on the down arrow below the Default Printer Font label.  Time & Chaos will display a list of available fonts and you select your choice by clicking on it with the mouse.

There are four choices for Default Page Format.  Simply click on the format of your choice.

Network Information

Time & Chaos allows  you to provide access to your calendar set(s) by other Time & Chaos users elsewhere on your local area network.  To control this access you must define the access parameters to be used for each of your calendar sets.  The values you set within the Network screen of Preferences Setup are associated with your calendar set presently being access by Time & Chaos.  Here are the values you must set:

Read Only Password - This is the text string that must be entered by other LAN users in order to gain read only access to the selected calendar set.

Read-Write Password - This is the text string that must be entered by other LAN users in order to gain read-write access to the selected calendar set.

Name to identify this Calendar Set - This is the text string that will be shown to other LAN users so that they can easily recognize this calendar set.

Open Data Bases for SHARED ACCESS - Selecting this parameter allows multiple LAN users to access the selected calendar set concurrently.  The use of this feature requires that you use the DOS SHARE.EXE program or an equivalent functionality provided by your LAN.

Categories Information

Time & Chaos allows you to define eighteen (18) categories that can be used to profile the entries within your White Pages and Yellow Pages phone books.  These categories are defined at the system (global) level but are used to profile each individual phone book entry.  Refer to the Phone Book Listing Topic for details on using these categories.

Within the Categories screen, you will find three columns of six fields representing the 18 categories.  These will be initially shown as User Definable.  To activate any or all of these categories, tab to the appropriate data field and replace User Definable with the text you wish to use to describe the associated category.


Printer Setup

Selecting the Printer Setup command instructs Time & Chaos to display the Printer Selection screen.  Time & Chaos will list the printers that are configured in your system as supplied by Windows.

Click on the printer that you wish to setup and click on the Setup button.  Time & Chaos will then turn control  over to the selected printer driver so that you may complete its setup.  The screen(s) that you see following your clicking on the Setup button will depend on the particular printer driver.  When you complete the setup you will be returned to Time & Chaos' main screen.

While in Time & Chaos' Printer Selection screen you can also set the default printer to be used by Time & Chaos.  Simply click on the desired printer to select it and then click on the Make Default button.   Time & Chaos will use the selected printer as its default output printer until you choose to reset it.


Backup Data

Time & Chaos maintains your calendar sets automatically as you exercise its capabilities. This information is posted to your hard disc immediately upon use of Time & Chaos' features to ensure data integrity.

Never-the-less it is highly recommended that you backup your data files on a regular basis.  This will provide an additional level of data security.

If you are using Time & Chaos to manage multiple calendar sets you should perform backups on each of them individually.  Time & Chaos will display the Backup screen and allow you to enter the path to the destimation DOS directory where your files will be copied.  The path you supply will be stored in Time & Chaos' system parameters area.

Backup Data  is also very useful for moving your calendar set data files from your home computer to your portable computer and vice versa.  See Restore Data.


Restore Data

Selecting the Restore Data  command instructs Time & Chaos to copy the calendar set data files, from the DOS directory that you specify, to the present DOS Working Directory where Time & Chaos is operating.  The data files copied will  replace the data files presently being used by Time & Chaos. (See also Backup Data)


Save Screen Size And Location

Time & Chaos' main screen may be resized, by dragging its border horizontally or vertically, and it may be repositioned by dragging its Title Bar.  To store the resultant screen size and location select the Save Screen Size and Location command.  Time & Chaos  will ask you to confirm that you want to exercise this capability.


Print Menu

Time & Chaos' standard reports are initiated by using the Print Menu.  Time & Chaos displays a list of its standard reports for your selection.  The page format for the reports was specified with the Preferences Setup command.  Here is the list of standard reports:

 The Current ToDo List

 The ToDo Report

 The Telephone Book

 The Address Book

 The Daily Calendar

 The Weekly Calendar

 The Monthly Calendar


Month-View!

Selecting the Month-View! command instructs Time & Chaos to display a complete  view of the month at which you are positioned.  Time & Chaos also highlights the day of the month at which you were  positioned prior to selecting the Month-View command.

