Content

Help topics available for LaunchPad Application are listed below. Use the scroll bar to see items that not currently visible in the help window. To learn how to use Help press the F1 key or choose Using Help from the Help menu. To read the help information sequentially, use the Browse push-buttons or the buttons labeled ">>" and "<<".

Cypress Technologies

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LaunchPad Application

Overview

How Do I ... ?

Tips and Hints

Disclaimer

Copyright

Shareware Agreement

Product Support

System Functionality

Commad Line Options

Automatic Save

System Menu Items

System Tray (Windows 95)

Drag and Drop Support

Remote Access

Batch File/Log File Editors

Networks

Logging

DDE (Dynamic Data Exchange)

Application Interface

Menu Options

ToolBar Buttons

Accelerator Keys

Right Click Speed Menu

System Option Dialog

Events

Definition

Adding

Editing

Enabling

Description Properties

Schedule Properties

Action Properties

Option Properties

Keys Properties

Duration Properties

Condition Properties

DDE Action Properties

Sending Key Strokes

Ordering LaunchPad

Ordering LaunchPad

Pricing

Ordering by Check or Money Order

Ordering using Compuserve SWREG

Ordering by Credit Card

Purchase Order

Order Form - LaunchPad for Windows


Application Overview

What Is LaunchPad?

LaunchPad is a versatile Windows application for running applications automatically or displaying messages at a given time. The LaunchPad Application supports features you expect in any Windows program: toolbars, status bars, drag and drop and font selection. LaunchPad is available for both 16 bit and 32 bit systems.

LaunchPad's many options for its events make it one of a kind in its implementation and versatility.

LaunchPad provides functionality such as automatic rescheduling, disable after execution, log to file, automatic save, remote access, condition triggers, DDE commands and more.

How Can LaunchPad Be Used?

LaunchPad is a scheduling utility with versatility as one of the top criteria during its development.

You can use LaunchPad you to remind you of routine daytime chores by leaving a message, or by launching those applications for you. Billing, Accounting, To Do List, Diary, Appointments.

You can also use LaunchPad to run those long unattended jobs that usually take place after hours, like disk optimization, tape backups, daily reports, etc.

With its ability to save schedule files, LaunchPad can be used on the same machine by multiple people with different requirements.

You can also use LaunchPad as a convenient place to launch your favorite applications: just create events for your applications, then disable scheduling, and sort the list by description. You now have all of your favorite applications in one place and saved as your own file.

LaunchPad's versatility is there for your needs and imagination.

I cannot wait -- How do I get started?

How Do I ...


How Do I...

Here are some fast shortcuts to help you get started right away ...

How do I schedule one program to run at a certain time?

How can I get LaunchPad to remind me of appointments or regular tasks?

How about if I want to be notified when a file changes, or is deleted?

How can I run DOS commands with LaunchPad?

How can I use DDE with LaunchPad?

Can I use LaunchPad to connect to other PCs on my network?

Can I combine scheduled events and conditions?

What options do I have if LaunchPad misses an event?

Can I have LaunchPad use multiple schedules?

How can I check if LaunchPad is working properly?

How can I check that LaunchPad and my program run Ok together?

Can I prevent LaunchPad form starting other jobs while special events are running?

How do I sequence jobs if I do not know how long each of them takes?

How do I get rid of the annoying "Unregistered Version" in the Status Bar?

How do I use the Send Keys feature


Simple Events

How do I schedule one program to run at a certain time?

Click on the Clock icon to add an event. Type in a description for your job ("Launch My Program"). Then use the Open Folder icon at the end of the Command Line to browse through your directories until you find the right exe file. Now press "Next" to select the "Schedule" tab sheet, set the date and time you want to run the program. Press "OK", and voila, the event has been entered in the schedule. Finally, press the Checked Clock icon to enable this event, and the Frequency description should change from "Never" to "One Time."

How Do I ...


Messages

How can I get LaunchPad to remind me of appointments or regular tasks?

LaunchPad can easily throw up a message box at a scheduled time. Instead of entering a command line for the event, go to the "Action" tab, and select "Display Message" instead of "Run Program". Then just type in the message you want displayed.

How Do I ...


File Changes

How about if I want to be notified when a file changes, or is deleted?

This is useful for network applications when you want to make sure a file exists before you import it or make a backup, or you want to be notified of a new database entry, etc. You can launch any event or action you want, but you need to define a condition for your event.

As an example, we will throw up a message box whenever a file changes. Add a new event with "File Test" for the Description, under the Schedule tab, select "Condition" for the Frequency, for Action, select "Display Message", and "The test file has changed" for the message. Under Options, check "Enable Event", and for Conditions, check "Enable Condition". See all the conditions you can have? Select "File Change" for the condition, and type "C:\trigger.txt" for the file. For Frequency, select Every Time, or we will only ever get one message box. Press OK, and go edit trigger.txt with your favorite editor. You should see message boxes informing you that the file has changed!

How Do I ...


DOS Commands

How can I run DOS commands with LaunchPad?

Under the event description, type in the DOS command as you would at the DOS prompt, and set your working directory to the directory you would be in when you typed the DOS command in. E.g., "copy autoexec.bat autoexec.bak", and "C:\". Then under the Action tab, select "Run DOS Command", and remember to enable your event in the schedule.

How Do I ...


Using DDE

How can I use DDE with LaunchPad?

You can create an event which uses a DDE Change condition to launch any action. These actions can include sending a DDE command to any application, or entering all your DDE commands into one script file, and sending all the commands at once! As a bonus, if your PCs are on a network which supports NetDDE, you can even monitor and/or control programs on other PCs!

To monitor a DDE value for change, edit a new event with "Condition" for Frequency, and under Conditions, check "Enable Condition", and select "DDE Change". Then enter what point you want to monitor. You need to know something about your system or DDE drivers to enter the next line, but as an example, let's monitor the value of a cell called "temperature" in an Excel spreadsheet called "values.xls". Enter "excel,values.xls,temperature" and choose "Every Time" for Frequency. For Action, select "Display Message", and enter "Temperature changed!" for the message text. Press OK, and run Excel with a sheet called "values.xls" open. Name a cell "temperature", and start typing values into it.

To send a DDE command is trickier, because you must know the language supported by the program you are trying to control, and this varies greatly from program to program. Fortunately, a wide variety of programs do support DDE commands, from spreadsheets to paging programs, so you are only limited by the applications you use.

How Do I ...


Connecting on the Network

Can I use LaunchPad to connect to other PCs on my network?

The answer is Yes, in as many ways as your network software allows. If you are using Windows NT or 95, you can share disk drives, CD-ROMS, etc., between PCs. LaunchPad can then look for and manipulate files and programs on those other PCs through drive mappings

If your network has NetDDE, you can use DDE Change conditions to monitor points on other PCs, and you can send DDE Commands to control programs on other PCs. All you have to do is replace the reference to an application with a reference to the PC node name the application is running on.

For example, if the temperature spreadsheet in Example 5 was running on a NetDDE node called "CAPRICORN1", simply change the DDE application reference on the Condition tab from: "excel,values.xls,temperature" to: "\\capricorn1\excel,values.xls,temperature".

To send DDE commands to another PC, use exactly the same syntax for the application. Replace "excel" with "\\capricorn1\excel", and make sure that node capricorn1 has the appropriate DDE shares set up to allow your PC to connect.

Do you see the possibilities?
How Do I ...


Complex Events

I can schedule an event to run at a scheduled time, or I can trigger it from a condition. Can I combine the two, and schedule an event to run at a certain time provided a condition exists?

The answer is: of course you can! A common example would be processing a data file at midnight provided the file exists, and then printing a report at 1:00 am based on the data file, provided the import software is NOT running. Since we do want the report eventually, we want LaunchPad to execute the reports as soon as the import has completed.

To implement the first part, create a new event: set the Description to "Suck Up Data", the Command Line to "C:\myapp\import.exe datafile.dbf", and the working directory to "C:\datadir" ( push "Test" to make sure you have the settings correct ). Then on the "Schedule" tab, select "Daily", "00:00:00 am", and today's date ( for starting date ). The Action is "Run Program", under "Options", check "Enable Event", and under "Conditions", check "Enable Condition". Select "File Exists", and enter the filename "datafile.dbf".

To implement the second job, create a new event: set the Description to "Morning Reports", the Command Line to "excel.exe profits.xlm", and the Working Directory to "C:\reports". Then on the "Schedule" tab, select "Daily", 01:00:00 am, and today's date. The Action is "Run Program", under Options, check "Enable Event", and under Conditions, check "Enable Condition". Select "Application Not Running", and enter PROCESS", this being the window title of the import program.

How Do I ...


Missed Events

What options do I have if LaunchPad misses an event?

If you have one event which takes so long to run that it runs into the next job's start time, or your computer was turned off when a scheduled event was supposed to run, the job becomes "Past Due", and will not be executed, and hence, not rescheduled if it is periodic.

However, LaunchPad gives you two rescue options for each event. You can have LaunchPad run your program as soon as possible by checking the "Execute if Past Due" on the "Options" tab, or you can simply forget it and wait until the next time around by checking "Reschedule if Past Due".

Note: Checking both options is redundant, as the "Execute if Past Due" takes precedence, and the event will reschedule itself as soon as it completes anyway.

How Do I ...


Multiple Schedules

Every two weeks we change operating schedules. Can I have LaunchPad use multiple schedules?

