




























                                Program BDAY (v1.0)

                                         by

                                     Mike Guler
                                  963 Medina Drive
                                 Lilburn, GA  30247
                                   (404)-925-4054






















                            Table of Contents:
                            ---------------------------

                            Disclaimer ----------- pg 1

                            Support -------------- pg 1

                            Suggestions ---------- pg 1

                            File List ------------ pg 1

                            Program Description -- pg 2

                            Data File ------------ pg 2

                            Program Options ------ pg 3

                            Example Set-up ------- pg 4





          Disclaimer:
          -----------
          The use of program BDAY and its accompanying files constitutes
          complete acceptance and total agreement with the following
          disclaimer:  There are no guarantees that BDAY will function
          correctly under any specific hardware configuration and Michael
          G. Guler will not be held liable for any direct damage, indirect
          damage, or other loss caused by the use of BDAY.


          Support:
          --------
          No fee is required for the use of program BDAY; however, a dona-
          tion of $5.00, sent to the address provided on the title page,
          will register the user and help support future updates.  Regis-
          tered users will be notified of future updates and programs.
          Please feel free to distribute complete and unmodified copies of
          BDAY and its accompanying files, provided that no fee is charged.


          Suggestions:
          ------------
          Please send any comments or suggestions to the address provided
          on the title page.  If a bug is found, please provide the exact
          sequence of user input to cause the bug, and provide a descrip-
          tion of the hardware being used.


          File List:
          ----------
          README      - Short description of how to use the various files
                        described below.

          BDAY.EXE    - Executable program file.  Type BDAY and return to
                        run program BDAY.

          BDAY(1).DAT - Sample data file of events to be checked by BDAY.
                        See description of the data file below.

          SCREEN.BAT  - Batch program for viewing the program description
                        on your monitor.

          PRINTER.TXT - Program description for printer.  Type
                        "copy PRINTER.TXT prn" to send program description
                        to your printer.

          BDAY(1).CFG - This file will be created when you configure BDAY.
                        See description of program options below.




                                         1




          Program Description:
          --------------------
          Program BDAY's primary purpose is to warn the user of upcoming
          events, such as birthdays and anniversaries.  It's designed for
          people like me who, until now, always send belated birthday
          greetings.  BDAY reads the system clock and checks a data file
          for upcoming events.  All events in the current month are dis-
          played except those that have already occurred.  Starting on the
          16th of the current month, events within the first 15 days of the
          next month will also be displayed.  Music will play if the cur-
          rent date matches a birthday or anniversary in the data file.
          The music can be disabled if it becomes annoying.  Through a menu
          system, BDAY also allows the user to check for events in months
          other than the current month, or to search for a specific per-
          son's birthday.  The search routine only checks in the person
          field.  See the description of the data file fields in the fol-
          lowing section.


          Data File
          ---------
          An example data file, BDAY(1).DAT, has been supplied with the
          program.  This ASCII file shows the format in which data must
          be organized for BDAY to function properly.  BDAY(1).DAT can be
          modified with any ASCII file editor for your personal use, or a
          new file can be created.  If a new file is used, make sure the
          path\name of the new file is entered in the configuration menu,
          as described in the next section.  If a word processor is used
          to create or modify the data file, make sure the file is saved as
          a text file or as an ASCII file.  The first line of the data file
          is ignored by BDAY.  This first line contains asterisks which
          locate the starting column of each field.  The five fields are as
          follows:

               field   starting column   field length     range
              ---------------------------------------------------------
               month          1               2           (1-13)
                day           4               2           (1-31)
                year          7               4           (0-9999)
               person         12              27       any ASCII string
               event          39              19       any ASCII string

          A space must exist between numeric fields - do not use commas or
          other delimiters.  The events must be ordered in the data file
          according to date, 01 01 first, and 12 31 last.  The year of an
          event refers to the year that the celebrated event occurred.  If
          the year of an event is unknown, or if an event has no specific
          year of occurrence, then enter 0000 for the year field.  If the
          year is any number other than 0000, then BDAY will calculate and
          display which anniversary of the event is upcoming.  The final
          entry in the file must be 13 00 0000.  No ASCII data is required
          in the final entry.  The person and event fields can consist of
          any ASCII data that is desired.  The event field must be exactly
          'birthday', without the quotes, for the song "Happy Birthday" to
          play.  Upper, lower or mixed case letters will work fine.  The
          event field must be exactly 'anniversary', without the quotes,
          for the song "Here Comes the Bride" to play.
                                         2



          Program Options:
          ----------------
          BDAY has three options which are controlled through the config-
          uration file, BDAY(1).CFG.  If BDAY(1).CFG does not exist in the
          current directory or in the designated path, then BDAY starts in
          the configuration menu.  In the configuration menu, the user can
          select the desired options and the path\name of the data file
          which contains the user supplied events.

             Note: The configuration file, BDAY(1).CFG, can be located
                   anywhere in the designated path, but the path to the
                   data file must be specified by the user.

          The program options are as follows:

          Option A:  Skip Main Menu
          If selected, the program will start checking for upcoming events
          without stopping at the main menu.  The user can return to the
          main menu by typing F1.

          Option B:  Monochrome
          Select this option if you have a CGA video card with a monochrome
          monitor.