Time & Chaos offers many action controls on the Month-View! screen to help you gain full insight into your time commitments.  In the upper left corner of the screen you will find controls to change your position in time.

You can always return to the current date by clicking on the Today button.  The < and << buttons move you backward in time one month at a click and one year at a click respectively.   The > and >> buttons move you forward in time one month at a click and one year at a click respectively.

To zoom in on your time commitments, you can click on the Week View button and/or click on the Day View.  This allows you to zoom in on a week or day of your choice. First you click on a date of your choice to properly position yourself in time and then click on either the Week View or the Day View to get more details on your time commitments for the chosen time domain.

Time & Chaos also provides the capability for you to zoom immediately to any day in the present Month/Week view.  This is accomplished by double clicking on the day of your choice.  Time & Chaos reacts to the double click and gives you the Day View for the day that you chose.

While you are in the Day View screen you can exercise the Add Appointment button to instruct Time & Chaos to allow you to process a new appointment for the chosen day.


Report!

Many of today's object oriented systems provide the ability to view data in rows and columns.  These are often referred to as spreadsheets or datasheets.  With your data stored in rows and columns, you can view and/or edit your data effectively.  Time & Chaos provides this capability through its Report! command.

When you select the Report! command, Time & Chaos displays the Time & Chaos Report Writer screen to allow you to store your information into rows and columns for review and or export.  Across the top of the Report Writer screen are ICONS that represent your data files for the calendar set currently being accessed.  Simply click on one of these ICONS to instruct Time & Chaos to load your current information into the datasheet within the Report Writer screen.

The columns across the datasheet will hold the data field values from the records retrieved, while the rows down the datasheet will hold the individual records retrieved. The  columns will receive labels to identify the data fields being loaded and the rows will receive labels to indicate the record numbers of the data being loaded.

Sorting Your Datasheet

After the chosen information is loaded into the datasheet Time & Chaos allows you to sort the records based on any one of the data fields.  The names of the data items within the information records are displayed in a drop down list box in the upper right section of the screen.  Click on the down arrow to display the list of fields and then click on the field of your choice to sort the records accordingly.

Removing Information From Your Datasheet

You may also remove rows and/or columns of data from the datasheet.  You may wish to eliminate some of your information before you export it from Time & Chaos.  To remove a row of information (i.e., one of the data records) you click on the row of your choice to highlight it and then issue the keyboard combination [ALT + R] to have that row removed from the datasheet.  Likewise you can remove a complete column of data (i.e., one of the data fields in each of the records) by clicking on the column of your choice to highlight it and then issue the keyboard combination [ALT + C] to have that column removed from the datasheet.

You can also remove groups of rows and/or columns with one of the above described keyboard combinations.  To remove a group of rows/columns, click on the first of the rows/columns to be removed and then hold down the [Shift] key while you click on the last of the rows/columns in the group you wish to remove.  Time & Chaos will highlight the entire group that you selected.  Now you can issue the keyboard combination to have the group of rows/columns removed.

Note that you are only removing the information from the datasheet within the Report Writer screen;  you are not removing any information from your actual data files.

Exporting Your Datasheet

Time & Chaos provides two data export capabilities from within the Report Writer screen.  You can choose to export your datasheet to an ASCII comma delimited file or you can choose to export your datasheet to a Microsoft Excel 4 spreadsheet.  Note that the entire datasheet is exported.  You should complete any data preparation (i.e., sorting and/or data removal) before you perform the export function.

Menu Bar Within The Report Writer Screen

The Report menu allows you to choose your source of information for the datasheet within the Report Writer screen.  This functions exactly as if you had clicked on the corresponding ICON across the top of the Report Writer screen.

The Edit menu allows you to copy information from the datasheet to the Windows clipboard.  You can copy the entire datasheet (all rows and all columns) or you can copy of the section of the datasheet that you have selected by clicking on appropriate rows and columns within the datasheet.


TimeBar!

Time & Chaos provides the capability to review your time commitments graphically via a time grid.  Time & Chaos displays the days of the month across the columns of the grid and thirty (30) minute time increments down the rows of the grid. Selecting the TimeBar! command instructs Time & Chaos to display the graphical timebar grid discussed above.  Prior to selecting this command, you should use the calendar in Time & Chaos' main screen to select the month of your choice.