Sure! Build one schedule, and save it as "sched_a.lpd". Build the other, and save it as "sched_b.lpd". Every two weeks, go to File Open, and select the other schedule. You can have as many different schedules as you want, but you can only have one active at a time.

Challenge - you should be able to get LaunchPad to automatically switch its schedules itself - program a bi-weekly Interval Event in schedule A to replace the current schedule with the schedule B lpd file, and a bi-weekly event in schedule B to use the Schedule A file.

How Do I ...


Checking LaunchPad

How can I check if LaunchPad is working properly?

LaunchPad lets you keep a log file for each event in the schedule, or share one between events. You can enable logging for each event in the schedule by double clicking on the event or pressing the Edit Clock icon in the toolbar to bring up the Edit Event box, and check Log To File under the "Options" tab.

To View the log file(s), choose "View the log file" from the file menu, and pick which one you want to see. You will probably want to keep all your events logging into the same file, so you don't have to keep digging around your system looking for log files.

How Do I ...


Testing Your Program

How can I check that LaunchPad and my program run OK together?

Several easy ways: When you are editing your event, push the "Test" button in the "Description" tab to make sure your command line is correct. After you have finished, you can highlight your event in the schedule and press the Lightning icon to test it.

Real computer users like you should right-click on the event in the schedule to get the smart menu, and choose "Launch" or "Auto Launch" to test it. The difference is that Launch runs the program immediately without logging to the log file, while Auto Launch runs the program with logging enabled, as though it had been automatically launched.

How Do I ...


Suspending Scheduling

I have LaunchPad defragging my hard drive every night, and I need to keep it from running other jobs that access files while this is happening. How do I do this?

Your first guess might be to add an "Application Not Running" condition to all the events in the schedule except the defrag job, but you'd have to do this to all the jobs, and some of them may already be using a different condition anyway. The better way is to give your defrag job temporary ( but complete ) control of the schedule.

Under the Options tab for the defrag job, check the "Suspend schedule until after execution". This will prevent LaunchPad starting any other jobs in the schedule until the active one has been completed.

Of course, this feature is not just limited to hard drive defragging. You might want to implement suspended scheduling for jobs like tape backups, network transfers, etc.

How Do I ...


Sequencing Events

I have a large number of jobs that need to run in sequence, but I don't know how long each of them takes. How do I do this?

Simply enter all your events in the order that you want them executed, and set them to go one minute apart. Then, under the Options tab for each job, check the "Suspend schedule until after execution" and "Execute if past due". This will prevent any other jobs in the schedule until the active one has been completed, and will make sure that they all get executed in turn no matter how long each takes.

How Do I ...


Hiding LaunchPad

LaunchPad works great, but I don't want to see it on my PC all the time during the day. Can I hide it?

Yes you can! From the System Menu in the very top left corner ( or press Alt-Spacebar ), you can hide LaunchPad from the desktop altogether. Also, you can select "Always on Top" and it will be impossible to hide.

Note that the hide option is only available under Windows 95.

How Do I ...


Be Honest!

How do I get rid of the annoying "Unregistered Version" in the Status Bar?

Easy! Register your version of LaunchPad through the startup screen by pressing Register. You'll immediately join the ranks of the enlightened who get trendy upgrade information, amicable technical support, a superannuated existence, etc.

How Do I ...


Ordering LaunchPad

When you purchase a registered copy of LaunchPad you will receive a license number, that when installed, will remove the shareware reminder screens from the application startup. All orders for LaunchPad are subject to the LaunchPad licensing agreement.

You can also order a diskette copy of the application for additional cost.

There are several ways to order LaunchPad. For information on these methods click on the items below

Pricing

Order Form

Ordering by Check or Money Order

Ordering using Compuserve SWREG

Ordering with Credit Card

Ordering with Purchase Order


Pricing

Cost for LaunchPad is $29.95 for a single copy. When ordered you will receive a registration number that will remove the shareware screen that appears each time LaunchPad is started. For additional cost you can also receive a diskette with the latest copy of LaunchPad. This cost is dependent on where the diskette will be shipped.

Diskette Cost:
United States......	$ 6.00
Mexico and Canada..	$ 8.00
All Others.........	$10.00

Site Licensing

Site licensing is available based on the pricing structure below. A site licensing agreement receives 1 copy of the application diskette and allows you to make up to the number of copies you order. For information on ordering a site license contact us by one of the Email address listed in the support section of the file,

Site License:
  5 to  24  computers: $21.95 each
 25 to  49  computers: $18.95 each
 50 to  99  computers: $16.95 each

100+	     computers: CALL


Order Form - LaunchPad for Windows

Name...: __________________________________________________
Company: __________________________________________________
Address: __________________________________________________
City...: _____________________ State:____ Zip Code:________

Email Address: ____________________________
Phone Number.: ____________________________

Please check Version Type: Windows 3.1___ Windows 95/NT____

Num. Copies_____   at _______ each          = ______________

CA Residents add local sales tax (7.25%)   + ______________

Please indicate whether or not a diskette copy
is being ordered. Add the additional cost
for shipping and handling to the total.

Diskettes Yes ___ No: __

United States........................$ 6.00
Mexico and Canada....................$ 8.00
All Others...........................$10.00 + _____________

                        Total Amount ________________

Send Completed Form and Payment To:

Cypress Technologies
4450 California Ave. Suite K-165
Bakersfield, CA 93309


Ordering by Check or Money Order

Print and Fill Out the order form and mail with check or money order to:

Cypress Technologies
4450 California Ave. Suite K-165
Bakersfield, Calif. 93309

To Print the order form click on Order Form from the content page and pull down the help file menu and select print topic.

Payments must be made in US dollars or drawn on a US bank.


Ordering using Compuserve SWREG

To register by credit card through CompuServe, you need to have a CompuServe account. Log on to Compuserve. At any prompt type "GO SWREG"  Select the registration Id# for the version you want to order.

REG ID#	DESCRIPTION
11569	LaunchPad for Windows 95/NT (no disk)
11570	LaunchPad for Windows 95/NT (w/disk)
11571	LaunchPad for Windows 3.1 (no disk)
11572	LaunchPad for Windows 3.1 (w/disk)
11580	LaunchPad UPGRADE(for registered users only)
11581	LaunchPad Site License   2 -  9 computers
11582	LaunchPad Site License 10 - 24 computers
11583	LaunchPad Site License 25 - 49 computers
11584	LaunchPad Site License 50 - 99 computers

The registration fee will be billed to your CompuServe account.


Ordering by Credit Card

Public Software Library

You can order with MC, Visa, Amex, or Discover from Public Software Library by calling:
800-2424-PSL
713-524-6394
713-524-6398 (FAX)
When ordering use the following Id # "14031 "

•	Ask operator to Note on the order the version you desire.  Windows 3.1 or Windows 95

•	Also you will need to specify whether or not you want a diskette copy.

THE ABOVE NUMBERS ARE FOR ORDERS ONLY. Any questions about the status of the shipment of the order, registration options, product details, technical support, volume discounts, dealer pricing, site licenses, etc., must be directed to Cypress Technologies. at Email address support@cypressnet.com or the address below.

Cypress Technologies

4450 California Ave. K-165
Bakersfield, CA 93309


Purchase Order

Purchase orders (net 30 days) are accepted only from government and accredited educational institutions and major corporations, provided that they are submitted on purchase order forms with a purchase order number.  Please be sure to include the standard LaunchPad order form with each purchase order.

Send Purchase Order /w Order Form  to:

Cypress Technologies
4450 California Ave. Suite K-165
Bakersfield, CA. 93309


Disclaimer

This product is provided "as is" without representation of warranty, either
expressed or implied.

The entire risk as to the use of this product is assumed by the user.  In no event will Cypress Technologies or their estate be liable for any damages direct, incidental or consequential resulting from any defect in the product.

If you do not accept these terms you must cease using this product forthwith and destroy the program, the documentation, and all copies thereof.


Copyright

This program and its related documentation are copyright. The owner is Cypress Technologies. All rights reserved. You may not use, copy, modify, or transfer the programs, documentation, or any copy except as expressly provided in the licensing agreement.

© Cypress Technologies 1995,1996


Shareware Agreement

This product is Shareware and its continued development can only be supported by YOU. This license allows you to use this software for evaluation purposes without charge for a period of 30 days.  If you use this software after the 30 day evaluation period a registration fee is required. One registered copy of LaunchPad may be used by a single person who uses the software on one or more computers or to a single workstation used by multiple people. If you continue to use this product after a reasonable trial period then please register it.


Product Support

Product Support for LaunchPad is available through one of the following:

Web Site: www.cypressnet.com

You can find lots of great information from our Web Site. The latest news for our products as well as question and answers for LaunchPad operation. We also have information and links to other Internet sites that you might find of interest. We will be expanding this information constantly to provide to best stop for Product information to serve our customers.

Email support can be sent to one of the following address:
CompuServe	Direct questions to: James Hall	76172,3452
Internet 	Direct questions to: Support        support@cypressnet.com

Can also write to the following address: 	Cypress Technologies
 	4450 California Ave. Suite K-165
Bakersfield, Calif. 93309


Tips and Hints

This section contains information that might be helpful to you in setting up a running LaunchPad. This information comes from many sources such as commonly ask question from other users and tips shared with us from users. Also we try to include what knowledge we have about how LaunchPad operates that might not be as fully described in the Help Topics.

Reschedule If Past Due Option

Enable Scheduling Menu Option

DOS Applications


Reschedule If Past Due Option

When would I use this option ?