          Option C:  Music
          If selected, the program will play "Happy Birthday" for events
          with the name "Birthday", and "Here Comes the Bride" for events
          with the name "Anniversary".

          After selecting the desired options from the configuration menu, hit
          F1 to continue.  At this point you have the option to save the new
          configuration.  If BDAY(1).CFG did not exist, it will be created in
          the current directory.  If you are modifying an existing BDAY(1).CFG,
          it will be modified in whatever directory it was located, (that is,
          either in the current directory or one designated by the path).

             Note: If option B is modified in an existing configuration file,
                   you may end up with mixed color attributes.  If this happens
                   escape from the program and restart it.  If you restart the
                   program and cannot read the screen due to erroneous color
                   attributes, then delete the file, BDAY(1).CFG, and restart.

          The name of the data file entered in the configuration menu can
          be overridden from the command line.  This may be useful if you
          have more than one data file.  Simply type the name of the desir-
          ed data file after BDAY on the command line.  The configuration
          file options can also be overridden from the command line.  After
          BDAY, type /'option letter'1 to turn an option on, or type
          /'option letter'0 to turn an option off.

             Example:  bday \misc\family.dat /a1 /b0 /c1
                       This example would cause BDAY to search for events in
                       a file called FAMILY.DAT in the subdirectory \MISC.
                       The main menu would be skipped, the monochrome option
                       would be off and the music option would be on.

             Note:  Command line inputs are for overriding an existing 
                    configuration only.  The command line data will be
                    ignored if BDAY(1).CFG does not exist.
                                         3





          Example Set-up
          --------------
          The following example describes a convenient way to set up BDAY
          to run automatically on boot-up.

          For users without a hard disk:

            1.  Add the files BDAY.EXE and BDAY(1).DAT to your boot disk;
                or make a blank disk bootable with the DOS SYS command and
                then add the files BDAY.EXE and BDAY(1).DAT.

            2.  Type BDAY and return - you should pop up in the Configura-
                tion Menu.
              A.  Hit the space bar to toggle the Skip Main Menu option on.
              B.  If you have a CGA graphics card with a monochrome monitor,
                  then cursor down 1 and toggle the Monochrome option on.
              C.  Hit F1 to continue.
              D.  Type y and return to save the new configuration.
              E.  Hit the ESCAPE key to exit BDAY.

            3.  Next, create or edit your AUTOEXEC.BAT file.
              A.  Enter the following line in AUTOEXEC.BAT:  BDAY
              B.  If you have a clock card, you may have to run a program
                  to set the system clock to the clock card's date and
                  time.  This program must be run in AUTOEXEC.BAT before
                  BDAY.
              C.  If you do not have a clock card, you may have to run the
                  DOS commands DATE and TIME in AUTOEXEC.BAT before running
                  BDAY.  This is probably not necessary if your clock is
                  built into the mother board.
              Note:  If you are not sure about steps B. and C., then skip
                     them.  If BDAY displays an incorrect date and time,
                     then you may have to return to these steps.

            4.  The next time you boot from this disk, BDAY should run
                automatically.

















                                         4





          For users with a hard disk:

          It is good practice to keep your root directory free of files
          except necessary files such as COMMAND.COM, CONFIG.SYS and
          AUTOEXEC.BAT.  For example, assume your DOS files are in the dir-
          ectory C:\DOS, and you have a word processor in the directory
          C:\WORD, and you have miscellaneous utility programs in the dir-
          ectory C:\MISC.

            1.  Add the files BDAY.EXE and BDAY(1).DAT to your directory
                C:\MISC.

            2.  Change to directory C:\MISC and run BDAY.  Note: The first
                time BDAY is run, it will create a configuration file called
                BDAY(1).CFG in the directory from which it is run.  You
                should have popped up in the Configuration Menu.
              A.  Hit the space bar to toggle the Skip Main Menu option on.
              B.  If you have a CGA graphics card with a monochrome monitor,
                  then cursor down 1 and toggle the Monochrome option on.
              C.  Cursor down to the Data File selection line.  A cursor
                  should appear at the end of the file name BDAY(1).DAT.
                a.  Hit the home key and then the insert key.
                b.  Enter c:\misc\ and then the enter key.
              D.  Hit F1 to continue.
              E.  Type y and return to save the new configuration.
              F.  Hit the ESCAPE key to exit BDAY.

            3.  Next, create or edit your AUTOEXEC.BAT file.
              A.  Enter the following line in AUTOEXEC.BAT:  BDAY
              B.  Set the path in AUTOEXEC.BAT before running BDAY or any
                  other commands that must be found through the path.  In
                  this example the path would be set with the following
                  statement:  set path=c:\dos;c:\word;c:\misc
              C.  If you have a clock card, you may have to run a program
                  to set the system clock to the clock card's date and
                  time.  This program must be run in AUTOEXEC.BAT before
                  BDAY.
              D.  If you do not have a clock card, you may have to run the
                  DOS commands DATE and TIME in AUTOEXEC.BAT before running
                  BDAY.  This is probably not necessary if your clock is
                  built into the mother board.
              Note:  If you are not sure about steps C. and D., then skip
                     them.  If BDAY displays an incorrect date and time,
                     then you may have to return to these steps.

            4.  The next time you boot up, BDAY should run automatically.







                                         5