UTILITIES 
MICHAEL MEFFORD 
Vol. 9, No. 6


SCHEDULE

Purpose: An appointment scheduler that provides both a monthly overview and a 
         detailed daily screen with notepad and optional reminder chime; 
         includes editing, printing, and archiving facilities and can be used 
         as either a standalone or a memory-resident utility (15KB RAM 
         required).

Format:	SCHEDULE [/I] [/U] [/Hn] [/Pn...n] [/G] [/A] [/C]
	[/M] [/B]

Remarks: When installed as memory-resident by using the optional /I switch, 
         SCHEDULE automatically reminds you of appointments by chiming and 
         popping up its appointment screen.  The default hotkey is Alt-C.  
         This can be changed with the /H switch to any alphanumeric Ctrl- or 
         Alt-key combination (n), either at or after installation.  To make 
         Ctrl-S the hotkey, enter SCHEDULE /H Ctrl S.  The /P parameter allows 
         sending up to 10 decimal printer set-up codes (n...n).  Include the 
         /G switch for printers that support the IBM line-drawing characters.

	The reminder chime can be disabled by including the /C switch, and 
        automatic screen pop-up can be avoided by using the /A option.  The 
        /M parameter prevents the default midnight pop-up so overnight 
        programs can be run.  If screen contrast is a problem (e.g. with 
        laptops), use the /B (black-and-white) option or change the default 
        colors, as explained in the article.  SCHEDULE can be uninstalled with
        the /U option, subject to usual limitations.

	SCHEDULE.COM and the two files it creates (SCHEDULE.DAT and 
        SCHEDULE.ASC) must be stored in the current directory when the 
        program is run as a standalone or installed as a memory resident. 
        Batch files, described in the published article, will simplify this 
        requirement.  As a text-based program, SCHEDULE will not come up 
        over a graphics screen (e.g. Microsoft Windows); it must be installed 
        before SideKick (if used).

	SCHEDULE.DAT contains all appointment records saved by pressing F2 
        (see command summary overside).  It can be purged or archived in whole
        or part by pressing F4.  A suitable date up to which to purge can be 
        selected by F3 (today) or with the PgUp/PgDn keys (moves by days) or 
        with Ctrl-PgUp/PgDn (moves by months).  F8 selects an individual day 
        for purging.  Menu prompts are provided for determining whether the 
        selected records are deleted or automatically appended to SCHEDULE.ASC 
        to provide a permanent record usable by any ASCII editor.

	The monthly ("calendar") and daily ("appointment") displays cover the 
        period from 6:30 A.M. to 9:30 P.M. in hour and half-hour increments, 
        respectively.  Within each screen the following commands can be 
        executed:

	Keystroke	Calendar Screen	Appointment Screen
	PgUp/PgDn	Next month	Next Day 
	Ctrl-PgUp/PgDn	Next year	Next Month
	Arrow keys	Select day	Navigate screen
	Home(1)	Beg. of column	Beg. section column
	Home(2)	Beg. of calendar	Top of section
	End(1)	End of column	End section column
	End(2)	End of calendar	End of section
	Ctrl-Home	Beg. of calendar	Beg. of section
	Ctrl-End	End of calendar	End of section
	Ctrl <-	Beg. of column	Beg. section column
	Ctrl ->	End of Column	End section column
	Enter	Select app't.	Enter
	Esc	Exit Schedule	Return to Calendar
	F2	Save app'ts.	Save app'ts.
	F3	Today	Today
	F4	Purge app'ts.	Purge app'ts.
	F5	Print calendar	Print app'ts.
	F6 	Go to Notepad
	Shift-F6	undefined	Clear section
	Ctrl-F6	undefined	Clear all 3 sections
	Tab	undefined	Go to next section
	Shift-Tab	undefined	Go to prev. section
	Del	undefined	Del. char. at cursor


CUSTOMIZING SCHEDULE

The following instructions will enable you to customize the colors used by 
SCHEDULE and to change the tone of its chime.  Start by making a backup copy 
of SCHEDULE.COM and then enter:   INSERT A(5)--1 line

DEBUG SCHEDULE.COM

You are now ready to modify SCHEDULE.COM. If at any time you make a mistake, 
you can abort the editing process by entering Q.  After entering any desired 
modifications last two commands you enter are:
                            INSERT B(5)--2 lines
                            INSERT B(5)--2 lines
W
Q
for Write to disk and Quit DEBUG.

COLOR SCHEME
Enter the following DEBUG (E)nter instructions, replacing the xx with a new 
hexadecimal color value.  The default color values and descriptions that 
SCHEDULE uses are shown as comments, to the right of the semi-colons.
                          INSERT C(5)--6 lines
                          INSERT C(5)--6 lines
                          INSERT C(5)--6 lines
                          INSERT C(5)--6 lines
                          INSERT C(5)--6 lines
E 578 xx   ; 17 Lt. gray on blue.
E 579 xx   ; 71 Blue on lt. gray.
E 57A xx   ; 1E Yellow on blue.
E 57B xx   ; 3B Bright cyan on cyan.
E 57C xx   ; 1B Bright cyan on blue.
E 57D xx   ; 7E Yellow on lt. gray.

Alternative colors may be selected from those listed below.  The background 
color number is entered for the first x and the foreground color for the 
second x.  Do not use a light color for the foreground, or the display will 
blink.
                          INSERT D(5)--9 lines
                          INSERT D(5)--9 lines
                          INSERT D(5)--9 lines
                          INSERT D(5)--9 lines
                          INSERT D(5)--9 lines
                          INSERT D(5)--9 lines
                          INSERT D(5)--9 lines
                          INSERT D(5)--9 lines
                          INSERT D(5)--9 lines
Dark colors    Light colors
0 Black        8 Dark gray
1 Blue         9 Lt. blue
2 Green        A Lt. green
3 Cyan         B Lt. cyan
4 Red          C Orange
5 Magenta      D Violet
6 Brown        E Yellow
7 Lt. gray     F White

For example, to change the yellow on blue (1E) to red on blue (14) you would 
enter
                       INSERT E(5)--1 line
E 57A 14

CHIME TONE
The value used to calculate the tone of the chime is a hexadecimal number that
can range from a low of 0025 to a high of 1150. The default value is 0416.
You'll find numbers close to the default more pleasing. To change the tone, 
enter
                       INSERT F(5)--1 line
                       E 584 yy xx

where xxyy is the new tone divisor. For example, to change the tone from the 
416 Hz C note to an A (a divisor of 370), you would enter
                       INSERT G(5)--1 line
                       E 584 70 03   

Note that the numbers must be entered exactly as shown above. The 70 03 
(yy xx) represent 0370 (xxyy).

Inserts

INSERT A(5)--1 line

DEBUG SCHEDULE.COM

INSERT B(5)--2 lines

W
Q

INSERT C(5)--6 lines

E 578 xx   ; 17 Lt. gray on blue.
E 579 xx   ; 71 Blue on lt. gray.
E 57A xx   ; 1E Yellow on blue.
E 57B xx   ; 3B Bright cyan on cyan.
E 57C xx   ; 1B Bright cyan on blue.
E 57D xx   ; 7E Yellow on lt. gray.

INSERT D(5)--9 lines

Dark colors    Light colors
0 Black        8 Dark gray
1 Blue         9 Lt. blue
2 Green        A Lt. green
3 Cyan         B Lt. cyan
4 Red          C Orange
5 Magenta      D Violet
6 Brown        E Yellow
7 Lt. gray     F White

INSERT E(5)--1 line
E 57A 14

INSERT F(5)--1 line
E 584 yy xx

INSERT G(5)--1 line
E 584 70 03