When you have a event that you want to run regularly but it doesn't absolutely have to run. For example, suppose you have a daily event that defragments your drive during your off hours. If for some reason this event becomes past due, it's probably not an event you need run everyday. So by selecting the "Reschedule if Past Due" option, the next time the application evaluates this event and finds it is past due it will not launch the event and interrupt your computer time,  but will schedule it for the next day at its original time.


Enable Scheduling Menu Option

This menu option found in the System Menu is extremely useful for doing maintenance to your schedule file. By unchecking this option you can proceed with your maintenance without interruptions from scheduled events. After which check this option and your scheduling will resume normally.

One user has found this to be a favorite option. As a network administrator he maintains several schedule files throughout the network. By unchecking this option on his own copy of the application he is able to work on the files that are remotely running without having to deal with events that are currently launching from the remote sites.


DOS Applications

Screen Savers prevent DOS Applications from running in the background. The application will become iconized and will wait there until the user opens that icon again at that time it will continue on with its operation. One way to avoid this problem is to use a PIF file to run the application. In the PIF file editor check the "Allow background processing" and run in a window. This allows the application to act more like a window and continue its process. For more on PIF files see the Windows help file.


Command Line Options

Open File

Open File command line option allows you to have LaunchPad run a schedule at startup without having to go to the File | Open menu and selecting the schedule file yourself.  To open a schedule at startup enter the file name (include the path if the schedule file is in a different sub-directory than LaunchPad) on the command line after LaunchPad.

Example: C:\LAUNCHPAD\LNCHPAD32 C:\SCHEDULE\MYSCHED.LPD

Windows 95 and NT users can use long file names; however, if the file name includes spaces you much enclose the file name with double quotation marks.

Example: C:\LAUNCHPAD\LNCHPAD32 "C:\Schedule\My Daily Schedule.LPD"

Schedule Delay

Schedule Delay command line option allows you to delay the time scheduling will begin.  This is useful if LaunchPad runs automatically at startup and adding a delay would prevent past due events form executing immediately.  To use the Schedule Delay command line option enter  /d  and the number of seconds you want LaunchPad to wait before executing any events with no spaces.

Example: C:\LAUNCHPAD\LNCHPAD32.EXE /d60

Disable Scheduling

Disable Scheduling command line option allows you to execute LaunchPad with scheduling disabled. You can enable scheduling again after LaunchPad is running.  Enter  /s  on the command line to disable scheduling at startup.

Example: C:\LAUNCHPAD\LNCHPAD32.EXE /s

Window Hide

Only in Windows 95 the window hide command line option "/h" will allow LaunchPad to start with the main application window hidden. You can access the main window by right clicking the icon in the systray and selecting open. Note! This option is only available under Windows 95. Will not work running under NT.

Example: C:\LAUNCHPAD\LNCHPD32.EXE /h


Automatic Save

When LaunchPad is running unattended and operating normally, the schedule file is saved to disk each time a event is fired and rescheduled. This keeps the schedule file up to date at all times.


System Menu Items

System menu has several menu options for control of the LaunchPad Application. Along with the normal menu options (minimize, maximize, size, move) are the following options used in the application.

Menus - Allows you to toggle on and off  the applications menu bar. When checked the application menu bar is visible. When unchecked the menu bar is hidden.

Enable Scheduling - This option allows you to globally enable and disable LaunchPad's ability to launch events. When checked events can be launched, unchecked disables all events from launching.

Always On Top - When checked LaunchPad will stay visible on top of  other application without interfering with the windows operations. This can be handy if you want to see your scheduler at all times.

Close - Selecting this option will quit the application.

Switch To - Will bring up the Window's Task Manager.


System Tray Icon

System Tray Icon  (Windows 95 only)  The system tray (sometimes called Systray) is the small panel in the lower right corner setting  inside the Taskbar.  LaunchPad  places an icon in the system tray when it is running.  The systray icon changes according to the status of LaunchPad .  If scheduling is enabled the LaunchPad icon appears normal; however, if scheduling is disabled the icon will have a red circle with line through it appearing on top of the icon.  You can right-click on the systray icon and a speed menu will be displayed.  The speed menu has three menu items.

Open -- Will bring up the LaunchPad main window. If the main window is already up and running this option will make LaunchPad's main window the active window.

Enable Scheduling -- Clicking on this option will Enable/Disable the application ability to run any events in the current schedule. If scheduling is disabled notification can be seen in the status bar

Shutdown -- If shutdown is selected LaunchPad will exit or quit.


Drag and Drop Support

The LaunchPad application supports drag and drop for adding events to the currently loaded LaunchPad file. When you drag a valid program file and drop on the main window the application adds this program as a new event.

To add a program to the currently loaded schedule file

1.	Click on a file in the Windows 3.1 File Manager

2.	While holding down the mouse button, drag (move) the mouse pointer to the LaunchPad window. If you've minimized LaunchPad, you can drag the files to the minimized icon.

3.	Release the mouse button to drop the file.

To add multiple files to a schedule using Drag and Drop, select the desired files in the File Manager before dragging them to LaunchPad.


Remote Access

When LaunchPad is running and the Auto Load Changes to Schedule is activated, LaunchPad constantly monitors the original file that is loaded for any modifications. If it detects that this file has been changed it will reload the modified version.

This means that if you have remote access to the application, you can modify a schedule file you know is running, and the application which is running this file can pick up those changes.

Related Topics:

System Options Dialog


System Option Dialog

System Option Dialog allows you to define options that effect LaunchPad's main window and operation. It also allows you to select editors to be used for viewing and editing batch files and log files.

Display Section - In this section you can toggle off and on the Frequency column and the Next Scheduled column. In the Display section you can toggle off and on the Frequency column and the Next Scheduled column. If the box is checked then the column will appear in the main window with those details for each event. If not checked the column is not shown in the main window.

Schedule Section - Auto Load Changes to Schedule check box enables LaunchPad's ability to  receive changes from  a remote access. When checked LaunchPad monitors the original schedule file for changes. When changes are made to that file LaunchPad will automatically load the changed file. Schedule Resolution is where you define in seconds how often LaunchPad looks at the schedule for events ready to launch. What this means for example is that if you set this number to 10 for example, every 10 seconds LaunchPad will look at the current schedule for events that need to run, and then sets idle until the next 10 seconds have passed. This allows you to maximize Window's processing time based on what best fits with your computing needs. Startup Delay allows you to set an amount of time, in seconds, that LaunchPad will wait after startup before it executes any past due events. LaunchPad displays the time when scheduling will resume normally in the status bar. This delay only applies at startup. After the delay has passed all LaunchPad events will execute normally. This feature is useful if you open a LaunchPad  schedule that has several events past due and the execute if past due option is enabled. Without a startup delay LaunchPad will execute all of the past due events at soon as possible. With a startup delay, you would have an opportunity to disable any events you do not want to execute before LaunchPad would begin executing them. If you start LaunchPad and decide you do not want any delay you can cancel startup delay, and LaunchPad will immediately function normally. However, if you set a startup delay and an event becomes past due that event will not execute or reschedule unless you have enabled the reschedule if pass due or execute if pass due option for that event. Sendkey delay allows you to set a amount of time in milliseconds, that LaunchPad will pause between each sendkey. This options was added because different machine and operating systems react differently to how fast sendkeys are sent. If you are having problems with applications excepting all the sendkeys defined, raising this value will probably resolve those problems.

Viewer/Editor Section - Here you can define the editor that you want to use for viewing log files and the editor you want to use for editing bat files. The Log View/Editor you can define the editors that you want to use for viewing log files and the editor you want to use for editing bat files. By default Window's Notepad.Exe is used for the editor. You can select any editor you have available. You can defined one editor for viewing log files and a different editor for editing batch files. The push buttons will bring up a path and file selection box to help you find the editor you wish to use. These selection will be saved in the desktop file when you exit the application, and will be available the next time you start LaunchPad.

Error Section - LaunchPad gives you several ways to handle errors. Error handling. LaunchPad gives you several ways to handle errors. You can display errors to the screen by checking the Display Errors check box. With this option checked LaunchPad will halt execution and display a message box with an error message to the screen. This is useful when testing, however, because scheduling is halted until the message box is cleared, you may not want to check this option for unattended sessions. Checking the Log Errors check box enables you to capture errors to a text file, but this does not effect scheduling. LaunchPad will simply log the error to the error log file and continue (assuming the error does not affect LaunchPad operation). You can enable both Display Errors and Log Errors which might be useful in testing, or you can disable both and effectively ignore errors. Error Log file. This option is only available if the Log Errors check box is checked. The error log file box is where you can configure the file name and path of the error log file. By default LaunchPad sets the error log file name to 'lperror.log' in the LaunchPad application sub-directory or folder. If the error log file does not exist when an error occurs, LaunchPad will create the error log file. You can view the error log file by selecting the View the error log file menu item in the File menu. Also you can view and edit the error log file with any text editor (i.e.Notepad)

WorkDays Section - In this section you can define which days of the week LaunchPad is to consider to be work days for the purpose of scheduling frequency. Any days not checked as work days will be considered by LaunchPad as week end days.

DDE Section - By checking the DDE Server checkbox you can enable LaunchPad to respond to DDE commands. See the section on DDE server for detailed information on how to use LaunchPad as a DDE server.