Time & Chaos processes  your appointments to determine where the grid should be filled in to indicate your time commitments.  These areas will become red while uncommitted time increments will remain white.

Superimposing Other Calendar Sets

Time & Chaos allows you to access multiple calendar sets.  The other calendar sets that you have access to are known to Time & Chaos because you defined them earlier by using the Open/Create Calendar Sets command and/or the Network Connect (Multiple Instance) command.  Refer to those topics for details.

Selecting the SuperImpose! command within the TimeBar! screen's menu bar informs Time & Chaos that you wish to add the time commitments from other calendars to your time commitments already shown on the timebar grid.  Time & Chaos will show you a list of the other calendar sets for which you have access.  Clicking on one of these listed calendar sets instructs Time & Chaos to superimpose the appointments from that calendar set with yours.  Each superimposed set of appointments is given another color.    If any of the superimposed appointments intersect with other appointments already displayed, the intersections become black.  Time & Chaos also shows a check mark beside the calendar set's identifier in the list of available calendar sets below the SuperImpose! command.

Remaining white space indicates collective free time where group appointments may be scheduled. By clicking on a calendar set previously selected and superimposed, Time & Chaos will remove the time commitments of that calendar set from the timebar grid.

Printing Your TimeBar! Screen

Time & Chaos will produce a printed screen image of your TimeBar! ... simply choose the Print-Screen command from the TimeBar! menu bar.


Notes Processor

Time & Chaos implements extensive capabilities that allow you to create, maintain and output notes.  Remember that notes can be attached to phone book entries, to appointments, to ToDo's and to any given day (Notes For Today).  While these notes can be processed at each of the points of their creation, Time & Chaos provides an even greater ability to process these notes.

Time & Chaos' notes processor is invoked by clicking on the Notes button during normal Time & Chaos activity.  Clicking on the Notes button instructs Time & Chaos to display the notes processing screen.

The title bar of the notes processing screen reflects the identifier of the associated Time & Chaos data item (i.e., phone book entry, appointment, todo, etc.)  Under the title bar of the notes processor screen you will find a menu bar and a tool bar that will allow you to complete your notes processing desires.  Let's review  the menu bar and then look at the tool bar controls.

File

New - Instructs Time & Chaos to clear the text area of the notes processor so that you can start the creation of  new notes.  This will delete the current contents of the notes processor.

Save As Text File - Instructs Time & Chaos to store the current contents of the notes processor into a DOS text file of your choosing.

Print - Instructs Time & Chaos to print the contents of the notes processor to the default printer.  Time & Chaos prompts you for confirmation.

Printer Setup - Instructs Time & Chaos to invoke its printer setup capability.  Refer to the Preferences Setup Topic for details.

Exit - Instructs Time & Chaos to exit the notes processor.

Edit

Cut - Deletes the selected text from the notes processor and places it on the Windows Clipboard.

Copy - Copies the selected text onto the Windows Clipboard.

Paste - Inserts text from the Windows Clipboard into the notes processor at the present cursor position.

Delete - Deletes the selected text from the notes processor.

Select All - Instructs Time & Chaos to select all of the text currently in the notes processor.

Now let's look at the tool bar controls.

Font - Time & Chaos displays the currently selected font being used by the notes processor.  To select a different font click on the down arrow to the right of the displayed font.  This activates a drop down list of available fonts.  Simply click on the font of your choice.

Font Size - Time & Chaos displays the currently selected font size being used by the notes processor.  To select a different font size click on the down arrow to the right of the displayed font size.  This activates a drop down list of available font sizes.  Simply click on the font size of your choice.

Date Separator - Instructs  Time & Chaos to insert a date and time stamp into the current text.  This time stamp is always placed at the bottom of the current notes processor text.

Print Notes - Instructs Time & Chaos to print the current contents of the notes processor. Time & Chaos prompts you for confirmation.

Close - Instructs Time & Chaos to close the notes processor, save the current text and return to Time & Chaos' main screen.


Envelope Printer

Time & Chaos provides a capability for you to print #10 business size envelopes.  The envelope printer is invoked from the Telephone Entry screen by clicking on the Envelope button.

