
NOTE:  Reminders 95 is shareware.  You may (in fact, please do) distribute
this program freely, provided that you do not distribute it with registration
information.

For the latest info on Reminders 95, visit the Web Page:

	http://www.netcom.com/~hadlock/reminders95.html


Reminders 95 Information
------------------------------
Before we get started, here are a few notes.  These are items that will
be addressed in the next version (1.2), which whill be released before
the end of 1996.

1)  There is currently no on-line help system- this is it.  I have 
    Robohelp 95 on order, and as soon as it gets here, a help file
    will be included.  Expect it in the next version.

2)  A holidays data file will be added in the next release, used in
    calculating Business Days, and Business days notice.  This holiday
    file will come with a default set of holidays, but will be editable
    by the user.

3)  More options and preferences will be added, plus importing from
    other scheduling programs will be added.  Let me know what options
    and features you want, so I can get them added!

4)  This product has not yet been tested under Windows NT (3.51 or 4.0),
    so if you have any problems under these operating systems, let me know
    so that I can get them fixed.  This program is a 32-bit application and
    as such it will not run under Windows 3.11 or lower.

Ok.  This is a second release, so there may be some bugs.  If you find
one, email me at hadlock@ix.netcom.com.  Let me know about any bugs you
find so I can fix them, and let me know about features that you would
like to see added.  I will incorporate most reasonable requests, so
don't be shy- let me know!

KNOWN BUG:  If you have a file in your Windows System Directory titled 
Comctl32.ocx that is 332,288 bytes in size you will notice that the column
headers are 'doubled' and it really looks tacky.  This is due to a bug in
the file.  Reminders 95 comes with a slightly older version of the file that
does not contain this bug.  The logic?  The newer file contains bug fixes for
some other small bugs, but Reminders 95 was designed with the old file, and
I worked around the bugs.  You can backup this file and remove it from your
Windows\system directory before installing Reminders 95 and you will not have
this problem.  Chances are that no other programs will be affected by the change
either, since only programs written in VB 4.0 since January of this year contain
the newer file and the bugs in the old file only occur under unusual circumstances.
If other programs are affected, then simply copy the newer file back into your
Windows\System directory and things will be back to normal.  Hopefully, Microsoft
will have a bugless bug fix out soon and this won't be a problem.  In the meantime
if you need either file, e-mail me and I'll get it out to you.

Reminders 95 Instructions
--------------------------
The purpose of Reminders 95 is to keep you out of trouble.  Reminders 95
is designed to store recurring events that happen infrequently (birthdays,
holidays, anniversaries, appointments, etc.), and remind you of those events
when the time draws near.  The beauty of Reminders 95 is that you put in a
reminder, and forget about it.  Every time the Reminder becomes due, Reminders
95 will remind you of it!  The concept is simple:  Use the Reminders 95 Editor
to add, edit, and delete reminders, and the Reminders 95 Startup program will
check the database each time Windows is started, and let you know if any 
Reminders are due.  You can choose Reminders by date, by day (i.e. Third
Wednesday of every month), and by business days (i.e. 5th business day of every
January).  You can also specify the recurrence of the reminder.  Your choices 
include single (like a doctor's appointment), weekly, bi-weekly, monthly,
bi-monthly, semi-annually, and annually.  You simply enter the date that the
Reminder will FIRST occur (provided that it is in the future), and then enter
the recurrence.  You may even select cute icons to accompany your reminder, and 
you may also enter remarks about the reminder.

When Windows is started, the Reminders 95 Startup program will alert you to any
due Reminder.  At that point, you are given several options of how to treat the
reminder, or you can simply exit and be reminded again the next time that you 
start Windows.



Reminders 95 Editor
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Reminders 95 Editor is the means for entering, scheduling, deleting and changing
reminders.


When opened the Editor will show all of your stored reminders.  You may highlight a
reminder and Edit the reminder or Delete the reminder.  You also have the ability to
add new Reminders from this screen, by clicking on the 'Add Reminder' button.


Adding Reminders:

Once you get to the add reminders screen, the objective is simple.  Select the date 
or day that the reminder will first occur.  Then select how frequently it will reoccur
in the Recurrence menu.  You may choose by date, by day (All Thursdays, etc), or by 
business days (i.e. 5th business day of each month).  You must also choose how many days
in advance you are notified of the Reminder.  You may select to use Business Days only
to calculate advance notice, meaning that Reminders 95 will only count business days
(currently Monday-Friday) when calculating when to begin notifying you.  You may also
pick an icon to accompany your reminder- I've included a bunch of icons from a small
shareware icon library that I found, and I think you'll like them!  You must put something
in the Reminder field in order to save the Reminder.  You may optionally put something in
the Remarks field.  If you do put text in the Remarks field, it will be displayed when 
you double click on the Reminder when it comes due.  Another optional field is the
'Year Person Was Born'.  If you enter the year that the person was born in this field,
then Reminders 95 will tell you their age each time their birthday comes due.  You may
use this field for other calculations if you wish, for instance Wedding Anniversaries-
put in the year you were married and each time the anniversary comes due it will tell
you how many years you've been married.  