Related Topics:

Remote Access

DDE Server


File|View the Log File

This menu option will allow you to view any log files that are associated with the currently load event schedule. When selected the application will search all the events for any log files that have been defined, as part of the event options. If more than one log file is defined, a selection box will appear and you will be able to choose the file you want to view. If only one log file is defined the file will be loaded automatically in  the editor you have defined in the system options dialog.

Related Topics:

System Options

Options Properties


Options Properties

LaunchPad has several additional options you can set to further define how a event and LaunchPad should act when a event runs.

Enable The Event -- Check this box to activate this event. When unchecked the Disabled label shows in the main window.

Audible alarm -- Check this box if you want the event to Beep when it runs.

Log To File -- Check this box if you want the date, time and description to be written to a log file when it runs. When this option is checked a box will appear and allow you to define the file name you wish the event to log to.

Prompt Before Execution -- Checking this box the event will notify you before running. You have the chance here to stop the event if you desire and the event will be rescheduled normally.

Execute If Past Due - Check this option if you want LaunchPad to run this event even if it is past due. This comes in handy when LaunchPad is not always running.

Re-Schedule if Past Due - Check this option if you want LaunchPad to reschedule a event if past due without launching the event.

Delete After Execution -- Checking this option will delete the event after it has ran from the scheduler file.

Disable After Execution -- Checking this option will disable the event after it runs. This is equivalent to a One Time Frequency.

Suspend Schedule Until After Execution -- This option will stop the application from launching any other event until this event is completed. (the application has quit). Currently this option is only effective with Window Applications. Running a DOS application or PIF file will not stop the application from running the next event.

Related Topics:

Edit Dialog Buttons

Tips and Hints


Edit Dialog Buttons

The five buttons listed below found on the right side of the edit dialog box, operate the same for all of the tabs in the event edit dialog. Other buttons can be found on the tabs depending on the currently selected tab. Help for these additional buttons can be found in the associated help topics.

Previous -- This button will bring to the front the previous tab dialog screen. For example, if you are in the "Description" tab dialog screen and press this button the "Options" tab dialog screen will be brought to the front..

Next -- This button will bring to the front the next tab dialog screen. For example, if you are in the "Description" tab dialog screen and press this button the "Schedule" tab dialog screen will be brought to the front.

OK -- This button will close the Edit Dialog Box and implement any changes that have been done to the event that was being edited.

Cancel -- This button can be used if you want to disregard any changes that have been made. This button will close the edit dialog box and return the event to its previous state. If adding a event the event will not be added.

Help -- This button will get you the help file on whichever tab dialog screen that is currently on top.

Related Topics:

Action Properties

Description Properties

Option Properties

Schedule Properties


Action Properties

Here you define the type of event you desire. By default the Run Program button is selected. The following describes the available options:

Run Program - Select this option if the event is to run an actual valid program ( e.g. notepad.exe ).

Run DOS Command - This option allows you to execute any valid DOS command. Type the DOS command on the command line in the Desription Properties page in place of running a file. Then working directory will still be valid for this command.

Display Message - This event will display a message dialog box on the screen, with a custom message you specify.

DDE Command - This option allows you to define a DDE Command to send to a application as part of the event. For more details on DDE see the related topics.

DDE Script - This option allows you to send multiple DDE Command that are stored in a text file you created holding those DDE Commands. End each command with a carriage return in the text file you created. For more details on DDE see the related topics.

 System (Win3.1)

Shutdown System (Win32)  This option will shut down Windows. Note that if any program running requires confirmation before exiting at the time this event is launched, Windows will not exit until you have answered all the "Save Changes ..." dialogs. Otherwise, the computer will go to one of the following states:

Windows 3.1:  The DOS environment.
Windows 95:   The "It's now safe to turn off your computer" screen.
Windows NT:  The "Shutdown or Restart Computer" dialog.

Restart System (Win3.1)

Reboot System (Win32)
This option will shut down and then restart Windows. Note that if any program running requires confirmation before exiting at the time this event is launched, Windows will not exit until you have answered all the "Save Changes ..." dialogs. Otherwise:

Note that if any program running requires confirmation before exiting at the time this event is launched, Windows will not exit until you have answered all the "Save Changes ..." dialogs. Otherwise:

Windows 3.1:    Exits to DOS, then restarts the computer and DOS.
Windows 95:     Exits Windows, then restarts the computer and Win95.
Windows NT:    Exits Windows, then restarts the computer and WinNT.

By checking the force radio button you can have the system force all application running at this time to shut down. Normally if any program running requires confirmation before exiting, you would be required to respond to all the "Save Changes ..." dialogs before the applications will shutdown.

Power Off - for computers equipped with ability to turn off power automatically. The same rules apply to this action type as to Restart and Shutdown with application that are running at the time this type event runs. Use the force check box to force all application to shutdown.

Quit Program - This option will allow you to shutdown any running program at any time. When this selection is made a edit box is provided to enter the program name. Also you can select a running program by clicking the Tasks button which will bring up a list of all currently running programs.

SendKeys - This action type allows you to send key strokes without defining a application to run. This action type can be used to send keys to a application that is already running by defining a {activate <window name>} command as the first sendkey instruction. See SendKeys for more detailed information.

LaunchPad allows you to schedule the sending of DDE commands to other applications. For more detailed information on DDE commands see the related topic on DDE commands.

Related Topics:

Edit Dialog Buttons

DDE Commands


Description Properties

Description -- This is the text you input to describe the event. This text is shown in the main window in the description column.

Command Line -- This is the actual program name to be ran. This could be any valid *.exe, *.if, *. bat, *.com file name. This should include the drive and path. You can press the folder button to the right of this control to use the standard select file dialog box to select the file.
If the event is a batch file you can use the edit button to the right to edit that batch file. Pressing the edit button will launch the editor that is defined in the system options dialog with the batch file. You can then edit and save the file and continue on with defining your event.

Working Directory -- Working Directory is the directory where the executable finds associated files that are required to run the program. (Most programs do not require an entry in this field. occasionally however, a program will refuse to run properly unless it is specifically told where to find other program files.) LaunchPad will change to this directory when running the event. You can press the button to the right of this control to use the standard select file dialog box to select the directory.

Run Style -- Here you select how the program is to be started. maximized, minimized, normal and DOS. For more information on the different styles see "Run Styles".

Run in Separate Memory Space -- This option is only visible if running an NT server or workstation. This allows you define whether or not a DOS application should use separate memory space.

Test Button -- Can be used to test the event and return to this dialog box.

Related Topics:

Edit Dialog Buttons

Run Styles


Run Styles

The different run styles available in the event edit dialog are defined below.

Normal - Window programs will be launched in whatever manner is normal for the application. If the application normally launches in a less than maximized window it will be launched this way.

Minimized - This option will launch the event in a icon state.

Maximized - This option will launch the event in a full window.

DOS - This option will quit windows, and launch the desired application in the DOS environment. When the event is completed Windows will be restarted.

Related Topics:

Description Properties


Schedule Properties

Frequency -- Here you have the ability to select at what interval this event will run. The options here are One Time, Hourly, Daily, Weekly, WeekDays, WeekEnds. Monthly, Yearly, Interval (By selecting interval you'll see the additional controls that effect this frequency option ) and Condition. Condition requires additional settings in the Conditions tab page in order to do anything. If the event is enabled the "Select Option" is visible in the main window.

Day of Month option will bring up additional controls to allow you to specify which day of the month you want the event to run. Example First Monday of Every Month. The Work Day of Month option will bring additional controls to allow to specify which work day of the month to run this event. Example 2nd work day of every month. The days to be considered work days by LaunchPad can be set in the "System Options Dialog

Date -- Here you type the first date you want the event to run. The application will not allow a invalid date such as 1/32/95. The required format is mm/dd/yy. While on this control there are some quick keys to help in setting  the date. The "PgUp" and "PgDn" keys can increment the month and the "+" and the "-" keys can increment the days. Also by clicking the date button to the right will bring up the point and click calendar.

Time -- Here you type the first time you want the event to run. The required format is hh/mm/ss AM/PM. There are also some quick keys to help in setting  the time. The "PgUp" and "PgDn" keys can increment the minutes while the "+" and the "-" keys can increment the seconds.

Related Topics:

Edit Dialog Buttons

System Options Dialog


File | View the Error Log File

View the error log  allows you to view and edit the error log file.  LaunchPad runs an editor (i.e. Notepad) that will allow you make changes or print the error log file.

Related Topics:

System Options Dialog


File Editing

The application provides quick access for viewing and editing batch files and log files. You can specify the editor or editors of choice in the system option dialog. When a event is a batch file you'll be able to access that file from the command line edit box where you define the command line. This comes in handy when testing and when modification are needed. Log files can be viewed by selecting the View Log File option in the file menu. The application will search all the events for defined log files and present you with a list to choose from. If only one log file is defined it will automatically open using the editor of choice.

Related Topics:

System Options

Description Properties


Networks

LaunchPad is designed to run effectively in a network environment.  Here are some of the ways you can take full advantage of LaunchPad on your network.

Remote access schedule editing

LaunchPad can be used as a powerful remote computing tool.  For example, an administrator could setup a LaunchPad network directory where all of the schedule (.LPD) files are kept.  Each PC running LaunchPad could then load its schedule from the network directory (mary.lpd, joe.lpd, shirley.lpd).  These schedules could be edited by another PC using LaunchPad.