The envelope printer screen has a menu bar, a tool bar and three text fields.   We will look at these items in order.

Control Menu

Save Return Address -  Instructs Time & Chaos to save the contents of  the return address section of the envelope screen in its system parameters area.

Business Address -  Instructs Time & Chaos to place the business address associated with the selected phone book entry into the address section of the envelope screen.

Residence Address - Instructs Time & Chaos to place the residence address associated with the selected phone book entry into the address section of the envelope screen.

Default Printer Orientation - Instructs Time & Chaos to allow you to select either portrait or landscape orientation for the default printer.

Print Position Adjustment - Instructs Time & Chaos to allow you to reset the X axis and Y axis offsets for the envelope.  These offsets are each set to zero (0) by default.  These offsets are in inches and are measured relative to the upper left corner of the envelope as viewed in the envelope printer screen.  You should set these offsets in a trial and error fashion until you are satisfied with your results.  Time & Chaos stores these settings in its system parameters area.

Printer Setup - Instructs Time & Chaos to invoke its printer setup capability.  Refer to the Preferences Setup Topic for details.

Print Envelope - Instructs Time & Chaos to print the present contents of the envelope screen to the default printer.

Edit Menu

Cut - Deletes the selected text from the notes processor and places it on the Windows Clipboard.

Copy - Copies the selected text onto the Windows Clipboard.

Paste - Inserts text from the Windows Clipboard into the notes processor at the present cursor position.

Delete - Deletes the selected text from the notes processor.

Now let's look at the tool bar controls.

Font - Time & Chaos displays the currently selected font being used by the notes processor.  To select a different font click on the down arrow to the right of the displayed font.  This activates a drop down list of available fonts.  Simply click on the font of your choice.

Font Size - Time & Chaos displays the currently selected font size being used by the notes processor.  To select a different font size click on the down arrow to the right of the displayed font size.  This activates a drop down list of available font sizes.  Simply click on the font size of your choice.

Business Address -  Instructs Time & Chaos to place the business address associated with the selected phone book entry into the address section of the envelope screen.

Residence Address - Instructs Time & Chaos to place the residence address associated with the selected phone book entry into the address section of the envelope screen.

Close - Instructs Time & Chaos to close the notes processor, save the current text and return to Time & Chaos' main screen.

Print Envelope - Instructs Time & Chaos to print the present contents of the envelope screen to the default printer.

Now let's look at the screen text fields.

Return Address Field - This is located in the upper left section of the envelope and allows you to enter the return address to be printed on the envelope.

Address Field - This is located in the lower center of the envelope and allows you to enter the address to be printed on the envelope.  This is the field into which Time & Chaos places the chosen address for the selected phone book entry.

Bonus Field - This is located in the center of the envelope just above the address field. You get to input any text you wish and it will be printed on the envelope.


Custom Controls

Time & Chaos Professional v4.0 makes use of some high quality custom controls for windows development.  We would like to acknowledge the following vendors and their products:

Software Source

iSBiSTER International, Inc. would like to extend our appreciation to Sam, Don and Tony, at Software Source who created VB/ISAM.  VB/ISAM is the database engine used by Time & Chaos.

VB/ISAM is an outstanding product, very compact, easy to use and very very fast.  The support provided by Software Source has always been first class.

The VBISAMMU.DLL file that we distribute with Time & Chaos is licensed for use only with Time & Chaos.  Should you wish to create your own software application using VB/ISAM and its DLL you must license it directly from Software Source.

Software Source may be contacted in the U.S. at 510-623-7854

Video Soft

Time & Chaos implements an index card with tabs metaphor for providing you access to its many features.  The Visual Basic "Index Tab" custom control is produced by Video Soft.  We beleive that it offers a revolutionary approach to utilizing screen real estate.  Video Soft has also developed several other very innovative controls for the Visual Basic Developer.

Video Soft may be contacted in the U.S. at 510-547-7295

Sheridan Software Systems, Inc.

We have implemented several 3-D controls (SS3D.VBX and SS3D2.VBX) using software from Sheridan.  Sheridan Software may be contacted in the U.S. at 516-753-0985