Deleting Reminders:

Once you delete a reminder, THAT'S IT!  IT'S GONE! There is so undo feature, so be careful
when you are deleting your reminders!


Editing Reminders:  

Editing reminders is just like adding reminders, except you start with all of the reminder
information prepopulated.



Preferences:

Under the Options Menu is a Preferences Option.  The Reminders 95 Editor currently has the
following Preferences Options:

1)  Prompt for Icon when adding Reminder

If there is an 'X' in this field, then Reminders 95 will ask you if you wish to select an
icon (if you have not already done so) each time you Add or Edit a reminder.

2)  Prompt for Remarks when adding Reminder

Same as above, except for Remarks.  When this option is set, Reminders 95 will prompt you
for Remarks if you have left the field blank.

3)  Prompt for Year Born when adding Reminder.  

Ditto.  The twist in this case is that Reminders 95 will search the Reminder that you have
entered to see if you have entered any text indicating that this is a birthday.  If it is
a birthday and you have left the field blank, then Reminders 95 will prompt you for the
year born if this option is set.

4)  Startup Options

If you click on this button, you will be taken to the Preferences Screen for Reminders 95
Startup (described below).  This is provided so you can change the Startup options even
when you have no Reminders due.


Reminders 95 Startup
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Reminders 95 Startup is the program used to alert you of any due Reminders.  The setup
program puts Reminders 95 Startup in your Startup program group so that it is executed
each time you start Windows.  Reminders 95 then checks for reminders and if any are due
it lets you know!  A handy option for those of us who crash the computer a lot is the
"Once a day" option, meaning that Reminders 95 Startup will only notify you of due reminders
once each day, regardless of how many times Windows is started.


When a reminder is found, it is displayed (along with any other due reminders), and you
have the following options (you may double click on the Reminder to display the remarks
associated with that reminder!):

1) Exit- The reminder will come up again the next time Reminders 95 is run.

2) Acknowledge Reminder- The reminder will be set to the next time that it occurs and
you will no longer be reminded with this instance of the reminder.

3) Delay Reminder- Let's say that your rent is due tomorrow, but you won't have the
money until you get paid in 5 days.  Use the Delay Reminder feature to have Reminders 95
remind you again in 5 days so you don't have to hear about it until you can do something 
about it! NOTE: Delay feature will be overwritten if you edit the reminder with the editor.

4)  Reschedule- Reschedules this instance of the reminder ONLY.  If you have meeting every
month, say on the 2nd Tuesday, but this month it has been changed to the 3rd Tuesday due
to an act of God, then you can reschedule this reminder to the 3rd Tuesday.  It will then
tell you that your meeting is on the 3rd Tuesday and remind you accordingly, but it will not
affect future occurrences of the reminder.  All future occurrences of this reminder will
remind you of the 2nd Tuesday.  Neat, huh?  NOTE:  The rescheduled reminder will be restored
to its original remind date if you edit the reminder with the Editor.

5) Delete Reminder- Gone.  Forever.  You will NEVER EVER see this reminder or any future
occurrence of it again. EVER.  So use with caution.

6) Launch editor- you will be taken immediately to the editor to add more reminders or change
you existing reminders.

Other features of the Reminders 95 Startup program include the ability to set the system date
and time, and choose your preferences.

Under the Options Menu you will find the preferences option.  Your current options include:

1)  Check for reminders every time that Windows starts

                    ---OR---

    Check for reminders ONLY once a day.

When set to every time that Windows starts you will be notified of due Reminders each and
every time that Windows is started.  When you select "Check for Reminders only Once a Day"
you will be notified of due reminders only the FIRST time that Windows is started each day.



2) Play sound file when reminders are found.

When an 'X' is in this box, Reminders 95 Startup will play a .WAV file to get your attention
each time that Reminders are found, provided that you have selected a .WAV file to play.  You
may select your .WAV file with the Select button on this screen.  I have included some example
.WAV files in the installation of this program.


3) Show date when a Reminder is Acknowledge.

When there is an 'X' in this box, Reminders 95 will let you know the date that an event will
next occur when you acknowledge it.  For example, if a person's birthday is 6/15/96 and you
acknowledge the reminder, then Reminders 95 will tell you that this Reminder has been set to
6/15/97 (the next occurrence), if this option is set.  This was put in as a debugging feature,
but I liked it so much I left it in.


Well, that's all I can think of.  If you have ANY questions, comments, suggestions, or problems
then let me know.  If you are the first to report a bug, then I will give you a registration
number for FREE.  If you like the product, then please register.  See the About dialog for
registration information.


Hope you find Reminders 95 to be as helpful as I have!


Greg Hadlock