LaunchPad as a network schedule editor

You can open any schedule file with LaunchPad and make changes remotely; however, anytime you open another schedule file you run the risk of having a past due event execute on the computer doing the editing.  By disabling scheduling you can use LaunchPad as "schedule editor" without unwanted events launching. This can be a useful feature.  For example, say you had a PC in New York running LaunchPad that needs to be rebooted, and You are in California.  You could run LaunchPad with scheduling disabled, open the schedule file of the PC in New York then schedule a reboot event and save the file.  The PC in New York would reboot at the scheduled time, and your PC in California would not even though you have the same schedule file open.

Running a shared LaunchPad executable

You can run a shared copy of the LaunchPad executable on a file server.  LaunchPad has a feature to make this work very well.  LaunchPad saves all of the system options in the 'launchpd.dsk' file.  For example, the size and screen position of LaunchPad at startup, scheduling status enabled/disabled, and font are system option saved in the 'dsk' file.  The 'dsk' file is created by default in the same directory as the LaunchPad exe.  If multiple users are running a shared copy of LaunchPad, you can configure LaunchPad to use a personal 'dsk' file.  This will prevent other users from making changes to the shared 'dsk'.  To setup a personal 'dsk' you simply make a copy of the launchpd.dsk file and place it in a non-shared directory.  Then in the LaunchPad shortcut or icon, set the working directory to where the non-shared launchpd.dsk file is located.  Now whenever you start LaunchPad using this shortcut it will load the personal 'dsk' file, and any changes will be made to this 'dsk' file not the common one on the network.

LaunchPad and network connections

LaunchPad is designed to continue to run even if it looses its network connection.  With Windows 95 and Windows NT ability to reconnect after the loss of a network connection, LaunchPad will continue to run normally (with the exception of logging to network log files and saving network schedule files) until the network connection is reestablished.

LaunchPad as a network maintenance system

As network a administrator you can use LaunchPad to send messages or perform actions when certain conditions occur on your network. For example you can setup LaunchPad to monitor if a file exists on a server.  LaunchPad will check periodically if that file exists.  If LaunchPad can see the file this tells you the server is up; however, if at some time LaunchPad cannot see the file then a message could be displayed that the server is down.  You can have LaunchPad make backups of files based on conditions if files have changed.  Setup LaunchPad to monitor a database file to see if the file has changed.  If the file changes you could enable an event that would make a copy of the file at a time when the file is not being used.  If the file had not changed there would be no need to make a backup  .


LaunchPad Logging

You can configure all LaunchPad logging to go to a single log file on the network, or setup different logs for each event.  The common method is to have a single log as an event log and another log for errors.  If you configure LaunchPad to log errors to an 'error log,' you could schedule a LaunchPad event to send a message when the error log changes.  This would give you a message anytime any PC on the network had a LaunchPad error.  You could then check the error log file an correct the problem.


Menu Options

File -- Options for  handling all file operations

New

Open

Close

Save

Save As

View the Log File

View the Error Log File

Exit

Events -- Options for handling all event operations

Add

Edit

Copy

Delete

Enable Event

Information

Set Event Defaults

Launch

Auto Launch

Re-Schedule

Stop Sending Keystrokes

Options -- Options for handling available system operations

Sort by Description

Sort by Schedule

Sort by Frequency

Fonts

Status Bar

Control Bar

Label Bar

Save Settings On Exit

Save Settings Now

Cancel Startup Delay

System Options

Help -- Available Help Options

Contents

Using Help

How Do I

Cypress Technologies Web Site

About LaunchPad


File|New

This option will close the current LaunchPad file and clear the main window. The Application is now ready to create a new file. You can start a new file by adding a new event.

Related Topics:

Adding Events


Adding Events

LaunchPad gives you four ways to add a event to the current File.

•	The Menu option Add... found under the Event menu option.

•	The Add button on the toolbar.

•	The Drag and Drop functionality is also supported.

•	Using the Accelerator key <INS>

Using one of these methods will bring up the event edit dialog box. Allowing you to start a new event. After you complete defining the event's properties and press the OK button the event will be added to the main window. If you decide to use the Cancel button from the dialog button then this event will not be added to the main window.

Related Topic:

Description Properties

Schedule Properties

Action Properties

Option Properties

Keys Properties

Duration Properties

Condition Properties

Edit Dialog Buttons


Keys Properties

LaunchPad allows you to define and send keystrokes to any application that the event has ran. You can emulate any key strokes that you might need to further automate the actions of the event.

Send Keys -  This check box determine whether or not the send key property is enabled for the current event.

Delay - Enter here the amount of time that LaunchPad will pause before sending the Key strokes.

Keys to Send - You use the area to define the actual key strokes to send as part of this event. For more information see "Sending Keystrokes".

Related Topics:

Event Edit Buttons

Sending Keystrokes


Send Keys Option

You can define a series of keystrokes to automatically send as part of the event. You define this in the "Keys" section of the event edit box.

Each key is represented by one or more characters.  To specify a single
keyboard character, use the character itself.  For example, to represent the
letter A, use A for key text.  If you want to represent more than one
character, append each additional character to the one preceding it.  To
represent the letters A, B, and C, use ABC for key text.

The plus sign (+), caret (^), percent sign (%), tilde (~), and parentheses ( )
have special meanings to SendKeys.  To specify one of these characters,
enclose it inside braces.  For example, to specify the plus sign, use {+}.
Brackets ([ ]) have no special meaning to SendKeys, but you must enclose
them in braces as well, because in other applications for Microsoft Windows,
brackets do have special meaning that may be significant when dynamic data
exchange (DDE) occurs.  To send brace characters, use {{} and {}}.
To specify characters that aren't displayed when you press a key (such as
Enter or Tab) and keys that represent actions rather than characters, use the
key codes defined in the SendKeys Codes.

Key Codes

Ground Control

To specify keys combined with any combination of Shift, Ctrl, and Alt keys,
precede the regular key code with one or more of the following codes:

Key	Code
Shift	+
Control	^
Alt	%

To specify that Shift, Ctrl, and/or Alt should be held down while several other
keys are pressed, enclose the keys' code in parentheses.  For example, to
have the Shift key held down while E and C are pressed, use "+(EC)".  To
have Shift held down while E is pressed, followed by C being pressed without
Shift, use "+EC".

To specify repeating keys, use the form {key number};  you must put a
space between key and number.  For example, {LEFT 42} means press
the Left Arrow key 42 times; {h 10} means press h 10 times.

Along with the SendKeys defined in the Key Codes  there are the following special commands that can be sent as SendKeys. The syntax for sending these commands is the same as above the command needs to be within the braces.
i.e. . {Delay}.

Activate - This command will select the window named to be the active and top most window. For example the following will bring notepad to the top most window and all additional keys would be sent to this application {activate "untitled - Notepad"}  The command is not case sensitive but the name must match the window exactly.

Delay - This command will wait a determine time before sending the next key to the event. You specify the time in milliseconds following the command. For example  {Delay 1000} will wait 1 second before execution of the next key.

Date - This command will send the current date as text. You can also define date math following the command. For example {Date 1} will send  tomorrow's date, {Date -1} would send yesterday's date. You must leave a space between the command and the number.

Time - The Time command sends the current time as text. You can also do math on this function by defining the amount of seconds after the time command. For Example {Time 60} would send the current time + one minute and {Time -60} would send the current time minus one minute..

Day - The day command will send the numeric value for the day of the current date. You can also do math on this function by defining the amount of days after the command. For example {Day 1 } would add one the current day and Day -1 would subtract 1 day.

Month - The month command will send the numeric value for the month of the current date. You can also do math on this function by defining the amount of months after the command. For example {Month 1} would add one the current month.

Year - The Year command will send the numeric value for the Year of the current date. You can also do math on this function by defining the amount of Years after the command. For example {Year 1} would add one the current year.

Hour - The Hour command will send the numeric value for the current hour. You can also do math on this function by defining the amount of hours after the command. For example {Hour 1} would add one hour {Hour -1} would subtract a hour.

Minute - The Minute command will send the numeric value for the current minutes. You can also do math on this function by defining the amount of minutes after the command. For example {Minute 1} would add one minutes {Minute -1} would subtract a minutes.

Second - The Second command will send the numeric value for the current second. You can also do math on this function by defining the amount of seconds after the command. For example {Second 1} would add one second  {Second -1} would subtract a second.


Key Codes

Key	Code

Shift	+
Control	^
Alt	%

BackSpace	{BKSP}
Break	{BREAK}
Caps Lock	{CAPSLOCK}
Clear	{CLEAR}
Del	{DELETE}
Down Arrow	{DOWN}
End	{END}
Enter	{ENTER} or ~
Esc	{ESC}
Help	{HELP}
Home	{HOME}
Ins	{INSERT}
Left Arrow	{LEFT}
Num Lock	{NUMLOCK}
Page Down	{PGDN}
Page Up	{PGUP}
Print Screen	{PRTSC}
Right Arrow	{RIGHT}
Scroll Lock	{SCROLLLOCK}
Tab	{TAB}
Up Arrow	{UP}

F1	{F1}	F2	{F2}
F3	{F3}	F4	{F4}
F5	{F5}	F6	{F6}
F7	{F7}	F8	{F8}
F9	{F9}	F10	{F10}
F11	{F11}	F12	{F12}
F13	{F13}	F14	{F14}
F15	{F15}	F16	{F16}

{Activate}	{Delay}	{Date}	{Time}

{Day}	{Month}	{Year}	{Hour}

{Minute}	{Second}


File|Open

This menu option will allow you to open a existing LaunchPad File. The Application will bring up the open file dialog box with the default extension. You can select different drives, and directories from this dialog box. If you select a new file LaunchPad with save and close the current file and open the one you selected.


