This simple utility makes it possible to automatically download news and weather reports from America Online to your Pilot at a predetermined time each day; for example, in the early morning before you awake.
By setting the auto-start time to, say 5:00AM, you can HotSync first thing each day and take the latest news and weather reports with you in the morning on your Pilot.
Because both AOL and Pilot Desktop lack OLE interfaces or other means of remote control, this program takes control of them by sending series of keystrokes to each.
By using predetermined delays between key sequences, the program can reliably navigate its way through the various screens of both America Online and Pilot Desktop.
A word of thanks: Many early adopters of the News Autopilot software have corresponded with me through e-mail, noting the successes and failures of the program and making valuable suggestions. I thank all of you.
1) Unzip the distribution files into a new directory. To run the program, you need only double-click on "auto14.exe". But first, read the rest of these important instructions or bad things might happen.
2) Be sure to create a Memo category called "News" on your Pilot Desktop BEFORE running the News Autopilot software. This is very important! Otherwise, the program will put the news in the wrong category, and could delete the wrong memos if you have turned on the "Delete old news from Pilot Desktop" feature. DO NOT SKIP THIS STEP.
1) Make sure you have a memo category named "News".
2) Go to preferences by selecting: Options | Preferences...
3) Items in the "Settings" Tab Section
Pilot Path: Here you will set the paths to the Pilot.exe program.
AOL Path: This path should point to the Waol.exe program.
Download Directory: Here you specify the directory where you would like downloaded text files to be stored.
AOL Password: Be sure that the AOL password you supply here is the proper password for your "master" AOL screen name.
Auto-Start Time: This should be in military format. For example, 6am would be written 06:00, and 6pm as 18:00.
Remote Control Rate: Set this to "Slow" for your first dry run. If you think your machine can keep up through all of the steps, because it's fast or you have a fast network connection, you might want to try the other settings.
Minimize on Startup: When this is check, the program will minimize itself when you start it. This is handy if you keep it in your StartUp folder.
3) Items in the "Download Choices" Tab Section
News to Download: Just click off the types of news you are interested in and the program will download stories in each category.
Quotes to Download: If you have one or more portfolios on AOL, you can check them off in this section to download the portfolio reports.
The actions performed by the program are divided into two steps: downloading news stories from AOL, and transferring those stories to the Pilot Desktop software.
These steps can be performed manually, one at a time by using the commands in the 'File' menu or by simply clicking on the 'Autopilot' button on the main panel. The latter approach takes care of both steps.
To perform a dry run to make sure the program is configured properly, use the following checklist:
1) Make sure you have entered your preferences, see above.
2) Just to be extra careful, its a good idea to make a backup of all of your Pilot data and put it in a safe place.
3) Okay! You're ready to give it a whirl. First select 'Get News Online' from the 'File' menu. Sit back an watch as the program takes control of your AOL software. When this step is complete you will see AOL exit.
As you watch the program at work, you will notice that ample time is allowed for things like logging in and transitions between screens. At times it may seem as though nothing is happening, but try resist the urge to get involved. If you move any windows around on the screen while the Autopilot is working, it will cause essential keystrokes to be sent to the wrong program.
4) Next select 'Transfer News to Pilot Desktop' from the 'File' menu. This time you'll see the program paste a series of memos into the Pilot software. When it is finished, the News Autopilot will come to the foreground again.
5) At this time you need only HotSync to put the newly downloaded stories onto your Pilot.
You can use the News Autopilot software to "import" text files to your Pilot. This new feature will read in any text file, break it into Memopad sized sections (4K) labeling each part, and paste the memos into the Pilot Desktop software.
To use this feature, select 'Convert Text File to Memo' from the 'File' menu. With the file open dialog, select a text file to convert and click 'Okay'. News Autopilot will run the Pilot Desktop and paste in the new memo(s).
Running News Autopilot Continuously
Once you are confident that the News Autopilot is properly configured and your dry run is working correctly, you can simply leave the program running. Or, by putting a shortcut in your StartUp folder, it will run each time you start your computer.
If you leave the program running, it will automatically wake up each day at the time you specified and get your news for you. Just remember to HotSync so you can take your custom daily "newspaper" with you.
The News Autopilot software is copyrighted material, but is being made available as "freeware". You are entitled to use this software without fee for personal, non-commercial purposes only. Redistribution or publication of any part of this software package is prohibited except with prior written permission from the author and copyright holder.
Use of this software is made entirely at your own risk. The author takes no responsibility and accepts no liability for damages, expenses, loss of data, loss of life, liberty or property, or any other unpleasantness caused either entirely or in part by the News Autopilot software. Nor does the author take kindly to people plagiarizing his clever disclaimer.
Copyright (C) 1996 Russ Ethington - All rights reserved.