File|Close

This menu option will save and close the currently opened LaunchPad file and clear the main window list box. At this point you can either start a new LaunchPad file or open a existing Schedule file.


File|Save

This menu option will save the current LaunchPad file. If the current file has not been previously saved,  the application will bring up the Save As dialog box. From this dialog box you will be given the opportunity to name the file and the drive and directory to save to. Previously saved files are saved under it's current file name.


File|Save As

This menu option brings up the Save As dialog box and allows you to name and save the current LaunchPad file. You can specify the drive, directory, and name for the file. This option is automatically called if the current file has not been previously saved and you select the close option or quit the application.


File|Exit

This menu option quits the application. If there are changes made to the currently opened LaunchPad file the application will bring up a message box and prompt you Do you want to save the current file. If you select yes then the appropriate actions for saving a file will be called.


Event|Add

This is one of the available methods for adding a new event to the current LaunchPad file.


Event|Edit

This is one of the available ways to edit the currently highlighted event. To get more information see Editing Events.


Editing Events

There are several ways to edit a event from the current scheduler file,

•	The Menu option Edit... in the Event pull down.

•	The Edit button on the toolbar.

•	Double clicking the left mouse button over the currently highlighted event.

•	Pressing the <Enter> key for the currently highlighted event.

Using one of these methods mentioned above will bring up the event edit dialog box. From this dialog box you will be able to redefine any of the Event's properties. After you complete the changes you can use the OK button from the dialog box to save the changes you made. If you change your mind to any changes use the cancel button to return the Event's properties to their previous state.

Whenever you are in the event edit box the application is disabled and does not run any events until you close the edit box.

Any time changes are made to any event, the application then recognizes that a save is needed when you either close the current Scheduler file or quit the application and will prompt you for a save.

Related Topics:

Description Properties

Schedule Properties

Action Properties

Option Properties

Keys Properties

Duration Properties

Condition Properties

Edit Dialog Buttons


Event|Copy

This option will create a new event and fill the events properties with the properties of the currently highlighted event in the main window. The Event edit dialog with be brought up with for the new event. If you select OK from the event edit dialog the new event is then added to the main window and current LaunchPad file.


Event|Delete

This option will remove the currently selected event from the main window. The application will then redraw the main window.


Event|Enable Event

This menu option is one of the methods to toggle a event from enabled and disabled.


Enabling Events

There are four ways for enabling and disabling a Event in the current LaunchPad file.

* Menu option Enable Event found in the Event pull down.

* The Enable button on the toolbar.

* The event edit dialog box under options

* Accelerator key <CTRL+E>

You can use either of the two methods above to toggle the currently highlighted  event in the main window. In the Frequency column in the main window you can determine the status of each event. When a event is enabled the frequency column displays the frequency for that event. When the event is disabled the frequency column will display "disabled".

When a event is toggled the event has been changed which tells the application that a save is required when you either close the current Scheduler file or quit the application.

Related Topics:

Option Properties


Event|Information

This menu option is one of the ways to see the latest information for the currently selected event. For more information see related topic.


Event Information Dialog

This dialog box provides information for the currently highlighted event in the main window. There are several different items of information provided here.

Description -- This is the description displayed in the main window.

Working Directory -- This is the directory define in the description properties edit screen.

Command Line -- Defined in the description properties edit screen.

Last Scheduled -- This is the last known scheduled time before the application rescheduled this event. This is the only place this information is found.

Next Scheduled -- This is the date and time for this event to be ran.

Last Executed -- This is the actual date and time the application ran this event automatically. This date and time may not be identical to the  last scheduled information because of any number of reasons. This information can only be found in this dialog box.

Frequency -- This is how often this event is scheduled to be ran.

Condition --This is the condition that LaunchPad is testing for.

Condition Status--This information tells you if the condition defined is true or false.


Event|Set Event Defaults

This menu option allows you to define a default event. After which each time you add a event to the current file the add dialog will start with those default values in place. For example if you normally add messages to LaunchPad and normally delete those messages after execution, you can set your default to be already set the Action to "Message" and the "Delete After Execution" option checked. All of the options provided for a event can be predefined here.


Events

A Event is a message you wish to display or a program you want to run at a certain time at a certain frequency. Each event has a set of properties such as description, options, frequency, time etc. For more information on actions available in this application select one of the following topics.

Related Topics:

Adding Events

Editing Events

Enabling Events

Event Information Dialog


Event|Launch

This option will run or display the currently highlighted event. Use this option when testing a event or when you just want to run a event now. When using the launch command the events next schedule date is not updated. Also none of the events properties such as logging to file, disabled after execution, prompt before executions, etc. are enabled when using this option.


Event|Auto Launch

This menu option will immediately launch the currently selected event as though it had been launched automatically by the LaunchPad. This means the event will update its schedule, log to file, etc. as specified in its event options.

This is different from the "Launch" menu item that does not make use of its event  and rescheduling options. This option is handy for launching a event without having to edit the events schedule.


Event|Re-Schedule

This is for the case when an event's options are not set for "Reschedule if past due" or "Run if past due", and this event is actually current past due. This menu option can be used to quickly re-schedule the event for the next scheduled time without having to edit the event.


Options|Sort by Description

Selecting this menu option will sort the events in the main window by the description. This does not effect in any way the actual schedule for the event. The events will still launch at it's defined time. LaunchPad will save the last known sort option when you quit the application.


Sort from Label Bar

You can select your sort option by clicking on the label bar over the desired label. i.e "Description". This performs the same action as selecting the sort option from the menu.


Option|Sort by Schedule

Selecting this menu option will sort the events in the main window in by the actual scheduled date and time. After a event has rescheduled due to running, the application will repaint the main window maintaining the correct sort option. LaunchPad will save the last known sort option when you quit the application.


Options|Sort by Frequency

Selecting this menu option will sort the events in the main window in by the frequency . This does not effect in any way the actual schedule for the event. The events will still launch at it's defined time. After a event has rescheduled due to running, the application will repaint the main window maintaining the correct sort option. LaunchPad will save the last known sort option when you quit the application.


Options|Fonts

This option will allow to select the font and size you wish to use in the main window for the event list. Selecting this option will bring up the standard Windows Font Select Dialog Box. From this box you can select the any font and size your computer currently supports. Also you can select the style of font as well. LaunchPad will save the selection each time you quit the application which enables LaunchPad to select your previous options the next time you run the program.


Options|Status Bar

The Application allows you to select whether or not the status bar at the bottom of the main window is visible. The application will save the current state of this option each time  you quit the application, and return the last known state the next time you run this application.


Options|Control Bar

The Application allows you to select whether or not the control bar at the top of the main window is visible. The application will save the current state of this option whenever you quit the application and return the last known state the next time you run this program. For information on the available control bar buttons see "Control Bar Buttons".


ToolBar Buttons

When the menu option "Control Bar" is checked and the Control bar is visible in the application, these buttons are enabled.

- Save current schedule file

- Add new event

- Edit currently selected event

- Delete currently selected event

- Copy currently selected event

- Toggle enable/disable currently selected event

- Display current information on selected event

- Run currently selected event

- Toggle enable/disable scheduling

- Stop sending key strokes

- Relocates toolbar around the main window

- Display help file


Options|Label Bar

The Application allows you to select whether or not the label bar at the top of the main window is visible. The application will save the current state of this option each time you quit the application, and return the last known state the next time you run this application.


Options|Save Settings On Exit

When this option is checked the application will save all of the status of the toggled options, size of the windows, and the position of the main window when you quit the application. If this option is unchecked when you quit the application, the next time you start the application LaunchPad will use whatever settings were saved previously.


Options|Save Settings Now

Selecting this menu option will force a save of  the system file items such as the status of the toggle options, screen size and position, as they are at this time.


Options | Cancel Startup Delay

Cancel Startup Delay menu item enables scheduling immediately and allows scheduled and past due events to execute normally.


Options|System Options

Selecting this menu option will bring the system option dialog box which will allow you to define options that effect LaunchPad's main window layout as well as it's operation. For more details see "System Options Dialog"


Help|Contents

The option opens the help file and places you on the Content page.


Help|Using Help

Brings up the instruction for Microsoft Help.


Help|About

This option brings up the Application's About box which will display the currently running version of LaunchPad.


Accelerator Keys

LaunchPad provides several accelerator (short cut) keys that allow you to easily navigate through the application. The following is a list of all accelerator keys available.

Key	Definitions
Alt+F4	Exit LaunchPad
Ctrl+Esc	Switches between running applications
F1	Help

Ctrl+N	Create a new LaunchPad file
Ctrl+O	Open existing LaunchPad file
Ctrl+L	Close current LaunchPad file
Ctrl+S	Save current LaunchPad file
Ctrl+A	Calls the Save As... dialog box
Ctrl+V	Opens the log file Viewer/Editor

Ins	Add new event to current file
Enter	Edit currently highlighted event
Alt+Enter 	Launch highlighted event as though automatically launched
Ctrl+Enter	Launch highlighted event as manually launched
Ctrl+Y	Copies currently selected event
Del	Deletes currently selected event
Ctrl+E	Enables or Disable currently selected event
Ctrl+	Bring up Information dialog for currently selected event
Ctrl+F	Allows you to set the default options for a event
Ctrl+R	Reschedules a past due event

Ctrl+K	Stop sending keystrokes from the currently running event


Right Click Speed Menu

The Right Click Speed Menu in LaunchPad allows you to access common scheduling functions by clicking the right mouse button in the area below the toolbar.  This displays the Speed Menu.  If  there are no events in the schedule, right clicking will default to the Add Event Dialog where you can add a new event to the schedule without having to access the toolbar or the Event | Add menu option.   However if there are events in the schedule, right clicking in the schedule area will display a speed menu.  The speed menu allows you to add, copy, and delete events.  Selecting  Add will add a new event to the current schedule.  Selecting Copy will create a duplicate of the currently selected event. Selecting  Delete will permanently remove the currently selected event from the schedule.  Also you can enable or disable the selected event, and you can get information regarding the selected event.  From the speed menu you can launch , auto launch or re-schedule an event.  The speed menu also allows you to edit the properties of an event.


Duration Properties

Here you can define how long to continue to run a event. By default a event is defined to execute indefinitely. By unselecting this option you can defined a date and time that this event should quit executing. The event will run normally from it's scheduled date and time until the date and time specified here.


Condition Properties

This page allows you to set up conditions for which this event will run. By default, there are no conditions and an event will run on schedule as was specified on the "Schedule" tab page. Checking the Enable Condition box for an event will allow you to define special conditions under which this event is to run and/or which action the event is to perform.

If you select "Condition" for "Schedule Frequency", you must enable and specify a condition before this event will do anything. If you chose "One Time", or one of the interval options ( "Daily", "Weekly", etc. ) for "Schedule Frequency" instead, then the conditions you specify will either enable, disable, or directly launch the event.

Conditions - There are several conditions that you can select by using the pull down list, this is the actual condition that will trigger the defined action. (for more information see the related topics).

Depending on the condition you choose, you will have to enter additional information. If you pick "File Change", you have to enter the path and name of the file. If you choose "Window Active", you need to specify the Window name. The edit box under the Conditions list is where you enter this other information.

Frequency - allows you to define how often to apply this condition to this event. If you select "Once" then LaunchPad will only apply this condition to the next time it runs. After which the condition will not be applied to determine whether or not this event should run. If the "Every Time" button is selected, then the condition will apply to each time this event is launched.

Actions - this is where you specify what to do for this condition. You can request that LaunchPad disable or enable the event, or actually launch it. If the event was configured with a "Condition" for

"Schedule Frequency", then "Enable Event" and "Launch Event" both trigger the event immediately.

Reset Button - Allows you to quickly reset the condition as it was previously defined.

Tasks Button - Will bring up the system task list to allow you to select a running application or Window for the Name edit box.

Related Topics:

Condition Types

Action Types

Edit Dialog Buttons


Condition Types

From the condition page of the event edit dialog there are several conditions in which you can select as part of the events properties. The action that the event takes depends on the action selected in the condition property page that you defined when editing the event.

Application Not Running

Application Not Running means this event is to be launched only if this program is not running. The action this event takes depends on the action you selected in the condition page. An example of using this type might be "Run my backup only if scandisk is not running."

Application Running

Application Running is just the reverse of the previous condition type. Perform the desired action only if the application you selected is running. Again what action this condition takes depends on the action type you selected in the condition property page. An example might be an event that checks to see if an application is running that shouldn't be at midnight. If so disable this event.

File Change

File Change allows LaunchPad to monitor a file's attributes such as date stamp. If the file has been modified then this condition has been met and the action defined will be taken. Example of how this might be used is monitoring an error log: "When this file has been modified, do this event"

File Exists

File Exist is like the previous one except that this condition checks to see if a file exists. The application will look in the path defined for the file name. If that file is found then the action is taken based on the action type you selected. This might be used to execute a batch file that moves a file to backup directory shortly after it is created.

File Does Not Exist

File Does Not Exist checks to see if a file exists or not but the condition is true if the file is not found in the path defined for the file name. If the file is not found then the action is taken based on the action type you selected.  This is useful for a network administrator to monitor servers.  If you set LaunchPad to monitor the existence of a file on a server, and if the server goes down, the File Does Not Exist condition could trigger an action to send you a message.

Window Active

Window Active type looks to see if the Window you defined in the name edit box is the currently active window. This condition can be used for a variety of things such as sending keystrokes to a application but it you want to make sure that it is indeed the current window. Selection of the window can be easily accomplished with the Task button on the condition property page.

Window Inactive

Window Inactive type is the reverse of the previous type. The condition is met only if the window defined is not the currently active window. The window or application could be running and up it just is not the active window.

DDE Change

DDE Change condition monitors a DDE connection and will trigger the action if the data changes.  This could be used to monitor a cell in an Excel spreadsheet and if the cell data changes you could execute a DDE  to save the spreadsheet automatically. To do this requires you know the DDE syntax supported by the application you are trying to read and/or control.


Action Types

These options further define the action that will take place when additional conditions for an event are chosen. For example, if you want to copy a report file at 5:00 am every day, this is simply a matter of adding a Daily, 5:00 am event, which launches the copy job. However, if you want to abort this job if the file does not exist at 5:00 am when the job is supposed to run, you can specify an additional condition by checking the Enable Condition box, and specifying the File Exists condition and the Disable Event action.

There are three Action types:

Launch Event

If the selected conditions are met, this event will be launched immediately..

Enable Event

If the selected conditions are met, this event will be enabled in the schedule. This does not mean it will be launched immediately unless this event had "Condition" selected in the "Schedule Frequency". If this event had an interval or "One Time" selected, the job will be run then.

Disable Event

If the selected conditions are met, this event will be disabled in the schedule.


DDE Action Dialog

LaunchPad allows you to schedule the sending of DDE commands to other applications. This is very powerful since many applications support DDE commands, among them spreadsheets and paging programs.

To send DDE commands select the DDE command option in under the Actions Tab in the Event Properties dialog box.

There are three pieces of information needed to send a DDE command.  The first is the Application Name. This is the name of the application you want to send the DDE command to.   Next is the DDE Topic name, which further refines the application. For example, the application can be "excel", and the topic can be "SHEET 1.XLS". If the topic name is a document name, the document must be open. If the application doesn't recognize the topic, no commands will be processed.

The DDE Command String can be contain a single command or a series of commands enclosed in square braces, but they must be recognized by the server application. If the server application can't perform the specified command, an error occurs. In many applications that support DDE, commands should be one or more statements or functions in the application's macro language. For example, in Microsoft Excel the XLM macro instruction to create a new worksheet is NEW(1). To send the same command through a DDE connection, you would use the following instruction:

          DDE Application = EXCEL
          DDE Topic	  = MYSHEET.XLS
          DDE Command	  = [New(1)]

Many commands require arguments in the form of strings enclosed in quotation marks. Because quotation marks indicate the beginning and end of a string , in some applications you may have to use Chr$(34) to include a quotation mark in a command string. For example, the following instruction tells Microsoft Excel to open TEST.XLS:

DDE Command = "[OPEN("+Chr$(34)+"TEST.XLS"+Chr$(34)+")]"

Look in an application's documentation or help file to find what DDE topics and DDE commands are available.


Equivalent Menu Option. <Event|Add>


Button Help

You can get a short description of a button's function by running the mouse over the the top of a button on the toolbar. This message is also displayed in the status bar at the same time.


Copy Button

This button will create a new event and fill the events properties with the properties of the currently highlighted event in the main window. The event edit dialog will be brought up with the new event. If you select OK from the event edit dialog the new event is then added to the main window and current LaunchPad file.

Equivalent Menu Option: <Event|Copy>


DDE Script File

You can define a text file holding multiple DDE commands that you want to send to a application as part of a event, This commands are separated in the text file by a carriage return.


Delete Button

This button will remove the currently selected event from the main window. The application will then redraw the main window.

Equivalent Menu Option. <Event|Delete>


Diskette Order Form

Note! - Any orders for diskette copies from non-registered owners will not be processed and returned to sender...

Name: __________________________________________________

Company: _______________________________________________

Address: _______________________________________________

City.: _____________________ State: ___  Zip Code ______

E-Mail Address or Phone Number: ________________________

Single Copy  _____ copies at $8.00 each   = _______________

    	   Total Amount _______________

Send Completed Form and Payment To:

Cypress Technologies
4450 California Ave. Suite K-165
Bakersfield, CA 93309


Display Errors Check Box

Display Errors check box - when checked this will cause errors to be displayed to the screen in a message box that must be cleared before scheduling will resume.

Related Topics

System Options Dialog


Edit Button

This will open the event edit dialog for the currently highlighted event. To get more information see Editing Events.

Equivalent Menu Option. <Event|Edit>


Enable Button

This button is one of the methods to toggle a event from enabled and disabled.

Equivalent Menu Option. <Event|Enable>


Entering Registration Informtion
Entering Registration Information

After you have received your registration name and number, restart LaunchPad.  When the shareware reminder screen is displayed click on the Register button.  Next the LaunchPad registration dialog box will be displayed.  Enter the registration name and registration number in the boxes and click the OK button.  LaunchPad will now run without any registration reminders.


Enter Registration

After you have received your registration name and number, restart LaunchPad.  When the shareware reminder screen is displayed click on the Register button.  Next the LaunchPad registration dialog box will be displayed.  Enter the registration name and registration number in the boxes and click the OK button.  LaunchPad will now run without any registration reminders.


Help Button

This button will open the application help file.

Equivalent Menu Option. <Help|Content>


Infomation Button
Information Button

This button will bring up the event information dialog box. For more information see Event Information.

Equivalent Menu Option. <Event|Information>


Interval frequency

When the "Schedule Frequency" is "Interval" you have the ability to specify at which frequency you want a reoccurring event to launch. You'll be able to specify whether the interval is in minutes, hours, or days). Also you will be able to select from two options as to how you want launch to reschedule the event. The reschechule from Completion Time option will maintain the interval between each launch. For example if the event is scheduled for 8:00 am at 2 minute intervals and it runs at 8:01:00 am the next schedule would be 8:03 am, maintaining 2 minutes between events. If the reschedule from schedule time option is selected the event will reschedule from the scheduled time regardless of when it last launch. For example our  8:00 am event with 2 minute intervals that launched a 8:01 would be rescheduled for 8:02 am.


Launch Button

This button will run or display the currently highlighted event. Use this option when testing a event or when you just want to run a event now. When using the launch command the events next schedule date is not updated. Also none of the events properties such as logging to file, disabled after execution, prompt before executions, etc... are enabled when using this option.

Equivalent Menu Option. <Event|Launch>


Log Errors Check Box

Log Errors check box when checked will cause errors to be written to the error log, but does not affect scheduling.

Related Topics:

System Options Dialog


Open Button

This button will allow you to open a existing LaunchPad File. The Application will bring up the open file dialog box with the default extension. You can select different drives, and directories from this dialog box. If you select a new file LaunchPad with save and close the current LaunchPad file and open the one you selected.

Equivalent Menu Option. <File|Open>


Registered Agreement

One registered copy of LaunchPad may be used by a single person who uses the software on one or more computers or to a single workstation used by multiple people.


Registration Dialog

This dialog is used to enter the registration number you received after purchasing of LaunchPad. Enter the name that was return and the number in the correct edit boxes. Remember that the registration number requires the dashes.


Save Button

This button will save the current LaunchPad file. If the current file has not been previously saved,  the application will bring up the Save As dialog box. From this dialog box you will be given the opportunity to name the file and the drive and directory to save to. Previously saved files are saved under it's current file name.

Equivalent Menu Option. <File|Save>


Toolbar Position Button

The button will allow you to change the position and direction of the Toolbar. As well as  the top of the application window, you can move the toolbar to the left or right side of the application window. The application will save the position of the toolbar when you quit the application.

Equivalent Menu Option, <None>


application name

In Windows, this is usually the name of the application's .EXE file without the .EXE filename extension.


DDE commands

Dynamic data exchange (DDE) is a protocol that permits two applications to communicate by exchanging data through a DDE "connection."  Through this connection you can send commands that open, close, and save files ...etc.  Applications that can receive DDE commands will often list the available DDE commands in the help file.


DDE connection

Dynamic data exchange (DDE) is a protocol that permits two applications to communicate by exchanging data through a DDE "connection."


DDE topic name

An open document is a typical topic name.


disabled

When scheduling is disabled no events will be launched.


Web Site

You can find lots of great information from our Web Site. The latest news and downloads for our products, as well as question and answers for LaunchPad operation. We also have information and links to other Internet sites that you might find of interest. We will be expanding this information constantly to provide the best possible Internet support to our customers.

www.cypressnet.com


Task List

This dialog box will show you a list of all running programs with their window titles.  Selection from this list will guarantee the correct name is used for those events requiring window name.


DDE Server
DDE (Dynamic Data Exchange)

DDE (or Dynamic Data Exchange) is a Windows feature that allows information to be exchanged between applications. LaunchPad provides a DDE interface that allows certain functions to be accessed from other Windows applications. Note, however, that not all Windows applications support DDE.

LaunchPad as a DDE server

LaunchPad can run as a DDE server. You can enable LaunchPad to run as a DDE server in the "System Options".  You can enable or disable the DDE server option and define the application name. By allowing you to define the application name, you can have one copy of LaunchPad send DDE commands to a second copy as long as they have different application names.

DDE commands are sent to LaunchPad using the standard DDE methods. Your application should open a DDE link to LaunchPad specifying the relevant DDE service name, and a topic name of "commands". From Visual Basic for example, you would perform a Link. Execute operation. The DDE item name is not used. Once the link is established, you can send one or more command strings to be executed.

The command string should have the general form

[CommandName(argument,...)]

Example:

[AddRunProgramEvent("Test","notepad","c:\win","Daily","12/03/96 12:34 am","VHB")]

where the arguments you supply within the parentheses will vary depending on the command. The command is case sensitive.

To issue a DDE command to LaunchPad, you must use the application name defined in the "System Options". The topic name is "commands"

DDE Supported Items


DDE Supported Items

File Commands

FileNew()	- opens a new file

FileSave()	- saves the currently opened file

FileClose()	- closes the current file

FileOpen(<filename>)	- opens a file

System Commands

ToggleScheduling()	- toggles scheduling

EnableScheduling(<flag>)	- Enables/Disable scheduling based on the value of the 	  parameter flag passed. i.e.: [EnableScheduling(True)] If 	  the parameter is left out this command will toggle 	  scheduling between enable/disable.

CancelStartupDelay()	- cancel the startup delay

Exit()	- exits the application

Window Commands

ShowMainWindow()	- shows the main window ( Win95 and NT4.0 only )

HideMainWindow()	- hides the main window  ( Win95 and NT4.0 only )

Maximize()	- maximizes the main application window

Minimize()	- minimizes the main application window

Activate()	- activates the main application window

Event Commands

EventLaunch()	- launches the currently selected event

EventAutoLaunch()	- auto launches the currently selected event

EventDelete()	- deletes the currently selected event

EventReschedule()	- re-schedules the currently selected event

EventEnable(<flag>)	- enables the currently selected event. Can be set Enable 	  or Disabled by the flag parameter sent.  If there is not 	  parameter flag sent then the command will toggle the 	  event between Enabled and Disabled.

i.e.: [EventEnable(True)]

EventSelect(<description>)	- selects an event by description

i.e.: [EventSelect("Morning Reports")]

EventLaunchByDescription(<desc>)	- selects and launches an event by description

i.e.: [EventLaunchByDescription("Morning Reports")]

AddRunProgramEvent( <description>,<command line>,<working directory>

    	<schedule type>,<next scheduled>,<options>)

<description>	- event description

i.e.: "Morning Reports"

<commmand line>	- command line to execute

i.e.: "c:\winnt\notepad.exe"

<working directory>	- working directory

i.e.: "c:\winnt"

<schedule type>	- schedule type string

i.e.: "Weekly"

Supported Types:

Once

Daily

Weekly

Week Days

Week Ends

Monthly

Yearly

Last Day of Month

<next scheduled>	- next scheduled date and time

i.e.: "12/03/96 5:46 pm"

<options>	- event options string

i.e.: "XBTL"

Event Options

V - enable this event

X - execute if past due

H - reschedule if past due

B - audible alarm

R - prompt before execute

E - delete after execution

I - disable after execution

T - suspend scheduling until after execution

L - log to file


Other Cypress Technologies Products

Ground Control

Ground Control is a macro language, for providing powerful flexibility in automating windows application task. Ground Control's easy to use interface makes it quick to setup any macro to accomplish your computing needs.

Ground Control simply makes tasks easier to accomplish, and when used in conjunction with LaunchPad the combination is unbeatable for automation.


Event|Stop Sending Keystrokes

This options becomes available when sendkeys are defined for the currently running event. You can stop anymore keystrokes from being sent.


Help|How Do I

This menu option will take you directly to the How Do I section of the help file. This section has explanations for many frequently asked questions and sample event.


Help|Cypress Technologies Web Site

This menu option will start your Internet browser if defined and take you directly to the Cypress Technologies Web Site.


How do I use the Send Keys feature

To send key strokes to another program is slightly different depending on whether the other program is running or not, but don't worry: it's still simple to do. If the program you want to send keys to is running already, create an event to run at the normal time, but leave the Command Line empty. Instead, under the Action tab, select Send Keys for the event type, and then select the Keys tab. Check the "Send Keys" check box, and select the delay before sending the first key strokes ( in milliseconds ). Then in the "Keys to Send" edit box, type something like the following:

(Hint: to drop to the next line, press Ctrl-Enter)

{Activate "untitled - notepad"}

this is an example text line~this another line just below it

%fA

myfile.txt

~

This example will activate notepad ( as long as the title bar is "untitled - notepad", complete with spaces around the hyphen ), and then send it the next two text lines. The tilde (~) represents the Enter/Return key. The %f represents Alt-F, which opens the File menu in notepad, and the A selects the Save As...menu option. The myfile.txt is then sent to the file name box, and the final tilde presses the OK button on that box. The file is saved!

You don't have to separate the commands on different lines, the following works just as well, but separate lines are easier to read:

{Activate "untitled - notepad"}this is my line~this another line%fAmyfile.txt~

If the program you want to send keys to is not running already, create an event to run at the normal time, but type the program name you want to run in the Command Line, and under the Action Tab, select Run Program Instead. Under the Keys tab, check the "Send Keys" check box, and select the delay before sending the first key strokes. For the "Keys to Send", type in the keys to send as above.

It is important to remember that you need to Activate the application you want to send keys to before you send the keys to it. The application name may be different depending on what file it has open, so take care to get the correct one. Furthermore, two applications could have the same name, and there is no way to distinguish between them. To see what we mean, run two instances of notepad. They both have the same title. Then open a file with one, and you will see its title change accordingly.

Related Topics:

Sending Keystrokes